InterContinental Hotels and IBM Boost Guest Experience (United States)
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InterContinental Hotels and IBM Boost Guest Experience (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-06-08
'Hotel-in-a-Box' Technology Speeds Implementation of Guest Services
IBM (NYSE:IBM) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) today announced the first deployment of its "Hotel-in-a-Box" solution at Holiday Inn Express properties in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As a result, Holiday Inn Express was able to slash technology and property support systems implementation time in half.
Designed in conjunction with IHG, Hotel-in-a-Box (HIB) is an integrated technology package that provides hotel owners who are building properties from the ground up with a fully managed, cost saving solution. HIB includes the design, development and management of the core systems needed to support a property, including property management, cabling & wiring, network design, guest high speed Internet access, door locking, telephone switch (PBX) & phones, video surveillance, voicemail, business center, HDTV and in-room entertainment.
Customer service is paramount in the hospitality industry, and HIB enables hotel owners to offer guests services they have come to expect through user-friendly platforms, including high definition content, Internet access, business productivity tools, Web TV, music, games and more.
"IBM did a fantastic installation, and in our first month since we opened, all systems are working without a hitch," said Suresh Desai, Director of Administration for Pinnacle Hospitality, a full service hotel, restaurant and conference center Management Company that oversees the new Holiday Inn Express properties in Spartanburg. "We selected IBM because it is a single, trusted point of contact with buying power and installation expertise. You wouldn't buy a car by going to different vendors and selecting the tires, engine or auto body -- you want the package, and that's what we got."
Holiday Inn's HIB is built on the IBM System x and was implemented by IBM Global Technology Services. The system can be tailored to any owner's needs and includes IBM support for designing, building and installation, and ongoing assistance.
"In the very competitive hospitality industry, a positive customer experience is paramount," said Gustaaf Schrils, Vice President of Hotel Technology and Services, IHG. "This means every guest touch point, from check-in to all services offered, has to be anticipated and working smoothly. IBM's Hotel-in-a-Box provides consistent, high-quality deployment and a tremendous value for our owners when dealing with the complexity of today's hotel technology ecosystem. Another advantage is IBM's full 24/7/365 support for all systems, eliminating the need to deal with multiple vendors and increasing the efficiency of the hotel staff."
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, more than 4,200 hotels and more than 620,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.
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