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Blog
What Is The Future For Phones?
July 15, 2008
As noted in this blog last month, the future of the hotel guestroom phone is, at best, uncertain. The folks at HITEC went so far as to leave phones out of Guestroom 2010.It just so happens that HOTELS' September technology topic is telecommunications. I'm planning to explore the question of the phone's future in a bit more depth, and before I get to writing the article, I'm wondering what the general consensus is among hoteliers and industry observers.
It's fairly predictable what the phone vendors and consultants will say, but what do you really think? Is it a foregone conclusion that there will always be a need for a landline phone, for emergencies and such? Is the Guestroom 2010 committee correct that some kind of front desk intercom will become the norm instead? Is there a viable long-term future for VOIP, or possibly some form of hosted PBX? Will it be something we haven't even thought of yet?
Post your ideas in the comments section below. If you're interested in potentially being interviewed for the upcoming article, include your contact info, or e-mail me.
Posted by Adam Kirby on July 15, 2008 | Comments (2)
In response to: What Is The Future For Phones?
Steven commented:
I believe the hotelphone will become extinct soon. Most users prefer their "own" phone to make calls. For safety reasons it is necessary to have a sort of communication device in/with the room, but that could also be the hotel tv, which can also be used as an extra sales tool.
In response to: What Is The Future For Phones?
John S. commented:
Actually, I take a different point of view. I don't think that that the phone itself is dead. The phone will live on in many forms (including the current hardware version found on the desk). I think the PBX is dead. Its features will be delivered from the network across and into a range of devices. People will still purchase phone services (cheaply as a commodity) but even those support systems (like call accounting) will be delivered across the network as hosted services.