Tony Loeb

📺 The Grove Hotel, UK, upgrades its in-room entertainment with 225 Philips MediaSuite TVs, featuring Google Cast and Netflix. Located near Central London, frequented by celebrities like Tom Cruise and Kylie Minogue, the hotel's initiative is part of a comprehensive refurbishment. Guests can now cast content from devices to TVs without extra hardware, with data cleared upon checkout. The TVs, networked over Tiger TMS and customized with The Grove's branding, support tailored guest experiences. PPDS' commitment ensures regular software updates, enhancing longevity and sustainability.

🏨 At the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) last month in Charlotte, N.C., attendees prioritized hotel technology investment, focusing on platforms with Open APIs for centralized guest data and streamlined payment processing. Key trends include AI, machine learning, IoT integration in hotel management, smart rooms, and cloud-based property management systems (PMS). Modern PMS is essential for data accessibility, affecting third-party solutions and overall hotel operations. Embedded payments within PMS are gaining attention for improving transaction efficiency and reducing fraud, while advanced analytics dashboards are sought after for deeper operational insights.

🛠 Häfele, a provider of hardware solutions, has partnered with Like Magic to create 'Work and Sleep' hotel rooms, allowing operators to transform spaces using digitally-enabled furniture and advanced software. The concept reduces costs and increases room utility. Ibis Styles hotel in Nagold, Germany, pilots the technology, integrating keyless entry and personalized services. Like Magic's platform enables 80% of staff tasks to be handled from one system, offering a digital guest journey and reducing staff pressure.

🏠 Häfele, a hardware solutions company, partnered with Like Magic to create "Work and Sleep" hotel rooms, allowing operators to transform spaces for various uses with digital furniture and software. This innovation aims to generate new revenue and cut costs by utilizing rooms otherwise vacant. The ibis Styles hotel in Nagold, Germany, is testing the concepts, incorporating keyless room technology for enhanced guest services. Like Magic's platform integrates a booking engine, guest and employee interfaces, streamlining 80% of daily tasks and enabling guests to perform actions such as check-in and food ordering via smartphone.

🏨 Häfele strategically partners with Like Magic to innovate 'Work and Sleep' concept for multifunctional hotel rooms. Digitally-enabled furniture and advanced software allow rooms to transform into offices or meeting spaces. This collaboration targets reducing costs, activating empty rooms for new revenue, and providing seamless reconfiguration. Innovations include adjustable lighting and web-app for amenity access. First implementation is at the ibis Styles hotel in Nagold, Germany, aiming to enhance guest experience and operational efficiency. Like Magic’s platform centralizes hotel management, enabling 80% of daily staff tasks and digital guest journey, including keyless room access via smartphones.