Technology

Mercure Albury Caters to Guest Demands for Content Streaming and Casting While Enhancing Contactless Guest Service Abilities With BeyondTV

BeyondTV (BTV), a full-service provider of guestroom entertainment services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has announced the implementation of its BeyondTV entertainment solution at the Mercure Albury, a boutique hotel located within Albury, Australia. A property that offers an ideal combination of luxury and country charm to provide guests with a warm and tranquil setting, Mercure Albury is also now able to address in-room entertainment expectations by providing user-friendly and instant access to personal streaming services on guestroom televisions via BeyondTV's secure casting abilities. With BeyondTV, Mercure Albury can further ensure that each guest remains up-to-date on the latest hotel offerings and can maintain a priority on guest safety using the solution's contactless service features.

Touchstone 1

Australia

HRS Group of Companies obtains Oracle Hospitality support rights in China

HRS Hospitality & Retail Systems continue their global expansion by opening in China, the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region. HRS began its operations reselling Oracle Hospitality solutions in China in 2019, and now, after obtaining support rights from Oracle, it is authorized to provide support services to new and existing customers in the country.

HRS Hospitality & Retail Systems

China

Hotels bank on contactless tech to entice guests during coronavirus pandemic

The hospitality sector continues to be amongst the worst-hit industries in the coronavirus pandemic, as border restrictions persist in Singapore and throughout the world. The Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) latest figures reveal that hotels' average occupancy rate crashed 32.1 percentage points (ppt) MoM in February 2020, from 83.1% in January. On a YoY basis, occupancy rate has taken a 37.5 ppt nosedive from 88.5% in February 2019. Aiming to attract guests as soon as restrictions have lifted, hotel operators are likely to promote their contactless technologies, such as facial recognition verification during customer check-in and out.

Singapore Business Review

Singapore, Singapore

Trustdata Releases Report on China's Online Hotel Reservation Industry

Mobile Internet big data monitoring platform Trustdata released its Analysis Report on the Development of China's Online Hotel Reservation Industry in 2019/2020 ("the Report") on April 1, 2020.

Trustdata

China

Coronavirus: S'pore Government to make its contact-tracing app freely available to developers worldwide

In a move to help the international community combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Government will be making the software for its contact-tracing application TraceTogether, which has already been installed by more than 620,000 people, freely available to developers around the world.

straitstimes.com

Singapore

HFTP's HITEC Expanding to Asia

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announce the inaugural HITEC® Asia to take place December 8-10, 2020 in Macau, SAR, China. The two international, nonprofit associations are the sole organizations that bring hospitality professionals together for education, networking, best practices, innovation and exclusive marketplaces.

HFTP

Macau, China

Is Singapore’s New Hotel Guest Authentication Just Creepy Surveillance?

The Singapore Tourism Board announced this month the launch of an "E-Visitor Authentication" as part of new hotel "industry-wide" initiatives. This led to reports of an "automated facial recognition system" in the city that helps hotels reduce check-in time — but is it what it's cracked up to be?

skift

Singapore

InnSpire Maximizes Guest Engagement and Service at LUX* North Malé Atoll Resort & Villas, Maldives Super-Luxury Resort in the Maldives

InnSpire, the award-winning provider of guest engagement, digital entertainment and business intelligence solutions for the global hospitality industry, has successfully deployed its IPTV solution and guest engagement platform at the posh LUX* North Malé Atoll Resort & Villas in Maldives.

Innspire Digital Inc.

Maldives

​Lost In Transition: How To Manage Change In Corporate Travel Programs

Throughout the world, organizations are undergoing seismic shifts in their travel programs as they respond to technological advances, developments in the supply chain and evolving traveler expectations.

By Siddharth Singh, Manager, Global Communications, CWT

India

Facial recognition is coming to hotels. I stayed at Alibaba's hotel of the future

Alibaba is well known for its e-commerce platforms, but the Chinese tech giant has branched into fintech, film, new retail and now, hospitality. I recently stayed at Alibaba's futuristic FlyZoo hotel, which is adjacent to its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Here, there are no keycards and everything is cashless. It features facial recognition doors, robotic arms at the bar and even robots that deliver items to guest rooms. Alibaba hopes the property will be a model for what a hotel of the future may look like. Upon arrival, I noticed the lobby was completely bare: no check-in counters, no concierge, and no receptionists. As a foreigner, however, I was quickly greeted by a staff member, who used a mobile device to take a photo of my passport and my face. Then she told me my room number and offered to email the receipt. Andy Wang, CEO of Alibaba Future Hotel, claims the data recognition information is only kept during the duration of the guests' stay and is not kept on record.

cnbc.com

Hangzhou, China

Companies to Attend HTNG's Upcoming Asia-Pacific Conference

More than 60 companies are already registered to attend the upcoming HTNG Asia-Pacific Conference, being held 16-18 September at The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok.

HTNG conferences bring together the best and brightest minds in hospitality technology to collaborate with one another and overall further advance the industry. The 2019 program will feature discussions around 5G, CEO perspectives, cybertecture, hyperpersonalized experiences, leadership, the Starwood/Marriott merger and more.

HTNG

Bangkok, Thailand

HomeAway Launches Virtual Tours in Bali

Singapore, - HomeAway®, a global leader in the holiday home rental industry, announced the launch of Virtual Tours in Bali. First launched in the U.S. in November 2018, Bali is the second market outside of the U.S. and the first market in Asia Pacific to offer Virtual Tours - a new proprietary product that seamlessly displays virtual tours of holiday homes on HomeAway. This customer-centric technological innovation allows homeowners and property managers to share a 360-degree walk-through of their properties with travellers. Travellers can visualise the property prior to their stay, setting their expectations and delivering a better stay experience. It also benefits homeowners with a proven record in increasing conversion.

Vrbo

Bali, Indonesia

Japanese airport hotel puts flight simulator in room

If you've ever gotten off a long flight and thought to yourself, "I miss being on a plane," then the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu has the room for you.The airport hotel near Tokyo's Haneda International Airport has installed a full flight simulator inside one of its rooms that guests can book for 90-minute flying sessions. The machine simulates the experience of piloting a Boeing 737-800, flying from Haneda to Osaka's Itami Airport with an instructor on hand to help. Using the simulator costs 30,000 Yen ($277), while booking the room for the night is an additional 25,300 Yen ($234). Guests aren't allowed to operate the simulator themselves.Aki Hagiwara, a public relations manager at the hotel, said it cost about 10 million yen ($92,000) to outfit the room. While she was unwilling to disclose sales figures, she said the hotel has gotten positive reaction from enthusiasts.

cnn.com

Japan

Oyo Has Remade India’s Hotel Business. Now It Is Going Global.

Founded just six years ago by a 19-year-old entrepreneur from one of India's poorest states, Oyo Hotels and Homes has grown so fast that it already ranks among the largest hotel chains in the world. In fact, going by the number of properties it claims in its network, Oyo is by far the biggest, twice the size of No. 2 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

WSJ

India