When we speak to operators and decision-makers, there’s a recurring theme when it comes to automation: “We tried automated tools and our customers / guests found them frustrating”. Crucially, this is rarely due to ‘just’ performance or speed. It’s also how the tools sounded, either literally or figuratively, and whether they provided a service that felt sufficiently human.

Whether it’s painfully limited chatbots or automated calls that ask for the same response over and over again, automation in business isn’t new. Until now, however, these are often perceived as a necessary evil – something customers and guests find themselves having to tolerate. 

The problem? These tools and their generic messaging can easily erode trust and ruin relationships. For instance, PWC has reported that 59% of consumers will permanently walk away from a company after several bad experiences. Around 32% are even less tolerant, saying they’d abandon a brand they’d previously loved after a single poor experience. 

These findings are similar to those of ZenDesk, which has reported that 63% of customers will switch to a competitor after a single, less than satisfactory experience. Crucially, it also noted that 61% expect AI solutions to be specifically tailored to them. In hospitality, where reviews carry an extraordinary amount of weight, and the landscape has become increasingly competitive, a single tone-deaf form of communication can do lasting damage.

What We’re Seeing Across Industries 

Because tone is so important to hospitality, we regularly pay close attention to how AI is being deployed elsewhere. There are promising developments, but challenges remain. 

What’s working well:

• It’s scaling effectively: Whether it’s major banks or airlines, automated and AI-powered solutions are being deployed at scale – dealing with enormous volumes of queries and prompts.

• More formats are becoming viable: AI is communicating effectively via reports, newsletters, emails, and social posts. 

• Diverse demographics are being served: Translation tools are consistently improving, with large language models (LLMs) maintaining accuracy and tones in multiple languages and dialects. 

What needs to be improved: 

• Context and sensitivity need some work: Some AIs remain matter-of-fact, they can still struggle to prioritise or register emotional cues.

• Cultural nuances are still overlooked: What works in English might not slide in Mandarin, the technology can sometimes struggle when switching between audiences and cultures.

• Knowing when to escalate: There will always be times when a user wants or needs a human agent. Overlooking when to switch can frustrate and alienate customers. 

What Guests and Customers Expect 

In our experience, guests (and customers in most industries) have three primary expectations when using automated or AI-powered solutions. These are:

• Speed: Replies need to be near-instant and flow naturally, like an actual conversation. Pauses or constant requests for users to repeat themselves quickly alienate them.

• Empathy: Whilst it will take some getting used to, users want to be empathised with, even when they’re speaking to an AI. 

• Consistency: People return to brands for repeatable experiences. They want the same tone of voice and consideration regardless of what communication channel they use. 

Delivering on all three points, and consistently, can be challenging in of itself. But in an industry like UK hospitality, with millions of guests coming from each corner of the globe, it’s even broader. Some cultures may prefer warmth, others prefer brevity, which means automated and AI assistants need to be customisable and able to quickly adapt to different demographics. 

How We’re Matching AI to Specific Tones 

To answer the question ‘can AI sound like your brand?’, the answer is ‘yes’. AI can confidently match the tone(s) required by businesses and their audiences, including those within the hospitality industry. 

Our solution at DreamDesk has been to dial in on 1) the varied properties within hospitality, 2) the situations each tone of voice is likely going to have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, and 3) the broadening channels guests want to be able to use.

A few illustrations of what we mean:

• How an established chain confirms bookings, politely and clearly.

• How a family-owned, boutique hotel sensitively deals with complaints.

• How a small serviced apartment can provide guests with clear, easy to follow directions.

Generic messaging has been replaced by easily customisable responses that sound and feel like they’re coming specifically from a property and its brand. The result is a series of messages that sound natural and contextualised, and not ‘just’ accurate and helpful. 

This remains the case whether the guest is making a call, sending an email, using a chatbot, or even if they’re using WhatsApp. 

Looking to the Future 

Hospitality teams are under pressure, with staffing gaps and rising workloads rendering automation less of a nice-to-have and more of a practical necessity. But if AI solutions fail to match your brand, you’re swapping one problem for another. The future can’t simply consist of automated, routine forms of service. It has to be consistent, empathetic, and unmistakably on-brand. 

Whilst it’d save teams time, generic messaging would likely alienate guests and produce brand erosion. That’s why we’ve built a solution that’s quick and responsive, but also tailored to specific properties and tone of voice. 

DreamDesk is currently able to accurately answer 100% of calls and automate up to 90% of guest queries in more than 35 languages. In practical terms, this reduces front desk workloads by 60%. This is freeing hospitality teams from tedious, time-consuming and unrewarding work – empowering them to prioritise high-value guest interactions. 

As we move forward, we’ll be looking to cover more languages, cultural nuances, and further reduce front desk tasks. The result is, and will increasingly be, an AI solution that matches diverse tones of voice and provides a crucial human element – even when a human isn’t available. 

Will AI ever truly match your brand’s tone of voice? In hospitality, it has to.

See how DreamDesk sounds like your brand – book a personalised demo here: 

https://dreamdeskai.com/book-a-demo/