What Is Hotel Self Service Kiosk?

Self-service in the retail industry has evolved over the years with the aim of improving the customer experience. Before the introduction of automated teller machine (ATM) technology, stores and supermarkets often had long queues, resulting in extended waiting times for payments.

With the advent of self-service and self-checkout systems, consumers now have the option to check out independently without relying on cashiers.

Automated checkout technology has brought numerous benefits to both consumers and retailers. Firstly, eliminating queues leads to faster and more efficient shopping experiences. Customers simply need to scan products, make payments, and leave the store without waiting for cashier assistance. Self-checkout and self-payment systems also reduce errors during the checkout process. With the assistance of scanners and automated payment systems, consumers can rest assured that prices are correct and payments are processed accurately.

How Automated Payment Options are Changing the Self-Checkout Landscape

One major advantage of ATM technology is that it offers consumers a variety of payment options. In addition to traditional methods such as cash or credit card payments, self-service kiosk-style systems also allow for contactless payments integrated with smartphones and smartwatches.

As technology continues to advance, we are witnessing the emergence of cashier-less supermarkets, where no cashiers are needed. These supermarkets utilize advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and computer vision to track the products customers take from shelves and automatically process payments in real time.

This concept is changing the way we shop. Consumers no longer need to wait in line or interact with cashiers; they simply pick up the products they want and leave the store. As retailers aim to provide more convenient and hassle-free shopping experiences, this approach is becoming increasingly popular.

The Impact of Automated Payment Technology on Customer Satisfaction

While cashier-less supermarkets are gaining attention, stores with fast cashiers remain the most popular choice. These stores offer consumers a quick shopping experience and reduce the number of cashiers to avoid long queues.

Retailers investing in self-checkout technology are reaping the rewards, with increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. By offering a more relaxed shopping experience, these retailers stand out in the competition and establish a reputation for innovation and convenience.

The Future of Retail and the Role of Self-Checkout Technology

As the retail industry continues to evolve, self-checkout technology plays a crucial role in simplifying the consumer shopping experience. From eliminating queues to providing multiple payment options, technology makes shopping faster, more efficient, and more convenient.

As the retail industry continues to evolve and technology advances, self-checkout systems are becoming increasingly common. However, a new technology is leading the revolution in self-checkout: scanner technology. Now, consumers can complete the checkout process simply by scanning the barcode of items, bringing unprecedented convenience and efficiency to the retail industry.

Testing of fruit and vegetable recognition technology in self-checkout systems is underway to help customers register items without barcodes that cannot be scanned. The system uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to recognize products through a camera installed on the side of the touchscreen, displaying a selection list or even specific items in three seconds. If multiple items meet the criteria, the screen will display a short list for selection.

Traditional self-checkout systems often rely on touchscreens and manual entry of product codes, which can lead to input errors and extended checkout times. Now, with the application of scanner technology, self-checkout systems are becoming more intelligent and efficient, bringing a whole new experience to both consumers and retailers.

Application of Scanner Technology: The application of scanner technology makes self-checkout systems simpler and easier to use. Consumers only need to place the barcode of purchased items under the scanner, and the system will automatically recognize the items and add them to the shopping list. This intelligent recognition system significantly reduces the likelihood of input errors and speeds up the checkout process.

Improved Efficiency and Accuracy: Through scanner technology, the efficiency of self-checkout systems has been significantly improved. Consumers can complete the checkout process more quickly without spending time entering product codes or searching for product information. Additionally, scanner technology can improve checkout accuracy, avoiding price mismatches or calculation errors caused by input errors.

Enhanced Customer Experience: The application of scanner technology not only improves the efficiency of self-checkout systems but also enhances the customer experience. Consumers can complete the checkout process more easily without waiting or relying on store staff for assistance. This autonomy and convenience make the shopping experience more enjoyable and seamless, enhancing customer satisfaction with retailers.

According to "2024 Global Self ordering Machines", although McDonald's remains the world's largest self ordering technology deployer with over 130000 installations, both Burger King and KFC have significantly expanded their international self ordering machine deployments, covering countries from Romania to the Philippines.

The usage rate of self-service terminals in the Asia Pacific region and Europe, Middle East, and Africa is rapidly increasing.



The report shows that the installation of self-service terminals in restaurants in the Asia Pacific region has significantly increased, mainly due to the Chinese chain Dexter expanding its restaurant scale by more than double, and Korean brands such as Lotteria, Mom's Touch, and A Twosome Place have also widely deployed self-service terminals at their store network.

In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, local chain stores and global fast food brands are pursuing digital store models, including self-service terminals; BCHEF in France and Pasibus in Poland have promoted this technology to all restaurants. North American chain stores are going out of the local market, entering Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and opening stores based on self-service terminals, including Taco Bell in the UK, Dunkin 'Donuts in Germany and Pizzahut in Saudi Arabia.

The largest regional self-service terminal market is in the Americas, with over 110000 installations in the United States alone. In addition to international fast food giants, domestic chain stores in the region, such as Shake Shack in the United States, Habibs in Brazil, and Mostaza in Argentina, are also launching this technology.



More and more restaurants are choosing smaller kiosks

Although the largest standing and double-sided self-service terminals continue to be favored by major global chain stores such as McDonald's, small and medium-sized self-service terminals, including tablet based solutions, are showing strong growth worldwide. In fact, information kiosks with screen sizes between 19 inches and 30 inches now occupy half of the global market.



Space and budget constraints mean that countertop self-service terminals and tablets have gained great appeal in local chain restaurants, including Black Sheep Coffee in the UK, Pokawa in France, and Arctic Circle Restaurants in the United States.

Self ordering is crucial for the future of large chain restaurants

With the rise in food prices and labor costs, as well as the fragility of the supply chain, chain restaurants have seen clear business cases of self-service terminal technology as an effective means of cost reduction. Usually, fast food operators also report an increase in average transaction volume due to the installation of self-service ordering machines.

These economic benefits, as well as the customer's demand for the convenience of this technology, have brought enormous potential for future growth to the global self-service terminal market. RBR Data Services predicts that by 2028, nearly 700,000 self-service terminals will be installed worldwide.

Chris Allen, head of global self-service ordering service terminal research at RBR Data Services in 2024, commented, "As global hotel management costs continue to soar and many developed countries plan to raise minimum wages, chain restaurants of all sizes will introduce self-service terminals or expand their existing service scope as a way to rationalize operations and increase transaction value."

Project name: Self-service payment terminal for the underground parking lot of a large shopping mall



Client Description

The client's application scenario is at the entrance and exit of the underground parking lot of the shopping mall, where drivers can self-service entry registration and exit payment at the entrance and exit of the road gates, which reduces the investment of staff costs and is simple, fast, and convenient. The shopping mall has a high flow of people and requires fast and stable operation of the equipment modules.



Customer Objective

The product is placed in outdoor use, the whole machine should meet the requirements of the outdoor environment, waterproof, dustproof, and explosion-proof;

The product has different operators, each responsible for the management of different modules, the need to make the body up and down into a split, the upper and lower parts of the management can be separated, the maintenance of the selection of the key does not open;

This is an underground parking lot, the entrance is downhill into the garage, the exit is uphill out of the garage, according to the scene customize the body of the appropriate height, convenient for the owner to sit in the car operation;

The parking lot entrance and exit are dimly lit at night, so the body needs to add light elements.



Challenges

LOGO elements on the cabinet need to be hollowed out, using acrylic to carve out the shape of the LOGO and mounted in the position of the cabinet, acrylic LOGO must be flush with the enclosure, the requirements of the acrylic carved out of the LOGO and the position of the body hollowing out the size of the body to maintain consistency, the assembly of personnel should be careful enough to do carefully and conscientiously, and the acrylic LOGO can be transmitted to the effect of the light.

Peak hour data processing: to ensure that the system can operate stably during high traffic hours, and quickly deal with a large number of transactions.

User interface friendliness: design an interface that users of all ages can easily use.

System security: Ensure the data security of the payment process and prevent any kind of data leakage.



Specific solution

Considering the use of the outdoor environment, the screen adopts 1000 lumens high-brightness touch one-piece screen with anti-glare treatment on the glass and a light-sensitive regulator is added so that the screen will automatically adjust the brightness according to the environment;

The whole chassis is made of 1.5mm galvanized plate + outdoor powder spraying, all the inner side of the chassis is affixed with a heat insulation layer, and waterproof strips are added at the door joints of the chassis to prevent water from seeping into the inner side from the door joints; each module is individually designed with a waterproof structure, so that even if the water seeps into the inner side, it can still be discharged through the drainage channel, and the double-layer waterproof structure guarantees the stable operation of the internal electronic modules;

To solve these problems, the shopping center management introduced self-service bill payment terminals. These terminal technologies include:

Automatic License Plate Recognition: Automatically calculates parking time and fees through license plate recognition technology.

Multiple Payment Options: Supports multiple payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards, and mobile payments (e.g., Apple Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay).

Touch screen interface: Provides a clear and concise user interface that is easy to operate and supports multiple language options, including local language and English

Optimized License Plate Recognition Algorithm: Upgrades the license plate recognition system to improve recognition accuracy and processing speed, reducing errors and delays.

Enhanced Payment Security Measures: Introduces end-to-end encryption technology to ensure the security of all payment data.

Customer Feedback System: Instant feedback option at each terminal, allowing customers to provide feedback during use to optimize the system continuously.

Application design board innovation and practical needs:

Energy Saving Mode: The terminal automatically shifts to low energy mode during off-peak hours to reduce energy consumption.

Emergency Support Button: Provides users with the option to call for support at the touch of a button, ensuring immediate assistance in the event of a problem.



Application effect and revenue impact



The ergonomic modular parking lot self-service terminals are suitable for a variety of gate entrance/exit environments, meeting customer needs, enhancing the user experience, and expanding accessibility.

The introduction of self-service payment terminals greatly accelerated the payment process, reducing the average processing time from 5 minutes to 1 minute. Customer traffic management in the parking lot was significantly improved, especially during peak shopping periods. On the management side, significant operational cost savings have been realized by reducing the number of human resources required.

Alibaba’s Fliggy has transformed hotel operations with its innovative Desk-Side Self-Service Kiosk, slashing check-in queues and elevating guest satisfaction. Installed in hotel lobbies, this sleek terminal empowers travelers to bypass front-desk delays through five integrated modules:



Ftiggy: Frictionless Arrival
Guests complete ID verification, payment, and room selection in under 90 seconds.



Higgy: Hyper-Personalized Interaction
Tailors upsells (late checkout, spa bookings) based on loyalty status and stay history.



Gitro: Guest-Integrated Troubleshooting
Resolves Wi-Fi/room issues via live chat with staff, reducing front-desk queries by 40%.



Toyozom: Tour & Yield Optimization Zone
Promotes local experiences (tours, dining) with exclusive Fliggy discounts.



Crispac: CRISP Access Control
Instantly prints keycards and secures personal data with bank-level encryption.



Results for Partner Hotels:



Check-in time cut by 70%, freeing staff for high-value tasks.



Ancillary revenue up 25% via targeted offers.



92% guest satisfaction (vs. industry avg. 78%).



The kiosk merges contactless convenience with revenue-driving intelligence, proving that automation enhances hospitality—without losing the human touch. Hotels using Fliggy’s solution report 30% higher direct booking retention.