Deck 14: Hotel Technology

Question 1

Telephone departments have had an historical cycle: First heavily regulated, then deregulated, and now in competition with other communication products (cell phones for example). The result is that today's hotels earn little revenue from the telephone department, and in many properties it is a cost center.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Electronic Locking Systems (ELS) which use the guest's iris or fingerprint as the code for opening the lock are known as RFID electronic locking systems.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The laws of many states actually require in-room safes be provided to the guest free-of-charge.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Telephones which use either IP or VoIP software are actually routing the telephone call over the Internet.

Question 5

Some energy management systems (EMS) are so sophisticated that they actually save energy by adjusting the temperature automatically when the room is unoccupied.

Question 6

In terms of keycards, which of the following is NOT a real type of keycard used with today's electronic locking systems?

A) Memory cards
B) Smart cards
C) Magnetic stripe cards
D) RFID cards
E) All of the above are real keycard types

Question 7

Which acronym is NOT part of the lodging industry's electronic vocabulary?

A) POS
B) PMS
C) A/R
D) ELS
E) HITIS

Question 8

Which federal agency regulates the nation's telecommunication industry?

A) FICA
B) FDA
C) FCC
D) OSHA
E) None of the above

Question 9

Which of the following services are available at some hotels on the in-room television screen?

A) Guest folio
B) Weather reports and airport times
C) Personal messages
D) Room-service menu
E) All of the above

Question 10

A hard-wired ELS can be upgraded to include:

A) Cooking capabilities (but only in all-suite facilities)
B) Energy control of the guest room
C) Clearing of smoke from no-smoking rooms
D) Removal of room-service trays
E) None of the above

Question 11

List and describe two factors that management should weigh before buying and installing a new interface to its Property Management System.

Question 12

The recent spurt of hotel technology comes as no surprise, hoteliers have always been technology leaders, investors and innovators.

Question 13

Hotelkeeping is highly segmented; even the "big guys"are small as business enterprises are measured.

Question 14

The hotel industry under the leadership of the AH&MA (now the AH&LA) was at the forefront of new technology: researching and investing large sums during the 1990 decade.

Question 15

Early technology, such as ice machines in the room or on the floor, was designed and seen primarily as labor-savings devices.

Question 16

Call accounting systems (CAS) post telephone charges directly to guest folios through an interface with the PMS.

Question 17

Amenity creep [read: competition] pushes hotels to adapt new technology rather quickly.

Question 18

Telephone department became profitable after federal deregulation and have remained so ever since.

Question 19

If guests are unable to distinguish one hotel property from another, the product that innkeepers sell becomes a commodity and price becomes the major determinant of the purchase.

Question 20

Wireless Internet carries a cost: security breaches of private conversations is a real possibility.

Question 21

Monitors no longer use CRTs, cathode ray tubes, because they emit dangerous radiation.

Question 22

Key chronology (sequence) runs something like this: First, there were no keys; then ELS with card keys; iron keys came next; mechanical keys followed; RFID (radio frequency identification) keys are on the horizon.

Question 23

Mechanical keys carried the hotel's name and room number on the tags putting security in doubt.

Question 24

Biometric systems are not popular because they require guests to have a fixed (national) PIN (number) that can be used at any site within the country.

Question 25

Most U.S. hotels now use some form of electronic locking systems (ELSs).

Question 26

"Hard-wired key systems"are a misnomer (incorrectly named) because there are no wires in a hard-wired system.

Question 27

One disadvantage of ELSs is the long delay between the guests' arrival at their rooms (after registration) and the system's inability to give them immediate room access.

Question 28

Keycards for ELS are inexpensive plastic that quickly disintegrates after use, especially at resorts where sun, water and sand interact with the material.

Question 29

Keycards can be recycled; they can be used for another guest and another room.

Question 30

Two-way communication systems for electronic locks enable guests to access locked areas other than the guest room - swimming pools; parking structures; exercise facilities.

Question 31

Elevator access to the concierge floor can be controlled through an electronic locking system.

Question 32

Energy management has grown in importance because energy is the industry's second largest operating (variable) cost after labor.

Question 33

A body-motion detection system is the first line of defense in fire-safety.

Question 34

Someone discussing: "sold; sold and occupied; sold but unoccupied; and unsold (or vacant)"could be talking about an energy management system.

Question 35

The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act is a federal law that itemizes the fire safety equipment and procedures that hotels must have if they accept interstate guests, essentially anyone.

Question 36

Even early versions of in-room minibars were profitable despite the labor costs associated with counting and restocking inventory.

Question 37

Automated in-room minibars are interfaced with the PMS so late charges from missed counts and early departures have been reduced.

Question 38

Many hotels bought in-room safes on credit by sharing safe income with the safe's seller/manufacturer.

Question 39

Electronic locks battle external theft; in-room safes reduce internal losses caused chiefly from temptation.

Question 40

Strange as it may seem to sophisticated electronic users, in-room alarm clocks are a must for most travelers.

Question 41

Guests have rushed to adopt biometric security in hotels and motels just as they have done as travelers at airports and at industry sites.

Question 42

"Interstate"and "intrastate"mean the same; local customs have produced different eastern and western spellings.

Question 43

Guests prefer centralized HVAC systems over individual in-room installations, which are so noisy.

Question 44

Most hotel chains have broadband, high-speed Internet connections, which could be used as low-cost telephone servers, VOIP.

Question 45

Even in a period of rising costs, technology costs continue to fall relatively.

Question 46

For hotels, technologies greatest impact has been at the desk, with the PMS.

Question 47

It may be an anomaly (a contradiction), but self-service kiosks are seen to be an improvement in service.

Question 48

Hotels adopted electronic locking systems despite the ease and speed of changing locks and keys with a manual key systems.

Question 49

HTNG (Hotel Technology, the Next Generation) is just that: the next generation after HITIS (Hospitality Industry Integration Standards).

Question 50

Which of the statements about electronic locking systems is NOT accurate?

A) Lost keycards are inexpensive to replace
B) The keycard console is a large piece of equipment kept at the front desk
C) Each guest gets a new or recycled keycard
D) The system can include one-way or two-way communication
E) None of the above; that is, they are all accurate.

Question 51

Ergonomics deals with:

A) The interaction of persons and equipment
B) The obsolescence of computer equipment
C) The economic meaning of hotel statistics
D) A new interface for PMSs
E) All of these; they'll all the same with a different slant

Question 52

HOBIC means:

A) Hospitality Overseas Building Into [a] Chain, an Asian form of joint venture
B) Hotel Billing Information Center, a telephone system
C) Hotel Oversight By Independent Council, a hotel group that evaluates technology
D) Hotels Of [the] Best International Chains, an affiliated rating service
E) None of the above, they're random letters

Question 53

"Voice Mail"deals with:

A) Automatic morning wake-up calls
B) Tentative attempts at machine-answering reservation systems
C) Methods of activating the PMS
D) Electronic translation services for international guests
E) None of the above, the term is used without meaning

Question 54

The term "resort services"refers to:

A) An all inclusive offering at some resorts
B) The mix of in-house and out-of-house capabilities, primarily at Caribbean resorts
C) Additional fees levied by some properties over, and in addition to, the room rate
D) Advertising jargon used by four- and five-star resorts
E) Both (or either) A and B

Question 55

TV sets can be used for:

A) Menus for room service
B) Zip-out check-outs
C) Pay-per-view films
D) Welcome message for new arrivals
E) All of the above seem right

Question 56

"Ma Bell"refers to:

A) Industry slang for the silver bells once used to call bellhops
B) A warm reference to Martha Bell, founder of the Bell Hotel Chain
C) AT&T, the telephone company
D) The first woman innkeeper in the U.S. colonies
E) None of the above fits the meaning

Question 57

HVAC is the responsibility of the ________ department.

A) Housekeeping
B) Engineering
C) Front Desk
D) Bells (Uniformed Services)
E) All of the above, depends upon the time and location

Question 58

In-room hotel safes can be activated by:

A) Magnetic stripe cards
B) Keys
C) Codes (digital) entry
D) Biometrics
E) All of above, depending upon the make and model

Question 59

Regulatory control of the hospitality industry's telephone system rests with the:

A) AT&T
B) AH&LA
C) FCC
D) INNCOM international inc.
E) None of the above, telephones are not regulated

Question 60

Telephones, like locks and safes and minibars, have gone through stages of development; for telephones the sequence has been:

A) Dial-up; high-speed wire; wireless; VoIP
B) Operator-assisted; Internet; dial-up; high-speed wire
C) Dial-up; VOIP; operator-assisted; wireless
D) High speed; dial-up; wire; wireless
E) All of the above because it is difficult to say which came first

Question 61

Self-service kiosks:

A) Make change for foreign currency
B) Have replaced telephone booths in lobbies
C) Generate extra income by accepting advertising
D) Imply, for many guests, that management is uncaring
E) Both A and C

Question 62

Voice-Over-Internet Protocol is identified as:

A) VOIP
B) VoIP
C) Broadband telephone
D) IP telephony
E) All of the above, terminology is somewhat in flux (changing)

Question 63

Internet-based systems:

A) Allow guests to register before arrival
B) Enable departed guests to review folios over the Internet
C) Rely on debit cards, not credit cards
D) Use guest-room control panels to upgrade service
E) Both A and B