September 2022

Hotel Digital: from the future to the present with seven open innovation solutions in one year

Iberostar Group celebrates the one-year anniversary of Hotel Digital, the first open innovation project in the tourism sector in Spain

In its firm commitment to digitization, Iberostar Group has implemented seven technology solutions during the first year of Hotel Digital. The project, pioneered by the Mallorcan hotel group, is an open innovation initiative in which companies and organizations collaborate to share information and drive innovation.  Already, the project has a network of 30  leading international companies, including technology companies Google, Microsoft, and Amazon and telecommunications companies Telefónica and Vodafone.

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At the first anniversary event in Madrid, Tomeu Bennasar, CIO of Iberostar Group, commented that "Hotel Digital is proof that innovation that adds value responds to the needs and demands of customers at all times. With this pioneering project in the sector, we apply real and scalable innovation that allows us to know our guests better, enrich their experiences, improve efficiency indicators and optimize processes, as well as advance our sustainability commitments."

 

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Since its launch in 2021, the Hotel Digital project has analyzed more than 100 proposals and deployed seven technologies in the  100-plus hotels  Iberostar Group has around the world. The seven solutions that are already a reality in the hotels are:

 

  1. eGuest Manager: an internal digital platform to optimize customer service, which has reduced the average time to attend to guest requests by 20%.

  2. Chromecast: an internet streaming device that allows guests to play content from their mobile or computer on the room’s TV to personalize their entertainment experience. 

  3. Web Check-In:  a streamlined check-in process  that allows guests to scan documents and digitally check-in from any device before arrival.

  4. Iberostar Channel: an in-room corporate TV channel that reduces the use of paper and improves customer communication.

  5. Intelligent containers: a ‘smart bin’ that analyzes the hotels’ waste in order to reduce it and achieve a zero-waste target. 

  6. Digitization of the workday register: a fingerprint signature of hotel employees, which has reduced the time spent on manual tasks by 22% and eliminated paper waste.

  7. Geolocation of routes: a navigation tool that helps guests find their way around the hotel complex via the integration of maps in the Iberostar app; it provides routes,  identifies points of interest, and  will soon include information on the capacity of bars and restaurants at a given time.

Hotel Digital’s anniversary was celebrated on September 8th at The Valley Digital Business School in Madrid. The event was moderated by oceanographer and Antena 3 Television presenter, Mercedes Martín. In attendance were Tomeu Bennasar, CIO of Iberostar Group; Rocío Abella, Human Capital consulting partner at Deloitte; Irene Aranda, head of The Cocktail Insiders at The Cocktail, WPP Group; Miguel Fernández, CEO and founder of Innovation Strategies; and, José María de la Fuente, Sales Manager Manufacturing & Resources at Microsoft. There was also a special appearance  by Rodrigo Miranda, general director of the ISDI business school.

 

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