News
Issue #2002 - 46 (December 2002)
(Updated Dec. 10, 2002)

APPLICATION SOLUTIONS & APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

Hospitality Industry - NY's Waldorf-Astoria hotel rolls out wearable PCs

Nov 2002, Scottsdale, AZ-- - New York City's famous Waldorf-Astoria, a Hilton Hotels Corporation property, this month announced the purchase and initial deployment of Xybernaut wearable computers for a variety of customer service functions.

The technology enhancements at the Waldorf-Astoria are part of a previously announced relationship between Xybernaut and Hilton Hotels whereby Hilton properties are able to acquire Xybernaut wearable computers that are pre-configured to work with Hilton back-office programs and front-line applications.

Waldorf-Astoria check-in personnel, concierge and customer service representatives will use Xybernaut Mobile Assistant V wearable computers as the basis for a wireless/mobile check-in system to augment existing registration desks at properties located in North America and many international markets.

"Although we are listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, our business operations need to be on the cutting-edge," stated Eric Long, general manager for The Waldorf-Astoria. "Our primary objective is to make the guest feel welcome as soon as possible. We initially noticed an opportunity for our customer service representatives to employ wearable computers as a means to speed up the process of check-in/registration upon arrival. We plan to expand the deployment to build affinity amongst our valued customers," added Long.

The technology allows customer service representatives to cut down on long lines (or queues) that can quickly form as guests arrive and move through the welcome and registration process. It works by equipping customer service representatives with a full function PC-equivalent wearable computer configured with wireless network connectivity.

The Xybernaut wearable computers are equipped with a touch screen enabled flat panel display (FPD), body-worn printer, mobile credit card processing equipment, room key encoder, and direct integration with an organization's proprietary or off-the-shelf databases/applications.

For more information: http://www.xybernaut.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: A good use of wearable computers in the hospitality industry.

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