From the installation of flat screen monitors that allow for a more guest-friendly front desk design, to the creation of an audio-visual control center linking all the hotel�s conference facilities, the Hilton New York uses technology to: further personalize the check-in process, provide business and conference guests with improved communications tools, and strengthen the hotel�s ability to provide a secure environment for guests.

Turning a Barrier into a Bridge

Historically, the front desk has been an impressive, often imposing, barrier between guests and staff. It is also, along with the entry and lobby atmosphere, the first and most enduring impression of a hotel that a guest experiences.

By installing a dozen 15-inch flat screen monitors at the front desk of the Hilton�s new lobby, designers were able to reduce the width of the desk by about 6 inches, according to John Luke, Vice President of Front Office Operations for Hilton Hotels. This is the first use of flat-screen technology in the Hilton family, Luke notes.

�We took this opportunity to look at the front desk from the guest�s perspective,� Luke explains. �Narrowing the desk from 47 to 41 inches helped turn into a bridge what has been a physical and psychological barrier between guests and hotel team members.�

Connected Rooms

Meeting rooms on the second and third floors, and guest rooms on the 25th and 28th floors now provide high-speed Internet access. Second- and third-floor meeting rooms have been equipped with MobileStar Network service that provides wireless Internet access. The Internet connection is established by simply inserting a special Ethernet LAN PC card into the laptop computer. The card then transmits digital data to access points within the hotel and starts the wireless connection at speeds 10 to 15 times faster than a typical modem. Guest rooms on the 25th and 28th floors provide high-speed connections through a new Internet access solution from CAIS Internet. The CAIS system offers high speed Internet connection and full telephone access simultaneously, allowing a traveler to teleconference with a guest while on-line.

Meeting the Needs of the 21st Century

A new centralized control room allows conference guests to distribute audio and video signals to meeting rooms throughout the hotel, and electronically link these rooms by broadcasting a presentation to them simultaneously. Eight new meeting rooms on the hotel�s Concourse Level provide state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities. Two rooms already have dedicated audiovisual equipment. The others employ portable equipment and have the infrastructure to add dedicated equipment in the future. 

The dedicated conference rooms offer a ceiling mounted data/video projector. A screen sized to accommodate single 35 mm slide and single data/video images, complete audio systems and a traditional overhead transparency projector is available to each room. Presenters can control lighting and audiovisual equipment from a remote panel.

Getting the Word Out

While message boards are a hospitality industry staple, Hilton New York�s new electronic system uses the technology in a singular, pervasive manner to provide guests with minute-by-minute up-dates on happenings in the hotel. Replacing the old paper display system  -- in which paper �dailies� were posted by hand on sign boards around the hotel  -- has also helped increase the efficiency of Hilton team members.

The new Janus System is comprised of nine multi-line main directories strategically positioned throughout the lobby and main entrance areas of the four floors that house meeting and exhibit facilities, according to Glen Reynolds, Manager of the Hilton New York. Additionally, 43 four-line boards will be placed adjacent to the entrance of each function room. All signs are networked together and operated via a computer program that works in tandem with the hotel�s Delphi sales program.

�This network allows all of the LED display boards to be updated directly from the sales program,� Reynolds says. �So each day, or at any time during the day, the Janus System program automatically reads the event schedule and instantly updates all of the display boards accordingly. This is an enormous labor saver for our staff, and a great asset to our guests. Even last minute changes can be displayed immediately, eliminating much of the confusion with room changes and the like.�

Safe, Secure and State of the Art

Thousands of new devices, all hard-wired to a central electronic �brain,� now allow the hotel to monitor the status of smoke detectors, sprinkler heads, connection pipes and emergency pull switches. The new system employs a command panel on every floor, 90 manual emergency pull switches, 226 smoke detectors in elevator foyers, 454 detectors in corridors and 2,077 in guest rooms. The panels enable the system to continue operating efficiently even if one component fails, according to Paul Frederick, Director of Safety and Security at the Hilton New York. Video displays in a command station allow hotel staff to pinpoint a problem by showing an actual schematic of the hotel, highlighting the trouble spot. �Disasters happen when a device fails and goes undetected,� Frederick says. �This system immediately reports when a device is not working.�

Each of the Hilton�s guest rooms is equipped with the SmartLock system by CISA of Italy. The leading edge technology uses microchips imbedded in SmartKeys to store and recognize information about guests and guest rooms, including a log of anyone who enters a room. Guests may also use their personal Smartcards with the system. The Hilton New York was the first hotel in the country to install a SmartLock system in 1998.

The Hilton New York is New York City�s largest hotel, with more than 2,000 guest rooms and suites, extensive meeting and banquet facilities, four ballrooms, restaurants, lounges and upscale shops. The hotel occupies 92,000 square feet on the Avenue of the Americas, between 53rd and 54th Streets, at Rockefeller Center.