Rotana announces Avaya led mobile app with video technology

Rotana today announced that it has collaborated with Avaya to pilot a first-of-its-kind video-enabled contact centre, via a mobile app, in the Middle East.

The mobile application is designed to enhance the customer experience for existing and potential customers of the region’s Rotana hotels by using different methods of communication.

The app will include a ‘click to call’ feature which connects customers to a contact centre, via video link, in Abu Dhabi, which Avaya claims is capable of dealing with thousands of calls.

“The application is designed to cater personally to each customer,” said Frederick Sabty, Director of Emerging Technologies, Middle East, Avaya.

“The implementation ensures that a customer can choose which method of communication they want to use. They can call up and see a face and discuss bookings and services or they can just click a couple of buttons and be done, it’s simple.”

Omer Kaddouri, Executive Vice President and COO, Rotana, said: “A hotel’s communications strategy and the networking infrastructure behind it are among the most critical elements for success in our business, and Rotana has selected Avaya solutions because of its reliability, openness and operational efficiency.”

“Avaya made things very easy for us, they listened to what our customers said they wanted and they provided the right technologies for us to answer the demands,” he added.

Rotana is the first group in the Middle East to pilot the video-enabled customer service as well as a next-generation communications option which can enhance the customers travel, delivering a more personal and experimental  level of interaction.

“This app changes the way users communicate with us. It can offer them the best available rates, they can discuss loyalty points programmes, contact room service, anything they want,” said Samir Abi Frem, Corporate Vice President of IT, Rotana.

“We have common goals with Avaya in terms of delivering next-generation technologies and solutions to consumers, they were the ideal choice for us in regards to this implementation,” he added.

“In a technology landscape that is continually changing and a competitive hospitality market across the region, every point of customer interaction should be strengthened and streamlined to meet changing client needs,” said Nidal Abou-Ltaif, Vice President of Emerging Markets, Avaya.

“Rotana is underscoring the importance of offering customers increased choice and flexibility in how hotel visitors and tourists communicate.”

Avaya will be demonstrating a fully operational version of the application at GITEX.