Hotel

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by LI_Geek_95, Feb 20, 2010.

  1. LI_Geek_95

    LI_Geek_95 Post-and-Run Geek

    I'm currently at a hotel in Florida. We realized that hotels are money pits. My dad is thinking of buying some land out east and opening a hotel. I would be in charge of the technological aspect =D. But a question - how do keycards work?
     
  2. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Basics are the keycard and its software, will on arrival of the customer be programmed to their reservation and room, thus giving them access, on departure the card is scanned in the reader at the desk and the bill is produced, then the card can be reprogrammed to a new customer and room.

    Never gotten into hotel apps, and as its specialised area, you'd need to maybe ask the hotel you're in now what apps and HW they use.
     
  3. LI_Geek_95

    LI_Geek_95 Post-and-Run Geek

    OK. So it's a code on the card, that matches up with the code in the door's reader?
     
  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Yes, the hotel can just program the card to whatever room number they need and attach that to your reserveration and name of customer.

    Great idea a hotel but a hell of a lot of hard work to make it profitable, out east would be what area? (just take me as not being USA citizen and knowing all the areas, although I'm good with most of the USA due to working with various Uni's and research companies)

    Do you have market research on customer throughput and would this be a already etablished hotel or a new build, if established then look over past years occupancy rates and if new build run some market research and demographics to see if the area needs a hotel, like whats the capture point, is it near a transportation point (airport, train station etc) is it near a vaccation spot?

    ask locals to comment on if its an established hotel, what do they like and dislike about it, if new ask what they would like to see, TBH a hotel with a clean and modern simple decor and rooms plus a bar and resturant is a great idea as it can bring in extra cash as locals may requent the bar and resturant as well as customers, just depends how the decor and food is aimed at.

    Are you going to have a resturant, whats its theme and in the words of Gordon Ramsey, keep it simple if you are and plain and tasteful decor.
     
  5. augiedoggie

    augiedoggie The Canadian Loon - LocoAugie (R.I.P. 2012)

    I'll just add that it's an economically horrible time to be opening a hotel or if dad has money to burn, then one can pick up an existing property probably quite cheap. As Halo and my friends who managed a motel for a few years said, it is a lot of hard work. Laundry, maintenance, dealing with jerks or worse ...
     
  6. BoredOutOfMyMind

    BoredOutOfMyMind Picabo, ICU

    Sounds like Admin on a Forum!
    :-D
     
  7. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Good analogy.
     
  8. LI_Geek_95

    LI_Geek_95 Post-and-Run Geek

    admin on a forum.. lol.

    out east being Montauk. there are a bunch of hotels there. it is really a big tourist location. All the hotels are run down, because they get alot of business and don't really care. We figure if we open up a really nice hotel, things might go well.
     
  9. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Oh ok, looks a nice place to visit, the lighthouse is neat, I just like lighthouses. I see that locally seafood is the name of the game with the resturants, so maybe a twist and surf and turf is the way to go, add more meat and New York steak on the menu.

    Go modern and whitewashed building and clean and modern furnature to the rooms will go down well, too much locally now will be period old world decor.
     
  10. Paxton007

    Paxton007 MajorGeek

    I sell door hardware, doors & windows / window walls.. Hotel hardware / locks are expensive.... You'll have $200,000 in the doors of a 3 story hotel.
     
  11. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    If your interested in the inner workings the key card has a magnetic strip similar to a credit card,when the correct code is scanned by the lock which is similar to a reading head on a tape recorder an electric current is passed through a solenoid "A magnet with a whole in the middle." and an iron rod is pulled into the hole which disengages the lock.
     
  12. collinsl

    collinsl MajorGeek

    Some modern ones use chips similar to those in credit cards, and I believe there are probably some RFID versions now for really upmarket rooms.
     
  13. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    Yeah I was gonna buy one for my bedroom door:-D But I much prefer the swipe cards they are way cooler IMO.

    These are really cool too you just hold the keyfob near the lock and it unlocks;

    http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=265596

    These are even cooler, thumbprint locks but not much use in a hotel;

    http://www.tljlimited.com/accesscontrol.html
     

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