Microsoft to support Rotana in its drive to enhance hotel guest experiences by eliminating paper check-in procedures.

Microsoft and Rotana have announced the launch of a new Windows based application that will simplify the guest check-in and check-out processes at the front desks across all Rotana hotels.

The Neorcha Check-in application will completely eliminate the time consuming paper registration of new guests and instead all new guest registration details will be managed through a tablet device to allow for a genuine personalized welcome and check-in experience.

Microsoft has through its technological innovations provided support to efforts by Rotana to personalize services for all its 43 hotels that are spread across 26 cities as one of the means to enhance customer experiences.

“We are excited to bring this much-awaited app to Rotana to enable its customers enjoy their holidays and business travels hassle-free. In a technology landscape that is constantly changing and a competitive hospitality market across the region, every point of customer interaction should be strengthened and streamlined to meet changing client needs. Rotana has taken the lead in this direction and marked the importance of offering customers with increased choice and flexibility in accessing services by replacing paper transactions with a tablet device,” said Michael Mansour, Director Apps & Innovation, Microsoft Gulf.

Rather than be presented with paper registration cards or bills at the front desk, Rotana customers will now instead be shown a tablet interfaced to the Hotel Property Management System (PMS) with all reservation details and terms and conditions accurately presented. Guests are then able to update and agree to all registration details using the tablet and then append an electronic signature.
Furthermore, upon check out, bills will be directly syndicated to the guests’ email addresses and accessed from the tablet which can be used anywhere throughout the hotel.

Samir Abi Frem, Corporate Vice President, Information Technology from Rotana said: “A hotel’s client relationship strategy and the networking infrastructure behind it are among the most critical elements for success in our business, and Rotana has selected a windows based application of its reliability, openness and operational efficiency. We are very pleased to have a windows tablet app tailored to the needs of our customers to replace the time consuming paper check-in and check-out process. We have had a very clear strategy throughout the evolution of our mobile products, to build Apps that enhance our customers’ experiences.”

“We have common goals with Microsoft in terms of delivering next-generation technologies and solutions to consumers. We would like to expand the breadth and reach of Rotana to mobile markets, reaching new customers and generating new guest experiences.”

Additional functions under development by Rotana include airport pick-up alerts from the airport greeter to the hotel arrival welcoming team and additional upselling options and services to increase hotel revenues.

A preliminary survey of the hotel guests revealed that 85% of guests found it more convenient to check-in via the new tablet app than the previous paper registration card check-in method.