Hotel 1000 Elevates Guest Experience to New Heights With Cisco Unified Communications

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2006

Luxury 24-Story Hotel Condominium Raises Standard With Innovative, Personal Guest Services Delivered With the Touch of a Button on Cisco Unified IP Phone

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco[R], Inc. announced today that Hotel 1000 in Seattle has installed the Cisco Unified Communications system to provide superior personalized and customized guest services, creating a more comfortable and enjoyable hotel experience. The Cisco Connected Hotel capabilities throughout the property will help enable the hotel to quickly and easily deploy new services Co not only now but also in the future as other technologies and applications emerge.

Hotel 1000 features 120 guest rooms, 47 luxury condominiums, the Hotel 1000 Country Club and Spa, and a commitment to personalized, five-star services for guests and residents. Each room is equipped with a Cisco Unified IP Phone that provides information on hotel services, local attractions, restaurants and weather forecasts. Not content to simply meet the needs of their guests, Hotel 1000 aims to anticipate those needs and deliver customized service at every opportunity.

"To achieve our vision of the ultimate guest experience, we needed a technology that made the guests more comfortable, made their experience more enjoyable, but also gave a practical benefit to the hotel in terms of operations," said Brian Flaherty, general manager of Hotel 1000. "Cisco's innovative, forward-thinking customer-oriented solutions were consistent with our effort to personalize our guest experience, thus enabling us to more effectively anticipate the needs of our guests and allowing us the opportunity to more effectively and efficiently deliver the service experience that they are expecting."

The highly customized applications were jointly designed and deployed by Percipia, of Columbus, Ohio, a Cisco Technology Developer Partner, and Valcros, of San Diego, Calif., a Cisco Premier Certified Channel Partner. Cisco's Smart Business Communications initiative helped align a flexible network technology plan with Hotel 1000's top business priorities. As a result, the cost-effective converged platform supports the delivery of premium network services to guests, staff and management to help create a memorable experience that motivates guests to return.

"At Hotel 1000, Cisco Unified IP Phones are far more than a calling device," said Chris Farrar, president of Percipia. "With Percipia's hospitality applications, they are powerful interactive Unified Communication tools that deliver enhanced functionality while making a powerful statement about Hotel 1000's commitment to a superior experience."

"Hotel 1000's owners and management had the foresight to design the information and communication infrastructure at the beginning of the building planning process," says Mark Munger, CEO and president of Valcros. "That foresight enabled us to lay a foundation that maximizes hotel management and guest service delivery Co from opening day into the future."

Tailoring the Guest Experience

Hotel 1000 guests can specify certain preferences at check-in, such as room temperature or type of music played in their room. That data is captured in the hotel property management system and sent to the room automatically, so the thermostat is set correctly and the desired music is playing when the guest walks in. If the guest is returning, his or her preferences were captured from the room's devices at the last visit, and the room will be adjusted accordingly.

Enabling One-Touch Control

The Cisco Unified Communications system provides Hotel 1000 guests with one-touch control over services through the Cisco Unified IP Phones. Percipia's directory applications eliminate the need for a thick telephone book to locate nearby restaurants or attractions. The IP phones are preset, enabling guests and residents to find information, activate their Do Not Disturb notices, change the room temperature, or set wake-up calls. Condo residents can see a visitor in the lobby via the phone, speak to that visitor and unlock the door or deny entry.

Video Valet Service

An IP phone-based application helps enable Hotel 1000 condominium residents to notify the valet staff to quickly and accurately deliver their vehicles to the hotel entrance by pressing a button on a Cisco Unified IP Phone. The IP phone connects to the valet parking system, sending a request to the valet staff's IP phone to retrieve the car. As the car is requested, the application also activates a video feed on the motor court IP camera so the resident can see when the car is delivered to the entrance.

Group Calling Features

Percipia created a distinctive group directory application that streamlines communication among group members while reducing the call load on hotel operators. The application dynamically builds a list of group members as they check in, and the list appears only on group members' Cisco Unified IP Phones. When one group member wants to call another group member, he or she touches the person's name from the list and presses a button to be connected. The call bypasses the operator. Group members can instantly view who has checked in and text messages can also be broadcast to all group members' IP phones.