Hotel services become smarter

By Kim Rahn

Every aspect of life is imbued with “smart” these days as mobile technology and hand held devices replace older ways of doing things.

Hotel services are not an exception: More and more hotels are adopting recent developments in tablet computers and smartphones to offer guests information in real time in a wide range of unprecedented ways.

At the InterContinental Seoul COEX’s Sky Lounge on the 30th floor, guests can snap a shot of a quick response (QR) code printed on the menu with their smartphones and instantly get information and photos about the cuisine on offer and the chefs running the kitchen.

French restaurant Table 34 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents fine dining options on a sleek tablet computer. After being seated, guests are handed a 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab instead of the usual, paper or plastic menu.

High-resolution pictures of the dishes and introductions to the chefs who will prepare the meals, as well as new promotions happening at the restaurant are easily viewed on the touch screen.

The two InterContinental hotels also present the guests room types and other privileges with the tablet computers. If guests want to upgrade a room when checking in, they can see and compare on the Galaxy Tabs the photos of Club Floor rooms and consequent privileges, such as Club Lounge use and faster checkout service.

Tablet computers also extend hotel services.

Hyatt Regency Jeju offers an exclusive “e-book service” sponsored by Ridibooks, Korea’s No. 1 e-book service vendor.

The hotel rents iPads to guests wanting to use the Ridibooks application. Forty-two books are available for free, including travel books to help visitors to Jeju draw up an itinerary. More books about the economy, business management, and self-enrichment as well as children’s classic stories are also available.

Guests can rent an iPad from the concierge desk at the lobby or at the Regency Club Lounge. The iPads can be rented for four hours per stay and advance bookings are required. For guests who want to read one of the 42 books after leaving the hotel, the hotel offers them the e-book as a present if they leave the titles of the books with their own Ridibooks ID when checking out.

Since summer the hotel has included tourist information on the southwestern resort island on its iPads with a good response from guests.

Not to be outdone, Lotte Hotel uses a smartphone application in their service.

The hotel launched an app for iPhone and Android-powered phones. The app offers not only booking and general information services but also a mobile membership card, various convenient services and a social commerce market.

Convenient services include various events and facility information of all Lotte hotels in Korea and overseas. Social commerce market offers special discount products, purchasable only through the app, in limited amounts for a limited period, such as a hotel package or restaurant vouchers.

Other services include location information. With the service, foreign guests, who are strangers to Korea, can learn the route, estimated time and taxi fare from their current location to their destination. They can apply for a pickup service as well.

While browsing the information, guests can be phone-connected to hotel staff for reservations or inquire by pressing the call button.

All content is available in four languages ― Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Android Market for free.

Such smart devices are used not only in guest services but also in other hotel operations.

Sales representatives at Renaissance Seoul Hotel use iPads during sales meetings with clients.

By saving hotel information and image photos in the tablet computers, they can give effective presentations and show the necessary images on the spot to potential clients. “We are receiving positive responses from clients because they are able to check and confirm necessary information quickly and clearly,” a hotel spokeswoman said.

Some hotels offer other-types of online sThe Grand Hyatt Seoul presents e-Concierge services in an attempt to offer guests a wider range of services in a more convenient manner. The service was designed to offer convenient access to various hotel services in not only the Seoul hotel but also every Hyatt hotel around the world.ervices.

After confirming a room, guests can book an array of leisure facilities and/or services, such as spa treatments, and make restaurant reservations and room service arrangements through the Internet. For foreign visitors to Korea, the hotel’s e-Concierge offers a travel package arrangement as well.

All services can be booked one week before check-in via the e-Concierge website, hyatte-concierge.com, or through the reservation confirmation e-mail address.

The hotel also recently introduced iPod docking stations in every guestroom.