Although I technically live in Hong Kong, which is adjacent to what's now often referred to as the Gaming Capital of The World - Macau, I still need a compelling reason to hop on a ferry and take the one-hour ride over. That opportunity came up recently when HTNG's Asia-Pacific Member's Meeting was held at The Four Seasons Hotel.

The 3-day event featured great content, excellent speakers and complemented by a number of exhibits of various technology offerings. With more than 100 people in attendance, there were also ample networking opportunities with Hotel CIO's, Vendors and Consultants.

Sessions were well-crafted and covered useful and relevant topics to include: Mobility, The Cloud and Collaboration, Social Media, Security, Bandwidth, Customer Experience Management (CEM), Energy Conservation and Sustainability. Of course what would an HTNG event be without updates on the real and beneficial activities of HTNG itself? With all of this exchange of ideas going on, it was impossible not to have come away without some nuggets of information. It was also good to interact in person with colleagues from the industry - to renew old acquaintances, and make several new ones.

I too have to extend a special personal note of gratitude to the CIO's who participated in the lively and interactive panel I moderated:

  • Fanny Cheng - Director of IT, MGM Macau
  • Tom Dillon, VP of IT-Asia, MGM Macau
  • Perry Lai, Vice President - IT, Langham Hotels International Ltd.
  • Anand Rao, CIO, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
  • Bong Valdez, VP of IT-Asia, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Commercial support for these kinds of events is crucial, and my personal thanks also go out to all the vendors who took part. Other than offering business opportunities, the various presentations provided interesting perspectives on how technology will integrate into our lives in the coming future. I also want to thank the CIO's and Consultants who also participated - for openly sharing their experiences and knowledge of the industry. Last but not least, we have to credit the well-organized logistics surrounding the event, and especially the thoughtfulness of providing power sockets at various tables in the Meeting Room for those of us [myself included] who needed to be juiced-up.

But the HTNG Conference itself was not the only enjoyable part of my visit to Macau; there was also the experience of staying at the Four Seasons Hotel - the host venue of the event.

Like many of the Hotels in Macau, this one clearly falls into the category of new-builds, which have sprung up due to the de-monopolization of Gaming licenses, and the associated land-grab by Hotel groups for a presence in this once Portuguese ruled enclave.

Having less than 300 rooms, one could almost classify the Four Seasons (in Macau terms) as a Boutique Hotel since it's nestled amongst several giants and is firmly embedded into the Cotai Strip for which one could almost imagine one were in Las Vegas or in the middle of a film studio set that has been designed as a Theme Park.

As I do with many of my virgin trips (going to places I've never been before), I eagerly anticipate what awaits me as I cross the geo-fence, which we now so fondly refer to in tech terms. I did, however, break with tradition this time, and transparently channeled my Hotel booking via the HTNG Housing Bureau. And just prior to my trip, I also put a couple of messages onto Twitter (@terence_ronson) and Facebook (Terence Ronson) about my plan to BYOB (Bring Your Own Banana) as some of you may know is my fruit of choice, and as a precaution in case the Hotel did not provide this in their fruit basket.

Fortunately, the ferry ride across was uneventful, and we had a smooth sailing across the South China waters. Happily, that experience did not end on the Ferry but carried on during my 2-night stay at The Four Seasons.

As with anything, one needs to highlight some of the real highs, as well as the lows, and this trip yielded a few of each.

I decided to take the Hotel's shuttle bus and when the doors opened, I was greeted by one of the Hotel's front line staff by name. I was impressed! How did he know who I was? Moments later an entourage, followed behind who then speedily and efficiently escorted me to my waiting accommodations. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. They, of course knew I was coming, and diligently did their homework as part of their CEM program.

Upon entering the room (I was incidentally upgraded to a Suite - around 80m2 in size), there waiting for me on the circular table in the living area of the room, was a bowl of mixed fruits surrounded by several bananas, and a wine-cooler full of iced Perrier and Fiji water. Not only was that awaiting my arrival, but there was also a second fruit bowl on the coffee table between the two sofas and in front of the Credenza holding the 42" TV, another bunch of bananas awaiting to be savored.

Henrique, the Guest Relations Manager eagerly pointed out the Nespresso machine and the well-equipped desk with a drawer filled with a cornucopia of office supplies. There too was an iPad charger neatly placed on top of the desk, a CD collection located by the TV and instructions on how to listen to the music. He, of course, took me around my spacious surroundings and well-kitted out bathroom along with various facilities dotted around the room.

Wishing me a pleasant stay, and the offer of any assistance during my visit, he departed and I was left to explore the room. I have to admit the room's set-up provided a pleasant backdrop for catching up on some work before preparing for the evening's Welcome Reception.

As in all my trips - the first task at hand was to get online. And since I needed to simultaneously connect a variety of devices to the Internet, I brought my own AirPort Express and created a pseudo WLAN within the room with just one logon to the HSIA service. This proved to be painless, except for the fact that having plugged my AP into the power socket at the desk, I was only left with just one free power socket, for my notebook. Honestly speaking, I would have liked a couple of extra ones for Camera battery charger, iPad charger etc. Not really a big issue, since the room contained quite a few free power sockets, although not within arms reach of the desk. Incidentally, there were none by the bed.

Adjacent to the Desk was a 4-in-one (printer/fax/scanner/copier) setup as a personal fax, and the access number had been printed on a Hotel letterhead placed on top of the desk. I chuckled when I saw the full and unopened packet of A4 paper behind it, and thought 'someone' must have read one of my earlier BLOGs. I had pointed out then how nice it would be to have more than a few sheets of paper in the printer' paper tray. Well done for that - but I would have been even more grateful if there was a USB cable available so I could have used this as a printer, and simply installed the driver either from a CD or as an Internet download.

Four Seasons photos

I'm tempted to say that it was very difficult to find fault in the room - it was obvious it had been thoroughly checked, and what needed to be there - was there and all nicely and neatly lined up. I was grateful of the more than normal quantity of supplied complimentary (Fiji) drinking water. The absence of a turndown goodie did not bother me since I already had loads of fruits to enjoy including Kiwis, Strawberries and a Dragon fruit.

From an entertainment perspective, the room had two TVs - the second being over the bath, which I used while performing my morning ablutions. There was also a bedside JBL iPod/iPhone dock and a CD/DVD player connected to the main TV. What I was most delighted to see and experience was the 10-CD Box set located by the TV which also featured some heartwarming stories and well-shot photos.

In all my years of travelling, I have never encountered such a well thought out and packaged form of entertainment. Titled 'Together' - this box set covers different music genres such as: Quiet Nights, Nat King Cole, Barbra Streisand, The Classics, Burt Bacharach, Christmas, Frank Sinatra, Espresso Guitar, Together and the Beatles.

I thought this was so beautifully packaged - just the kind of book you would leaf through in bed after a hard days' work - such a nice and innovative way to enhance the Customer Experience. I had to get myself one - and at the same time, draw other's attention to this idea by highlighting in my BLOG.

The Hotel's Manager (Arthur Ho) kindly gifted me a set, which I understand retails for around US$130 and upon doing subsequent research, I happily discovered is one of Oprah's favorites and is indeed a commercial product that has been re-packaged by FS - you can find it online

Whilst this may not have involved a great deal of actual creativity by the Hotel itself, the research and provisioning of it as an amenity - and service enhancer, shows a caring attitude and a good way to help the guest enjoy the facilities of the room. Well done!

Now, I need to also point out a couple of other things, specifically relating to F&B.

The first one concerns the refreshment breaks as part of the Conference. Both morning and afternoon had breaks set outside of the meeting room, where various hot and cold beverages were served and often accompanied by assorted snacks. There was a good spread with adequate choice and quantity. There was, however, a bottleneck at the coffee machine - since most Coffee drinkers opted for the freshly made Nespresso version rather than the brewed filter type. I wonder why? Putting two Nespresso machines for these breaks may be a good idea to help disperse the line more quickly and allow more time for participants to network.

My second F&B experience was at Windows Restaurant situated adjacent to the Concierge desk in the lobby where I spent two evenings enjoying a cigar. In both of these evenings, I was in need of a snack, and if you are a vegetarian, as I am, you would be limited for choice. I settled for the Panini containing mixed grilled vegetables. Although tasty and filling especially since it was accompanied by a small mixed salad (thankfully no French or curly Fries), I would have preferred to have more on offer - a Niçoise salad, Veggie Burger, or even a Mezze. Be that as it may, I was content. I had a pot of Chamomile tea, a great cigar for company and a thoughtful smiling server who promptly produced a cigar ashtray. It was a perfect way and service to round off a busy day at the conference.

During one of these nights, I was in a state of absolute shock and horror when upon returning to my room and emptying my pockets, I realized that I had inadvertently left my Blackberry in the Restaurant. It was quite late at night. By the time both my associate and I had left the outlet - they had already closed. In panic mode, I rushed back downstairs to find an empty room and hastily searched the surrounding area for the device - without luck. A Security Guard saw me, and offered assistance to locate the device, but the attempt proved futile. He suggested I call the phone, which we did from the Concierge desk. While it was ringing at the other end of the line, the Guard must have received a message over his Walkie-Talkie that the unit was being held in Lost and Found and was now enroute to the Lobby. A moment later it was back in my hands, and all was well again in the world. My heartbeat returned to its normal resting rate and I went to sleep soundly.

Next, I need to share with you that a T-Shirt I had hastily and roughly folded up by my suitcase was found to have been neatly folded up by an Elf when I returned to my room. Thanks

A great few days in Macau - an excellent adventure. If only someone from The Four Season's laundry department could have ironed the waves ahead of me as it was rough sailing back to Hong Kong, I would have been eternally grateful.

Terence Ronson
Managing Director
Pertlink Limited

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