Elevating guest experiences with unified access control
James Thorpe
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Neil Foster, Regional Sales Director (Northern Europe), ICT explains how a unified system addresses the demands of a modern hotel using integrations – and how it provides simple self-service at Hótel Hálönd in Akureyri, Iceland
Hotel guests demand an unobtrusive experience that’s also cost-effective.
ICT provides this in many ways, but it’s interesting to see completely different solutions can deliver such similar outcomes…
Integrations transform hotel operations
Integration makes sense for hotels, no matter what the size.
When you harness the power of data and access control, it adds another layer of convenience and security to both hotel guest and management experience.
For hotels, having multiple databases talking to each other makes sense. With a data sync between a hotel’s property management system and your access control, no longer do you have double handling of guest or staff information.
And, whether it’s wireless locks on guest rooms, external access through service doors or elevators that limit guest access to the correct floors for safety purposes, thanks to a centralised Protege GX server, these areas can all be accessed using a single card.
This access can even be extended to a mixed-use building, as seen at The Hotel Britomart, in Auckland, New Zealand.
“The access control system in the hotel for staff and guests is the same system that the tenants and retailers use. It allows us to use one card across the entire building,” said Tristan Bailey, Business Development Manager, Vision Systems.
“A constant hassle in buildings like this is people or tenancies need different keys or credentials to access different areas. Not only is this not ideal from a user perspective, it’s also inefficient if any changes need to be made.”
The upside to elevators
For larger establishments, there are even more ways that you can add value using integrations.
For hotels that have multiple lift banks, a high level integration with the elevator system not only provides access to individual floors, it helps speed the flow of people through the building.
It can even bring advantages at installation, as you no longer need to wire relays and inputs between the two systems.
There’s nothing worse than having 15 people stopping at 15 different floors in the same lift. With a HLI in motion, the access control system already knows which floors guests are allowed to visit.
So, with a quick badge of a card at a reader in the lobby, the access system checks authorisation, guests are directed to the elevator providing the most efficient service, which is automatically dispatched to the destination floor.
Simplified serenity and secure self-service
Another example of a smart solution from ICT helping to deliver results is Hótel Hálönd, a new self-service hotel just outside Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest urban area.
Local certified ICT partners Securitas Iceland delivered a result that keeps the hotel secure and brings considerable cost savings.
As Írena Sædísardóttir, Hotel Manager at Hótel Hálönd explains: “Not many people believed in our idea of an unmanned hotel, but Securitas changed that with a smart technology solution from ICT.”
They were challenged to provide guests with an automated check-in process, to minimise the need for staff onsite, helping keep rates down.
It needed to be accessible, but feel secure for visitors and staff. Other requirements included automatic delivery of guest access codes and remote monitoring and notifications for staff.
ICT server-based access control system Protege GX uses Data Sync, which allows easy bi-directional integration with external data sources, to talk to the hotel reservation system.
At Hótel Hálönd it syncs customer bookings and access rights to the hotel, so when guests are confirmed, access codes are automatically sent within 15 minutes.
It also ensures that PINs are only usable for the booking period and deleted when guests leave.
The tSec Keypad Readers connected to each door mean that each unique guest PIN can be used to access hotel rooms, ski/bike equipment storage and other areas.
Video surveillance also makes it easy to monitor and ensure the safety of guests in the hotel, and the system provides instant email or mobile notifications for staff if a response is needed.
Product Manager at Securitas Iceland, Hafþór Harðarson, commented on how Protege GX meets all the customer’s needs: “The flexible, modern technology makes it easy to bring self-service to life for the hotel.”
This solution delivers considerable cost savings as Hótel Hálönd has very few staff, so guests benefit from competitive prices.
They also have the freedom of no key or card to carry, easy access to communal areas and no check-in and out formalities.
Exceptional experiences made easy
Through intelligent integrations and smart security solutions, hotel customers around the world can see significant operational efficiencies, cost savings and enhanced guest experiences, making them essential for modern hospitality management.
