Report from EHL's Roundtable “The future of guest facing technology”
INTEHL hosted its last round table of 2011, on the 9th December at Ecole hôtelière Lausanne. The theme of the round table was that of "The future of guest facing technology" The session was attended by EHL students and also local hoteliers. The session was moderated by Professor Ian Millar, with the panellists comprising of Jeremy Ward Senior Vice President Kempinski Hotels, Wouter Staal Senior Global Marketing Manager Hotel TV –Philips,...
INTEHL hosted its last round table of 2011, on the 9th December at Ecole hôtelière Lausanne.
The theme of the round table was that of "The future of guest facing technology"
The session was attended by EHL students and also local hoteliers.
The session was moderated by Professor Ian Millar, with the panellists comprising of Jeremy Ward Senior Vice President Kempinski Hotels, Wouter Staal Senior Global Marketing Manager Hotel TV –Philips, Derek Wood Consultant –Derek Wood and associates, Almir Kalender Group IT manager QDHP hotels and Max Rosari CEO Rosari IT services.
This round table took a slightly different format than normal as an interactive voting system was used. Once the question was answered the expert panellists were asked to discuss.
The following information gives the answers given by the participants.
When choosing a hotel which is the most important to you?
First was location followed by a good bed in second place and Internet access came a close third place.
How highly from 1 to 5 would you rate guest room technology when choosing a hotel?
Top response was high with 66%, then indifferent at 17%
The third question asked which in room technology is most important to you where the attendees were asked to choose 2 answers, from the possible 8.
Wi-Fi with a 49% vote was in top place, with HD TV and IPod/IPhone docking station joint equal in 2nd place.
Should Internet be free in the hotel room was the next question asked
93% answered yes, with only 7% saying no.
Would you expect to use your smartphone/tablet to –choose all that apply was another question posed to the audience?
Control the TV had a 23% response rate, Order room service had a 26% response, Control the lighting slightly less at 21%, Stream media to the TV 20%, Interact with the room phone 8%, and none of the above had just a 2% response rate.
Throughout the discussion the key points that arose from the discussion was that internet will probably be tiered access as a trend, that apps will play a bigger role in hotels and that tablet devices will have a large impact on how guests interact with their room and the hotel in general.
The complete questions and answers may be downloaded in the attached PDF.
About EHL Group
EHL Group is the global reference in education, innovation and consulting for the hospitality and service sector. With expertise dating back to 1893, EHL Group now offers a wide range of leading educational programs from apprenticeships to master's degrees, as well as professional and executive education, on three campuses in Switzerland and Singapore. EHL Group also offers consulting and certification services to companies and learning centers around the world. True to its values and committed to building a sustainable world, EHL Group's purpose is to provide education, services and working environments that are people-centered and open to the world. www.ehlgroup.com