HOTEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. Chapter 6

HOTEL INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

"The good news is that the PMS market has seldom seen such a variety of different approaches to solving your property's automation needs.“

Lodging-Centric Technologies

E-MAIL, MIS, DSS, EIS

FORECASTING & SCHEDULING TIME & ATTENDANCE GLOBAL RESERVATION SYSTEM TRAVEL AGENTS CORPORATE GUEST HISTORY PURCHASING &

INVENTORY FOOD & BEVERAGE INVENTORY SYSTEM RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (POS) ELECTRONIC BAR DISPENSER MINI BAR CALL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (CAS) YIELD MANAGEMENT PAY PER VIEW / CHECK OUT CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION & EFT PBX (SWITCH MAID DIAL-IN VOICEMAIL MESSAGE HANDLING WAKE-UP SYSTEM SALES & CATERING SYSTEM REMOTE SALES MARKETING MAINTENANCE ENERGY FIRE & LIFE SAFETY ELECTRONIC LOCK & SECURITY SYSTEM INROOM ENERGY CONTROL

SYSTEMS OFF PREMISE SYSTEMS INHOUSE INTERFACE WITH

DIRECTION OF DATA FLOW

Internet/ Intranet

1. Improved labor productivity and organization

efficiency

2. Enhanced decision-making capability in less time

3. Reduced operating costs

4. Increased information accuracy 5. Increased revenues

6. Greater guest satisfaction and loyalty 7. Improved controls

8. Ease of use

1. Security

2. Ergonomics 3. Cost

4. Upgrades and maintenance

Disadvantages of Technology in

Hotels

1. Electronic Locking System

2. Energy Management & Climate Control Systems

3. Fire Alarm & Security Systems

4. In-room Minibars

5. In-room safe boxes

6. Guestroom Phone System

7. Voice-mail/Wake-up Systems

8. In-room Entertainment Systems

9. Guestroom control panels

10. Self check-in/out systems

 Hotel Key System Evolution

 _{Mechanical Keys}

 Punched-hole coded-

 _{Electronic Key Card}

 Cheaper than electronic locking systems  Heavier to carry

 Inconvenient

 _{Once lost, the cost of replacement is high}  Not traceable

 Duplicable

 About 85 percent of lodging establishments today have electronic locking systems installed

 Types:

 _{Hard-wired ELS}

 Micro-processor based

 One-way communication ELS

 Two-way communication ELS

 Hard-wired system is an example to a first generation ELS

 They operate through a centralized master code console interfaced to every single key lock

 Very Expensive to wire each door

 Great security

 One-way communication

 _{This system uses a microcomputer (keycard console)}

with an electronic key encoder, a device used to encode

new lock combinations on guest keycards at check-in

 Electronic key encoder: device to encode new lock combinations

Check-in: Front Desk Agent

encodes the key for room 101

Guest enters

the e-key

into lock 101

The lock erases the

Previous code. Now this door can be

opened with this card

 Unique keys

 Light plastic, magnetic stripe keys:

 _Security

 Replaceable

 The cost of a new key is low

 Recyclable

 The cost of rekeying is non-existent.

 _{Access control}

 Audit-trail capability

 Privacy Feature

Advantages of ELS over Mechanical

Keys

 One key can not be used in multiple locks.

 If the guest decided to change rooms, he/she has to go to front desk to recode the key.

 If a wrong key is inserted into a lock, it does not alert security staff.

 Two-way communication keys are more expensive to install; however, they offer several security and

convenience features.

 In the two-way communication locks, a central database communicates to locks wirelessly.

 One key can be used in multiple places (i.e. pool, health club, concierge floor)

 The first generation of biometric ELS was seen in 2004.

 The guest registers his/her fingerprint or iris scan or other biometric metric (i.e. hand scan, palm scan) at the time of check-in.

 Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and

remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID

tags or transponders.

 There are two main components of a RFID ELS:

 RFID Lock: This is the key lock that looks for a RFID tag to

grant access.

 RFID tags (keys): These are the identification codes for key

locks. They can be in the shape of a plastic keycard, or can be

stored in different devices, such as a wristband or a cellular

phone.

Energy Management Systems & Climate

Control Systems

 After labor, energy is the second-largest operating

expense for a hotel

 Guestroom energy consumption typically accounts for 40 percent to 80 percent of a hotel’s total energy costs

Energy Management & Climate

Control Systems

EMS-Digital Thermostat



humidity control

1) centrally controlled systems 2) individually controlled systems 3) network controlled systems

1. Electronic key-card based energy management systems

This system employs a wall mounted unit that controls

the electrical devices and Heating Ventilation and Air

Conditioning (HVAC) devices with the help of a magnetic stripe key card

2. Body-motion detector based energy management systems

A body-motion detector is installed inside the

guestroom and in some cases in the corridors. When

the body-motion unit does not detect a motion,

indicating that there is not a guest or an animal in the room or in the corridor, it controls the lights and

HVAC equipment.

 Body Motion Sensor to control Hallway lights (Royal Hotel, Lyon, France)

3. Body-heat detector based energy management system

Similar to body-motion detector based systems, this system detects body-heat of a human or an animal. This system is more reliable than the body-motion detector. When the system does not detect body

heat, it assumes that it is non-occupy mode, and sets HVAC equipment back to preset temperatures

EMS-Wireless Light Switch

 replaces the standard hard-wired line-voltage light

switch

 Lighting can be pre-set to save energy costs

 By enabling the front desk to remotely turn lights on and off in the guestroom when a guest checks in or out.

EMS-Lamp Control Mode



It converts any

standard lamp into a

remotely controllable

lamp with full dimming

capability. (infrared)

Guestroom Status

 The guest may choose either the DND or MUR functions without needing to open the guestroom door.

 If DND is pressed, a

lettered, backlit "Do-Not-Disturb" indicator is

displayed on the external door plate

Guestroom Status: External Door Plate



installed on the wall

outside the guestroom



_{DND or MUR}



_{indicate current room}

 Network controlled energy management systems have four levels of temperature set-backs:

1. Sold 2. Unsold

3. Sold Occupied 4. Sold Unoccupied

 Networked Fire Alarm System: In this system, smoke-detectors are networked to a central management system wirelessly

 There are three different type of minibar systems. These are:

1. Traditional minibars (non-automated),

2. Semi-automated minibars

3. Automated minibars (micro-processor based).

 Traditional minibars are based on manual checking

and/or honor system.

 After minibar staff members fill out the minibar initially, they have to check every occupied room every day to see if anything has been consumed.

 Semi-Automated minibar Systems are equipped with a door alert system that reports directly to the

minibar central computer system via existing

telephone wiring each time the bar door is opened.  _{This way, minibar staff members know which rooms}

need refilling and which rooms do not. This decreases the restocking time and guest disturbances are

significantly reduced.

 Automated Minibar Systems (Micro-processor based) are capable of monitoring and posting sales

transactions, determining refill quantities, reminding the expiration dates of products offered, and

enhancing profitability.

 _{The automated minibar has infrared sensors that} sense when a product is removed from the tray.

 Traditionally, hotels used to offer safe boxes in the front desk. However, in today’s hotels, most rooms are equipped with modern, small, individual size safes.

 Mechanical key safes

 _{Electronic in-room safes}

 Key card safes

 Code-based electronic in-room safes

 Biometric safes

 Hotel Billing Information System (HOBIC)  Call Accounting System (CAS) Features

 _{Call Automatic identification of outward dialing}  Automatic route selection

 _{Least cost routing}

 PBX



CAS works with PBX



PBX phone systems are created to form a private

network of users to share selected external

telephone lines.



It is more cost efficient to share a few external lines

than to allow every user their own external lines.



Within a PBX phone system it is easier to reach

someone because it is only a three or four digit

extension.

 Dial-up access- First generation

 High Speed Internet Access- Wired  High Speed Internet Access-Wireless  _Hybrid

 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Bundle Offerings– Phone + Internet Access



Most of the hotels that have telephone in the

guestroom offer voice mail service.



A hotel using voice mail assigns a voice mailbox

to each guest upon check-in.



The guests have the option to set-up the voice

mail or leave it as default message. Guests can

record their greeting recording or set a unique

PIN code to access the voice messages.



_{Manual wake-up system}



_{Semi-automated wake-up system}



_{Full-automated wake-up system}



Interactive TV Wake up system



Alarm clock in the room

 Personalized welcome message upon check-in

 Video on demand (pay per view)

 _{High speed Internet access}  Wake-up call

 Order room service

 Live feedback

 Different languages

 _{Internet Protocol based Radio}  View Bill/Self- Check out System

 Parental Controls