Prioritizing innovation amidst a digital transformation
02
Embracing technology in the hospitality industry WRIT TEN BY
SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY
LE WIS VAUGHAN
03
w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London, Michael Mrini discusses how technology has acted as an enabler for his company’s success as part of its digital transformation
W
ith innovation at the heart of most companies’ success, it has become vital that businesses implement new technology that separates
them from rivals in order to enhance the way they conduct operations. The introduction of technology has meant that firms can consistently launch new tools that will enable them to provide a better service 04
to its consumers. For Edwardian Hotels London, artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled the company to completely transform its customer experience. Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London, Michael Mrini, believes that technology has allowed people to perform to higher standards. “We believe technology acts as an enabler for people to do their job better and with less drudgery,” he says. “Thanks to the backing and encouragement of our chairman and CEO, Jasminder Singh, a great visionary and believer in the power of technology as an enabler, we were able to develop to pursue this route and invest in cutting-edge technology.” Having begun his career in 1987 in hospitality, Mrini worked his way up from washing up part-time as a student, to a job as a bartender, before working on the reservations and customer service side of
05
w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
06
operations at Hyatt Hotels until 1997.
“Since 1997, I haven’t stopped deve-
Mrini subsequently joined Edwardian
loping technology. When I joined as
and became the Director of Customer
a customer services manager, I auto-
Services, before transitioning to the
mated that particular department,”
position of Director of Information Sys-
explains Mrini. “While still being customer
tems until he moved into his current
services manager, and with the help
role at the beginning of 2012. Such
and encouragement of Iype Abraham
experience of working in a number
who was at the time the head of IT,
of different departments in a hotel
I joined other departments to look at
setting has enabled Mrini to gain
what they do and how they do it. From
a working understanding of how each
the finance side, month-end reports
area operates and he can draw on
used to take someone three days to
his experience to achieve success.
compile. However, from working with
them, we turned that into a 30 second operation where at the end of the month he just presses a button and the whole month-end pack is created and distributed to senior management.”
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY Innovation is an area which Edwardian Hotels London prides itself heavily on. Having developed over 32 apps in the past five years, the company is utilising technology in order to create the best possible guest experience for its customers. However, the most exciting
“ We believe technology acts as an enabler for people to do their job better and with less drudgery” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E
Michael Mrini Michael joined Edwardian Hotels London (formerly known as the Edwardian Group London) in 1997 as Customer Services Manager. Software Development and data analysis was one of Michael’s passions which he put to good use when he introduced automation and data analysis in the customer services department during his first year with the Company. By the year 2000 Michael had formed Edwardian’s first ever software development team and through progression, dedication and hard work, is now the Group’s Director of Information Technology.
w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
07
8 of the 10 Top Hotels
Get Better Results with Oracle Hospitality
oracle.com/hospitality or call 1.800.ORACLE.1
Copyright Š 2018, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘21ST CENTURY HOSPITALITY – EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON’ 09 innovation has been the launch of
where and then realised I didn’t have the
virtual host “Edward” which handles
name or the address of the hotel where
guest enquires such as information
I’m staying,” explains Mrini. “Other times
about the hotel, booking breakfast
I’m in the hotel room, and I want to order
and any other requirements the guest
room service but I can’t find the menu in
needs before, during and after their
the room. You try and make a phone call
stay. Operated through AI on a phone
to get someone to deliver the menu and
app, Edward can manage more than
you end up calling room service but it’s
1,600 requests.
engaged so you wait and wait. But with
“I travel lots and stay in many hotels
Edward, it comes to you as a guest.
worldwide so the idea of Edward was
Edward knows you’re coming because
born out of the frustrations I had. It’s
three days before you arrive, Edward will
annoying when you need information but
send you a message and tell you, “Look,
it’s very difficult to find. For example,
anything you need, just text me.” Now,
quite often I arrived at an airport some-
that facility is in your pocket.” w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
10
“ We have found a really excellent partner in Oracle. They have supported and encouraged us over the years in what we wanted to do” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London
11
w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
By having such innovative technology at guests’ fingertips, Mrini believes it has allowed the company to find out information about their customers that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. “We search for keywords to see what our guests are asking for and what to identify. Because of this, we’ve managed to learn things we never knew about our guests’ behavior, such as most of our guests can’t remember whether breakfast is included in their booking or not,” says Mrini. “Breakfast seems to be the 12
last thing they think about before they go to bed at night. We also found that it’s very important to guests to be able to easily find out whether their room has been cleaned or not. If they’re either out in meetings or out and about visiting the town, they want to know whether their room has been cleaned so they can come back to the hotel or stay out a bit longer and through this technology, they can do that.”
FORMING KEY PARTNERSHIPS Such success with the company’s AI software couldn’t
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MEETINGS AND EVENTS AT EDWARDIAN HOTELS LONDON’ 13 have been achieved without the work of the firm’s key partnership with Oracle. The partnership has enabled Edwardian Hotels London to make it easier to interact with its property management system (PMS) and act as the catalyst for the success of its technological innovations. “We have found a really excellent partner in Oracle. They have supported and encouraged us over the years in what we wanted to do,” explains Mrini. “Oracle sees what we’re doing as unique in the hospitality sector. What they have done is help us make it easier for us to w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
14 interact with their PMS system because
standing of the core PMS system so
that’s where the bookings are and
that we can develop our interface to it.”
where the check-in/check-out happens.
Other key partners that Edwardian
Any application we develop needs to
Hotels London has been supported by
have a live interface to that system
include BT which helped install the
otherwise it’s useless.”
Wi-Fi in all of the company’s hotels and
“Edward would be useless if it didn’t
Alcatel which has provided the internal
have access to that live information in
telephone systems for the past 20
the booking system because we wouldn’t
years. “BT has been fantastic in installing
know who that guest is. It wouldn’t
the Wi-Fi that we have. They have done
know the latest changes to the guest
an excellent job at the speed that we
booking, the ETA, the list goes on.
wanted it done. We like to work with
I believe they have been fantastic in sup-
partners that can provide quality and
porting, as by enabling us to have that
efficiency and BT were able to do
access, it has helped us with the under-
a superb job for us in very short period
15
“ We search for keywords to see what our guests are asking for and what to identify. Because of this, we’ve managed to learn things we never knew about our guests’ behaviour, such as most of our guests can’t remember whether breakfast is included in their booking or not” — Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London
of time when we upgraded the Wi-Fi in all of our 12 hotels.” “Alcatel is another one of our partners that has done a brilliant job with us and we have been working with them on things like location services and beacons within the hotel,” he adds. “They’ve been tremendous, and that’s why they remain a partner after 20 years.” The company currently has 12 UK hotels, 11 of which operate in key locations in London, with the final hotel located in the heart of Manchester. In addition, Edwardian Hotels London are set to unveil a 13th property in Leicesw w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
“ Technology is never going to completely take over what we do and do it for us but it’s going to enable us to do what we do better” 16
— Michael Mrini, Director of Information Technology of Edwardian Hotels London
ter Square in 2020. With the future in mind, Mrini demonstrates a commitment to continue to innovate at Edwardian Hotels London. “The ultimate goal for us is to become the best in hospitality and it’s important for us to continue to innovate. With technology you never know what’s next but one’s things for sure, we’re going to continue to improve and innovate with AI,” affirms Mrini. “We’ve previously dipped our toes in before with AI and had fantastic results so we’re going to continue to utilise it in all the different areas to enable us to do a better job. Technology is never going to completely take over what we do and do it for us but it’s going to enable us to do what we do better.”
w w w.e dwa rdi a n . com
17
140 Bath Road Hayes Middlesex UB3 5AW T +902088170800 www.edwardian.com