Hotel & Motel Management - June 16, 2008 - (Page 30) 30 Special Report TECHNOLOGY TRENDS H&MM June 16, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Tech Continued from page 24 an acceptable use policy. We can monitor the amount of bandwidth each guest is using and an alarm will go off if someone on the property goes over that.” ETelemetry offers a similar service, Notify, which allocates every guest at the property an equal share of the bandwidth. With Notify, though, a message is sent to the guest once he or she reaches peak usage and offers that guest the opportunity to purchase additional bandwidth. “It gives everyone who comes in a free level of consistent experience,” said Ermis Sfakiyanudis, c.e.o. of eTelemetry. “And it also gives the business traveler the capability to go up a tier.” Sfakiyanudis said giving guests the opportuniMcKeand ty to add pre- WAYPORT mium bandwidth will help generate revenue. The messages are delivered within the guests’ Internet browser in the form of a float-over banner, or in a separate winSfakiyanudis dow that will ETELEMETRY pop up every five minutes once a guest is de- termined to be operating at peak bandwidth. Plenty of options When it comes to upgrading television sets, Philips knows the hotel owner/operator is going to incur a significant cost—one that may not be welcomed in this downturn. For that reason, Philips offers a range of televisions that span from the commercial-grade product to the ultimate television. “You need to start with the discussion about the experience you’re looking to provide the guests,” said Anthony Fonzo, product marketing manager for Philips. “Can you live with what you have? If so, you don’t have to upgrade today.” But if brand mandates or competition in the geographic market are forcing hoteliers to upgrade, Fonzo advises hoteliers to consider total cost of ownership. For example, Philips offers a lower-end, commercial-grade model on which the settings can be cloned. A Philips representative will come to the property and set the controls—such as privacy settings, welcome screens and volume limits—and then clone those settings to every new TV on the property. “Some hoteliers will wait until Sunday around a holiday and buy televisions from a big box retailer,” Fonzo said. “If you buy 100 televisions, you have to program those 100 televisions, which can take 30 to 40 minutes each. At $30 an hour to hire Geek Squad, that can add up. Plus, once you get those all programmed, you’ve already voided your warranty.” Fonzo echoed the statement that any technology installation needs to be viewed from the shortand long-term angles. For example, when upgrading to high-definition television, one option is to remove all the coaxial cable throughout the property and replace it with category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5 or “cable and telephone” cable, which is designed for high-signal integrity. “If you ran Cat 5, things that require a room visit today may not three to five years from now,” Fonzo said. “You have to look at it from two perspectives: your profit margin and your guests. Maybe you want to look for a mediumterm investment.” jfreed@questex.com With the innovative IDPMS software solutions suite by Hotel Concepts, you can see every room you have…across properties, across channels, and even across continents. We connect every available room with every available channel, so millions of prospective guests around the globe can see them too. That want to go everywhere! - Banqueting www.hotelconcepts.com HITEC Booth #431 CIRCLE NO. 137 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.hotelconcepts.com http://www.hotelconcepts.com
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