By Brad Harding
With tens of thousands of hotels across the United States, it can be difficult for hotels to stay competitive. From managing staff to meeting guests’ needs, hotel owners have to wear many hats to ensure guests keep coming back.
While you may be an expert at training staff on customer service, keeping your hotel’s technology system running like new may feel beyond your expertise, but it can make a huge difference in customer happiness. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep your computer system running smoothly and quickly. Here are a few tips to ensure optimal computer performance that will save your hotel time and money:
Protect your system
Unexpected security threats can always threaten a computer’s lifespan. For hotel computers, where highly confidential information like guest history and financial details are stored, it’s especially important to keep computer security software updated. Safe computers are consistently updated with the most current software updates on secure operating systems. In addition to software updates, you should frequently update your anti-virus software and keep your subscription active. Run a simple virus scan every now and then to determine just how safe your system is. Finally, make sure to change your passwords regularly to keep hackers at bay.
Practice good computer hygiene
Taking care of your computer’s physical health is just as important as upgrading the computer’s software. To prevent overheating, be strategic about where in the hotel your computer system is located. If you have computers at the front desk, make sure they are unobstructed by removing obstacles that could prevent proper ventilation. A good to rule to follow is to allow two to three inches in on either side and along the back to keep the computer cool. While the computer’s fans can cool down the system, dirt and dust get trapped internally slowing down the fans. Give your computer a good cleaning two or three times a year with compressed air to keep things running like new.
Upgrade memory
By increasing your computer system’s memory (or DRAM), you can help lengthen its lifespan ultimately saving money by not having to replace your technology before its time. Memory is the component within your computer that provides short-term data access to run multiple applications at once. When your computer has more memory, it can run more programs and applications at one time to help your employees perform tasks more efficiently. Although 2GB of RAM may have been sufficient two years ago, it likely is not a sufficient amount to meet your needs today. The good news is computer memory upgrades start out at around $50 apiece. This relatively inexpensive upgrade can go a long way in making sure you can speedily access the information you need on your computer.
Upgrade storage
Many people confuse memory and storage, but they are not the same and it’s important to understand the distinctions between the two. Computers do not normally process all the data they have at once, unlike memory, so storage allows for long-term data access and comes in the form of a hard drive or solid state drive (SSD). SSD is an internal flash drive that stores data even when the computer is powered down. Though storage does not need to be as quick as memory, there needs to be much more of it to keep photos, files and documents in one place. The amount of storage your computer has determines its speed and ability to load applications and save files. By replacing your computer’s memory and storage, you will notice a much faster response in your computer overall.
These simple and quick tips can help extend the life of any computer. However, this is just a sample of the many techniques at hotel owners’ disposal to help save money and improve system performance. By following these simple tips, you can free up some time and money to spend it where it matters most: providing an exceptional experience for your guests.
