Smart Guestroom Services

Have you ever been confused with all the remotes present in an unfamiliar hotel room or afraid to lose your key room? In that case, this new app is made for you.

On December 26, LG CNS, the Korean IT service provider, launched in Seoul its latest technology designed for hotel room services, in partnership with Skypark Central Hotel. From now on, hotel guests get a Smartphone as hotel key upon their check-in. But this new device is doing way more than just unlocking your door. Indeed, the Smartphone is coming with quite a lot of functions, such as turning on the light, the television, adjusting the room temperature, ordering food and more. Saying you need an extra pillow, they created an app for that too!

But the special feature here is that all the functions are available from outside of the hotel. As an example, in winter, you might want a heated room before being back at the hotel. You just need to touch the screen and it is done! The IT service provider also mentioned that the application will be soon available to be downloaded directly on guests own mobile device which will therefore enable them to have an easy and instant access to those smart room services.

According to LG CNS, this is the first time that such technology is used in a hotel worldwide. Although Skypark Central Hotel only offers this service in one of its hotel, the marketing representative of the hotel, Woo Hye-yeon, said that they “plan on implementing the service at two more hotels that (they) are planning on opening”, reports CNN. He also communicated on the success of the app among the users of the testing period who “liked it a lot” and “found it very useful”.

This innovative type of service represents a new wave of the mobile technology age. As travelers and hotel guests, we are confident that “Smart Guestroom Services” will definitely meet success in a foreseeable future. LG CNS initiative to adapt this new app on guest own Smartphone will allow the IT service provider to develop its awareness and popularity quickly.

Furthermore, integrating such technology in their services might help the hotel management to resolve a certain number of human resources problems. As an example, making available an online check-in and check-out might reduce the waiting time and the customer-to-customer interaction. Besides, it can be in some extent a solution to potential difficulties related to customer service and staff behavior by reducing the interaction with the guests

As a result, the benefits that the application will bring to the user cannot be dennied. But it is important to consider the impacts that this new technology might have on the hospitality industry. Indeed, new technologies are nowadays developed in an exponentially way, meaning that there will be more new applications, tools, devices and so on launched on the market this year compared to the past ten years. With this configuration, what the hospitality industry will look like in five years from now? Some skeptics incline to think that this new trend will lead to a redefinition of the hospitality job market. With a generalization of such “Smart Guestroom Services”, some services before provided by trained staff won’t be needed anymore.

However, this is not happening tomorrow. In addition, this kind of tools cannot be applied to any field or hotel. Luxury hotel guests as an example are looking for individual and unique services, as well as VIP treatments; they like to feel special. Can a mobile application do that? With the modern technology progress, it is no longer a question of if, but when.

Key words : Smartphone, room services, hotel, mobile technology.

More information can be found at: http://travel.cnn.com/introducing-worlds-smartest-hotel-key-356796

Written by Iuliia Nadtochii & Audrey Moreno