HITEC 2019 – New Products Promote Simple Functionality

HITEC 2019 in Minneapolis, MN wrapped up last week after several days of new technology products on display and thriving innovation for the Hospitality industry. With everything from voice-enabled devices to robots, there was a variety of new solutions available; however, some of the most popular buzz was from a simple device to support employee safety. In a post for Hotel Business (Simplicity, Functionality on Display at HITEC), Nicole Carlino called attention to the device that has been gaining a lot of attention this year.

While much of the focus at HITEC was on simplifying technology, there was one product type that was being shown more than it ever has before—panic button technology. This isn’t surprising given the five-star promise made last year by the AHLA and multiple hotel brands to provide employees across the U.S. with employee-safety devices by 2020.

The need for improved safety procedures for Hospitality staff has risen in recent years prompting many markets to implement regulation to protect employees. The American Hotel & Lodging Association, in partnership with five of the largest hotel brands, announced the 5-Star Promise in 2018. The pledge promises to provide hotel employees across the US with ESDs by 2020. Through ordinances or collective bargaining agreements, many hotels in cities such as Seattle, New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago have already distributed the devices. New Jersey became the first state to pass legislation requiring hotels with 100 or more rooms to provide workers with wearable panic buttons.

Annoncing their new partnership during HITEC, Allbridge leverages the Ruckus IoT Suite to provide a reliable, proven solution to meet hotels’ staff alert needs, without requiring a new network infrastructure. In the post, Matt Koch, chief product officer for Allbridge contributes his

“TraknProtect has its system, which has native beacons that can be put in place, but then they’ve also partnered with Ruckus so you can write it all on a Ruckus network; the BLE beacon is built into the access point, the button themselves is a small form factor and they just work,” said Matt Koch, chief product officer, noting that a 200-room hotel installed the system in 2.5 days. “It comes with an app, so if you’re a responder you’ll get a push notification to your mobile device, you can have it on the front desk PCs or if you have a security office, obviously you’d want to have it there. And even as they move around the property, you’ll see that person move down that hallway.”

To learn more about how to prepare your property for the new generation of renters, contact Allbridge to discuss which of our scalable data and video options will best meet your needs.