K West Hotel & Spa in Shepherds Bush has a well-established reputation as one of the capital’s coolest four-star accommodations, thanks to its striking modern architecture, innovative takes on dining and spa treatments, and A-lister-attracting DJ sessions. It now also features state-of-the-art tablets in each of the 219 guest rooms, as a digital replacement for outdated printed room service menus and guest directories.
The tablets are provided by Crave, the hospitality tech innovator behind the world’s first tablet designed specifically for use in hotel rooms. The tablets, powered by Crave’s unique proprietary operating system, feature interactive menus for instant ordering of room service and booking of restaurant tables and spa treatments, plus a wide range of other features, from news and transport information to an exclusive in-depth travel guide to London’s visitor attractions.
According to K West’s General Manager, Martin Hurley, the tablets fit perfectly with the hotel’s distinctively modern style, and have been receiving warm reactions from guests.
“The tablets really suit the style of the K West, and really add to the modern feel of our guest rooms,” he said; “We regularly receive positive feedback from guests about the tablets – directly and via TripAdvisor.”
A key benefit of the tablets is that their entire content is instantly and remotely updateable, ensuring that all menus and information listings are up-to-the-minute.
“The tablets have been simple to manage for us,” said Martin Hurley; “the back of house system is straightforward and reliable, and Crave are fantastic to deal with, very personable and with a consistent desire to improve the offering.”
Crave’s Commercial Director, Tim Butterworth, said that the company’s system could be successfully tailored to any high-end hotel setting, adding that its custom-made tablets now feature in hotel rooms across the UK, as well as in luxury resorts in the USA, the Caribbean and Central America.
“This sort of guest-facing in-room technology is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in the luxury hotel market, but it certainly fits particularly well in places like K West which make cool modernity a key part of their style,” Tim Butterworth said, adding that as well as enhancing guest experiences, the tablets offered major commercial benefits for hotel management. “Our tablets are installed everywhere from prestigious country house hotels in the heart of England to vast casino resorts in Las Vegas, and most properties record upswings in in-room sales as a result,” he said, adding that as well as simply encouraging guest engagement with menus and in-house services, the tablets allowed for carefully targeted push-message promotions and other subtle but effective communications.
This is something borne out by management experiences at K West, according to Martin Hurley.
“The room service figures are growing on a monthly basis, and we also notice that guests order more additional items on the tablet than they used to with telephone ordering,” he said.
