Smart tourism to augment quality of hospitality experience

Emerging “smart tourism” aims to improve the quality of tourists’ experience with the destination, a Turkish expert has pointed out, while a hotel giant has already planned to pour 475 million euros into this aspect.Maud Bailly, chief digital officer of Accor Hotels, briefed a group of reporters in Istanbul on April 15 about the chain’s shift towards “augmented hospitality” service.In a bid to “bring augmented hospitality to life,” Accor has started to shift its loyalty programme into a fully integrated global platform. This new lifestyle loyalty program will recognise, understand, cherish, communicate with and reward guests, opening doors across 30 hotel brands as well as a collection of bars, restaurants and nightclubs, according to Bailly’s remarks.As part of the program, Accor and Paris Saint-Germain Football Cub have signed a multi-year partnership agreement.Through its data collection programme, Accor Customer Digital Card, the chain also plans to offer a personalized service to its customers in 4,800 hotels in 100 countries.