Swisscom signs The Royal Garden Hotel, London with award winning* ConnectedHotel TV
The capital’s celebrated Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, has partnered with Swisscom Hospitality Services in order to deliver an enhanced guest experience worthy of this internationally acclaimed 5-star operation.
In what has been described by Patrick de la Mar, rooms division manager at the Royal Garden Hotel, as “another milestone in service delivery,” Swisscom will provide a complete connectivity and entertainment solution to guest rooms and public and private meeting areas across all 10 floors of this prestigious 400 bed room hotel.
Through ConnectedHotel TV from Swisscom, guests can consult web based services such as weather forecasts, real-time flight information and news portals, in addition to watching live TV and video on demand, all via the guest room TV screen. The flash-based system is incredibly fast and interactive with an immediate response between the remote control and the user interface. Plus the system does not need an external set top box as all functionality is directly built into the TV set. This means a lower energy cost and a distinct design advantage in that additional equipment and cabling does not need to be concealed in drawers or hidden behind the TV screen.
Swisscom will also provide high speed wired and wireless Internet access in all guest rooms with customised interfaces for both laptop and Smartphone users, offering the level of connectivity that is required by today’s demanding business and leisure travellers.
As part of an intensive evaluation process, The Royal Garden Hotel, assessed the Swisscom technology against other leading suppliers. Swisscom came out tops, as Patrick explains. “Naturally, we are very protective of our brand. We would never risk compromising our reputation by working with a supplier that we were unsure of. With guaranteed service levels and 24/7 support Swisscom proved time and time again that they are fully capable of meeting the needs of a 5* operation. It is also reassuring that we can count on a true hospitality specialist that has access to all the technology know-how and resources that you would expect from a major telecommunications company.”
“Swisscom has a clear appreciation of our commercial goals and can look at our daily challenges from a hotel operator’s perspective. The technology is future proof and designed to evolve as our business needs change over time – it is a forward-looking investment that we are performing in full confidence and trust. Moreover, Swisscom were flexible enough to adjust their pricing structure to meet our commercial needs.”
The Swisscom project will go live in March 2011 and will coincide with a rolling programme of upgrades through the hotel.
Ollie East, sales director, UK and Ireland for Swisscom Hospitality Services says “The Royal Garden Hotel was keen to embrace new technology as a way of improving, still further, the total guest experience. Our ConnectedHotel TV solution not only offers more complete guest entertainment options as it allows The Royal Garden Hotel to make use of web-based contents; it also merges the provisioning of Internet and television services into one single room device. We are delighted to have the opportunity to align ourselves with the Royal Garden Hotel London. Just the association with such an acclaimed hotel operation speaks volumes about the quality of our technology offering.”
**Comment – Hospitality and Catering News
“Two videos were recently filmed at The Royal Garden demonstrating the simplicity of installation for hotels and the benefits to guests, both are well worth watching, just click on images below.”
*Swisscom’s ConnectedHotel TV was recently voted best product of the year by the readers of German hotel magazine Top Hotel. The award of the Top Hotel STAR AWARD 2010 further distinguishes Swisscom’s ConnectedHotel TV as one of the industry’s prime technology innovations of the year. For further information, please contact Swisscom at +44 207 348 6770 or visit the connectedhoteltv website
About Swisscom Hospitality Services
Swisscom Hospitality Services is a leader in converged technology solutions for the global hospitality industry. We provide hoteliers with integrated cost-effective communication solutions whilst meeting their guests’ unique needs.
We design, build and manage the hotel’s full network infrastructure, laying the foundation for a scalable service environment. Through the networks we manage, we deliver premium guest services such as IPTV, HSIA, branded portals, business center and conference solutions, and we support 3rd party applications to run on the same networks.
Our services cover 2,300 partner locations encompassing more than 275’000 guest rooms across Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as North America.
www.swisscom.com/hospitality