Technology plays an important role in the overall guest experience, right from room interiors and ‘logical’ mini bars, to entertainment and security measures, finds Sapna Kulshrestha.
Over the last few years, guestroom technology has become a key area of consideration for most hotels, as almost all facilities today have a technology implication.
Guest room interiors are being transformed by innovations such as electronic privacy blinds for glass-walled bathrooms, or electronic black-out window blinds connected to the main switch or glass pane, filled with magnetically oriented particles where, at the touch of a button, the pane alternates between transparent and opaque.
Says Natasha Shirali, marketing manager, Actis Technologies Pvt. Ltd (suppliers for Lutron electronic blinds): “These motorised blinds are being used by many hotels. Moreover, they can be integrated with the light settings in the master panel in the guest room with various ‘Scenes’ settings, such as, by pressing the daylight setting switch, the lights will automatically dim and roller blinds will go up in one action.”
The Hilton Garden Inn even offers a tech-savvy sleep experience through its ‘Garden Sleep System’; says Monisha Dewan, general manager, Hilton Garden Inn Saket, New Delhi: “This is a revolutionary electronically self-adjustable bed that conforms to the user’s body, gently cradling neck, legs, and spine, while providing pressure-free sleep.”
Topping the list would be personalised in- room guest services. Smart tools that allow greater control of a guest’s environment are becoming a rage in the hotel industry. Says Magesh Ramamurthy, IT director, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai: “Our rooms offer single-point hardware for controlling the essential facilities such as music, lighting, drapes, and so on, that are a great convenience for the guest.”
Intelligent thermostats have been around for many years, but their integration with Property Management System (PMS) today has enabled greater efficiency like setting guest-preferred room temperatures at the time of check- in, or for using two different setback levels for an unoccupied and occupied room.
Nikhil Kapur, general manager, Ista Bangalore, says: “Intelligent thermostats in the room helps maintain ambient room temperature even when the guest is not physically present. Room access key cards are also used to control the power supply.”
Additionally, an eco friendly technology is the master control panel such as at Rodas Ecotel Hotel, Mumbai, that incorporates a unique feature known as the ‘green button’.
Says Kundan Attarde, deputy chief engineer, Rodas Hotel: “On pressing the green button, the thermostat of the air-conditioning unit is automatically stepped up by two degrees within two hours, resulting in energy savings which also gets displayed on the guest folio and profile.”
Many high-end hotels are now installing universal remote controllers so that guests can operate a variety of electronics with a single device. One such product is the Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) universal remote control with Shuttle media server that controls a room’s audio, video, lighting, and HVAC, among other things. Best yet, settings can also be remembered for the duration of a guest’s visit.
Says V.K. Tanwar, business development manager, Adrett Homes, Delhi: “Whether it’s creating mood lighting or ensuring that the music includes guests’ favourite songs, or that the volume of the TV is automatically dropped when the phone rings, they all can now be controlled and even personalised.”
Today, guests also demand greater variety of choice in terms of audio/visual entertainment and more flexibility of delivery. Even smaller hotel brands are turning to technology to equip their public spaces and guestrooms with the latest electronics.
Hence, the in- room entertainment medium now presents high-definition broadcasts, video-on-demand (VoD) and Neos iTV to simply connect and play back personal music, video, or photo slideshows via the guestroom TV. Besides, flat panel displays are integrated with other hotel systems for promotional/ informational data display, and access to concierge services or any other hotel facility.
Flat panel displays are being installed by many hotels not only for its startlingly clear images, but also for its design flexibility.
For instance, LG’s Interactive Hotel TV is specially created for the hospitality sector; one of the features includes the volume being controlled and accessed by the hotel’s management, so that the sound doesn’t disturb other guests. Philips has come out with a television that functions as a mirror when it is switched off.
Says Ravish Jhala, IT manager, Trident, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai: “Very soon we will be introducing IPTV in our guestrooms, for which the technical infrastructure is already in place.
IPTV is an interactive TV which provides entertainment options at a guest’s fingertips while also connecting him to the entire hotel property, including restaurant information, billing, or any other service.
Also, our properties like The Oberoi Mumbai, and Trident Gurgaon, will soon launch ‘Media Hub’ – the latest in entertainment technology – in the guestrooms, which is a plug-and-play system for guests to access their multimedia content through personal portable devices like PDAs, mp3, and so on.”
However, Subin Subramaniam, IT manager for The Imperial, New Delhi, begs to differ. He feels that IT infrastructure in India is not stabilised enough to support advanced systems like NFC or IPTV, even though hotel guests are receptive to encountering new technologies in their rooms.
Telephone and internet connection remain the most dynamic area of hospitality technology. VoIP phones are becoming common to integrate other management and guestroom systems.
Similarly, a significant majority of hotels now offer Wi-Fi or high speed internet access in the guestroom, which is becoming a standard amenity in most chains. Anshul Dhingra, senior marketing manager, India & SAARC, Polycom, agrees: “Hotels strive to provide such high-touch service levels to encourage repeat business.”
Furthermore in-room support for portable devices is becoming an essential component for enhancing guest comfort. Electrical fittings that allow multiple cable access for devices such as iPods, or those that enable a laptop to be viewed on the hotel TV screen, are increasingly prevalent in hotels nowadays.
Says Dewan: “We offer complimentary wired and wireless high-speed internet access in the guestrooms, as also DVD players with plug-and-play port. In addition, we offer secure and remote printing to the hotel’s complimentary 24-hour business centre, wherein the guest gets a password to order the print-out from the room to the business centre directly.”
Phones can also include guest focussed visual display as a VOIP unit, or as part of a guestroom multipurpose control unit. Moreover, with the proliferation of mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable DVD players, mp3 players, and Smartphone devices, guests often arrive at the hotel with all the technology they need.
The challenge is finding a way to integrate these devices with existing in-room hotel systems to create a better guest experience. Says Divya Mohan, assistant manager, public relations, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai: “We provide mp3 docking station as a standard amenity, and an added facility of a fax machine for the business traveller, on request.”
Guestroom mini bars too have shown steady technology development, with more efficient cooling systems and self-monitoring of their maintenance status. In addition to allowing real-time posting of charges to the guest folio, central management provides significant labour savings.
Software improvements include expiry date control, drink- mix discount, promotional discounts, and mini bar maintenance tracking. Says Kapur: “Although our mini bars are not wireless networked, we have integrated mini bar billing software.”
Also available are energy efficient mini bars such as those used in the Rodas Ecotel that saves up to 40% energy. Explains Attarde: “It is equipped with ‘fuzzy logic’, which senses the load inside the refrigerator and cools it accordingly.”
A mini bar communications controller such as Bartech’s can control six other devices, including the safe, lights, thermostat, TV, phone and drapes; the minibar is networked to the Bartech server via an Ethernet connection, which allows thermostats, safes and lights to be connected online via the e-fridge.
Additionally, a PMS interface can trigger the mini bar to lock the fridge and shut off other in-room devices when guests check out.
Luxury hotels and resorts look for unmatched security from in-room safes, and VingCard, for instance, offers the InfinityII product that is operated either through a blue backlit digital keypad or the guest’s unique RFID keycard.
“Its unique differentiator is the exclusive internal ‘Anti Tamper’ functionality,” says Vegard Prytz, vice president and regional director, Asia Pacific, VingCard Elsafe.
In-room safes too have now evolved into a technologically advanced product, offering features like pullout drawers and internal power outlet for recharging laptops, phones, cameras, and suchlike. Krishna Deo, director, Vista Hospitality Koncepts, a solution provider for hospitality, says: “We offer a range of safes with chargers on the safe door for laptop recharge, which are becoming popular with most luxury hotels.”
Further, locking alternatives now include swiping the guestroom keycard or fingerprint recognition. Says Ravinder Raina country head – PNS, NEC India: “Our converged network provides features such as laundry box sensors and port level isolated VLAN for guestroom security, for increased operational efficiency and property safety.”
The products now available in room technology take a guest experience to new heights. Near Field Communication (NFC) is the latest technology to come into the Indian market, wherein guests can use their NFC ready cell phones to receive an encrypted room number and key prior to their arrival, thereby eliminating the need to check-in at the front desk.
“This is being introduced for the first time at Taj Vivanta, Bengaluru,” says Arun Kumar, deputy general manager, sales and technical services, Western & Southern India, for Apex India.
“Further, Visionline from VingCard is a wireless locking system where the door locks can be accessed through a centralised location. This system is operational in ITC Gardenia Bangalore, and is being installed at the upcoming Hotel Sofitel in Mumbai,” he adds.
Another product becoming widely used in hotels is the electronic maid service indicator, as it is more convenient and reliable for hotel staff, and enable a higher level of guest service.
Explains Tanwar: “The Smart door chime panel includes indicators such as ‘Do Not Disturb’, ‘Privacy Please’ and ‘Make Up/Service Room’. Other hotel automation solutions provide integration with a service call system that automatically pages for the hotel staff with the guest name and room number, thus ensuring minimal response time.” Many hotels are now incorporating this feature switch in the bedside control panel.
It can further be integrated with PMS to have the DND panel switch on the maid service lamp when the guest checks out.
Hotels are also exploring centralised guest room door locks systems, the most recent being the proximity lock with RFID transmitter that is recognised by the lock by just being near it, without needing to be inserted. At Trident Bandra Kurla, the bedrooms as well as guest elevators are provided with RFID access.
Says Subramaniam: “The soon-to-be-introduced RFID keycards in our hotel would be a single control for guestroom energy saving, door access, and in-room safes.”
Some smart cards can record the state of lock batteries and alert maintenance of the need to change them. There have also been discussions among hoteliers of employing universal keys throughout a hotel chain especially for members of frequent guest programmes.
However, the idea has not yet found wide acceptance.
Says Anil Malhotra, proprietor, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Company (HSMC): “With the upswing in hospitality in the last two years, large hotel chains like ITC, Oberoi Group, or The Park, are keen to adopt cutting-edge products like RFID keycards or media hub for the guestrooms. However, the franchise hotels still look at cutting costs, though the newer technology products are economical in the long run and are a great value-addition for the guests.”
With the introduction of wireless and infra red technologies, there have been major improvements in the centrally managed systems of hotels and their adoption is becoming common.
One of the benefits is the development of an ‘HVAC key’, a specially programmed keycard that can be inserted into any hotel guestroom lock to shut down all the HVAC units in case of emergency.
A major factor in the popularity of centrally managed systems is the development of unified networks such as IP communications, which make it feasible to share a common cable.
Wireless networks too have many advantages especially due to their flexibility, but as per hoteliers, the major drawback continues to be that they are not secure enough. Says Raina: “At present in India, only a few hotels like
IHG/Starwood /Accor have started deploying full IP telephony. Other hotels are looking at IP ready systems on which it is easy for them to migrate later, based on the features and solution requirements.”
While it’s demanding to keep up with the pace of change in consumer technology, the investment in greater system integration will give maximum flexibility, greater efficiency, labour saving, and higher levels of guest satisfaction that can quickly cover the investment.
As Ashish Pandia, communications manager, Siemens Enterprise Communications Pvt Ltd says: “Guest experiences can be greatly enhanced by deploying IP telephony solution and related accessories in the guestroom. Some examples are unified messaging services instead of just voice mails, single button help desk for all services, service tracking and benchmarking, integration of other subsystems like RFID, and guest privilege cards.”
While providing quality facilities that are easy to use and connect with the guests’ portable devices will result in a satisfying guest experience, one challenge that remains is making sure guests are comfortable using the technology and not being forced to wrestle with products that are too complex. Says Ramamurthy: “Personally I would look forward to a single wireless access point that can serve wireless online update for door keys, wireless RFID management, and wireless mini bar trace, in addition to helping the IT department manage controlled infrastructure also bringing a new trend to guest technologies.”
