Four Necessary Devices in Modern Hotel Room

Those hotels ignore in-room technologies will lose their competitive edge to position themselves for tomorrow. This is especially important in today’s social networking and real-time communications environment where guests expect a higher level of technology-oriented comfort, convenience and service. Therefore, investment in in-room technology plays a vital role in a hotel’s future. Now let’s see what the essential devices in modern hotel rooms are.

High Speed Internet Access: It seems people can not live without Internet nowadays since it makes their life much easier. Almost all hotels provide Internet access. However, the biggest challenge for hoteliers is to provide the same speed and quality to the guests as they receive at home. One of the solutions is to provide different Internet service depends on different charge.

High-Definition Television (HDTV): It is the one of most eye-catching elements in a hotel room. Although the HDTV is expensive, hotelier can purchase different brands and sizes based on the size of the room and their budget. Moreover, it is necessary to provide a series of high-quality channels to support the HDTV device and meet the needs of the guests.

MP3 Docking Station: This is another essential device for many guests. Apple has sold over 100 million iPods and many travelers use them to listen to favorite songs, watch movies, or view family photos. Therefore, docking station should be at the top of any hotelier’s list for in-room devices.

Convenient Electric outlet: This sounds very ordinary, but in most hotels, guests need to crawl under the table to find a power plug for charging their laptops or cell phones. Another suggestion is to provide multi-socket outlet, so that guests can charge their devices, such as digital cameras, cell phones, MP3s and so on, at the same time. There is newly innovative product called Connectality. It is a simple grid called the "power pad" powered by electricity. When you need to charge your phones or MP3s, you can just simply "throw" your device on the pad. The devices will stick to the pad and get charge automatically.

My Hotel Room Trend

In the future, each guest will has himself/herself personal profile that includes favorite color, music, television shows, drinks, water temperature, lights setting, etc. All the information from the personal profile will be uploaded to the hotel central information system after booking. And the personal profile could be generated by an application that allows guest to pre-configure all the setting of the hotel room from his/her smartphone and generates a “room key” in the smarphone devices. If the guest does not have a smartphone, he can confirm the setting over the computer or phone. After the guest submitting his setting confirmation, the front desk agent will prepare a “room key” device that acts as a guest ID and provide it to the guests upon their arrival.
Detection sensors will be installed in all the locations in the hotel, such as elevator, hall way, rooms, etc., to detect the location of the guest by connecting with the “room key” device.
As the guest goes into the elevator or walk in the hallway, the system would automatically chose his/her favorite songs to play.
When the guest enters or leaves the hotel room, the sensor sends commands to dim or turn on/off the lights based on the profile settings.As the guest goes into the bathroom, the water temperature will be set based on the personal preference provided by the guest.
When the guest simply press the button on the TV remote control, television will automatically set the brightness, the volume accordance with the personal profile.
When the guest migrates from room to room, the sensor tracks the location of the guess. If the guess enters to the living room or other rooms, the television located there will automatically start to display the favorite video. Moreover, if the guess was watching a movie at home, but paused it at 40 minutes. The television in the hotel room can continue to play the movie by connecting the television to the guest’s home device. Then the guess could finish watching the movie at the hotel room…

This is my hotel room trend, what is your trend for future hotel room?

Will there be no Telephones in Guestrooms?

I recently read two interesting articles from a magazine-Hospitality Upgrade Spring 2010. These two articles talk about whether the telephones in guestrooms will disappear or not? The authors of the articles are holding two absolutely opposite opinions.
Wibecke Vinke, Managing Director of Hospitality IT Systems and Consulting, thinks that “there is no longer a need for a phone in the guestroom because the telephone revenues are minimal and telephony costs are increasing.”
However, Derek Wood, Managing Director of Derek Wood Associates Ltd., holds a view that there is always a place for the telephone in the guestroom. Reasons for that are 1) there is the legal requirement for installing telephone in case of any emergency; 2) some form of internal communication will always be required with reception/front desk. 3) The average international calls revenue for a 500-room hotel at 80% occupancy is $15,000-$20,000 per month. Another fact is that compare to cell phone charge, it is cheaper to make international calls by using hotel telephones. International guests, of course, would like to use the guest rooms’ telephones to make phone calls.
In my opinion, I do believe there will be always a place for telephone in guestroom in, but the technology will transform the traditional phone to a “smart” phone. And the IP touch phone will be the telephone of the future. An IP phone uses VoIP (Voice over IP) technologies to make calls over an IP network. IP phone can be simple software-based phones or purpose-built hardware devices that look like an ordinary telephone. Although the installation fee for IP phone is 25% higher than the traditional phone, there some functions of IP phone do contribute to both guests and hotels. With different applications and hardware devices, the IP phone can performs different tasks. For example, the guest can see who is outside the door at any time by using the IP phones that connect with a web camera at the guest room door. Or the guest can check out by just simply touch on the screen on the IP phone, streamlining the check-out process. Moreover, innovative in-room technology and newly room design would always elements for attracting guests and delivering enhanced services. Therefore, I believe there will be phones in guest rooms in the future.

The Peninsula Hotels-Guest Oriented In-Room Technology

After reading an article about the Peninsula Hotels’ in-room technology, I am so surprised to find that the Peninsula is the only hotel company in the world with its own Research and Development facilities to devise guestroom technology. What impresses me the most is “most of the innovations are originated from guest comments or their observations-especially of their guests’ busy schedule and lifestyle.”

In the Peninsula Tokyo, there is a nail-dryer in each guest room because one of the Research and Development team members has happened to notice that a busy female guest had painted her nails, but did not have enough time to allow the polish to dry before her next appointment. Another example would be the Internet radio innovation. A Japanese guest spent the whole day meeting with lawyers in the USA, and was exhausted after he returned to the hotel. He just wanted to immerse himself in his own language and culture by listening to the radio. Therefore, the Internet radio was invented, enabling guest to select over 3,000 radio stations of their choice.

Compared to other advanced hotel room technologies, the Peninsula Hotels’ in-room technology innovations are not such high-tech, but guest oriented which are the real needs of the guests. It could be very cool to stay in a room that can change light colors according to guest’s mood. But is it an essential element for a guest to sleep in a hotel?

The article also reminds my recent stayed at the ANA Crowne Plaza Narita, Japan. One of the touch features of the bathroom is the temperature controller behind the shower valve. The temperature controller is not a high-tech one with digital touch screen, but it works for me and for the guests. Nowadays, we are always talking about hotel room technology innovations, but how many hotels can really afford to equip those expensive technologies? As a matter of fact, what hoteliers’ and guests’ needs are intuitive technologies that are feasible for hoteliers and work for guests.

Technology Room of Hilton and Marriott – Changing Technology Focus

In 2005, Hilton Hotels Corporation launched the “Hilton Technology Room” at the Hilton Garden Inn LAX/El Segundo to explore next-generation guestroom technology. The Technology Room was designed to integrate the latest advancements in entertainment, communications and rest into a seamless guest experience.

Innovation features include:
AMX Control Module: It runs most of the room, controlling stereo, televisions, automated climate control, window coverings, lighting, security camera, and housekeeping status.

Bed: The room is replaced the conventional mattress with the king-size VSS Sleep System. Air baffles on flexible wooden slats conform and mold automatically to the contours of each guest.

Bathroom: A defogging device behind the mirror is installed. The shower has four automated jets for full-body pleasure and a digital display that lets guests easily adjust the shower pressure and temperature.

Biometrics: The room key card with a thumb scanner is replaced. Guests can store valuables in the biometric safe using their fingerprint to easily lock and unlock the safe.


In 2007, Courtyard Newark - University of Delaware, part of the Marriott brand, launched the “X-Room” as part of Shaner Hotels' Experimental Guestroom of the Future project. The X-Room tested what actually works and does not work in a real hotel environment.

Innovation features include:
- A robotic vacuum cleaner that automatically cleans the carpet.
- An air-powered showerhead and an ionic hair dryer help to save water and energy usage.
- An LCD screen connected to a digital video camera that instantly lets guests know who is outside the door.
- Flameless electronic candles.
- An energy management system which adjusts the temperature and lights in the room when it detects that there is no guest in the room.
- A flat screen, high definition TV with a connectivity panel for guest devices such as an IPod or digital camera.

Watch the innovation features on YouTube:

Though the objective- enhancing guest experience was the same, there was huge difference in technology focus only within 2 years. In 2005, Hilton’s Technology Room was focusing on physical enhancement, such as beds, mirrors, TVs and so on. Two years later, Marriott’s X-Room focused more on green technology to save energy. For the technology focus in near future, I believe “going Green” will still play an important role, but combining with artificial intelligence.

When we are now looking back the technology innovation in past five years, it seems that those innovations are out-dated since most of them have been put into practice. In order to attract and retain guests, hotel room technology innovation is a non-stop task for hoteliers. To learn more about next generation of hospitality technology, GUESTROOM 20X would be a good experience. GUESTROOM 20X will debut at HITEC this year, providing attendees chance to learn about leading-edge and near-future technologies for tomorrow’s hotel rooms.