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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Next Frontier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technology affects almost every facet of\nthe industry from business acquisition to purchasing\/sourcing, from human\nresources to marketing; scarcely any hotel department has not seen some\ntechnological impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travellers are changing the way they travel\nand for hoteliers such as Franck Loison General Manager at the Sofitel Kuala\nLumpur Damansara, it is clear that social media is rapidly emerging as the next\nbig frontier in the hospitality industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the just-opened EQ in Kuala Lumpur,\nsenior management recognise that the single biggest impactor for the hotel\u2019s\nbusiness is the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hospitality industry surveys indicate that\ncustomers also use social media to share their experiences and gain information\nabout hospitality organisations. Social media has become an imperative tool for\nmarketers to enhance customer experience and subsequently elevate service\nlevels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the recent State of Digital Lifestyles\nreport, American content delivery network, Limelight Networks Inc, reports that\n69% of Malaysians would not be able to stop using their mobile device, even for\none day. According to the report, the situation is similar in other countries\nfrom India to another eight countries surveyed including Singapore, South Korea\nand the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While most hotels attend to their existing\nguests, others are implementing facilities and services to cater to the next\ngeneration of travellers. Already young travellers (millennials) are making\ntheir presence felt and many hotels are gearing up for an even greater presence.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rise of the Young Asian Traveller, a\nreport by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), surveyed 1,000 young\ntravellers aged between 16 to 35 years of age. It notes that 80% of respondents\nhad taken a trip outside their country with 47% having made an overseas trip in\nthe past twelve months and 20% having embarked on two trips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other useful information from the report\nfor hoteliers is that holidays of more than two weeks are rare (lack of time\nand budget), more than 50% of millennials preferred to book all aspects of\ntheir trip independently without the need for an Online Travel Agent (OTA), and\ntravel itineraries were often planned on the go based upon peer group feedback\nand recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report concluded that social media was\na useful and effective tool in informing, inspiring and recommending travel\noptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franck Loison confirms this. \u201cSocial media is rapidly transforming into a platform for customer engagement and for those in hospitality to establish relationships with customers. The trend also reflects a fundamental shift in the role of the customer, which has progressed from being a co-producer, to being a co-owner of a hospitality organisation and its potential success.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Guido Farina, General Manager at RuMa\nHotel and Residences, the biggest recent change for hotels is in consumer\nbehaviour. \u201cIt is easy for consumers to gather information that will factor\ninto their decision-making. They are spoiled for choice and it is up to the\nhotel to ensure it stands out, in terms of design, service and brand\nassociation,\u201d he remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar engagements occur across the region. Bjorn Richardson, the General Manager at 137 Pillars Suites and Residences in Chiang Mai notes, \u201cMost changes that we see on the horizon are guest-led, as the digital space is constantly evolving. Areas like seamless translation between various languages, simultaneous translation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are already here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEmbracing Digital Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hotels need to embrace digital technology to\nimprove operational procedures and lower costs and to effectively market the\nhotel to generate income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Various technological advances are\nincorporated into hotel management. Peter Hourigan, General Manager explains\nthe situation at The Saujana Kuala Lumpur, \u201cWe are constantly upgrading our\nhotel system with interface software like iScala, Opera, Transit, CCS\n(Communications Centre System), Lotus Notes, as well as a Building Management\nSystem (BMS) to monitor equipment such as the chiller and hot water system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adopting technological innovation has\nproved successful for Ri-Yaz Hotels and Resorts. Andreas Rud, Chief Operating\nOfficer reports, \u201cFor the first time in our 11-year history we were able to\nachieve and confirm a fair market share rating for all indexes for Ri-Yaz\nHotels and Resorts. Thus, we have leveraged our IT Solutions with great synergy\nand the agility to compete on a global scale with multinational competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technology is harnessed to improve guest\nservices in most hotels. At the Banyan Tree Samui, Portier smartphones are\nprovided to guests to enable free international telephone calls and 4G\ninternet, as well as access to resort facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remko Kroesen, Banyan Tree Samui\u2019s General\nManager says the most popular feature of these smartphones is the \u2018Villa Host\u2019\nfunction. Each guest is assigned a \u2018Villa Host\u2019 (personal\nbutler-cum-concierge), who will contact them ahead of arrival to take requests\nin preparation for their vacation. The resort has some ten on call at any one\ntime, one for every eight villas. Visitors can call for room service,\nhousekeeping, car hire or for local advice. Smartphones enable connectivity\nthrough wi-fi hotspots no matter where guests travel around the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hotspots work in tandem with the GPS and\nprovide a guest safety net for those who might get lost. In addition, hotel\ninformation is downloaded onto the smartphone in various languages. This\nincludes menus, spa treatments, tours and kids\u2019 club activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, by engaging with Portier solutions,\n137 Pillars Suites and Residences Chiang Mai can provide its suite guests with\nthe same mobile device. It too can be used as a phone, mobile hotspot and\nprovide direct butler access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohammed Nabeel ICT Manager at the Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur maintains, \u201cWe are adapting new technology and have introduced initiatives in both hotels under our management (Banyan Tree and Pavilion). For example, a high-end IPTV system was implemented in both with a facility for guests to stream content from their phone and from televisions to personal handheld devices. This helps guests to simultaneously watch football on television while children can enjoy kid\u2019s channels on their gadgets,\u201d enthuses Nabeel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSpeed is King<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
As in most hotels, guests at 137 Pillars\nSuites and Residences in Chiang Mai demand constant high-speed connectivity.\nFor many guests at this property and others, free and fast internet is crucial\nfor selecting accommodation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The demand for connectivity is steadily\nincreasing, both in terms of devices as well as the internet speed needed. It\nis crucial to be able to supply a stable, high quality internet connection\nseamlessly throughout a hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Khim Tong Theow, the IT Manager at The Saujana, internet speed was recently increased from 50 Mbps to 120 Mbps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHotel Sustainability <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Norzuraini, Director of Finance at The\nSaujana succinctly observes, \u201cRevenue management will be the most important\ntechnology for sustaining a hotel business. This is followed by operational\ntechnology, communications \/ digital technology, CRM as well as managing the\nconfidentiality and privacy of information technology.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohammed Nabeel at the Banyan Tree Kuala\nLumpur agrees. \u201cCRM and revenue management play crucial roles in the\nhospitality industry. CRM helps us to get constant guest feedback to improve\nour product through enhancing guest experiences,\u201d he states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that dynamic revenue management\nwill help hoteliers know where the hotel stands in the market and will allow\nmanagers to evaluate the current trends and capture the business and\nflexibility by means of rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For RuMa Hotel, technology has had a very\npositive impact, especially in terms of being able to reach guests around the\nglobe. Guido Farina maintains, \u201cWe have been receiving enquiries and bookings\nfrom most continents. This would have been impossible 20 years ago. Technology\nhas also enabled us to monitor trends so we can generate a better forecast of\nhotel occupancy and revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, \u201cAt Ri-Yaz Hotels and Resorts,\nwith current technology we are able to compete in a global arena that we were\nnot able to do so without the cooperation of our third party IT solutions\npartners,\u201d maintains Andreas Rud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The situation is similar at The Saujana. \u201cInstead of using outdated outbound marketing campaigns that go largely ignored, we provide valuable information about special promotions and current events to our potential and existing guests. Hence, the power of the internet, apps, online marketing tools and social media are the current technologies that have impacted upon our operations and revenue,\u201d reports Khim Tong Theow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDesign and Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While many sections of a hotel embrace the\ndigital world, others are adopting the latest technology. New hotels especially\nbenefit from incorporating the latest design, equipment and facilities with\ngreen technology an essential innovation for many including the just-opened EQ\nKuala Lumpur with its Green Building Certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, the old Equatorial hotel was\nthe first to introduce electronic room door locksets as well as the first to\nimplement public area wi-fi in Malaysia back in 2000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technology was very much part of the design\nof the 137 Pillars property in Chiang Mai. It has been harnessed in applying\nsmart solutions to achieve an energy-saving and sustainable product. Sensors\nfor air conditioning, LED lights, the latest electronic equipment in the\nguestrooms and suites were installed in addition to a strong IT infrastructure\nto support various service technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSimilarly, at The Saujana, the Engineering\nDepartment installed energy saving equipment when chillers where replaced. This\nwas done using latest technology available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLeo Kuscher, the General Manager at the Royale Chulan Seremban, adds, \u201cWhile our property in Seremban is still working towards introducing cutting edge technology, we have implemented recent changes by upgrading to a new chiller to make the air conditioning more energy-efficient in an effort to offer a better service to our guests, lower our energy bill and, in our own small way, lower the hotel\u2019s carbon footprint.\u201d In line with adopting a greener technology, the hotel has also installed an energy efficient hot water system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOld-Fashioned Service vs Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most hotels pride themselves on\npersonalised service with most luxury properties offering high staff number to\nguest ratios. Bjorn Richardson, General Manager, 137 Pillars in Chiang Mai sums\nup the importance of human interaction and the need for high levels of service\nto the most discerning guests. \u201cThe challenge is to implement the new\ntechnology with old-fashioned face-to-face service, which is personalised and\ntailored to each guest\u2019s individual needs. We strongly believe in the power of\nhuman interaction, so it is vital to not rely solely on technology to deliver a\ntruly unique service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These thoughts are very much echoed by Leo\nKuscher. \u201cHospitality is a people business where fostering relationships is\nimportant as return customers are very valuable for the sustainability of the\nhotel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept at Ri-Yaz Hotels and Resorts is\nthat all technology solutions are an important part of the whole system and it\nis up to the hotel and staff to add value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nGuido Farina adds, \u201cThe RuMa team is\ncontinuously exploring new technology in order for us to meet our promise of\nexcellent Hostmanship. However, there are some areas we like to keep\ntraditional such as a handwritten note from our concierge or personal attention\nfrom our staff. We place the greatest emphasis on the quality of guest\nexperience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Franck Loison claims, \u201cUltimately,\nthe long-term success of a hospitality organisation is defined by its\ncapability to extend and sustain a substantial loyal customer base using social\nmedia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A seasoned Kuala Lumpur hotelier commented\nthat technology to drive business forward already exists. He adds, \u201cBetter\nhumans who have sufficient grasp of the technology available are needed so\nthose tools can be applied as leverage for the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is happening to the hotel industry now\nhas already happened in other industries and many have one common thread: the\ndemocratisation of selling that product\/service by a third party that\npreviously had no connection or history in that industry. The way forward for hotels is to harness\ntechnology while adopting a mindset for providing exemplary service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"