Headlines and feature stories everywhere announced the big news in October 2021: Facebook was rebranding to Meta and would put a heavy focus on the metaverse from thereon out.
While the metaverse itself wasn’t new, Facebook’s pivot towards this virtual reality (VR) space gave it more clout than ever before. Entrepreneurs saw countless opportunities and got ready to become part of this new tech revolution.
The hospitality industry was no exception. Thought leaders and daring innovators discussed scenarios for how to participate in this development and soon Millennium Hotels and Resorts launched the first hotel in the metaverse.
But since then, things have slowed down and many people see the metaverse more as a place for tech lovers to geek out. But it could be so much more than that.
Let’s take a look at what the metaverse is and how it can benefit a rather unlikely hotel department – yes, housekeeping.
What is the metaverse?
Author Neal Stephenson first used the term ‘metaverse’ in his 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, a story about life in virtual reality. From there, it became the phrase that would describe a network of virtual worlds that are brought to life by virtual reality and augmented reality technology.
You read that right. There are multiple virtual worlds within the metaverse, not just Meta’s much publicised Horizon Worlds. Decentraland is another one which is well-known as a home for VR-games and commercial platforms. But even popular online games like Minecraft and Fortnight leverage aspects of the metaverse to create an immersive, life-like experience for players.
So, in short, the metaverse offers a rich online environment where users can engage with each other as digital avatars. That could be via games but also to work, study or simply socialise.
The metaverse creates new possibilities for immersive digital onboarding of team members in a virtual classroom or even a VR version of the property...
All you need to access this virtual universe is a computer or a smartphone. Then you can navigate the digital space like a normal video game. For the full experience, wear a headset to dive into the 3-D virtual world and use motion-sensing controllers to interact with virtual objects.
While the recent emergence of powerful generative AI technology has led Meta to announce it would stop investing so heavily in Horizon Worlds, the metaverse still has great potential.
This goes beyond the idea of creating digital events or social experiences. For example, hospitality businesses can benefit by using it to streamline workflows and offer more effective training resources.
The metaverse and housekeeping: New opportunities for better training and increased efficiency
While there’s been a lot of talk about how hotels can use the metaverse for marketing or revenue generation, the operational benefits haven’t been getting enough attention.
Let’s look at five ways housekeeping, one of the most time- and cost-intensive departments, could benefit from the metaverse.
1. Digital twinning for efficient operations
While digital twinning is more common in manufacturing, hotel housekeeping could benefit from it as well. Its main purpose is to give you a detailed and realistic overview of your operation and potential weak points.
For this to work, you first need to create a digital twin of your property in a virtual setting. There you can map out the flow of staff and guests around the hotel to better understand common movement patterns. This helps you discover areas that need attention either because they create inefficiencies or even hazards.
Use this information to improve route planning, streamline workflows and set up your back of house in the safest and most straightforward way. That will make it easier and faster for staff to get equipment they need, and the risk of on-the-job injuries will go down.
2. Simulating challenging scenarios
Housekeeping staff can face a variety of difficult situations during their everyday work. Direct complaints from clients are probably among the easiest to deal with, but even this requires practice. Things get trickier when your employees find a guest experiencing a medical emergency in the room or when they encounter someone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Staff can interact with an
AI-guest and practice
resolving tricky situations
safely and professionally...
Since there’s no way of knowing what they may face, it’s important to prepare new staff in a safe environment and give them the tools to react appropriately. Too often that means sitting through training videos, going over a dry manual or doing awkward role play to practise certain situations.
The metaverse offers a more effective option because it allows for more realistic simulations of a variety of scenarios. Thanks to advanced tech, staff can interact with the AI-guest and practise resolving tricky situations safely and professionally. Hotelschool The Hague and similar institutions are already taking advantage of this approach to teach students, so why shouldn’t hotels leverage it too?
3. Streamlined onboarding for new team members
In the past, onboarding meant receiving a stack of SOPs to read, signing paperwork and getting a tour of the hotel. The metaverse creates new possibilities for immersive digital onboarding in a virtual classroom or even a VR version of the property.
While a lot of this may still seem futuristic, technology is advancing quickly. As this goes on, these solutions will become easier to set up even for smaller brands and properties. This will bring a host of benefits such as increased efficiency, improved working conditions, lower turnover and ultimately a higher bottom line. So give some of the ideas above a try and stay tuned for new developments in the metaverse.
Start by handling all formalities digitally without having to print and file countless documents. Next, familiarise new staff with the hotel as well as basics such as the code of conduct and employee benefits. Use interactive content or even gamification to engage your audience and keep them interested. Finally, offer ongoing access to this space, so staff can revisit important information anytime.
If you’re running these sessions remotely, they’re also a great opportunity for attendees to engage in this digital environment. Perhaps they can meet there before their first workday, or they can get to know colleagues at other properties without having to travel there.
4. Implementing SOPs and safe work practices
Your HR and/or department heads probably have a folder somewhere on a shared drive that contains all SOPs. However, that’s not accessible for most employees, especially those working in operations during most of their shift. The metaverse can offer a central space to store these files where team members can access them via their own device.
Additionally, VR makes it easier to present SOPs and safe working practices in a memorable, interactive way rather than as a boring document. You could even let staff practise certain standards directly in the metaverse and sign off that they’ve taken the training. That’s particularly helpful in a department like housekeeping where employees suffer injuries 54% more often than in other professions. Accessible, high-quality training could massively reduce that.
Virtual training also makes it much easier to ensure everyone completes mandatory sessions. Staff can join the training from anywhere and you don’t have to get everyone together in one place for it anymore. That’s a huge advantage for shift-based departments like housekeeping where the whole team is rarely on-site at the same time.
5. Virtual training and professional development
Training in the metaverse can also go beyond simple SOPs and cover deep-dives into best practices and industry standards. These could be specific to your hotel, your brand or even your segment (e.g. 4-stars, boutique, luxury…).
Use VR technology to let
your team explore rooms
and facilities at other properties in your brand...
When it comes to housekeeping, use VR technology to let your team explore rooms and facilities at other properties in your brand. That way they can see how other hotels operate and why they may do certain things differently without having to go for an on-location cross-training. This creates a richer training experience and broadens your staff’s knowledge by letting them gain new perspectives on their role.
On top of that, the metaverse can be a great tool for leadership training for employees who are up for promotion. Again, you can let teammates tune into your virtual classrooms from anywhere and complete their coursework together. That’ll make it easy for you to monitor who attended and to check if everyone achieved the desired learning outcomes.
While a lot of this may still seem futuristic, technology is advancing quickly. As this goes on, these solutions will become easier to set up even for smaller brands and properties. This will bring a host of benefits such as increased efficiency, improved working conditions, lower turnover and ultimately a higher bottom line. So give some of the ideas above a try and stay tuned for new developments in the metaverse.
