Hilton Testing Technological Improvements to Advance Hospitality
Jennifer Billock January 25, 2016
Hilton is using hotel guests as guinea pigs for new technology tests designed to enhance the customer experience.
At Hilton’s McLean Tysons Corner Hotel, guests and their hotel habits are going under the microscope in the company’s continuing effort to increase useful technology in its hotels. At any time, 30 or more tests are happening in the hotel, from trial runs of Tesla chargers to room key apps to augmented reality experiences. But it’s not just fun and games.
“We’re not just trying to pick gadgets to put in a hotel,” Vice President of Product Innovation and Brand Services for Hilton Jonathan Wilson told the Washington Post. “When one of our partners has a new product or a new idea, we want them to call us up and say, ‘Hey, will you put this in your real-life environment? Will you work with us?’ It’s a very collaborative approach.”
Right now, some of the tests happening at the 458-room hotel include Ava 500, a robot used to greet guests in the lobby and provide other services as needed, including translating for travelers, assisting with check-in and helping with meeting logistics.
The hotel is also doing a trial run of noise-canceling rooms. Speakers are placed in strategic locations throughout rooms, and the guests control the amount of white noise coming through. Running tests and trials is mainly a way to see if the technology is expandable.
“We’ve got lots and lots of good ideas, but it doesn’t make a hill of beans to our customers [unless] it scales across many hotels in many locations,” Jim Holthouser, executive vice president of global brands for Hilton, told the Washington Post.
[Screengrab via Washington Post]
Obviously all designed to get rid of staff and replace it with not-so smart machines. Thank you but no thanks, I personally prefer a friendly staff member!
I just want sound proofing walls between rooms.
I think the point is to replace items 2 thru 4 with technology. If item 1 happens along the way, so b it.
Looking at technology is OK with me, as a major Hilton stayer. But, why not concentrate on: 1. Clean hotel rooms. 2. Well trained front office staff. 3. Employees, including DMs, who reply to e-mail messages. 4. Customer service people, in Dallas I think, that actually get back with answers. Do these and other things before messing with technology.