Premier Inn

Premier Inn selects cost-saving hardware that improves customer service and provides ‘greener’ printing solutions

Premier Inn, a brand of Whitbread PLC, is the UK’s largest and fastest-growing hotel brand with 580 budget hotels and more than 40,000 rooms across the UK.

The company has recently taken the decision to introduce self-service check-in kiosks in a number of its hotel reception areas as well as replace some of its traditional A4 laser printers at the reception desk. These changes have enabled Premier Inn to not only benefit from cost-saving hardware and ‘greener’ printing solutions but also provide improved customer service.

Through the introduction of the self-service check-in kiosks into a number of its hotel reception areas, Premier Inn has reduced queues at busy times with guests simply having to enter their booking confirmation number/surname and insert their payment card.

Integral to the kiosk is the TUP992 from international printer manufacturer Star Micronics. The TUP992 holds large capacity paper rolls measuring up to 25cm and ranging from 65gsm/0.065mm to 150gsm/0.15mm in thickness. Capable of two-colour output at a fast 150mm per second, the TUP992 offers a multi-position adjustable near end paper sensor, presenter and document capture facilities. Furthermore, the printer features an A4 to A6 scalable raster driver facilitating reduced legible A4 or Internet output on 112mm wide paper.

For the reception desk, Whitbread has selected the TSP800 printer from Star Micronics to replace a traditional A4 laser printer. Small and compact, this thermal printer offers a versatile 150mm/second barcode, label, receipt and ticket printer with a unique 104mm print width on paper stock up to 150g/m2.

Key features of this printer include an automatic scalable raster driver for immediate A4 reduction to virtual A6 on 112mm wide paper with no additional software required. This makes the TSP800 with its compact footprint, vertical ‘desk boot’ and wall mount options an ideal space-saving alternative to an expensive traditional A4 laser printer.

Trefor Price, IT Project Manager at Whitbread PLC, states, “We selected the TUP992 and TSP800 printers from Star Micronics for their unique features and benefits, reliability and efficient printing capability. Reducing queues at busy times and providing an improved service to our customers are key. At the reception desk, the TSP800 allows us to not only save space, reduce costs and CO2 emissions but also provide a more efficient billing