InterContinental Hotels Deploys 'Boxed Set' of Services for Guest Amenities
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and IBM today announced the first deployment of its "Hotel-in-a-Box" solution at Holiday Inn Express properties in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As a result, Holiday Inn Express was able to slash technology and property support systems implementation time in half.
Designed in conjunction with IHG, Hotel in-a-Box (HIB) is an integrated technology package that provides hotel owners who are building properties from the ground up with a fully managed, cost saving solution. HIB includes the design, development and management of the core systems needed to support a property, including property management, cabling & wiring, network design, guest high speed Internet access, door locking, telephone switch (PBX) & phones, video surveillance, voicemail, business center, HDTV and in-room entertainment.
Customer service is paramount in the hospitality industry, and HIB enables hotel owners to offer guests services they have come to expect, including high definition content, Internet access, business productivity tools, Web TV, music, games and more, available through user-friendly platforms.
A single point of access
"IBM did a fantastic installation, and in our first month since we opened, all systems are working without a hitch," says Suresh Desai, director of administration for Pinnacle Hospitality, a full service hotel, restaurant and conference center management company that oversees the new Holiday Inn Express properties in Spartanburg. "We selected IBM because it is a single, trusted point of contact with buying power and installation expertise. You wouldn't buy a car by going to different vendors and selecting the tires, engine or auto body — you want the package, and that's what we got."
Holiday Inn's HIB is built on the IBM System x and was implemented by IBM Global Technology Services. The system can be tailored to any owner's needs and includes IBM support for designing, building and installation, and ongoing assistance.
"In the very competitive hospitality industry, a positive customer experience is paramount," says Gustaaf Schrils, vice president of hotel technology and services, IHG. "This means every guest touch point from check-in to all services offered has to be anticipated and working smoothly. IBM's Hotel-in-a-Box provides consistent, high-quality deployment and a tremendous value for our owners when dealing with the complexity of today's hotel technology ecosystem. Another advantage is IBM's full 24/7/365 support for all systems, eliminating the need to deal with multiple vendors and increasing the efficiency of the hotel staff."
Designed in conjunction with IHG, Hotel in-a-Box (HIB) is an integrated technology package that provides hotel owners who are building properties from the ground up with a fully managed, cost saving solution. HIB includes the design, development and management of the core systems needed to support a property, including property management, cabling & wiring, network design, guest high speed Internet access, door locking, telephone switch (PBX) & phones, video surveillance, voicemail, business center, HDTV and in-room entertainment.
Customer service is paramount in the hospitality industry, and HIB enables hotel owners to offer guests services they have come to expect, including high definition content, Internet access, business productivity tools, Web TV, music, games and more, available through user-friendly platforms.
A single point of access
"IBM did a fantastic installation, and in our first month since we opened, all systems are working without a hitch," says Suresh Desai, director of administration for Pinnacle Hospitality, a full service hotel, restaurant and conference center management company that oversees the new Holiday Inn Express properties in Spartanburg. "We selected IBM because it is a single, trusted point of contact with buying power and installation expertise. You wouldn't buy a car by going to different vendors and selecting the tires, engine or auto body — you want the package, and that's what we got."
Holiday Inn's HIB is built on the IBM System x and was implemented by IBM Global Technology Services. The system can be tailored to any owner's needs and includes IBM support for designing, building and installation, and ongoing assistance.
"In the very competitive hospitality industry, a positive customer experience is paramount," says Gustaaf Schrils, vice president of hotel technology and services, IHG. "This means every guest touch point from check-in to all services offered has to be anticipated and working smoothly. IBM's Hotel-in-a-Box provides consistent, high-quality deployment and a tremendous value for our owners when dealing with the complexity of today's hotel technology ecosystem. Another advantage is IBM's full 24/7/365 support for all systems, eliminating the need to deal with multiple vendors and increasing the efficiency of the hotel staff."