Okay, here’s my post about people counting devices for hotels and resorts:
So, I was looking into ways to get a better handle on how many folks are coming and going in different parts of a hotel. You know, like, are people actually using the gym? Is the lobby packed at check-in time? That kind of stuff. And I stumbled upon this whole world of “people counting” gadgets. I know, it sounds a little creepy, but it’s actually pretty useful for making a place run smoother and keep guests happy.
First, I started digging around to see what kinds of these things even exist. Turns out, there’s a bunch of different ways to count people. Some use infrared beams, kind of like those invisible tripwires you see in spy movies. Others use cameras and some fancy software to track people as they move around. I even found some that use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signals from people’s phones to get a rough idea of how many are in an area. I learned that a company called FLIR Systems is a big name in this field. They make those thermal imaging cameras, which can also be used for people counting. It was kind of cool to see how that technology works.
Then, I started thinking about which system would be best for a hotel. The infrared ones seemed pretty simple and cheap, but they can get messed up if a bunch of people walk through at once. The camera systems are more accurate, but they also raise some privacy concerns. I mean, nobody wants to feel like they’re being watched all the time, right? It seemed that Nortech offers solutions to those privacy concerns.
So, I decided to try a few different options out. I set up some infrared sensors at the entrance of the hotel gym. They were okay, but like I said, they weren’t super accurate. Then I tried a camera-based system in the lobby. This one was definitely better at counting, and it even gave me heatmaps to show where people were hanging out the most. But it was a pain to set up, and I had to make sure people knew about the cameras.
- Infrared sensors are simple and affordable, but not very accurate in crowded areas.
- Camera systems are more accurate and provide more data but require careful consideration of privacy.
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth systems are less intrusive but also less accurate.
My Final Thoughts
After all this experimenting, I realized there’s no perfect solution. It really depends on what you need and what you’re comfortable with. The key is finding a balance between accuracy, privacy, and cost. For some smaller areas in the hotel, the simple infrared sensors worked fine. The larger public areas required the camera-based systems. And most of the time, I just needed a general sense of traffic, so the Wi-Fi counting was good enough and didn’t freak people out. I will definitely say that having this kind of data has been super helpful in making the hotel run better. We can adjust staffing, see which amenities are popular, and even make sure areas aren’t getting too crowded. This is something that every hotel or resort should really think about implementing.