NIANTIC, CONN.—When the Shore Hotel opened its doors in Santa Monica in October, INNCOM International was there with its e4 Smart Digital Thermostat and Integrated Room Automation System (IRAS) as an integral part of each guestroom and an instrumental component to the property achieving Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Independently owned and operated by the Farzam family, the 164-room hotel is one of California’s most eco-friendly properties today, and the hotel’s owners attribute its sustainability achievements in large part to INNCOM.
“Our mission is to provide an excellent guest stay bar none, but we want to do it by reducing our carbon footprint lower than any other hotel in the country,” said Steve Farzam, COO. “When developing the Shore Hotel, we asked ourselves this question: ‘How do we create five-star guest service while minimizing our carbon footprint and making sure that we do it right?’ Part of the answer was found in INNCOM. With this revolutionary technology, we are managing a variety of machinery that consumes power while simultaneously helping our staff to work more efficiently. INNCOM not only helps us manage in-room temperature to an energy-efficient level with the e4 Smart Digital Thermostat with ecoMode, but the INNtouch guest notification device—which consists of a doorbell switch plate, along with privacy and make-up room request buttons—lets us know which rooms needs to be serviced.”
“Guests tell us daily that they really like the INNtouch system,” Farzam added. “The sleek switch-plate unit blends in with the design of our rooms and corridors, and it appeals to all our guests—from families traveling for leisure to business travelers. This system truly puts service at your fingertips—hit a button and you are good to go.”
Guestroom Status Remotely Displayed
INNtouch integrates with INNCOM’s Centrally Controlled System to remotely display guestroom status to housekeeping and other departments. When the door bell symbol on the exterior plate is pressed, the chime rings inside the guestroom. By pressing the privacy button the guest disables the bell, illuminating the privacy indicator on the exterior door plate. Likewise, when the guest presses the make-up-room button it illuminates a green LED on the exterior door plate indicating that the guest is requesting someone from housekeeping. Equipped with a motion sensor, when Shore Hotel staff press and hold the doorbell, the plate will flash “Privacy” if the room is occupied and will illuminate the green LED if the room is vacant.
“INNCOM’s e4 Smart Digital Thermostat also is key to our sustainability and guest comfort,” Farzam said. “That unit works closely with the property’s demand-response system from Southern California Edison (the local power company) to reduce electrical needs based on peak demand on the grid. Together with INNCOM and Southern California Edison, the Shore Hotel has set the benchmark for all new-construction hotels.”
“It’s a true pleasure to be in partnership with the Shore Hotel Santa Monica as it strives to be one of the most sustainable hotels in the country,” said John Tavares, INNCOM VP marketing and sales. “This hotel is a prime example of how INNCOM is dedicated to working side by side with hotel owners and local utility providers to deliver the ultimate guest experience all the while keeping our eyes focused on energy conservation. We look forward to a long standing relationship with the Farzam family and believe the Shore Hotel will be widely successful with its sustainability program for years to come.”
Go to INNCOM and the Shore Hotel.
