Germany-based hotel group McDreams has implemented a guest enquiries and bookings phone system powered entirely by AI named ‘Lisa’.
Lisa, which was developed by AI software solutions firm Onsei, is capable of handling fully automated conversations regarding a range of common guest enquiries.
These include questions concerning room availability, booking information, check-in and check-out times, as well as requests for information about the local area.
For McDreams, Lisa is now reportedly handling half of routine guest phone calls entirely on its own, halving the number of calls to the front desk, reducing McDreams’ overall operational workload by a third and increasing employee satisfaction.
This has enabled the group to reduce the personnel expenses for administrative tasks by 80%, which is projected to generate €600,000 ($650,570) in savings this year.
The technology is integrated with the property management system Like Magic, which was also recently leveraged by Schani Hotels Group.
The combination of Lisa and Like Magic has increased the number of McDreams’ guests following an all-digital guest journey by 50%.
McDreams operations director Ralf Bonin explained: “Lisa is not your run-of-the-mill automated phone service. She is much more like a living, breathing member of the team who can be entrusted to both communicate with and advise guests, as well as carry out tasks for them.”
Like Magic CEO Markus Feller added: “Lisa is very much a glimpse into what lies ahead for the broader hospitality sector. McDreams, like ourselves, has realised that the future of industry lies in harnessing technology that not only enhances the guest experience, but also nurtures a happy and fulfilled workforce focused on working with their empathic strengths.”
