The Independent Hotel Show is pleased to welcome international payments service and technology provider Planet as sponsor of the Social Business Space, where independent hoteliers will have the opportunity to participate in informal, roundtable discussions with their peers.

The Space will also see Planet's Manika Aggarwal Singh, VP Hospitality Solutions and Paul Musgrave, SVP, UK, Ireland & North America host a fireside session on how hoteliers can build a technology stack which enables front-line staff to serve guests more effectively. 

We caught up with Planet to learn more about the business and its offering to the boutique and independent hotel sector. 

What do Planet do, and what products do you offer the hotel sector?

Planet provides integrated software, payment and technology solutions for its customers in the Hospitality and Retail sectors and worldwide via a network of global Financial Services Partners. Founded over 35 years ago, we have evolved our services, delivering an innovative digital commerce platform that puts customer experience first. With headquarters in London and more than 2,000 expert employees located across six continents we serve customers in over 120 markets.

We will continue to invest in our products to offer best-in-class services such as:

·  A property management system with integration to digital check-in app, booking engines, gift card manager and more

·  Payments and currency conversion built-in and fully integrated to your property management system

·  Networking and TV products to give your guests a "home away from home" interactive service

·  Data and insights via our product dashboard to make better decisions

 

Why are you taking part in the Independent Hotel Show this year, and what will be your message to visitors at the show?

We’re looking forward to taking part in this year’s Independent Hotel Show. We have many existing customers in the UK, and this is also a key growth market for us. Planet empowers your people to deliver the best and we want to help customers make the most of the connected commerce revolution. We provide integrated technology, tools and software that enables your hotel employees to focus on what’s important. We provide effective hotel operations so you can spend more time serving customers and offering them a better guest experience.

 

Why is it important for hotels to have a seamless booking and payment experience?

It’s important for hotels to take control of the guest journey to enable a seamless booking system and payment experience which ultimately will decrease the dependency on OTA’s. This will increase guest satisfaction and delight in which hotels will receive great reviews, and more revenue. It’s important for hoteliers to have greater ownership of guest data by increasing direct bookings. This gives them insights and data so they can better understand their guests and personalise their stay.

 

What are the benefits of personalising the customer experience?

It’s important to us that our customers can make their guests feel important and special and create memorable experiences. And that’s through guest experience with systems that work and empowering staff to do their best, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. This will in turn lead to more revenue, referrals and customer loyalty.

 

What are some of the trends you’re seeing in the global hospitality sector this year?

• The importance of investing in and developing staff - grow and retain talent.
• Building a technology stack around the guest experience you want to deliver.
• Thinking outside the box and exploring new ways to protect and grow revenue. For example with business models and pricing e.g. converting room space to meeting rooms and workspaces for nomadic workers, offering room rates by the hour as well as by night for guests using the spa, for example. 
• Giving guests the choice to pay how they want to, offering a range of methods, on many channels, in their own currency etc.
• Reviewing the hotel network, is your current network powerful and stable enough to cope with all this new technology.
• Considering sustainability and the environment across the hotel journey.

To learn more about Planet, head to weareplanet.com or visit the team at the Social Business Space at the Independent Hotel Show on 4-5 October at Olympia London.