 Chicago —May 4, 2011 —
Years
ago, self-service was considered lesser service. Today however, the
do-it-yourself model is quickly becoming the preferred method of choice
by
consumers for handling business and personal transactions in many
industries, especially
travel. OpenWays, the hospitality industry's first true front-desk
bypass
mobile key solution, is a prime example of how the self-service model
in
hospitality is capable of providing more, rather than less, service to
guests. By
giving travelers a choice (to either wait in line to check-in at the
front desk
or bypass the front desk altogether and use their mobile phone as a
room key), the
non-invasive, non-restrictive, optional OpenWays platform is turning
heads and
changing minds about how service should be delivered.In a March 2011 bylined article
titled "Solving
the Self-Service Dilemma," Thomas Westergaard, senior vice
president of Nordic Choice Hotels, wrote:
"Self-service technologies ...
create the added benefit of enhancing operational efficiency within the
hotel.
In recent years, new hotel concepts have emerged, demonstrating that
some
hotels can operate without the front desk reception by re-inventing the
way
guests should be welcomed. The fact is that the typical face-to-face
guest/front desk staff interaction needs to be rethought. By having
staff
members within the lobby and without the physical barrier of a front
desk,
hotels are adopting new ways to greet, and add value to their guest
experience."
Business Travelers and Gen Y Guests, Do NOT Enjoy Stopping at the Front Desk Westergaard continued: "Travelers, particularly the up-and-coming Millennial generation, increasingly value self-sufficiency, unique experiences and speed above all else. All businesses are identifying ways to let consumers ‘do it themselves’ if they so choose, and no area of hotel operations is such an obvious candidate for self-service as the check-in and check-out process." Rather than creating more nuisances that require guests to stop at the front desk, findings from a recent Harvard Business Review survey on Self-Service states that oftentimes front desk interaction -- especially among Generation Y guests and business travelers -- is unwanted, and hotels that provide an alternative front-desk bypass solution are heightening service and improving their competitive advantage. OpenWays is one such solution that is streamlining the self check-in process by harnessing the power -- and popularity -- of mobile technology. Compatible with any of the 5.8 billion mobile devices in the world, OpenWays recently announced it was working with Nordic Choice Hotels, where guests use their mobile phone as a room key. Should they prefer to employ a more familiar guestroom access option, guests can obtain an RFID keycard from the hotel's kiosk. Westergaard wrote: "Many travelers still prefer the traditional style of service that hotels provide, including an interactive human dialog upon check-in. But what some hoteliers don’t yet understand is that it doesn’t have to be an either/or issue; the point is that guests want options. Hotels can still make traditional front desk check-in available, while also offering mobile ... check-in options for the increasing number of guests who prefer the convenience of that process. This is the approach Nordic Choice Hotels is taking with its new Comfort Xpress lifestyle hotel." Offering Guests Choices is the ULTIMATE Service Pascal Metivier, Founder and CEO of OpenWays, said more and more hotel companies are looking to give their customers the much desired "freedom of choice" in determining how they wish to interact with the hotel from the moment the reservation is made. The addition of a simple self-service option is paramount to ongoing guest loyalty and satisfaction. "No matter what business you're in, if you ask your customers what kind of service they expect from you, the majority of responses will center on convenience," Metivier said. "They expect easy, 24-hour access to information, amenities and more, in a welcoming environment. Just because a guest arrives at a hotel with cell-phone in hand and the desire to bypass the front desk does not mean that he or she would not like to be greeted with a smile. On the contrary: a self-service option for check-in and room key dispensing on a cell phone opens up a plethora of opportunities for personalized service enhancement. For example, having less traffic and shorter lines at the front desk means that management can re-allocate human resources by creating 'Guest Greeter' positions or offering more concierge staff for the guests."   "When you give guests a choice to check-in 'their way,' it provides a more relaxed environment for everyone involved -- including the front desk attendants who typically feel the brunt of guest frustration," Metivier said. "Because attended check-in is tedious and time consuming, it can cause frustration for both staff and guests. No guest should be made to feel that providing them service is a burden.In today's mobile environment, travelers who don't want to wait in line to tie-up front desk staff un-necessarily should not be required to do so. Allowing guests to use their personal mobile phones as their room key and bypassing the front-desk at check-in empowers front desk attendants to more fully enjoy their tasks and dedicate more quality time to guests coming to the front desks. By removing stress from a job position, it decreases employee turnover while reducing recruiting and training costs; A Win, Win." Making Guests Wait in Line at Front Desk is NOT Service Gustaaf Schrils, Vice President of Global Technology, Americas, for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), had this to say in a recent bylined article titled "Are Smartphones Winning the Hotel Check-In Debate?" "Guests today come from a business and lifestyle that demands things be simple, efficient and ubiquitous with no training needed. The winners in our industry will be those who instead of improving things as they go, proactively and effectively test new technologies to determine if they offer an innovative, useful solution for our guests before they are rolled out to hotels globally. That is the best way to ensure we’re providing a solution that’s effective for our guests, and a solution that’s a good investment for our hoteliers." OpenWays is currently being tested by IHG at two hotels, and more hotels will add the solution in the second half of 2011. "No one enjoys standing in line," Schrills wrote in the March 2011 article. "IHG is always looking for ways to improve the guest check-in experience, whether it’s a kiosk or an app, and we’re determined to find out what it is. For example, we recently piloted a real world application of OpenWays at two hotels. The purpose of the pilot was to test the OpenWays technology and see if it effectively provides our guests with check-in options. Guests choose whether they want to go right to their hotel room upon arrival by using their cell phone to open the door or check-in at the front desk and get a standard room key. . . This pilot and others are part of the ongoing work we do to look at future technologies, and understand what our guests want now and will want in the future. This helps our owners get the most out of their investment in an IHG brand." Metivier said he is thrilled that progressive hoteliers such as Nordic Choice Hotels, IHG and other major global chains are seeing first-hand the direct benefit of OpenWays as a way to deliver more, rather than less, service to guests. He encourages all hoteliers to visit the OpenWays team at HITEC, June 21-23 at the Austin (Texas) Convention Center in Booth No. 1834. To pre-schedule an in-person demonstration of OpenWays at HITEC, call Andrew Sanders at (732) 707-1869 or email [email protected].  About
OpenWays
OpenWays is a global solution provider of mobile-based access-management and security solutions. With offices in Chicago, Las Vegas, Seoul and in Europe, OpenWays provides technology solutions allowing for the secure issuance and delivery of access rights and keys process via any cell phone operating on any network. The OpenWays solution is truly unique as it built on the concept of credential dematerialization. The OpenWays mobile room key solution works on ALL the 5.8 billion cell phones in service in the world today. For more information, please contact Barb Worcester at +1 440 930-5770 or email [email protected]. More information can be found by visiting www.OpenWays.com. |