Digital concierge for hotels: a self-service front desk guests actually use

Ask any front desk team which questions they answer most and you'll get the same list: What time is breakfast? What's the Wi-Fi? When do I have to check out? Can I leave my bags? Where do I park?

None of these need a person, but at 3 PM, with a queue at the desk, each one slows down the guest who does. A digital concierge answers them without making anyone wait.

What guests ask the front desk

Most questions fall into four groups. Your digital concierge should be able to answer every one of them on day one.

Arriving and leaving

• Check-in and check-out times, and how late check-out works
• Luggage storage before check-in and after check-out
• Airport transfers, taxis and the nearest station

In the hotel

• Breakfast: times, where it's served, what's included
• Wi-Fi network and how to get the password
• Gym, pool, spa and laundry hours
• Where the restaurant, bar, elevators and meeting rooms are

Getting around

• Parking: where, how much, how to get in
• Public transport, walking times, car and bike rental

Around town

• Restaurants, sights and shops you recommend
• Pharmacies, ATMs and supermarkets nearby

Our front desk questions template has a printable hotel checklist to fill in with your own answers.

Why self-service works in a hotel lobby

Guests already expect it. In a 2022 study of 5,266 consumers by Oracle Hospitality and Skift, 73% agreed they were more likely to stay at a hotel that offers self-service technology.

And many of your guests are far from home. UN Tourism counted about 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals in 2024. A concierge that answers in the guest's own language saves the awkward back-and-forth at the desk.

The point isn't to replace the welcome. It's to stop the welcome from being interrupted. When the concierge answers "what's the Wi-Fi?", your receptionist can look up from the screen and actually greet the next guest.

What must always stay with the front desk

Some questions should never be answered by a screen in the lobby, however good its AI is:

• Rates and availability. Prices change by date and channel, and only your booking system knows what's free.
• Who is staying. "Is Mr. Lee in room 204?" must never get an answer. Guest names, room numbers and arrival times are private.
• Bills and charges. Anything about a guest's folio, deposit or payment.
• Complaints and special requests. These are where your team earns its reviews.

Kioskly AI follows these rules automatically when you choose Hotel as your business type: it never quotes room rates, confirms availability or acknowledges a guest's identity, and it sends those questions to the front desk.

What to add before you switch it on

A digital concierge only knows what you tell it. Before guests use it, add:

• Check-in, check-out and late check-out rules
• Breakfast hours, location and what's included
• Wi-Fi details you're happy to share
• Gym, pool, spa and bar hours
• Parking and transport options
• Luggage storage
• Pet and smoking policies
• Accessibility information
• Your local recommendations
• Emergency and late-night contacts

If you have a guest directory or a welcome letter, upload it as is. Kioskly AI reads PDF, Word and Excel files, your website, and photos of printed signs.

Where to put it

• Next to the front desk, not in front of it. Guests in the queue can ask it something while they wait.
• At standing eye level, on a counter stand or floor stand, with the screen facing the entrance.
• Away from noise. A spot next to the coffee machine or the lobby speakers makes it harder to hear guests.
• Plugged in, locked to the app. Our iPad kiosk guide shows how to lock the iPad with Guided Access.
• With a small sign, like "Ask me about breakfast, Wi-Fi and parking", so guests know what it's for.

Languages: the part guests remember

Set the concierge's default language to the one most of your guests speak. Kioskly AI translates your greeting into all 25 of its languages, and with Premium a guest can tap Change Language, pick theirs, and be greeted, heard and answered in it. After they leave, it switches back for the next guest.

For more ways to serve guests who don't share your language, see our multilingual customer service guide.

Set up a lobby concierge in Kioskly AI

1. Choose Hotel as your business typeKioskly AI then follows the hotel rules: no rates, no availability, no guest details.
2. Answer the setup questionsCheck-in and check-out, breakfast, Wi-Fi, parking. Type or talk.
3. Add your guest directoryUpload it as a PDF or Word file, add your website, and photograph the signs guests ask about.
4. Pick the default languageChoose the language most of your guests speak. With Premium, guests can switch to theirs on the screen.
5. Start Employee Mode in the lobbyAn iPad on a counter stand next to the front desk works well.

Customer

Can I check out late?

Kioskly

Late check-out until 1 PM is available on request. Please ask the front desk.

Frequently asked questions