2019 marks a decade since the United States travel, tourism and hospitality industries emerged from the depths of economic recession. However, by looking at where this interconnected triangle of industries are now, one wouldnt know that it was only a short 10 years ago that they were struggling. Over the past years, a surge of recovery combined with an economic turning point has fueled a historic burst of demand in these industries. This substantial growth isnt limited to traditional players, immense digital and technological innovations have played and still hold a major role in this positive shift in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
In 2017 alone, the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the United States generated over $1.6 trillion in economic output and that number has increased in the years following. Due to this, businesses within these industries require more advanced technology equipped to keep up with growing demands, provide more efficient customer service, and effectively track all moving parts.
In recent years, rugged tablets are the technological innovation that aids increased efficiency, success, and expansion for companies in industries such as cruise lines, restaurants and other points of service and point of sale establishments.
Specifically, the DT Research POS Tablets are designed and built precisely for customer and service-based industries.
How do rugged tablets work for cruise ships, restaurants, and hospitality businesses?
- More efficient inventory management and organization
Precise inventory management is essential for a business that provides a service or product for customers, especially cruise ships, restaurants, and hospitality-based businesses who are engaging with large volumes of customers every day. In order to sustain ample amounts of the products and supplies that are needed to successfully keep the business running day in and day out, a highly organized inventory management system is necessary. Its rare for a business to have all of its inventory in one place, and sometimes its not even in the same state. For cruise ships, there are stores of inventory on the ships, and also in warehouses away from and near ports where they dock.
The POS Tablets have high-level organizational abilities that simplify the process of tracking and organizing inventory in all locations for a business. Inventory managers can have constant access to digital files where all pieces of inventory are tracked in real-time, providing up-to-date numbers about the inventory, shipment tracking, transport plans, and routes as well as timing of arrival. This goes for various types of inventory including but not limited to; food, linens, medical supplies, kitchenware, hotel/cruise room items, documentation for activities and so on. With the ability to organize and track inventory at your fingertips, businesses can ensure that all necessary items are in the right place at the right time with POS Rugged Tablets.
2. More efficient check-in process
Whether its on a cruise ship, at a hotel, or in a casino, check-in processes are important for the flow of the business and for keeping customers happy. Rugged tablets assist in keeping detailed records of important customer information safely stored and immediately accessible within a few touches. There is no need to rifle through files or get to a location with a desktop computer if customer information is needed it can be found in a few short seconds during the check-in process.
Rugged tablets also track who has checked-in, and who has not. If any piece of the necessary information is needed at the time of check-in, a notification can be set to alert the employee to collect it during the check-in process. If a customer has a specific request or needs to inform the chef or the manager of the establishment about medical needs, allergies or something else, the user can quickly type it in and send that information to the correct person, while also having it stored under their contact record for reference at a later time. This ensures information is safely kept, no paperwork is lost and the check-in process for 10 people or 200 runs smoothly.
Efficient activities management
One of the main components of a cruise ship or resort, are the fun activities that are planned and provided for the customers. At times, multiple activities for various types of people are in operation at once. With a powerful processor, a multitude of applications can be used that allow for easy organization and tracking of these activities. The smoother the activities run, the happier the customers are, and the better it is for the business.
Usually one of the most important aspects for safe activities management is filling out, signing and storing waivers that have been signed by the participants. Rugged tablets hold digital copies of all necessary waivers and forms for safekeeping, with the ability to easily and quickly access them when needed. Rugged tablets prevent the risk of having a customer on an excursion that has not signed the necessary waivers or forms because it can flag that participant if further action is required. Rugged tablets also prevent the loss of signed waivers due to busy employees working the ship, ensuring that all waivers are easily accessible when needed before, during or after an excursion.
Easy processing of payments and reward points
With an ingrated card reader, rugged tablets allow for quick purchases and payments as well as accessing loyalty or reward points for customers. This is a huge benefit for customers allowing them to make their desired purchase on the spot, such as while sitting down for coffee or dinner, laying by the pool, or in a shop, rather than having them go to a stationary register. This level of convenience for the customer reduces the number of items they need to carry on them as well as reduces wait times and potential loss of important items. Rugged tablets also enhance the ability for customers to use their loyalty and reward points on the ship, creating a way for these points to be tracked from one machine to another, never losing track of them because they are tied to the customer record in the tablet. This allows the customer to use them when and where they want. All rugged tablets that are employed for the same business are connected to each other and therefore have the same information so anyone can serve the same customer from anywhere in the location.