IHG's Hotel Indigo personalises travel experience with chatbot

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has launched the Hotel Indigo Neighbourhood Host chatbot across its three hotels in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.The Facebook Messenger chatbot leverages data analytics to curate personalised recommendations in and around the 15-minute neighbourhood radius, and complement Hotel Indigo's Neighbourhood Hosts in each property. The chatbot is available to travellers in the three Southeast Asian countries.To chat, travellers can select "Message" on the respective hotel's Facebook page. Guests at Hotel Indigo can also scan a QR code on their access cards or at the front desk to chat. The chatbots are currently available in English and there are plans to include other languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, among others, in 2018.[gallery columns="2" link="file" ids="205871,205872"](Read also: IHG says 2017 was its strongest performing year since 2010)“For the everyday consumer today, messaging applications have become ubiquitous with everyday life, where close to 1.3 billion users connect and share experiences with family and friends through Facebook Messenger every month. We want travellers to interact with Hotel Indigo the same way they do with their friends, so introducing our digital Neighbourhood Host on Facebook Messenger was a perfect way for us to better connect with them through one of the world’s most used platform," Lara Hernandez, chief commercial officer, AMEA, IHG, said.“At IHG, we place a strong emphasis on digital innovation and technology, so we are proud to be at the forefront of integrating technology in guest experiences that goes beyond guest bookings and reservations. By accurately serving up recommendations tailored to each stage and purpose of travel, these interactions will add value to every guest’s experience. This chatbot technology strengthens and complements the existing personalised guest service provided onground at each of our hotels, allowing us to better anticipate and meet the ever-changing needs of travellers today," Hernandez added.In the next three to five years, IHG is set to open 16 Hotel Indigo locations. The brand recently introduced the Neighbourhood 15 campaign, which celebrates the inspiring and rich neighbourhood stories that are integral to each hotel's personality, and representative of the intricate relationship that hotel shares with each local community.