Gabriel Escarrer, vice-president and CEO of Meliá Hotels International said: “Our customers want to connect quickly and easily with our business. It is part of our customer experience strategy to be present in all consumer-relevant channels, which includes WhatsApp. Adding WhatsApp to our communications portfolio also allows us to get closer to customers and drive innovation in the industry, two of the fundamental values of our company.”

BRACELET INNOVATION

Taking its tech innovation to another level, the hotel chain will be leveraging cloud technology and Oracle’s intelligent bracelets to open a new experience for guests. The new bracelets have been designed to serve guests as a room key and wallet during their stay. The bracelet uses Bluetooth and short-range connection capabilities to allow guests to unlock the door to their room just by placing the bracelet next to the lock, as well as enabling them to pay for hotel services such as meals in the restaurants and treatments in the spa. The bracelet has been designed with resort hotels in mind, utilising the Oracle cloud to facilitate payments across all resort services and featuring a completely waterproof design, allowing guests to leave their wallet in their room. Bracelets are linked to the Meliá App, allowing users to track their spending throughout their stay. Guests are also able to set maximum credit limits, receive receipts or cancel services on the app.

The pilot project for the technology is being carried out in two hotels located in Magaluf, which over recent years has become a hotspot for new hotel concepts and product repositioning.