Personalised service is today the focus of many hotel providers as a means to tailor a guest’s stay and improve satisfaction. Technology as ever is working alongside businesses to help them to achieve their goals.

Canada’s Delta Hotels and Resorts has launched an app that aims to give its hotel guests a more personalised and local experience.

The app’s guest services include: ordering in-room dining, a before you arrive feature that lets guests to make requests and express check-out with extra options like calling for taxi upon departure, arranging for breakfast and requesting an emailed copy of all hotel charges. In additional prior to booking guests can take advantage of a 360-degree virtual tour and video of the hotel as well as local information, such as weather, seasonal events and tourist attractions. Meanwhile additional benefits of the service to Delta Hotels and Resorts include the ability to offer hotel services and promotions to guests, and also to allow guests to provide feedback and express preferences.

With a similar vision, Thistle Hotels has launched its own ‘choose your own room’ service to appease guests’ concerns and disappointment over receiving a poor room on arrival.

Research from Thistle Hotels showed that the majority of guests would choose their own room if they could, much like the concept of selecting your seat on a train or plane. The free service is accessible online and offers guests a 360° virtual tour as well as photographs of the actual bedroom they will be staying in, plus the view from the window.

Thistle says it is confident the discreet new service will save guests embarrassment of asking to switch rooms. David Grosfils, Chief Operating Officer from Thistle Hotels said: ‘We know Brits hate to complain, so concerns about causing a fuss if we don’t like the room we’re allocated really can spoil a stay for many.  Guests often opt to stay in the same bedroom if they’ve stayed with us before, so we’re simply putting them in control by inviting guests who book direct on thistle.com to use the ‘Choose Your Own Room’ service. Our ambition is that all Thistle hotels across the UK will have the CYOR service and we are working on rolling this out now.’