Comment: Self-service technology – the ‘new normal’

In this guest column, Servy Chief Experience Officer Jeff Livney discusses how new technology can both empower travelling consumers and benefit airports and their concessionaires in the COVID-19 recovery phase. 

Travel hospitality has arguably been an area that has felt one of the biggest impacts from the fallout of COVID-19. A slowdown in passenger numbers, coupled with a flood of hospitality workers leaving the industry, has made a difficult situation even more challenging for the many restaurants, bars and other food & beverage outlets in the travel sector. So, what can be done to keep these businesses operating efficiently and delivering great service to airport passengers in such overwhelming circumstances?

One answer is effective use of new technologies, such as self-service kiosks and contactless order and pay, which is making a real and positive difference to hospitality businesses operating with limited staff numbers.

At Servy, we’ve been working closely with airports and travel hospitality partners to develop bespoke technological solutions that will drive operational efficiencies and enhance the overall experience for passengers. And during the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen growing demand for self-service and touchless technology among travellers and airport food & beverage outlets.

There are several reasons behind this. For one, safety concerns among passengers have skyrocketed, with many now looking to reduce their number of touchpoints and staff interactions to maintain social distance during their travels.

In addition, many restaurant customers are switching permanently to self-service and contactless order and pay options for the convenience they offer. A recent survey of restaurant customers found 40% felt safer in venues with mobile ordering technology, while 76% were satisfied with ease of ordering from digital solutions.

The benefits of this technology for airports and travel hospitality operators is also clear. Servy data shows restaurants can see as high as a 95% adoption rate of order and pay at table technology, with guests often spending 20% or more compared to traditional ordering. This also helps to eliminate the number of steps taken by front of house teams, giving operators more freedom to reallocate staff and improve efficiency across their businesses.

Providing seamless and fully-integrated digital services will be crucial for airports to enhance the traveller’s overall experience, making it easier for them to pre-order and pay for their favourite meals and products and encourage them to spend more while on their journey.

Servy has been helping many international and local airports in this regard through its Grab Marketplace, which allows for digital food & beverage ordering from several outlets on one interface, even if these are operated by several different parties. At Los Angeles International Airport, where Grab Marketplace was launched with its LAX Order Now digital service last Fall, passenger order volume has grown by over +160%, while the average ticket value of meal orders has increased by over +20%.

Digital technology will, of course, never replace the all-important human element and face-to-face interaction that staff bring. However, I believe it is a vital tool that can enhance the customer service provided by airports and travel food & beverage outlets.

Self-service and touchless technology is quickly being adopted as the ‘new normal’ by passengers, and travel operators who fully embrace this will have a distinct advantage when it comes to meeting growing customer demand for increased safety, speedier delivery and convenience while working to ensure a commercially viable business model in this dynamic environment.