The exclusive Cape Grace Hotel on Cape Town`s V&A Waterfront has installed Akai`s interactive television system, GuestLink, in keeping with trends in the world`s best hospitality resorts. Distributed in South Africa by Telcall Television Systems (TTS), GuestLink adds interactive services that simplify a guest`s access to information and hotel facilities, from room service menus to express checkout and bill summaries.
The Cape Grace is one of three hotels in the luxury collection owned by the Brand family. It attracts the top niche of the international travel market, primarily from the UK and US, including international corporate guests and delegates. The Cape Grace has also hosted several state visits, notably the monarchy of Spain and the Clintons.
Operations manager Tony Romer-Lee says the Cape Grace prides itself on understated décor, unintrusive charm and unquestionably good taste.
"Every facility we provide must add value to our guest`s experience," says Romer-Lee. "GuestLink is no exception. It integrates seamlessly with the style of the hotel, available when needed and hidden away when not."
He adds that the calibre of guest attracted by the Cape Grace demands consistency with world standards, from international cuisine to interactive television.
"The majority of our guests expect certain amenities in the hotels they frequent," he says. "Information services such as GuestLink are standard in the world`s best hotels and we make no exception at the Grace." GuestLink provides the Cape Grace guest with all the information he needs at the touch of a button. Intuitive menus give him access to local information, such as restaurant and entertainment guides to Cape Town, regularly updated room service menus and a comprehensive breakdown of his accumulated bill.
"Our guests need never be in doubt as to what they`re billed for with categorised summaries available 24 hours a day," says Romer-Lee. "Should any guest have a query to make, our front office is open round the clock to answer his questions."
Guests also have the option of checking out through GuestLink`s express checkout facility, useful for businessmen on the move. The facility complements the bill summary menu by reducing the administrative burden on hotel staff and eliminating any potential checkout congestion for the guest.
According to Romer-Lee, GuestLink will come into its own with an integrated Internet and e-mail service, soon to be implemented by TTS in all its GuestLink hotels around the country.
"The Internet has become the medium of choice for the international traveller and will further add to the convenience of the GuestLink system at the Cape Grace," he says. "The addition of an infrared keyboard to input e-mail messages delivered to our guest`s personal mailboxes anywhere in the world will take the service to its next level and redefine the standard of interactive TV services in the hospitality industry."
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