An interesting idea has come into fruition for the vending industry. Called Vending Genie, it combines two functionalities - cashless vending and wireless management of data. With the help of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), supply personnel are now able to remotely assess each machine’s status.

The brainchild of a company called cStar, it saves vending personnel the time and hassle of physically having to visit a machine to see what it has run out of. This fantastic technology means operators can use a hand held device, connected to a cStar Genie, to find out what needs to be replenished and by how much, remotely. In addition, when servicing machines that use coins, the operator is able to check whether there is a coin jam.

“With the earlier method, a driver or vending machine caretaker would take 10 hours a day to service 10-15 machines. With our Genie, they are done by noon. That is a remarkable saving - both for the worker in terms of labour and for the vending machine operator in terms of money and time,” said a spokesperson.

Cashless Vending

Another aspect of the Vending Genie is its ability to free both vending machine operator and customer from the hassle of using coins. Currently installed in 100 machines in 30 hotels across Canada, the Vending Genie enables hotel guests to use their room key cards to buy soft drinks and snacks without using money.

Venecio Rebelo, general manager of the Ambassador Conference Resort in Kingston, Ontario said: “Ever since installing the cashless Vending Genie, we have seen profit margins go up by 67% in the first year of use and another 17% in the second year. And there have been no incidents of vandalism.”

Hotels present huge opportunities for cashless vending - if you are away on business for instance, it is much easier to settle your expenses in one go than it is to obtain receipts for every last drink and snack, especially if purchased from a vending machine.

That said the complications of integrating many kinds of hotel property management systems (PMS) and room key card systems create obstacles in deploying this (if you will excuse the pun) very fruitful method of vending.

To overcome this challenge, cStar has developed a turnkey system with a hotel specific application. Called eDispense HT, it is readily deployable, eliminating any lengthy integration or development work. “Hoteliers will be delighted in the Vending Genie solution for ease of use for the guests and complete elimination of vandalism,” states the company website.

A plethora of opportunities

Other payment options, such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards and cell phones allow hoteliers even more opportunities for switching over to this type of vending.

The hotel key system, however, represents what is effectively free market research and therefore directs marketing opportunities for hoteliers also. Simply by monitoring what guests are purchasing and when, enables hoteliers to build a profile of each guest. This creates a fine opportunity for targeting that type of customer to maximise on profits in the future. The potential for boosting profits is endless.

What the hotels said…

However, new technologies also take time to be accepted by the masses. At some of the smaller hotels that I spoke to there seemed to be a touch of snobbery about using vending machines as a form of catering at all. “We are a fine dining restaurant, we prepare all food from fresh,” a rather disconcerted hotel manager told me when I asked if he had a vending machine at all.

Another, similarly small establishment said: “No, we don’t have a vending machine in reception. We offer fresh filter coffee to patrons.” It would seem the idea of offering a personal service is still greatly at odds with an automated one, no matter how high quality the products may be. The reality of cashless vending via hotel room cards seems a long way off for the smaller, more traditional establishment then.

In cities however, the response may well be different, but again many of the hotels I spoke to were reluctant to respond to questions about using vending as a form of catering.

It came as some relief that a spokesperson for a larger hotel sang the praises of its vending machine: “It’s used all the time. When the bar and restaurant is shut it’s a means to an end - especially as we do not offer room service.” For a hotel like this, cashless vending could well become a lucrative form of business - when guests return to the hotel late, feeling hungry having spent all their cash on an alcohol fuelled night out, a feast purchased with their room key could well be the way to their heart…

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