With ‘Voice Mail,’ Sheraton Hopes to Boost Guest Privacy, Save Time

Preserving the integrity of messages has become so important to businesses that answering machines and voice mail systems abound, allowing callers to leave detailed messages without worrying whether the human message-taker is getting their phone number right and name spelled correctly.

But while on the road, the business traveler is suddenly thrust into the Dark Ages, forced to rely on a front desk clerk who is rushing to answer other phone calls and check in other guests.

Worse yet, if the business traveler is abroad or the caller is a foreigner, the language barrier makes taking an accurate message that much more difficult.

“You try to get down whatever they say, but you aren’t always accurate,” said Cynthia Bond, a spokeswoman for Boston-based Sheraton Corp.

Enter voice mail systems designed for hotel guests. Sheraton recently installed a voice message system designed by Northern Telecom Inc. at its 1,400-room hotel in Toronto. The Canadian hotel is serving as a test site for the hotel chain.

Much like at the office, business travelers and people attempting to call them can record messages in their own voices and can place or retrieve the messages without the help of a hotel attendant.

“Unlike a message written on a piece a paper, you really get the meaning by the inflection of the voice, whether they are happy or sad or whatever,” Bond said.

Guests can retrieve messages with the push of a telephone button no matter where they are. They also can personalize their greeting on the messaging service and convey information about their whereabouts.

The Sheraton system, which it has dubbed Guest Message Express, has only been in operation since late June, and Bond said that its novelty makes it impossible to give statistics on its success, but the company is certain voice mail is saving the hotel time, and improving service and guest satisfaction.

The Ontario Sheraton estimates it gets 2,000 calls a day and says that the process of having an attendant answer a phone call, transfer it to a guest room, pick up again and then take a message can take up to two minutes.

“Message-taking is very time-consuming,” Bond said. “With voice mail, we can provide a more personalized service, answer other phone calls in fewer rings and free our attendants up to do other duties.” Ideally, Sheraton hopes to cut down operator time by 40%.

Aside from getting accurate messages, travelers enjoy the confidentiality of voice mail, Bond said. “You can make deals over the phone by leaving messages without worrying about a third party.”

The key to the system’s success may ultimately rest on its ease of use. A Sheraton-Northern Telecom survey showed that while guests wanted voice mail, they also wanted it to be simple.