Hotel Tech-in is our regular feature that takes a closer look at emerging technology in the hospitality industry.
Happy hour just got better for guests at one Napa Valley hotel, where technology is making wine tasting a lot more personal.
Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa in the California wine region has partnered with Preferabli, an artificial intelligence-driven product and experience recommendation software. Through Preferabli’s Tastefuli app, the hotel’s guests will get taste-based beverage recommendations on-site and personalized itineraries across wine country.
As the partnership gets underway, Preferabli executives spoke with Hotel Dive to share how the technology works and its role in shaping unique and immersive travel journeys.
Personalized guest preferences
Preferabli is elevating the way that guests of the Napa Valley Marriott discover and experience wine, spirits and select foods, offering individualized taste preferences through its patented AI technology, according to a release.
Through the partnership, guests of the hotel will be able to access Preferabli’s platform in a variety of ways, including on their mobile devices via a QR code and a downloadable app, Preferabli co-founder and CEO Pam Dillon told Hotel Dive. The hotel and tech provider are in the process of rolling out on-site food and beverage recommendations for guests.
If a guest is looking for a wine recommendation at the property’s dining venue, for example, they will be able to scan a QR code on the menu to engage with Preferabli’s platform, which provides guided wine suggestions from master sommeliers.
With a snapshot of the QR code, Preferabli’s platform launches on a user’s mobile device, requiring “no download, no login — it’s quick and easy,” Preferabli co-founder and chief technology officer Andrew Sussman explained to Hotel Dive. “The goal here is to enhance the guest experience,” helping them to find wines based on their particular preferences, Sussman said.
Once on the platform, guests will be able to search for wine recommendations across the hotel’s menus based on their personal preferences.
For example, a guest may know they like Costco’s Kirkland-brand wine, but if the Marriott does not offer that brand, the platform shows guests alternatives that the hotel does have in stock, Sussman said. Meanwhile, a guest may want their wine to pair with a specific dinner item. The platform can help identify the wine options that are most appropriate for a given food selection.
Additionally, guests will have access to guided recommendations, just as if “you're talking to an expert,” Sussman said. The platform will ask guests to choose between different wine characteristics like sparkling, white, rosé or red, for instance. Once they’ve made that selection, the platform will ask guests if they care for a lighter-or fuller-bodied wine, then if they prefer a drier or fruitier wine, and the questions continue. Guests can fill in what they desire and get a hyper-personalized wine selection.
The technology will not only create more personalized experiences, but also provide the hotel with data from guest inquiries to optimize operations.
“We can help [the hotel] understand things like which products are getting the most interaction from their [menu] and which products people are searching for that [the hotel] doesn’t have, that maybe they should consider adding to their list,” Sussman said.
Beyond the on-property functions, the Preferabli technology can help create personalized food and beverage itineraries for guests across Napa Valley based on their taste preferences.
Experience over everything
The partnership launches as travelers increasingly seek unique and immersive experiences.
Travelers want a story, and they want experiences that are “relevant to them,” Dillon said. When you take products like wine and you present them in experiential settings, “you’re [firing] on all cylinders.”
“We’re imagining a world driven by individual preferences, using machine intelligence with human touch,” Dillon said in the release. “Our software extends the bounds of what it means to create truly personalized experiences and vibrant ecosystems, starting in the Napa Valley.”
Preferabli is expanding its “ecosystems” globally, bringing its tech capabilities to other markets across California as well as destinations in Mexico and Scotland, Dillon said. In new markets, the company plans to pursue additional hotel partnerships.
