2017 tech trends: Faster bandwidth, more mobile apps  (2017年旅館業科技趨勢：流量更大的網路頻寬、更多的手機應用程式)

Hotel News Now by Danielle Hess , 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 12:21 PM
dhess@hotelnewsnow.com
@HNN_Danielle

Tech experts in the hotel industry expect mobile applications to evolve in 2017 along with in-room TV streaming.
旅館業的科技專業人士預期手機應用程式在2017年會連同客房電視進行串流服務。

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Hotel industry tech experts anticipate hotel companies will invest more in mobile application capabilities and bandwidth speeds in 2017, and guests will continue to give out personal data, which could aid hoteliers.
美國報導 — 酒店業的科技專業人士預期2017年酒店業者將投入更多的成本在手機應用程式的功能以及網路頻寬速度上，而顧客同時也將持續提供有益於酒店業者的個人資料。

Ron Hardin, VP of technology at Davidson Hotels & Resorts, said the need for faster bandwidth speeds will grow as more and more guests start bringing multiple devices and streaming video in their rooms.
Davidson酒店集團的資訊科技副總裁 Ron Hardin表示，當越來越多客人開始把許多行動裝置與串流影音帶至客房之中，對於更快的頻寬速度需求將會成長。

“We see bandwidth demand continuing to increase,” he said. “There are more people using streaming media, more people carrying more devices, more use of above-property applications—both our internal users and our guests—so it all combines into more demand for bandwidth.
他接著說：「我們看到頻寬的需求持續增加。更多人在使用串流媒體，隨身帶著更多的行動裝置，內部員工及外部顧客都使用更多酒店以外的應用程式─綜合以上的狀況將導致頻寬需求加鉅。」

“It’s been kind of a refrain for the past few years, but it’s hard to keep up with demand. It seems like every time we upgrade, we’re kind of behind the curve, and we’re looking down the road at our next upgrade.”
「過去這幾年感覺有些一再重覆，但確實很難迎合得了頻寬需求。似乎我們每次升級頻寬之後，又有些跟不上潮流需求，而我們又得接著準備下次的頻寬升級。」

Hardin said he would like to see more metered offerings when it comes to bandwidth speed, which has not yet been seen in the industry.
Hardin 表示，每次提到頻寬速度，他就想看到更多依用量供給的網路服務，然而這樣方式尚未在業界看到。

“We only pay for the electricity we use, we only pay for the water we use, it would be nice if we could put in a big internet pipe, but only pay for the amount of data we use as opposed to having to pay a flat rate for a huge pipe,” he said. “Just so that we have it when we need it, because experience tells us by the time we know we need it, then we’re into a six-month process that it takes to get an upgrade and we’re constantly chasing our tails.”
他接著說：「我們只會付所用電量的電費，所用水量的水費，相較於為大頻寬支付固定費用，我們若能安裝大頻寬但只要付所使用傳輸量的費用，那就太棒了！我們只在需要的時候才會用到所需的東西，因為經驗告訴我們『只要時候到了，我們就知道會需要該事物。』，之後我們要花費六個月的歷程進行頻寬升級，當然我們是在不斷地瞎忙。」

The push for mobile apps(手機應用程式的推動力)

Guests like having the ability to keep track of their stay from the moment they book to the minute they arrive, throughout their time on-property and when they depart, and hoteliers said these needs are leading to a bigger push toward mobile applications.

顧客喜歡從訂房那一刻起一直到退房為止都能追踪其住房狀態，酒店業者表示這樣的需求正引領並更加推動相關的手機應用程式。

Ames Flynn, SVP and Chief Information Officer at Extended Stay America, said mobile technology will continue to grow in importance going into 2017.
美國長住酒店集團的資深協理暨資訊長 Ames Flynn說，手機科技將日益重要一直到2017年。

“Just all the different things with mobile that can enable guests and get guests more into self-service, get them more information, and allow them to … shape their stay (will accelerate),” he said. “It’s not all about doing the reservation and check-in and you’re done, but as you’re there, are there things you need, are there things of your stay that you need to communicate about, whether something’s broken or whether there’s a service or something that you want to buy while you’re there or buy up … things that basically enable the guest and give them more control of their stay.”
Ames Flynn接著說：「跟手機相關的各種應用程式能讓顧客更熱中於自助服務，讓他們有更多的資訊，且讓他們能……有符合自己的住宿體驗(這部份會增長)。這不光只是訂房、住宿登記，然後就沒了，更因為你住在酒店裡，你所需要的事物或是你住宿期間需要溝通的狀況舉凡物品損壞、購買商品服務等，這些手機應用程式基本上更能讓顧客管控自身的住宿訂房。」

Hardin said guests want to be able to access everything dealing with their stay on their mobile devices. He said this is where mobile is going, but it’s not quite there yet because there are “still operational issues to overcome.”
Davidson酒店集團的資訊科技副總裁 Ron Hardin 說顧客想要在其行動裝置上處理住宿相關的大小事，而這是行動裝置未來的趨勢，然而目前尚未達到此目標，因為「仍舊有些營運操作上的課題待克服」。

“The whole idea of mobile check-in and direct-to-room mobile key sounds great and we’d love to deliver it, but at the same time, we’re also struggling with issues like credit card fraud,” he said. “If somebody can create an account online and we’re not directly involved in that account information or that credit card information, and then they can use that account to book rooms and check in without going to the front desk, there’s some real liability and operational issues in that process that haven’t really been thought out thoroughly.”
他接著說：「用手機登記住房以及作為客房鑰匙的想法是不錯的，而我們也想使用這項技術，但是我們同時也在信用卡詐騙等議題之間掙扎。假設有人能夠線上註冊帳戶，但我們酒店方無法直接獲知該帳戶或信用卡的相關資訊，之後他們用此帳戶訂房且不經過前檯部門而入住客房，在這樣的過程中會有實質負債及營運上的問題，而且我們尚未能想得透徹。」

Hardin said Davidson Hotels & Resorts is also working on technology that would allow guests to stream things like Netflix and Hulu from their mobile devices onto TV screens in the guestroom.
Hardin表示Davidson酒店集團同樣也在進行科技更新，希望能讓顧客在客房用自己的手機串流影音如Netflix及Hulu到電視上。

“We’re going to see a big push towards enabling customers to stream the content of their choice to those TVs with as few limitations as possible, and that might be over-the-top applications that are enabled in a box attached to the TV or it might be a solution based on casting,” he said. “I see that as becoming (a trend) fairly rapidly, not necessarily pervasive, but I think we’re going to see an uptick in that technology.”
他說：「我們正看到一股巨大的推動力讓顧客得以串流自選的數位內容至電視機播放並且儘可能減少軟硬體上的限制，那可能藉由網路應用程式服務業者所提供的相關程式連接電視機上盒，或者可能是其他將自選內容投放至電視的解決方案。我認為這會很快但卻未必普遍成為一項潮流，而我想我們會看到該項科技的興起。」

Flynn said guest-facing mobile apps will be popular in the new year, but he also expects to see more mobile applications designed for hotel employees to use on the job.
美國長住酒店集團的資深協理暨資訊長 Ames Flynn說針對顧客使用的手機應用程式將在新的一年受到歡迎，但他也期待看到更多設計給酒店員工在工作時使用的手機應用程式。

“I think you’ll see more associate, employee-facing mobile,” he said. “Just again, with the associate being able to service the guest, being able to have access to data, to updating status of things and being able to react to guests’ requests and guests’ issues.”
Flynn接著說：「我認為你們會看到更多針對酒店人員所設計的行動應用程式，讓員工得以服務客人、查詢資料、更新事物狀態以及能對客人的要求與所遭遇的狀況加以反應。」

Flynn said hoteliers also need to think about how their back-end systems will support advances in mobile technology.
Flynn表示酒店業者也要思索其後端系統要如何支授行動科技的先進技術。

“I would go beyond that and say that you have to have a back-end system for all of that to plug into,” he said. “What supports that mobile on the back-end, what supports these types of interactions and transactions, so that’s where you’re seeing hotels starting to replace their property management systems to be able to handle that. You’re seeing certain mobile platform infrastructures and basically those back-ends that support those applications.”
他接著說：「我可能有些講過頭的是你們必須有個能連結所有行動裝置的後端系統。該系統能在後端支授行動裝置並支授上述形式的交流互動與交易活動，於是你們看得到旅館酒店開始更換其物業管理系統(縮寫–PMS)以處理相關事務。而你們也能看到某些行動平台的基礎建設，其基本上是支授這些應用程式的後端系統。」

Reinventing travel agents, giving away personal data (旅遊代理商再造與個資洩露)

Websites like Kayak are reinventing travel agents, which is something that will likely become more popular and have staying power as more and more companies are doing it, according to Ron Swidler, principal of branding at The Gettys Group.
依據 Gettys 集團的品牌長 Ron Swidler的看法，Kayak之類的網站即再造的旅行代理商，而他們會更加受歡迎，且因為越來越多的公司跟著加入，他們仍具影響力。

He said Kayak’s founder recently launched a new project that provides travel agency services through an app “and they’re leveraging the Kayak database, but they’re also leveraging something interesting, which is the reinvention of travel agents.”
Swidler表示 Kayak的創辦人最近推出一項新計劃，經由手機應用程式來提供旅行社的相關服務，「他們此舉對於Kayak網站的資料庫起了重要功效，但也同時也對旅行代理商的再造形成有意思的影響。」

“The reason they’re doing it is because they have access to incredible data, and they have data across multiple brands, of course, based upon people who have traveled historically, but they also have global coverage for all markets,” Swidler said. “So if you compare them to how a hotel brand might offer up a travel service, a single hotel brand would be promoting their brand and only in the markets that they have hotels. This way you can go across multiple platforms.”
Swidler再繼續說：「他們之所以這麼做是因為他們可獲得驚人的數據並且是跨眾多酒店品牌，這當然是因為其資料是依據人們的遊歷，然而他們亦針對全球所有市場加以佈局。因此如果你將之與一個酒店品牌所提供旅遊服務作比較，酒店品牌大概都只在有據點的市場從事行銷。至於旅行社則能讓你跨多重平台。」

The app has an artificial intelligence aspect to it, Swidler said, which records past travel patterns, preferences and price points. He said Google is gearing up to do something similar, which he added will be interesting given Google’s geotracking capabilities.
他接著表示，手機應用程式對此有人工智慧的一面：能記錄以往旅遊的模式、偏好及中心價格。他附帶一提的是谷歌正緊鑼密鼓地進行類似的功能，而谷歌在地理追蹤的能力是相當有意思的。

“The other thing (Google) is doing is, you give Google permission to access your Gmail, so you make your reservation or you have an appointment in a given city at a given time, if you were using Gmail as your form of communication, it can harvest that data … and make offers to you directly, which I know feels a little bit big bother and a little creepy right now, but I think the trend of giving away personal privacy and personal info is going to continue,” he said. “I mean, look at the popularity of Pokémon Go: That is the most sophisticated geotracking app that our world has ever seen and people are willingly giving away that information.”
Swidler再接著說：「另一件谷歌在做的事就是你授權谷歌讀取你的Gmail信箱，因此當你在在特定時間及特定城市預訂房間或有會面事宜時，若你使用Gmail做為聯繫方式，谷歌就能從中獲取該數據，並直接提供相關優惠給你，只是現今我感到有些困擾與詭異發毛，然而這種洩漏個人隱私及資訊的趨勢只會持續下去。我意思是，就好比看看現今精靈寶可夢GO的熱潮，這個是前所未見且最精心設計的地理追蹤應用程式，這同時也讓人們自願把個人資訊洩露出來。」