Skift Take
Peninsula Hotel stays on the cutting edge of hotel technology with its in-house team of engineers by integrating tech into every aspect of the hotel experience from automated privacy signs to touch-screen walls. Why they're using Samsung tablets is a mystery.
Not only did the Peninsula Hotels’ flagship pioneer such in-room conveniences as bathtub-side telephones and bedroom control panels, but it’s one of the few hotel groups to have its own in-house tech development team. Its top-secret tech laboratory houses a team of engineers dedicated to developing the brand’s gadgets.
As part of a 450 million Hong Kong dollar (US$58 million) room renovation, whose first phase was unveiled in September, the property is introducing next-generation in-room technology geared toward gadget geeks and the more analog-inclined alike. Customized Samsung Galaxy tablets serve as room control, city guide and valet; wireless VOIP phones allow guests to make free calls (the one in the bathroom has noise-cancellation technology); and multi-language touch-screen wall panels control everything from the curtains to the Nespresso machine.
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Photo credit: The Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Simon Cocks / Flickr.com