RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and hotel operations platform ALICE today announced a new hotel management solution that uses smartwatches to improve staff communications, speed responsiveness to guests, and enhance customer service. With connected, LTE-capable smartwatches easily accessible on their wrist, hotel employees in key operations – such as housekeeping, maintenance, and bellman service – can manage customer requests and resolve incidents more quickly and efficiently across departments.
The wearable solution was created by Samsung SDS, which is Samsung’s software and solutions organization. The solution combines the ALICE hotel platform and a Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch to help hospitality workers—who are often mobile—enhance productivity and guest service through ‘hands-free’ connectivity. Luxury hotel company Viceroy Hotel Group brought together ALICE and Samsung, and will be first to implement the digital solution to help Viceroy’s employees, who are constantly on the move.
With this solution, when a guest request or urgent need arises (i.e. towel delivery, broken toilet, luggage pickup), the department’s employees receive silent vibration alerts via the smartwatch on their wrist. The appropriate employee can respond to and accept the task with a tap of the smartwatch, informing staff that someone is attending to the guest. Managers can efficiently track tasks in real-time until service is completed.
The joint solution will debut at the HITEC 2018 conference in Houston, Texas, with demonstrations at the Samsung booth (#1929) and the ALICE booth (#2319) from June 18-21.
“This smartwatch solution from Samsung and ALICE provides a compelling tool for hotels, whose employees are often mobile, and require durable, hands-free operation for completing day-to-day tasks,” said Eric McCarty, Vice President, B2B Mobile Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. “With capabilities such as Samsung Knox built in, hotels not only have a wearable that keeps employees connected, but can be securely managed to meet specific business needs.”
Transforming Hotel Communications
Samsung and ALICE’s hands-free solution is ideal for hotel staff who need to handle objects and complete tasks with both hands, while keeping eyes focused on nearby guests. This includes maintenance workers on a two-handed repair job, room service carrying trays and housekeeping handling cleaning devices and who do not have instant access to phones. This also eliminates risks of dropping devices on the job, silences disruptive radio communications, and does away with hotel ‘corkboard’ check-ins.
“Samsung and ALICE are not just delivering a watch as an access point into the hotel’s infrastructure,” said Alex Shashou, President of ALICE. “We are providing three main benefits to hotels, including returning time to the staff so they have more time to execute better service. We are giving the staff back their hands, so there is one less thing to carry or break. And with a hands-free wearable as their main communications tool, we are restoring eye contact to hospitality – enabling the smile between guest and hotelier that has so long meant hospitality.”
In addition, the solution helps personnel across the hotel improve responsiveness, a key component of service in the industry, where most requests are interruption-driven and ongoing preventative tasks are superseded by reactive customer requests. Completing even mundane tasks—from fixing a clogged toilet to providing special VIP service—must be attended to in a responsive, quick matter to ensure success.
Accelerating Service at Viceroy
Viceroy Hotel Group, a modern luxury hotel brand with hotels and resorts around the world, will be first in the hotel industry to test the Samsung-ALICE wearable solution. The hotel is deploying the Samsung-ALICE smartwatch solution at their Viceroy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills property to provide staff with an easy-to-use device that is supportive of mobile workflows and contributes to customer satisfaction. With plans to roll out the wearable solution across their portfolio of hotels, Viceroy plans to shave minutes off each task-based request as a result of the smartwatch approach, increasing efficiencies. Minutes make all the difference in service-based environments, which must remain sensitive to a guest’s time.
“In the true spirit of connection, it’s been exhilarating to bring together two leaders in their respective industries to help discover new ways to create game-changing solutions that will advance the hotel industry,” said Darren Clark, Vice President of Technology at Viceroy Hotel Group. “We are excited to be an intrinsic part of the creative process by finding ways to make the smartwatch an integral, productive part of our strategy, and provide our team with seamless, real-time communications with guests.”
The solution will be available this summer. For more information on the ALICE platform, visit here.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovative leader in consumer electronics, mobile devices and enterprise solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA is pushing beyond the limits of today’s technology and providing consumers and organizations with a portfolio of groundbreaking products in appliances, home entertainment, Internet of Things, mobile computing, smartphones, virtual reality, wireless infrastructure and wearables, in addition to offering leading content and services related to mobile payments, 360-degree VR video, customer support and more. Samsung is a pioneering leader in smartphones and HDTVs in the U.S. and one of America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. For more information about Samsung’s Hospitality TV solutions, please visit www.samsung.com/hospitality or call 1-866-SAM-4BIZ.
About ALICE
ALICE has created the first complete communication, cost savings and revenue generation operations platform for hotels, which enhances the guest experience and connects all points within the hotel to simplify guest service - and make it more cost-effective.
Since the company was founded in 2013, ALICE has gained serious traction in the industry working many of the world's leading hotel brands, including Two Roads Hospitality, Dream Hotel Group, Grupo Posadas, SIXTY Hotels, NYLO Hotels, and Leading Hotels of the World. For more information, visit www.ALICEplatform.com.
About Viceroy Hotel Group
Viceroy Hotel Group inspires travelers with one-of-a-kind authentic lifestyle experiences that bring together provocative design and intuitive service in sought-after locations. A leader in modern luxury, Viceroy’s vibe-led hospitality is guided by the brand promise “Remember to Live,” an affirmation to create lifelong memories for each and every guest. Viceroy destinations are segmented into three distinct portfolio tiers to help travelers find exactly the kind of experience they’re looking for. The Viceroy Icon Collection properties include epic hotels and resorts in Los Cabos, Chicago, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Beverly Hills, Riviera Maya, Snowmass, and St. Lucia, with forthcoming openings in Algarve, Buenos Aires, Panama, and Vietnam. The Viceroy Lifestyle Series hotels and resorts are found in attitude-led destinations including New York and Santa Monica, with a forthcoming opening in Serbia. The Urban Retreat Collection properties in San Francisco have an independent spirit and bold, eccentric personalities. Viceroy Hotel Group is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) DISCOVERY, a unique loyalty program offering exclusive benefits and experiences to its members at over 500 hotels around the world. For more information, visit www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com. Follow Viceroy Hotel Group at facebook.com/viceroyhotelgroup and on Instagram and Twitter @viceroyhotels.