| Nashville, TN - April 08, 2008 - Nashville-based Uniguest announced
today that over 2,000 hotel properties trust Uniguest to software-protect
and provide ongoing maintenance for their business centers, LobbyPC�s,
and boarding pass printing stations.
�The hotel industry is truly beginning to realize the security concerns with regards to public computer workstations,� says Uniguest Founder and Chief Executive Officer Shawn Thomas. �More and more hotel chains are implementing standards that protect their franchisees, management companies, ownership groups, and brands from user data exploitation on public computers. I believe the reason is twofold: One, hoteliers themselves are acknowledging that in many cases, public computer security is not something they can do themselves and need brand assistance. Two, hotel brands are able to structure volume discounts for their franchisees through various vendors and this provides for attractive pricing and branding for consistency. This creates a win-win for all. We are proud to be the company they are turning to.� Since 2002, Uniguest has been one of the innovators for public computers in the hotel industry. Starting out by marketing systems as self-serve �Concierge Stations�, hotels quickly noticed more and more guests requesting the workstation as an amenity that provided full �Business Center� functionality. This includes features like office applications, internet browsing, and printing. Internet browsing is by far the number one thing users do while using a public computer. They check email, check in to airline flights, print boarding passes, find local information and these days, they even remote into their work computer to perform work tasks. �In 2002, I had the hardest time convincing hotels that a guest would even use a computer in the lobby or business center room,� smiles Shawn. �These days, hotels are placing as many as four PC�s in a limited service hotel. We have 2,000 or so customers and manage over 2,750 computers. Some hotels even have business center PC�s and add a stand-alone boarding pass printing station so users who just want to print a boarding pass can do so without waiting too long. Even though the �software security� side of supporting public computers has changed, users have unfortunately not paid attention to that. They assume the hotel property is protecting them. Regrettably, many hotel operators are not aware of the liabilities involved with providing a public PC and it has lead to computer fraud in some cases.� �Imagine this: A criminal walks into your hotel, installs a device that captures every keystroke on your public PC, and then comes back a week later to retrieve it. Can you fathom the type of information they will retrieve from hotel guests? That is scary! Recently, a Columbian man plead guilty to a 16-count indictment involving an identity theft scheme from hotel business center computers and Internet lounges.� �As brands reach out to vendors, what they find is there are many types of service providers for public computers just as there are many types of hotel brands,� says Matt Batts, Uniguest�s Call Center Supervisor. �As hoteliers carry different room night pricing strategies depending on the type of property, Uniguest has the reputation of an expensive, luxury, boutique property with an ADR for the budget traveler. With Uniguest, you don�t sacrifice service just because we don�t charge a premium price. Through volume, we can provide attractive pricing with full service and that is why we have grown to be the largest support company today.�
About Uniguest Uniguest designs, develops, software-protects, and supports Automated Public PC Workstations and is the largest service provider to the hotel industry. |
