InterContinental is the latest firm to utilise videoconferencing to connect customers with staff.

Beginning on the 14th of March customers of the upscale hotel brand will be able to use Apple’s Face Time application to speak with concierge service at Intercontinental properties. The hotel firm said that it had begun the program at nine of its properties worldwide by equipping its staff with Apple’s iPad 2 tablet devices. Throughout the unit, concierge staff can speak with customers and provide advice and information before they’ve even arrived at the hotel.

A spokesperson for the upscale hotel chain said to Relaxnews that guests with reservations at the InterContinental properties can utilise the service via logging into a special website and reserving a time spot for a Face Time discussion regarding their upcoming stay.

The launch of the Face Time program follows the start of a similar scheme at InterContinental’s major rival Starwood hotels, which owns several major brands including Le Meridien, W Hotels, Sheraton and Westin. The company said in January that customers would be able to use Face Time for conversations with staff regarding bookings, account balances and general details about hotel properties. Starwood is now reportedly seeking to expand the program to more properties and to additional videoconferencing platforms.