INNCOM Commissions Advanced Guestroom System at Mark Hopkins

October 1, 2000

Old Lyme, Connecticut – In the late 1800's, it was the most modern of technology, the Central Pacific Rail Road, that gave Mark Hopkins the notoriety for which he is still remembered today. Following that tradition, the Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental Hotel, built on the original site of Hopkins mansion on Nob Hill in San Francisco, boasts the most modern energy management system for guestrooms in the world.

In addition to being one of the world's most prestigious properties and after a recent $50 million renovation, each of the Mark's 342 guestrooms and 38 suites now offers guests precision climate control as well as other guest-friendly technology.

Unveiled for the first time, the System 4 by INNCOM International, Inc. of Old Lyme, Connecticut is performing superbly at The Mark. Using the INNCOM e⁴ Smart Digital Thermostat a guest can select precise temperature control and Make-Up-Room or Do-Not-Disturb features. The hotel enjoys the advantage of electronic reporting to housekeeping and other departments. Tied into a central interface, the e⁴ saves the hotel up to 30% of its guestroom energy costs by automatically determining when a guestroom is unrented or unoccupied.

More than 10,000 hotel guestrooms are already in the installation process for this unique product including Sheraton Moana Surfrider in Hawaii, Scottsdale Princess in Arizona and Sheraton Walker-Hill Hotel & Casino in Seoul, Korea.

The e⁴, with a large backlit display and multiple upgrade features, offers precision climate control while saving substantial energy dollars. It can be installed in a typical guestroom in less than an hour.

Duane Buckingham, INNCOM's CEO, said, "The most remarkable attribute of the e⁴ is that it is very competitively priced while offering hoteliers a long list of moderately priced upgrade options. Each hotel is able to select those features that are best suited to its particular needs." He added that, "Several years of listening to the market and 18 months of focused development effort has created a product and a system which cuts across the entire spectrum of the lodging market…from 5-star hotels to limited service properties."

In its most basic configuration, the e⁴ functions as a high quality DDC thermostat. At its next level, it becomes the brain of a highly effective standalone energy management system (EMS) for guestrooms, putting an end to over-heating and over-cooling. And, when expanded to its full capabilities, the e⁴ becomes the guestroom heart of a centrally controlled system. At that level, it can monitor minibar access, report room occupancy to housekeeping, monitor smoke detectors, provide automatic lighting control, and incorporate convenient buttons for Do-Not-Disturb and Make-Up-Room requests.

As part of a centrally controlled system connected to INNCOM's low-cost CINET (a centrally connected LAN for guestrooms), substantial additional energy savings are achieved by using a broader temperature setback band when the guestroom is unrented. To achieve this, INNCOM has interfaced with virtually every major property management system (PMS). (The company is also interfaced with major BMS, PBX and POS systems.)

Concurrent with introduction of the e⁴, INNCOM has introduced a new wireless door switch. Since a guestroom door switch is essential to all energy management and occupancy reporting systems, this wireless infrared device significantly reduces the traditional labor costs for hardwiring guestrooms.

Finally, the e⁴ has an onboard infrared (IR) transceiver which permits it to be remotely controlled by the guest with INNCOM’s handheld controller and which enables the e⁴ to automatically control lamps in which INNCOM’s IR modules have been installed. The result is low-cost, high-impact amenities that are well remembered by guests.

Installation of the e⁴ takes minutes per guestroom. The design is ideally suited for retrofit as well as new construction or refurbishment projects.

INNCOM International pioneered the development of integrated easy-to-use guestroom control systems and is recognized as the global leader in that discipline. The company is focused solely on the lodging market and is the only company that offers integrated systems combining DDC energy management, on-line lock control and a broad range of other operational and guest interface features.

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