Guest Preference Data Collection via Mobile Intermediaries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hotels and similar businesses face challenges in tracking guest preferences and retaining knowledge about guest dining habits and interests, leading to difficulty in providing targeted services and increasing revenue, as guest information is often not effectively captured or retained.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for collecting and analyzing data through user interfaces that allow guests to input preferences and hotel staff to input recommendations, which are then correlated to generate reports and provide targeted services, including personalized recommendations and data-driven decisions on menu offerings and amenities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the hotel provides a wide variety of dining options and services to cater to majority of guests, then the hotel can increase revenue and guest satisfaction, but the hotel loses the ability to track individual guest preferences and provide targeted services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces mobile devices as intermediaries between guests and the hotel system. Guests interact with the hotel through their personal mobile devices, which capture preference data without requiring the hotel to track every guest manually. The mobile device serves as the intermediary that collects preference information while the guest dines outside the hotel, resolving the contradiction between providing diverse services and tracking individual preferences.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where guests provide preference information through mobile devices, and this feedback is captured and analyzed by the hotel system. The hotel receives feedback about guest preferences from multiple sources including mobile device data, staff observations, and dining patterns, allowing the hotel to adapt services to individual guest needs while maintaining a wide variety of options.
2Ease of operation
If the hotel relies on hotel staff to remember and track guest preferences, then the hotel can provide personalized services, but the hotel loses knowledge when staff change jobs or positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital copies of guest preference information stored in databases and cloud systems. Instead of relying on staff members to remember and carry knowledge about guest preferences, the system creates persistent digital records that survive staff transitions. The mobile device and hotel system maintain copies of preference data, ensuring that knowledge is retained even when staff change jobs or positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service where the hotel's digital infrastructure automatically tracks, stores, and provides guest preference information without requiring staff to manually remember or document details. The system serves itself by automatically capturing preference data from mobile devices and dining patterns, eliminating the need for staff to retain knowledge about guest preferences personally.
3Productivity
If the hotel captures and analyzes guest data to provide targeted services, then the hotel can increase revenue and improve guest experience, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mobile device universal by using it for multiple functions: capturing guest preferences, tracking dining patterns, providing recommendations, and facilitating communications. Instead of requiring separate specialized systems for each function, the mobile device serves multiple purposes, reducing overall system complexity while enabling comprehensive data collection and analysis for revenue generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges multiple data collection functions into a unified approach where mobile device data, staff observations, and dining patterns are combined in a single analysis framework. By merging these data sources and processing them through integrated algorithms, the hotel can generate targeted services and increase revenue without requiring separate complex systems for each data type.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods for collecting information may include receiving one or more inputs of information related to a business experience. In addition, the apparatus and methods may include storing the received business information. The methods may also include analyzing the received information to generate one or more targeted recommendations; and forwarding the one or more targeted recommendations to management of the business.