Hotels have adopted Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) facilities to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and enhance service quality and also expect that their profit margin will increase as guests want to interact with a hotel before, during and after their stay.
ICT has changed the way the hotel industry plans, controls and manages operations. The hotel industry is using kiosk and other self service technologies to improve the efficiency of their services.
Wi-Fi is another most common technology impacting the hotel industry. Guests these days want to connect in the same way they connect at home or at the offices.
To ensure security, hotels are also using fingerprints, iris scans, facial scans and hand geometry analysis systems.
Besides this, hotels have websites which offer information about the location, phone number, room availability, room rates and many more. Some hotel websites offer “book reservation” button on the home page, so that guest can check rates, room type and availability and reserve accommodation online.
This apart, hotels use technology to control their environment using a single device. Touch screen device offers guests with the facilities like dimming the lights, control the AC temperature, ordering room service, etc.
Virgin hotel in January released smartphone app, Lucy, which allows guests to adjust the room temperature, streams personal content to their room’s TV and turns their smartphone into a remote. The application also offers a chat board using which guests can communicate with each other.
Meanwhile, The James Hotel released The James Pocket Assistant so that gusts can discover and access amenities and special offers.
With the launch of Apple Watch in April many hotels have launched new application for keyless entry system for their guests. Starwood Hotels and Resorts tapped SPG App for Apple Watch to launch keyless entry system in the UK.
Marriott hotels in the U.S. will support Apple Pay for check-in and check-out facilities. At check-in guests can pay using Apple Pay on their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
To enhance customer experience and connectivity among employees Viceroy Hotel New York selected Voxer, a provider of push-to-talk (PTT) and multimedia messaging.
Last year in June, business application software provider Infor said that more than 340 hotels and resorts across the globe selected EzRMS, which has been recently updated with Infor CloudSuite Hospitality.
Also, Motorola Solutions announced dual radio 802.11ac access point (AP) designed for hotels and resorts to ensure connection continuity and quality for all users and devices in the room.
In June 2013, two Hyatt hotels in Seattle, Washington, deployed Aruba’s wired and wireless LAN infrastructure to deliver Wi-Fi access replacing hotels’ existing networks.
Hyatt hotels observed that the installation of the Aruba network increased wireless performance and allowed the hotels to support the 5 Ghz band that all newer mobile devices require.
In addition to providing better access for guests, the Aruba network allows Hyatt hotel staff, equipped with more than 100 Apple iTouch devices, to communicate with HotSoS, Hyatt’s guest request system.
Last month Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions announced it will provide fiber based High Definition (HD) video and internet services to the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa Bay.
Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions will provide HD video and dedicated internet access (DIA) across 540 guest rooms and suites and 95,000 square feet of conference meeting space for up to 1,000 attendees.
Also, Westin Hotel Lake Mary deployed Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions for video and communication services to provide high definition (HD) videos, dedicated internet access (DIA), managed Wi-Fi and Trunking services to the guests at Westin Lake Mary.
This apart, Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions has also signed an agreement in 2014 with Rosen Hotels and Resorts which will provide Metro Ethernet connectivity between its three convention hotels and its four leisure hotels as well as Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) and High Definition (HD) video services.
Hotels and resorts are continuously leveraging ICT to provide guests with up-to-date services so that they can have hassle free and homely experience at hotels.
Shilpa Khatri