Connected Buildings Can Make Excellent Hosts

One of the challenges that a smart building faces is making occupants feel welcome and comfortable without making them feel monitored or overwhelmed by technology. There’s a fine line between being an attentive host and an overbearing one. 

This is a special challenge for hotels as they integrate IoT into their operations. They want to give guests a safe, enjoyable stay, while allowing technology to work within the surroundings to the benefit of the guest and business.

Here’s how The Ritz Carlton Xi’an achieved a seamless combination of intelligent operations and welcoming, luxury accommodations

Comfort and Efficiency Control

Moving through the different parts of a hotel should be a nearly seamless guest experience. A guest doesn’t want to enter a hot lobby, journey through a humid corridor to a freezing cold room. At Ritz Carlton Xi’an, Honeywell Enterprise Building Integrator (EBI) and ComfortPointTM Open series connects up to 15 HVAC related sub-systems and nearly 10,000 software and hardware points in the hotel, including air quality, temperature and humidity control system. This guarantees that the building operates efficiently, while keeping guests comfortable throughout their stay, even as they move from lobby to spa to rooftop bar.

Building automation and guestroom control systems

When you leave your home, you are probably careful about turning off lights or electronics and setting the thermostat to energy saving levels. Not surprisingly, people are not as cautious about these details when they leave their hotel rooms. The hospitality industry loses a lot of money every year to heating, cooling and lighting empty rooms. Heating and cooling represents almost 40 percent of the electricity and more than half of natural gas used by hotels and motels.[1]

With INNCOM guestroom control systems, infrared motion detectors determine occupancy in the guestroom. If someone leaves the room for an extended period, the temperature and lighting adjust automatically. Multiply that by hundreds of rooms and the system enhances the overall operating efficiency of the entire hotel.

Safe and intelligent fire, security and public address systems

Smart video analytics software can identify suspicious behaviors and activities in the hotel without the need for continuous manual supervision. Meanwhile, an intelligent fire alarm system like XLS 3000 can be incorporated into the building integrated management system of the entire hotel to better coordinate in case of emergency.

These solutions come together in Xi’an in one magnificent building. Each system does its part to make guests safe and comfortable, and help the Ritz Carlton operate more efficiently.  Patrick Weder, General Manager of the Ritz Carlton Xi’an said, “With the Honeywell Building Technologies team, we were able to identify products and services that would help the hotel be safe, efficient, easy to operate, and most importantly, provide an unparalleled guest experience.”

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