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especially when traveling abroad .
“ Tablets are good for room service because the language barrier is eliminated ; you can make it in two or three languages . People can play around , change their orders , and then get what they ordered ,” says Gert Kopera , senior vice president of food and beverage for Jumeirah Group . “ It ’ s also good in hotel cars . When you pick up people from the airport and take them to the hotel , they can browse and make reservations in your restaurant .” Some hoteliers are already looking past the “ digital menu ” concept and exploring ways to enhance back-of-house productivity . For example , staff training can be aided by offering information via tablet , such as
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demonstration videos , recipes and employee manuals . At the 574-room Kerry Hotel , Pudong , Shanghai , the hotel ’ s young , tech-savvy staffers have been particularly eager to embrace these innovations . “ It keeps them connected , and our training has become a lot more effective ,” says Peter Clarke , the hotel ’ s general manager . “ It has also helped in terms of English training , as our English teacher can upload sound bites and podcasts .”
The tablet-for-training concept has been taken to another level at Marriott International , which now employs cloud computing for a centralized global recipe database . Previously , recipes were stored on CD-ROM ; now kitchen staff can access
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the information anytime with computers and mobile devices . “ Hotels around the world can immediately upload their recipes with photos and use that as a way of not only storage , but documentation ,” says Brad Nelson , vice president of culinary and corporate chef for Marriott International . “ As soon as someone inputs a recipe and pushes ‘ publish ,’ that same recipe can be shared or viewed immediately .”
Where there ’ s a will … While some applications are inspired by new technology , in other cases hoteliers are looking for operational efficiencies . At the massive Venetian in Las Vegas , Silvestri hopes to use QR codes to replace the door-hanger
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A buffet-style setup at Kerry Hotel , Pudong , Shanghai , reduces waste by using a system of cards coded by a server that lets guests pick their items and portion size . |