Kempinski Hotel Mall of Emirates recently implemented phase one of its technology-driven initiative to enhance guest experience and create more efficient processes. Hotelier finds out what led to this decision
In December 2014 Kempinski Hotel Mall of Emirates reportedly became the first major hotel brand in the region to deploy Avaya Fabric Connect network, paving the way for the roll out of a range of new high-tech services.
Here, Prasanna Rupasinghe, director of IT and AV at the hotel, explains how the improved network infrastructure has opened up opportunities for the IT team to implement a range of new applications and services for a more streamlined guest experience.
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The rationale and objectives
Following the implementation of the new IT infrastructure, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates has installed iPads in every room to allow guests to take advantage of all of the services offered at the hotel. While phase one focuses on in-house services like housekeeping requests and F&B order systems, later phases will incorporate more complex elements.
Looking ahead to phase two, Rupasinghe explains: “We want to create a synergy between different partners, like a shopping experience where we integrate our system with selected brands, and guests can order from them.
“We are also looking at location-based services, where the hotel can do certain promotions, based on where the guest is currently located, or drive them from one location to the other.
“We have augmented reality planned as well, where people can use their devices to go to the mall and locate shops. There is an opportunity for third-parties to advertise too.”
The concept and investments
While the project was planned in-house, Kempinski partnered with external entities to utilise their expertise and create a sustainable, scalable and glitch-free system. Making the right selection regarding which companies to work with was imperative for the project’s success.
“We did market research, looking at who other Kempinski hotels were working with, and we did our own analysis,” comments Rupasinghe.
“We evaluated every aspect and compared features before finalising. Also, it’s about what you get for a dollar, and then you do the comparison for who can provide the best integration.
“We chose Iris for software development and because they are also the preferred integrator for the key elements of Opera. We also worked with them to integrate the system with our TVs. There are other companies that do this as well, but they were unable to deliver what we wanted.”
“Avaya is the infrastructure; the backbone. Iris was the software developer and integrator, Mcom was used for the TV systems, point of sales system (POS) came from Micros and the property management system (PMS) was from Opera. It’s an integration of all these elements in one platform.”
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