If a guest wanted to order room service, request turndown service, set up a wake-up call and arrange for the valet to have the car ready at 8 a.m., it would typically require several calls to various departments around a hotel and take up a considerable amount of time.
Now guests can make this happen -- even before they set foot on the hotel property -- from their own smartphone using a hotel-specific application from ICE Mobile. More importantly, the hotelier can keep track of the requests and meet guests’ needs with one back-end solution.
ICE Mobile is the latest technology from Intelity, an Orlando-based hospitality services company. The technology is part of the Interactive Customer Experience Solution (ICE) collection of guest-facing technologies that allow hotel guests to arrange all services instantly via an in-room touch screen, laptop or mobile device. Each product is custom-designed for a unique look, feel and branding. A team from Intelity starts the process by learning about the hotel, its assets and its workflow process, then designs a software package to meet the needs of the hotel and its guests.
"We're not only just about the guest," said founder and CEO David Adelson, a veteran of the Hyatt and Peabody hotel groups. "We are about the hotelier. This is a tool for the hotelier to take control as to what the guest is doing after they have checked into the hotel"
Typically, smartphone apps for hotels offer a lot of information but lack the interactivity that would allow them to do things such as reserve golf tee times, book spa reservations or make any number of requests. ICE Mobile finally makes hospitality apps a true service for guests, while at the same time integrating it into the hotel's property management solution.
The underlying technology was designed and built three years ago with the goal of allowing hoteliers to leverage the technology to make property management easier. They can use one back-end system to update any aspect of the hotel, whether it's changing the hours of the business center or increasing the price of the chicken caesar salad from $15 to $15.25. One command makes the change in every guest-facing technology and the point-of-sale system. It also allows yield management, making special offers to certain guests vs. other guests in a real-time experience.
"Most technology companies end up doing what's good for the guest, not what's good for the hoteliers," Adelson said. "We took a much different approach."
The ICE Mobile app is the latest offering in a line of guest-facing technologies from Intelity. Another successful technology is the ICE Touch, a touch-screen device that offers the same services as ICE Mobile, from the guest room. Hotels representing 1,000 rooms have signed up for the service, most recently the Westin Orlando. An additional eight hotels are expected to launch ICE products in the first quarter of 2010.
The company performs the installation and provides the support for a monthly service fee of $499 for hotels with fewer than 1,000 rooms or $999 for larger hotels.
Hotels make back that money -- and more -- in several ways. Current customers have reported a 40 percent increase in in-room dining, Adelson said, with an increased average check. More guests are making spa reservations and signing up for Internet services. More than 80 percent of guests staying in rooms with the technology use it, he said, and "the more they touch, the more they order."
Hotels also experience labor efficiencies as guest-ordering processes are streamlined. The costs of printing in-room collateral also decrease because information is available electronically; when prices change, hotels no longer have to print a new batch of menus for the rooms.
Another innovative source of revenue comes through partnerships that Intelity has with businesses nationwide. A hotel can choose from a list of about 100 businesses -- from restaurants such as Ruth's Chris to the movie-ticket vendor Fandango -- and include them on the ICE interface. When a guest makes a reservation or buys a movie ticket, the hotel will get a cut of every transaction.
"Now, I'm getting revenue from my guest whether they stay in my hotel or go elsewhere," Adelson said.
One of the latest hotels to install ICE Mobile is the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The 1,105-room property has a mix of domestic and international travelers who come to the city for both business and leisure.
The hotel is in the process of training staff how to use the system and plans to launch it soon, according to Kevin Croke, director of sales and marketing.
As an independent property surrounded by brands, the Roosevelt constantly seeks out ways to give itself an edge. ICE Mobile is part of an ongoing strategy to improve the hotel's technology, which includes installing wireless Internet, launching a new Web site and upgrading guest rooms with high-definition, flat-panel televisions.
"It's a great way to separate ourselves from the competition," Croke said. "This continues to round out our overall initiative to provide the most up-to-date technology and services."
Croke envisions guests using it largely for room service and for concierge. As a midtown Manhattan hotel, the Roosevelt has a busy concierge who arranges restaurant reservations, Broadway tickets and other sightseeing requests.
"It's going to be a great tool for the guests," he said. "It's going to allow our customers to have the ability to do things they wouldn't normally be able to do while traveling."
The hotel will promote the system through pre-marketing initiatives such as confirmation emails for Web bookings, welcome emails reminding guests about their upcoming stay and a brief introduction from front-desk staff at check-in. Then, the hotel plans to track metrics to see what guests are purchasing through the system.
While Croke said the hotel will monitor ROI, it is more concerned with using the technology to boost guest satisfaction. Its guest satisfaction surveys include questions related to technology, and Croke said he anticipates a boost in ratings.
"We want customers to walk away saying, 'That's a great hotel with neat technology,'" and then recommending it to friends and family, he said.
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Beth Kormanik
Managing Editor
Buyer Interactive
Bio: Beth Kormanik is managing editor of Buyer Interactive and editor of Hotel Interactive. She previously covered politics, government and higher education for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla. While at the Times-Union she won several state and regional awards, including the 2008 Freedom of Information award from the Florida Society of News Editors and the top honor in the 2007 Florida Bar media awards for large newspapers. Beth also was a ...
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