The year 2022 was a significant milestone where MHR became the first international hotel chain to enter the metaverse, an unchartered territory for many companies, and launched its first virtual hotel, M Social Decentraland. Guests can create their own avatars and interact with one another in the virtual hotel.
MHR Shapes
Future Of
Hospitality
With Commercial
And Digital
Transformation
MHR Group Senior Vice President, Commercial, Mr Saurabh Prakash shares how Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) has emerged as a leading digital force in the hospitality industry. Spearheading MHR’s Commercial and Digital Transformation division, he explains how cutting-edge technologies and data-driven insights can enhance customer experiences, optimise operations, and unlock new avenues for revenue. Below is adapted from his interview with CIO Look Magazine (Aug 2023 issue), an online business magazine that looks at innovators and entrepreneurs around the world.
Embracing New and Innovative Technologies
The year 2022 was a significant milestone where MHR became the first international hotel chain to enter the metaverse, an unchartered territory for many companies, and launched its first virtual hotel, M Social Decentraland. In the same year, MHR partnered with Singapore Tourism Board and launched a one-of-its-kind joint campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s national monument, the Merlion.
MHR’s team built this campaign as a virtual game adventure that enabled players to create and use their avatars to enter M Social Decentraland and explore Singapore while searching for clues to find the ‘lost’ Merlion in the metaverse.
The campaign generated over $500,000 worth of advertising mileage and revenue as it was tied to a staycation package at its physical hotel, M Social Singapore. As a result, M Social Singapore doubled its brand revenues in December of 2022, compared to pre- pandemic levels of December 2019. The ROI from the campaign was 12x. This shows the nimble and innovative nature of MHR.
Launched in 2022, MHR partnered with Singapore Tourism Board and launched a joint campaign with a virtual game adventure, ‘Merlion on Vacation’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s national monument, the Merlion. Pictured above is the Merlion avatar checking in at M Social Decentraland (left photo) and the Merlion with his friends (L-R) the hawker assistant, bird watcher, and otter (right photo).
Overcoming Hurdles
Like many in the hospitality industry, MHR’s key challenges are rising energy and labour costs. To manage these challenges, MHR deployed innovative digital technologies like ‘Smart Rooms” in its hotels, such as Grand Copthorne Singapore Waterfront, that automatically control room temperature when the guest is not in the room. This saves energy costs and reduces wastage by up to 20%.
On the other hand, the use of robots in crucial areas such as front desk (service robots), housekeeping (cleaning robots), and food & beverage (food delivery and clearance robots) help to address acute labour costs.
Tech Forward
Technology enhances customer experience and increase productivity. “For example, MHR introduced service and cleaning robots to deliver room service, floor-cleaning, and assist as ushers for dish clearance after meal service. Our customers have positive feedback as it provides efficient and quick service. The robots also freed up employees to do other duties while helping them complete their work faster,” said Mr Prakash.
The newly revamped Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is one of the first hotels in Singapore to have environmentally friendly in-room water dispensers as well as smart room technology.
MHR introduced service and cleaning robots to help increase staff productivity. Pictured above is a room service robot at M Social Singapore.
Executing Marketing Campaigns
A successful campaign begins with keeping the customer focus in mind. MHR’s global loyalty program, My Millennium, has over 3.7 million members worldwide. More than 80% of bookings on MHR website via the Brand.com channel, are made by My Millennium members. This reflects the success of its marketing campaigns that resonated well with loyal customers.
Mr Prakash explained, “A recent campaign launched is the “My Millennium Winning Wheel,” which allows members to spin for rewards like room upgrades, dining, free stays, and other surprises when booking a hotel reservation via our website. This is just one of the creative ways we give our guests another reason to choose our website as their preferred booking channel while making it fun for them when they book their stay.”
Deliver Memorable Experiences
MHR is a nimble, solution-oriented organization poised to create growth and transformation through its entrepreneurial culture. Its purpose is to deliver memorable guest experiences while purposefully protecting the environment. The hotels actively participate in local communities and provide care and employment opportunities, sustainability initiatives, and deliver results for its shareholders and owners through exemplary service and digital transformation strategy.
My Millennium loyalty programme doubles rewards with guaranteed wins on the first-of-its-kind ‘My Millennium Winning Wheel’ (left image) to thank members by making their stays at hotels such as M Social Hotel Paris (right image) even more special.
