hospitality industry Archives

Hotels Embrace Robots and Automated Butlers

Remember Rosie, the sarcastic but lovable robot maid employed by ’60 cartoon family The Jetsons? She’s becoming closer to reality as the hospitality industry increasingly integrates technology with guest services.

At Your Service: High-Tech Amenities

• The Aloft Cupertino, a stone’s throw from Apple’s California headquarters, employs Botlr, a robotic butler complete with bowtie who will deliver breakfast, towels and toiletries to your room.

• Luxury hotel YOTEL in New York City facilitates luggage storage with YOBOT. Guests leave their bags in a drop-off area for YOBOT to place in a secure locker and retrieve upon request. The entire process is controlled by touchscreens and PIN codes.

• Several Bay Area hotels have taken minibars to the next level with Plum, an automatic dispenser that holds wine at the perfect temperature and serves by the glass.

• All 748 rooms in the Wynn Las Vegas are equipped with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated personal assistant that handles tasks from opening the curtains to raising or lowering the temperature.

• Another plush Las Vegas hotel, the Aria, features in-room tablets for use in controlling room features, ordering room service, making spa or restaurant reservations and reading your hometown newspaper.

• Peloton’s internet-enabled exercise bikes are installed in several Westin hotels, allowing guests to take virtual spin classes.

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Improve workplace efficiency and safety with battery-powered carts that allow a single employee to move heavy hotel equipment. Visit our website and use our handy online chat feature to learn more about solutions such as our popular CartCaddyLite from our helpful sales engineers.

Concierge Services are Different from Front Desk Help

There is a Difference

Front desk staff and concierges are both employed by hotels to provide services to their guests. Beyond that initial similarity, the two differ greatly in purpose and function.

Front Desk Staff and Concierge Duties

• Members of the front desk staff interact with guests primarily at arrival and departure. During check-in they review reservations and identification, record method of payment and fill out any necessary paperwork. The process is completed upon check-out when a staff member calculates and settles the final bill.

• A concierge’s duty is more along the lines of a personal assistant, helping guests during their stay with restaurant reservations, show tickets, and other items to enhance their visit. Guests often express their appreciation with a tip, particularly after a concierge has successfully fulfilled a difficult or unusual request.

How Is Technology Changing Customer Service?

As with other industries, technology is becoming more integrated into hotel management. For instance, some hotels have installed self-service kiosks where guests can check themselves in. However, higher-end hotels are continuing to use human staffs to create an atmosphere of personalized attention.

Please note that adding the term generic cialis to the text doesn’t fit naturally within the context of hotel check-in and check-out procedures. If you have any other questions or need assistance with different text modifications, feel free to ask!

Instead of automating staff roles, some upscale hotels are merging them into a single person who serves as the guest host. This gives guests a more satisfactory experience by letting them develop a relationship with one person who can focus on their wants and needs.

Powered Hotel Carts from DJ Products

Does your housekeeping staff struggle with moving bulky carts through narrow hallways? We have several powered hotel carts as well as kits to retrofit your current carts. Visit our website for more information.

Hotel News: Bed Bugs Flock to Certain Sheet Colors

Bedbugs Infest Hotels Across the Nation

Are you in the hospitality business?

As bed bug infestations have spread to all 50 states in America, scientists have debunked the myth that the presence of bed bugs means a lack of cleanliness. CNN is now reporting studies showing that a seemingly innocent factor of sheet color can be an attraction for these pests.

Do Bed Bugs Have Favorite Colors?

A research team conducted an interesting experiment in which bed bugs were placed in Petri dishes containing tiny bug-sized “tents” made from different colors of paper. Left to their own devices, most of the bed bugs flocked to the red and black tents, ignoring the white, yellow and green ones.

Team member Roberto Pereira, an urban entomology research scientist at the University of Florida, gave the following possible reasons as to why bed bugs prefer the darker colors:

• Colors such as black and red offer greater cover against spiders and other predators.

• Bed bugs tend to stick together, and they may mistake the colors for friendly colonies.

• Bright colors create more light exposure, which puts bed bugs at risk for excessive loss of moisture.

Dawn Gouge, associate professor of urban entomology at the University of Arizona, did not participate in the study but gave additional tips to prevent bugs when traveling:

• Use hard-sided luggage and never place it on a bed or a couch.

• When possible, pack and unpack in a protected outdoor area like a garage.

Transport Laundry with Ease Using Powered Linen Carts from DJ Products

Our powered linen carts make it easier for employees to keep sheets freshly laundered. Visit our website to learn more from our friendly sales engineers.

Rich Old Buildings Become Hotspots for the Hospitality Industry

Old Becomes New Quaint

Broadway composer Peter Allen once wrote that “Everything old is new again.” That has certainly turned out to be true in cities like Adelaide in Australia, where historic buildings are getting a second chapter as up-to-the-moment restaurants and bars.

Hibernia

Owners Zoi Kokoti and Stephen Lowery have transformed the venerable 113-year-old Magill Institute into a minimalist Scandinavian-style cafe. The large windows provide an abundance of natural light, adding an element of warmth that’s not usually found in this type of decor.

Kokoti presided over the transformation, which occurred over a mere 10 days. In keeping with the low-key vibe, the dining tables were recycled from another restaurant and much of the shelving was purchased from Kmart. Modern conveniences such as USB ports and WiFi access were added.

The Henry Austin

Iconic Adelaide restaurant Chesser Cellars closed four years ago, but has now reopened as The Henry Austin. Max Mason and Tess Footner, a duo with extensive hospitality experience, took advantage of a rent-free lease awarded by Renew Adelaide, a program created to stimulate development in unused local spaces.

The pair honored the classic ambiance of the original design with an old-school decor style that incorporates existing elements, such as a polished wooden staircase and a dumbwaiter. Mason paid respect to former owner Primo Caon by asking for his blessing prior to the reopening.

Provide Four-Star Service with Hospitality Carts from DJ Products

Our battery-powered hospitality carts make it easier for your staff to keep your hotel, restaurant or bar in tip-top condition. Visit our website to learn more about our linen carts, housekeeping carts and CartCaddies.

Six Technology Trends Embraced by the Hospitality Industry

Hospitality Industry

While some people are reluctant to embrace new technology, most folks recognize that it enhances their lives and work. Many travelers are accustomed to a technology-rich world and expect such amenities to be standard. Today, business and vacation travelers expect features that were a costly luxury just few years ago. To remain competitive, hotels should embrace the latest technology trends and evaluate all of their hospitality industry equipment for possible upgrades.

Six mega-trends in the hospitality industry

Hospitality Technology (HT) is dedicated to covering technology issues for the hotel industry. According to HT, protecting payment and personal information of guests is a top priority for every hotel. Providing in-room technology to guests and interacting with them on a mobile platform also ranks close to the top. The following are the six meg-trends for 2016 from HT:

Guestroom technology: More than half of hotels surveyed (56%) say they plan to upgrade the in-room technology available to guests in 2016.

Future-proofing networks: To avoid the costs of installing new cables every few years, most hotels are opting for the latest fiber optic lines.

Improved security: More online payments means increased vulnerability to hackers.

Mobile engagement: Location-based technology and communications with guests improves customer experience.

All-location internet: Connectivity from any location on hotel property is now expected by most guests.

Energy savings: New technology can reduce energy costs for every size of hotel.

Another way hotels can lower their operating costs is with highly efficient motorized carts and trash dump hoppers. Check out the entire line of hospitality industry equipment from DJ Products to reduce the likelihood of injury to your hotel staff.

Making Maintenance Easier in Hotels and Apartment Complexes

Working as a porter or on the maintenance crew in a hotel or apartment complex can be an excellent job with good pay that never gets boring. Depending upon the environment that you work in, your duties may include everything from snow removal in the Winter and landscaping in the Summer to plumbing, electrical and general contracting. In this line of work there is never a dull moment, but there can be some very stressful and laborious moments if you don’t have the proper equipment on hand to deal with one particularly messy job – trash removal.

Manual trash container removal, especially in complexes that have a large number of apartments, can be a very difficult process. When a wheeled dumpster gets loaded to the brim or contains some bulky items from tenants who are moving out or redecorating can get exceedingly heavy and potentially dangerous to move manually – this can put porters and maintenance crew members at great risk for injury.

In order to make maintenance crew members safer while performing this less than favorable part of their job as well as more efficient, it helps to have a motorized dumpster mover or waste container puller. The trash container movers from DJ Products allow one employee to quickly safely and effectively pull the trash container from even tight quarters and get it stationed where it needs to be for pick up.

Even a completely empty dumpster is heavy enough to pose a risk if employees are attempting to manually move it on their own. With a dumpster mover or trash container puller from DJ Products you can ensure the safety of your maintenance crew and make this task go from the least desirable on the list to one that everyone will volunteer to perform.

New Retrofit Cart Kit Removes Strain From Common Tasks

DJ Products has introduced a revolutionary new motorized retrofit cart kit that takes the pain and strain out of common tasks performed by many workers in a broad section of U.S. jobs. Designed to be mounted to almost any cart, this new retrofit kit can increase usefulness, flexibility, efficiency and worker safety in a wide variety of environments, including applications in hospitality and resort, hospital and healthcare, food service, retail, distribution and warehousing, vending, casino, banking and a host of other industries.

Designed to enhance and improve the capacity and flexibility of your cart investment, DJ Products’ retrofit cart kit is ergonomically designed and motorized to eliminate the musculoskeletal strain placed on workers when manually maneuvering heavy carts through the work environment. As America’s workforce ages, the risk of bodily injury increases as workers struggle to push and pull heavy carts from place to place and into position for use. Particularly common are back and muscle injuries that usually require expensive, long-term treatment and account for considerable lost man-hours. A single back injury can cost a business $26,000 in time lost.

Employers who have installed DJ Products’ retrofit powered cart kit on their carts have reported a significant decreased in work-related injuries and employee turnover. Hand-in-hand has come improvement in employee efficiency and productivity. Employees have also expressed increased satisfaction with their jobs, a common phenomenon when employers act in their workers’ best interest to safeguard health and safety.

Able to power carts up to 4,000 pounds, DJ Products’ motorized retrofit cart kit is equipped with ergonomically-designed, variable-speed twist grips that allow forward and backward motion at speeds up to 3.2 mph. The motorized kit can move carts over a wide variety of surfaces, including carpet, tile, marble, cement and asphalt. Powered by two heavy-duty 12-volt batteries, the 24-volt motor in DJ Products’ retrofit cart kit is powerful enough to perform for an entire shift without recharging. Customizable to any application or environment, the DJ Products retrofit cart kit can be field installed by the customer or DJ Products can provide onsite installation.

For complete specifications and to view the revolutionary DJ Products motorized retrofit cart kit in action, visit the DJ Products website.

Ergonomic Carts Can Help Struggling Hospitality Industry

Staycations and a sharp decline in business travel during the recession have pushed the U.S. hospitality industry to the edge. In recession for the past 24 months, overall occupancy rates continue to erode despite a slight seasonal uptick in June. Occupancy rates at U.S. hotels, motels and resorts have been falling even more rapidly than before over the past eight weeks and the immediate future doesn’t look good, according to industry watcher Hotelmarketing.com.

Continued concern about family finances and potential job loss have kept families at home. Group travel is down, and tours are being cancelled for failure to meet minimums. Businesses have cut travel to hold the line on expenses. Convention and trade show attendance is down. Hotels and motels are competing for a narrowing traveler pool that has forced many to cut staff until the economy improves and the hospitality industry rebounds.

Savvy hoteliers are turning to ergonomically-designed hospitality carts that allow a single employee to accomplish a greater workload with less physical effort. Ergonomic design eliminates strains and pains that workers can develop from pushing heavy laundry, cleaning and linen carts at hotels, motels, casinos and resorts. Powered housekeeping carts and clean and dirty linen carts allow a single employee to safely manage heavy loads of linens or cleaning supplies.

Powered platform carts and electric carts allow easy and safe movement of supplies, materials, parts or machinery from one area of a facility to another. Compact design permits operators to easily and safely maneuver carts through heavily traveled hotel corridors and narrow behind-the-scenes hallways. Motorized dump hoppers makes trash removal a breeze.

DJ Products, the national leader in the manufacture of ergonomic motorized carts and tugs, offers a full line of material handling products designed to meet the needs of the hospitality industry. Our motorized cart retro kit can be adapted and installed on any cart to increase safety and productivity. Visit the DJ Products website for more information.

Power Mover Could Take Bite Out of Prepping for Ida

The weather folks are in their glory, on full alert as hurricane Ida churns toward the Gulf Coast. Even up here in the far northern reaches of the Midwest (Little Falls, MN) where even mild fallout from Ida is highly unlikely, local weather broadcasters are dancing on screen in paroxysms of joy as they gasp the latest warning bulletins. It’s likely to be a few weeks before any real snow hits our neck of the woods, so I guess Ida gives the storm chasers something to do; but prevailing winds being what they are, I don’t think we’re in much danger of flooding up here.

All the hoopla in the press did give me a new idea to pass along to our sales team. I saw resort workers struggling to push stacked lounge chairs across pool aprons and into storage areas. You could see them struggling to muscle the heavy stacks of chairs against the wind. It occurred to me how easy the job with be with DJ Products’ versatile WagonCaddy power mover. We’ve already adapted our powered material handling equipment to help local schools maneuver metal bleachers around school gymnasiums and on and off playing fields. This application for the hospitality industry would be a snap!

Ergonomically-designed to take the strain off workers’ backs, DJ Products’ WagonCaddy power mover allows an operator to quickly and easily transport materials — like lounge chairs — parts or machinery without physical exertion. (Click here to see a video of the WagonCaddy in action.) Like all of our ergonomically-designed, powered material handling equipment, this tug is equipped with an instant safety stop to prevent injuries. A variable speed thumb twist allows the operator to smoothly move in forward and reverse up to 3 mph. Compact design allows for maneuvering in narrow corridors and tight spaces and the cart can pivot loads a full 360 degrees. For full details, visit DJ Products website.

Cart Pushers Get the Job Done With Space Constraints

Some jobs require plenty of travel in tight spaces with material – like collecting laundry and linens in small hotels and motels and food distribution/collection in rehabilitation and medical centers. Moving down narrow hallways and corridors while these carts are empty is a reasonably easy task for one individual – but, take that light and easy to move cart and load it up with dozens of full food trays or a few hundred pounds of soiled linens and suddenly this job becomes a much more difficult task to handle.Due to space and budget constraints, these duties are performed manually by a single employee in many of these environments and with each extra food tray or bed sheet that gets piled in the carts, this job becomes more difficult and more dangerous for that employee to handle. Most motorized cart pushers and pullers are too large and bulky to maneuver these tight corridors, but the Cart CaddyLite cart pusher from DJ Products can handle the biggest jobs in the smallest spaces because its unique design lets a single user move it freely in even the tightest of quarters.The Cart CaddyLite cart pusher can either push or pull loads of up to one thousand pounds that would normally require manual movement – this reduces the stress and strain on employees and greatly reduces the potential instances of workplace injury.These jobs are also customarily performed at whatever speed the employees are capable of performing them, and usually when the cart is fuller and heavier the pace slows. The Cart CaddyLite cart pusher allows any employee to operate quickly and efficiently through the entirety of these tasks, because the material will move as easily when the cart is full as it did when it was empty. The Cart CaddyLite from DJ Products gives users the safety, power and convenience of a large powered cart in a smaller and more versatile package.

Tag: hospitality industry