Green Hospitality and moving toward increased sustainability practices have become a large industry focus.
This is in part because it’s an issue that matters to more consumers (more than half of travelers say the social and environmental impact of a hotel is a consideration when booking). The benefits of going green as a hospitality business don’t stop at brand perception, though. And thanks to new hotel technology, it’s more than possible to achieve these.
For example, the implementation of in-room touchscreen tablets is increasingly being used as a method of making guest rooms better examples of green hospitality.
Energy efficiency is one of the biggest draws for investment in in-room devices. Energy and utility costs account for 6 percent of operating costs, though costs are on the rise.
Room automation features installed on in-room tablets, whether iPads or Android tablet devices, allow energy to be used and managed more modestly. Lights and air conditioning can be shut off based on guest activity, and overall property energy use can be better monitored. Not to mention the added convenience enjoyed by guests at the hotel technology upgrade.
The hospitality industry spent over $400 million on printing property directories and marketing collateral for guests in 2015.
Hotel room tablets are also capable of replacing all printed materials traditionally housed in rooms by providing a digital storehouse of information that can be immediately updated or edited. Considering that the hospitality industry spent over $400 million on printing property directories and marketing collateral for guests in 2015, this is a tremendous opportunity.
Changes to menus, pricing, event schedules, and policies can all be made immediately by staff and accessed by guests through a digital compendium. This saves the need to reprint the same items over and over for simple changes.
A few years ago, InterContinental Hotels completely replaced print Bibles with digital versions loaded on Kindle e-readers. In the long term, the move could prove to be highly efficient. Guests can access a variety of reading material from the devices for expanded entertainment options rather than buying and replacing new books.
A fully functional touchscreen tablet would be the next step, as it has more features that could positively influence the guest experience. Room automation, service requests, direct communication, digital music and alarm clock functionality are all among those.
General resource management is a major consideration for hotels looking to reduce expenditures. By having orders and requests placed by guests through the in-room tablets and automatically filtered into a back-end system for staff review, hotel management can improve staff productivity. Management can also perform yield management tactics by tracking orders as an indicator of supply-demand.
A number of hotels worldwide have already taken advantage of hotel room tablets to move toward green hospitality, including Renaissance Allentown Hotel in Pennsylvania, Eccleston Square Hotel in London, Rancho Santana in Nicaragua, Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, and Hotel Hotel Canberra in Australia.
And hotel in-room tablets have become a consideration for AAA Hotel Diamond ratings due to the numerous benefits.
For more information on what it would take for your hotel to launch in-room tablet technology to embrace green hospitality and improve the guest experience, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter or schedule a demo.
