HosByte: Smart Omnichannel Sales in the Hospitality Industry

However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality sector have traditionally been slow to adopt digital innovations, which has limited their growth potential and productivity. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer demand for hospitality services has increased. At the same time, labor shortages and inflation-driven cost increases have severely impacted the industry, as evidenced by a rise in bankruptcies in the restaurant sector.

The shift toward more spontaneous purchasing decisions and unpredictable demand, along with the move towards multichannel approaches familiar from e-commerce - where customer experiences are built around various self-service solutions, mobile applications, and platforms that aggregate different providers - has brought new expectations and challenges to SMEs in the hospitality sector.

Smart omnichannel management, particularly with the integration of next-generation generative AI, XR technology, service robotics, and digital platforms as part of the sales process and as new sales channels, has significant potential to help SMEs in the Uusimaa region's hospitality sector streamline their operations towards greater profitability and resource efficiency.

The HosByte project is a service design project with the following goals:

1. To create a new Elämysteknologia Innovation Ecosystem that brings together SMEs in the hospitality industry, tech startups, and R&D project actors.
2. To co-develop and pilot prototypes for intelligent and sustainable multichannel sales in the hospitality industry, focusing particularly on digital platforms, AI, service robotics, XR technology, and sustainability as a value proposition.
3. To build an open publication series based on these case studies that models the process of adopting intelligent automation in hospitality SMEs, identifying key challenges and opportunities, and thereby disseminating best practices beyond the immediate target group of the project.

The project is implemented by Haaga-Helia's Service Experience Laboratory LAB8.