Will the guestroom telephone disappear?
Not for some time. Yes, emerging technologies such as Echo - Amazon’s brand of smart speakers which connects to the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant named Alexa is making its presence in hotel guestrooms. However, the jury is still out on whether they will ever replace the guestroom telephone. What is certain though, is that the telephone as we know it, has evolved thanks to changing technology.
Whenever my wife and I check into a hotel room, the decision as to who sleeps on which side of the bed is dependent on where the telephone was. If it is placed on the bedside table on the right - then that was my side of the bed. If it was on the left - so be it. This was our arrangement. Hence, I cannot for one moment imagine walking into a hotel that had no phone. On a more serious note, there are those of my generation (baby boomers) who will find the absence of a phone in their rooms unacceptable. On the flipside, I’m sure millennials and even gen x guests will not miss it…they may not even notice its absence.
Another key reason why the hotel landline phone will not go away is due to security concerns and legal considerations. Landline phones have a proven record of reliability. They serve as an emergency lifeline for guests, whether the phones are installed in the guestroom, lobby, elevator common area or pool. Any phone that is plugged into an RJ11/RJ45/proprietary jack - be it inside a room or in a public area is a more reliable guest emergency location device than a mobile phone. This is because the traditional phone identifies the exact location of the guest for emergency responders rather than just an estimate of location triangulated off cell phone towers, with mobile network and Wi-Fi devices. Hence Emergency phones, as well as standard room phones equipped with dedicated SOS or guest-service keys can be programmed through the hotel exchange / phone system to direct-dial 911 or a selected emergency number located on the hotel property.
For the time been, Hotels that introduce new technology such as Alexa and similar devices that do not require picking up the receiver to communicate with room service and the front desk, will continue to provide a landline service primarily for 911, and, to enable a guest to access hotel services in the quickest possible manner.
Some hotels will rush to embrace new technology, but others will be slow to adopt. This will in great part be driven by guest preferences and demands, and generationally there are still millions of travelers who expect a phone in their room. Remember, there are millions of hotel rooms in the world with existing phones that would need to be replaced… and that’s going to take a long time.
Compiled by HSL. |
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