NB: This is a guest article by Bill Rogers, owner of Glass on Glasshouse, based in Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia.
For many years all that people wanted when they went on holiday was a comfortable bed in a nice, quiet, reasonably-priced place that was well located for whatever it was they wanted to do whilst relaxing.
Everything else was just window dressing: the pillow menus, concierge, gym, spa, restaurants, electronic door locks, glass-fronted elevators – nice, but not really essential.
However your modern day traveller is a bit more sophisticated than the one of old. What was once a luxury for yesterdays’ modern man is now becoming an essential item.
People nowadays lead wired lives, connected for most of their day to the internet, and, for example, now expect free wifi (or reasonably-priced) when on a trip.
Free wifi is indeed an extremely thorny subject.
Traditionally hotels have charged anything from $5-20/hour for a wired connection, but this pricing structure doesn’t cut it with todays’ gadget-warriors who’re used to free wifi even in coffee chains and fast food outlets.
Wireless doesn’t cost so much to setup, so why shouldn’t it be free in hotels too?
A nice compromise might be: wireless is free at a certain speed, or up to a certain download limit, and thereafter (or if you needed a faster speed) there will be a cost; or at the very least make wifi free in the hotel foyer.
Not just wifi
Many homes now have large LCDs or Plasmas and/or home theatre systems including a Blu-Ray DVD player. Now for these people watching TV might not be a high priority when they go away on holiday, and they certainly wouldn’t expect to find in their hotel the same quality gear that they’ve spent years putting together at home.
But on the other hand they are going to be pretty disappointed to find an old CRT TV, or a no-name Chinese 30-inch flat screen TV and a SD DVD player (or a Blu-Ray one but with no Blu-Ray DVDs to play).
The same goes for music collections. Once the CD was king, now it’s digital music. Some hotels have iPod docks linked to a clock radio, others link them to a mini or micro hi-fi system.
The former isn’t worth commenting on, the latter is better than a kick in the teeth. But with the rise of Android devices and tablets that can’t connect to these docks, what next?
Maybe what you need is a wireless music streaming system so people can stream their collection from their Android (or Apple) phone/tablet or laptop.
Apple has a system called Airplay, but it’s only for Apple products. So the solution may lie with Bluetooth receivers which can support streaming from any Bluetooth enabled device that supports A2DP.
But don’t hold your breath on this being offered by a large hotel chain just yet, as some have only just upgraded to 32” flat screen TVs and clock radios with iPod docks (and still have Queen-size beds as standard).
One other innovation that I haven’t seen anywhere else in Australia, where I am based, is internet radio. It may not be hi-fi, but for overseas travellers pining for the sounds of their native music, or for those who just like to listen to new and exciting music from around the globe, this is a logical service to provide.
As long as you have an internet connection and a piece of equipment (usually a media centre) that supports this feature you have a choice of thousands of stations at your fingertips.
Small vs large
So, perhaps the real innovation in the accommdation sector is in the smaller/boutique operations that can innovate much more quickly and easily.
These are the small scale self-contained cottage resorts, the boutique hotels who may only have 40 rooms or less.
They can do this because their managers or owners are much closer to their customers, often meeting and greeting them and sometimes stopping for a chat, understanding some of the concerns and requirements of guests.
These small business owners have their fingers on the pulse and don’t need to pass ideas back through levels of local or overseas management committees to innovate, they just do it.
They don’t have to worry so much about how it might affect staff training and hence wage-scales, or how it fits within the perceived hotel's brand.
Some of the tech-driven services I’ve noticed on offer in Australia, includes complimentary iPads at Peppers Broadbeach, and loan iPods at The Cullen in Melbourne.
So, web-connected music, reliable and free internet connections, high quality digital entertainment systems - these items (and a strategy for justifying their inclusion at a property) obviously take some level of investment, but arguably this is where the chains versus independent/boutique argument kicks in.
For many in the latter category it is the overall "experience" of a stay that sees customers return or, just as importantly, trigger the valuable word-of-mouth (social media-led or traditional) about a brand.
Chains, arguably, are not so focused on this, often battling for customers based on rates, location and other facilities such as spas, fitness rooms, dining, etc.
So when it comes to in-room travel tech, small or independent properties cannot match the marketing or investment muscle on their larger counterparts, but they can perhaps position their properties as being able to better match their a guest's requirements.
Maybe that is why the term "lifestyle" is a valid one in the hotel sector...
NB: This is a guest article by Bill Rogers, owner of Glass on Glasshouse, based in Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia.
NB2:Hotel bed laptop image via Shutterstock.