Seaport Hotel, a Four Diamond hotel with 426 rooms, is situated on Boston’s historic waterfront. Seaport Hotel was one of the first hotels in Boston to offer complimentary in-room Internet access and wireless technology. With a large conference center that allows companies and exhibitors to showcase their products, Seaport Hotel offers a distinctive guest experience for business and leisure travelers.


The Challenge

“We pride ourselves on being an innovative hotel, and want to constantly improve on the services we provide our customers,” explained John Burke, vice president of technology for Seaport Hotel. “With the recent growth in the area, many competing hotels have emerged. We were looking to provide our guests with a unique service and experience that would differentiate us from other hotels.”

After conducting focus groups and interviews with hotel guests, Seaport decided to create an innovative technology solution that would enhance the guest experience. “We decided to introduce an in-room interactive Web portal that would provide personalized services and features “on demand” through a touch screen computer,” said Burke.

Seaport invited proposals from manufacturers to find a device that would provide hotel guests with a single point of access for area information and to stay in touch with their offices. “During our pilot phase, we had selected a few thin client devices and some proved to be unreliable,” recalled Burke. “We realized the importance of choosing the right device to meet our ultimate goal of enhancing the guest experience— a single device that could provide information, telephone services and entertainment.”

Challenge Differentiate Seaport Hotel from other competing hotels Enhance guests’ stay by creating a unique service experience Provide touch-screen access to personalized services and features “on demand”

The Solution—IGEL Elegance 9617 XP

Seaport Hotel decided to standardize on IGEL Elegance 9617 XP in its rooms. “IGEL emerged because of its sleek profile and reliability,” praised Burke. By installing IGEL thin clients, Seaport Hotel was able to successfully roll out its Seaportal in-room interactive web portal to hotel guests rapidly and cost effectively. The IGEL Elegance 9617 XP, an integrated 17” LCD device with smartcard reader/writer, provided Seaport Hotel with the processing power and memory to host multiple digital services, gain wired and wireless network access and to consolidate different desktop devices such as a PC and a phone, which is their first step in device convergence in the hotel room.

Hotel guests enjoy simple, personalized touch-screen access to current hotel and local attraction information, travel updates, unrestricted Web and E-mail access, and direct calling capabilities. Guests can make complimentary local and domestic long distance calls over the Internet by using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.

“Within a short span of six weeks, we were able to easily implement the solution and train our staff,” said Burke. “The IGEL devices have helped us enhance the guest experience. With the product’s ease of use, even a first time user can, with the click of a button, be up and running immediately.”

Solution IGEL devices provide personalized access to Seaportal, an in-room interactive Web portal Touch-screen access to information, Web and travel updates Consolidated information access and interactive voice services

Benefits

Improved Guest Experience and Competitive Edge with Device Convergence

The Seaportal has become a valuable resource for Seaport Hotel guests, enhancing their stay by providing a wealth of customized information and appealing services. “With Seaportal, we have been able to raise the bar for hospitality technology in today’s dynamic marketplace,” said Burke.

“Seaport Hotel is the only property in the country to offer this state-of-the-art technology as a complimentary amenity to guests. While it is hard to put a dollar figure on a complimentary service, initial monitoring and feedback indicate that guests value the Seaportal’s offerings.”

By consolidating information access and interactive voice services, IGEL appliances have enabled Seaport Hotel to meet its goal of enhancing the guest experience. With a single touch-screen display, guests can contact the concierge, take care of reservations or make complimentary phone calls. In addition, Seaport Hotel is able to improve the quality of service it provides to guests by customizing the features based on the preferences of a guest. For example, a guest going to another location from Boston can get weather reports and driving directions for his new destination.

Based on hotel guests surveyed, 100 percent of respondents said that they found the Seaportal to be beneficial. According to the results, guests rely on the Seaportal for Internet access, weather reports, driving directions and VoIP services. Burke highlighted a user comment that said that the Seaportal “is a great addition to an already great hotel.”


Security of Data and Guest Records

“IGEL devices are very secure, and not susceptible to malicious code,” said Burke. “As soon as a guest leaves, the Seaportal automatically purges the cache, ensuring that the previous guest’s records are all erased. Since none of the information is stored on the device, the guest can leave with no worries about the security of data and information.”

In addition, with all the increased security that air travelers face today, the Seaportal provides guests with the option of traveling without their laptops. By providing attachment viewers on the IGEL appliance, Seaport has enabled guests to read their web based email, and to use printing features within their rooms.


Excellent Reliability and Manageability

By installing IGEL devices in the hotel rooms instead of traditional PCs, the IT team at Seaport Hotel has been able to centrally and efficiently manage all the applications, without having to touch each device individually. “With the click of a button, the IT team is able to provide personalized access to each guest and manage issues remotely,” said Burke.

“Whether it is updating information on the Web portal or updating client configurations, our team can achieve it within minutes instead of spending hours on manual and timeconsuming activities.” The IT team can also add and upgrade a digital service at any time, and the device can be set up in a new room within minutes.

In addition, Seaport Hotel has been impressed with the reliability of the devices. “Our team can proactively focus on serving the guests with the latest information instead of being bogged down by troubleshooting issues,” commented Burke. “Right from the time of implementation, IGEL appliances have worked well. Training our staff on these devices has also been simple and quick.”


Conclusion

With IGEL thin clients, Seaport Hotel has been able to provide its guests with personalized touch-screen access to information, applications and telephone services. These value-added services have helped the company gain a competitive edge while enhancing the experience it provides for hotel guests. Seaport Hotel believes that IGEL appliances will play an important role in its future plans. “We look forward to providing enhanced features such as ordering room service from the device,” concluded Burke. “IGEL appliances play an important role in our e-commerce strategy.”


Executive Summary


Industry

Seaport Hotel, situated on the historic waterfront in Boston, is a Four Diamond hotel with more than 400 rooms.


Business Situation

In order to differentiate itself from other hotels in the area, Seaport Hotel wanted to find a solution that created a unique service experience for its guests. Management’s vision was to provide guests with touch-screen access to personalized services and features “on demand.”


Solution

IGEL Elegance 9617 XP


Benefits

Seaport Hotel has been able to provide guest rooms with personalized touch-screen access to information, travel updates, unrestricted Web access, and direct voice calling capabilities on a single device. In addition, the IT team can add and upgrade a digital service available to guests at any time, and a device can be set up in a new room within minutes.