Hyatt Hotels and Resorts has announced it will roll out a new in-room interactive television (iTV) system that includes a virtual concierge and several entertainment applications in its properties across North America.
Pete Sears, senior vice president of North America operations for Hyatt, when describing the new technology, said: “Imagine a world where you can use your hotel room television to place your room service order, book a local tour, stream a movie from your Netflix account, and download a document to be printed at the front desk.”
The iTV system will run popular apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and YouTube, manage and print documents, make room service or housekeeping requests, “such as new towels or extra robes,” while meeting and group planners can use the it to send customised messages, information and updates directly to each delegate’s room.
The rollout of the new iTV system, run by technology provider Roomlinx, will begin immediately and is expected to be complete within the next two years. At present, this system is already available at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Andaz 5th Avenue in New York and the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Centre.
Another innovation that the hotel group is pilot testing is an “Express Welcome” programme, similar to Starwood’s “Smart Check In” initiative (see story here), which will enable Gold Passport members to use their tailored membership cards as keycards. Members can check in online and receive their room number thus negating the need to queue up at reception when arriving at the hotel.
Click here to read more about technologies that other hotels are offering and for more information, visit www.hyatt.com
Alisha Haridasani
