During a recent stay in 4-star resort owned by a large hotel chain, trying to control the room’s electrical services became so frustrating that I started noting every useability issue, poor design choice, and obvious cost-cutting measure that made me want to never return.

It got me wondering if the people responsible had ever even stayed in a hotel themselves. Were they purely focused on installation costs? Was there any thought given to user experience, testing, or even basic common sense?

Electrical installation is a one-off cost, but guest reviews are forever. Regardless of the hotel’s star rating, there is little point saving money on the install if the room doesn’t support basic guest activities such as showering, grooming, dressing, relaxing, reading, working, watching TV, sleeping, etc. It’s not rocket science!

Non-Usability

This room had no ceiling lights, just wall sconces on one wall and a single floor lamp providing minimal illumination. Natural light through the window was sufficient during the day, but common evening activities like reading a book or doing makeup for a night out were eye-straining at best.

Instead of a light switch in the bathroom, a switch out in the dressing area between the bathroom and bedroom switched the (non-dimmable) lights on or off in all three areas. If you need to find the bathroom while your partner is sleeping, would you prefer to wake them up by turning every single light on at once, or stay in the dark bumping into random furniture while navigating an unfamiliar space?

A wall plate near the balcony had three switches – two labelled and one mystery. A fun round of ‘What Does This Switch Do?’ revealed it as another master switch for the entire suite, suggesting a worrying assumption that guests would go to the balcony with no intention of returning to the room. Also, I swear the thermostat wasn’t connected to anything and pressing a button to make a number go up or down quickly lost its appeal when it became clear that this had no effect whatsoever on the actual temperature of the room.

The room had two available power outlets – one directly below a towel hook, thus concealed by the towel hanging there, and another I discovered by accident behind the middle of the bed. Outlets on each side of the bed – not already fully loaded with bedside lamp/clock/etc. – seem like an obvious guestroom consideration, but apparently that’s not always the case.

Lastly, the wall-mounted bedside lamps rotated to turn on and off, which would have worked except that they were out of reach when lying in bed. I wound up using the TV remote control as a reach extender just to turn my lamp off without having to get out of bed.

Accessibility Overlooked

At the very least, a guestroom should include simple, intuitive controls in sensible locations, a fit-for-purpose HVAC system with a working thermostat, and dimmable or switched lighting where it is needed.

First-time guests should be able to understand how to access the most common room functions within seconds of entering. All switches should be located where they make the most sense and labelled according to their function.

Simplicity is Appreciated

Any ‘new’ technology carries a trade-off, as the more ‘smart’ features you have in the room, the more challenging it is to keep things simple. Higher-end hotels often use smart systems to improve convenience and energy efficiency, but these can create usability challenges.

Sleek new digital systems can unintentionally exclude disabled or less tech-savvy guests. Touchscreen-only controls and voice interfaces pose additional accessibility challenges. Voice assistants may not understand certain accents or languages, while touchscreen controls offer no tactile cues for the visually impaired. To create a truly great user experience, the controls must serve all guests, not just the technically proficient.

The Dynalite Advantage

Dynalite covers the basics by offering two cost-effective pre-configured guestroom kits for economy and midscale hotels that provide intuitive control functionality, as well as quick installation and ongoing energy savings with automated, reliable occupancy detection. Even with simple, cost-effective switched scenes, you can control lights by group/zone to avoid disturbing your partner overnight or bring on just the lights needed to help you work or read after sunset.

If you want all the bells and whistles, the Dynalite multiroom hospitality system attempts to provide the ideal combination of guest comfort, energy savings, and operational efficiency by automating room services, providing intuitive controls, and integrating with hotel property management systems including housekeeping, room booking, and access control. The system knows when a guest checks in and preconditions the room to fit the season and time of day. The guest is greeted by a welcome scene when they first open the entrance door. Sensors in the ceiling and doors provide real-time occupancy, so the room can go into energy saving mode when it is vacant, eliminating the need for easily bypassed card-drop facilities.

When people are sleeping, an anti-stumble sensor detects someone getting out of bed and softly lights a pathway to the bathroom near the floor, and turns the bathroom lights on at a low level. After returning to bed, the lights slowly fade off again, all without the guest needing to touch any controls.

Intuitive wall-mounted controls enable the guest to adjust the lighting, open/close curtains, adjust the temperature setpoint, set a wakeup alarm, and notify housekeeping of do-not-disturb, make-up-room, and laundry or tray pickup. With the push of a button, the guest can set a scene where all the connected services respond to support their chosen activity. For hotel operations, guest request visibility enables housekeeping to organise which rooms need servicing to reduce unnecessary cleaning and wasted trips.

Upon checkout, the system can indicate if a guest has left the room safe locked and therefore may have left belongings behind.

Consequences

Installing only the barest minimum electrical services in the room has ongoing downsides for both guest experience and operating costs. Energy is unnecessarily consumed when lights and HVAC are left on while the room is vacant. Furnishings degrade from UV exposure through unshaded windows. Whereas closing the curtains insulates the room so HVAC doesn’t work as hard to maintain the room temperature for when the guest returns to the room.

It is false economy to skimp on the one-off cost of electrical services, as poor usability will cost you again and again in lost sales, reduced value, and poor reviews. Doing it properly the first time with good room controls, usability testing, and adding a few extra circuits, is an investment that will pay off considerably in the long run.

Written by Peter Dujmovich

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