The “ever-lasting” battery: wireless charging for hotel TV remotes

Originally published on 7 February 2015. Names, products and figures are as they were then.

Stockholm, Sweden – For hotels with hundreds or even thousands of remote controls to maintain, where the little details of every guest’s stay can be the difference between excellence and annoyance, batteries are a regular and recurring problem. InnSpire, the innovative leader in hotel technology, has an elegant solution: Qi wireless charging for its Air-mouse remote controls, which charges the guests’ own devices too.

Rogier Hurkmans, General Manager of the award-winning Crowne Plaza Brussels, says: “If guests can’t watch TV because the remote won’t work, staff have to run to quickly replace them and instead of enhancing a guest’s stay you’re instead dealing with problems and annoyance. We want to remove every possible source of frustration so guests can simply enjoy their stay with us. InnSpire’s solution is very welcome indeed.”

Martin Chevalley, CEO of InnSpire, adds: “Hoteliers often tell me of the problems caused by something as simple and small as the batteries in a remote control. Previously they had no way of knowing if they needed replacing or not, and when they did a member of staff has to be sent to change them for a guest. These are moments of frustration for a guest that could so easily be avoided, if only there was a good solution. Now there is, with the InnSpire Qi wireless charger, not only will the Air-mouse always be charged, but guests can even charge their supported devices too!”

Hotels place the InnSpire Qi wireless charger beside the bed, and guests rest the remote or their own phone on it. The remote also checks its own battery: the Air-mouse has a patent-pending battery self-checker that sends staff a text message when the battery is getting low, so they can make sure the remote is back on its charger when the room is next serviced.

Customer service is every good hotel’s highest priority, but not its only concern. Hotels are increasingly aware of their environmental responsibilities while keeping control of costs, and removing the need to buy and dispose of batteries reduces both cost and waste.

Martin Chevalley concludes: “We believe that in our quest to help hotels entertain better, sell more and understand guest behaviours, clearly we don’t need to compromise either on quality or on the environment. By using some of the latest technology solutions we can help hotels reduce their environmental footprint, save them money while at the same time helping them offer their guests a frustration-free visit.”