Tips

What to look out for in a Hospitality Clock Radio

“BEEP BEEP BEEP” an alarm clock radio goes off at 4 am from a previous guest who set it for their 6:00 am flight. Issue is that the alarm went off the day after too,  while a new guest was on their 3^rd hour of sleep. The new guest almost ripped the clock radio out of the socket trying to figure out how to turn it off. Unable to go back to sleep, he proceeds to go downstairs and give the receptionist hell. Turns out this guest is an avid reviewer on trip advisor, leaving an ill- tempered review that taints the hotel’s rating.

What the hotel didn’t know was that this scenario could have been prevented with the single day alarm feature that hospitality radios should have. Automatically resetting the next day, new guests will not be affected by the previous alarm set. Not only does this help provide a better guest experience, but also avoids a potential headache that can arise with both parties involved.

Something to look out for when purchasing in addition to single day alarm feature, is automatic time update for the time change. Housekeeping no longer has to go room to room for the update, saving time and evading upset guests that could be looking at the wrong time because the manual time change was overlooked.

To be or not to be? The answer is to be tech savvy in today’s world. It’s difficult to know where to start with all the technology trends out there and some can be quite costly to implement. What can a hotel do right now to get some traction in their technology initiatives?

CEO of Voyat, Benjamin Habbel, points out eight suggestions to try that can help understand what will work for a property.

1. Simplify
Whether it’s in the ads or on the website, organize it to be user friendly and appealing. Adding incentives and urgency messages (such as “one room left”) are effective at increasing conversions. The booking process must be simple so that guests can easily get in and book with as few clicks as possible.

2. Spread out into the Neighborhood
Hotels should be in tune with things to do in the city or town. However, they should consider taking into the next level and partner with the community to really show case any upcoming events, festivals, or concerts. This will provide an edge to your business and give your guests the opportunity what it feels like to be a local.

3. Think like a Travel Agency
Use the same tactics as an online travel agency does- display urgency messages, if there was a booking within the last 24 hours and how many people are viewing that room or service. Showing online activity will help even out the playing field and help to bring more online customers to the hotel site.

4. Always try New Distribution Channels
Look for other networks to promote the hotel. Being flexible as to where rates are displayed and advertised can tap into other audiences that weren’t considered to be targeted. This applies to social channels and sites that are not as mainstream.

5. Tryout Chatbots
Generation Y (also known as millennials) prefer contacting a business on their platform of choice (messaging through Facebook or WhatsApp) rather than calling in. Implementing chatbots not only prepares hotels for this entire generation but also can be used as a customer service tool.

6. Build your Presence on Social Media platforms
Dangle a carrot of deals for rooms rates or a discounted service if a guest shares property details with a friend. Build reoccurring business by offering a discount rate for those that leave a positive comment and rating.

7. Sell into your Website
Advertise car rentals, activities, transportation through ad units on a hotel’s site. Mimic the competition if they are doing affiliate marketing with rival properties. With this approach, a hotel can generate revenue from the ad space.

8. Gather Data
Recognize buying trends of a consumer to take a predictive modeling approach or testing site features by comparing two versions of the same webpage to see which gets a better conversion. These are ways a hotel can improve their online activity and they must consider how they can utilize online services to get a better online presence.

5 Reasons why consumer panels won’t work for your digital signage needs.

Tough Enclosures: Commercial screens can be placed anywhere and are made to withstand the elements like dust, grease, high heat or even water.

A Variety of Inputs: To maximize your impact, commercial digital signage uses require numerous amounts of inputs for networks and media players. Consumer screens are typically made to accommodate one piece of external hardware i.e. a DVD player.

Built to Last: The average household may turn on their consumer grade screen from one to eight hours a day. As for digital signage displays, many deployers demand 12-15 hours a day and sometimes the screens are used 24/7.

Robust Warranties: A consumer product’s warranty is typically only good for a year, and may even be voided out if the product is used more than four to six hours a day. Commercial grade units have a warranty that lasts up to three years.

Extra Features: Commercial grade screens have a variety of extra features like the ability to perform in landscape or portrait OR cooling systems to prevent overheating.

Three types of safes

There are three basic types of hospitality safes: shelf mount, drawer safes and wall safes which come in black or beige.

Shelf mount:
The shelf mount safe is the most popular type of hospitality safe and comes in two basic sizes – 17″ and 19″.

The 17-inch safe fits a standard laptop while the 19-inch gives a little more room for miscellaneous items. Both safes can be mounted to a pedestal and placed anywhere in the room.

Drawer safe:
This safe is made to fit in drawer spaces. They can be opened via the top or the front depending on the type of drawer. There is a great variation in width to accommodate the different drawer sizes.

Wall Safe:
The wall safe is similar to a residential safe that can be recessed into the wall or surface mounted. These safes are great to place in closets but the space must be spec’d prior to installation to assure a perfect fit.

When choosing the best safe for your room make sure to consider guest storage needs, dimensions, location and color.

General Electric (GE) is giving customer the chance to save as much as $3,698 with Monogram Appliance purchases. Anyone who buys one GE Monogram professional range or one wall oven and cooktop combination will receive one of the following eligible items for free:

• Advantium above-the-cooktop oven or hood insert
• Wine reserve
• Beverage center
• Dishwasher 18” or 24″

If they purchase a built-in refrigerator in addition to the professional range or one wall oven and cooktop combination, they can pick another item from the list above for free.

In addition to the tremendous savings, in the world of high-end appliances, Monogram stands out with its own brand of luxury. Its award winning technology makes it possible to cook faster, clean easier and enjoy more time relaxing with family and friends.

Samsung AllShare® Cast allows guests to stream premium HDTV content stored on their smartphones, tablets and laptops straight to their TVs thanks to AllShare Cast technology. And with Samsung’s suite of Smart TVs, guests can access the same apps and widgets they’re accustomed to at home for a more personalized entertainment experience. Plus, all TVs are equipped with Samsung LYNK™ DRM technology and are REACH 2.0 compatible, making them easy to install, customize, manage and control for property managers.

All you need is the easy to install Samsung Allshare Cast Wireless HUB and your guest will be able to mirrors content directly from their phone or Samsung tablet.

Previously only computers have enjoyed the kind of versatility and cross-functional capability that would bring together the various digital devices you use at home and out and about. But with the advent of the truly Smart TV, bringing all that entertainment and information together your hotel room is now possible. Wirelessly, and without effort.

Hospitality equipment financing and leasing are simple and easy ways to purchase hospitality equipment and FF&E. Industry rates and types of leases are becoming more and more accommodating in the industry for hotels, motels, lounges, restaurants and everything in-between.

Choosing to finance hospitality equipment is especially cost effective; by leasing or financing all your vital equipment, you in turn free up working capital for a more productive operation. In addition, some leases can protect against obsolescence and provide tax. You can ensure that your business meets and exceeds the status quote by financing only the best equipment and FF&E relative to your operation.

For example, there are several leasing companies that provide seasonal finance plans which allows the lessee to restrict payments to given months where business is booming.

Whether you are trying to set up your business from the ground up, or merely purchasing hospitality equipment that will better serve the needs of your customer and you.

Measure the Room

The first step in finding the right AC for your hotel room or apartment is to determine the amount of heat or BTU you need removed from the room. There is a very simple formula to do so:

Length of Room X Width of Room = SQ FT ÷ 450 = Multiplier X 12,000 = BTU

In a 20 X 20 room, the correct BTU would be:

20 X 20 = 400 ÷ 450 = 0.833 X 12,000 = 10,000

Measure the Space

Once you have figured out the power needed to heat and cool your space, you have to measure the space that you have to place your AC. Most ACs can be placed through a wall (Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner or PTAC) or through a window (Window/In-Room Air Conditioner). Either way, take exact measurements to guarantee the perfect fit.

Measure the Power Supply

What is the voltage of your wall outlets? It is essential to make sure that the AC and the voltage of your property matches so the property’s circuit can handle the operation of the unit(s).

Find the perfect AC

Once you have these three pieces of information, you are ready to go shopping for your AC.

Many content providers require that their content be encrypted to prevent illegal copying of copyrighted content. Pro:Idiom is a technology embedded in certain hospitality televisions that allow them to receive that encrypted signals and display the content in the guestrooms.

Free-to-guest providers want to create the home viewing experience by providing owners with access to all channels. Owners are required to have Pro:Idiom TVs to show many of the popular channels, including but not limited to: