Room Mate Hotels, a Spanish hotel company, is making life easier for its deaf and hearing-impaired attendees—and in turn, making these communication needs less of a concern for meeting planners.
Earlier this month, the international hotel chain introduced a sign language–interpreting service at all its hotels in Spain, with plans to roll it out internationally in early 2018. Created in partnership with the company Comunicados en Lengua de Signos, the system offers interpretation services for attendees during check-in, checkout and throughout their stay.
The service is a first for the hotel industry and could set a precedent for future hotels to roll out. It is delivered through a tablet stationed at reception desks in all the hotels, with a video-call program linking the attendee and the interpreting service in Spanish and international sign language. It allows deaf and hearing impaired attendees to make requests in real time and get the direct and personal service they need.
“Room Mate could not fail to become involved in this issue,” says Room Mate Hotels Founder and Chairman Kike Sarasola. “We believe that it’s essential to think like a guest, and taking care of them is our job. That’s why we’re implementing this simultaneous interpreting system for better integration and more personalized service for guests that stay with us from all over the world.”
This isn’t the hotel chain’s first foray into bringing leading technology to groups staying at its 22 hotels across the world. In 2013, Room Mate was the first hotel chain to offer a free Wi-Fi system, called Wi-Mate, that allows attendees to stay connected throughout the city in which they are staying. The tech move earned the hotel chain a Worldwide Hospitality Award for Best Innovation in Digital Sales & Marketing, so stay tuned for the potential praise for the sign language–interpreting service.
