Technological smile: a new concept coined at the XIX Spanish Hoteliers' Congress
Events 27/11/2023
On Friday we returned from Mallorca, where we attended the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers organized by the CEHAT in collaboration with the FEHM, with a good taste in our mouths, the feeling that there is still much to do and a new concept under our arm, the technological smile , coined by Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, during one of her interventions.
There is a very useful exercise that is asked of telephone agents. It consists of smiling before starting to speak and trying to start a conversation without blurring said smile from their faces. Many are surprised to discover that this mere gesture, whether intended or not, favors the adoption of a friendlier tone that, despite the physical distance, their interlocutor is able to perceive. You can try it.
When Gina thought about the technological smile, she did what many people would do today: ask Chat GPT. She was clear about what this concept, arising from real intelligence, from her human intelligence, meant. But perhaps the artificial could help to finish defining it. Doing so served three things:
But then, what is the technological smile in the hotel sector? Patience, we'll get to that now. Gina had the pleasure of participating in the round table "Connecting successfully: communication, marketing and customer experience." Moderated by Juan Daniel Núñez , editor of Smart Travel News, and made up of a fairly random panel, a priori it gave the sensation of be more a kind of catch-all of professionals from the most diverse fields, than a properly orchestrated debate: Marta Gutiérrez, VP & CEO of Ogilvy, Javier Guadiana, CEO & founder of Reason Why, Andreu Genestra, Michelin Star chef, and Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech. Let's see what came out of there... However, in the end, life's surprises, it ended up being one of the most dynamic, entertaining, educational and lively events of the entire congress program. shots at the government, another whipping the hoteliers, a third patting them on the back to compensate, and the fourth in discord, adding firewood to fan the flame of all these recently lit bonfires.
Marta told how, after having stayed countless times in the same hotel for years for work reasons, she was surprised, almost annoyed, that they had never welcomed her and received her by name. A warmth that she would have appreciated after fifteen hours on a plane, tired and dirty, which is how she used to reach her destination.
For his part, Javier opposed this position, claiming that, personally, he preferred to avoid these gestures and formalities, because in a situation like the one described, what he wants is to avoid the reception and go directly to the room to lie down.
Knowledge of the guest and hyper personalization, storytelling, differential value proposition, etc. were some of the topics addressed. But in front of an eminently hotel audience, only Gina was playing at home, and well, that's just getting noticed, what do you want me to tell you. In other words, the technological smile that he outlined as soon as he started, just as happens with the human one, ended up infecting an audience that he knew how to win over from minute one.
Good organization, large attendance, networking and a presenter with a very good attitude and many tables, livening up the event and linking all the ingredients of a slow-cooked meeting, and in which beyond the hypothetical direct return that is expected of any type investment, you simply had to be there.
The best, the good vibes between colleagues and competitors in the sector, being able to finally put a face to many of the people behind our daily emails, and see the good health that the industry enjoys. hospitality. The worst thing is to leave there with the feeling that, although big and important changes are expected in the very short term, nothing truly groundbreaking and innovative has been said at these meetings, nothing that both the hoteliers and their suppliers do not already know, which apply to a greater or lesser extent. Well, except for that new concept of a technological smile, of course. It's a joke…
It may be because it is my natural field of operations and, in the end, we all end up sweeping home, but the conclusion I come to is that there seems to be a communication problem on both sides of the board and that, perhaps, the key is not It is no longer so much about what to say, nor about repeating yourself like aioli, but rather about how to say it, about finding new formulas. Will language be the lever that gives the hotelier that little push so that he ends up winning the game in that area of intermediation that takes away so much and seems to care so little at times, and which he uses more out of inertia than out of necessity? ?
But then, now, what the hell is that technological smile? Well, it is nothing more than a concept that refers to the feeling of pleasure that we experience when interacting with well-designed and friendly technologies. A concept that is related to the idea that technology can help improve the quality of life, generate positive experiences, and help guests connect better with the accommodation they choose.
That is precisely what we aspire to at Party Tech. To devise, develop and implement increasingly friendly solutions, technological smiles from ear to ear that, in turn, awaken very human smiles in our clients and their guests. And so we hope to go, once and for all, from accepting the popular Mallorcan saying "I'll tell you things", to something much more effective and proactive: we are going to do things.
There is a very useful exercise that is asked of telephone agents. It consists of smiling before starting to speak and trying to start a conversation without blurring said smile from their faces. Many are surprised to discover that this mere gesture, whether intended or not, favors the adoption of a friendlier tone that, despite the physical distance, their interlocutor is able to perceive. You can try it.
When Gina thought about the technological smile, she did what many people would do today: ask Chat GPT. She was clear about what this concept, arising from real intelligence, from her human intelligence, meant. But perhaps the artificial could help to finish defining it. Doing so served three things:
- Note again that Chat GPT still does not have all the answers . With its head down, the tool admitted not knowing the term, claiming in its defense that it could be due to the fact that it is only updated until 2022.
- Once again confirm its enormous potential in terms of association, synthesis and interpretation . Although he claimed to be unaware of this expression, he ventured to offer a meaning that denoted a high understanding of the intention behind the metaphorical invention. Gina created it, yes, but she wouldn't have known how to define it better than Chat GPT.
- Once again confirm his extraordinary speed of learning . To write this article, I asked Chat GPT again about the meaning of technological smile, just a few hours after Gina had done so. On this occasion, he ignored in his response the fragment that alluded to his updating period and answered with confidence and vehemence, as if he had known the concept since the beginning of his short life (although, in honor of the truth, he returned a different result depending on how the question is asked).
Connecting successfully: communication, marketing and customer experience
But then, what is the technological smile in the hotel sector? Patience, we'll get to that now. Gina had the pleasure of participating in the round table "Connecting successfully: communication, marketing and customer experience." Moderated by Juan Daniel Núñez , editor of Smart Travel News, and made up of a fairly random panel, a priori it gave the sensation of be more a kind of catch-all of professionals from the most diverse fields, than a properly orchestrated debate: Marta Gutiérrez, VP & CEO of Ogilvy, Javier Guadiana, CEO & founder of Reason Why, Andreu Genestra, Michelin Star chef, and Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech. Let's see what came out of there... However, in the end, life's surprises, it ended up being one of the most dynamic, entertaining, educational and lively events of the entire congress program. shots at the government, another whipping the hoteliers, a third patting them on the back to compensate, and the fourth in discord, adding firewood to fan the flame of all these recently lit bonfires.
Marta told how, after having stayed countless times in the same hotel for years for work reasons, she was surprised, almost annoyed, that they had never welcomed her and received her by name. A warmth that she would have appreciated after fifteen hours on a plane, tired and dirty, which is how she used to reach her destination.For his part, Javier opposed this position, claiming that, personally, he preferred to avoid these gestures and formalities, because in a situation like the one described, what he wants is to avoid the reception and go directly to the room to lie down.
Knowledge of the guest and hyper personalization, storytelling, differential value proposition, etc. were some of the topics addressed. But in front of an eminently hotel audience, only Gina was playing at home, and well, that's just getting noticed, what do you want me to tell you. In other words, the technological smile that he outlined as soon as he started, just as happens with the human one, ended up infecting an audience that he knew how to win over from minute one.
About the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers
Good organization, large attendance, networking and a presenter with a very good attitude and many tables, livening up the event and linking all the ingredients of a slow-cooked meeting, and in which beyond the hypothetical direct return that is expected of any type investment, you simply had to be there.
The best, the good vibes between colleagues and competitors in the sector, being able to finally put a face to many of the people behind our daily emails, and see the good health that the industry enjoys. hospitality. The worst thing is to leave there with the feeling that, although big and important changes are expected in the very short term, nothing truly groundbreaking and innovative has been said at these meetings, nothing that both the hoteliers and their suppliers do not already know, which apply to a greater or lesser extent. Well, except for that new concept of a technological smile, of course. It's a joke…It may be because it is my natural field of operations and, in the end, we all end up sweeping home, but the conclusion I come to is that there seems to be a communication problem on both sides of the board and that, perhaps, the key is not It is no longer so much about what to say, nor about repeating yourself like aioli, but rather about how to say it, about finding new formulas. Will language be the lever that gives the hotelier that little push so that he ends up winning the game in that area of intermediation that takes away so much and seems to care so little at times, and which he uses more out of inertia than out of necessity? ?
Technological smile from ear to ear
But then, now, what the hell is that technological smile? Well, it is nothing more than a concept that refers to the feeling of pleasure that we experience when interacting with well-designed and friendly technologies. A concept that is related to the idea that technology can help improve the quality of life, generate positive experiences, and help guests connect better with the accommodation they choose.
That is precisely what we aspire to at Party Tech. To devise, develop and implement increasingly friendly solutions, technological smiles from ear to ear that, in turn, awaken very human smiles in our clients and their guests. And so we hope to go, once and for all, from accepting the popular Mallorcan saying "I'll tell you things", to something much more effective and proactive: we are going to do things.
