How to satisfy guests' great expectations
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They now expect all of the comforts of home (or more) along with all of the benefits of the holiday experience. One way in which accommodation providers are trying to improve their customer experience is by moving with today's technology trends.
With the introduction of smartphones almost 80 per cent of the population now has a device that offers them music everywhere they go says Paul Yardley from Yardley Hospitality.
"This has placed an obvious need for accommodation providers to give travellers the option to be able to play and charge these devices where and whenever they want," explains Mr Yardley.
"One such device that has this capability and more is the DCB291 from Philips. Not only does is play and charge any iPod/iPhone or iPad, it plays FM radio, DAB+ radio and looks extremely sleek with its aluminium casing.
"For those that don't like Apple devices and androids are more your cup of tea, then maybe the highly anticipated android compatible docks are what you're looking for," he said. "Philips has just launched a couple of android compatible speaker docks, which allow you to dock most android devices and link your music via Bluetooth, one being the AS111. You can dock your Samsung or Nokia phone for charging and also link your music via Bluetooth. The advantage with this model is you could also cater for your Apple clients as this model comes with a USB port that you could use to charge your iPhone and still link your music via Bluetooth," Mr Yardley said.
Accommodation providers are also trending to more lifestyle designed micro systems that offer customers more options to play any mode of music device. One such product available soon says Mr Yardley is the very stylish DCM3060 and DCB3070 from Philips.
"These products will play CDs, FM radio, iPad/iPhone/iPods, USB devices out of two massive speakers punching out an impressive 40W RMS. They also have the added bonus of being wall mounted, which turns them from a music device to a feature in any hotel room," he said.
"For accommodation providers looking for a home theatre type experience then the DCD3020 from Philips might be what they're looking for. This product will play DVDs along with giving you the full home theatre experience through a massive 120W RMS coming from two speakers. Further to this it will also double as your music system with CDs, FM radio, iPad/iPhone/iPod playback," Mr Yardley added.
With the market penetration of the iPhone and now the iPad, Brendon Granger from Technology 4 Hotels also believes it is fast becoming a must have for hotels to include an iPod/iPhone and now iPad docking station in their rooms.
"Guests are bringing their iDevices with them pre-loaded with their own data and entertainment content. Guests know how to use these devices. What they want from the h accommodation provider is a means to charge their device and also to play it," he says. "Everyone likes to have their iPhone within arm's reach, even when sleeping so an iPod, iPhone and iPad docking clock radio makes perfect sense. It allows the guest to charge their device and play and wake to their own music," said Mr Granger.
From the accommodation provider's point of view, supplying an iPod/iPhone and iPad docking unit can generate very positive guest feedback explains Mr Granger.
"One client with 160 rooms that installed iPod/iPhone docks said that the guest feedback they received was amazingly positive. On top of that they estimate that the concierge team are saving approximately 20 hours a week previously spent actioning requests to charge iPhones (collecting phone, securing while charging, delivering/returning to guests)," he said.
However what works in the home environment doesn't necessarily work as well in accommodation complexes says Mr Granger. "Accommodation providers are different as they have hundreds of guests stay in a room per year and use the devices. The iPod/iPhone and iPad docking station needs to be extremely easy to use and should support the hotel environment. The iHome units do just that. They are the only units on the market with a hotel mode that provides features such as a single day alarm (there is nothing worse than a guest being woken by a previous guests alarm), time setting and pre-set station locking and volume control. The units also come with a security lanyard," he said.
"I personally believe that the need for mini hi-fis is diminishing rapidly. Guests now carry their music with them on their iPod, their iPhone or smartphone. So providing a means of charging their device and speakers to play it thru is what they are really after. The latest iPod, iPhone and iPad docks can do this. They also support any audio device via a 3.5mm input jack. What's more the sound quality on these docks is now extremely good.
"The need for DVD players is also reducing as more guests carry their own entertainment and movies on their iPad or Tablet. However in holiday locations or properties that get a lot of children there is still a need," Mr Granger added.
By Leah Odgers, Industry Reporter
