The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Hotels use new technology to help pamper guests Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:13 AM PST  The Moodpad gives guests total control over everything in their hotel room from the mood of the lighting to the music playing and the temperature of the air conditioning system. – Copyright Philips Hotels and new technology do not always make good bedfellows, as British entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe whose ventures include Yo!Sushi and now YOTEL explains: "I use technology only when it is the best way to do the job – If I want to turn a light on I use a switch – everybody knows how that works but if I want to set a mood I will use something that thinks that out for me but I'll still try and use the switch. My point is (when designing a hotel) don't try and be too far ahead of the game, wait till people know how to use things before you install them or give them a simple alternative. I've been in rooms where I couldn't turn the light off to go to sleep it was so complicated. That is also why I find a proven technology in another field and transfer it to what I'm doing so it is only new in that arena." In the case of hotels, this proven technology is the touch interface that has been made ubiquitous by the smartphone and tablet boom and it is a technology that is rapidly opening the doors to a new level of technological integration in hotel rooms and to new levels of customisation and service for hotel guests. Apple Today, a number of exclusive hotels, including the Plaza in New York have embraced the iPad and have developed their own interfaces for the devices that give guests full control over every element of their stay from ordering dinner to summoning the concierge. Before the device's launch, the Plaza had its own touchscreen system in rooms but it was limited and confusing for guests – the opposite of the iPad. And while the iPad has made this connectivity mainstream, Microsoft, through its Surface 1.0 and PixelSense software devices was actually the first major technology company to experiment with how touch screens and computers can add to a hotel guest's experience. Microsoft Since 2008, the Sheraton group has been using the 30-inch table-top PCs in its lobbies and communal areas to help guests research local attractions, share travel and sight-seeing advice with other hotel guests and for playing multi-player games with their children while waiting to be served. Likewise, the computers have become a fixture in Las Vegas where a number of casino and resort bars have been using them as interactive tables where clients can order drinks, pick the next track on the jukebox and even flirt with those sitting at other tables. Philips Philips' expertise straddles the disciplines of consumer electronics, healthcare and wellbeing and for years has been working with hospitality companies to understand the best ways of combining these technologies for the benefit of guests. As company spokesperson Santa van der Laarse explains: "We increasingly see a trend in hospitality lighting of mood lighting according to the time of day or activity type, and personalization of lighting by guests. In the hospitality area we thus offer lighting solutions that follow daylight rhythms, for instance breakfast or dinner light settings in hotel restaurants, or different light settings for different times of day in hotel lobbies and meeting rooms. We are also working on guest management control systems to allow guests to personalize the light settings." For example, though its work with the citizen M hotel in the Netherlands, it has developed lighting and connectivity technologies that are designed to personalize every element of a guest's stay from what music is playing in their rooms to whether or not the curtains are open or closed. Using something called a MoodPad ambient controller, guests can control the character of the ambient lighting in their room according to their mood or the atmosphere they want to create. At the touch of a button, they can switch from warm colours, closed blinds, ambiance music and a cosy temperature, to more functional lighting and ambiance for mobile working. The MoodPad also doubles as a TV remote control and a device for surfing the net. The technology is based on years of research into how lighting can play a role in helping guests not only relax but recover from the effects of jetlag and improve overall wellbeing. In recent years Philips has run trials with a number of hospitality companies, including NH Hotels and Best Westin, where a number of features such as blackout blinds, a dedicated meditation channel on the TV and running maps have become standard for guests who have travelled across two time zones and need to recover from their journey. – AFP/Relaxnews |
| Subway sandwich scandal inches into court Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:11 PM PST  Fred DeLuca, president and founder of sandwich maker Subway with the 'Footlong' bun, which is part of the franchise's signature, but some customers are alleging that it doesn't measure up. – AFP pic Angry American diners want to take a bite out of the Subway fast food chain over what they say are too short "Footlong" sandwiches. The bulging lunch bun is Subway's signature offering. But ever since a keen-eyed Australian discovered earlier this month that his "Footlong" measured only 28cm, and not 30.5cm, the US-based global franchise has been on the back foot. In what appears to be the first related lawsuit, two New Jersey men filed a complaint Tuesday in New Jersey, alleging that Subway deliberately and systematically shortens its sandwiches to 11 or 11.5 inches. The plaintiffs "submit that Subway's conduct is an unconscionable business practice," the suit alleges. "While it may not be the end of the world that consumers got an eleven-inch sandwich instead of the twelve-inch sandwich promised, the simple fact is that these consumers were promised one thing and received something less." The suit highlights that McDonalds is clear that its famed "Quarter Pounder" burger only weighs that much before cooking, yet "Subway provides no similar warning to consumers." The controversy, which Subway says is just the result of inconsistencies in applying corporate rules at some franchises, became a viral Internet sensation after the Australian expose. – AFP-Relaxnews |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan