Crowne Plaza Addison/Near the Galleria Beta Testing Ground-breaking Hotel Technology.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2001

A new guest check-in/check-out device that may change the face of hotel technology is being tested at the Crowne Plaza Addison/Near The Galleria.

Atlanta-based Six Continents Hotels (previously Bass Hotels & Resorts), owner and operator of the hotel, has partnered with MICROS Systems to create the OPERAPalm Reservations System which may eliminate the need for the traditional front desk. The OPERAPalm is a handheld computer from Symbol Technologies that allows hotel personnel to perform check-in and check-out from nearly any location. Guests can be checked in while being escorted to the elevator, or checked out as they finish breakfast in the hotel restaurant or are being walked to their car.

A common complaint of frequent travelers is the impersonal and unpleasant front desk check-in experience, which usually involves waiting in long lines, then viewing the top of a desk clerk's head while answering the same questions on every visit. OPERAPalm's portability and ease of use is intended to eliminate these difficulties. The OPERAPalm transaction requires less time, stores guests' standard information, and, perhaps most importantly, facilitates eye contact and a friendly exchange between clerk and guest. The device also programs the electronic room key access card, swipes a credit card and prints out detailed receipts on the spot. The system allows remote access to the hotel's OPERA database and interfaces with Six Continent's Holidex Central Reservations System to continually update occupancy information.

"The OPERAPalm technology will enable us to change a guest's check-in frustrations to a pleasant experience," noted John Klukan, general manager of Crowne Plaza Addison/Near The Galleria. "The initial reaction to the new system during the testing phase has been very favorable. I think OPERAPalm will be as impactful to the Six Continents hotels as the introduction of the Holidex Reservations System was in the 1960s."

Unlike the previous check-in system, the OPERAPalm is easy to learn and use. According to Klukan, "The old system required four to six weeks of new employee training. With the high turnover rate typical of hotels, that's a problem. It takes a new employee about a week to become proficient on OPERAPalm."

The most important advantage Six Continents sees in the new system, however, is providing a convenient and guest-friendly transaction. Klukan notes, "We expect this system to become a significant point of difference from other brands."