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What technology do your guests look
for when they arrive in their hotel room? What do they need? What
would they like? And what could they do without?
Apart from the actual sleeping part, what
guests do in hotel rooms has changed a lot over the years. Leisure
guests expect to be entertained and business guests expect to be
able to conduct business.
Both these elements are led almost entirely
by the technology that the hotelier chooses to include in the
room.
It’s up to you to choose the right amount
of useful technology in your rooms; what are the essential things,
what are the things that will add perceived value to the stay, and
what are the things that sound great but no one will use?
One statistic to consider is this: in a
survey by Hotel Online, 65% of hotel guests said they would choose
one hotel over another if it offered superior in-room technology.
What do guests want from a hotel
room?
Everything a guest wants from their room has
a technology implication:
Entertainment:
· The very least a guest would expect is a
good-quality television with a wide selection of free channels,
including standard satellite or cable channels such as CNN or Sky
News.
· In addition they probably be looking to
the TV for pay-per-view facilities such as films, games or even
music. It would also be their prime source of information on the
hotel’s facilities or the nearby attractions (a ‘concierge’
function).
· They may also look to the TV as a way of
browsing the Internet.
· Guests may also want a good stereo system
to play their own CDs.
· A minibar is also pretty standard these
days.
Working:
· The vast majority of business travellers
are looking for some sort of Internet access in their room,
plugging their own laptop into a telephone socket or high-speed
connection.
· They’ll also expect a phone with more
than one line, especially if they have to use one to connect to
the Internet.
· Other less obvious requirements will
include good lighting, access to a printer and a fax, and plenty
of space.
Security and comfort:
· Guests need to know their belongings are
safe and secure in their room, so electronic door locks are
standard, as are in-room safes that can be programmed with each
guests own combination.
· Guests also want comfort, so good
lighting, constant comfortable temperature and soundproofing may
be more important than many other requirements.
High-Speed Internet Access – what is it and do guests
want it?
Discussing high-speed access is a good place
to start considering what technology guests want and it’s a
hotly debated topic. Most agree that you need it; the question is,
do you need it now?
Business guests will need to get onto the
Internet while they’re at your hotel. Most of them, though, need
that access to check their e-mails, so it doesn’t really need to
be high speed unless they’re downloading large documents.
Even if you’re just checking e-mails,
high-speed access is noticeably more pleasant to use. From a
technical point of view, it also means the user isn’t blocking
up the phone system.
The day-to-day problem with high speed access
is that most hotels are only seeing a 4-5% take-up by guests. The
main reason is the perceived value of paying a flat rate of, for
example, £10 a night for 20 minutes of e-mailing. Hotels that
offer the service free see about 20% of guests taking it up.
In other words, you need to decide what you
want to get out of it as the hotelier. Do you want to make direct
revenue from it? Or will you give free access and hope that
attracts more guests and, probably, more room service.
The hardware, such as the wiring, associated
with installing high-speed access is very expensive, though,
easily involving five-figure sums.
See the article
on high-speed access for more information on this.
What about accessing the Internet
through the TV?
While business guests have specific work they
need to complete using the Internet, leisure guests have different
requirements. They probably just need to access Web-based e-mail
such as Hotmail, or find out simple information on local
attractions or restaurants, the latest weather forecasts, specific
news, transport timetables etc.
This sort of information is very general and
just needs a quick check so, as most leisure guests either won’t
be carrying laptops or won’t be bothered to go through the
hassle of plugging in and dialling up, access through the TV is
the best option for them.
Its main drawbacks are the speed (often very
slow) and formatting the display so you can actually see a full
Web page on the screen. The problems of whether you charge your
guests for access are the same as with the high speed facility. Do
you want to earn money directly from it, or use it as added value
to attract more guests.
What if a guest wants to print
something out?
At the moment, access to a printer is seen as
a luxury, but that is rapidly changing. However, it’s obviously
a very expensive proposal to put a $325 printer in every room. You
do still need to provide some kind of printing option in the
hotel, often in the business centre. As soon as guests have to use
their laptop to fax a document to themselves just so they can get
a hard copy, they may be thinking twice about coming back to that
hotel.
One option is to have a few rooms with
printers in them and give the guest an option to choose those
rooms if they book far enough in advance.
What kind of phone should I have in
the room?
In business hotels especially, a multi-line
phone should be standard in every room. But, less obviously, make
sure it’s got a long cord on it so it can be moved across the
room. Better still, have more than one phone, or perhaps a
cordless handset.
What pay-per-view services should I
offer?
About 12-15% of hotel guests will watch a
pay-per-view film every night, but that figure is slowly rising as
technology is allowing more choice and versatility.
Films can now be stored digitally, which
means that guests can choose their films to watch when they want,
rather than fitting their viewing around the broadcasting
schedule. It also means that guests can pause, rewind or
fast-forward in the same way as a domestic video.
You can also offer quick half-hour episodes
of top TV shows at any time.
The pay-per-view principle is a highly
lucrative one if the guest chooses to use it. The question is
whether the higher cost of installation will be balanced by a
higher take-up by guests. If you put in all the new equipment and
the number of users doesn’t change, it’s been a wasted
exercise. It’s up to you to assess your own guest profile and
decide on the best course of action.
What kind of minibar do I need?
There’s no easy answer to this question,
unfortunately. The standard fridge that relies on the honesty of
your guests to tell you what they’ve had is risky. If they
don’t tell you and you only find out when you go to restock it,
you’re out of pocket.
There are minibars that automatically detect
items that have been removed and charges them directly to the
guest’s bill. These are obviously much more efficient from the
hotel’s point of view, but guests tend to be wary of being
charged for items they remove and then change their mind and put
back. In other words, the more expensive minibar might be used
less.
The compromise between these two is to have a
door switch that will, at the very least, tell you if the minibar
has been opened. This means you know to ask the guest if they’ve
had anything on check-out. This will also speed up the daily
restocking procedure as, obviously, if you know the minibar
hasn’t been opened there’s no need to check if it needs
restocking.
Any final thoughts?
Gadgets can be pretty fascinating things, and
the temptation to spends loads of money on the top of the range
kit can be hard to resist. You need to decide what is the right
thing for you and your guests. What do they want? Will they
actually use it? Most importantly, remember that the simplest
things are often the most useful. For instance, if a lot business
travellers use your hotel then, you should have a selection of
power leads and chargers for the most common laptops and mobile
phones.
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