A Touch of Class: Hotel EDS

Maria Porco is X2O Media’s business-development VP.

 

Digital signage often serves as a one-way tool that delivers messages to viewers. Advances in touchscreens and other technologies have increased interactive and personalized signage, which boosts the relevance of the information conveyed. Thus, upscale hotels increasingly keep their guests feeling welcome, on track and well-informed via interactive, digital-signage systems. Interactivity represents a vast improvement over traditional directional means, such as paper or scrolling, electronic signs, by providing precisely the information wanted when it’s wanted.

For example, consider a conference attendee who’s attempting to navigate an unfamiliar hotel. She encounters a touchscreen. To take advantage of it, she need only know the name of her organization. She would tap the organization’s name, which appears on the screen’s continually updated menu, and the digital sign responds with a timely list of sessions. After the user selects the desired session, the sign responds with an easy-to-read, 3-D map that highlights the route from Point A to Point B. Should the desire for coffee surpass the need for punctuality, the attendee may instantly access the route to the appropriate kiosk.

Digital signage’s rapid evolution further enhances its utility for hotels. For example, radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based systems feature chips embedded in either a conference badge or a room key. They automatically greet guests or attendees by name and tell them what events are next on the agenda, and where they’re located. No action is required from the user. Most importantly, because some digital-signage systems now seamlessly integrate with such existing hotel systems as Newmarket Delphi, a comprehensive sales and catering solution, hotels may update that information at no cost.

Like marble floors or a mint on the pillow, attractive interactive digital signage represents an amenity appropriate for a top-notch hotel. Unlike the marble or mint, however, these extremely functional signs actually increase guests’ sense of well-being. Digital signage provides timely, easy-to-follow directions, but also promptly informs guests about hotel services when they’re most likely to use the information. Whether directing the sleepy to the espresso bar, the exhausted to the spa, or the hungry to a sandwich or a four-course meal, interactive, digital signage provides an invaluable service that hotel owners and managers should exploit to their benefit.
 

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