Mews has published a guide to smart hotel technology, arguing that what makes a hotel "smart" is not the number of tools it runs but how well those tools work together.
Defining a smart hotel
Mews describes a smart hotel as one that uses connected systems, shared data and automation to improve operations and the guest stay. Instead of acting as separate tools, technologies exchange information and trigger coordinated actions with less manual input. A typical example links the property management system with mobile check-in, digital keys, guest messaging, room controls and AI tools.
The guide separates smart hotel software, which provides the operational foundation, from wider smart hotel technology, which includes connected hardware acting in the physical building, such as room controls managing temperature or lighting based on stored preferences.
Core technologies
- Cloud PMS: centralises reservation, guest and property data and connects payments, distribution, housekeeping and revenue tools.
- Automated check-in and check-out: mobile check-in, apps and kiosks let guests verify details, pay and receive room access, freeing staff for guests needing help.
- Mobile keys and digital access: smartphone access to rooms and permitted areas. Mews notes that biometric options such as facial recognition require careful attention to consent, privacy, security and legal requirements.
- IoT and energy management: occupancy sensors, thermostats and lighting respond to room status to cut unnecessary energy use, with central monitoring flagging equipment issues.
- Smart room controls: tablets, apps, wall panels or voice devices for lighting, temperature and entertainment.
- AI and automation: chatbots handle routine questions and revenue tools analyse demand. Mews stresses that hotels should define when requests are passed to staff.
The benefits
The guide highlights personalisation, operational efficiency and lower energy use, describing a guest who arrives early to find the room ready, the key on their phone and no queue at reception, while rates adjust to demand behind the scenes.
Our take
For buyers, the key evaluation point is integration depth: how reliably each tool shares data with the PMS.
Originally published by Mews: Mews Guide: What Makes a Smart Hotel and the Technology Behind It
.png)
