From the Blog, The Good, the Bad, and the Funky, by Yvette Jong, for HOTELSmag.com

Technology is becoming an integral part of the customer experience. How a hotel chooses to incorporate technology depends entirely on their positioning, their market, and their brand.

I was recently asked to assess the use of tablets in a hotel here in Asia. The client isn't going as far as placing them in guest rooms so guests could order room service (an idea I abhor), but the purpose would be to place them in key areas throughout the property so guests could check their email, read the news, check stock tickers, etc. While their initial thought was to get iPads, the performance, reviews and marketshare of Galaxy quickly put the Samsung Android on the table for consideration.

So I checked it out.

Having a MacBook Pro, iPhone and all other fun Apple gadgets myself, I have to admit it took me a while to figure out how the Android system worked. If you saw me toying with it, you'd think I was someone from my parent's generation. "How does this thing work? I don't get it!" But of course the more you play around with something, the more familiar it becomes and the easier it is to use. And yes, I discovered that Galaxys do have their pros — they're more customizable, they have Adobe Flash support, they're lighter, sometimes smaller, have better screen quality, cameras and competitive App stores too. These are certainly reasons why some hotels and airlines are opting to forego the iPad altogether.

But we have to go back to the application to understand if iPads or Galaxys would be better.

1. You're placing them in an international hotel.
2. Most guests are still using iPhones and not Galaxys.
3. Almost everyone who has a Galaxy has used an iPhone or iPad at one point in time. You can't say the same thing for the Galaxy.
4. While the Galaxy is fun to use if you know how to use it, this short customer touchpoint shouldn't be used as an opportunity to educate your guest.

Give them something they're used to. Give them something that's still sexy, fun to use, and has a lot more clout than the Galaxy. My recommendation would be to stick with the iPad.

Thoughts?

Craft House Founder and Director, Yvette Jong, contributes regularly to her HOTELS Magazine Blog titled, "The Good, the Bad and the Funky." Topics of discussion include all aspects of hospitality development, operations, branding, marketing, human resources, sustainability and much more.