Do’s and Don’ts of Hotel Technology

As a continuation of the 32 do’s and don’ts about the Hospitality Industry given in the previous issue of the magazine, we are giving the next 32 below.
Do cut cables instead or leaving long trailing or curled up wires in rooms.
Do place a rechargeable flashlight by the bed that automatically illuminates during an emergency or power failure.
Do not place a PC in each of your guestrooms. It's a waste of money.
Do think about placing a full size keyboard inside the desk drawer for guest use. But at the same time, consider how to keep it clean.
Do remember that if you plan to place a glass surface desk in a guestroom, it's almost impossible to use a mouse, unless you place a mouse mat.
Do understand that technology will fail and most likely at the worst possible time - like the Friday afternoon of a long weekend. Be prepared!
Do not overcharge for services in the Business Center - like printing a singe A4 page - especially if your room rates are already high.
Do not believe that just by deploying technology in your hotel service levels will increase. This is a people business.
Do make the lighting levels in your guestrooms dimmable - from very bright to a nice warm and cozy mood.
Do place a shaving mirror close to the shaver socket.
Do try and place the in-room safe at a reasonable height and not one where you have to get down on all fours to try and enter the PIN.
Do be conscious that if you put labels on switches that are next to the bed, remember that the guest may be reading them upside down - and without spectacles.
Do have a switch which has a small glowing light that the guest can easily find when waking up in a darkened room, often disoriented by jet lag and unfamiliar surroundings.
Do understand that the guest may only stay in your hotel for one day, and cannot spend time working their way through complex remote control devices, often labeled in a language that is unfamiliar to them.
Don't place a speaker volume control in the bathroom, unless it works.
Do remember that guests trust their mobile phones as alarms more than they do your call center to wake them up.
Do have excellent bathroom lighting - consult with a woman to tell you if it's the right level.
Do have the Room Attendant pay attention to the noise level of the room fan coil, and report it to engineering (for immediate remedial action) if it's noisy.
Do stock the most popular type mobile phone battery chargers in your Business Center.
Do have DVD players available for Guest use.
Don't just have PC's in your Internet corners, have a MAC as well.
Do print your Instant Messenger address on your Business card.
Do insist that your staff use a spell checker on all documents before sending them out.
Do make sure that all software used in your business is legal.
Do use the freely available technologies like RSS, Google Earth and Pod casting to help promote your business.
Do put an internet browsing station in your staff canteen or recreation area. Encourage your staff to check email during breaks and get familiar with the technology.
Do get your technology vendors to update you twice a year on what is happening with their products.
Don't just look at the hospitality industry when thinking about technology - look everywhere.
Do consider making information about your property downloadable into a PDA for easy reference by your guests.
Do not change any configuration or settings on a guest's computer unless you have their written approval on a liability waiver form.
Do perform regular system backups, and keep your data backup off-site.
Do make sure that the staff who escort a guest to a room informs them that your hotel has in-room HSIA installed, and offers to help make the connection.
This whole list which has been carried for the two issues of the magazine has been compiled by

Mr Kamal Sharma,
Secretary General FHRAI
Former Managing Director
of Hotel Corporation of India

We welcome the idea of growing the list, and contributions can be sent to
e-mail : kamalsharma@fhrai.com