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Definitely Doug 9/29/23: Experience Matters! (Part Two)
Posted: 09/29/2023

In my last blog, I introduced the topic of software that enables hotel guests to book local experiences. I cited potential key benefits, including commission revenue, guest satisfaction, reduced staff workload, and new direct bookings.

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Three Mistakes Hotels Are Making with Wi-Fi
Posted: 09/18/2023

Wi-Fi is now like the foundation for your hotel: if it’s not solid, it can jeopardize everything.
Your HSIA network has to deliver the performance and experience your guests demand; Wi-Fi has evolved from being an amenity to a necessity and key driver of guest satisfaction.
In the converged world, all your systems for business operations depend on a solid and secure Wi-Fi network. Without it, nothing else works properly—your staff and systems will struggle, and you will waste precious time, money, and resources trying to recover.
Here are three things you may be doing that put you and your Wi-Fi network at risk, and what you should do instead.

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Definitely Doug 9/15/23: Experience Matters!
Posted: 09/15/2023

Hotels are usually the first thing a traveler books within a destination. And hotels usually know that destination better than anyone else (or any website) a guest might consult. But are hotels connecting the dots?

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Definitely Doug 8/25/23: Check It Off the List!
Posted: 08/25/2023

This week I will cover software that goes under various descriptions, including quality assurance, audit, and checklist management. It includes anything that involves a standard list of things that someone needs to perform or verify. In hospitality, this is still an emerging field, but is growing very rapidly.

Between 2020-2022, traveler adoptions fluctuated drastically due to the lockdowns, the impact of the variants, and the vaccination schedule. As the pandemic is behind us and people start to travel in 2023, one question is on every practitioner’s mind: What are the traveler’s current expectations and preferences in the post-pandemic world?

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Technology Innovation Brings Electricity to the Hotel Industry

04/25/2014

by Trevor Warner

Hotels’ total energy consumption costs can be 6 percent of the operating cost and utilities cost continue to rise. While energy management focuses on the amount of consumption, cogeneration allows the hotel to have greater control on the cost of consumption. While other energy-reducing technologies have produced limited results, cogeneration appears to be a technology that will meet expectations. It’s a technology that has significant corporate investment behind it so we expect to see continued research and development to improve the technology and lower its pricing.

Cogeneration, known as combined heat and power (CHP), is the production of heat and power from a single-fuel source. A cogeneration plant looks like a shipping container and inside is a power plant that takes natural gas and converts it to electricity. In the process of creating electricity, heat is generated that can be used to supply the heat necessary for the property to operate.

The CHP plant supplies 95 percent of the electricity needs of the property. Hotels typically stay on the grid for the remaining 5 percent in the event of an outage or a need that might outpace the output of the CUP plant.

The primary reason for a change to cogeneration would be financial savings. An additional benefit is creating a more reliable and improved power supply. In large cities such as New York and Los Angeles getting off the grid can often be a greater priority than the financial savings.

The typical profile for a hotel that could install cogeneration would be:

100 or more rooms
High electric rates
Hot water heating system
High use needs such as on-site laundry, heated pool or local climate extremes

Cogeneration is not new. The first systems started to go in around 2005. The early adopting hotels were more about green exposure or had extremes under the typical profile that made significant financial sense. The draw back was always the upfront expense of the CHP plant. The payback was there but not quick enough for the property to recoup its investment. However, as the technology has continued to develop, the purchase price continues to drop. The current payback for the investment is right at three years and it is expected that timeline to continue to decrease.

The other significant change is the evolution of the business model. Like any product, it takes time for the companies who sell and install the product to develop and mature. This evolution is now creating opportunities for shared savings, financing, and guaranteed pricing. We have seen a significant increase in companies who will install the CHP plant and charge the hotel a set rate below the cost of their current spend. While hotels enter significantly longer contracts to implement this guaranteed savings solution, their upfront financial exposure is reduced to zero.

I’m just waiting for the residential version or better yet, the Mr. Fusion so I can install it in my Delorean.