Mr. Trump Jr.

Guest Service / Customer Experience Mgmt

How IT Adds Value to the Customer Experience

By Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President Development & Acquisition, The Trump Organization

Co-authored by Michael Schubach, CHTP, CHAE, Chief Information Officer, Trump Hotel Collection.

Perhaps the most strategic IT investment that any hotel makes is in its competitive technologies. These are the guest-facing systems and devices that we deploy for guest use, to make them feel more comfortable, secure and “at home” during their stay. These are systems like door locking, internet access (wired and wireless), audio and video services, ambient controls (lights, draperies, temperature and lighting), telephone services and voice mail. Unlike administrative technologies (such as accounting or point-of-sale systems), competitive technologies are systems that the guest sees, touches and uses personally. As a result, guests develop preferences for (and perhaps brand loyalty to) those hotels that offer their favorites. One important note: because the guest self-operates these systems for safety, security, convenience and entertainment, they must be intuitively easy to use and ready to exceed the tallest expectations.

It would seem as if these might be the easiest purchases we make – just buy the best of the best so that our guests may relax (or work) with incredible comfort and ease. In fact, given the remarkable subjectivity that builds a guest’s expectations, selecting competitive technologies is one of the most difficult set of decisions hoteliers make.

Newest Guestroom Technologies

There are several trends we’re seeing in hospitality’s competitive technology. First, there has been a landslide of smarter devices. Virtually every standard piece of guestroom equipment, from the door lock to the thermostat to the guestroom safe, is online wirelessly (most using the ZigBee protocol). These new-age devices do more than their predecessors – a smart door lock may be opened by your cell phone, a smart thermostat executes your preferences as it conserves energy and a smart guestroom safe can notify the front desk representative at checkout if you are leaving valuables still locked inside. The equipment checklist may not have changed dramatically, but the nature of the deliverable has certainly evolved.

Another trend is the notable addition of more and varied consumer electronics, making the guestroom look and feel more like your home than a hotel. We’re well beyond the days of the simple television, telephone and clock-radio; today’s well appointed suite can include full-scale sound systems, home-office electronics on demand, access to Blue-Ray players and gaming systems as well as an array of ambient controls. Integrated security systems can show you the visitor at your guestroom door on your television. And don’t forget the green impact – all forms of energy management are moving to the forefront.

Along with device proliferation we’re also seeing great advancements in product convergence. For our purposes, “convergence” is the merging of voice and data services across separate in-room devices such as the telephone and television. These devices are becoming more alike than different in terms of service delivery. For example, the television is not just for watching anymore – it can submit your room service order and take your wakeup call request. Text messages can be delivered to your telephone or television instead of under your door. All of this is courtesy of the unstoppable tide of convergence.

And of course, the revolution continues not only in what we provide but what the guests provide for themselves. Guests come laden with their own devices and content; supporting connectivity is our obligation. The need for our guests to recharge is both figurative and literal – they must find a way to keep their portable technologies refreshed and working. Being able to plug in and recharge batteries is just as great a need as being able to plug in and connect. Superior guest accommodations give visitors unfettered access to electrical outlets (at least four outside of the bathroom) without forcing them on a hands-and-knees search beneath the furniture.

The Guestroom Technology Challenge

There are one or two litmus tests we should apply before we invest in and install guestroom equipment. The first and most important test: Can our guests understand and use our in-room technologies?

At first glance, the operation of each system might appear to be very straightforward – especially for a technician. However, they can be far less than intuitive for many guests. Each separate brand of electronic device is subtly different from the next; each generation of product development delivers a salvo of new features. We don’t invest much time in training our guests on our technology platforms (nor would many guests be interested in such classes if we offered them). As a result, it’s far easier than we may realize to end up with perfectly competent guests who own and operate similar equipment in their own homes, who nonetheless cannot puzzle their way through our labyrinth.

One colleague in IT uses what he calls “The Nana Test” to certify new technologies. He brings his elderly grandmother to the hotel to test out potential purchases; if she can’t operate a device without instruction, it doesn’t get installed. Needless to say, this process can result in some remarkably brief product trial periods.

The concern for operational simplicity reminds me of story told by a hospitality professional who visited a new luxury property with five-star aspirations. He checked in, freshened up, and left the hotel for the evening, returning well after turndown service had been given and the night crew was on duty at the desk. The room attendant had apparently turned on a set of ceiling spotlights for which there seemed to be no remote control or manual wall switch. The guest called the desk for help and was joined in a lengthy search of the room by a night clerk who was as unfamiliar with the lighting system as the guest was. After 20 minutes of everyone’s best efforts, the guest had to spend the night with the lights on. Such are the hazards of state-of-the- art electronics.

As interoperability blurs the boundary between one device and the next, your IT staff is working feverishly to daisy-chain room technologies into a web of interconnectivity. With a vast combination of possibilities at our fingertips, we must confront our second dilemma: Do our technology offerings meet (or, better yet, exceed) our guests’ expectations?

This problem is as much one of demographics and psychology as it is one of technology. To build a standard offering that meets a field of expectation we must first identify our typical guest. Anyone can venture ideas for guest technology but such suggestions are by-and-large anecdotal examples of what that particular individual finds most helpful when traveling. Identifying a hotel’s unique target market, complete with an empirical understanding of those guest needs and desires can be quite a different matter. Is the guest we have in mind a theater patron and gourmet restaurant aficionado? Is she the business executive and road warrior? Is this business or leisure travel? Would the same guest have the same expectations of a hotel on the island of Manhattan as they would of one on the island of Oahu? There are very few cookie-cutter answers for any given hotel… except perhaps the requirement for unlimited flexibility. Today’s guests can have different expectations not only from one stay to the next, but from one hour to the next.

Nonetheless, the trick to outstanding guest service is finding balance. Too great an enthusiasm for all things electronic might cause one to over-think or over-engineer a solution for guest comfort and accommodation. I often remind property operators not to overlook my favorite technologies (anecdotally speaking): a comfortable bed, whisper-quiet heating and air conditioning systems that maintain the perfect temperature, a spacious bathroom and a constant supply of hot water in the shower. (That and my BlackBerry and I am good to go.)

Co-author Michael Schubach, CHTP, CHAE, is the chief information officer for Trump Hotel Collection. In his post, Schubach oversees guest service systems and the hotel software application selections for the brand and its individual properties. A graduate of Methodist University, he has been with Trump Hotel Collection for almost two years. He can be emailed directly at mschubach@trumphotels.com.

Donald J. Trump Jr. is an innovator and leader in today's young business world. As an Executive Vice President at The Trump Organization, he works in tandem with his siblings Ivanka and Eric to expand the company's real estate, retail, commercial, hotel and golf interests nationally and internationally. His extensive real estate development experience, rigorous education and inherent business sense add a level of detail and depth to the management of all current and future Trump projects. Mr. Trump Jr. can be contacted at 212-832-2000. or donjr@trumphotels.com Extended Bio...

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