Hospitality has never been more challenging than it is today.

According to the UKHospitality Quarterly Tracker with CGA, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped a staggering £80.8bn off hospitality’s sales in just 12 months, with an estimated £220m of sales lost every day from April 2020 to March 2021.

This is corroborated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which found that even though hospitality turnover rose to £6.9 billion by May 2021 after restrictions were partially eased, this is still around 25% lower than its 2019 level.

These statistics illustrate how, due to the long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, consequent staffing crisis environmental needs and guest challenges, hotels must seek alternative and innovative ideas to achieve success.

LiBi – a new eCommerce platform

At LiBi, our offering can help hotels boost revenue in positive and unexpected ways.

We seek to add value to hotel stays by blending immersive product experiences with instant retail reality. Through our recently launched eCommerce platform, guests are able to purchase items that they’ve encountered and loved during their stay – be that comfy mattresses, eye-catching artwork, useful gym equipment and more. Whatever a guest has spotted that takes their fancy – they’re able to buy it.

Through QR code access, guests can browse the range of items they’ve experienced – scanning the corresponding code to reveal details on price and availability, but also the supply chain (is it sustainably produced?) and the backstory behind the product and brand. This can add an extra layer to the guest experience, embellishing their appreciation of the hotel environment, enhancing the hotel’s brand storytelling, and building long lasting memory recall of their stay, and increasing the liklihood of return visits.

Not only does this add value to the guest, who will be more likely to buy into a hotel’s brand and wider offering, it also provides direct benefit to the hotels in the form of incremental revenue.

Integrating LiBi – how it works

So then, how does LiBi do this?

When introducing LiBi as part of their offering, every hotel partner will receive their own bespoke page that functions as a virtual boutique for all of the shoppable items found within their premises.

The subsequent commercial transactions that result will then flow through LiBi’s drop-ship home delivery model, meaning hotels and resorts won’t need to hold any inventory – the items will be delivered directly to the guest’s home without any requirements from the hospitality provider.

They’ll just receive a percentage of the sale – without having to do anything other than simply say ‘yes’ to LiBi and then ensuring hotel specific QR codes on key materials are visible and easy to access

Once this basic infrastructure is in place it offers the opportunity for the hotel to generate additional revenue in a hassle and stock free way that engages and enhances the guest experience

Initial brand partners to sign up to LiBi include Hypnos (a leading mattress supplier), Comfort Zone (a spa brand), Pulseroll (a fitness brand), Edmunds Cocktails, Cotivision and many more.

Partner brand content can be created and shared across multiple hotel partner pages, helping guests delve deeper into understanding brand stories, backstories and values – elements that are becoming increasingly important to consumers.

The brands can then choose to include virtual tours, ‘meet the makers’ content, live events, exclusive offers and more to really enhance the experience for the guest – with the hotel themselves having to do very little other than reap the benefits of incremental revenue increases.

LiBi is where the changing needs of the hospitality industry meets the changing ‘me time’ shopping mindset of the consumer.

To find out more and discover the flexible and bespoke approach we bring, talk to the LiBi team at contactus@libiloves.com