In a previous article about the importance of environmental monitoring in hospitality, I talked about the different elements that are monitored; temperature, humidity, water ingress and power. In this article I will delve further and highlight the six key reasons why environmental monitoring is so crucial to any business in the hospitality sector.
1. Disaster Prevention
It goes without saying that the number one reason to employ environmental monitoring is disaster prevention. When your data centres and hotel server rooms are monitored, any small problem that would otherwise escalate into a business-threatening issue can be resolved quickly and efficiently.
For example, if there is a failure with the cooling system on a hot day, there is a huge risk that your system will overheat and fail. This can cause may hours of downtime until the problem is solved, which will impact your hotel and will result in unhappy guests.
If, however, your hotel systems are monitored, a change in temperature will be detected and emergency measures can be put in place to prevent over heating whilst the cooling system is being repaired. Similarly, environmental monitoring allows for early identification of issues in unmanned rooms.
If someone is off sick or on holiday and an issue arises, it can escalate without anyone’s knowledge until it’s too late to save. Where there is sufficient monitoring, automated alerts and reports are sent out so there is 24/7 surveillance.
2. Maximise Business Uptime
Following on, where you can prevent disaster from occurring, you will automatically increase business uptime. A hotel is a 24/7 business with the focus being on the guest experience. Even an hour of downtime could have a huge impact and lead to unhappy guests and negative reviews. When your systems are monitored, issues are picked up before they escalate, downtime is prevented and your hotel can continue running as normal.
3. Benchmark Normal Operations
Environmental monitoring software will be able to send you reports of what the norm is for your systems. This is particularly important with regards to power. By determining the power metrics and getting trend data for every Power Distribution Unit (PDU), you can determine costs and work towards better hotel efficiency and balance.
4. Build Business Case for Further Investment
On a similar vein, once you are aware of where your main costs are and know how you can become more efficient, you can plan where to best invest your resources for an optimal return for your stakeholders.
For example, if you know that a certain device is draining a huge amount of power and is inefficient to run, your IT consultants can help solve this. They may replace the device if it is an older piece of technology or they may be able to increase efficiency.
In this way, you will be saving money which can then be invested into growing your business. This will also allow you to make strategic modifications on environmental design in order to ensure efficiency.
5. Ensure Data Compliance
In the recent years, data protection has become increasingly important with the introduction of PCI and GDPR being just two areas where hotels need to demonstrate compliance.
Effective monitoring, along with your history of monitoring reports will provide you with the data you need to demonstrate your continued compliance in many areas.
6. Reduced Insurance Premiums
Environmental monitoring software will provide you with weekly or monthly reports on the welfare of your hotel systems. If you can produce these for an insurance company and show that you not only have a precedent for continuity, but a system to prevent disaster, your insurance premiums are likely to be reduced. Monitoring your hardware lowers your risk of catastrophe which makes you, and your insurance company, much happier.
Environmental monitoring allows you to save time, as you can view your system reports on a single screen and know at a glance if there are any problems. You will be safe in the knowledge that your technology is protected using multiple sensor types and that you will be immediately alerted of any issues. Importantly, environmental monitoring saves you money, firstly because it eliminates the need for unnecessary server room visits and secondly because it ensures maximum business uptime.
Cardonet have a great deal of experience rolling out IT environmental monitoring solutions in hotels. We know what is crucial and, as part of a support agreement with us, you will enjoy comprehensive 24/7 environmental monitoring ‘as-a-service’.
As the old adage goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, so if you are not monitoring your hotel technology, call us on +44 203 034 2244 or +1 323 984 8908. Alternately, you can contact us online. We will be happy to provide you with 24/7 monitoring, protecting your hotel from disaster and keeping you operational.
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