“ The ability to leverage technology is becoming an increasingly distinctive factor for customers ”
— Gonçalo Marques Oliveira , CIO , Pestana Hotel Group
IoT ( internet of things ), AI ( artificial intelligence ) and AR / VR ( augmented reality / virtual reality ) are three key technologies being actively explored in hospitality , and Oliveira states that Pestana is equally interested in exploring their use . “ The ability to leverage technology is becoming an increasingly distinctive factor for customers , particularly where you have a number of companies using it extensively ,” he notes . AI is particularly applicable to Pestana ’ s vision of constantly-improving services , albeit with restrictions on what kind of customer data is collected and how it ’ s used . COVID- 19 has also accelerated its interest in experimenting with a number of IoT-based technologies . Pestana ’ s dedicated app , which launched in July 2020 ( available on both Android and
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