by
Terence Ronson, ISHC
June 21, 2012
With HITEC
2012 (The
world's largest Hospitality Technology Show) just around the
corner, the season of Hotel Technology Conferences and Exhibitions has
firmly
arrived, and so becomes the perfect opportunity to update and re-issue
our
ever-popular Do's and
Don'ts of Hotel Technology.
Due to
advances in technology, and general adoption of certain platforms and
practices, the list now includes over 130 reference items.
Not all
may apply to your particular business, and certainly some are
subjective. They
should, however, prove to be a good reminder as to how important this
area is,
and just how much it can negatively impact the customer experience let
alone
your bottom line, when implemented incorrectly.
DO...
- Use digital signage instead of printed posters.
Chalkboards in some instances, are acceptable
- Put some free bottles of drinking water in the mini bar so
that they are nice and cool for the guest to grab
- Check all peepholes on guest room doors to make sure they
are secure, and the right way round
- Mount irons on wall brackets in closets/wardrobes instead
of placing them on the floor or shelves
- Clearly display broadband/Wi-Fi charges, if your hotel has
any
- Make it easy to switch off all lights in the guestroom from
the bed - especially the bathroom lights
- Check that all staff who have Master keys, only have access
to the areas they are required to - and no others
- Make it easy to plug in a hairdryer, shaver, or electric
toothbrush in the bathroom
- Make the lighting in the bathroom bright enough for doing
makeup and to shave - if in doubt, ask a woman to validate it
- Have an illuminated make-up/shaving mirror in the bathroom
- Have (international/universal type) power sockets easily
available for guest-use in public areas, especially Lounges, Dining
areas and Poolside - also have adaptors handy for guests carrying
overseas appliances
- Have an emergency torch/flashlight in the guest room that's
easily accessible in the case of an emergency
- Teach Housekeeping to tidy up Guest cables on a desk - but
not to disturb any equipment
- Exercise caution when dimming corridor lights overnight -
some people have night blindness, or phobias, and prefer higher levels
of light
- Use an electronic Picture frame or Tab on the Front Desk to
display currency exchange rates and maybe some marketing info
- Offer free boarding pass printing in Business centers
- Provide Apple computers in the business center, and not
just Window's PC's
- Check that the Computers in your Business Center or
Internet corner, reset themselves each night and clean off any residual
files that should not be seen by others
- Have an Apple Notebook power adaptor available for a guest
to borrow in case they accidentally forget theirs at home. The same
principle applies to iPhone/iPod/Blackberries/Samsung etc.
- Use wireless mice at the Front Desk - it's so much more
tidy than having unsightly cables everywhere
- Have a smartphone compliant version of your hotel
factsheets [datafile] available for download on your website (e.g. PDF)
- Work with your system providers so that they produce eForms
and not printed reports - especially Registration cards and Folios
- Make sure excess power and data cables are neatly tied, or
cut to the right length. If that is not possible - cover them somehow
- Tie up cables behind the Flat screen TV so that they don't
hang below the TV directly in the line of sight of the viewer - like a
big U
- Have a simple but easy to read digital clock in the bathroom
- Encourage staff to bring laptops or Tablets to meetings and
use them for note taking and not use paper pads
- Have easily accessible (international/universal type) power
sockets in Meeting rooms as more and more people bring tech with them
and need power - an extension cord or power bar is also handy
- If you install a Wi-Fi projector in your meeting room,
chances are the person using it has to firstly download a specific
driver. Make sure someone is on-hand to explain this and guide them
through the process
- Have plenty of (international/universal type) power sockets
by the guestroom desk, or if not possible, place a small power bar in
the desk drawer complete with adaptor
- Have a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray lending library if you have such a
player in the guestroom - make sure though that this does not break any
laws before doing it
- Have your Concierge know where is the Apple Service Center
and also other popular brands like IBM, DELL, Lenovo, Asus, Samsung and
Blackberry
- Have a person or system to monitor social networking sites
(like FaceBook and Trip Advisor) for mentions about your hotel and
respond quickly, and appropriately
- Have competent front line staff on-property who can deal
with Guest TECH queries - make sure they have the requisite social and
interpersonal skills as well - let them also know their limits, and how
to escalate the issue if necessary
- Have easily accessible empty (international/universal type)
power sockets at the LEFT and RIGHT side of the bed - for Guest use
only - USB power sockets are a good addition
- Realize that when you buy technology - you need a support
agreement as well - and this often doubles the Tech cost over 5 years -
do a TCO analysis before signing any purchase or support agreement
- Put a notice on your HSIA sign-up screen that your
government may block access to certain websites and internet services,
as well as track their movements online - if they apply to you. Have
your IT People know how to workaround this if the Guest should ask
- Check your TV channel reception inside a Guest Room from
time to time and make sure it's nice and clear
- Make sure the electronic door lock on the guest room door
engages quickly when the door shuts using the auto door closer
- Check the speed, noise and effectiveness of the aircon fan
coil in the guest room
- Print your IM address on your Business card like a Skype ID
or Whatsapp
- Put an internet browsing station in the Staff Canteen for
Staff to check email during breaks
- Encourage your Guests to also perform a virtual Check-in to
such sites as Facebook and Foursquare when they physically Check-in to
your establishment
- Request your technology vendors to update you twice a year
on their roadmap
- Add CCTV cameras inside your Data Center - one that is
directed to the server racks and the other, facing the entrance door
- Remember that guest's trust their mobile phones to wake
them up more than they do your wake-up call service
- Perform regular complete system backups and store them
off-site in a secure location that is accessible if you need to - in an
emergency
- Consider placing a 'dock extender' cable into the cable
pack that you may be placing in your rooms so that a Guest can connect
an iPad (as it won't fit) to the iPod/iPhone dock you are already
providing
- Have staff who do in-room check-in, offer to help guests
connect their computer to the HSIA/Wi-Fi, check the temperature, as
well as make them an Espresso if you have such a machine in the room
- Allow guest's to tailor make their fruit basket if you plan
to give them one - not everyone likes green apples and pears - same
goes for turndown amenity - not everyone wants, or can eat chocolates
and cookies
- Offer ePostcards from your website
- Have a shelf in the toilet cubicle where guest's can place
their mobile phone/PDA/Tablet and maybe a book
- Work in your own guestroom from time to time and see how
comfortable and practical it is - especially the height of the chair in
relation to the desk
- Use a bio-metric reader or PIN pad for staff
entrance/egress that is linked to the Time and Attendance/Payroll System
- Make sure the light inside the wardrobe does switch off
when the door is closed - a simple ON/OFF switch is a quick fix to this
- Consider [carefully] about moving some of your IT Services
to the Cloud - make sure you fully understand the small print on the SL
(Service Level Agreement) about 'uptime', 'data ownership' and
'migration' from property based systems
- Make sure your room safe is bolted down to a floor or wall
and cannot be easily removed
- Monitor the TV volume in the guest room so that it can go
down very low. Some guests like to leave the TV on all night but at a
very low background volume
- Have a very low level nightlight in the bathroom/toilet
- Deploy the very best cabling and network backbone that you
can
- Allow Guests of Residential Conferences to use the same
LOGIN ID and Password that they use in the Guestroom for access to the
WI-FI in the Meeting Room - and don't make them pay twice
- Encourage Guests to communicate with your Hotel through
popular Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter
- Have an air-conditioning auto cut-off function in the Guest
room if balcony doors are opened
- Consider using Motion/Presence detectors rather than key
cards to control the energy in-room
- Check from time to time in-the-floor power sockets - the
metal type which are supposed to lift up when the clip is flicked -
most often they stick after a while having been covered with floor
polish and dust
- Talk to your HSIA/Wi-Fi provider about 'roaming agreements'
and having a pass-thru function to such membership services as Boingo
and iPass
- Consider having a secure place where Guests can deposit
their valuables and gadgets at the poolside or beach if they want to
take a dip
- Have Wi-Fi at the poolside and Beach
- Expect Guests to require a lot of Bandwidth when they use
the Internet service in your Hotel - they will BLOG, send/receive
emails, stream videos, do voice over internet calling, post updates and
pictures, as well as transfer business files - uplink speeds should be
as good as download
- Realize that a great percentage of your guests are likely
to take photos of their meals and room, and then upload them to the
Internet. Give them something fun and interesting to capture -
preferably with your logo - it's a free marketing opportunity
- Test your magnetic room-key cards to see if they
de-magnetize when placed next to a mobile phone or similar device
- Encourage Guest contact staff to attach VCF files in emails
- Consider having the Valet driver put a cold bottle of water
into the car when he picks it up from the Car Park and brings it back
to the Hotel entrance for the owner
- Consider adding QR codes onto your printed materials and
advertising
- Put your Hotel onto Skype and encourage that as a method of
communication with Guests
- Disinfect the TV remote control with suitable chemicals
- Check the Mobile signal coverage in your Hotel that's its
working properly in all areas - Guests use their devices more and more
and need good signal coverage all over - even inside elevators and
bathrooms
- Check your PMS that you cannot check someone into a room
unless it's Vacant/Clean and quite possibly also carries an 'inspected'
status
- Think carefully about having a MUR (make up room) light as
it shows the room may be empty
- Have an Employee BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy
- Re-examine what means 'a day' in your Hotel if most
international flights land or takeoff during the night. Not everyone
likes being charged an extra day if realistically your day ends/begins
overnight
- Have information where guests can buy a 3G data card, what
it costs, and know how to help install them as well as how to buy
top-up cards
- Conduct regular security checks on your network - making
sure you have sufficient defenses against external and internal threats
- Recycle used laser toner cartridges
- For internal use - print on the reverse side of used
printer paper - but make sure what's on the other side is not sensitive
or confidential
- Think about installing a 3G or 4G mobile hotspot in the
Airport Limo or Shuttle Bus so the Guest can use the service to/from
the airport or around town
- Have your IT team join such organizations as HFTP and HTNG
in order that they can keep up to date with Hotel Technology. You
should sponsor them to them attend various Conferences and Exhibitions
- and have them conduct quarterly internal briefings as to TECH trends,
and explore how the business can leverage off these.
DO
NOT...
- Use Walkie Talkies in public areas without issuing staff
with discreet ear pieces
- Deploy connectivity/AUX panels without having in-room cable
kits available to the Guest
- Put a bedside clock that makes a ticking sound
- Tell Guests you have an IP phone in the Guestroom - it will
be confusing to them
- Charge for local phone calls unless you really have to
- Make it difficult to use a mouse on the Guest Room desk by
using one with a glass surface - put a mouse mat in the drawer and
expect the Guest to take it away as a souvenir
- Automatically do dynamic currency conversion on credit card
transactions - have the customer approve this in advance
- Charge exorbitant rates for printing in the business center
- Issue replacement room keys without first seeing a valid
photo ID
- Allow staff to use thumb drives in work computers unless
they have suitable security clearance
- Allow staff to install cloud storage services like Dropbox
on work computers - it's very dangerous
- Print paper reports - circulate PDF versions only
- Send faxes when you can attach PDFs to emails
- Use worn out ribbons on printers - especially Point of Sale
printers in F&B outlets
- Assume your backup power generator will auto-start if there
is a mains power failure. Test it regularly
- Print folios - ask the guest if you can email them
- Use paper registration cards - use electronic ones and get
digital signature capture
- Underestimate how many people will want Wi-Fi access in
Public areas and Meeting Rooms
- Install both wired and wireless Internet in your Guest
Rooms when doing a new installation. Just having Wi-Fi is acceptable by
most people, and will save you a lot of money
- Just install wireless access points in corridors and expect
the signal to pass through the door - consider installing Access Points
in every room for improved coverage and density
- Assume all guests use an iPod, iPhone or iPad - believe it
or not, there are other successful products in the marketplace
- Put "last updated..." on your website if you don't do it
frequently
- Display the number of visitors to your website - no one
really cares, and the number may be very small
- Put a chair at the desk, which is difficult to pull out or
is uncomfortable to sit in - even if it looks nice. Get one with wheels
- Limit guests on the number of devices they can connect to
the Wi-Fi in the guestroom - often guests carry many more devices,
especially if a couple are staying, and with kids
- Clutter the desk with collaterals and printed materials -
make them digital and multi-lingual - e.g. in Chinese, Russian and
Arabic
- Just believe that by putting loads of technology into your
hotel that the guest experience will be enhanced or that the guest will
appreciate it
- Place a loudspeaker in the bathroom unless it has a volume
control and the sound quality is good
- Just rely on the technology to operate your business - it
will fail and at the worst possible time. Make sure you have a
contingency plan in place for ALL systems and test it periodically
- Change any configuration on a guest's computer unless they
ABSOLUTELY agree and you have a written record of the changes made
- Have multiple phones in the Guest room unless your really
need to - one or two should be enough
- Allow iPods, MP3 players or similar devices in the
workplace to be connected to your computers
- Print anything - only have electronic versions of all your
collaterals
- Make it complicated for guests to use your technology -
they may only stay one night and have no time to learn how to use all
the gadgets
- Overcharge for IDD calls - see if you can connect your PBX
to a VOIN (Voice over Internet) service to reduce the calling costs
- Lend guest's headsets in the gym unless they have been
pre-sterilized
- Allow social networking connections on workplace computers
unless it's for work
- Have water pipes inside your computer room or data center
- Just have a single cooling source for your Data Center -
have a backup
- Have so many TV channels that it's difficult for the guest
to quickly access what they really want to watch and make sure when
it's re-switched on, it goes back to the last channel watched and only
re-sets upon check-out
- Put a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray player in the Guest room unless there
is already a disc inside for the guest to quickly listen to or watch
- Operate a 1-button Call Center unless the staff who take
the call are full trained to handle ALL queries and in various languages
- Put a 4-in-1 copier/scanner/printer/fax machine in the
guestroom with just 2 or 3 sheets of paper inside for the guest to
print on - include at least 20 sheets
- Put a Fax machine into every room - it's a waste of money!
Wheel one in if the Guest really needs it
- Use a cloud printing service to the in-room printer you are
providing - some guests are bound by company confidentiality policies
not to send data outside of their network and so cannot use such
services, even if they are hosted by a reputable company - just add a
USB cable
- Have electronic curtains/drapes unless they can be
opened/closed from the bed as well as via a wall switch - make sure the
guest knows they are electric and don't try to pull them closed or open
- Put a hairdryer in the bathroom that is underpowered - and
don't hide it in a drawer
- Put a reading lamp at the bed which is so powerful and
direct that it can burn your Guest's forehead
- Adjust the temperature in the Guestroom if the guest sets
it at a certain level. Only reset it upon check-out
- Use Flash on your website unless you really have to - not
all popular Smartphones or Tablets can handle Flash
- Only put a keycard reader on one side of the elevator car
if you have floor call buttons on both sides. And from time to time,
check they both work
- Install an LCD TV in such a away that the Guest cannot
access the connectivity ports and by doing so, they can directly
connect their own devices for playback
- Create an app for your Hotel just for the sake of it - and
all it does is make reservations. Let it be informative about your
property and a guide to all the various services and amenities you
provide. Encourage and incentivize Guests to use this an alternate
channel to the OTA - ensuring its Win-Win. It will, after all, be your
Shop window in the palm of someone's hand and directly reflect your
brand values.
If you have any suggestions
to add to the list, feel free to send them to
me.
I very much look forward to
seeing, and catching up with many of you at HITEC
2012!
Safe travels.
© Terence Ronson HFTP, HTNG,
ISHC
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