As more hospitality companies implement some form of IT-based self-service, many are seeking to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and possibly reach new customer segments. A new hospitality study from Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) points out that when self-service functions correctly, it does enhance guest satisfaction and improves hotels’ financial results.

The study, “Integrating Self-Service Kiosks in a Customer Service System,” is published by Tsz-Wai Lui and Gabriele Piccoli who compiled statistics from two hotel chains totalling 163 hotels to determine the ratio of automated check-ins and the ratio of failed check-ins, using lobby self-service kiosks. They matched those data with aggregate financial performance from Smith Travel Research.

The hospitality study found that installing self-service kiosks did improve the hotels’ financial results, but the improvement showed a time lag. Therefore, they caution hoteliers not to expect instant returns from adding self-service kiosks.

However, when something went wrong with the self-service check-in, the hotels in question saw a reduction in guests’ willingness to pay and willingness to return. For this reason, Lui and Piccoli urge careful rollout of self-service technology, along with substantial staff support for guests who are using computers to check-in.