Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts

Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport is on the forefront of introducing guest technology and is the first hotel in Asia to launch the patented VIPSeat™ Restaurant system solution by Tiare Technology using Apple iPad tablets. 

The VIPSeat™ Restaurant solution allows restaurant diners to easily view and place orders directly from their table to order food, wine and cocktails by using an Apple iPad tablet or other wireless device with Tiare’s proprietary software.  The system displays extensive information about the restaurant’s menu items including descriptions of the cuisine, photos, and other details about the venue. 

Hans Winsnes, General Manager of Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport strives to provide guests with unparalleled service and the latest in hospitality technology.  “Tiare’s VIPSeat™ Restaurant solution will allow our guests to experience a unique type of personalized service.”  Winsnes added, “This platform will enable us to enhance our operational efficiencies in order to better deliver the high-quality amenities and service excellence that our guests expect.” 

The VIPSeat™ Restaurant system can be customized to fit the needs of any restaurant. “The capability to reflect our esthetic and branding, as well as the system’s flexibility to meet our operational requirements were the benefits over other solutions,” said Winsnes.   The system can be configured so orders are transmitted directly to the hotel POS system or used in stand-alone mode with guests viewing items and associates assisting with selections.  The optional handheld wireless staff unit provides access to guest information such as order history and preferences so staff may interact with guests and provide a highly personalized service experience. The device also provides for service efficiencies by informing associates when orders are ready for pick up and when a guest needs service. Associates can also use their device to place orders directly to the POS system.

The VIPSeat™ Restaurant solution provides the ability to update information in real time, allowing for more efficient management of menus and helping ensure a guest is never disappointed by viewing a choice that’s out of stock.  This flexibility allows food and beverage managers to take advantage of surplus inventory, remove items that are not moving, and hide selections that may be temporarily unavailable.

“We are excited and honored to be selected by Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a hotel that places a high value on anticipating and exceeding guest expectations.  Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport is a leader in embracing emerging technology to help achieve this goal,” said Julie Werbitt, CEO of Tiare Technology.   The system is also an eco-friendly solution that helps reduce waste. “Eliminating the printing and distribution costs of a traditional menu while promoting an environmentally conscious platform to our customers is part of Tiare’s commitment to a green business model,” says Werbitt.  “When you think about how many tons of menus and advertising materials are discarded every year worldwide, the VIPSeat™ Restaurant system is a logical answer for reducing a restaurant’s overall paper consumption,”

Besides being the first to introduce the revolutionary digital food and beverage menu system, Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International has implemented over the years other smart and environmentally friendly IT solutions for the hospitality business; namely INNCOM and VingCard.

INNCOM
The hotel believes that individuals and companies should play their part in reducing global warming!  Apart from introducing the digital food and beverage menu system, the hotel has installed the INNCOM system - a centrally monitored and controlled system that integrates with the Hotel’s property management system to control guestrooms door lock, guestroom occupancy monitoring and reporting, doorbell/do-not-disturb/make-up-room annunciation and the new fan-cooling units modulating valve that controls the air conditioning and electricity.
With the INNCOM systems, energy costs can be controlled by activating programable temperature setbacks when guestrooms are not occupied. Temperature can be pre-set for 22 C when guest enters the room but is automatically increased to 24 C as soon as guest leaves their room. It is then re-adjusted to 22 C automatically when guest re-enters their room.  It has been proven that without compromising guest comfort, guestroom energy costs can typically be reduced by 30% or more. This in turn will reduce the chilled water consumption by almost 35 % and fan-cooling unit electricity consumption by almost 40%.  We are able to do this with the installation of a motion sensor that is installed in all the guestrooms.  This also helps our Hotel associates to determine if the guest is occupying the room or not without having to interrupt the guest.  Therefore, minimizes intrusion on guest privacy while enhancing productivity.
The system allows the guest to request for ‘do not disturb’ and ‘make up room’ at a touch of buttons.  This saves the time and energy of our guest as there is no necessity to call the housekeeping team for maintenance of the room.  At the touch of the buttons, the request is displayed immediately on the corridor wall plate with the status of guestroom being automatically updated centrally.  Therefore, enabling our housekeeping associates to work more efficiently.

John Fernandez, MIS Manager of the hotel said initially he was skeptical, knowing there were not too many success stories relating to energy- management systems -- in particular among hotels.  “We are glad that the skeptics -- including ourselves -- have been proven wrong,” Fernandez said. “We anticipated savings of MYR 561,878 (or U.S. $185,499.13) per year in energy costs. In addition, we realized that implementing the INNCOM EMS will help us reduce annual emissions of CO2 by 1,716 tons each year. Before INNCOM, the annual CO2 emission for electricity and chilled water consumption was 8,268 tons and 2,368 tons respectively, resulting in a total 10,636 tons of CO2 being emitted to the atmosphere each year.  INNCOM has delivered a 16 percent reduction in overall CO2 emissions.” 
 
Through INNCOM, hotel managers are able to: review room temperatures online, change the settings as required or as requested by guests, review historical data pertaining to individual rooms during a guest’s stay period, and detect any abnormality to the HVAC unit well in advance, he said.
 
“In reality, we have easily exceeded our own estimates in monetary value by achieving a savings of MYR 637,000 (or U.S.$210,300.42) per year and a yearly reduction of 1,905 metric tons (or 4.2 million lbs) of CO2 emissions thanks to INNCOM,” Fernandez said. “INNCOM has delivered on its promise from day one, and they continue to exceed expectations in energy savings and guest satisfaction as we speak.”

INNCOM is sharing information with a host of hospitality applications, including the property-management system and the electronic-locking solution. The system also provides HVAC maintenance and mini-bar status reports.

Winsnes said that because INNCOM enables guests to request privacy and room refreshing at a touch of button, it eliminates the need for guests to call the housekeeping or maintenance. The guest's personal request is displayed immediately on the corridor wall plate with the status of the guestroom being automatically updated centrally, enabling housekeeping associates to work more efficiently.

VingCard
The hotel has just completed installation of a new key card operating security system from VingCard the world leader in hospitality security technology which has products installed into more 39 000 properties worldwide securing in excess of 6.5 million hotel rooms.  VingCard provides numerous electronic locking system solutions, including traditional magnetic-strip, smartcard systems and the latest RFID electronic locks compatible with ISO standards including NFC (Near Field Communication), fully integrated PMS interface software solutions.

VingCard is also a world leader in wireless online locking solutions for hotels based on ZigBee secured open platform such as the system installed at the hotel
 
New products from VingCard which use the Zigbee platform include:

1. VingCard’s Loyalty Card Check-in Program which allows guests to quickly bypass the traditional, time consuming check-in process and continue directly to their room using their own personalized loyalty card issued by the hotel or hotel chain.
2. Orion by VingCard Elsafe a comprehensive energy management solution (EMS) that produces extensive energy savings, ensures guest comfort, and helps promote green initiatives. 
3. The Integrated Room Control Dashboard is designed to help hotels better manage properties, offer improved guest services, generate additional revenue and save energy.
   When evaluating a hotel security system, the hotel selected VingCard due to its reliable security features which helps guarantee the highest security and comfort to enhance our guest’s experience. The Pan Pacific brand is on the leading edge of hotel technology, and we at VingCard are thrilled to help them make the hotel lead the way in hotel security and technology,” said Vegard Prytz, Regional Director for ASSA ABLOY Hospitality in Asia Pacific. “It’s quite appropriate that this truly pioneering technology is now in place at a high profile hotel such as Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport.”