A few years back, Conrad released a special mobile application that was supposed to make it easier to connect with the hotel for special needs like their pillow menu or room service. We had the opportunity to play with the tweaked and updated app at a recent stay in Chicago and we’re pretty excited about it. Right from our mobile phone (or iPad, if we wanted), we could access as much info about the property as we could from the in-room compendium. But the real magic was exposed on our way home from a night out in River North.
Only a few blocks from the hotel, we cut our wait time for a late-night grilled cheese sandwich in half by tapping into the Concierge application and ordering up exactly what we wanted. The order gets sent to right reception which in turn sends it to the kitchen which means we aren’t waiting forever for a plate of gooey cheese and bread with french fries. Room-service sometimes takes forever, so shaving off precious hunger filled minutes is a huge win for us.
Being able to connect with the reception desk also allowed us to request a new pillow from the special pillow menu when we were out exploring the town and realized we had a stiff neck from the previous night’s slumber. Additionally, we forgot to ask for extra towels and would have otherwise forgotten when we returned to the room, so a quick swipe and, voila, no self-loathing when back to the hotel.
Now, we know this isn’t the first application that a hotel has released, and it didn’t stop us from politely smiling at the concierge behind the desk in the lobby, but it did make our stay that much easier and more enjoyable. And isn’t that what this sort of hospitality technology is all about?
