TechnologyUpdate from the publishers of
Hotel Business
December/January 2015
Latest digital trends Hotel case studies In-room innovations FoH technology Wi-Fi know-how Website advice Revenue management PMS developments Smart automation EPoS solutions
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contents
Welcome
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echnology touches every aspect of our lives now. Whether it’s business or leisure, there are innovations and gadgets we simply can’t do without. That means hoteliers not only have to keep up to date with the advancements that help them run their business efficiently and profitably, but they also have to bear in mind the technology used by their guests – whether for entertainment or business – and make sure they accommodate its usage within their establishments. In this special issue, we take a look at how hotels and hoteliers are making a positive difference to business, staff and guests through the latest technology, and offer expert advice, such as how to get the most from your website (page 16) or Wi-Fi offering (page 22). I hope you enjoy the issue. Jerome Smail, Editor @hotel_business
Contents 07 CASE STUDY How Accor set up its RM on Demand facility
16 BUILDING ONLINE PRESENCE Advice on running a hotel website
18 TECH TRENDS 08 INROOM TECHNOLOGY Cutting-edge service through smart-house automation
Avoiding bad hires through pre-employment checks
21 CASE STUDY 12 FRONT OF HOUSE Quod Brasserie’s lighting control system creates a scene
Best Western Hotels reaps the benefits of its two-way interface
22 HOTEL WIFI 15 CASE STUDY
Is it time to shake up your package?
How the Zetter Group upgraded its EPoS system with TISSL
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micron communications
Meet Micron; leaders in hotel WiFi, IT and Telephony solutions
As Dorset based Micron Communications prepares to celebrate its 20th birthday, founders Mark Parsons and Jake Scannell explain the keys to their success.
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icron Communications has established itself over 20 years as one of the UK’s leading providers of voice and data technologies to the hospitality market and believes its success has come from understanding their customer’s expectations, engineering solutions which exceed them, meticulous planning and determination to be the best. Micron began its life in the mid 90’s and was born from the vision of directors Mark Parsons and Jake Scannell who wanted their business to be positively different. “There was a lot of money to be made from telecoms in the mid to late 90’s and new companies were popping up all over the place promising to reduce costs and revolutionise life as their customers knew it” explained Jake Scannell, Co-Founder of Micron Communications. “Technology was improving however the levels of knowledge, service and support were sadly lacking and this is where we identified our niche”. Micron began life as sub contracting engineers and spent most of their time on the coal face. Very quickly they identified how horribly wrong other companies were selling telephone systems and knew they could do things better. Micron enjoyed instant success from being thorough, planning meticulously and from setting the bar very high for its staff. It was not long before regional and national operators
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were noticing their work. Micron won contracts with major franchisees of well known brands such as Holiday Inn Express and Ramada. Soon they were travelling throughout the UK to support customers who had learned to rely on Micron for their admin and guest telephones. “We were building a very strong reputation for being incredibly good at what we did” explained Mark Parsons, CoFounder of Micron Communications. “Very soon we were being asked to provide IT networks to hotels as well as telephone systems. At first we were slightly reticent however we were confident that if we applied the same degree of planning and attention to detail that we did with our telephone systems, we knew we would succeed”. In 2014 Micron boasts a portfolio which includes voice, data, high speed internet access solutions and network services (phone lines, data connections and cloud based services). It has moved from its birth place in Somerset to a new high tech office in Sherborne, Dorset. The team has grown substantially and plans are afoot for another sustained period of growth, maintaining its focus on the UK hospitality market. Micron boasts an impressive portfolio of client sites which includes Hilton Hotels (Core Brand, Double Tree and Hampton By Hilton), IHG brands such as Holiday Inn and Indigo, many independent and boutique
hotels including a recently completed large installation in Shepherds Bush for Dorsett Hospitality (a new entrant into the UK market, head quartered in Hong Kong). “We’ve grown and we’re planning to grow again but the core of the company is exactly the same as it always has been; quality of equipment, our service offering, meticulous planning and knowledge” explained Jonny White, Group Development Manager. “We remain incredibly focussed on what we set out to be. Our customers don’t buy brands they buy us and quite simply, we want to be better than any other company at supporting customers”. Contact details: Micron Communications Ltd Coldharbour Business Park Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 4JW Tel: 01935 701990
[email protected] www.microncommunications.co.uk
airwave
Airwave’s top
solutions for 2015 Airwave introduces you to the next stage in hotel in-room technology
Samsung’s LYNK SINC LYNK SINC
Enhance your guest experience with Samsung’s Hospitality Solutions. With LYNK SINC 3.0 you can effectively
manage content from an IPTV, terrestrial satellite and the Web; you can also deliver information about the Hotel facilities, events, services and so on. The solution eliminates the need for a separate set-top box, which helps simplify configuration, reduce energy consumption and removes any unnecessary clutter. Samsung’s LYNK REACH is a flexible, easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution for your hotel hospitality displays. Leveraging an existing coaxial infrastructure to streamline content and TV management using LYNK REACH 3.0 software, hotel managers and IT administrators can update and adjust TVs remotely and deliver a wider range of content over RF signals to realise an array of benefits
LG’S PRO:CENTRIC Immerse your guests in a unique experience with a tailor made in-room system from LG’s range of Pro:CENTRIC applications. The dedicated hotel data broadcasting platform provides intuitive and easy-to-use functions to hotel guests, helping them to fully engage with the content. Acting as a digital concierge, Pro:Centric presents guests with a branded user interface on their LG HD TV and offers simple access to information on hotel amenities, television programming and local, daily weather reports. While providing an enhanced experience for guests from the comfort of their room, the total display solution also offers hoteliers a flexible and cost-effective service for multiple in-room TV management. Hotel staff can quickly and easily update information centrally, keeping content fresh across the establishment and providing valuable, timely communication with guests. Designed to provide a comfortable experience for customers, the efficiently managed solution collects data from the internet, e.g. live weather or EPG data, which is regularly sent to the TVs over your existing RF distribution system, ensuring the most up-to-date information is displayed on all your Pro:Centric TVs.
LYNK REACH
AirMEDIA Upgrade to the AirMEDIA smart solution, and provide guests with the very latest Smart TV features and apps, as well as hotel information and services. AirMEDIA transforms HD Ready Hospitality TVs into affordable modern Smart TVs. It’s a complete standalone solution that includes the AirMEDIA Box, a unique gyroscopic remote control, and access to an online portal, which allows you to gain complete control over look, feel and functionality of the system. Designed specifically for the hospitality sector and individually configured for each hotel, AirMEDIA is a small box which, when connected to the television, immediately transforms the guest experience from a passive to an interactive one. With AirMEDIA guests can use apps just like those on a smartphone or tablet device, but on a much larger screen. This opens up a huge range of applications from popular catch-up TV and video streaming services, such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix and YouTube, to information based applications targeting news, weather or magazines. Surfing the web is a breeze using the feature rich HD Browser that provides access to even more exciting services, and all of this is done from the comfort of the guest’s hotel room. The Hotel Media Share app enables guests to stream movie, photo and music content from their own devices onto the in-room TV, hence creating a more personal and interactive experience.
For friendly professional advice and a competitive quotation, get in touch with our specialist team on 0845 555 1212 or
[email protected]
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case study: accor
Five-star revenue
management anywhere
How Accor set up its best-practice RM on Demand facility with the help of Infor EzRMS
same market segment – for example, the mid-scale Novotel and Mercure brands – can be compared on a like-for-like basis and held to the same standard. This analysis is based around four key criteria: details of the guests’ residence, the purpose of stay, distribution channel and rate-level contribution. The granular detail offered by EzRMS is adapted for each brand: for example, within the budget Ibis brands, around 85% of guests are domestic travellers, whereas for the luxury Sofitel brand, some 50% of guests are international travellers. By cross-referencing this with other criteria, an accurate picture of guest preferences can be developed and the hotel can adapt accordingly to optimise performance. Infor EzRMS enabled Accor to identify the demand for different room products available in a hotel, leading to more accurate demand models and better forecasting. Simultaneously, because this is a standardised process, the reports and forecasts based on this data can be repeated quickly and easily, leading to monthly reviews for each property.
Revenue management innovation
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ith around 3,600 hotels and 460,000 rooms, Accor welcomes business and leisure travellers in 92 countries across all hotel segments: luxury-upscale with Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, and Grand Mercure, midscale with Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio and economy with ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1. The group also boasts a powerful digital ecosystem, notably the booking portal accorhotels.com, its brand websites and its loyalty programme Le Club Accorhotels.
Global revenue management Driven by a programme to improve efficiency across the group, enhance performance and, critically, capitalise on the potential of a pool of centralised revenue managers, Accor set up a facility called RM on Demand, delivering best-practice revenue management to approximately 95% of Accor UK’s owned and managed properties. To enable this service, Accor chose Infor EzRMS as one of the two platforms on which to standardise revenue management. Previously, the revenue was managed on a hotel-by-hotel basis, leading to a lack of consistency across regions and market segments. Jonathon Liu, vice president, pricing and revenue management for UK & Ireland at Accor, explains: “We had
“Infor EzRMS enabled Accor to identify the demand for different room products available in a hotel, leading to more accurate demand models and better forecasting” multiple spreadsheets and that meant no single, consistent method of reporting or forecasting revenue. We realised that with a standardised system we would not only be able to achieve greater efficiencies, but also expand best practices across the group brands, as well as capitalise on the movement of talent within the group as managers move from one property to another.” While the specific deployment varies among hotels, Accor has built the system around the core module of Infor EzRMS, alongside EzQUOTE, EzREGION, EzBUDGET and EzCONTRACT. Deployed via the web, the applications are used across all regions and brands, leading to the development of a global standard for market segmentation. This enables Accor to manage properties consistently, be they in Asia, the Pacific or the UK. Properties in the
Within the RM on Demand facility, Accor employs a mixture of not only traditional revenue managers, with experience across reservations and front office functions, but also finance and analytics specialists. Typically, a senior multihotel manager will oversee the revenue management for four to six properties, across the different brands. Again, this delivers best practice to a wide range of properties, and has proven to be a key tool in developing a competitive advantage over competing brands, especially in the budget sector. A key part of this advantage has been Total Revenue Management. Instead of a narrow focus on room revenues and just filling rooms, EzRMS enables Accor to go a step further by not only forecasting all revenue streams in the hotels but also forecasting arrivals, departures and even in-house guests. This data can then be used to improve operational efficiency and drive a total Total Revenue Management approach.
Demand profiles Elsewhere, the use of corporate customer sales forecasts from Infor EzRMS has led to the development of demand profiles that help to pre-empt high-demand periods and offer key corporates block allocations. This has not only focused the management of corporate contracts between hotels but also supported sales and contract negotiation and built stronger relationships with key corporate clients. Jonathon Liu concludes: “The key benefit that Infor EzRMS has delivered is that regardless of brand or location, from luxury in London to budget in Berlin, we can now drive the performance of our hotels. We can more accurately forecast demand and improve the guest experience to optimise demand opportunities.” www.hotel-magazine.co.uk
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in-room technology
Smart-house building automation system
is key to cutting edge service Five-star properties in the Grange Hotels Group are undergoing a major refurbishment. A smarthouse based automation system in every room not only ensures convenience and comfort to guests, but also contributes towards cost savings and a significant reduction of carbon footprint
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he Grange Hotels Group operates an extensive range of four- and five-star properties in some of the best business locations London has to offer, each of them encapsulating the chain’s hallmark combination of traditional comfort, modern facilities and attention to detail. Nevertheless, maintaining a reputation for service at the cutting edge is a tough call – especially today when guests expect five-star hospitality to provide the best experiences in TV screens and sound systems, while comforts like air conditioning and mood lighting are a must. For its latest round of upgrades, Grange called on M-Solutions and Systems to create a customised solution for inroom automation. M-Solutions’ owner Pammi Mudhar explains: “Our speciality is providing professional leading-edge automation to offices and hotels. The key requirement for Grange Hotels was to evolve the guest experience using technology, while very carefully not
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allowing the technology to overwhelm the experience. It was important for us to connect the multitude of suppliers available, thus keeping the client’s options open. The system had to have comprehensive central control and connectivity for all monitoring and analytic functions. Overlaying the system are management systems that bring the latest efficiencies to the complex hospitality environment.”
On the bus for in-room automation Mudhar’s brief from Grange Hotels Group can be summed up in the phrase: “exceptional guest experience using cutting edge technology”. The core of the solution is a decentralised system based on smart-house technology from Carlo Gavazzi, which can link together control and monitoring of lighting, heating, air conditioning, home entertainment and security. Each guest room or suite is an autonomous building network using the smart-house Dupline system. These systems consist of four basic elements: central unit, input modules, output modules and a two-wire bus cable. The ‘brain’ of each room is an advanced controller based on a robust industrialstrength embedded operating system, which has the capacity for installations with up to 1,000 addressed inputs or outputs allowing a whole host of configurations, such as dimmer, relays and switches. After various studies around guest
behaviour and expectations, M-Solutions designed and produced an app to complement the controller. The app provides comprehensive room control access in a very simple, ergonomic user interface resulting in a perceived value of outstanding hospitality. The app runs on an Android tablet to manage all the in-room system features, such as control of the lighting, air conditioning, heating, TV and sound systems. Guests can order room service, browse for interactive information on London attractions, and even buy theatre tickets from the tablet’s touchscreen. All this adds revenue growth to in-room comfort and guest satisfaction. Smart-house Dupline controllers in every room – over 100 installed so far – are programmed to send hourly updates to the web service, ensuring comprehensive dashboard reporting and efficient management.
Simple to install and maintain The smart-house controller is provided with a very simple and effective configuration
in-room technology tool. Via a simple three-step approach, installers can easily configure the function of smart-house modules to be used in each room. A major advantage of the Dupline technology is that the ID for each item on the bus can be cloned on site. Explains Mudhar: “For example, if a wall switch needs replacing, its Dupline ID can be cloned to a replacement unit without anyone having to intervene remotely. Similar building automation systems have an inherent weakness in that they require a new unique ID to be set for the device. As a result, the system integrator has to intervene for every simple service call, as the level of skill required is far higher than that for a simple switch replacement. These other systems are quite plausible on initial install but immediately run into trouble when basic maintenance is required. Based on this very real everyday requirement, the Carlo Gavazzi system offers us huge flexibility not only in design, configuration and installation but also more importantly for long-term service and maintenance.” So instead of the time-consuming and complex processes associated with other systems, maintenance engineers on site can simply remove and replace the unit, clone its ID and install the new device. From the guests’ point of view, the process becomes seamless and there is no impact on privacy. In contrast with centrally controlled automation, the distributed architecture of solutions based on the smart-house Dupline system means lighting control is not dependent on external servers. Problems are contained because each room operates autonomously when other parts of the system are down – as a result, an issue in one room doesn’t result in multiple rooms being affected. That, says Mudhar, is the bottom line: “If things don’t work, guests could be entitled to substantial discounts, resulting in real revenue loss for the hotel group. Moreover, with social networks like Trip Advisor readily accessible, even the smallest gripe can be very public as well as costly.” Based on the success of in-room automation, the smart-house Duplinebased solution has been extended to public parts of the hotels, such as lobbies and breakfast areas. Here, heating, air conditioning and lighting can be adjusted in various zones, again controlled by M-Solutions’ tablet devices. Just as in individual rooms, automation ensures the convenience and comfort of guests, with bottom-line benefits in comfort and flexibility.
Meeting room collaboration – the next wave of innovation Jan Willem Brands of Barco discusses the needs of the business traveller and the latest developments in meeting room technology The hotel plays an important role in the life of the business traveller – not only offering accommodation, but increasingly other facilities such as collaboration tools and meeting rooms. According to a report called Business Travel Insights: Hotel 360, published by Amadeus and the Guild of Travel Management Companies, over a third of business travellers (37%) indicated that choosing a hotel was their biggest priority. Choosing a hotel that best matches their requirements – reasonable accommodation that is easily accessible via transport links with comprehensive meeting facilities – is key to the success of the trip itself. However, not all meeting rooms are created equal. Again, it is technology that takes centre stage. Meetings are no longer one-sided presentations with one-way communication from the speaker to attendees. Now, collaborative meetings are the way forward, sharing ideas and information and working together using different devices. What this means for the provider and facilitator of these meetings is there needs to be solid technology in place in the meeting room that does, in actual fact, support meeting participants and can ensure that a variety of needs can easily be catered for.
Are you compatible? Among the main concerns in the technological environment are compatibility and connectivity; problems with these are often the cause of meeting inefficiency. For business travellers and hotels alike, it is essential to address these issues. Technical difficulties are often linked to operating systems. What’s needed in a collaborative meeting room environment is a shared screen – plasma or projector – that can be used by all meeting participants who can connect their devices to the technology (usually a PC) that operates the screen. However, these devices, whether they are smartphones, tablets or laptops, often use different operating systems. Typically, these various devices can be connected to the shared screen through cables and connectors, but this is not always effective – for example, cables might not be available, or not they might not be working correctly.
The importance of sharing The sharing of information and ideas goes beyond the humble presentation. Business people are now sharing videos, graphics, graphs and other data that must be presented in the same resolution as on the device being used to display it. This also applies to proper synchronisation of audio and video. Ideally, what is needed is a system that is able to connect a multitude of different devices using various operating systems, such as iOS, Android or Windows, to a shared screen with ease and without the need for cables or adaptors. The technology should be user-friendly and easy to use, requiring little to no technical intervention. This is especially important in the hotel meeting room, where there is little time to set up the space between different meetings. Having a technology platform that doesn’t require set-up or reconfiguration is therefore crucial to meeting timescales. In addition, if a hotel has a number of meeting rooms, giving IT staff the power to perform updates remotely via a web interface for all units would be most beneficial in terms of saving time and effort. As for the technology performing within the actual meeting, it should allow a number of people to share the screen at the same time. This can add to the dynamics of the meetings, especially in situations where groups or business units are presenting figures, strategies or forecasts, or in training scenarios. Wireless collaboration systems not only enhance the meeting environment, but also democratise the meeting room by allowing everybody to share content and participate. For further information, visit www.barco.com/en/ News/Tag/collaboration.aspx.
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tlj
easyHotel goes ‘Connect’ by TLJ TLJ offer flexible technology in a number of forms, including the latest in online and offline card entry systems
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onnect by TLJ has recently been installed at easyHotel, Addiscombe Road, Croydon, the first of various additions over the next few years to the growing brand; usually associated with low-cost carrier. The 8 story hotel has undergone a major fit-out over the summer and opened its doors to the public in November this year. As a mixed use building, it was clear that a traditional offline hotel access control system would not be fit for purpose. Other options were explored, such as an online key card system – this however meant that every door including bedrooms, corridors & stairways would need an online lock or reader and this was extremely costly. Connect by TLJ, was the ideal solution – in principal it utilises traditional offline hotel key card locks on bedrooms and then online readers on major access doors such as corridors (otherwise known as Hotspots) almost like a Hybrid access control system. The access key card acts as a storage device, downloading and uploading information as it used to open doors around the building, here’s an example: A key card is used to open an offline bedroom door lock, the record of ‘who’ opened it and ‘when’ is stored inside the lock but it is also uploaded to the key card itself. This key card is then used to open an online corridor door, as it does so, the records of which offline doors this card has opened are downloaded to the corridor reader. As the corridor reader is online (i.e. this means that it is connected directly to the computer network of the building) the records are also sent to locking software (ALMS – Accommodation Locking Management Software).
Other information which is centralised with the TLJ ‘Connect’ includes: ■ low battery warnings (i.e. offline lock has a low battery uploads to key card when opened key card used at a Hotspotdownloads low battery alert to Hotspot-->Hotspot downloads to ALMS) ■ Update the access rights of a particular key card (i.e. ALMS sends new key card access privileges to Hotspots the key card in question is used at a Hotspot to open the doorHotspot uploads to the key card the new access rights) ■ Cancelling a lost key card (i.e. ALMS sends the cancel command to Hotspots all key cards used to open Hotspots download the cancel commandthe cancel command is downloaded to all the offline locks as the key cards open them, a little like a virus spreading) Look out for our new TLJ ’Connect’ animated video, this goes into more detail and is available to watch on our website, www.tlj-hotellocks.co.uk
Other New products from TLJ
An RFID Locker system, predominantly used in golf resorts or spa hotels. Guests can only lock one locker at a time, and if they forget which one then a helpful touch pad on the wall will tell them which locker number they locked by presenting their key card or even wristband. All lockers can be unlocked by a master card and even programmed to automatically unlock at a certain time of the day, i.e. closing time ready for the next day or to insert robes.
TLJ Combi in-room safe, this uses both digital keypad combination code as well as RFID key cards to lock and unlock the in-room guest safe. Guests have the freedom to choose their preferred method of security, they can lock the safe by a 4-6 digit code or by presenting their room key card.
Go RFID, from TLJ is a new plug on upgrade module which allows hotels to upgrade their Vingcard Classic magnetic swipe locks to RFID in minutes. The original mag-swipe lock and handles are maintained but the mag swipe reader is replaced with an RFID sensor. No more corrupt cards and no more mobile phones scrambling guests’ key cards, without the need to change a full lock! Upgrade with Go RFID from TLJ in minutes.
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TLJ Connect has arrived!
Offline or standalone card systems can be a cost effective way of securing rooms. Although, for large buildings, it can be frustrating having to visit individual locks to manually retrieve records or cancel lost cards. Online card systems on the other hand, can be managed from a central location. However, they come with one glaring caveat. Cost. Every door needs an online lock installed for the system to work. With that in mind, we have developed a rather innovative system, TLJ Connect. Essentially, we marry online and offline card systems, so instead of having to install an online system on every door, we create online hotspots on access doors. Any changes you make centrally, such as cancelling cards or updating access times, are sent to these hotspots. The cards then work as storage devices, downloading and uploading data every time the hotspot is used. As the card is used on individual locks, the information is passed across. Like online card systems, you’ll have access to all of the functionality centrally, at a fraction of the cost. To learn more about how TLJ Connect can work for your business, call our sales team on 01482 830334.
TLJ Security Systems Ltd 68-78 Leads Road, Hull, East Yorkshire HU7 0BY. Tel: 01482 830334 Fax: 01482 825372 Email:
[email protected]
www.tlj-hotellocks.co.uk
front of house
Carlo Gavazzi
creates a scene in Oxford Diners at Oxford’s Quod Brasserie at the Old Bank Hotel can now enjoy their food in style thanks to the installation of a new lighting control system
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vibrant and bustling space, Quod Brasserie forms the hub of the Old Bank Hotel, which is surrounded by the famous colleges of Merton, All Souls, Christ Church and University. The building was a former banking hall before it was transformed by owner Jeremy Mogford into a stylish and contemporary space which houses an amazing collection of young British art. The relaxed atmosphere and pleasant ambiance is one of the many reasons why Quod Brasserie is renowned as a meeting place for locals and visitors alike. But to continue to achieve this, a new lighting control system was required to allow staff to create a number of lighting scenes that could be easily changed throughout the day.
Ambience and efficiency Ben Truesdale, general manager of the Old Bank Hotel & Quod Brasserie says: “Lighting is at the top of the list of our design priorities because it creates the mood and defines the type of restaurant which we are. We want our customers to go away thinking about the food they have eaten and we want our team to concentrate on providing the best level of service to our customers. Simplicity was therefore essential with our new system but energy efficiency was
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“A new lighting control system was required to allow staff to create a number of lighting scenes that could be easily changed throughout the day” also a key concern and it was important to us that the two worked in parallel.” Meeting both of these objectives proved to be a fairly straightforward task through the installation of a Carlo Gavazzi smart building system, which not only provides the brasserie with the ability to pre-define set scenes that can be changed throughout the day but it does so in an energy-efficient manner through the integration of lux sensors and dimmers.
Smart controller A smart building controller forms the central hub of the new system. Specially designed for building automation applications, it is based on the robust Linux platform and contains the core
programme to provide the necessary control of the lighting throughout the brasserie. Programming is achieved using the predefined functions contained within the configurator software, and thanks to the two-wire bus concept there is always the potential to expand the system in the future by adding further components to the existing bus cable. Installer Nathan Bayliss of Simply Advanced says: “The smart building controller is an extremely robust and versatile solution that is perfect for this type of application. For example, it allows the setting of pre-defined functions, which in this case means different lighting scenes that can be used at different times of the day to create the right ambience within the dining area. Once these are created within the central controller, the scenes can be changed by staff at the touch of a button using one of the seven Aurora light switches that have been installed throughout the brasserie.” Creating the right ambience was clearly a major concern, which was addressed through the installation of the smart building system. However, the benefits are not purely aesthetic because energy efficiency also plays a key role in this installation.
Saving energy Bayliss says: “The ability of a lighting control system to eliminate the unnecessary use of lighting is well documented but it can be quite difficult to get it absolutely right in a restaurant, which has to cater for the needs of a wide range of customers at all different times of day. The use of LED lighting can also prove to be problematic because although LEDs are more efficient to run, there can often be compatibility issues, leading to flickering and poor dimming performance. “In order to meet the requirement for energy efficiency we therefore installed a lux sensor, which controls the interior lighting in relation to daylight levels and ensures that lighting is only switched on when it is required. We also installed fifteen SH2 500W dimmer modules that have been specifically designed to function with LED lamps. The additional benefit of these modules is that they were small enough to allow the existing control panel to be reused, which saved on the cost of building a new one.” One of the key elements throughout this installation was creating the right ambience for Quod Brasserie but it was also imperative that this wasn’t created at the expense of energy efficiency. The resultant installation of the smart building system is proof that the two can work together and the exceptional results have led to it being rolled out across the hotel to provide lighting control in all of the bedrooms.
tissl
Personalised Customer Loyalty
& Communications Good feel customers, good for you
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ISSL’s Kevin Coetzee sees hospitality operators often unwilling to invest in specialist loyalty applications and questioning whether traditional pointsbased incentives really deliver bottom-line returns and new business. Campaigns aren’t always properly measured and result in more business generated from the same people. Now there’s a new, dynamic approach to managing customer loyalty and communications that delivers higher and more measurable gains, at the same time increasing customer satisfaction. Targeted offers are given to specific customers or groups to change and reward behaviour. Customers benefit more, with operators observing in real-time what really works for both parties. EPoS solutions provider TISSL has integrated technology from loyalty market leader Ecrebo. Integration is seamless and can be tested without upfront cost or technical implementation. It does not interfere with front-of-house processes
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or the TISSL back-end, it requires no extra hardware nor is there another user interface for staff to get used to. The platform supports coupons at till, stamp cards, customer surveys and digital receipts – all of which are personalised. Activity is tracked and reported in real-time via a secure web interface and results can be fed into CRM applications.
Personalised Engagement at Till/Coupon Generation TISSL EPoS is used to generate and redeem coupons (each of which is unique to prevent fraud.) It captures statistics both around the customer’s first purchase and what they purchased when they redeemed the coupon, so success is easy to assess – and coupon redemption rates of 20% are commonly achieved.
Personalised Stamp Cards on Mobile Phone This modern take on paper stamp cards uses existing transaction receipts and personal mobile devices to drive loyalty.
Because TISSL EPoS records each transaction, it’s easy to append a QR and to drive specific purchase behaviours.
Personalised Customer Surveys As TISSL EPoS captures a lot of information (location, date and time of purchase, server name), operators can get straight to the point and solicit customer feedback via mobile ‘phone on products/service experienced and whether they would recommend them.
Personalised Digital Receipts This is ideal for expensed employees who would rather store receipts electronically than have a fistful of till receipts to submit at month end. The customer’s email address is captured and a digital copy of the receipt sent to them. Messages can be enriched with information and promotions that encourage repeat business. TISSL clients can now get much more out of their promotional campaigns, and customers will benefit too. www.tissl.com
case study: the zetter group
Zetter makes
it better When the Zetter Group needed to upgrade its EPoS system across two hotels and two restaurants, TISSL provided a solution with the necessary flexibility, speed and reliability
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wo characterful hotels, two distinctive restaurants – the Zetter Hotel and the Zetter Townhouse owe their success to a growing demand for individuality, style and personal service. Bistrot Bruno Loubet has the chef-patron’s character stamped all over it, as does his newest venture, Grain Store. All four businesses are powered by a flexible TISSL EPoS solution that allows them to play to their strengths. The antithesis of bland and corporate, the Zetter Hotel and the Zetter Townhouse in London’s Clerkenwell respond to the desire of leisure and business travellers to stay and dine in establishments where they feel truly at home. Now 13 years old, the flagship Zetter Hotel has 59 bedrooms, an 85-cover restaurant, a cocktail bar and two private rooms. The ensemble is decorated in a style that combines homely and cool, thereby appealing to all ages and nationalities. Buoyed by the success of the hotel, the Zetter Townhouse was opened three years ago in an adjacent Georgian building. On a more intimate scale, the Zetter Townhouse has just 13 idiosyncratic bedrooms, two private rooms and an award-winning cocktail bar of international renown.
Bistrot Bruno Loubet is a lofty, lightfilled room within the Zetter Hotel, opened five years ago. This collaboration between the Zetter Group and the starred chef pleases diners with a gutsy southern French menu. Taking his successful blueprint even further, in summer 2013
“It was all about functionality and efficiency. We were intent on getting the right system” Bruno Loubet opened Grain Store in Granary Square, King’s Cross. Here, he offers an eclectic menu inspired by his travels and his love of growing vegetables, served in an ‘inside, outside’ setting. Food and drink manager Edgard Helle has been with the Zetter Group for many years. A firm believer in a good process backbone to support quality service, Helle has overseen the group’s investment in technology and championed its evolution.
The challenge In 2012, the group reviewed its PMS and POS provision in order to streamline hotel and dining operations. An XN Hotels solution was selected for property management and a new point-of-sale system was evaluated for six months. “We were very demanding,” observes Helle, “but the POS could not keep up. Once Grain Store came into the equation, it was even more important to get our EPoS provision right.” The management team was clear about its needs and business drivers. “It was all about functionality and efficiency, not cost,” adds Helle. “We were intent on getting the right system.” Offerings from three EPoS providers were tested against the group’s criteria. “An F&B orientation was critical,” explains Helle. “We also looked for integration and interfaces with our other systems, such as OpenTable and Fourth Hospitality. Finally, given our projected growth, we had to satisfy ourselves with the strength of the reporting we would get.”
The solution Helle comments: “TISSL was definitely the best option. It’s very flexible. We can set our own boundaries and do just what we want with it. By contrast, we found other systems rigid.” Today, all four establishments have a comprehensive EPoS solution from TISSL, which they deploy on fixed-point touchscreen terminals and on tablet PCs in the restaurants and bars to facilitate service. “As the group has evolved, so we’ve become better at deploying technology,” observes Helle. “Our most recent implementation, Grain Store, was our best in terms of rollout and training.” He concedes that the Hotel and Townhouse implementations were complex: “one server, two cellars, two businesses, different revenue centres”. While he describes the business as “still learning” in technology terms, the solution in place today is comprehensive and operationally straightforward. TISSL has provided integration with Fourth’s FnB Shop for stock management, XN Hotels’ PMS for efficient data exchange and OpenTable for restaurant reservations.
Business benefits Comments Helle: “TISSL is certainly much faster than what our staff have been used to. We like the fact we can tailor the system to the way each business runs.” He adds: “Information access is very important to us. We do all our reporting on a departmental basis and we’re working to make sure that our data and our back-ofhouse operations are neat, projecting the business forward for its next ten years.” TISSL is providing the flexibility the business was looking for, at the same time making it more efficient. “I don’t want my team spending five minutes on a task if they can spend one minute on it and four minutes with the guest,” says Helle. The reliability of the hardware that TISSL has supplied comes in for praise: “The performance and look and feel are fine.” Helle was particularly keen to have fingerprint recognition on every terminal: “This makes our POS operations secure and easy to track.” There are compliments too for the service that TISSL technical teams provide to the Zetter Group: “Support is great, really good. They follow up, they chase up.” Helle concludes: “Passion and personality run through our businesses, and reliable systems like TISSL helps us focus on that. At all our establishments, you can do something you can really be proud of.” www.hotel-magazine.co.uk
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websites
Building your
online presence David Lakins, managing director of Key Multimedia, offers some top tips on running a hotel website
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our hotel may be small, but the internet lets you think big. Whatever accommodation type your hotel offers, the internet levels the playing field and lets you compete with bigger hotel chains, reaching customers around the world who can conveniently book with you 24 hours a day. Here are some tips for building a successful online presence.
Measurable goals Once you have an idea of what you need the site to do, it is important to agree on some measurable goals. Too many people think traffic is the goal of a website. But think
“Think about how you can make your customers feel safe and totally secure when they make a booking”
Who do you want to visit your website? Knowing your target audience, their drivers and needs and planning your website around them will ensure it is more effective. Don’t forget there is more than one type of visitor. Profiling your visitors will help segment your site, improve usability and, ultimately, bookings. Put yourself in your customers' shoes. What different groups (or segments) are you trying to attract to your website? If you have two different markets, how do you differentiate them on your website? Having a clear understanding of your target audience will help you build an online experience that really works. Knowing their drivers and in particular the words they use when surfing the web will help you make important decisions – such as keywords to target.
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about it: would you rather have 1,000 people visit your site and do nothing, or have 100 people visit your site and make a booking? What is more important are the goals like new online enquiries, an increase in average customer satisfaction, more sales, increased newsletter subscriptions or completed surveys. These are all measurable goals that actually mean something to your company. Identify exactly the return on investment you want the site to achieve, e.g. number of visits, sales leads, conversion to bookings, etc.
What do you want your visitors to do when they arrive at your site? Try and lead them through the various stages of their decision-making process. At every opportunity show a clear ‘call to action’ in front of your visitors so that it's instantly obvious what they need to do next. The key to a site that works is simplicity and usability. Ensure your users can find what they're looking for quickly and efficiently. A usable website can reap huge benefits for your business.
Conversation rate Using a conversion rate of 2-3% (website visitors to sales – which is about normal for internet sales) will give you an indication of how much traffic you need to generate the sales you require.
Ensure a quick download – most people’s attention span is less than five seconds, so make sure your website downloads quickly. Check your website page speed with Google’s page speed tool: https:// developers.google.com/pagespeed.
Establishing objectives
Website fundamentals
Design and content
Applying some basic business planning techniques before you create your website
There are endless possibilities for your website, but remember it is not just a
Establishing trust Trust plays a major part in the purchase process and customers will communicate private information, like credit card numbers or phone numbers, to your website only if they’re sure your site is legitimate and the information they send you is protected. So make sure your visitors know they can book with confidence and can always contact you. Think about how you can make your customers feel safe and totally secure when they make a booking. Use an SSL for taking payments online and monitor booking abandonments. Show clear contact details during the booking process and offer help.
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will pay dividends in the longer term. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture and see what your website can do for your business and focus on making sure it is effective.
marketing tool; it is a business tool as well. Don’t just use the site to take bookings; demonstrate what makes you special. What differentiates you from the hundreds of other hotel websites? Close to the beach, free WiFi, etc? If you’ve got it, shout about it!
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Download
Don't underestimate the importance of conventions – people are used to websites working in a certain way. Users don’t read web pages – they scan them. So structure content with headlines, highlighting and hyperlinks to emphasise words. Website copy is a natural draw for search engines so give them a hand by using important keywords in your pages – but use them sparingly. Provide easily accessible contact details. Add terms and conditions, privacy policy and clear payment options to quash your visitors’ doubts. Reviews are becoming one of Google’s main search algorithms – so encourage your visitors to leave feedback, then turn it into a marketing opportunity and show it prominently on your site. Contact Key Multimedia Ltd on 01305 542000 or visit www.keymultimedia.co.uk.
aircharge
Aircharge wireless charging – The heartbeat for your mobile devices Discover aircharge, the smart solution for wireless charging wherever you are.
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ncorporating the latest technoologies, aircharge can be intergrated into any environment and is the perfect addition to a variety of dynamic public spaces, including hotels, eateries & conference areas, due to the versatility and convenience it provides when mobile devices need hassle free wireless charging. Responding to rapidly changing trends, technologies and legislation, aircharge provides a clever solution with simple installation & smart design allowing the benefits of emerging technologies to be experienced
sooner rather than later – bridging the gap so that you can enjoy the freedom of wireless charging now and long into the future. The aircharge range includes a wireless surface charger, a recently lauched valet tray & KONCEPT lighting. Aircharge is fully compatible with a number of the latest mobile devices that have wireless technology built in as standard including Nokia, Samsung, LG,Google Nexus and the list is ever increasing. Hassle-free accessories called QI (inuductive power standard) where a magnetic field in the charger trasfers power to a reciever (embedded within your device, charging reciever or charging case) when placed on top, without using any cables. From 2014, mercedes-benz will be introducing QI
wireless charging technology into their vechile range. A Division of Ergo is a member of the Wireless power consortium. Products can be viewed at there Oxfordshire headquarters and London showroom – The Gallery, Clerkenwell.
www.hotel-magazine.co.uk
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tech trends
Avoiding the cost of a bad hire – the digital way How technology has caught up with the hotel industry’s need for fast, inexpensive and secure ‘real-time’ pre-employment checks
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British digital technology business called Onfido.com – set up less than two years ago by a well-financed group of Oxford graduates and already boasting an international client base of more than 140 clients – now offers hotels access to systems that are synchronised with official databases and data sources worldwide, enabling venue managers, HRs and proprietors to carry out automated, realtime, online pre-employment checks. Many businesses in the hospitality sector are SMEs, notes Tony Rogers, fellow of the UK Centre for Events Management at Leeds Beckett University and former CEO of the British Association of Conference Destinations. He explains: “The impact of poor or inappropriate recruitment on such businesses can be huge, potentially threatening their very survival. It’s crucial that we make use of the new digital recruitment checking facilities, improving as well as reducing the costs of such processes.” Onfido.com’s Husayn Kassai says: “This is a decade where compliance and fraud are key issues. More people than ever are taking more than one job or working part-time, often in high-risk sectors such as hospitality where trust is vital. Onfido’s realtime online checks give the best coverage in the industry, plus they’re instantly available 24/7, and with an ID verification costing only £10 – a fraction of the cost of outdated traditional methods.” Kassai believes it is this combination of technology, speed and price that is proving so attractive to employers, “but of course people also log on to Onfido.com when
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“Finding the right person is always a challenge and then before you can engage their services you have to ensure the correct checks have been carried out” employing managerial level staff since we’re much faster and better value than traditional screeners,” he insists. Ghislaine Oliver, MD of hotelinfo-online. net, which provides a diverse range of services to the hotel industry, comments: “Trust is vitally important in the hospitality sector; it’s an industry where workers can quickly come and go, so a supplier which can provide background checking services quickly and affordably is invaluable. “Finding the right person is always a challenge and then before you can engage their services you have to ensure the correct checks have been carried out. We have found Onfido to be the perfect partner; the quality of their checks and speed of response is so much more costeffective and accurate than carrying out these laborious processes in-house and leaves you feeling more confident in your choice of personnel.” In an economy and an industry reliant upon mobility of labour and just-in-time recruitment, digital screening is mitigating risk for businesses from large HR departments through to owner-managed start-up hotels.
Digital evolution Aditya Sanghi, co-founder and CEO of Hotelogix. com, talks us through some of the latest technological developments embraced by hotels Technology is evolving at an alarming pace and it plays an important role in the hospitality industry. While guests rely on technology for personal use, hotels can benefit from technology that streamlines operations, enhances guest experience, and increases revenues and sales. Since new developments are proving beneficial to both guests and hoteliers, this is the right time for hoteliers to assess their technology strategies and take advantage of the impact that the latest advancements can make on business. Many hotels are adopting technology to an extent that smartphones have replaced room keys and guests are enjoying virtual check-ins. This technology allows the guests to bypass the front desk and provides a more convenient experience for customers. Hotels offer in-room technologies for controlling the temperature, lights or air conditioning of the room using a tablet computer. In some of the big hotels where security becomes a crucial factor, hotels offer iPad-based apps allowing guests to see who’s at the door, and guests are also able to view the video feed from the security camera. Hilton offers a concierge app wherein the guests can access all the luxury services available in the hotel on their mobile devices. One of the fastest growing technologies is near-field communication (NFC) technology. NFC technology allows two mobile devices to exchange information and it enables contactless payment, where customers can pay for the goods purchased by tapping the terminal instead entering the PIN. NFC technology is potentially highly beneficial for the SME hospitality segment as it can help interaction with guests (the technology can transmit over 4cm distance), deliver content to their mobile phone and work as an access control system at the back end. Adoption of technology enhances guest experience and increases the RevPAR because the SME hotel industry has limited staff to take care of the guests – so they need technology to fill in the void.
forbes
Keep Your Guest Informed and Entertained Keep things uncomplicated for your guests Picture Perfect in Beautiful HD Within the hotel industry there has been a significant shift away from systems and towards stand alone hotel specific televisions. Hotels are maximising on the additional free HD channels by upgrading to the latest Freevew HD televisions. However, there is still a definite requirement for a means of communicating to guests. In our experience, hoteliers generally look to add an interface to the in-room sets that will convey information to guests whilst effectively reflecting the image and brand of the hotel.
Simpler, Smarter Solution Where televisions are concerned, from the guests’ perspective, it is best to keep things uncomplicated. Aside from the Freeview channel lineup, extra channels such as Sky Sports or international news channels can be piped through the aerial system, as required. Users will expect an audiovisual experience that is comparable to, or even better than, that which they have at home. However, essentially, they do not want to find themseleves lost in complex setups or baffled by numerous remote controls. An additional benefit of hotel televisions is the intrinsic industry specific functionality, with features such as tuning lock and volume control relinquishing staff of unnecessary day to day maintenance issues. Fundamentally, as consumers are becoming accustomed to watching larger screen sizes at home, there has been a steep increment in the in-room television screen sizes. Whilst previously 26”-32” televisions sufficed, there has been a
move towards 40” or larger televisions being accommodated in the rooms. The development of the latest slim bezel LEDs, and the eradication of the need for extra set top boxes have lead to a simpler, smarter solution.
Effective Guest Communication We have found that both branded chains and independent boutique hotels have been drawn by our hotel guest information solutions. All of our options provide an impressive welcome page and a professional means of communication, whilst eliminating the need for costly inroom stationery. We offer Philips’range of hospitality televisions which can provide guests with a Smart information interface without the need for web connectivity. The content is fully customisable and is simply loaded onto the televisions, and accessed using the remote control. These solutions allow for a bespoke welcome page to convey the hotel branding, and portray the desired image. They also enable hotel information to be communicated in an efficient manner, whilst driving revenue towards current in house promotions. There are two versions of this product available. The lighter version can be uploaded via a USB, whilst the full functionality version, which is more interactive and facilitates greater product drive, is uploaded and customised at the aerial head end. Alternatively, our other solution is the Ophelia system. This is a bespoke content portal which is extremely user friendly and entirely customisable. Simply added to existing Freeview hotel televisions,
this system offers a platform for communicating to guests in a professional manner. Configured by a web interface that can be uploaded from a laptop via coaxial cables, this is a fully interactive solution, with no broadband requirements aside from an internet connection to the Ophelia server. As part of the bespoke delivery, clients can choose to add RSS feeds such as news bulletins, flight information and weather updates. It is also possible to upload a soundtrack as a backdrop to the channel.
Increased Connectivity As consumers become increasingly ‘connected’, most guests will carry their own music in to their hotel room on their smart phones, or devices. In response to this, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the demand for high quality Bluetooth speakers for in-room use. These are a great touch, and convey positive messages about the innovative thinking of the hotel. We offer both Bose and Teleadapt products to enable guests to enjoy their own music.
Complete Care As ever, audiovisul technology is constantly evolving, and staying abreast of the latest trends is key to delivering the desired messages to hotel guests. Forbes can provide a complimentary on-site survey, and always employ a consultative approach in order to deliver the bespoke solution that is best suited to each environment. We provide full installation, including bracket fitting, and will work with our clients to design and develop the requisite information pages. With our Complete Care package, premium brands are made accesible, with no costly initial capital outlay or unexpected repair bills. Where technology is involved, it is imperative that the correct level of support is in place. Forbes’ Complete Care package ensures that all clients will have the requisite full service backup, as facilitated by our nationwide infrastructure and team of professional engineers. Contact Forbes Professional on 0845 070 2335 or
[email protected]
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case study: best western hotels increase in the room nights booked at our first beta test properties. The interface installations have been organised efficiently and integrated faultlessly, with great support being offered to our members by the Guestline teams both before and after installation.” Preece added: “2013 YTD statistics have showed us that hotels using the Best Western two-way PMS interface have benefited from an overall average increase in revenue of 26% and an increase in occupancy of 30% compared to non-two way hotels. “Members also tell us that the interface has considerably increased their revenue, room nights and ADR as staff now have more time to manipulate rates and restrictions and improve yield. It has also been reported that the interface has helped create a more streamlined and efficient operation in the reservations and reception areas of hotels, thus improving the overall guest experience.”
Best Western Hotels reaping benefits of two-way interface How Guestline is helping to improve occupancy and revenue as a new PMS is introduced
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uestline recently announced that 30 Best Western hotels have installed its two-way PMS Interface out of the 72 contracted sites. Not only do they now comply with the Best Western International mandate but they are also making significant improvements in occupancy and revenue as a result. The Best Western Plus Centurion Hotel, in Somerset, was one of the first hotels to adopt the new interface. Mark Manley, general manager at the hotel commented: “The implementation of the Guestline two-way PMS interface was seamless and went brilliantly. We are already seeing fantastic improvements – including a £5.72 increase in average room rates and a rise in occupancy of 8%. “Guestline’s PMS has brought the benefit of easy-flex-rates, which enables us to respond quickly to changing market conditions and increase our bedroom revenues. We are realising operational efficiencies too – the front desk staff now save up to three to four hours per day as all rate and reservation changes are updated automatically within the systems.”
Integrated solution Built on cloud technology, Guestline’s PMS was the first native system to go through the Best Western two-way interface certification programme. The interface works seamlessly with Guestline’s integrated distribution solution to deliver two-way connectivity with Best Western CRS, allowing the users to manage their rates, availability and restrictions directly from the PMS.
“The intuitive and easy-to-use twoway PMS interface unites all the systems, enabling one central point to manage all important business aspects, sales and guest data” Since beta testing was successfully completed at three initial properties, deployment has progressed at a rapid rate, with a further 42 installations (including an international site) planned by Guestline over the coming months.
Revenue increase Joanne Preece, two-way interface manager at Best Western Hotels GB, commented: “Best Western GB has noticed significant revenue uplift and an
Central management The intuitive and easy-to-use two-way PMS interface unites all the systems, enabling one central point to manage all important business aspects, sales and guest data. The platform helps streamline operations and increases productivity, delivering real-time automation of essential business processes, increased exposure and reduced costs. The Best Western Wroxton House Hotel in the Cotswolds has also chosen Guestline’s interface, which will be installed early in 2015. Hotel owner Jill Smith said: “Even though we are a small hotel, we had specific requirements for our new property management system and needed a new system that would connect to the Best Western two-way PMS interface to ensure we complied with the mandate. “We decided to go with Guestline as the solutions fitted our remit precisely. The systems are not as complicated as some of the others we’ve looked at and it’s very user-friendly. Our account manager helped demonstrate its benefits and how we will be able to make the most of all its functionality, and was able to recommend the most relevant, cost-effective solutions for our needs.”
Smooth transition Andrew Williams, Guestline development director, commented: “Being centrally hosted, the PCI compliant interface is easy to deploy and manage. Guestline’s installation team are onsite at the hotels during deployment to ensure a smooth integration and they also carry out a comprehensive training programme with the hotel staff to ensure everyone is fully knowledgeable on the new system. “We will be working closely with all of our existing and prospective Best Western customers, both in the UK and internationally, to schedule the installations as soon as possible.” Best Western have 280 hotels across the UK, 190 of which still need to install a new two-way interface by December 2015 in order to comply with the Best Western TwoWay PMS Interface Mandate. www.hotel-magazine.co.uk
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wi-fi
Hotels need to shake up
Wi-Fi packages Antony Byford, head of channel UK & Ireland at ZyXEL Communications, explains how different guest preferences should affect a hotel’s Wi-Fi offering
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arlier this year a survey of hotel guests found that free Wi-Fi was the most important in-room amenity that people look for when choosing their accommodation – ranked even more important than a bathroom or the size of the room. In-room wireless is no longer solely significant to business travellers either; it’s something all people expect from hotels and as we travel with an increasing number of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, lack of connectivity becomes critical. So it’s no wonder that many of us get frustrated when we check in only to find a painfully slow connection or demands for payment for a basic service. The hotel industry has struggled with this for many years now. Why should they provide a free service when it requires a significant investment on their part? As a result, hotels have fallen into the trap of implementing a free internet solution within the main lobby or rooms but then leaving it at that.
Different needs Treating all guests the same when it comes to Wi-Fi just cannot work, because travellers have individual needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to hotel connectivity. Some guests will just want to check Facebook in their rooms, whereas others might need a reliable VPN connection back to their office or a connection that can be relied upon for a VoIP call or an internet video stream. So is there any need for the
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social user to have access to a high-speed connection? And why should the business user struggle with a connection that’s too slow to be practical? As well as segmenting types of customers and addressing different needs, hotels should ensure the Wi-Fi available is not completely taken by any single individual.
“Hotels have fallen into the trap of implementing a free internet solution within the main lobby or rooms but then leaving it at that” Backlash Without addressing the issue, hotels will be forced to overcome the negative viewpoints that stem from untailored wireless access – which more often than not will end up online on influential and high-traffic review websites such as Trip Advisor. Recently, websites such as Hotel Wi-Fi Test have launched, allowing guests to view and choose hotels in accordance to their Wi-Fi ranking. However, there is now an easy and simple solution to avoid potential or further backlash: offering ‘tiered’ Wi-Fi access with wireless bandwidth management that is cleverly tailored to individuals – differentiating guests from 'causal vacationers' to 'serious business visitors’. Each package is carefully chosen dependent on guest Wi-Fi needs and offers a range of download speeds, connection range or free or paid-for packages. This lets business or premium content users pay extra for high-speed connection if required, but doesn’t affect those who just want to check email or social media. For business users in particular, offering a service that matches guests’ needs is effective in ensuring repeat business. The fact is that while many people want free access, if they wish to
stream video or download large files then they are prepared to pay.
Increasing choice For casual vacationers or tourists, downloading large or important files is typically less of an issue. It’s here that we are likely to see a frustration in the cost of access and the speed of the internet. By increasing the choice of download speeds and price points, guests have the chance to carefully select which type of Wi-Fi access they want during their visit. This tiered access can also be expanded to the conference facilities many larger hotels offer, with guests able to access free Wi-Fi as part of their event but at a level that doesn’t penalise other guests in the area. It’s frustrating for conference attendees when they have to pay for Wi-Fi access or when it simply doesn’t work because it’s on a slow network shared by other guests.
Getting up to speed Packages offering download speeds of 11Mbit/s or traditional 802.11g wireless is where we typically see the most guest dissatisfaction – hotels with a speed of this variety should be the first in line to consider how satisfied guests can really be with what’s on offer. For hotel Wi-Fi price points, these can start from nothing and range to £20 across the UK. These can fluctuate and are usually dependent on the type of establishment and its location. However, the element of choice is the vital aspect for hotels to consider. For general WiFi speeds, the minimum on offer should be at least 150Mbps per access point and ideally 300Mbps. Hotels need to understand and consider the effect of guests wanting to connect their own mobile devices to the internet on the Wi-Fi infrastructure. The latest smart phones, tablets and laptops all offer 802.11n or 802.11ac, giving realistic speeds that are ten to 100 times the speed of more traditional ‘g’ wireless. By making a relatively simple and quick overhaul to the packages on offer, hotels can change a guest’s experience to ensure their needs are met during their stay. Hotels need to move now – as the onesize-fits-all approach is no longer good enough and guests will simply start looking elsewhere if they can’t get the wireless access they need. To find out more about ZyXEL Communications and its broadband technology range, visit www.zyxel.com/uk.
