Internet of Things (IoT) system redefines the guest experience; simplifies hotel operations; saves energy; improves staff efficiency and satisfaction.
The smart hotel of the future got a step closer today with the launch of Interact Hospitality from Signify (Euronext: LIGHT). The hotel room management system enables guests to alter lighting, temperature and make room service requests at the touch of a button. This smart system also lets hotel staff know if a room is occupied and helps them to respond quicker to guest requests, providing useful information to improve the guest experience, optimize operations and save energy.
The first commercial implementation of this smart system takes place at the 1,261-room Swissôtel The Stamford in Singapore.
Smarter hotel management
Imagine a hotel room where hotel staff will never disturb you unnecessarily. A room where you don’t fiddle with a key card to switch things on – the lights come on automatically when you enter, and lights, HVAC and other systems shut down to conserve energy when you leave. A room so smart, that it remembers your preferences and knows if you’re in or not. This has all been made possible by Interact Hospitality, a software system designed with the Internet of Things (IoT) in mind.
Interact Hospitality also benefits hotel managers. By integrating lighting, sensors, HVAC and Property Management Systems, Interact Hospitality allows managers to monitor their entire property via a single dashboard.
The system’s open Application Program Interface (API) enables its connection to a variety of hotel systems, so that real-time information can be fed into everything from housekeeping to engineering systems, helping to make hotel operations more efficient.
One of the key operational benefits of Interact Hospitality is energy savings. In hot climates especially, HVAC can consume more than half of a hotel’s energy use. By using data from occupancy sensors located in guest rooms and information from Property Management systems, Interact Hospitality can automatically turn down systems – including HVAC and lighting – when rooms are unoccupied. This allows managers to reduce electricity bills while ensuring rooms match guest preferences.
The intuitive room management system also displays information on room status so that staff do not reach out to guests unnecessarily. If a room is set to ‘Do Not Disturb,’ the laundry delivery is automatically paused to respect guest wishes and save staff unnecessary trips and time. This also helps to increase staff satisfaction through more seamless processes.
Katya Herting, Hotel Manager of Swissôtel The Stamford, said: “As a hotel catering for the next generation, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve how we manage our hotels and deliver new value for our guests. This new system helps us to improve levels of service even further and gives our managers a 360° overview of our operations across the entire hotel. This technology is helping us to eliminate unnecessary work for our staff while enabling them to service guest requests in record time!
“The system reinforces our brand commitment to keep innovating so that we create outstanding guest experiences and overall a better quality of life using seamless and intuitive technology. It has certainly raised the bar for the hospitality industry.”
Never fumble for a light switch again
Jella Segers, Global Lead Interact Hospitality at Signify, said: “With Interact Hospitality, we offer a fully-integrated smart room system that helps a hotel improve its operational efficiency while enhancing the guest experience. For example, we know that around 35% of hotel guests leave a light on in the bathroom during the night to orientate themselves when waking up in a new environment. This may affect sleep quality and prevent deep sleep. With our new room management system, low level night lights come on automatically when a person steps out of bed, so as not to wake them fully or disturb others in the room.”
Segers continues: “In addition, hotel guests can now change the lighting easily at the touch of a button on the control panel, selecting pre-defined settings for example, when reading, working or to relax and unwind in their room.”
AccorHotels’ iconic Swissôtel The Stamford, is the first hotel to showcase Interact Hospitality (see video). The hotel, which is one of the tallest in South-East Asia, will have the system fully installed in each of its 1,261 guest rooms by the time the hotel completes its renovation at the end of 2018. Signify with its Interact Hospitality and Swissôtel The Stamford share an aligned vision to be leaders in technology within hospitality.
