NEC keynote to address facial recognition for hotel security

NEC will open the first ever TecSec Summit on September 28 as part of The Hotel Show Dubai, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The long-standing Dubai event, now in its 16th year, will introduce a new technology and security forum this year.

Several hotels currently have NEC’s facial recognition systems installed throughout their property to recognize the faces of guests, check registered guest information, identify guests and alert hotel staff of VIP or undesirable visitors.

“In the Middle East and Africa, the use of facial recognition technology has seen significant growth over the last two years particularly in Government sectors,” said Kees Van Donk, director of hospitality EMEA at NEC. “We foresee this rise will continue with neighboring industries in the region’s private sector including hospitality, airports, theme parks and other travel-related businesses. This for both scenario’s, white-listing, welcoming the VIP-guests, as well as black-listing, keeping the ‘bad guys’ out.

“Hoteliers are now beginning to understand that although a safe environment for guests should be a basic and given element and condition, situations can arise which cannot be determined or pre-planned. The available face recognition technology has now reached a level of maturity and accuracy that it can be used for ‘real life’ situations of varying levels of security threat. Terrorism, theft, violence and other security threats cannot be ignored and can now be monitored more closely and accurately. VIPs as well as undesirable guests including wanted criminals can be detected as soon as they arrive on a hotel property.”

The TecSec 2015 program will include cover a range of topics, including security and technology. Samer Abu Arisheh, Cisco Security’s regional security account manager will present, “How to minimize the risk of threats checking into your business”.

Ali Hashmi, Google’s industry manager of travel & government will speak on the topic of “Online behavioural traits of MENA millennials”, while Rayan Soumsom, Crestron’s technology manager for Middle East & Africa will present on “Transforming an integrated hotel into a smart hotel”.

The conference will also feature speakers from TravelClick Inc., GREENTEC AUTOMATION DMCC, and the Rotana, Mina Seyahi and Media One hotels.

Other topics will include, “The BIG IT Debate”; “Using social platforms to your advantage”; “Assessment of energy efficiency in hotels”; “Technology foundations for perfect guest experience”; “Global online bookings in Q2 2015 and trends for future”; “Can hotel rooms ever be too tech?”; and “How to satisfy tech savvy guests”.

Previously reported, NEC Corporation recently launched NEC Smart Hospitality Solutions, an integrated portfolio of solutions for the international hospitality industry that includes communications platforms, unified communications (UC) applications, property management systems (PMS), facial recognition systems, digital signage and guest room management systems.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  conference  |  hospitality  |  NEC  |  security