Hotels in the digital era

Just as the rest of the world has been swept up in all the fabulous advancements of the digital age, so too has the hotel industry. Here are a few digital changes to the hotel industry you can take advantage of.

Nowadays, it should come as no surprise that many hotel rooms have Wi-Fi in them, or that you can book most hotel rooms online on hotel websites. But the changes in the hotel industry have gone far beyond that. Many hotels now feature free apps that you can download, or that are sent to you upon reservations. These apps have a wide variety of features, including the ability to chat directly with the hotel room service, concierge or cleaning staff to order specific services or clarify a personal preference in regards to your stay.

These apps also often let you take a virtual tour of your room and the hotel premises, so you can make the best possible decisions about your accommodations while on the go.

With the rise of micro-rental apps, instead of a hotel, you can book your room choosing from a series of apartments in your destination city. These new apps allow individuals to rent out their rooms or travellers to rent rooms or entire houses out, complete with sophisticated review and insurance systems to ensure you have a wonderful, clean stay.

And the possibilities are endless. In many cases, you can book stays in magical and exotic properties like boathouses, castles, chateaus, lofts, swanky downtown condos and just about anywhere else you can imagine. What’s more, these new services are often significantly less expensive than renting a traditional hotel room, and they allow for a much greater degree of choice of location, should you want to stay in a particular neighbourhood or borough.