Making a Billion People Smile

We talked to Raj Singh of Go Moment about its AI hotel technology and COVID-19.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Raj Singh: We are well, thanks. There has been a time before COVID, and there will be a time after. We need to get through this period. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Go Moment.

Raj Singh: I am on a mission to make a billion people smile – a mission that is partly supported by Ivy. 

I founded Go Moment, an AI hotel technology company backed by Google. Go Moment created Ivy, the world’s first smartconcierge. 

As CEO, I am involved in scaling the business and deepening Ivy’s capabilities – leveraging my product design expertise and familiarity with fast-evolving technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. During my 6+ years at Go Moment, I have been instrumental in developing co-creating alliances with tech giants like IBM Watson, Amadeus, and Google.

Besides Go Moment, my current involvements include mentorship at UCLA Anderson, advising Quake Venture Capital, and co-creating The Unsexy Startup podcast. 

In all, I have 18+ years of experience as an entrepreneur. 

How does Go Moment innovate? 

Raj Singh: We are in the hotel tech industry – arguably the industry that has been most impacted by the pandemic and the ensuing recession we are rolling into. 

People are living, making decisions differently in today’s pandemic dominated world. For our industry, these numbers tell us the story of how things have changed. For context, these are not our numbers or our survey. They were published in The Future is Contactless for Travel & Dining | The Digital Life Index by Publicis Sapient 

In our market, North America, 49% decided to delay their vacations and trips in the last 3 months. This was a higher percentage compared to decisions to purchase flights or clothes/shoes/accessories. 

Why did they delay purchase? 17% said they delayed because of concerns about cleaning procedures by hotels.

Now, what would they do as the lockdown/restrictions ease? 23% said they’d prioritize the purchase of vacations and trips. 

What would influence their decision while choosing a hotel? 84% of travelers listed health and safety procedures as one of the top three factors influencing their hotel choice. 

What would make them feel safe? 78% of participants selected a contactless interaction as one of their top three factors. 

We moved our smartconcierge solution to be contactless to cater to the guests’ needs and the hotel industry at large. Our smartconcierge, Ivy, makes people safe and delighted through the use of contactless technology. 

The benefits we bring to the table: 

• Maximizing revenue. Hotels that adopt our contactless technology are catering directly to what their guests are asking for in this climate.
• Improving guest experience. We dispel the myth that interactions driven by contactless technology are soulless and leave the warm hospitality experiences that guests want and appreciate.
• Improving operational efficiency. We take away the stress from the front desk operations and free staff time and focus on tasks that can’t be automated.  

We want to go one step further. Given how badly the industry is hurting, we are working to offer these benefits to the industry free of charge. More details on that soon. 

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Raj Singh: As mentioned above, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of a contactless solution like Ivy for hotels and the hospitality industry. We haven’t been affected negatively.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Raj Singh: We didn’t have to make difficult choices because of the pandemic.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and Go Moment in the future?

Raj Singh: We are on track to make a billion people smile. And being part of that mission makes my journey pleasurable. Stress and anxiety don’t roll into the picture when we are pursuing a mission we believe in. 

Your website? 

http://Gomoment.com

http://rajsinghla.com