Authored by renowned Hotel Technology Consultant Ted Horner..

Fourteen IP are delighted to re-publish Ted’s report

“Customers will arrive at your hotel and will want what they want when they want it and the key for hotels is to provide them with the infrastructure and the bandwidth to achieve this”

The iPad  Revolution

This device in my opinion is going to redefine how guests are going to use technology in hotels in the future. Consider these points:

1. It is the fastest selling consumer  electronic device in history with Gartner Group predicting that Apple will sell 100 million units by 2012
2. iPad is the first video centric guest internet device
3. It is designed for viewing video and according to Cisco is 600,000 times more data intensive than traditional text
4. It has a very simple GUI ( Guest User Interface ) and new users both young and old and able to use it almost immediately with little or no training
5. iPad is already placing huge demands on Hotel Wi-Fi systems consuming much more than Wi-Fi data

What does this mean for hoteliers?

1. most hotels Wi-Fi system is overloaded with many guests complaining about poor download experience
2. guests want the same technology experience they have at home or office and if they have a bad experience may not return to hotel
3. with the increasing demand for more bandwidth and the subsequent costs to provide this it is going to be difficult for hotels to agree to offer free Wi-Fi as many guests are demanding
4. IPads open up a world of new opportunities for hotels to deploy in guestrooms to handle the following applications

• Room Service ordering
• Concierge services
•  Simple device to access all in room facilities such as lights, air conditioning, TV, curtains etc.

5. With the above application now available on iPad what does this mean to hotels that are upgrading their guestrooms?
6. As we move to more Wi-Fi is there now a requirement for multiple Cat 6 cabling to each room?
7. Many guests are bringing their own content on the ipad and are happy to watch it on the iPod screen so does that mean less watching of traditional TV or do hotels need to install IPTV at all?

I recently came across this statement which I think sums up the current situation.

“Customers will arrive at your hotel and will want what they want when they want it and the key for hotels is to provide them with the infrastructure and the bandwidth to achieve this”

If this is indeed what guests want then how can hotelier’s monetise the investment they make in new wireless access points, increased bandwidth etc. – The answer i believe is to offer tiered bandwidth where guests are offered a range or fees directly related to the amount of bandwidth they require. In other words the bigger the pipe a guest wants the more they should pay?

In summary the iPad has changed the way customers are using technology on the road and while it creates a great challenge for hotels it is now up to the industry to embrace this device so guests can have the same download experience they have at home.

Cloud Computing

There has been a lot of talk about this subject and I believe 2012 will be when this technology takes off as a number of PMS vendors release their cloud version where hotels will have the ability to access their major software applications on a web browser. Cloud computing offers many benefits to hotels not the least is a more cost effective way to deploy technology without the large up front capital expenditure and the need for a lot of hardware on premise.

Social Media

The reach of Social Media is growing substantially and now hotels are using it more than ever to engage with both new and existing customers. Facebook has created enormous changes in social networks and now with the release of their latest version it is now possible to use Facebook as a booking channel. Recent research from PhocusWright reveals that 66% of travellers are on Facebook but more importantly is that referrals from Facebook are more likely to convert into bookings than are referrals from travel review sites.

Hotels need to harness the power of social media in order to stay ahead of their competitors.

Hosted PABX

For many hotels one of the largest capital expenditure has been the PABX. In the past revenue from guest phone calls justified this large capital outlay but the advent of mobile phones and the cost of making calls from a hotel guest room have left hotels reeling from the costs of providing and maintaining this service .

Hosted PABX provides many benefits not the least is that a new PABX requires minimal upfront costs and a monthly subscription based fee which can be based on the preceding month’s occupancy. There are still some challenges in putting this model together but for the first time it offer an alternative to hotel owners who have a very old PABX which has passed it use by date.

Energy Management (EMS)

With the cost of electricity continuing to raise hotels have to start looking seriously at more sophisticated systems than the traditional magnetic stripe cards in the slot.

Hotels that have invested in sensor based occupancy systems or those where the door lock systems are integrated to the PMS have shown dramatic reductions in energy bills as when a person leaves a room the EMS via an occupancy sensor can detect that no one is in   the room and then automatically lowers the air conditioning to a designated set back position and also turns all the lights off.

ROI on these system has shown  pay back on the investment can be between 2 and 3 years and can be less if hotels can qualify for government rebates on the original investment.

Lighting 

Another major contributor to excessive power bills is he type of lighting that is installed in hotels. With replacement of lights to LED and Halogen hotels can save up to 30% and have lights that have a long life up to 12,000 Hours. While the costs of these lights are more expensive in the first instance their shelf life and the energy savings they generate more than compensate for the initial costs.

Ted Horner