ON THE WEB HOTELSMAG . COM
THE NEWS
FORWARD-LOOKING IOT
hotelsm . ag / Xiaomi Hong Kong-based Xiaomi recently went public . Why should hoteliers care ? Though better-known in China and India because of its low-cost smartphones , Xiaomi ’ s founder and CEO Lei Jun , dubbed “ the Steve Jobs of China ,” has established an ecosystem of IoT products via strategic investments from Xiaomi and Jun ’ s venture capital fund Shunwei . By the end of last year alone , Xiaomi ’ s IoT network claims to have connected to 100 million smart devices , or more than 90 different kinds of devices . The scale of this IoT network opens up a whole new world for the “ smart ” hotel experience of the future .
THE CHALLENGE
LEARNING TO LET GO
hotelsm . ag / EmailChallenge Email is an overwhelming part of our daily lives , but what if it didn ’ t always have to be so ? HOTELS contributor Bart Berkey sets forth a challenge : What if , instead of emailing someone back , you picked up the phone and called ? Not only does it differentiate you in a world where everyone claims to be too busy on the regular for meaningful contact , it also connects you to clients and sources in a way that can leave both parties feeling like an extra , meaningful step was taken . So far Berkey ’ s record is 17 phone calls , with about half requiring a message . What ’ s your goal ?
THE TALK
DON ’ T PANIC
hotelsm . ag / PanicButtons The American Hotel & Lodging Association , along with hotel behemoths Hilton , Hyatt , IHG , Marriott and Wyndham , recently pledged to provide employees across the U . S . with panic buttons or alarms by 2020 . One unforeseen issue ? There aren ’ t enough suppliers . Equipping housekeepers with safety devices is a relatively new practice and , until now , hotel needs have been filled by a relatively small field of technology or security firms . With the announcement of national rollouts and the prospect of big-money contracts , suppliers are scrambling to serve the demand .
4 hotelsmag . com November 2018