Remote yet close

“I hope that Rensen will continue to retain that individuality”

 “Anything that sticks when you turn a hotel upside down and shake it vigorously is my responsibility,” laughs Nico Buelens, head of maintenance at AccorInvest for hotels in the Benelux and the UK. “From facade installation, drains to kitchen installations. Actually everything on a technical level, including the building management system and that is where Rensen comes in.”

The collaboration between Accor Invest and Rensen already existed before Nico took office five years ago. “The experiences with Rensen were and are good. If there is a problem, Rensen will solve it. But Rensen does more, they really think along with us.” As an example, Nico mentions the global platform Recap of the AccorInvest hotels, on which energy consumption, temperatures, but also all other parameters in their hotels are indicated in order to become carbon neutral. “For the Benelux we share the data that we receive via Rensen's system. In order to be able to make adjustments to the programming at any time, Rensen has adjusted it in such a way that the Recap system does not need to be changed but always receives the correct information.

Added value
Admittedly, Nico does not think Rensen is cheap. “I'm sure I can find my stuff cheaper elsewhere, but then I won't get the same partnership as we now have with Rensen. The knowledge of our hotels, thinking along or developing something especially for me, that is the added value of Rensen. And that is difficult to express in money. Recently a subcontractor did not want to work with Rensen because he thought they were too expensive. According to him it could be done cheaper. End of the story? We lost more money than if we had worked with Rensen.”

There is another reason why Nico likes working with Rensen. “Many system houses only do programming and maintenance, but not the electrical part. Rensen does everything. From building control cabinets to installing sensors. I have one point of contact and I love that. I don't want to have to arrange that I have a box and a sensor, but still have to make a connection between them. That is not necessary at Rensen.”

Invisible and indispensable
What Nico is also very happy with is that they work via the Cloud. “Previously we had the VPN system, but you had to plug in on the spot to solve a problem. Now this can be done remotely. In a lobby or meeting room, it can go from twenty to three hundred people within an hour. It is very nice that our maintenance managers can remotely see what the situation is and subsequently lower the temperature temporarily, for example.” Nico gestures around him. “People see the tables, the bar, the design, but our work is invisible. As long as we do our job well, no one will notice. Only when things go wrong, for example because hotel guests are too cold, does it become clear how important a good building management system is.”

The fact that the collaboration is solid is evident from the fact that Rensen will be providing more hotels in Belgium with a building management system in the near future. “It is precisely Rensen's personal character that appeals to me so much. Rensen has grown considerably in recent years, but I don't feel that as a customer. I don't have to deal with a manager's manager, but I can interact directly with both technicians and management,” says Nico enthusiastically. “I hope that Rensen will continue to retain that individuality.”