Smartphones, tablets, laptops and even handheld video game consoles are some portable devices that guests bring with them to your property during their stay.
Accessing a digital hotel compendium on these devices has many benefits you would not be able to provide with dedicated hardware in each room.
Portability
Your property’s in-room compendiums can now go beyond each of your guest rooms/apartments.
Your guest directories contain valuable information, including details on:
- Property Facilities
- Room Details for each guest’s room type
- Local Recommended Places and Events to visit and
- Local Services.
These details are only useful if guests have access to the details, whenever and wherever they are.
Any electronic devices that guests bring to your property will be portable as the vast majority will bring their smartphone, tablet and/or laptop or notebook computer with them.
Significant Cost Savings for your Property
A digital hotel compendium that works on a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) basis, removes the need to have purchased dedicated hardware for each room/apartment.
Since there is no dedicated hardware in each room/apartment, your property can have a BYOD digital compendium service for a year, for the equivalent of purchasing a number of electronic tablets, depending on the cost per tablet and the size of your property.
A BYOD service is also the best way to transition from on-going paper and printing expenses when updating your compendiums due to being a single use resource.
No Hardware to Maintain
All electronic hardware is subject to damage with general usage.
We have all seen someone with a smashed or broken glass screen on their smartphone or tablet, which are costly to replace.
In Australia, as of early 2019, it costs the following to replace a cracked screen on a tablet, depending on the specific model:
|
Device |
Within Warranty Period |
Out-of-Warranty Period |
|
iPad 6th Generation [1] |
$65.00 |
$368.95 |
|
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7inch Wi-Fi (3rd Party) [2] |
$145.00 |
$145.00 |
Other types of maintenance required for these electronic tablets would include:
- Battery Condition
- Connectors and Charging Cables/Adapters Working
- Continuous Security Updates
- Device Chassis Condition
- Primary Home and Volume Buttons working
With a BYOD service, your property would not need to worry about any of these time-consuming and costly issues as the guests are using their own devices and are more inclined to keep them in good condition.
Familiarity
Most people today using smartphones, tablets, laptops etc. have a bias (even if it is small) towards which hardware and software businesses they prefer to use.
This decade, the debate has more been an iPhone and iPad vs. Android debate, whereas the decades prior it was an Apple Mac vs. Microsoft Windows PC debate.
Both Apple and Google have captured virtually the entire market of smartphones and tablets.
As of December 2018, this is the share each platform has in the market:
Smartphones
|
Country |
Apple (iPhone) |
Android |
|
Australia [3] |
60.49% |
Approx 38% |
|
Worldwide [4] |
22.25% |
Approx 73.5% |
Tablets
|
Country |
Apple (iPad) |
Android |
|
Australia [5] |
91.33% |
Approx 7.6% |
|
Worldwide [6] |
72.41% |
Approx 20% |
These statistics show that despite Apple having the majority of the Australian mobile market share and an overwhelming majority of the Australian tablet market share, there is no clear winner for a platform of choice in Australia or worldwide.
This proves that some people are more familiar with how to use Apple iOS software over Google’s Android software and vice versa.
It is likely that some people have only used either Apple or Google’s software and not the other, thus making them more familiar with their platform of choice. Some people who own a smartphone and a desktop/laptop computer may not own or be familiar with using electronic tablets.
Having a digital hotel compendium service for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems, allows guests to be fully familiar with how to use a digital hotel compendium app on their own devices, which has similar navigation and layouts like other mobile applications already on their own smartphones and tablets.
Individual Copy for Each Guest
At your property today, your rooms/apartments are most likely restricted to one traditional compendium each.
Providing an electronic tablet in each room does not make this any better for your guests, as it still limits them to one copy per room/apartment, because of the high cost of investment in tablet hardware.
Guests bring a number of their own devices to your property during their stay, with the least being their smartphones.
With a mobile app and web-based digital hotel compendium service, each guest can have as many ways to access the same compendium information for your property, if they have multiple devices in the same room/apartment with them.
