Why is there an analog phone on every nightstand of nearly every hotel room in the US and why they are likely to remain there for years to come?
Analog phones have existed since the 1870s when they were invented and have largely remained in their current form since the 1970s (50 years and counting). There are few other pieces of technology that have remained in the hotel almost unchanged, among them are the light bulb, and…in room thermostat, the fire alarm? My point being that analog phones are old but, much like the light bulb, they are a forgone conclusion on nearly every new build. Why?
What Was
In years gone by hotels would pride themselves on having the latest technology. Having the ability to call down to room service or the front desk was seen as a luxury in the early 1900s and offered real convenience to the guest. Guest room phones also provided an extra stream of revenue as business travelers in times before cell phones would pay high local and long-distance rates in exchange for not needing to leave their room and find a pay phone. As such hotels saw the guest room phone as an investment and one that offered a quick return. This all changed however with the advent of cell phones.
What Is
Today the guest room phone is commonly used for two things:
Short questions or requests to the front desk (i.e. more towels, asking when checkout time is)
For hotel staff to notify the property management system when the room has been cleaned
Recent research shows that calls from rooms to the front desk last less than 50 seconds on average and are limited to a single question or request.
It might then stand to reason that a hotel would forgo the cost of wiring each room with an analog phone in exchange for a simple guest texting option and a housekeeper app. However, in the last 10-15 years we have not seen this happen. Why?
This is in part because of the simple reliability of an analog phone. The underlying technology of an analog phone has not changed in over 100 years. It’s simple, reliable, and cost-effective. The second reason is that even today implementing a guest texting solution that A) the guests will know about and use, and B) that the hotel staff will respond timely to, is difficult. A GM once told me that to get the hotel staff to act you need to be annoying, a ringing phone on the front desk qualifies.
The last reason that analog phones have persisted for so long is life safety. While cell phones are commonplace having the analog phone as a backup is a small price to pay to ensure that the guest always has a, sometimes quite literal, lifeline.
Why It Matters
The Hospitality industry prides itself on…well Hospitality. Whatever can be done to make a guest stay more pleasant, convenient, and safe is often something that any good hotel will do. It’s this last point that is the main reason you will find an analog phone on nearly every nightstand. No hotel wants to face tough questions about why a guest was unable to call for help when they needed it. Simply put the analog phone is a small price to pay for a reliable emergency communication method.
What May Be
In general a technology is only replaced when something significantly better is introduced or retired when the underlining reason for it goes away. Going back to the light bulb we use them because we need to see, that need never went away. However, we now use LED bulbs because it serves the same need but in a much better way.
My prediction for analog phones in the room is the same. Guests are never going to outgrow the need to communicate with hotel staff (or suddenly find trips to the front desk an experience that can’t be missed) so the underlining need will remain. That leaves technical improvements which could include a better guest texting solution, smart speakers built into the hotels television, or cost effective Wi-Fi phones. For my money I believe guest Wi-Fi phones as the most likely of the three.
However, the future remains annoyingly difficult to predict, and new technologies often change the dynamic quite suddenly (when was the last time anyone needed to put a block of ice in their refrigerator*). And while new technology might change some aspects of human behavior it does not change the underlying needs. As such guests will always need a way to be herd and will demand feeling safe in a place far from home.
*For those who don’t know before electric refrigerators were common there was the ice box, a box where you literally placed a block of ice in to keep things cool. This ice was often delivered daily from a cart and horse. Some older cities have a building called the icehouse, where the daily ice came from.
Key Takeaways
Analog phones were at first a new technology in guest rooms, then a revenue center, and now a life safety feature.
Because guests will always want to feel safe the analog phone will remain for years to come.
Analog phones will eventually be replaced but likely only by something that provides the same capability but in a more convenient or cheaper way (i.e. Wi-Fi phones).
About Phonesuite
Phonesuite is the single-sourced, hospitality communication solution for hotel managers and owners who need a reliable, simple-to-implement telephony platform that supports both SIP and analog phones. For over 25 years, Phonesuite has been the proven choice for modern, open-architected integrated hotel communications for over 5,500 hotel installations. Our products, combined with our nationwide dealer support and engineering expertise, create reliable communication solutions that meet or exceed all hotel requirements. In addition to our local and regional reseller channel, our turnkey solution is also now available factory direct. For more information, visit Phonesuite.com or email [email protected].
Aaron BaileyProduct ManagerPhonesuite
