In the current period of economic uncertainty, hotel and hospitality
organisations alike are looking for new ways to protect the revenue and
limit losses. This ethos naturally extends to getting the most from the
equipment used by staff and guests within hotels and deferring
unnecessary purchases where possible.

The practice of ‘Asset
Tracking' supports hotels and hospitality organisations in times of
economic instability by offering the ability maximise staff and
equipment output through accurately locating and redeploying existing
equipment, limiting the need to buy new ones, reducing labour costs,
improving profits, and increasing guest and customer satisfaction by
making sure in-room equipment is working and if not, then a replacement
is easily located and used.

For a hotel to operate
efficiently, staff must be able to locate and access all equipment when
the need arises. This can extend from situations whereby electronic
equipment used to for guest ‘check ins' becomes faulty and being unsure
if there are any back-ups within the hotel or new pieces need to be
ordered, to managing the car fleet a hotel may run to transport guests.
By having visibility over all of the assets within a hotel, managers
are able to rapidly identify replacement assets to limit staff downtime
and audit / rationalise that equipment which is not being used.

Today there are two primary technologies which can be used for Asset Tracking in the hotel sector; barcode technology and RFID.

Using
barcode technology, hotel managers can minimise time monitoring the
location and status of assets within one venue or across multiple sites
to pool high value assets. The value of the barcode lies in its
accuracy and efficiency.  It is an incredibly robust, reliable
technology that costs virtually cents to produce and yields high
returns on investment. Coupling barcode technology with a leading Asset
Tracking system, such as The Hardcat Barcode Auditing Module, enables
organisations to accurately identify fixed and portable assets – from
hotel owned vehicles, entertainment equipment used with guest rooms to
IT equipment used by staff. Asset information is recorded via a
hand-held barcode reader, which has a pre-programmed interrogation
system enabling the system user to collate data efficiently, accurately
and in an organized and efficient format.

Proven Asset tracking
systems enable hotels to quickly replace any assets that are damaged or
faulty in as soon as a problem arises, by knowing where the replacement
equipment is instantly. If a hotel guest requests that a television set
is replaced in their room due to being faulty, they do not want to hear
the hotel staff complaining about their inability to find a suitable
replacement set. They expect and deserve a response which is both
timely and efficient; otherwise the hotel should not be counting on
their return business. Even if there is a case where there is no
replacement equipment available for use, the customers will appreciate
honest and timely feedback on their situation.

While
traditional equipment like bar codes and bar code readers are still
often relied upon for Asset Tracking purposes, recent advances in RFID
technology offer hotels powerful Asset Tracking benefits.  RFID can
offer unique benefits within hotel environments as the technology can
be faster and more accurate than bar code readers because it is
automated, and thus does not depend on people to ensure that tags are
read, either at all or quickly enough.

Importantly, RFID
technology's ability to track and trace food products through the
supply chain offers real benefits to a hotel's restaurant or in-house
food preparation facility.  The food served within a restaurant housed
in a hotel or via room service is a direct reflection on the quality of
the hotel itself. Through being able to manage and have visibility on
the quality of the food products arriving at the hotel prior to being
served to guests helps to ensure service levels and guest expectations
are met.

Using RFID to automatically capture serial numbers
or lot codes on food pallots and cartons processed at distribution
centres provides a new level of traceability without requiring
time-consuming manual data collection. By accurately and efficiently
capturing lot codes, hotel restaurants and food preparation areas can
confidently target their recalls so unaffected products would not have
to be destroyed, thus protecting guests and limiting food wastage.

If
in the unlikely case a patron becomes ill as a result of food and
beverage provided by the hotel, RFID Asset Tracking allows for a hotel
to be able to back-track the entire journey of the food products in
question and help to identify the source of the problem – be that as a
result of kitchen practices or contaminated food products which arrived
at the hotel. The concept of being able to chart the history of food
products from ‘farm to fork' is quickly being adapted within the hotel
sector to help protect brand and venue reputation through new quality
control measures.

Due to the economic downturn currently
being experienced throughout the APAC region, many hotel owners /
managers are understandably weary about approving expenditure on new
technology. However, the return on investment available from utilising
proven asset tracking solutions ensures that the technology actually
pays for itself. Based on over 20 years of industry experience, by
employing Hardcat technology and asset tracking expertise and software,
even a relatively small hotel (less than 25 employees) with 500 assets
can save over $30,000 per annum.

Asset tracking aims to deliver
cost savings for hotels at a time when they need it most. Given not all
Asset Tracking systems are alike; the implementation of the technology
is not always easy, nor straightforward. What is required is help from
a trusted Asset Tracking partner, such as Hardcat, that has over 22
years of experience in the sector. Visit: www.hardcat.com

About Hardcat:

Hardcat
is a world leader in Asset Management solutions, and supports an ever
growing list of major organisations. Hardcat can provide your
organisation with a comprehensive asset management software solution
that allows your assets to be managed throughout their life cycle
process. For further information about Hardcat and their world leading
Asset Tracking Solutions please call +613 9695 5400 or visit: www.hardcat.com

By Dan Drum, Managing Director of Hardcat.