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A hotel private branch exchange (PBX) is the backbone of a hotel’s communication network. Hotel guests expect a smooth experience from booking to checkout, and despite the introduction of hotel apps, PBX solutions continue to help support clear communication, enhance guest satisfaction, and allow staff to respond quickly to requests.
Any hiccups along the way can easily lead to frustration, and as we all know, these frustrations often find their way onto review sites for the world to see. That’s why it’s crucial to prioritize hotel guest satisfaction at every step of their journey.
That’s why it’s crucial to prioritize hotel guest satisfaction at every step of their journey.
What is a hotel PBX system?
Hotel PBX systems connect all of a hotel’s phones to facilitate incoming and outgoing calls both between the hotel to an outside number and from one phone to another within the hotel. Here are some popular use cases:
How does a hotel PBX system work?
Hotel PBX systems connect all of a hotel’s phones to facilitate incoming and outgoing calls both between the hotel to an outside number and from one phone to another within the hotel. Here are some popular use cases:
Internal communication
Each user has an extension number, so internal calls are made by dialing short extensions instead of full phone numbers. The PBX system routes these calls within the organization.
External communication
For incoming calls, the PBX answers and directs them to the right extension, often with an automated menu similar to an IVR system.
Property management system integration
A hotel’s PBX functionality should enable hotels to integrate with property management systems (PMS) to automate updates of guest information, such as room status, on both systems. Integration also helps track calls and bill guests more accurately, enhancing operational efficiency by reducing manual data entry.
A PBX can be used for some of the following purposes:
- Automated call routing: PBX systems can automatically route calls to the appropriate department, room, or voicemail, ensuring guests reach the right contact without needing an operator.
- Voicemail: The PBX system allows both guests and hotel staff to access voicemail. Guests can retrieve messages on their room phones while staff can communicate internally via voicemail.
- Internal extensions: Each guest room and department (housekeeping, front desk phone, etc.) has its own extension. This makes internal communication easy, allowing guests to quickly contact services like room service or maintenance.
On-premise versus cloud PBX: Which one’s better for hotels?
Hotel operators must make an important decision about whether to use on-premise or cloud PBX phone systems. Here are the key differences.
On-premise PBX
On-premise PBX has hardware physically installed at the hotel. It offers full control over the system and doesn’t rely on the Internet. However, it requires more upfront costs for installation and ongoing maintenance.
Cloud-based PBX
Cloud-based PBX systems operate over the Internet, meaning there’s no need for physical hardware on-site. They are more flexible and scalable and typically involve lower upfront costs. For many hotels, cloud PBX is the better option due to its scalability, ease of use, and pricing based on lower maintenance costs.
How PolyAI improves your hotel PBX system
At PolyAI, we’ve worked with over 200 hotels to implement call center voice AI to handle reservations and billing inquiries and personalize the guest experience. PolyAI voice assistants eliminate previous limitations of hospitality phone systems and present new cost-effective opportunities for self-service and personalization in the hotel’s guest experience worldwide.
1. Handles your guest calls and requests
With a PolyAI voice assistant, hotels can answer every call immediately with a simple telephony integration. By accurately distinguishing between check-in dates and check-out dates, offering different room types and notifications about room status updates, and taking payments over the phone, our voice assistants remove the need for staff intervention. For complex requests, a PolyAI voice assistant can gather basic information such as the guest’s name and details while they wait to be served.
2. Speaks multiple languages to serve your international guests
PolyAI voice assistants are designed to handle conversations in 45 languages, so you can provide personalized service to guests around the world, regardless of their native language.
3. 24/7 service, literally
53% of hoteliers are currently at 25-74% of their pre-pandemic workforce, and less than 10% expect to be completely staffed by the end of 2024. PolyAI voice assistants support the hospitality industry by operating 24/7, reducing the strain on your team, who no longer need to be available for routine tasks, allowing them to focus on more complex guest needs, and improving overall efficiency.
How three hotel chains automated front-desk, PBX, and concierge calls with call center voice AI
From high call volumes to complex reservation processes, world-renowned hotel chains employed PolyAI’s voice AI to streamline their operations. Read more about how they optimized their guest experience.
How Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Choice hotels scaled personalized guest experience
After the pandemic, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Choice Hotels customers were keen to book travel again, increasing each hotel’s call volume. With limited staff to answer those calls, guests were waiting on hold, creating a frustrating start to the guest experience.
Systems integrator Fourteen IP used Google Dialogflow to build the first iteration of a hotel concierge voice assistant, Evolution Virtual Agent or ‘EVA’ to automate internal and external calls. However, callers were met with a robotic voice that didn’t deliver the expected experience, and a high call volume remained.
Creating a voice assistant that understands
Fourteen IP and PolyAI co-created a solution to understand callers better. The voice assistant sounds like a real person and encourages natural conversation with guests, accurately understanding guests without relying on the caller to use specific keywords.
The voice assistant asks clarifying questions to guide callers toward a resolution without asking them to repeat themselves, enabling each hotel to contain more calls and giving staff more time to focus on other important aspects of the guest experience.
Scaling across hundreds of sites
Previous efforts to update a voice assistant for different site locations meant the hotels had to work with separate platforms. The PolyAI voice assistant could be updated quickly and easily by Fourteen IP and pushed across multiple sites simultaneously. This streamlined process ensured consistency and efficiency across each hotel chain.
Personalized guest experiences
EVA 2.0 handles hundreds of FAQs, continuously monitors guest satisfaction, and uses smart routing to direct calls to the right department. With loyalty status recognition, it personalizes greetings, handoffs, and prioritization for each guest.
How Golden Nugget automates 34% of hotel reservation calls
Golden Nugget had already partnered with PolyAI to deploy call center voice AI that assists their teams with handling calls to their hotel PBX operators. With 87% of these calls fully automated by a PolyAI voice assistant, Golden Nugget looked to their next challenge – handling hotel reservations.
Handling complex reservations
Reservation calls are complex, with 15 room types and various loyalty club levels. They needed to automate the call booking process without compromising the guest experience. The PolyAI voice assistant guides customers through the booking process in a natural and friendly way but still follows business logic.
Understanding guest names
It was important the voice assistant could recognize names accurately. PolyAI has developed a proprietary name-recognition technology that can understand people’s names 95% of the time. This accuracy creates a more seamless booking experience for Golden Nugget’s guests.
Within just two months of launch, the voice assistant averaged over 300 completed reservations per week, including taking secure payment details over the phone.
Listen to a Golden Nugget hotel room reservation below.
Golden Nugget continues working with PolyAI to further improve features such as negotiating dates with a caller depending on room availability and personalized offers or incorporating offer codes from email marketing campaigns.
How Mohegan Sun directs 30% of calls away from the contact center with call center voice AI
With thousands of daily calls, Mohegan Sun needed more staff to meet demand. Missed calls meant missed revenue, especially as a significant portion of the calls were related to promotions.
Automating FAQs and accurately routing calls
Mohegan Sun partnered with PolyAI to deploy call center voice AI using a phased approach. The voice assistant was designed to:
- Automate responses to FAQs to resolve customer queries without the need for live agent assistance.
- Accurately route calls to the appropriate contact center teams.
In just two months, the PolyAI voice assistant was up and running, managing 100% of incoming calls. By efficiently handling FAQs, it freed up agents to tackle more complex issues. This approach not only alleviated the pressure on live agents but also improved overall efficiency and customer satisfaction, creating a smoother experience for callers.
How top hotel brands use call center voice AI to elevate guest experiences and operations
By implementing call center voice AI, hotels under brands like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice Hotels, Golden Nugget, and Mohegan Sun have been able to enhance guest satisfaction, deliver personalized experiences, streamline their operations, and keep up with hotel innovation trends.
Discover how PolyAI can help you to deliver 5-star service to every guest.
Hotel PBX FAQs
Some of the biggest benefits of a hotel PBX system include:
- Efficient call routing: Quickly directs guests’ calls to the appropriate department (reception, housekeeping, etc.).
- Cost savings: Reduces the need for external phone lines by handling internal and external calls.
- Enhanced guest experience: Provides services like wake-up calls, room service requests, and direct communication with staff.
- Scalability: Can grow with the hotel’s needs, adding new extensions as necessary.
- Integration with other systems: Works with booking, billing, and CRM systems to streamline operations.
The main difference between the two systems is that PBX is a call management system, while IVR is an automated system that interacts with callers using voice prompts and menu options.
