Smart hotel rooms: comfort and savings

Knowing whether the room is occupied

• Card holder: the classic, but easily fooled by leaving any card in it.
• Presence detection and door contact: the system works out whether someone is inside. More reliable, and it doesn't depend on the guest.
• Booking status: the room knows whether it's sold, vacant or awaiting cleaning.

Room states

• Vacant, unsold: heating in protection mode, everything off.
• Sold, guest out: setback temperature, close to comfort so it recovers quickly.
• Occupied: comfort, with control in the guest's hands.
• Pre-arrival: a few hours before check-in, the room is brought up to temperature.

What is controlled

• Heating and cooling, with sensible temperature limits.
• Lighting: welcome, reading and night scenes, and a courtesy light when getting up.
• Curtains and blinds.
• Window contact: if the window opens, heating stops.
• Do not disturb and make up room, with an indicator at the door.

What the guest sees

Clear switches with icons that need no instructions in any language. A master switch by the bed. No complicated menus: the best control is one that doesn't need explaining.

What the hotel sees

• A dashboard showing the status of every room.
• Alerts: abnormal temperature, window open for a long time, water leak, faulty equipment.
• Make-up-room and do-not-disturb requests, to organise housekeeping.
• Consumption by room or by floor.

Integration with hotel management

Connected to the property management system (PMS), check-in prepares the room and check-out returns it to vacant mode. Compatibility depends on the PMS: it's checked for each project.

Technology

KNX is the most widely used standard in hotels, with manufacturers offering ranges designed for guest rooms. Because it's open, the hotel doesn't rely on a single supplier for maintenance or expansion.

Renovating in phases

Rooms can be upgraded floor by floor, in low season. Where cabling isn't possible, wireless options exist for thermostats and sensors.

What savings to expect

It depends on the building, climate and occupancy, so we don't give a generic percentage. The sensible approach is to measure current consumption in a few rooms, run a pilot floor and compare.