Published on : Saturday, November 10, 2018
This was part of ongoing efforts to encourage technology adoption and innovation by hotels, as well as to improve job processes across the industry. The aim is to boost productivity – which has grown about 5% annually since 2015 – and create higher value-added jobs for the hotel industry.
The Smart Hotel Technology Guide outlines the vision of a smart hotel and identifies the relevant technologies for hotels to realise this vision with a focus first on front-of-house operations.
The vision of a smart hotel was defined as follows:
Imagine a hotel where guests could check-in independently and access their room through a smart device, and a robot could deliver luggage to the room.
A video analytics system supporting facial recognition could zero in on a guest leaving the hotel with a suitcase and send an electronic bill to the guest to complete the check-out process.
Food and drinks consumed from the minibar could be automatically computed in the bill, eliminating the need for a manual stock take.
The guide details these scenarios and more, highlighting the fact that fuss-free check-in and check-out processes are no longer a pipe dream for hotels, with many of the required technology solutions already available in the market. The case studies of hotels such as Andaz Singapore and Grand Park City Hall that have successfully implemented such innovative solutions are also featured in the guide.
The HIC also launched the Hotel Technology Directory guide yesterday, in a push to facilitate link-ups between hotels and technology vendors. To date, more than 70 local and foreign vendors with solutions ranging from facial recognition to Internet of Things can be found on the directory, providing hotels with a one-stop portal for technological solutions and to start their transformation journey.
The guide and directory were developed based on feedback from focus group discussions and interviews with industry stakeholders from over 40 international hotels, local chains and boutique hotels, conducted in the past year.