AS HOTELIERS look for new ways to enhance the guest experience, iRiS Valet presents an innovative solution that not only exceeds guest expectations but is also a revenue generating application. The iRiS Personal Valet is a real time communications hub providing instant, easy access to information such as the hotel’s menus and facilities as well as local attractions and destination information. Using the specially programmed in-room iPad, guests can order room service, book a spa treatment, request a wake-up call, browse and book city tours or shop online, all in the privacy of their room. The application also tracks guest behaviour allowing hotels to concentrate resources on providing better service by automating facilities such as room service and housekeeping requests. 'The iRiS Personal Valet was created to add to the hotel experience for guests and to provide business intelligence to hoteliers,' said Chris Atkin, COO and founding partner iRiS Software Systems. 'It offers an interactive wireless device that gives guests complete control over their environment from room temperature and lighting to requesting a baby cot, all through a single device. It also provides the hotel with the flexibility to adjust menus, recommend dishes and up-sell, all at the touch of a button'. The system has been around three years in development by people who have come from the hotel industry rather than computer specialists and will also enable hotels to become greener by cutting down on the use of paper. Atkin explained: 'Three or four years ago we saw an opportunity to help hotels simplify and reduce costs and improve service to guests by using a mobile platform for everything currently in printed form, from the service directory to the laundry list in your hotel room, which can be accessed via the iPad.' The system is undergoing its first Middle East trial at the Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach Dubai under general manager Horst Walther-Jones and Atkin said: 'Think of the complexity of getting all this paper together and keeping it up to date and available to all your guests. Horst runs a hotel that has business and leisure guests coming from all around the world so everything is printed in English and Arabic. But what makes economic sense is to include different languages, we enable the app to be in different languages and staff can update and change the contents whenever they wish – they can initiate promotions and let guests know about changes in service throughout the hotel.' Walther-Jones added: 'It’s a quality management tool as well and also allows us to look at what the customers are showing us they want.' Prior to installation the iRiS Valet service team will visit the hotel and put its content on the system. For example, there might be a tour desk in reception and making that facility available to book in the rooms will reduce the inconvenience of groups of people around the concierge desk at 6pm all booking their tours for the next day. Atkin continued: 'The process is that when a hotel makes a commitment to go with it, then there’s 10 to 12 weeks when our client services person works with the hotel team to look at the uses they need. The project manager comes in approximately two to three weeks before going live to tailor it to the specific property. 'We don’t ask them to change things, we just improve them. For example if a guest orders something on room service, they will get a message telling them how long it will be because we will have done the analysis of how long it will take to prepare and how long to reach the room.' And Walther-Jones has found that the ability to constantly update the available information is proving invaluable. He said: 'For me as an operator is it very important that there is accurate information on the system. 'For example, if you have a fire alarm go off in the middle of the night and you know it is simply a false alarm, you can let all your guests know within minutes that they do not need to evacuate. This is something that guests will remember, it improves their experience of the hotel so helps to build property and brand loyalty.' Atkin added: 'The hotel can also capture behaviour information (though guest details are only stored on the system via numerical data rather than by name) allowing it to personalise stays and requirements for returning guests – eventually as the system is rolled out across a chain this will allow Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach Dubai to know that Mr Smith, who might be a regular guest at Mövenpick Singapore, likes to have certain fruits in his room on arrival or a particular kind of breakfast made available – it allows the hotel to customise the guest experience which, inevitably, drives revenue, and the fact is that, since it is the guest himself who is inputting the data, there is no room for error – Mr Smith has told the application in his hotel room in Singapore that he wants bananas in his room when he arrives and soft eggs for breakfast. 'Another possible use is for group communication, for example if you have a conference party staying in the hotel, you may need to let them know a venue or time has changed and you can do so very effectively through this application or impart any other information you may wish.' The iRiS Personal Valet also opens up external revenue streams from affiliated partners, local venues, shops and services, which can be backed up by detailed and robust analysis of trends and demographics to recognise usage and enable campaign planning. It allows for up-selling and increased spend of room service orders - just as a sommelier will recommend an appropriate beverage to accompany a dish, so will the iRiS Personal Valet for room service. 'From the hotelier’s point of view, as well as creating a genuine ‘wow factor’, this application is fully customisable and has been designed to help hotels increase revenue, reduce costs, improve guest service and monitor the performance of guest-facing departments' said Atkin. And after just a short trial, Walter-Jones concluded: 'All the feed back has been positive, it’s so easy to handle you don’t have to be computer literate, you press the button and you are flipping pages onscreen and creating your own personal experience. 'For us it’s a big learning curve because of the magnitude of uses that right now we can already see – for me I believe it will come to control the whole hotel!'