Vendfun Introduces Industry’s First Hybrid Kiosk for Budget Hotels and Homestays
Vendfun Sdn Bhd, a hospitality kiosk solutions provider, launched Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk, an innovative 2-in-1 kiosk that combines self-service check-in and check-out features with vending capabilities. Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk is equipped with a 50-inch touch-screen panel that allows guests to check-in and check-out, as well as redeem promo vouchers and purchase products such as food and drinks. The patent-pending Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk is marketed to budget hotels and homestays in Malaysia and available on rental and Rent-to-Own (RTO) bases directly from Vendfun.
Key features of Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk are a cashless payment facility, a passport scanner, a receipt printer, a room card dispenser, and built-in vending capabilities. The Hybrid Kiosk is also compatible with any hotel property management system (PMS) software to allow hotels to customize features of their preference.
Benny Wee, founder and CEO of Vendfun said, “We are thrilled to introduce Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk to the market because we know many hotel operators are dealing with persistent human resources issues while scrambling to cut cost to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. So, we want to help them by automating check-in and check-out services to increase operational efficiency and provide convenience to hotel guests.”
Beside automation, Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk also provides a unique return on investment opportunity that no other kiosks in the market can provide. The hotels can have a new income stream when they start selling drinks, snacks, and personal care products through the kiosk.
Three units of Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk have been installed – Fenix Inn Hotel in Melaka, Sky View Hotel in Dengkil, Selangor, and GM Hotel Sunway Metro in Selangor. The Company has been getting orders from other hotels in Selangor and they expect to install more Vendfun Hybrid Kiosks in the coming months.
Ms PY Khoo, Hotel Manager at Sky View Hotel said, “Vendfun Hybrid Kiosk can help us solve human resources issues, especially for night shifts. We also like the fact that we now can offer our guests a complimentary drink directly from the kiosk when they check in. It’s really unique!”
Vendfun plans to add new solutions to its kiosks soon. This includes memberships and e-concierge services to provide a complete elevated staying experience to guests.
As part of its roadmap, Vendfun plans to add an artificial intelligence component to the kiosks before year-end. “We want to add AI so that hotels can offer more personalized services such as, when the system detects guests checking in with a child, the kiosk will dispense a special welcome gift for the child, as a warm gesture to appreciate their patronage,” Benny explained.
“Another use of AI is to enhance security where we will look into using facial recognition to cross-check guest ID cards to ensure the person on the card is the same person checking in,” he concluded.
Being PMS-agnostic, Vendfun is keen on partnering with hotel PMS players in the market for a win-win situation.