Southern Enterprise Awards 2020

24 | Southern Enterprise Awards 2020 Guestkey is a British technology and design company based close to London, we spoke to Tony Marsden, Founder & MD. Give us a brief overview of your company, your clients and your offering. We specialise in the end-to-end design, development and installation of access control systems for the most prestigious hotels in the world. Guestkey develop and integrate the latest cloud technologies and advanced electronics. We combine these with bespoke product design and a project management ethic that champions the client’s brand. Despite developments in our offering, our values have not changed since our establishment in 2002. We believe in creating the very best products that benefit both the hotel and guest experience alike. What differentiates you from your competitors and makes you the best option for your clients? Solutions without compromise . Our clients are world class so we offer first-class products and services, tailored to their brand. Our determination to create beautifully designed products that achieve much more than the sum of their parts means we can deliver to our clients some pretty substantial benefits. In the luxury hospitality industry, advocacy is everything and our portfolio speaks for itself in this respect. In London alone, there are upward of fifteen 5* hotels with Guestkey systems in operation, and over 12,000 rooms across the world. What trends are you seeing in your industry, currently? The shift to mobile technology was one we had invested in long before COVID-19 and, after a recent push for touch-free access, is one where we are now ahead of the market curve. This was sparked by a need for staff to come out from behind desks and be more mobile, Leading Innovators in Hospitality Technology 2020 improving ease of access for guests with a more consolidated experience. CloudServices is prompting hotels to consider this more engaging level of service, and the additional productivity benefits, as a requirement not an extravagance. We are also seeing an ongoing need to build new partnerships in technology; our ConnectivityHub enables companies to come together and collaborate more effectively. What are the main benefits to being based in the South? Connection and convenience mostly. Being near our London-based clients enables us to provide a more personal service and be physically present when they really need us. There is also a degree of ‘standing weight’ that comes with being so affiliated with one of the most iconic and prestigious capitals in the world. What is Guestkey’s core belief? The client comes first – closely followed by being an industry innovator. Having said that, we fundamentally believe that the two go hand-in-hand. Identifying customer needs can help us push different areas of technology, while progress in design can shape our clients’ experiences. We look for these values when hiring team members and forming partnerships. What does the future look like for you? Bright, diverse and connected. We are currently installing our systems in 10 new hotels across the world while working in the background to launch new products. Our R&D focus is presently on bespoke mobile apps and core digital technologies with improved connectivity. Diversification is also paramount for us. We are exploring where else our products can be used to enrich customer experiences and streamline management services. Our proposition as a whole is also being refreshed with a new brand image and a distinctive market presence. Would you like to add anything? I would like to express how incredibly grateful we are for this nomination and for the recognition that comes with it. Sep20497