iPad Concierge!

10/01/2012

It’s official. Apple’s revolutionary tablet is now coming to a hotel near you! Aloft Hotels, part of the renowned Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has introduced the IPAD as a real-life concierge for their guests for restaurant recommendations in the city.

Each property will have two iPad “stations” near the front desk where guests are able to make reservations, research entertainment options and activities to plan their local itineraries. Wait, there’s more! In addition to making dinner reservations at a downtown hip restaurant, the iPad concierge will allow travelers to look up directions, check their flight status, print boarding passes, as well as look up directions and phone numbers!

Presently, the iPads have been installed at Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts, Aloft Harlem in New York, Aloft Phoenix Airport, Aloft Tallahassee and Aloft Chennai properties. The group plans to incorporate the iPad system in eleven more properties in January and February of this year.

Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood stated their reasoning for introducing this new strategy, “Our guests tend to be independent and tech-savvy so the tablet-based concierge program allows them to conveniently plan their schedules in a familiar way that enhances their overall experience”.

The Aloft brand is not the only industry player promoting this technology as a handful of airlines and other hotels such as The Plaza and Mondrian Soho in New York City have adopted similar services and devices.

M. LESCOLE