Palais Hansen Kempinski Wien

The Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna

The Problem

Since the opening, the Palais Hansen Kempinski has become a technical pioneer within the Kempinski hotel chain. New ideas are often tested here first before they are rolled-out to other Kempinski hotels. The previous iOS-based solution didn’t fulfil the requirements of the hotel because the hardware was
not specifically developed for the hotel industry and was not up-to-date.

Additionally, the maintenance of the content was not user-friendly as it was difficult to replace or update information. This had a negative impact on the
offers and therefore on the revenue of the respective departments. Nevertheless, it was clear that returning back to print media in the 21st century was not an option for the hotel as the ‘innovation pioneer’.

There were four aspects that were of importance while choosing a new partner for the Palais Hansen Kempinski, Vienna:

• The new solution had to transition quickly and smoothly so that the guest experience would not be affected by the switch to the new solution.
• There should be an increase in revenue in all areas by providing an intuitive interface as well as providing more opportunities for interaction.
• The design should be attractive and easy to use to encourage the guests to use the tablet more often.
• The technical implementation should be well-structured and should not result in additional time requirements for the hotel staff. Additionally, fast and easy content maintenance is an important requirement

The Solution

The management of Palais Hansen Kempinski considered several alternatives while looking for new solutions. In the end, it was SuitePad that convinced them with their tablet’s intuitive and attractive design, as well as the easy-to-use interface — this is one of the many reasons why the hotel decided to start a collaboration with SuitePad.

So, from September 2018 SuitePad tablets were installed in all rooms and suites.

The on-site installation was conducted in person by SuitePad employees. Additionally, the Kempinski employees from all departments were comprehensively educated in terms of the maintenance of content, order-handling and the sending of push-notifications.

The tablets were ready for use and the first orders were made on the same day as installation. This is because the SuitePad administration system is simple to implement and all the devices were preconfigured (hotel content and WLAN already installed) for a smooth and quick installation.

The benefits of the solution were already apparent to the Palais in the first month. Instead of the hotel receiving guest complaints about devices that didn’t work, the hotel received about 270 requests across the different areas of the hotel (including room service, spa and other extra services).

The Results

• Guest experience has been enhanced because of the comprehensive and intuitive playback of the services and offers. Currently more than 90 percent of all the guests at the Palais Hansen Kempinski are using the SuitePads on a daily basis — with most guests visiting the hotel’s own content where orders can be made.
• The number of orders has increased because of the intuitive usage of the shop and booking function. In the room service section alone roughly 200 bookings are made via the tablets per month. What used to be the main source of revenue created from the tablets in the past is now only one part of an increased total booking volume, as other services from other areas of the hotel can now also be booked via the tablets.
• The hotel management’s feedback, as well as the employees’ response to the installation process and the performance of SuitePad, has been very good. The hotel and SuitePad’s dedicated Account Management team are always in regular contact ready to implement and exchange new and promising ideas for the installation.

Summary

The reliability of the solution was one of the major concerns for the Palais Hansen. In the past, the previous iOS-based solution failed in these areas and had some issues that needed to be addressed. A reliable solution was needed to increase the frequency of use, the amount of orders and the guest experience. Since the switch to SuitePad, the hotel has achieved all of these targets with a utilization rate of over 90 percent, over 200 orders a month, and thanks to better functionality of the devices, significantly more positive feedback from their guests.