Ipad usage in the hospitality industry
February 1, 2010 in Tourism
Its very low cost and its ease of use could make it a top notch technological gadget for hotels. Apps can easily be programmed to give the costumer a total control over it’s experience. I’m thinking about ordering room service with the touch of a finger, ordering a cab, or simply get accurate information of surrounding businesses ( bars, shops, restaurants or clubs) and transports.
furthermore the guest would benefit from the rest of the multimedia capacities
Joan said on February 2, 2010
Yeah, that could be nice. Also in your home, to pilot the domotics. Turn the light on/off, change the temperature, change the music or the tv channels, etc..
Jonas Wiesel said on February 2, 2010
Yes but that would actually require much more investment
Henry said on February 5, 2010
Joan doesn’t it already exist in domotics? There actually are some forms of control pannel that can manage the things you mentionned above.
Jonas, it is always a good idea to use newly released technological devices to show your customers that you are modern and care about their optimal comfort. Sometimes it is very comfortable to order something quickly by the touch of a finger, sometimes you want to customize your order. This system could be useful but couldn’t replace the ordinary one.
Let’s talk about money a little bit. How much extra money would this bring? Could you charge extra money for this or is it simply a competitive advantage? To what extent would it be a competitive advantage? Would it really bring more customers? Aren’t the hotels which can afford it the same hotels that offer a luxurious services and benefit of high margins (it is probably too expensive for standard hotels to buy one for every room)?
From a business point of view, this idea looks more like an expense that would force competition to adapt, which they could do easily by simply buying ipads (a product that is available in Apple Stores). I would appreciate to have it in my room, but I would never choose my hotel for that reason, at all. My choice for a hotel is based on the location, the quality of the service, the restaurant, the comfort of my room (which depends more on other characteristics) and the different extra services they offer (such as spa, swimming pool, etc…).
In spite of this critical argument, I still believe it would be a really nice thing to have, that I would enjoy it, and that sooner or later we’ll find this in our hotel rooms.
Jonas Wiesel said on February 5, 2010
I was talking about upscale hotels mainly it wouldn’t be a major investment and would be create competitive advantage. I really think if you are the first one to integrate such a device in can give create an huge advertisement and apple would probably mention it too in there infamous keynotes..
But you’re right it isn’t ideal for all hotels and can’t replace a personalized service over the phone but it would be easy to intergrate both and give guests the choice.
Jonas Wiesel said on April 27, 2010
axel just posted a link about this