Earlier this year the Emirates Palace Hotel completed a renovation project which included the installation of a thoroughly revamped in-room entertainment system, complete with new TVs, iPads and IPTV systems.
The management also upgraded internet and Wi-Fi services to offer connectivity of up to 200 MBPS across the length and breadth of its facilities. The icing on the cake was the introduction of a telephony service that gets activated via the hotel’s smartphone app. Once activated, a guest’s smart device acts as an extension of the in-room phone.
Plenty of thought and benchmark defining work went into the project, which director of IT and AV, Mehmet Akdeniz, describes as “first-of-its-kind” on a few fronts.
Rationale and objective
“In 2005, we were the first hotel to get rid of the remote control and install the AMX Modero, which was a touchscreen device that controlled the TV, lighting and housekeeping service,” Akdeniz says.
He also points out that this move “was ahead of its time”, as it was prior to the tablet and smart device era. “The system, however, had its advantages and disadvantages especially for those who were not technologically inclined.”
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Over the years the remote control has been changed, from a 10-inch screen to a five-inch screen and replaced by iPads, as is the norm till date.
“We reintroduced the remote control to suit all types of guests,” Akdeniz says. Then in 2014, Akdeniz and the management decided to revamp the entire in-room technology and television viewing experience.
He says two committees were formed; one would include the stakeholders, functioning as the think tank of the project. “The second committee comprised all the business units in the hotel — sales & marketing, F&B, front office etc.” It was down to the second committee to decide on the interface and the day-to-day working on the new systems.
Concept and investment
“We put together the scope of work that took a month and spanned 40 pages. It is also worth remembering that we were looking for a service that was not available off the shelf.” The work involved replacing 600 televisions and iPads. “It was a challenge as the entire operations were carried out with the hotel still in operation.”
Akdeniz explains there was a fair bit of redesigning under the skin of the room. “It wasn’t as easy as getting rid of the old TV, and installing a new one. There was a bit of rewiring and all controls had to set up differently to connect to the GRMS system,” Akdeniz says adding that each room took up to nine hours to finish.
Eventually, the resulting system was able to communicate with three different platforms simultaneously — the TV, the in-room system and the web app.
For the entertainment system and telephony service Akdeniz says its service providers needed to create the service from scratch. “We did not want anything that was already available in the market. The result was a 20%-30% level of customisation over the stock IPTV system.”
Akdeniz agrees that an IPTV system is no breakthrough achievement in a guest room. “We were aware of that, and decided to offer small but extremely functional features to the TV.”
In practice
The result is a 65” television viewing experience with several channels across different genres, categories and languages. “It’s the simplicity of how it all appears to a guest on the screen that’s noteworthy,” Akdeniz explains.
The IPTV system also lets guests order from the menu from any of the F&B outlets in the hotel, check-in to their respective airlines and record their favourite television shows, sporting events or movies even before checking into the hotel. “We also changed the VOD concept for movies, as we have completely digitised the experience,” Akdeniz says.
Akdeniz says each room consumes 2.5 movies on average: “The movies are available in up to five different languages as well.”
Another feature is the BYOD option that transforms the guest’s smartphone into an extension of the in-room direct line.
“Once a guest downloads the mobile app, and scans the QR code, they are able to connect their smartphone to our telephony system.” This allows them to use their mobile phone, within the permissible limits of the hotel’s Wi-Fi, as an extension of their desk phone. He adds: “Guests are also allowed to connect three devices per room, enabling them to communicate with each other free of charge.” He concludes: “No hotel in the region or probably the world offers a service similar to this.”
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