Muthoot Plaza, the ehotel

Muthoot group and Sarovar Park Plaza have joined together to present Kerala's first e-hotel, The Muthoot Plaza, a new five star hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. From the very outset the guest is on `e-mode' beginning from opening of the door not with a metallic key but a smart card. 

Once inside the room, an interactive television welcomes the guest and urges him to use the remote to get a variety of services including menu, ordering of food and beverages, flight, business and tourist information, update on room rent and food bills incurred and a variety of other services. "In fact our television triples up as a interactive TV, cable program provider and Internet services provider," according to Darshana Sheth, a spokeswoman for Sarovar Park Plaza. Safe inside the room is electronic and password protected while bedside panel controls help the visitor get a variety of things done including calling for room service, switching on and off lights, controlling AC temperature and a variety of other thins at his or her convenience either on bed or chair. In standard rooms, the audio of the cable channels is played through additional speakers in the bathroom and also allows you to make a phone call even while in the `glamour room.'

However, managing a `e-hotel' is not that easy, the hotel staff would testify. The LAN's and the servers shouldn't fail. Moreover, not all business class travelers are `e-crazy'. So the hotel staff has to familiarize the visitors with the technical gizmos. PC's are available on hire and coffee shop also has Internet browsing facility.

Muthoot Plaza built at a cost of Rs 15 crore and owned by the Muthoot Group, Kerala's leading financial company is managed by Mumbai based Sarovar Park Plaza Hotels and Resorts. "Even with high tech gizmos and a five star label, our hotel is still affordable," says Thomas John Muthoot, Managing Director of the Hotel. The concept of a e-hotel is only catching up in the country and perhaps Muthoot Plaza has taken an early lead in this direction.

(CNS)