Utilising technology to create safe and healthy environments

HALO Smart Sensor opens the door to safer hotels and casinos, writes Monique Merhige, President, Infusion Direct Marketing.

Smart sensors have grown in popularity over the years as the worldwide smart sensor industry is expected to reach $77.7b by 2028 (ResearchAndMarkets).

The growth can be attributed to a myriad of factors, but what once started out as a vape detection system at schools has turned into a multi-functional device that is helping multiple industries improve safety.

The smart sensor market has seen excellent growth in recent years, driven by advances in technology and the increasing demand for automation and connectivity in various industries.

Smart sensors, also known as intelligent sensors, are devices that integrate sensing, computing and communication capabilities to provide advanced functionality and improved performance.

The Global Smart Sensor Market Size accounted for US$30.5b in 2021 and is projected to grow to a market size of US$156.4b by 2030, reflecting a CAGR of 20.1% from 2022 to 2030 (Acumen Research and Consulting).

Recently, there has been a big push for smart sensors in the hospitality industry to better protect guests and staff at hotels.

With the goal of creating a safe and healthy environment, hotels and casinos are faced with daily challenges that need to be addressed.

Some risks include hotel fires, thefts, smoking/vaping in guest rooms, aggression, active shooters, air quality/ventilation issues, drug use and more.

Also, hotel cleaning and maintenance staff have found themselves in situations when entering a room not knowing if it’s occupied or not.

Mitigating risks early on should be a high priority to help prevent incidents from taking place.

Hotels have no reservations deploying smart sensors

Whether a guest makes a reservation for one night or a week, hotels want to ensure that their guests’ health and safety are being protected during their entire stay.

IPVideo, a Motorola Solutions Company, is working with hotels around the globe with a focus on new construction to help deploy these smart sensors.

Its award-winning HALO 3C Smart Sensor is a multi-functional device helping to create safer, healthier environments within hotel buildings.

Hotels can now easily monitor air quality in all rooms, including guest rooms, with HALO’s health index and indoor air quality readings.

Monitoring indoor air quality is not only essential for the health of guests and staff, but also can be used to ensure that a hotel’s HVAC system is running efficiently. By monitoring HVAC effectiveness and scheduling use only when rooms are occupied, hotels can see cost savings.    

In addition, HALO’s safety sensors can detect the sound of gunshots and aggression and a spoken keyword sensor allows staff and hotel guests to call for help during emergencies using keywords that trigger notifications to management.

This can be helpful for housekeeping and maintenance staff who might encounter an issue with a hotel guest during routine cleaning and maintenance services.

HALO’s alerts provide a quick means for hotel management to pinpoint the location of an incident and address the issue – helping to protect staff, guests and property.

The HALO Smart Sensor never uses cameras or collects any personally identifiable information (PII), making it perfect for privacy areas such as hotel rooms and public restrooms.

Another great feature is the keyword alert function and panic button.

If a staff member runs into a troublesome situation within one of the guest rooms, they can easily speak a keyword phrase like “help or 911” to get assistance.

In addition, hotels can utilise iPanic, a single card beacon with Bluetooth BLE 5.0 and a 30 ft. broadcasting transmission range, which is designed to be easy-to-use in any emergency situation.

If a user encounters danger or needs help, they simply press the panic button and a signal is sent to the nearest HALO and the HALO Cloud platform for an immediate response.

In the past, there was no way for staff members to call for help to protect themselves from unruly guests.

The HALO 3C family of products with HALO Amplify – the Connected Sensor Suite, brings everything together to give hotels a way to mitigate risks and be proactive.

The HALO Amplify solution includes panic buttons, people counting, open door/window, temperature/humidity, water leak sensors and more. It has been helpful in detecting floods or leaks in hotel laundry rooms, in addition to being used to monitor presence with its occupancy sensors.

This can be helpful if someone is not moving in a room, but a person has been detected as being present. If a guest is in distress and has not left their room, staff will be alerted and can do a welfare check.

Another way that smart sensors are being utilised at hotels is to help enforce the non-smoking policies. HALO can be used as an early warning system if someone is smoking or vaping in a guest room.

Now hotel managers have a way of providing evidence on who the perpetrator is and no longer need to worry about how they are going to provide proof.

“We are happy to give hotels evidence, so they can start collecting smoking/vaping fees that they were missing out on before deploying HALO,” said Mike Davis, Senior Director of Business Development, IPVideo, a Motorola Solutions Company.

“The HALO smart sensor can easily pay for itself with the cost savings from ensuring the efficiency of the building’s HVAC system and being able to enforce the smoking policy and collect fines.”

All bets on HALO

“Smart sensors have also become a huge asset for the gaming industry which continues to have a strong focus on air quality and occupancy monitoring,” added Davis.

Depending on the size of the casino and time of day, there can be hundreds to thousands of people in a particular area. With slot machines, blackjack tables, roulette tables and a host of other high roller tables, casinos need to be on top of their game when it comes to safety and security.

“It’s important for casino managers to understand the peak times when the casino floors are the busiest,” Davis continued.

“They can accomplish this through HALO’s occupancy sensor, which can provide accurate counts on the number of people in a particular area.

“It’s also important to be aware of the ventilation in the room and when it’s necessary to turn on the air conditioning unit, or refresh air on the casino floor.

“By engaging the HVAC systems only as needed, casinos can see significant savings in energy costs with HALO’s air quality sensors.”

The smart sensor offers both hotels and casinos a comprehensive way to better protect guests and staff.

From monitoring privacy areas in hotels such as guest rooms and public bathrooms to tracking occupancy levels in casinos, the functionality of the HALO smart sensor is endless. 

As the hospitality industry continues to grow and expand, HALO has made its reservation to expand with them as the smart sensor that is leading the way to a better tomorrow.