SMARTreport - Deuromedia

© photo: Peninsula Group Hotels
Tokyo recently I think I watched all the
musical concerts under one of their
segments.
How important is it to tailor content to
groups or local markets?
Very important. Language is a major
consideration but also there are cultural
considerations. We are starting to see
narrowcasting evolving in some parts of
the world and we should provide access
to this where possible.
How do you expect TV and on-demand
services to evolve in the next years?
I believe the nature of on-demand and
even local broadcasting will change in
the next five years. We will want to watch
programming from where we want when
we want. Sling media and location-free
technology already makes this possible
and will challenge traditional thinking
and distribution. I know of a hotel under
construction in the Philippines that hopes
to provide for their American clientele
who stay for two or more weeks at a time
to watch their home sling box which will
www.cleverdis.com
offer better programming than they can
offer from local cable TV systems. The
limiting factor in many countries today is
the cost of bandwidth, however the
Philippine carrier is willing to consider
bandwidth on demand. It’s only a matter
of time before others will start to consider
these options.
What about telephony? This has been a
bugbear in hotels for many years...
In Tokyo, we installed our own IP
telephone system as part of a converged
network. Our IT people are now
reviewing this to see how we can improve
this further in the other properties.
Certainly it can represent a considerable
saving. The biggest challenge was that
the pricing for these switches is based on
the number of licences, and with six
telephones in each room, we were
particularly battered. However I believe
there is a move afoot to modify the
costing to a per room basis. This is
potentially a very competitive business
and I predict we will see the cost of
hardware fall considerably to make it
attractive to hoteliers who now consider
INTRODUCTION
the service as a loss leading “must have”.
Furthermore in Tokyo, where GSM is not
used, we have provided for a handheld
that may be used in the hotel using the wifi
network and around the city with
charges being transferred to the guest’s
folio immediately.
A couple of years ago, you underlined
that "we are a people business, and while
technology offers great opportunity it is
the outstretched hand of the hotelier that
consummates the relationship." With the
onset of "you are a number"
technologies, do you feel this is even
more important today?
Absolutely. Hospitality is about being
hospitable. We welcome our guests as we
would to our own home. The technology
certainly facilitates a stay, but does not
replace the familiar face and the personal
concern of our staff to serve our guests to
the best of their ability.
Our chairman takes a very close interest
in all aspects of the guest experience and
will pursue the finest detail to ensure it is
the best.
Hotel SMARTreport October 2007 – April 2008 / 11