The grumpy traveler
My team refer to me as ‘the grumpy traveler.’
I suppose I am… Indeed, I often return from a trip complaining about elements of the experience – usually relating to technology, I’m ashamed to say.
But,I’m a modern traveler (although as a 52-year old man, some may dispute this!), and am frequently on the move. So, when I struggle with a hotel’s tech, I become grumpy!
For some, travel is a necessary evil, but for others it’s an opportunity to expand horizons and enjoy new experiences. Me? I sit firmly in the middle of the two situations. I love hotel technology, and honestly, can’t think of a better industry to be in (well, apart from supercars or Formula One perhaps). However, my knowledge of how hotel technology should work, exacerbates my frustration when it doesn’t…
It’s not (usually) the hotel’s fault!
Before I continue, I want to make it very clear - my frustrations are not (usually) the hotel’s fault!
But….the TV is sluggish (and confusing to operate), the bathroom’s Wi-Fi signal is weak, the lighting system is baffling, the HVAC has a mind of its own, the door didn't unlock so I had to go back to reception, there’s no USB connection by the bed (how do I charge my phone, AKA my alarm clock?), the mobile key interferes with my Apple Pay, there’s no instructions with the complicated coffee machine… you get the picture.
Some industry characters think that technology is often considered too late in the build process, with budgets prioritized elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand the value of a guest room’s décor, a comfy bed, and a bracing shower, but I’m not sure if enough hotels are evolving in line with shifting guest expectations – notably driven by the ravenous tech consumption of today’s traveler.
My point is, if decisions relating to technical implementation are made late in the cycle, and budgets are limited, then shortcuts may well be taken. Honestly speaking, I think tech decisions are too often made in isolation. The PMS gets selected, then the F&B manager chooses the POS, the engineering head selects the building management system & energy management systems, now the IT director steps in to source network infrastructure, Wi-FI and a TV system.
If a hotel’s various systems are not sourced via a single person or team, is there joined-up thinking? Should we expect a fully connected, compatible & cognitive technology solution?
The big but…
Now here’s the big but! No, not an iconic 80’s rap lyric, but the discovery of significant integration issues during the technology sourcing and implementation process.
Let's look at that now.
The hotel approaches the vendor with a firm view of requirements and any budgetary constraints. The vendor provides one / several product demonstrations, then meticulously curates a detailed proposal. Negotiations happen, decisions are made, and a system is installed.
But….Then somebody says, “how do we connect system A with system B?”
Sometimes, it’s a simple “we can’t.”
But!...in these modern times of open APIs, connectivity between systems should be so much simpler right? In theory, yes, but in practice there are way too many variables for this to be straightforward - not least being the commercial constraints applied by a vendor to allow for integration (licensing &additional fees etc).
Thankfully, middleware provides easier integration between systems, albeit with the same commercial challenges (and some vendors aren’t keen on third party software sitting alongside theirs). But even middleware doesn’t connect everything to everything as of yet, and of course it’s yet another cost for the hotel to bear.
Tell the truth!
The next problem lies with vendors, I’m afraid to say. I’ve witnessed companies ticking each and every box of RFPs, afraid to show weakness, fearful of missing out on selection (or maybe more pertinently, missing sales targets and bonus cheques).
Vendors need to be open and transparent – and tell the truth! Will the client return if promises haven’t been delivered? No, of course not!
I’m convinced that most of my travel woes are due to vendor mis-selling, or at least failure to understand or execute a brief correctly.
ROOMNET’s culture is underpinned with transparency as a guiding principle. If we can’t do something, we’ll say so… if we’re not sure about something, we’ll say so, if something is possible, but might not provide the best guest experience (this is often the case) – we’ll say so! It’s not difficult to be honest, and the customer will appreciate it, even if you don’t win the first deal.
Now, you may be reading this and thinking, “this is just the ramblings of a frustrated techy traveler, blaming vendors for over-selling and under-delivering.” Maybe you’re right, but I’m also not wrong, if that makes sense?
I know this because one of our major customers is all too aware of the under-deliverer, and has asked ROOMNET to build an innovation lab, to test, assess and connect multiple different technologies.
Holistic hotel tech
ROOMNET’s innovation lab in Oxfordshire was built with one purpose:
To design and deliver a cognitive and holistic hotel technology experience, where systems interconnect and provide a seamless, peerless technology experience.
It’s the Switzerland of hotel technology - where every vendor is welcome.
Sensors, networks, robots, kiosks, software, servers, network, TVs… we’re testing it all. The ultimate plan is to deliver to our client exactly what they want and need - unfettered by commercial restrictions and shallow promises from vendors. If it doesn’t work, we’ll know long before it touches the hotel. Naturally, it will be replaced with something that does work.
The grumpy traveler, a new dawn?
So, is the end of the frustrated traveler? Not yet, but I can’t wait to stay at a hotel where everything has been meticulously tested, tested again – and just works as it should.
After that, I guess I’ll just have to find something else to be grumpy about…
