It appears that tablet use in hospitality, hotels and other such businesses is going to soar over the next years, according to a new research. The study comes from IDC and the main factors for adoption are the need for improved efficiency and customer service.

this-is-the-checkin-desk-at-citizenm-hotel-in-bankside-london

Over half of the respondents were already using some tablets, said the same Rethinking Retail: The Tablet Revolution analysis. Sponsored by Panasonic, the forecast shows that adoption will reach 10% by the end of this year and it will increase to 15% of all computing devices by 2018. That applies to retail and wholesale, while in hospitality the figures are 12% now and will reach 16% in 2018.

The research was done in France, Germany and UK, finding that 72% of retailers and 77% of hospitality companies will deploy slates to make work easier. 51% of retailers expect improved customer facing engagement and 41% said that tablets will fulfil their business needs. Battery life was a big criteria here (over 70% of the respondents quoted it). The only bad thing is that the concierge may end up playing too much Angry Birds and missing some customers.