Tomorrow at HITEC, Hotel Communication Network (HCN) will reveal a new AI-powered in-room tablet that will radically change the way 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, will be on display June 25 to 27 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Booth #3836.

AiMe uses natural language processing to respond to guests’ unstructured requests and creates actionable tasks that can be relayed from the tablet to the hotel’s service system and then to staff.

           AiMe:                “Hello Mr. Stevens. I’m AiMe. How can I be of service?”

           Mr. Stevens:     “I’d like to order lunch.”

An ordering screen appears.

AiMe:                “May I verbally take your order or would you like to see the menu?”

Mr. Stevens:     “Yes, please take my order. I’ll have . . .”

                                   The meal is delivered to the room or a location specified by the guest.

“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.”

At HITEC, HCN will discuss how AiMe can or will:

• Interpret the tone of a guest message and identify key words 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 inconvenient and time-consuming TV applications, costly voice solutions, outdated alarm clocks, and rarely used 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% of travelers having downloaded the brand app, brands can promote use of their brand app using a device that reaches 100% of hotel guests.  Operators can replace loss-leaders like room services with a digital ordering platform that brings food and beverage to guests from local restaurants. Better yet, it’s all managed by the AI-powered tablet provider.

• Eliminate room clutter from printed compendiums and QR code table tents and inconveniently placed and easily damaged stickers promoting marketing messages and digital tipping.

Tablets are Trending!

The communication platform making the most traction today is the interactive guestroom tablet. HCN’s Navigator 2.0 is a rich, modern approach to guest engagement and revenue enhancement. The cloud-based platform is built on the latest technology stack leapfrogging traditional guest-facing solutions.

Features of the AI-Powered Navigator 2.0 tablet platform include:

• An elegant look and feel with a Netflix-inspired user interface that appeals to the masses.
• Compelling content in any language the hotel chooses to draw people in to click around, discover on-premises services and amenities, and spend more money on site.
• Hotel staff can now easily and immediately update content to the guest room devices. No need to rely on a service provider to deliver costly content management resources.
• A Bluetooth pairable speaker base with high-quality sound, USB A&C charging points, and stunning HD graphics. The speaker base also serves as a voice assistant, enabling guests to request services and amenities, report problems, plus control the room environment by voice command.

“We hope everyone stops by HCN Booth 3836 at HITEC to see AiMe in action,” Schubert said. “This AI-powered tablet is making it possible to achieve a 100% reach to hotel guests and drive better customer engagement.”