Swisscom Hospitality Services and SMARTEQ have entered a commercial partnership to serve Russia’s vibrant hotel industry through a suite of integrated information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. Now acting as Swisscom’s exclusive channel partner for the Russian market, SMARTEQ sells, installs and supports Swisscom’s ConnectedHotel TV, IPTV, high-speed Internet access, Voice over IP, smart room controls and other leading guest technologies.
Russia has become a key market for hotel investors and operators. According to Tophotelprojects.com, the country counts 159 large hotels under construction or in development, totalling nearly 50,000 rooms. 28 hotel projects are located in Moscow alone and 25 more in Sochi in southern Russia, the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Add to that list the 2018 FIFA World Cup and you can see why Rezidor, Hilton, Accor, Marriott, IHG and other leading hotel chains have ambitious plans to strengthen their local presence. Technology is playing an increasingly important role in the competitive differentiation. Through their partnership, Swisscom Hospitality and SMARTEQ have taken a joint commitment to ensure that high-quality ICT solutions are delivered to Russian hotels.
"As the market is transforming itself, Russian hoteliers are becoming very keenly interested in new IP technologies and how they can keep up with modern user trends," says Nikolay Beloshitsky, general manager at SMARTEQ. "Through our strong local presence we will be able to offer the full scope of works, starting from project management up to deployment and aftersales services. Many international operators are establishing their market presence, all at the same time, so our focus is to provide resources to ensure that every project throughout Russia is given the necessary attention and priority, be it a new build or a refurbishment."
Swisscom Hospitality offers a suite of IP convergent guest applications designed to exceed guest expectations in critical service areas such as TV and in-room entertainment, mobile connectivity, voice services, room environmental controls, hotel business centres and conference services, among others. Acting through SMARTEQ, Swisscom Hospitality will advise hoteliers on how they can introduce next-generation, ‘smart’ hotel networks, where individual applications do not sit in mutually exclusive technology silos but rather converge on one common IT infrastructure, thereby reducing both capital and operational expenditure while adding to the service quality for the guest.
"I am truly excited about this partnership with SMARTEQ," says Dick de Pater, head of indirect sales for Swisscom Hospitality Services. "At this critical moment, the Russian market can only benefit from our best-of-breed technologies which have matured and proven their value many times over elsewhere. By teaming up with a strong local hospitality technology supplier, we will service the Russian hotel industry in the most effective way, assure successful local delivery on framework agreements and contribute to a consistent service delivery for our global chain clients in this key growth market."