Hospitality Technology magazine has released the results of its second annual Customer Engagement Technology Study, according to an announcment, and the news is good for digital signage, social media and mobile payments.

Conducted through a research partnership with University of Denver Daniels College of Business and the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the study boasts 143 findings on how foodservice and hospitality operators are engaging guests, the release from HT said.

The study is a deep-dive into the evolution of customer engagement technologies — including mobile, social and location-based technologies — and how these tools are leading to deeper and more meaningful connections with guests and increased sales. Insights were culled from executives who collectively oversee 81,748 restaurant units and 5,705 hotels worldwide across all market segments.

The study findings show that four major trends are fueling the growth of customer engagement technology. These include: consumer technologies, social, mobile and convergence. The merging of consumer technologies, social media and mobility create new expectations and opportunities to deliver guest services and to enhance guest experiences. With social media apps integrated into every new mobile device, most social media usage and Internet activity now occurs through mobile devices.

Key findings reveal:

• By 2015, 85 percent of restaurants and 91 percent of hotels will have a mobile website.
• Seventy-two percent of hotel apps have the ability to reserve a room.
• Ninety-six percent of restaurants display menus on their mobile apps.
• By 2015, 53 percent of restaurants and 39 percent of hotels plan to offer mobile payment.
• Interactive digital signage ranked high both in business impact and customer engagement for both restaurants and hotels.
• Facebook (90 percent) and Twitter (78 percent) get the most use by restaurants and hotels.
• Social media is the most-used interactive tool by restaurants (89 percent) and hotels (91 percent).

Hospitality Technology, or HT, is the only publication dedicated to covering the role of information technology in improving business performance for hotel and restaurant operators.

Learn more about digital signage in hotels.