ORLANDO, Fla., May 7, 2013 – Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but sapphires are now a hotelier’s, thanks to a new release from hospitality technology company Intelity. The company announced today that the release date of ICE Sapphire, a brand new in-room guest service platform, will be June 14, with initial installations expected in the fall of this year.  
 
ICE Sapphire will offer a high-tech take on the hotel clock radio, multi-device support with native and HTML5 web apps, increased flexibility of design, elegant new themes, and enhanced opportunities for commerce and advertising.   
 
“We’ve taken what we’ve learned from feedback and years of experience, and we’ve applied it to develop an entirely new user experience with incredibly extended customization options,” said Chris Grey, Intelity’s Chief Technology Officer. “The needs of our clients have changed, and technology has become more capable of meeting those needs.”
 
Included with ICE Sapphire will be Intelity’s Bedside Dashboard, an offering exclusive to Intelity that Grey refers to as a “21st-century alarm clock.” The dashboard will serve as an optional landing page and will provide a streaming radio, an alarm clock with sleep function, and ambient sounds such as rainfall. Wake-up notifications will be directly through the device and no longer require a phone call from hotel staff.
 
Unlike the original ICE guest service solution, ICE Sapphire will be available as a web-based HTML5 app in addition to native iOS and Android versions. This will allow for a responsive design that accommodates both landscape and portrait orientations. It also means that a wider variety of devices will be fully supported, including TVs, laptops, iPads and iPhones, Android devices, and all other smartphones and tablets. Regardless of the presentation or the device, all of the functions will be the same.
 
“Some companies put out one web-based app, and that isn’t good enough anymore,” Grey said. “Apps should be tailored for specific devices, which is why we offer web-based and native apps.”   
 
ICE Sapphire will also present several new themes that hotels can choose from, rather than just the iconic classic design of original ICE. Hotels will be able to pick out custom fonts and color gradients that will perfectly match the property’s overall style. Images will now automatically be formatted and populated.
 
“It’s not just about what an app can do,” Grey said. “The right design is a fundamental need. Why would a hotel consider a technology partnership with a company that can’t develop the feel that they want to enhance the uniqueness of their guest experience?”
 
Other additional features will be a more commerce-friendly format with restructured, simpler dining menus and full-screen advertisements that allow hotels to market products and services directly to guests.
 
“We wanted to eliminate as many potential roadblocks between the guest wanting to order something and actually placing an order,” Grey said.
 
For more information on ICE Sapphire and Intelity, visit www.intelitycorp.com or visit the Intelity booth #1037 at HITEC in June in Minneapolis.
 
About Intelity  
Intelity, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is the creator of the world’s first fully integrated enterprise platform including an interactive guest services interface, ICE (Interactive Customer Experience™), with a full, real-time back-end management tool that measures ROI and integrates with more than 35 hotel management systems. Since beginning operations in 2007, the hospitality solutions company has grown exponentially and become a pioneer in hospitality technology with the deployment of ICE across six continents serving almost 500 hotels worldwide, including all major brands and many significant independents. The New York Times called ICE “the digital edge” for hotels. The customizable interface allows guests to arrange services via an in-room touch screen tablet; smartphone and tablet; TV; laptop; or touch screen. The ICE platform has been recognized industry wide, earning Intelity the industry’s “Most Innovative Hospitality Technology” award in a vote by hoteliers and the Business Traveler Innovation Award for Best Travel Convenience & Efficiency Innovation. Become acquainted with ICE and learn what Intelity’s hotel partners are saying on the Intelity website www.intelitycorp.com. For more information, please call 1-888-RevPAR-1 (1-888-738-7271) or follow us on Twitter (@Intelity).