Kingston, ON | The Ambassador Conference Resort celebrates the 2nd anniversary of the initial deployment of wireless, cashless guest keycard vending.

With major contributions from Kaba Lodging Systems, an access control solutions provider, and cStar Technologies Inc., a provider of wireless cashless vending solutions, the collaborative effort made possible the deployment of the industry’s first guest keycard wireless cashless vending technology system at the Ambassador Conference Resort in Kingston, Ontario.

At today’s celebration luncheon in Kingston, Venicio Rebelo, General Manager of the Ambassador Conference Resort, praised the wireless, cashless keycard vending system, “I wish I could implement more technologies like this that have an immediate positive impact on my bottom line. In two years we had no vandalism to any of the wireless, cashless vending machines, as compared to an average of 4-6 vandalism acts per year prior to going cashless. We saw an increase of 67% in profits from vending in first year, plus an additional 17% increase in the second year as more and more guests are at ease with the technology and use it frequently and effortlessly.

“In two years of operation we have had ZERO technical problems. We are truly making things easier for our guests and our staff alike. I am surprised that more hotels have not gone to this technology. In July 2006 we implemented cashless vending at our sister property, the Four Points by Sheraton, and they are experiencing the same results: no vandalism, increased sales and profits, and guests are thrilled with it there as well. Our guests love it, my staff loves it, our vending operator loves it, and I love it! If I had 100 hotels I would install this application into each and every one of them.”

The achievement of successfully implementing a wireless cashless vending system has already gained recognition. In June of 2006, the Ambassador Conference Resort implementation was recognized with the prestigious M2M Gold Value Chain Award in the Retail/Hospitality Category for combining multiple technologies to improve operations, reduce costs and enhance customer service.

Guest keycard-based cashless vending brings the following benefits to hoteliers:

• Guest experience enhanced
• Vandalism eliminated
• Profits multiplied
• Machine restocking process optimized
• Single day setup with downtime at front desk counted in minutes

cStar’s cashless vending solution, Vending GenieTM Hospitality seamlessly interfaces with the hotels’ PMS to deliver this innovative wireless cashless vending technology specifically for hotel and resort environments. Activated by the guest keycard, this is the only cashless vending solution that eliminates cash in the vending machines, by wirelessly approving and posting transactions to the guest folio for payment at checkout. With its robust wireless network communication, vending machines can be readily deployed anywhere in the hotel without any wiring.

“Cashless vending demonstrates the increased profitability and guest satisfaction hotels can accomplish with ATLAS™. By easily integrating with existing POS systems, Property Management Systems and self-check-in kiosks, ATLAS™ allows guests to use their keycards to access the parking garage, play in casinos and charge purchases to their rooms,” said Alastair Cush, KABA Lodging Systems Product Manager. “Web technology makes ATLAS™ cost-efficient and easy to implement–at the Ambassador, ATLAS™ integrated with a remotely-hosted PMS system 3000 miles away.”

President and CEO of cStar Technologies, Stella Yoon said, “We took the complication out of the solution and made it simple for our customers. Two years of problem-free operation at the Ambassador Conference Resort is proof of our system’s reliability and ease of use. Our proactive remote system monitoring and support provides additional peace-of-mind to the hotels and the vending operators.”

cStar’s wireless connectivity is based on an easily deployable dedicated wireless LAN that allows single day deployment of the solution with minimal interruption to hotel operations – downtime at the front desk is counted in minutes. For properties that self-serve their vending machines, available management functions allow the optimization of restocking vending machines freeing up staff and resources to focus on guests.