Hyatt adding self-service kiosks
Chicago — Hyatt Hotels Corp. has announced it is adding self-service check-in/checkout kiosks to more than 100 of its lobbies in Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt hotels in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Following a six-month trial period in Chicago
(Hyatt Regency O’Hare) and New York (Grand Hyatt New York), Hyatt will be rolling out the kiosks to its properties throughout 2005.
With the help of NCR Corp., Hyatt has made the commitment to deploy kiosks in order to meet the demands of today’s travelers.
“”Customers expect quick, easy check-in and checkout processes,”” said Gary Dollens, vice-president of product and design for Hyatt.
Hyatt’s self-service kiosks are tied into the company’s reservation system. Much like the airport kiosks that travelers have become accustomed to, the kiosks read information on a credit card that a guest swipes to begin both check-in and checkout.
Once the system recognizes the name and reservation, upon check-in guests can receive their room key, enter their frequent-stay Hyatt Gold Passport number and request an upgrade or room change.
While checking out, the kiosk gives guests the ability to pay, print out a complete receipt and receive a folio of their stay.
WSIB outsources desktop management
Toronto — The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB) has transferred ownership of its PC assets to IBM Canada as part of a 10-year services agreement that will lower administration costs, enhance PC security and employee mobility, and improve PC infrastructure management.
Under the agreement, IBM is responsible for managing all desktop and laptop resources for WSIB and 4,300 of its employees.
The WSIB now pays IBM a monthly bill for the use and servicing. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
“”If (IBM) owns the assets, then the administration overhead rests with them,”” said Valerie Adamo, the WSIB’s chief information officer and vice-president of business technology services. “”It lets us focus more on our core business and lets them be more accountable for the parts that we were struggling with between the two organizations.””
— Sarah Lysecki
