Boost Your Bandwidth
IHG Chief Information Officer Tom Conophy remembers when hotels had
to provide three Bs – Bed, Bath and Breakfast. Today, there is
another, a fourth B – Bandwidth. Increasing bandwidth is just one
of the solutions IHG’s Global Technology team and the IAHI Technology
Committee are working on so that IHG-branded hotels can maintain the
pace of cutting-edge technology as it evolves.
“It’s a connected world, and technology needs in your hotels
are only increasing,” Conophy said. “We are working on solutions
to handle this demand the best way possible – solutions that will
help you satisfy your guests, improve your profitability and help build
Great Hotels Guests Love.”
In the past several years, guest room technology demands have exploded.
The guest room has now become “the home away from home and the
office away from the office,” and a major venue for the docking
of a number of devices by guests. For example, with digital HDTVs, IHG
hotel brands will have the foundation in place to provide a platform
for a variety of guest desired services for both business and entertainment.
Along with using cell phones, laptops, PDAs, and high-speed Internet
services – both wired and wireless – more US consumers are
watching some form of video on their PCs. In fact, video content delivered
through the Internet has outpaced DVDs as the most popular form of video
on PCs today. And now, we are on the verge of not only high-definition
TVs, but also interactive gaming, videoconferencing, iPhones, streaming
video, rich media and social networking.
“To enable our guests’ access to these things, we first
have to give them a way to connect to all of their devices,” Conophy
said. “Besides the fact that the cables are ugly, the biggest problem
with the off-the-shelf Jackpack types of solutions is that they only
connect over a short distance – only 12 feet. The technology it
supports means you have to place the desk within 12 feet of the TV and,
in most cases, it is more like six feet. This is a real headache for
room design as well as a major expense.
“So we went a different route, and engineered a solution that
will be exclusively for IHG, and only needs one Cat5e wire. This thin
wire can easily be hidden along the baseboard, or under the carpet, and
it is not restricted to 12 feet. It can reach 300 feet in length. And
not only is it longer, it supports technology which our competitors can
only dream about, like true high-definition and Blu-ray quality media
for example.”
The new solution is called “Suite Point HD.” It will
be in production shortly, and available to owners soon. Conophy says
this is the foundation for current and future guests’ needs when
it comes to the in-room experience.
Looking forward, IHG is working on a Kiosk giving hotels and guests
the ability to check in and check out, print boarding passes, recognize
Priority Club Rewards members and process credit card transactions as
well as other features.
IAHI Technology Committee Co-Chairman David Hart says he is looking
forward to seeing leading-edge technology at his properties and all IHG-branded
hotels. “From HDTVs to Suite Point HD to the new Kiosks, it’s
now a matter of how fast can we install this new technology at our hotels.
It will be a terrific enhancement to the overall guest experience and
a competitive advantage for our brands.”
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