Eccleston Square Hotel is taking its reputation for being one of the world’s most technologically advanced, luxury boutique hotels to the next level with its new, extensive, technology upgrade announcement. Renowned for seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technology into its operations, London’s iconic, independent tech hotel has undergone a new technology renovation.
New features include Apple TVs from ROOMNET, and an innovative, energy-saving, and operations-enhancing automation system developed in collaboration with Leading Edge Automation, and the building management system (BMS) software integration by HSYCO; all these features integrate efficiently with the hotel’s property management system (PMS), MEWS.
Since opening its doors in 2011, Eccleston Square Hotel has been a leader in merging luxurious interiors and services with high-tech solutions. “The driver for using advanced technology at Eccleston Square Hotel, whether it be visible or undetectable to the eye, has always been to offer our guests an exceptional experience, and to ease the burden of manual tasks,” said Olivia Byrne, Owner and Company Director of Eccleston Square Hotel.
“As one of the first hotels in London to adopt this advanced level of smart entertainment and management automation, we’ve significantly elevated our building management capabilities, enabling the hotel to operate more efficiently than ever before. This innovation ensures our guests enjoy the highest standards of service and the latest in personalized comforts, all while upholding our commitment to sustainability and operational excellence.”
Benefits of the upgrades
- Apple TV Integration: All rooms now feature Apple TVs, offering intuitive streaming of content from services like Netflix and YouTube and live terrestrial TV, ensuring guests enjoy the same entertainment options they do at home.
- Energy Savings: Advanced building systems reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) operations in unoccupied rooms, leading to noticeable energy efficiency gains.
- Improved Guest Comfort: Rooms are automatically pre-conditioned for an optimal experience, ensuring a warm welcome and increasing guest satisfaction.
- Enhanced Indoor Air Quality: Real-time air quality adjustments contribute to guest comfort while reducing system workload.
Introducing Apple TVs
Eccleston Square Hotel has always offered a premium, state-of-the-art entertainment experience. When the hotel opened, 3DTVs were available in all the guest rooms, and it later became one of the first hotels in the world to exclusively provide 4KTVs with Sonos Beam soundbars, and in-room iPad concierge services.
ROOMNET is a global, super-powered entertainment platform for the hospitality industry, and was handpicked by Eccleston Square Hotel to deliver a premium Apple TV experience to each of its 39 rooms. ROOMNET’s intuitive apps-based TV experience caters to the streaming generation, and its live TV service also ensures the provision of terrestrial TV for every guest and every occasion. The integration of ROOMNET with the property management system means that the guest can use it as they would at home for the course of their stay, while all personal information is automatically wiped from the room upon check-out.
Embracing cloud-based technology offers numerous benefits beyond task automation and streamlining. It ensures adaptability in a rapidly evolving tech landscape through seamless upgrades, fosters continuous innovation, and minimises the risk of technological obsolescence.
Commenting on its partnership with Eccleston Square Hotel, James Coonan, Sales Director of ROOMNET said, “It’s a dream to work with Eccleston Square Hotel, a hotel so in tune with technology and raising the bar in today’s technical landscape. The ROOMNET platform for Apple TVs, combined with the technologically advanced hardware and systems utilised at Eccleston Square Hotel, ensures that guests can enjoy the latest in both personalized and terrestrial content during their stay. ROOMNET’s proprietary hotel app offers fully customizable information tiles to educate, inform and drive guest engagement – which Eccleston Square Hotel does with great creativity and style.”
Further features of the tech renovations
Smart building technology from Leading Edge Automation and advanced integration software from HSYCO has been used to seamlessly integrate and enhance the performance of the many existing operational systems at Eccleston Square Hotel. HSYCO’s Gateway system was installed onsite at Eccleston Square Hotel to enable real-time communication between its property management system cloud (owned by MEWS) and the hotel’s building management system (Optergy).
When a reservation is confirmed, HSYCO automatically (and continuously) monitors the status of the booking within MEWS. A pre-conditioning process for the reserved room’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is initiated, dependent on arrival information (which can be garnered via advanced online checking-in options), this includes setting the room to a comfortable temperature ensuring optimal conditions when the guest arrives. Upon check-in, the guest resumes full control and customization of their HVAC, via the room’s glass panel controllers. Advancements in AI mean that guest preferences can be saved for future visits. Unbooked rooms are held in a Setback Mode (appropriate for the season): thus reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Upon check-out, the systems communicate and automatically clear all personal preferences and information, including Apple TV logins and viewing history. The appropriate HVAC preconditioning begins, and the room is cleaned and prepared for its next occupant.
The proactive building management system has been expertly designed to optimize Eccleston Square Hotel’s operations. The system’s real-time communication leads to real-time data and enables informed, automated, and personalized adjustments, which contribute to a comfortable and healthy environment for guests. And its smart automation eases the burden of manual tasks so that hotel personnel can focus on delivering an exceptional guest experience.
Ali Naqi, General Manager of Leading Edge Automation added, “The focus of this collaboration was to enhance guest comfort and energy efficiency, facilitate a seamless and flexible transfer between automation and guest control, and optimize indoor air quality. Eccleston Square Hotel’s integration of this advanced smart technology showcases the potential of intelligent Building Management Systems, and how they can be used to enhance guest experiences in hospitality while ensuring sustainable and efficient energy use”.
The Eccleston Square Hotel Experience: A Blend of Luxury and Innovation
Beyond the latest tech upgrades, Eccleston Square Hotel offers guests an exceptional level of comfort. Set within two Grade II listed Georgian townhouses, the hotel combines intuitive technology with sophisticated interiors and bespoke service.
Each room features a handcrafted Hästens massage bed, renowned as the best in the world. Unlike other luxury hotels that feature these beds only in select suites, every room at Eccleston Square Hotel boasts a Hästens bed, complete with electronically adjustable settings and an inbuilt massage system. Guests enjoy intuitive amenities such as Smart Glass bathroom walls, and powered curtains. Layers of invisible technology—including super-fast, secure Wi-Fi, underfloor heating, and advanced building systems—work in harmony to ensure optimal comfort at all times.
On the ground floor, guests will find the new Minotti Lounge and Meeting Room, both with elegant, practical and highly comfortable Minotti furniture. The Minotti Meeting Room features a huge 103” LED Panasonic Screen which can connect seamlessly to the hotel’s Apple TV, HDMI cables and internet via the hotel’s free high-speed server. The Minotti Lounge is a peaceful place to catch-up with friends or colleagues, with elegant Italian handcrafted Minotti furniture and a delightful fireplace.
Rooms also feature beautiful marble bathrooms with magic mirror TVs, Smart Glass walls, glass panel controls and L’OCCITANE amenities. Another unique feature of the hotel is that it offers guests access to Eccleston Square’s private, award-winning gardens, which feature beautiful greenery, picnicking spots, BBQs, and a tennis court. The tranquil gardens provide a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of London.
And as you would expect from such a technologically advanced property, security in the hotel is enhanced with AI-driven CCTV in the public areas. Guests use an electronic key card to enter the hotel, making the hotel inaccessible to members of the public. All the while, highly trained (and tech-savvy) staff are on hand 24 hours a day to take care of all guest requirements.
