Insights & Takeaways from Lisbon Web Summit

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During the month of November of this year, GuestCentric team has been in Lisbon for Web Summit 2016. It was a great opportunity to get some insights and be updated with the latest trends in tech and web.

We spent some time in different stages learning with the best. Industry giants, leading brands, agencies and many different startups met to discuss how innovation, design and marketing are changing the tech world.

Here you can read the 4 main take away points that we have learnt at the Lisbon Web Summit:

1 – Design Thinking: Designers & Clients always side by side

Our clients should always be first: The Design Thinking process defines the issue and then implements the solutions. There is a content need to take into account the user demographic at the core of concept development.

This process focuses on:

Empathizing first with your clients and understand what their needs are
Defining the main objectives
Ideating
Prototyping and getting feedback from your client
And last but not the least: Testing.

The Design thinking is a great method to understand the customer needs and interests. Working together is always the smartest key to have a satisfied customer. We work always together with our customers to better understand their Hotel identity and have the capability to reflect it successfully into their website design.

2 – Design Content to Inspire and Engage your Guests

Our main conclusion points out that channels to communicate our customers are always changing but what is most important of all is the content. Rich and unique content. The rules of storytelling to engage with clients are always the same.

However, content is not enough. Companies should not be afraid of writing stories in new platforms, in new channels. “You have to invest always in new channels and be updated with what´s going on. If you’re an early creator, then don’t be afraid to invent the rules.”

3 –Chat tools: Menace or opportunity?

For that last months we have been watching the rise of a new tool that has been changing the relationship between hoteliers and their guests: Chat and Messenger tools. These tools can take a multitude of different technology shapes, but all of them have a common purpose: enhancing the relationship with guests before checking in.

By enhancing the relationship between hoteliers and guests, hoteliers will now have the chance to learn more about who their guests are and about their needs creating the opportunity to provide them with a fulfilling and unique stay experience.

Chat tools also provide other advantages, allowing Hoteliers to create personalized offers and present them in a simpler and effective way. Satisfied customers mean, unsurprisingly, an increase in revenue. From extended stays to a decrease on cancelations, a guest that is surprised with great service tends to spend more. A happy guest also means great promotion and the best marketing you can have. In fact, satisfied guest are the key to a Hotel recognition and reputation online. Chatbots can be the key of a company customer success.

4 – “Agility” is Designers worst friend: Digital transformation separating myths from reality

Most part of all designers are always in a hurry to design the best website in litle time. The truth is that, you can’t get good design from agility. There are 5 stages that all designers should always keep in their minds: Ideation, Iteration, Inspiration, Implementation, Innovation

All designers should rethink their speed-focused approach and how that might be compromising better results and consequently happier clients.