How can wirelessly connected devices help you track hotel guests and staff - making your operations more efficient?

How might augmented reality add new dimensions to your guests’ stay at your hotel, or give them exciting new reasons to book their dream getaway with you?

How can conversational interfaces such as chatbots make it easier to engage with current and potential guests while saving valuable resources – helping you build a rapport with customers and making them feel truly welcomed and appreciated?

These are some of the questions you may find yourself asking (and answering) when you read “Emerging Technology in Travel,” the new report from Sabre Labs, our travel and technology innovation lab that explores new capabilities that will impact travel over the next decade.

This report is our most comprehensive overview to date of the emerging technologies that will impact hoteliers and their guests, as well as all aspects of the travel industry. We provide a detailed overview of each type of technology, with multiple examples and specific actions to consider to help you navigate the rapidly changing technology landscape. Our report examines three areas of technology that are positioned to impact the travel space in 2017: connected intelligence, conversational interfaces and digital realities.

Specific takeaways for hoteliers and other travel-industry stakeholders are highlighted throughout the report. And because hoteliers are focused on continuously improving the guest experience, the entire report reveals how technology can enhance guest experience, redefining travelers’ expectations and helping your hotel become more innovative, making this a valuable asset for you as you begin executing on plans for 2017.

Each of these technologies has the power to change guests’ expectations and the impact of hoteliers’ operations. Connected intelligence focuses on the power of wirelessly connected devices and the data generated by your technology and interactions with guests. We are surrounded by powerful sensing and computing devices, constantly gathering data from the world around us. Machine learning and intelligent algorithms can take this storehouse of data, analyze it and use the results to take action, then analyze the outcomes for future improvement.

Conversational interfaces are already used by some hotels to help guests book and to streamline shopping and other interactions. When designed and implemented well, these types of interfaces can strengthen relationships with your guests, making it easier for them to get information or take actions.

But when done poorly, these tools can actually increase frustration and make it harder for guests to reach you. Our report will help you better understand the state of these technologies and see what benefits they could bring to your hotel.

Perhaps the most exciting area for hoteliers is the realm of digital realities. As augmented reality has become more familiar to guests thanks to games like Pokemon Go and devices like the Oculus Rift and Sony PlayStation VR, there are opportunities for hotels to take advantage of these technologies to show off properties and amenities, create location-specific guides and add new aspects to a guest’s stay. As digital realities move from the realm of science fiction to everyday life, hoteliers can start to capitalize on current technology and plan for innovations to come during the next decade.

Download the report today for a deep dive into how these emerging technologies will impact hotels, travelers and the industry as a whole starting in 2017, and for many years to come.