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Google's Nest Hub could be your next hotel concierge
'Hey Google, when is the pool open?'
Atari-themed gaming hotels are coming to eight US cities
Atari doesn't have the cultural cachet it used to. After an industry-crashing downfall in the '80s, the video game pioneer has been unable to find its niche, and recently, its oft-delayed retro console has had a troubled development. Atari hopes to find some success by lending what gaming cred it has left to the hospitality industry. The company signed a contract that see Atari license its name and branding to a real estate developer, which will build eight hotels across the US. The first location will break ground this year in Phoenix. Others in Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle will follow.
Six innovative tech solutions future-proofing hotel experiences
For the tech-savvy traveller, a hotel room is more than a place to rest at the end of the night – it's a fully operating hub. Whether planning for a business meeting, researching activities or settling in for an evening of entertainment, nothing says 'not staying here again' more than weak connections, cumbersome procedures and crossed wires.
Airbnb staff will always call police when you're in an emergency
When you rent a place on Airbnb, you're always taking on some risk. You're trusting a stranger to house you, after all. However, the home-as-hotel company is learning the hard way that it should help out if you're in trouble. Airbnb is responding to the reported sexual assault of a guest in Madrid by "clarifying" its policy on emergencies, according to the New York Times -- staffers will always have to call the police if you tell them that there's a crisis. The Madrid victim's mother was told to call the cops herself, which may have cost valuable time and allowed more trauma.
Samsung Galaxy S III replaces check-in, keycard, TV remote and AC control in Olympic hotel
Samsung has turned the Galaxy S III into the ultimate hotel accessory in preparation for the Olympics. It's equipped 40 rooms in London's Stratford Holiday Inn to use the official smartphone of 2012 to check in and out, order room service, unlock doors and control the TV without moving. VIPs staying at the hotel for the games season will get first dibs on the technology that'll let them call up a snack whilst tweeting -- just as long as Cody Brocious doesn't work out how to intercept it.
Y!kes' app-enabled system transforms hotel accessibility: talking with hotel chains, launching this month on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7
We all knew opening one's hotel room door with a smartphone was just the beginning, didn't we? As the years have turned (and LodgeNet has inexplicably remained), a smattering of companies have seen the opportunity to connect savvy hotel guests to the properties they frequent. Y!kes is the latest to tune in, and its solution undoubtedly has the potential to change the way smartphone users interact with lodging venues. Designed as a hardware + software platform, the proximity-aware access system offers hotels the ability to tightly and specifically grant or deny access to one's phone. As an example, a hotel and guest both utilizing the system could see an elevator automatically choose one's floor upon entry, a door automatically unlock when a patron walks within range, a parking deck automatically have its gate raised, and a VIP lounge door automatically open if the credentials are programmed in. Going a step further, one could envision this system having the ability to alert a hotel when a guest lands at the nearest airport, thereby triggering a series of events that places fresh Perrier bottles on the desk, blue mood lighting in the bathroom, a thermostat adjustment to 74 degrees and whatever else that person has specified in their profile. Insane? Sure, but not at all outside of the realm of feasibility. Once a venue has installed the system, guests need only have the associated app -- available for Android, BlackBerry OS, Windows Phone and iOS -- running in the background on their device. If all goes as planned, he or she won't even have to drop by the check-in counter, and when the stay is over, they'll be able to bypass the check-out line as well. If you're curious about app availability, we're told that the iOS build will hit the App Store "this week," while the other three platforms will see launches "within 30 days." We asked the company if it was ready to announce any partnerships with hotel chains, and received the following reply: "As for integration, Y!kes is currently engaged in deep discussions with the top hotel chains and will have information pertaining to specific contracts in the near future." Needless to say, the jetsetters in the crowd will be keeping an ear to the ground for more.
DirecTV DVRs available in over 100 hotels, never miss the restaurant opening times again
On-demand TV viewing continues to secrete itself into the fabric of your lives and now its squeezing more viewing hours out of you from hotel rooms across the US. DirecTV's HD DVRs pack the typical programming guide and recording options, plus the ability for hotels to add up to 50 channels of their own content to the recorders -- meaning plenty of hotel infomercials dying to be paused, live. DirecTV has now officially launched its Residential Experience, bringing its DVR technology to 110 hotels across the country. Fortunately, the systems also include the hygienic touch of an anti-microbial remote. Classy.
DirecTV takes the germs out of your hotel remote, bed still questionable
Hotel rooms are gross. Well, some of 'em are. It doesn't take a germaphobe to know that your room's previous occupant may have had less-than-ideal hygienic priorities, so it'll probably come as a great relief to you frequent flier types that DirecTV has decided to do something about it. Bundled into its new Residential Experience for Hotels program is a proprietary germ-free remote control for every room. That's all well, clean and good, but what makes this experience even homier are the 100+ HD channels DirecTV added so you can make heavy use of that enhanced interactive program guide. Yessir, now you can watch HBO and, erm, 'adult offerings' without ever having to wash your hands; the new service is currently in testing with an intended launch for later this summer. It remains to be seen whether the EPA will swoop down to backhand DirecTV for dubious anti-microbial claims like it did IO Gear some years back. In the meantime, it's a solid sanitary high-five for the hospitality industry.
The Road to Mordor: Gated communities
This past week, many of us were shaken out of our self-absorption with LotRO's F2P switch as we were suddenly joined by -- of all things -- the good folks at EverQuest II. I don't think anyone could've predicted two such high-profile MMORPGs moving to a subscription/free-to-play hybrid model this year, which makes LotRO and EQII comrades-in-arms for the time being. Both titles are currently in testing, with their F2P release coming this fall. Other than the mutual surprise of two game communities that were taken off guard (except for that one guy who, y'know, totally called it and won't stop crowing about it), there are a number of similarities as both SOE and Turbine look to replicate DDO's F2P success and bolster both the number of players and number of dollars coming in to both games. However, there's certainly a major difference in how the freebie players will be handled: LotRO is integrating them with subscribers on normal servers, whereas EverQuest II Expanded will segregate the free players on their own unique servers. So I thought that this would be an excellent time to talk about one of the crucial factors of F2P switches, which is the potential growth and/or fracturing of the game's community. Which MMO has the better idea, LotRO or EQII? Hit the jump for my thoughts.
Nintendo has a vacancy for Hotel Giant
The trend of PC porting continues with Hotel Giant, a simulation title heading to the DS in Q4 2008. Instead of getting stuck with the same boring people every single day, you'll be able to build some luxury hotel and routinely get new guests to roll in, drop you some cash and get out.It's a six-year-old game, but that pretty much makes it perfect for the DS. You'll be designing rooms and adding various hotel-y items, all the while ensuring John Q Guest is satisfied enough to pay the upgrade fee for the ultra-chump room. All joking aside, the original PC title was a big hit and it should be very well-suited to the stylus and touch screen when it comes out in Europe and -- pending iron-clad confirmation -- North America. Bellboy![Via press release]
Swisscom, Tangerine Global partner to deliver HDTV to hotels
Sick of seeing nothing but upconverted SD feeds on the brand new LCDs that seem to be finding their way into every new hotel room these days? Tangerine Global's package of HD channels are on their way to more hotels in North America, Europe and the Middle East courtesy of a deal with Swisscom Hospitality Service to add them to its new IPTV system. Swisscom is switching hotels over to a URL-based delivery system to feed guests their HD, as this new programming debuts in rious locations beginning in the third quarter of this year. Among its five channels Tangerine Global counts the NFL Network as part of its HD offerings, so football fans have one more thing to look for during a jaunt out of town next season.
Motorola & Swisscom pair up on "advanced guest services" for hotels
Sure fitting in a few flat panels and a state of the art communications system is no problem in a brand new hotel, but what about existing ones? Swisscom's got an answer, signing a deal with Motorola to distribute the mT2a PowerBroadband system in hotels across Europe and North America. The key about this system, is everything needed to bring HDTV, VOD and high speed internet to a room, is included in a wallplate that replaces a traditional phone jack, no set top box needed. Cheaper and easier to implement makes it a little more likely that even a hotel you've been to many times before might be HD ready the next time you swing through.
Tangerine Global launches five new HD channels for hotels
Travelers looking for only the finest amenities when globetrotting should phone up any prospective hotels and ask if they carry the Tangerine Global lineup, as it just got five channels deeper and a whole lot more enticing. Apparently aiming at five-star locales that sport high-definition televisions in the guest rooms, these new alternatives could potentially spruce up your late night viewing if you're interested in the less-than-mainstream. Tangerine Green HD, Alive HD, Palate HD, Drive HD, and Adorn HD each present unique, niche content that touch fancies such as technology, health, food, vehicles, and style. If those Independence Day plans are still up in the air, be sure you find yourself in a Mandarin Oriental or Peninsula hotel (among others) -- just make sure you leave the room every now and then, cool?
