One of our main goals at Suite Exchange is to provide bed and breakfast owners with a fresh approach to innkeeping. One way we accomplish that is by arming you with information about products that you could (or should) be using in your bed and breakfast. Having said that, something often overlooked by innkeepers are alarm clocks. If a guest oversleeps because an alarm was set incorrectly, at best you have an upset guest who is now emotionally connecting this experience with your bed & breakfast. Worst-case scenario? The guest blames you and will spend the next several years relating the experience at every dinner party he ever attends. In order to avoid being the negative topic of discussion at dinner parties, and to complete the “bed” part of your “bed and breakfast” responsibilities, you need to make sure you provide the tools necessary to ensure your guests are getting up and out on time.
So which clock do you choose? Of course things like design and price will be a factor, but I would suggest there are two considerations that trump when looking for acceptable time pieces for your bed and breakfast: ease of use and device compatibility. Here’s 
why. First, although design and price are important you need to consider its primary function… waking up your guests. In order to complete that task it’s necessary for the clock to be set correctly. To ensure that it’s set correctly you have to plan for the weakest link, which in this case is a guest with zero technology experience. The solution is to either assist your guests with setting their alarms or find a clock that is easy to use.
The second consideration is device compatibility. You may have noticed that your guests are travelling with a lot more electronic devices then they were even 5 years ago. Today it’s unusual to see someone traveling without a portable electronic device like an iPhone, iPad or Android. As a result, many perceptive innkeepers have begun to design their rooms to accommodate the charging and use of these devices – and guests are responding positively.
Which brings us to t
his week’s review. Recently I had the chance to take the iHome iD37 clock radio for a test drive. It retails for $99 on the iHome website though a simple Google search showed the same clock retailing for as low as $70 at several online stores. The iHome is best known for audio devices designed for use with Apple products like the iPhone, iPad and iPod. It features the ability to wake to the standard alarm, FM radio or whatever compatible device you have connected to it.
Here are some of its features:
- Compatible with the iPod touch 1st GEN – 4th GEN, iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3GS & 4 and the iPad & iPad 2.
- Wake to ipod, iphone, ipad, custom playlist, alarm tones or FM radio (There is no AM radio)
- Programmable snooze time (between 1 and 29 minutes)
- Gradual wake, gradual sleep
- “Flexible dock” means no changing dock configurations for different devices
- 8 different dimmer settings
- 6 Radio presets
- Basic EQ controls
- “Time Sync” (instantly sets clock to iPhone or iPod time)
- Aux in jack
- “Sure Alarm” battery backup
- USB charging port
- Universal 100-240V AC adaptor
- Dimensions: 7.52″ W x 9.84″ H x 5.7″ D, Weight: 1.98
As I’ve discovered it’s often the smallest details that can make or break something (especially when you’re trying to re-invent a classic like the wheel, or say… the clock radio) and the iHome iD37 is no exception. The iD37 had several wins. One of the first things I noticed was that my iPhone sat solidly in the cradle. I’ve owned and used several different models of iHome and one complaint I’ve always had is that devices can sometimes feel insecure in the cradle. The solid feel of my iPhone in the device was a nice change.
It also has a nice feature called “Time Sync” which allows you to sync the iHome clock with the time on your iPod, iPhone or iPad with the press of a button. Other features include a programmable snooze, 6 radio presets, 8 different dimmer settings and 1 USB charging port that allows you to charge any other USB enabled device. I found that the clock speed varies (speeds up) when you’re changing the time or setting the alarm. That’s one of those small things that can really make a big difference in a product. Definitely a win. But it only speeds up enough to go from being extremely annoying to only mildly annoying. The way I see it that’s a fail on principle alone. I also discovered that by holding down the forward button the radio seeks forward to the next station. Win. But they didn’t include a “scan” feature. Really? Fail.
Unfortunately, the iD37′s last fail is also its biggest. I can overlook the fact that it’s boxy and ugly. I can even forgive its name. In fact, I gave the iD37 the benefit of the doubt when I couldn’t figure out how to set the alarm. But I did a little proof of concept. I set the alarm and put it in our head tech guy’s desk and had it go off with him present. I knew there was a problem when I watched our head tech guy (i.e. one of the smartest guys I know) scratch his head because he couldn’t figure out how to turn the alarm off. That was a fun day for me but it brought home that the alarm is the bottom line and if that fails, the product fails. Its an alarm clock, right? Even though the iD37 wins in several areas, if your guests can’t figure out how to set the alarm – or how to turn it off once it is set – it’ll just end up being more headache than it’s worth.
If every guest had an Apple device iHome products would work fairly well for bed and breakfast’s, inns and hotels. Unfortunately not all guests have iPhones and iPads and there will be guests who have trouble setting the alarm clock. So for now we’ll keep looking for a better solution. Please email me at articles@suiteexchange.com if you have found one you really like. So far we haven’t found one that meets all our criteria and that we can recommend with gusto.
As always, we will continue to search for the perfect products for your bed and breakfast. In the meantime, all of us here at Suite Exchange would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season!
Cheers all,
Rob Keone
Link to iHome iD37 website:
https://www.ihomeaudio.com/id37GZC/
I would love to see these in my room when I stay places – and wow I have been looking for one for home as well.
Great information – thx Rob!
Are you kidding me! $70-$100 for something that it looks like it takes a rocket scientist to operate??!! It would cost me up to $800 to use these in my little inn. I use a simple $5.99 battery operated alarm clock with four settings…alarm on, alarm off, set hour, set minute. NEVER in 12 years have I had a problem with that simple set up. Everyone, including my non-English speaking European guests can figure it out. Plus, since we are in a very rural area we have frequent power failures so anything that plugs in is a problem. Why does everything have to keep getting more and more complicated? Hi-tech is not ALWAYS the answer. I would not enjoy seeing one of these devices sitting on a nightstand and try to figure it out. I have better things to do on my vacation.
And besides that….almost everyone uses their cell phone for their alarm anyway.
You’re definitely right Peggy. Hi-tech is NOT always the answer. And for the solution of providing alarm clock’s for your guests a more “analog” solution may be the way to go. But every innkeeper we speak with reports to us that they’re seeing more of these devices being used by their guests and many innkeepers are indicating that they’re looking for an easy, cost effective way to accommodate guests with tablets and smart phones. That got us wondering here at Suite Exchange whether or not a compromise existed between the two. Although it doesn’t seem to exist at the moment we’ll keep following the technology for those who are interested and report what we find! Rob
Good article Rob. We spent a long winter a few years ago doing this same routine. I finally came up with one that was almost tolerable. We have to put directions in the room for “setting the alarm” though. Everything else seems to be self explanatory on the Timex T609T. I believe we got them from HDSupply. Let us know if you find a more friendly digital alarm with all of the bells and whistles. We have a lot of corporate business and our guests like having sounds, cd player, mp3 player plug in ability, alarm, clock that is lit, and AM/FM radio. Two months ago a gentleman checked in because he could tune a college football game on AM. Go figure!
Rob,
I purchased the Philips alarm docks over the holidays but am returning them today for the same reason…too complicated to work. We personally use the iH16 and it is easy to program and is unassuming on the nightstand but it is only for iPhones and iPods…not iPads which is a deal breaker for the guest rooms. They don’t make an iPad version of it.
Here’s one other feature that I find is critical…the digital display has to be large enough to read. Not everyone has 20-20 eyesight.
We are considering a two part solution. Leave our ten dollar alarm clocks in the room since our guests never seem to have any problems using them and offer small non-alarm clock docking stations. If they already use their phone/tablet as a travel alarm it still works but gives them speakers and if they don’t it will at east give them some nice speakers and a charging station for their gadget.
I hate more clutter in the room but right now don’t see another solution out there.
We’ve been considering that solution as well. For innkeepers who want to provide a place for their guests to charge their devices that may be the way to go for now at least!
Hi there I feel that the best alarm in the buisness of a B&B is the personal wake up by myself as the keeper of the Inn.
You will be greatly appreciated by your guests.
Many Happy smiles
Shirley from Willoughby manor B&B Canada
You know, what you’re saying about alarm clocks would be a convenient item to assist guests in waking up at a certain time to do what they plan to do. However, there are guests who appreciate this gesture, and then there are guests who appreciate the clock so much that they end up taking it for the remainder of their trip. Nowadays, there are so many different traveling alarm clocks available on the market. Maybe it would be a better thing to have the guests take their own traveling alarm clocks.