FREMONT, CA—Travel, whether for business or for leisure, drains not only energy but power—specifically, device power. Business travelers and tourists alike find themselves plugging in until the time they leave their rooms, ensuring enough energy for the day. And, upon returning, plugging in their devices to charge yet again.
While hotel guestrooms are evolving to accommodate the need to power up, the number of devices travelers have is also growing, making it burdensome to find enough outlets for all to charge at once, especially in one area of the guestroom.
Using a phone, laptop, iPad and other devices at once for work is commonplace, but inconvenient if all are scattered across the guestroom to charge.
Hoping to solve this is Accell—a company that has been supplying power products to the hospitality industry for more than nine years—with two solutions aiding in the device charging debacle: The Power Dot Office and the Power Dot Wall chargers.
The Power Dot Office is a compact desktop power station with a dedicated center space to hold an IoT hub. It has four surge-protected swiveling AC outlets, allowing for more room for power bricks and USB-C and USB-A charging ports. The Power Dot Series is the first product from Accell to integrate the IoT hubs.
“Your hotel guests are traveling with more electronics and are always looking for a way to charge safely,” said Christine English, business development manager, Accell. “The Accell Power Dot Office has the best features for your rooms. Surge protection keeps all their electronics safe from power fluctuations, and USB-A and USB-C ports allow for the greatest flexibility in charging phones and other devices. Choosing the right length cord—either eight or 16 ft.—allows you to utilize the underused outlets and place the Accell Power Dot Office right where the guest can use it—desktop or tableside. In addition, this is available in black or white so you can coordinate with your hotel decor.”
English explained that the Accell Power Dot Wall is a wall charger that offers a secure holder for Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation and two additional USB charging ports. Because of its compact size, it does not block the other outlets on the wall. Additionally, the hub itself offers a clean look and neat cable management so it doesn’t interfere with guestroom design.
“The Power Dot Wall differs from typical IoT wall-mount devices in that it offers easy cable management around the holder while improving the aesthetics. It also provides two additional USB charging ports and does not use or cover both ports on regular wall AC outlets, which is quite common in other similar products,” English said.
According to English, the Accell Power Dot Office is the most popular unit because of its many features and unique shape, which provides charging versatility.
“The outlets are spaced in such a manner that even larger power bricks can plug in without covering other outlets like what happens with most power strip models,” English explained.
The Power Dot Office is used outside of the guestroom as well, in hotel boardrooms, business centers and conference areas because of its surge-protected AC outlets, USB ports and IoT management.
“Conference centers have been using the Accell Power products for many years with their convenient shape, ability to hold more power bricks and USB ports,” English said
English added that the Power Dot Office offers safety and fire protection with X5 MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) technology, which provides surge protection by detecting surge conditions and reacts by directing excess energy away from equipment through the electrical grounding system.
“The MOVs are encased in a fireproof material, fully containing the heat created by the power surge and eliminating the threat of fire,” she added. “This advanced X5 MOV technology fully protects connected equipment from hazard during an abnormal or catastrophic surge event and provides a longer protection lifespan than regular MOV.”
The Power Dot Office can also help with noise reduction for increased power. English explained that power fluctuations often decrease equipment performance, but it has up to 40 dB filtration power, isolating equipment from power generated noise for a better picture and sound when used with an audio or video device.
These features, coupled with the 90-degree flat-end plug of the Power Dot Office, make the product flexible, even in spaces with limited outlets or behind furniture for seamless integration in any hotel space.
“We will see more Accell Power products in hotels,” English said. “As hotels compete for guests, [they’ll want] more conveniences like charging that can be presented in a useful and stylish manner. The Accel Power line has what the hotels and guests are looking for.”