Singapore 21 May 2015 – McLaren Technologies, Asia Pacific’s leading provider of SaaS based technology solutions for the hospitality industry, has completed a new tech install at Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay, following grant approval from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
As part of the STB’s tourism initiative designed to increase productivity across Singapore’s hotel industry via new technology applications, Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay hotel received a grant to assist with the costs required for the recent McLaren project.
Thus, McLaren was able to implement REX (Room Expeditor) from Newmarket International, Inc. (“Newmarket”), an Amadeus company, considered one of the industry’s top-line housekeeping management tech tools at the popular Novotel hotel.
McLaren Technologies Managing Director, Matthew White, said McLaren is pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay on its exciting new technology update.
“We applaud STB’s progressive approach and congratulate the Novotel for receiving this funding from the STB. It is a tremendous endorsement for the hotel’s own considerable investment in the local tourism sector and the recent technology innovation project that we had the privilege of advising on.”
Housekeeping management solution REX is one of the first of its kind to streamline the entire room assignment and cleaning process. REX optimises the order in which rooms are allocated, arming attendants with Apple iPod Touch handheld technology and integrated smart PMS to ultimately ensure that guests access their rooms faster, and with less fuss.
In terms of tourism, the hotel sector has been identified as a key pillar in Singapore, with the number of visitors growing from 90,000 in 1964 to 15.1 million in 2014.
Mr White said it was definitely encouraging to see a tourist office like the STB so committed to enhancing the visitor experience in their destination through the introduction of fresh technologies and software that work to improve productivity and reduce operator’s reliance on manpower.
“Grant injections being offered to hotels like Novotel by the STB should not be underestimated – they represent a massive opportunity to update in an affordable way for the hospitality industry,” he said.
“McLaren’s forte is implementing best of breed technology solutions for the hospitality industry, and STB’s funding support represents a great opportunity for us to align with hotels’ like the Novotel and help streamline housekeeping and other functions for the benefit of all.
“As a result, we are confident that the resulting installation of new technologies will not only work to enhance the hotel guests experience during his or her time in Singapore, but ultimately also contribute strongly to the overall tourism experience in this region.”
Open to Singapore-registered hotels adopting technologies in any of the six focus areas, – namely housekeeping automation solutions, RFID inventory management solutions, e-Learning solutions, workforce management solutions, data analytics solutions and other emerging technologies – the Business Improvement Fund Plus (BIF Plus) aims to encourage wider adoption of productivity initiatives by hotels industry and development of productivity technologies for hotels industry, and supports up to 70% of qualifying costs.
Novotel Clarke Quay’s Executive Housekeeper Kevin Ang said the initiative was a great way for his hotel to seek co-funding and facilitate future tech updates. He also said McLaren were reliable partners in the hotel’s recent technology upgrade, and understood how to best utilise the Business Improvement Fund grant for maximum results.
“McLaren were prompt in their response during the initial stage of the project, and provided structures planning and training prior to the actual implementation,” he said, adding that the implementation of REX has allowed the hotel to increase productivity and reduce guests waiting time, therefore improving their satisfaction.“There has been a reduction in the time spent generating our daily task reports, which has saves us about 60 per cent in time spent on daily room scheduling. And now instead of a printed task sheet, all cleaning activities are stored on a hard drive, making for a paperless report experience.
“In addition, we’ve seen a decrease in waiting time for guests on arrival thanks to pre-assigned priority reports and the new room cleaning prioritization system being in place, and the overall streamlined communication process and synchronisation between PMS and REX has also eliminated the need for operators to make additional phone calls, ensuring for greater efficiency for our hotel.”