Working closely with hoteliers to alleviate labour shortages: (from left) Interlock Group’s CTO, Dinesh Kumar; CEO Sanjiv Sharma; and Kevin Singh, COO. Photo Credit: Interlock Group
In recent years, hotels worldwide have been grappling with labour
shortages, making it challenging to meet guests' expectations for
quality service. Interlock Group Asia Pacific COO, Kevin Singh, has more
than 30 years of experience in the hotel and travel industry and is in a
unique position to work with hotels to find solutions to tackle mundane
tasks.
Singh shared with M&C Asia how his company is playing a part to meet this need.
“Our company has been working closely with hoteliers in Singapore to
alleviate this issue by offering cutting-edge robotics and technology
solutions. We are aligned with the Singapore Job Transformation Map, which encourages hotel leaders to adopt innovative technologies to enhance productivity and create a more efficient workforce.
“By partnering with hoteliers, we integrate our hospitality robotics
seamlessly into their existing operations, augmenting their staff's
capabilities and enabling them to focus on delivering exceptional guest
experiences. This approach is in line with the hotel industry's goals of
embracing automation and digitalisation to transform the way they
operate.”
Popular products being adopted among his clients are delivery bots
and AI-embedded CCTV cameras for security purposes. The delivery bots
help in streamlining operations by autonomously delivering items to
guest rooms, optimising efficiency and reducing manual labour
requirements.
AI-embedded CCTV cameras provide advanced security features,
including real-time monitoring, facial recognition, and predictive
analytics, which enhance the safety and overall guest experience.
Further to this, the AI embedded CCTVs also allow the security manpower
to be more proactive than reactive with alerts - any programmed
abnormalities in daily operations are sent directly to the Fire Command
Centre or through alerts on their phones.
“This allows a more holistic approach towards the overall security of a hotel premise,” added Singh.
Over the next 12 months, the company aims to further expand its
presence in the hospitality industry by forging strategic partnerships
with more hotels across the region.
“We will continue to innovate and develop new solutions to address
evolving industry challenges while prioritising the highest standards of
customer service and satisfaction.
One of the primary challenges hoteliers face when integrating
Interlock’s products with their existing hotel systems is ensuring
compatibility and seamless integration. To overcome this, the company
has a dedicated team of technical experts. “We collaborate closely with
hotel IT teams to ensure smooth integration, provide comprehensive
training to staff, and offer ongoing support to address any issues that
may arise. We are also developing Biome Hospitality, a brand that aims
to provide an end-to-end ecosystem that contributes seamlessly through a
guest’s journey from pre-arrival to post departure,” said Singh.
The simplest products being offered include Business Management
Software that covers aspects of running a business seamlessly, costing
from S$1500 (US$1108) per month depending on the business requirements.