City Inn Hotel of Manchester has won “The European Technology Award 2007” for it’s implementation of DirectStreams’ technology. A world first in in-room technology; each of the 285 guest bedrooms is equipped with an iMac computer, providing the guest with a one-stop shop multimedia solution combining all the IT, audio and visual equipment that they may utilise in their home or office, making their stay in the hotel a pleasure and ensuring repeated visits.

In increasing numbers, hotels are relying upon sophisticated Apple technology to deliver all their guest entertainment needs. At the forefront in the United Kingdom is the City Inn Group, which has been offering 20-inch iMacs in their guest rooms for the past several years.

City Inn has hotels in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and London, with more openings planned in Leeds and Amsterdam. The London site, which opened in Westminster in September 2003, was the largest new-build hotel in the city for 30 years. These purpose-built hotels offer all the amenities and benefits of 21st century accomodation; good air-conditioning, modern interior design, and intelligent use of light.

City Inn’s association with Apple began in Manchester in 2007, when managing director Huw O’Connor was figuring out a strategy to set new benchmarks for customer satisfaction. “The heart of our brand”, he beams, “is trying to give customers what they should have, not what they historically have had”.

When it came to setting up the in-room entertainment, the company was determined to challenge existing patterns. “I thought, rather than invest in a separate TV, radio, DVD player, CD player, and all the other devices customers expect, why not provide just one device that offers everything and more?”

After examining a few solutions, O’Connor chose the iMac, convinced by its ease-of-use, multimedia intelligence, low maintenance requirements, and high build quality. “Apple were very helpful”, he explains, referring to the advice he was given on how to implement an all-Mac system. Apple also connected him with key software and integration providers like Faronics and Direct Streams. Each iMac features iLife, high-speed internet access (and free Wi-Fi), Microsoft Office, video conferencing using the built-in iSight camera, and – in another customer-focussed gesture – Skype, meaning guests can call home for free, avoiding those expensive call charges prevalent across the hotel trade.

In addition, the iMacs also have 38 (IP) TV and 23 radio channels, and can play both DVDs and CDs – a wide collection of which are available to loan from a free library at the front desk. Essentially, the iMac functions as a fully-integrated entertainment, communication and productivity system.

City Inn’s new hotel in Leeds opened in July 2009, and for this occasion the in-room iMacs used a different, more interactive, version of the groups Mac management software. Developed by MOOW Technologies, this software also lets customers interact with the hotel for restaurant bookings, check-out, room service and bill payments – in addition to everything else the existing iMacs can do.

“I was really excited at the whizz-bang functionality of an iMac in the room, but first and foremost, it needed to work easily as a television and had to be intuitive to use for non-technical people – so my grandmother could walk in and turn it on to watch TV”, O’Connor explains.

On start-up, the iMacs default to a bespoke screen detailing the various available options, controlled by the Apple Remote. The software (developed in conjunction with Direct Streams and MOOW) provides clear instructions to guests for using the features, including the facility to surf the internet or use the iMac for what it is – as a fully-functioning computer. The chain also offers an in-room guide to help guests become familiar with their system for the first time.

Guests can use their iMac to work on confidential data, secure in the knowledge they’ll leave no valuable information behind. The iMacs are equipped with Faronics’ Deep Freeze software, which deletes anything saved to the machines and returns them to their original state when the Mac is shut down.

This means guests can use the iMacs just as they would their own computers, transferring files to a USB stick or via MobileMe at the end of their stay. “Our guests don’t need to worry about data security”, adds O’Connor. “They don’t even need to bring their laptop if they know they’re staying in one of our rooms”.

AAfter the initial system trail in its Manchester branch, City Inn has since installed iMacs in each of its five hotels. “It was a little worrying when we first opened up in Manchester”, he admits. “Before opening we probably drove Apple and Direct Streams to distraction. But it has been a great success and I’m confident now we did the right thing”.

So why did City Inn abandon the traditional television in favor of a Mac? O’Connor explains: “These days, homes and offices can’t function without a computer, and in future, we think the same will apply to hotel rooms”.

“You don’t have the full in-room entertainment experience without a computer in your room”, he adds. “I think that’s the way the hotel industry has to go. It has been totally appropriate for City Inn to be at the forefront of innovating and delivering that; it’s so what we’re about as a brand – to innovate, to take an independent approach, and to offer something with the quality, reputation and outstanding performance of Apple”. Operational costs are minimal thanks to the moderately low support and maintenance costs for the iMac. Businessmen like O’Connor can also appreciate the platform’s relative security against online viruses and its inherent reliability.

But perhaps customer reaction is the biggest test, and that has been overwhelmingly positive. A typical comment from customers is “I loved the iMac in the room”. O’Connor has noted how they revel in the iMac’s design aesthetic, and the way in which it adds a ‘wow’ factor to each of the clean, brightly-designed, and newly-built guest rooms.

“Customers have the right to expect the very best standards of technology and entertainment when they come to a hotel room, but bar our thousand or so rooms in the UK, they aren’t getting that at the moment”, he observes. “You have to give customers what they want or they’ll go elsewhere”.

“For example, in our Westminster hotel, we have 460 rooms we need to sell every day. If we don’t sell them on the day, the opportunity is lost forever. As an integral part of our offer, we think the iMacs help us. We’re open 365 days so we’re exposing maybe 160,000 people each year to Apple’s iMacs in this hotel alone”.

“With this solution, we have taken an outstanding piece of kit from one of the world’s foremost technology providers, and we’re giving customers what they should rightfully expect; an in-room entertainment/multimedia capability that is equal to that which they will have in their home or office”.