See-And Touch- The Future
"A Look into Microsoft's Executive Briefing Center"
In Redmond Washington, amazing things are happening. Microsoft Home and the Microsoft Center for Information Work (CIW) are predicting and revealing the future in hospitality information technologies. In order to be successful, companies need to offer guests personalized experiences. Microsoft Home is developing technology that would completely eliminate the traditional room key altogether. It offers retinal and facial recognition technology in order to gain access to the room, as well as voice recognition and fingerprints. Upon entering the room, the guest's own personalized room settings are adjusted to what they prefer. This includes temperate, lighting, window shade position and even music. The technology can even change the walls and decor of the room to reflect the guest's current mood, and display family photos.
Many new technologies are being developed to assist people in the workforce who are working out of their homes or in more than one office. Microsoft Roundtable, developed by Microsoft CIW, is a new technology that will greatly enhance online meetings. It shows participants attending a meeting in real time, and includes a "smart camera" that will point to whoever is speaking at the moment. The CIW has also developed web-based workspaces where meeting attendees can collaborate their ideas and share information.
Microsoft has given me some faith in the hospitality industry in the coming years. If companies continue to be innovative and keep updating their technology there is no saying how far we can go with it. The retinal and facial recognition is great for hotels who are very concerned about the security of their guests. Imagine going to your hotel room with no room key, all you have to do is stand at the door and it will unlock for you. Personalizing the rooms is the greatest new technology that I am looking forward to experiencing. Many people who travel a lot may feel uncomfortable in hotel rooms, but these smart rooms are one great way to make them feel more at home and keep them coming back. Microsoft Roundtable gives you an experience unlike any other be being able to be in a meeting in the convenience of your own hotel room. Imagine the day when you can fly across the country to be on vacation, but still be able to participate in your meeting back home that you needed to be at. Then, when the meeting is done, you can go right back to what you were doing. New technologies like the ones being developed in Redmond Washington at Microsoft keep the hospitality business new exciting. I'm looking forward to the future. Are you?
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4 comments:
I think that the personalized setting in hotel rooms is one of the most fascinating topics in hospitality technology. Whenever I stay in a hotel it is usually with my family and for only about two or three nights. Rarely do I stop and think of the constant business traveler, living out of suitcases and trying to make a hotel as close to their "home away from home" as possible. Also, a big trend now is adding suites to hotels or places for "extended stay" and I think that the Redmond Washington has such a great concept. When you stay at a mid-market hotel, it's too often lacking personality with bland picture frames nailed to the wall. The fact that there is technology that can actually reflect family photos is really incredible. Also, so many business meetings are held within hotels that the "smart camera" sounds like an innovative technology that isn't excessive and can not only benefit the hotel's profit margin, but really the overall ease of guest activity. Room keys seem to have always been an issue for improvement and this retinal technology is the safest option to date. So many times I have wondered what happens to my room key after I check out, or what happens if I lose it. There is always so much emphasis on comfort and luxury, but safety is certainly an important issue. Plus, this new technology just sounds so convenient. My family always fights over who has to hold the room key or which kid is the most responsible, or even who has pockets. It would be so great not to have to fish around in a bag to open your hotel room. I really cannot wait until I get a chance to stay in such a future-forward hotel room.
This topic was a very interesting one to read. With all these new technologies being created every day it makes living for the future even more exciting! I am especially looking forward to the implementation of the retinal and facial recognition technology. That would make life so much more convenient for everyone. I feel like personalizing hotel rooms has been one of the most popular trends among companies in these past few years, and it's great to see so much advancement.
I believe that the retinal, facial, voice, and fingerprinting recognition technology is a wonderful idea. It completely eliminates the hassle of activating cards, and guests will no longer have to worry about losing cards or making sure everybody has their own card so that they can get in the room without help from their roommate. However, the older generations may be skeptical about trusting their valuables to be left in a room secured by technology that they are not comfortable with. I agree that online meetings will be a huge success in the near future. This technology, though expensive, will certainly save a lot of money on plane tickets, hotel rooms, food costs, and the cost of time spent traveling. However, many younger employees value a job based on its traveling opportunities. Traveling is also valuable in that it brings the people together and gives a more intimate chance to impress the clients and show your willingness to enjoy their customs and appreciate their company, which I feel is a crucial part of doing business.
This article has me waiting til the day these technologies become the "norm" of hotels. Oftentimes, I have visited hotels that have rooms that exude a "cold" and unwelcoming atmosphere so of course I love the idea of a personalized setting in my hotel room. Since I plan to work in the hospitality industry, I am expecting to spend a lot of time travelling and being away from home. This is why I would love to spend my time in a room that has my own personal photos on the walls. When I stay in hotels, I also like to believe I am safe so I think retinal technology is very promising and interesting. I think this would greatly decrease the amount of incidences where non-hotel guests trespass and sneak onto the room floors and into guestrooms. I also hope the idea of "smart camera" becomes a reality very soon because I hope to have a family someday and not always be away on businesstrips or in the office attending numerous conferences.
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