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IID

Connectivity

Both digitally and face to face and how you design hotels differently to accommodate this.

e are in a space where things send the code for the guests’ room and then Midrand, Johannesburg. Waterfall City has
have changed and have come the guest simply swipes their phone to gain won awards for creating mixed-use facilities,
Wto culmination. We have to easy access. where already there are integrations that
come up with divergent thinking processes These keyless options also eliminate the a building has especially for lifestyle
and creative processes that you know allow challenges of guests losing keys and going orientated customers and clients. Building
us to move beyond the Covid-19 space. to reception for new ones. It’s important for apps with seamless services that allow
The current infrastructure needs lot of us to fund these infrastructure upgrades residents and guests to order food that can
retrofitting that will make these spaces work and implement faster connectivity because be kept warm at reception while you are in
at full capacity. the user of today is looking for speed, they your room or apartment, where you can
Technology has moved far faster than don’t have time for taking long, even in collect the item at reception when you are
what the buildings currently have and can leisure travel and stays. ready to do so.
accommodate; 75% of guests today want to be able to There are already interpretations in terms
Structures are sitting empty, some do everything from checking in at a venue’s of location and abilities to connect easily.
structures are not being used. How do those automated kiosk, to ordering room service, How do we invest in such spaces so that we
buildings and interiors become a mixed-use to enjoying their own entertainment with a can also create employment and create an
hub? How do we reinvent how we use these digital device, instead of standing in queues integrated holistic network and ecosystem?
spaces? How do we connect digitally and and moving around the hotel premises to Customer profiles have changed in
then face to face? In Africa we still value order food. the past decade. With data analytics
face to face engagements. being available at hand, how do we then
Digitally integrated facilities collaborate with these companies that have
After conducting some intense research Digitally integrated facilities start looking these data analytics of customer profiles,
about the readiness of Africa as a whole at customer profiles. We have different types and be able to create engaging and more
for connectivity: of travelers thus different types of customer informative encouraging spaces, as well as
The government AI readiness index of profiles. Some people are more lifestyle economically supportive spaces.
2020 noted that the top five countries are in orientated, others mostly business travel. In Room entertainment has evolved.
the West, namely United States of America, The Sheraton in Los Angeles, literally just Quickly logging on to your phone and
United Kingdom, Finland, Germany and launched in July a fully automated hotel. integrating onto room TV screens instead of
Sweden. When you look at the top five This also speaks to the customer profile they a designated bouquet with certain channels
in Africa; we have Egypt, South Africa, are targeting. From the entrance, robots has now become completely outdated.
Tunisia, Kenya and Rwanda. take your luggage to your room and guide A company called Beyond TV is already
This speaks to AI and digital connectivity you through the hotel amenities. making innovations with integrating voice
nodes. Where readiness is able to become Not everyone would be accustomed to activations and merging technology that a
fully digitised and fully integrated for this type of environment, because some customer or client can link to Netflix, DSTV
functions like smart cities, buildings, people here in Africa still believe in human and other video streaming platforms. Their
interiors and smart service deliveries. engagement, and still value having someone product range can work with existing tv sets
These nodes are really investing in welcome you and guide you through the instead of reinvesting in too much money
infrastructure for digital connectivity and process, even if it’s digitised on a tablet or into existing hotels.
new markets, millennials, the generation-z smart phone. There’s a value in also creating Guests just connect to their own
market, and not forgetting the older conversation and also a sense of connection entertainment without even having to
generations with the way that they’re able because we also don’t want to lose the worry about putting their personal login
to connect. The older generations might not service connection. People are an important details onto the screens onto smart screens,
be as tech savvy, but they still value human part of the Hotel Industry Eco System. and tvs. From a design point of view, how
engagement in Africa. Customer profiles can be built into hotel do we then design these components
apps, where the back-end staff can see the to neatly house into onscreen walls or
Wi-fi and infrastructure overhauls are type of customer who will be staying at the surfaces?
pertinent in hotel spaces. hotel, and how the hotel can pre-arrange The back-end staff and facility managers
The standard is that guests are looking the items the customer likes or prefers and also need to keep track of what’s happening
for hotels that are already providing faster add these to the customer experience. in terms of the hotel facilities. Apps like
and more seamless connectivity. They also We can design spaces, framework and the Aurecon allow architects and designers to
want to be able to check into their rooms economy around design services and as well import their models and their 3D models
with keyless options where there is NFC as design thinking. into the back end. This gives information to
technology that is built into mobiles and Location is something that’s highly staff about the element that’s in the facility
can download the hotel app. The hotel will important. An example is Waterfall City in as well as improved services.

20 Issue 246 • dw