Local Macau Hospitality Technology SME Set to Lead Innovation in Hotel & Casino “Smart City”

October, 2018: (Macau) Local Macau company SABA Hospitality, a hospitality technology solutions company which utilises artificial intelligence to revolutionise guest and staff engagement, has signed a formal partnership agreement with multinational computer technology giant Dell at the 23rd Macau International Trade & Investment Fair (MIF) on 18 October.

In line with the MIF’s theme “Co-operation-Key to Business Opportunities” the two entities

participated in the Fair’s official signing ceremony to formalise the partnership. SABA and Dell’s primary mandate is to collaborate and devise innovations to support Macau’s Smart City initiative.

Founded by a group of experienced and innovative Macau-based hospitality and technology professionals, SABA Hospitality is launching pioneering technology in a bid to transform the hotel and casino industry, and revolutionise both guest and staff engagement.

SABA’s current and pipeline technology suite actively supports the Macau S.A.R Government’s vision to become a smart city by 2020.

Alexander Wessels, Executive Director – Accounts & Partnerships, explains, “We fully support this progressive vision by the Macau S.A.R Government, and are committed to providing solutions to support this program to enhance our great city”.

“We also believe in a collaborative approach. Which is why SABA is actively forming partnerships and developing synergies with numerous global technology innovators that provide solutions we see as supporting this cause. For example, we see wireless charging being to power, what WIFI was to connectivity. It’s a service that will not only be expected, but demanded in the near future. And we are bringing it to hotel and casino operators in Macau”.

With custom-made tools to enhance guest engagement, streamline operational efficiencies, train and retain staff, tackle guest dissatisfaction, and much more, SABA’s visionary approach will offer Macau’s hotels and casinos the chance to assume a world-class, marketing leading position in guest service.

Alex Aranchikov, Chief Technology Officer of SABA said, “We are hoteliers who truly understand the key drivers of the hotel and casino industries. With 50 years’ combined experience in hotel and casino operations – from rooms, to tech, to operations and more – we know hospitality and casino environments inside-out.

“Engagement – of both staff and guests – is recognised as the ultimate formula to success, particularly in hospitality. And while the majority of technology innovation in hospitality is guest facing, SABA is taking a different approach – seamlessly integrating both staff- and guest-facing technology. The response to our call for pilots so far has been overwhelming, with operators already indicating this will significantly impact and transform their business for the better.” said Aranchikov.

“What has always intrigued us is that most technology these days is guest-centric. But that is only half the story. To have genuine and sustained operational success, tech innovations must also engage and excite staff – particularly hospitality staff, a sector well-known for its high turnover and its recruitment and training challenges.”

SABA’s edge is that it is specifically developing technology that is purpose-built for the Asia market. Stefan Renziehausen, SABA’s Executive Director of Operations explained: “We have lived and worked in Macau, China and across Asia for over 10 years. We have a deep and genuine appreciation for the challenges and cultural differences the region presents, and are uniquely placed to innovate technology to address these region-specific challenges.

“For example, while tourism is vital to the Macau economy, we know that language barriers often hinder traveller experiences, and cause frustration and lost revenue. Beyond cultural differences, we also know that demographics are a major consideration. 70% of Macau tourists are under the age of 35 – and we know over 50% of these tourists will, on average, spend more than three hours each day on their phone.”

One of SABA’s flagship products is a bespoke multi-lingual chatbot, tailored specifically to engage hotel and casino guests in their native language, on their preferred communication platform, while maintaining the fully personalised experience the Macau market’s luxury properties strive for.

“SABA’s virtual assistant literally does everything,” explains Renziehausen. “Need another toothbrush? Want to know the WIFI password? Wondering what time breakfast starts? Exchanges rates, weather forecasts – the virtual assistant takes care of all these requests automatically – yet in a professional, personalised way. We’ve even built in a food and beverage platform so guests can place orders from anywhere at any time, without staff contact. It’s great for the guest and relieves operationally efficient for the property, especially in those seasonal low periods”.

“Research shows 69% of consumers now prefer to interact with brands via chatbot, with 75% preferring to make purchases in their own language. So, this type of service doesn’t just improve guest engagement, but positively impacts an operator’s bottom line as well”, Renziehausen continued.

While a recently launched local Macau SME, SABA has deep roots in the market. It has launched strongly, and plans to offer real innovative and change within the hospitality sector. And with a pipeline of technology solutions that aim to tackle other major industry issues such as high employee turnover, staff engagement, and more, SABA Hospitality’s presence in the market is set to soar in the coming years.

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「世博酒店科技方案有限公司」與科技巨頭「戴爾」簽署合作協議
澳門本地酒店技術中小企業將引領酒店及賭場“智慧城市”的創新

澳門，2018年10月 — 本地澳門公司「世博酒店科技方案有限公司」（SABA Hospitality）是一家利用人工智能改變客人與員工互動的酒店技術解決方案公司，現已在十月十八日於第二十三澳門國際貿易投資展覽會（MIF）上與跨國電腦技術巨頭「戴爾」（DELL）簽署正式合作協議。

根據MIF的主題“促進合作 共創商機”，兩家公司參加了展覽會的官方簽約儀式，以正式化合作夥伴關係。「世博」和「戴爾」的主要任務是合作和設計創新，以支持澳門的智慧城市計劃。

「世博酒店科技方案有限公司」由一群經驗豐富且具有創新精神的澳門酒店和技術專業人士創立，正在推出先進技術，以改造酒店和賭場業，並徹底改變客人和員工的互動及參與度。

「世博」的現有和管道技術套件積極支持澳門特區政府的願景 – 以目標於2020年成為智慧城市。

行政總監Alexander Wessels解釋說：“我們完全支持澳門特區政府的這一進步願景，並致力於提供解決方案，以支持該計劃，並加強我們的優越城市。”

“我們也相信合作接洽。這就是為何SABA正積極與眾多全球技術創新者建立夥伴關係並發展協同作用，從而提供以支持此為目標的解決方案。例如，我們認為提供無線網絡僅用於連接作用，而無線充電的需求則日益漸增。這項服務不僅是可預見的，而且在不久的將來會有更大的需求。我們將會把它帶到澳門的酒店和賭場營運商。”

以借助定制工具來提升顧客參與度、簡化營運效率、培訓和留住員工、解決顧客不滿等問題;「世博」抱著的遠見思路，將為澳門各酒店和賭場提供享有世界級及領先營銷地位的顧客服務。

「世博」首席技術總監Alex Aranchikov說:“我們是真正了解酒店和賭場行業關鍵驅動因素的酒店經營者。憑藉在酒店和賭場營運方面綜合五十年的經驗 – 從客房、技術到營運等，我們從內到外都了解酒店和賭場環境。”

“員工和客人的參與度 – 被認為是成功的最終方案，尤其是在酒店業。雖然酒店業的大多數技術創新都是針對顧客，但SABA採取了不同的方法 – 融入同時針對員工和客戶的技術。到目前為止，對試驗我們技術的要求反應非常熱烈，有營運商已經表明這將對他們的業務產生重大的影響和改造。”Aranchikov續說。

“一直引起我們興趣的是，現今大多數技術都是以客戶為中心的，但這只是一半的說法。為了獲得真正和持續的營運成功，技術創新還必須吸引和激勵員工 – 尤其是酒店業員工，這是一個以高人員變更率和充滿著招聘及培訓挑戰而聞名的行業。”

「世博」的優勢在於其專門開發特別為亞洲市場設計的技術。

Renziehausen繼續說道: “我們在澳門，中國和亞洲各地生活和工作了十多年。我們對該地區所面對的挑戰和文化差異深表真誠的理解，並且在創新技術以應對這些針對特定地區的挑戰方面具有獨特的優勢。

“例如，雖然旅遊業對澳門經濟至關重要，但我們知道語言障礙往往會阻礙旅客的體驗，並導致挫敗感和收益損失。除了文化差異，我們還知道人口統計學是一個主要考慮因素。澳門70％的遊客年齡在三十五歲以下 – 我們知道當中有超過50％遊客每天平均花超過三小時於電話上。”

「世博」的旗艦產品之一是定制的多語種聊天機器人，專為吸引酒店和賭場客人在其選用的交流平台上並以其母語作量身定制，同時保持澳門市場豪華等級所追求的完全個性化體驗。

“SABA的虛擬助理確實可以做到一切，”Renziehausen解釋道: “還需要另一把牙刷嗎？想知道WIFI密碼？想知道早餐什麼時候開始？兌換率，天氣預報？虛擬助理自動處理所有這些請求 – 然而是以專業、個性化的方式。我們甚至建立了餐飲平台，因此客人可隨時隨地下單，無需透過員工聯繫。這對客人來說非常棒，並且可以減輕酒店的營運效率，特別是在季節性低點的時期。”

“研究顯示，69％的消費者現在更喜歡通過聊天機器人與品牌互動，75％的消費者更願意用自己的母語進行購物。因此，這種類型的服務不僅可以提高客戶參與度，還可對營運商的底線產生積極影響。” Renziehausen繼續說道。

在最近推出的本地澳門中小企業中，「世博」在市場上有著深厚的根基。現已強勢推出，並計劃在酒店業內提供真正的創新和變革。通過一系列的技術解決方案，旨在處理其他主要行業問題，如高人員變更率、員工敬業度等；「世博酒店科技方案有限公司」在市場中的存在感將於未來數年飆升。

Media Contact: Byron Webster

Executive Director – Sales & Marketing

Phone (853) 6280 8230| Mobile (61) 402 477 165

Calcada do Gaio, n 3, R/C, Loja B , Macau 澳門東望洋斜巷3 B號通曦下

Email: [email protected]

www.sabahospitality.com