Hotel Communication Network (HCN) released an AI-powered in-room tablet that will change how hotel guests request services, communicate their needs, place F&B orders from local restaurants, and more via voice commands in multiple languages. AiMe, an AI Concierge, is on display at HITEC 2024.
AiMe uses natural language processing to respond to guests’ requests and creates actionable tasks that can be relayed from the tablet to the hotel’s service system and then to staff.
“Leveraging technology to order room service and fulfill service requests is nothing new; hoteliers have been partnering with suppliers for decades to streamline two-way guest communications,” said Neil Schubert, HCN product officer and former advisory board member of Hotel Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP). “But most of the existing communication solutions on the market have their shortcomings. That’s why we developed AiMe.”
“Rather than sending a text message blindly through the hotel app, a guest needing clean washcloths can now walk over to the in-room tablet and simply ask AiMe for whatever he or she wants in whatever language they prefer,” Schubert said. “No more going through the front desk or hotel operator and waiting for the request to be re-entered into the correct system to get to the right department. The data is sent from the tablet to the hotel’s service system and then to the housekeeper or floor supervisor—depending on who is equipped with a mobile device. AiMe can create and close work orders, summon the bell captain, remind guests of important meeting or event times, activate room controls, and much more.”
AiMe can or will:
- Interpret the tone of a guest message and identify keywords spoken so if a hotel guest is frustrated, for example, the request can be escalated to a hotel manager.
- Provide granular information to pinpoint the exact location of a housekeeper in distress when integrated with panic button platforms.
- Update room status. By accessing a tablet’s back-office mode (which is integrated with the hotel’s PMS), housekeepers or room supervisors can speak or type updates rather than using room phones with dial codes.
- Replace in-room electronics, including TV applications, voice solutions, alarm clocks, and bedside phones.
- Personalize experiences and drive loyalty by providing added conveniences, like speaking natural language commands to the AI Concierge or touching icons on the tablet to control room temperature, lights, do not disturb status, make-up room, and more.
- Broaden adoption of brand apps. With only 20 percent of travelers having downloaded the brand app, brands can promote the use of their app using a device that reaches 100 percent of hotel guests. Operators can replace loss-leaders like room services with a digital ordering platform that brings food and beverages to guests from local restaurants.
- Eliminate room clutter from printed compendiums and QR code table tents and stickers promoting marketing messages and digital tipping.
The communication platform making the most traction is the interactive guestroom tablet. HCN’s Navigator 2.0 is an approach to guest engagement and revenue enhancement.
The AI-Powered Navigator 2.0 tablet platform includes:
- An updated look and feel with a Netflix-inspired user interface.
- Content in any language the hotel chooses.
- Hotel staff can update content on the guestroom devices.
- A Bluetooth pairable speaker base with USB A&C charging points and HD graphics. The speaker base also serves as a voice assistant, enabling guests to request services and amenities, report problems, and control the room environment by voice command.
