#HTNEXT: Can the Guestroom TV Be an Effective Engagement Tool?
HT-NEXT will offer attendees "Lightning Chats: Bolts of Insight in 20 Minutes" on April 12. During these sessions, attendees will have the chance to hear speakers discuss important topics. One such speaker, Lenny Jachimowicz, vice president, global operation, engineering & guest experience, Marriott International Inc., will lead a session titled: "Optimizing the In-Room Experience Through the TV."
The guestroom television has been the subject of much debate on matters of its efficacy as an engagement tool. As guests increasingly bring their own devices and want to watch their own content, hotels have had to address how to utilize this ubiquitous piece of technology. Jachimowicz will share how Marriott has addressed what was a poor in-room experience and transformed it into a global solution for Marriott that allows guests to view OTT content and screencast with a Marriott-patented solution. Jachimowicz will detail how he and his team made the set top box the key for a holistic solution that is fluid, setting the foundation for future upgrades such as voice automation.
Jachimowicz is a senior executive with 45 years of experience whose career began with Marriott in 1972 at the 750-room Philadelphia City Line Marriott Hotel. Marriott had less than 20 hotels when Jachimowicz started as a maintenance helper in Philadelphia and through the years worked his way to Director of Engineering. In 1984, Jachimowicz accepted the position of Regional Director for New England and oversaw 13 Full Service hotels. Shortly after accepting the regional position New York was added to his responsibilities, bringing the number of Full Service hotels under his direction to 27. He stayed in the regional position for 6 years, and in 1989 became Division Director of Engineering for the Courtyard Brand, which was growing at 40 new builds per year.
By the end of 1996, Jachimowicz was promoted to Vice President of Engineering for Marriott’s Select Service and Extended Stay Brands. Four years later he was promoted again to Vice President of Engineering for North America. Jachimowicz restructured the Engineering organization reducing costs while improving energy conservation, preventative maintenance, asset protection and human capital development.
In 2009 he was selected to lead the Engineering and Facilities Management Group for Marriott as Global Vice President. As business continued to grow in 2014, he was asked to take on more responsibility and assumed a leadership role for Guest Experience.
Within a few months of adding Guest Experience, Jachimowicz stepped outside his comfort zone to accept the role of developing and deploying the next generation “in-room entertainment” project where he manages a team of IT and Digital professionals. Within 2 years, under Jachimowicz’s leadership, the project was a huge success exceeding all expectation and becoming a leader in the hospitality industry.
Today Jachimowicz and his team provide business planning, strategy, governance, and operations support to over 6000 hotels across 31 Brands in 120 countries. After 45 years, Jachimowicz continues to thrive on the ever-changing hospitality business and gets enjoyment from developing future leaders, building global platforms and solving complex business problems.
He has sat for two terms on the Board of Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI) International, currently sits on the Advisory Board for Direct TV and GuesTek and is a 2005 graduate of Marriott’s Executive Development Program. He has been invited by several organizations to speak globally about his career success, which he describes as “moving from the boiler room to the board room”.
HT-NEXT unites two industry leading events, Hotel Technology Forum and HTNG North America, into one immersive networking and educational event for hotel executives and solution providers. HT-NEXT is where business and technology meet.
To learn more about and register for HT-NEXT, visit http://www.ht-next.com.
The guestroom television has been the subject of much debate on matters of its efficacy as an engagement tool. As guests increasingly bring their own devices and want to watch their own content, hotels have had to address how to utilize this ubiquitous piece of technology. Jachimowicz will share how Marriott has addressed what was a poor in-room experience and transformed it into a global solution for Marriott that allows guests to view OTT content and screencast with a Marriott-patented solution. Jachimowicz will detail how he and his team made the set top box the key for a holistic solution that is fluid, setting the foundation for future upgrades such as voice automation.
Jachimowicz is a senior executive with 45 years of experience whose career began with Marriott in 1972 at the 750-room Philadelphia City Line Marriott Hotel. Marriott had less than 20 hotels when Jachimowicz started as a maintenance helper in Philadelphia and through the years worked his way to Director of Engineering. In 1984, Jachimowicz accepted the position of Regional Director for New England and oversaw 13 Full Service hotels. Shortly after accepting the regional position New York was added to his responsibilities, bringing the number of Full Service hotels under his direction to 27. He stayed in the regional position for 6 years, and in 1989 became Division Director of Engineering for the Courtyard Brand, which was growing at 40 new builds per year.
By the end of 1996, Jachimowicz was promoted to Vice President of Engineering for Marriott’s Select Service and Extended Stay Brands. Four years later he was promoted again to Vice President of Engineering for North America. Jachimowicz restructured the Engineering organization reducing costs while improving energy conservation, preventative maintenance, asset protection and human capital development.
In 2009 he was selected to lead the Engineering and Facilities Management Group for Marriott as Global Vice President. As business continued to grow in 2014, he was asked to take on more responsibility and assumed a leadership role for Guest Experience.
Within a few months of adding Guest Experience, Jachimowicz stepped outside his comfort zone to accept the role of developing and deploying the next generation “in-room entertainment” project where he manages a team of IT and Digital professionals. Within 2 years, under Jachimowicz’s leadership, the project was a huge success exceeding all expectation and becoming a leader in the hospitality industry.
Today Jachimowicz and his team provide business planning, strategy, governance, and operations support to over 6000 hotels across 31 Brands in 120 countries. After 45 years, Jachimowicz continues to thrive on the ever-changing hospitality business and gets enjoyment from developing future leaders, building global platforms and solving complex business problems.
He has sat for two terms on the Board of Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI) International, currently sits on the Advisory Board for Direct TV and GuesTek and is a 2005 graduate of Marriott’s Executive Development Program. He has been invited by several organizations to speak globally about his career success, which he describes as “moving from the boiler room to the board room”.
HT-NEXT unites two industry leading events, Hotel Technology Forum and HTNG North America, into one immersive networking and educational event for hotel executives and solution providers. HT-NEXT is where business and technology meet.
To learn more about and register for HT-NEXT, visit http://www.ht-next.com.