Touching is Believing

An Aria bedroom and its assortment of tech touches.

The days are numbered for one of the most quintessential guest room experiences: lying down on the bed and flipping through television channels with the remote.

The new generation of guest room entertainment technology features functionality that stretches to the hotel’s front desk and even onto the Internet.

“We’ve been working on really expanding the management layer of our solution,” says Antonio DiMilia, vice president of global hospitality for Control4.

Control4 touch-screen panels can be integrated not only with a guestroom’s entertainment system and television, but also lighting, blinds and doorway systems to allow a guest the maximum flexibility and ease in operating their guestroom.

An added benefit of installing a Control4 system is that it allows hoteliers to monitor guestroom energy use and network hotels together for a more comprehensive overview of guestroom activity. “We want to provide hoteliers greater flexibility in terms of monitoring certain properties or even multiple properties,” says Dimilia. “We also have the ability to customize the guest experience and particularly have the flexibility to add new components or to build on top of their platforms over time.”

Control4 has been installed in properties as diverse as the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and Jumby Bay, a resort in Antigua.

“What we want to do with Control4 is redefine the guest experience,” says Brian Ross, director of executive sales for hospitality with Control4. “What technology allows us to do is really elevate how the guest interacts with his room while maintaining the hotel with an energy management solution.”

“Everything works together and works more efficiently by integrating the front desk and concierge service,” says Ross. “If we’re able to pull all these things together, the guest will have a much better experience and promote a green hotel environment. At the Aria there is a goodnight button that turns off the TV, closes drapes and turns off lights. One button turns their room off, and on the hotel side it is great because hoteliers have all these moving parts, but doesn’t have to increase front desk training.”

Since the system is wireless, designers do not need to compensate for any wires or complex installation. “We use zigbee, which is wireless so its easy to install,” says DiMilia. “It allows you to start with a basic system which provides very tangible ROI and expands over time, like lighting control or energy management.”

Other technology producers are going with a more platform-neutral approach to touch-screen guestroom technology. From an Incentient console, a guest can access not only the Internet and a hotel’s entertainment system, but also reach the concierge or other hotel services with a tap of the finger.

Incentient's SmartCellar

“We install touch screen technology in hotels with a couple platforms: the iPad or a larger 19 inch screen,” says Patrick Martucci, chairman and CEO of Incentient. “We put a server on site and from that server we control 100 percent of guest interactivity in-room and provide interactive high-end wine lists.”

Martucci believes that simple networked technology can enhance guest satisfaction while enhancing the uniqueness of a hotel’s design.
“Every one of our installations is custom designed, so if you experienced it at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, it would be not recognizable at Wigwam in Phoenix,” says Martucci.

“It uses the same software, but the interface and look and feel is completely customizable. The LodgeNet application or pay-per-view application looks the same in every hotel.”
In 2011 LodgeNet plans to announce, and is already testing, a new suite of robust next-generation guestroom controls, according to Derek White, president of interactive & media networks at Lodgenet.

Incentient also provides a cost-advantage to hotels that have a limited technology budget. “The real differentiator between Incentient and others is that we provide all capital investment for the tech, so hoteliers do not pay upfront fees,” says Martucci. “Hotels pay fees to us monthly based on occupancy. This allows the hotel to align their expenses where their revenue is and, most importantly, we know we can’t provide any of that revenue enhancement is when a room is empty.”

Lighting control panel at Aria.

Other hoteliers are utilizing the iPad alone to allow guests to access information more easily. Shane Krige, general manager of The Plaza in New York City, thinks his hotel’s new iPad based hospitality application will please guests without detracting from his hotel’s personalized service.

“It helps keep things efficient,” says Krige, whose app designed by Intelity offers unique room climate controls and integrated directions to New York City destinations. “This is not to replace any human elements, however. The iPad is the most sophisticated, user-friendly input device there is.”

As devices become more powerful and less complicated, designers and architects will have more flexibility when it comes to design.