Tag Archives: Hotel Technology

by | July 29, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Hilton Turns Smartphones Into Room Keys”

“…Ensuring that the technology can be used safely may not be that easy. In September 2012, according to a report published two months later by Forbes, an IT services consultant for Dell returned to her Hyatt room in Houston,hotelkeys Texas, to find her laptop stolen. The hotel concluded that the thief had entered the room by exploiting a vulnerability in a digital lock made by Onity. The vulnerability had been disclosed at the Black Hat security conference in July, 2012, and Onity said it shipped a fix to customers the following month…”

Hilton Worldwide plans to allow guests to check-in and choose their rooms using mobile devices, and even to unlock their hotel rooms.

By the end of the year, Hilton says it will offer digital check-in and room selection at 11 of its brands, across more 4,000 properties. The service will be available to Hilton HHonors members in more than 80 countries, the company said.

“We analyzed data and feedback from more than 40 million HHonors members, as well as guest surveys, social media posts, and review sites, and it’s clear that guests want greater choice and control,” said Geraldine Calpin, SVP and global head of digital at Hilton Worldwide, in a statement.

For more: http://ubm.io/1la55xX

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by | July 28, 2014 · 9:40 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Innovator: Marriott Official Says Technology Will Play a Growing Role in Your Hotel Stay”

“…What we clearly know is not every guest wants to walk into a hotel and not talk to anybody. At a premium brand like JW or Marriott, they want both. If I’m on a vacation and I’m at a resort,Cahill_606 I’m probably going to spend a lot of time talking to a person. If I’m on a business trip and I’m checking in at 11 at night and getting up at 5 in the morning, I may want to bypass people. We’re looking at every aspect of our business model and trying to understand how does technology enhance it from a customer standpoint and a business standpoint…”

From check-in to check-out and every service in between, Marriott International is evaluating ways that technology can improve its hotel business. In an industry where customer service is paramount, that means a strategy that blends high tech with high touch, says Paul Cahill , senior vice president of brand management for Marriott Hotels.

Cahill oversees the company’s flagship hotel chain and the one where it pilots new technologies before rolling them out to other properties. To date, those technologies include a broad range of mobile services to ease guests’ stay inside the hotel, as well as experimentation with text messaging, social networking and location-based services.

For more: http://wapo.st/X4mEKs

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by | July 21, 2014 · 9:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Black Hat Preview Shows Hotels, IoT Vulnerable to Hacks”

“…With an increasing number of devices connected to the Internet, the use of insecure or improperly configured devices and protocols becomes a greater riskalertsystem1…Insecurity at hotel locations overall is not a new topic for the Black Hat conference. Back in 2012, security researcher Cody Brocious detailed an open-source system he built that could hack into hotel key-card systems…”

During a session at the upcoming Black Hat security conference that starts Aug. 5 in Las Vegas, independent security consultant Jesus Molina is set to expose the risks of hotel automation systems. In a Black Hat preview webcast July 18, Molina provided a few details on his talk “Learn How to Control Every Room at a Luxury Hotel Remotely: The Dangers of Insecure Home Automation Deployment.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1k8qtsB

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by | July 18, 2014 · 10:00 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “In Marriott’s Newest Flagship, Tech is all Behind the Scenes and in Your Hand”

“…Research is showing that more hotel guests are starting to demand certain techie features.marriott-marquis-exterior Research company SmartBrief found that 45 percent of hotels guests travel with two mobile devices – 40 percent carry three. And with these devices, guests are demanding more charging options, mobile-based automated services like check-in/check-out, digital signage in the lobby, sophisticated meeting rooms, and customer service via social media…”

As technology continues to dictate our everyday lives, we seemingly anticipate our environment to respond in the same manner. There are numerous products designed to make our homes smarter, and even restaurants are using tablets to do away with traditional wait staff. In the travel and hospitality sector, some hotels are adapting to new tech trends by adding things like automated blinds, TVs embedded in bathroom mirrors, sophisticated radios with iPhone docks, iPads in lounges, or even a robotic luggage handler (it’s real, it’s called the Yobot, and it’s at the Yotel in New York City).

For more: http://bit.ly/1mobXr6

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by | July 8, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Perch App Helps Hotels Track Competitors”

“…While Perch is geared toward small businesses in general, Evans says it has proven to be particularly beneficial to hotel owners and managers.perch Users can stay connected with the community by watching local hotels, restaurants, and venues to discover events and activities happening nearby…”

Social media offers hotel owners and managers a wealth of information at their fingertips, but being able to access it all can be a challenge. With so many outlets that allow guests to share pictures and thoughts about a hotel—Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Instagram, just to name a few—it’s virtually impossible for one individual to keep track of everything that’s posted online.

For more: http://bit.ly/VVryt4

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by | July 3, 2014 · 9:50 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Hotel TV Gets Smarter”

“…Travelers, in general, have grown accustomed to hotel rooms with really bad content and as a result they have grown used to bringing their own devicesHotel TV and bringing their own subscriptions…Access my own content’ is something that growing segments of travelers want, and we know it will continue to get both more pervasive and more elegant from a process standpoint…”

The hotel room TV is now starting to look like your mobile device.

A number of hotel TV manufacturers have developed the capability to let travelers stream content from their devices to the hotel TV. Some are even making it possible for the hotel TV to mirror exactly what is on your smartphone screen.

It’s just one way that manufacturers and content providers are trying to keep the hotel TV relevant at a time when people are used to watching anything they want when they want to on their iPads and smartphones

For more: http://usat.ly/1j0ordJ

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by | May 16, 2014 · 8:33 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Hotels Working On Concierge App For Check-in Via Smartphones”

“…Marriott Hotels, for instance,offers mobile check-in for select members who can check in via the mobile app and collect their key card from a designated mobile check-in desk. Image‘This technology will change the guest arrival experience and streamline the entire check-in process,’ said Prasad Iyer, head-cluster e-commerce, Indian subcontinent and Maldives at Marriott Hotels…”

Come 2015, guests arriving at the Aloft and W Hotels will be able to bypass the traditional check-in desk and enter their rooms using their smartphone as the room key.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which owns the two boutique brands, is working on collaboration with locking and security solutions provider Assa Abloy to develop keyless checkin technology that will allow the guests to check in and out of their rooms using their mobile phones.

For more: http://bit.ly/1n4iwRN

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by | May 6, 2014 · 8:54 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Services Update: “Empowering Employees to Improve Guest Services”

“…By providing employees with the right tools, hotels can meet these needs while gaining customer loyalty. ‘By empowering employees with the right productivity and collaborative tools and using technology to collect, Image access and optimise data about individuals, hotels can not only strengthen their business model, but also provide an enhanced guest experience,’ concludes Jones…”

From the moment a guest enquires about a hotel, to the moment they leave the property, staff strive to offer patrons a seamless experience that differentiates their brand and fosters loyalty. In the past, this experience arose from the hotel’s ability to provide efficient and personalised interactions between guests and its staff.

But in today’s world, where mobile and online applications are increasingly replacing traditional face-to-face interactions, is it really possible for hospitality organisations to deliver a compelling personalised service?

For more: http://bit.ly/1uvktvU

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Aside

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Power of Cloud for Hotels”

“…Early adapters like InterContinental Hotels Group have seen a vast improvement in the operational systems and guest services with cloud systems. The cloud being cost effective, flexible, and easy to integrate, Image with increased data security eliminates chances of owning a capital investment that is outdated. Cloud PMS is now the go-to choice for the intelligent hotelier who wants to stay ahead in the competitive hospitality and travel industry…”

Technology and innovation has stopped taking us by surprise. Every year numerous new innovative solutions and technological concepts enter into the market addressing issues, solving problems, easing operations and keeping the industry vibrant and ever changing.

For more: http://bit.ly/St7jRO

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by | May 5, 2014 · 8:37 am
by | April 15, 2014 · 8:34 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Tiered Wi-Fi Emerges as New Industry Model”

“…major hotel companies that have offered free Wi-Fi for several years at limited- and select-service brands have recognized that free basic Wi-Fi is indeed now a consumer expectation. Wifi In response, they have begun developing tiered offerings that satisfy customer demands while also leaving open the possibility of revenue for premium service….” 

After seeing complimentary Wi-Fi service become ubiquitous at limited- and select-service hotels, owner-operators of full-service properties are now facing growing pressures from consumers and brands to provide a tiered program that features free, property-wide basic service while charging for premium broadband access.

 “What we’re seeing now is more brands responding to consumer demand, because there has been a clear indication from consumers that basic connectivity is something they now expect us to provide (at no cost),” said Bill DeForrest, president and CEO of Chicago-based Spire Hospitality, which manages 22 properties including two full-service hotels under the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand.

For more: https://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/13509/Tiered-Wi-Fi-emerges-as-new-industry-model

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