The Club at Admirals Cove

Leon Denton serves as the director of information technology at The Club at Admirals Cove, one of the most distinguished country living clubs in Jupiter, Florida. Denton started his journey as an assistant general manager at a restaurant group and has since held numerous IT positions at different organizations. Backed by a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Denton is well-recognized for his unmatched abilities in strategic digital services. 

In an interview with the editorial team at Travel and Hospitality Tech Outlook, Denton discusses the significance of data and its role in the era of smart hospitality.

What are some of your key roles and responsibilities as the director of technology at The Club at Admirals Cove?

Over the last three years, I have reconstructed the entire IT infrastructure at The Club at Admiral's Cove. From internet service providers and firewalls to servers and phone systems, the technology here was outdated when I arrived. There were numerous challenges in terms of the reliability of the Wi-Fi and phone systems. I rebuilt everything from top to bottom, including switching the cabling for the entire property.

What are some of the major challenges impacting the travel and hospitality industry?

People today pay very little attention to their security. Those who travel and visit hotels and country clubs are unaware of what technology is capable of today. Mobile phones are now performing a lot more tasks than before. If their devices are connected to a public internet connection, they are susceptible to a lot of danger, and yet people are willing to hop on to any wireless internet connection. The different applications on their mobile devices put their personal information at risk. They need to be aware of how they use their mobile phones when not connected to a secure network.

What are some of the technological trends that have helped tackle these pain points?

Implementing measured technical software to mitigate risks is the way forward. It is not about ‘if’ but ‘when’ something happens. How do you recover from such a situation?

It is imperative to have a plan or a procedure in place to tackle such situations. This is possible by identifying risks beforehand and creating a resilient plan to bounce back effectively.

"Data is the new gold, and if you don’t protect the data within your environment, you will be in a host of trouble. My advice to my peers would be to continue to be resilient and fight the cyber security battle." 

Be it a hotel, restaurant, country club, or resort, staying up to date on your cyber security needs is of utmost importance. Regardless of the type of IT support, in-house or outsourced, organizations need to identify risks, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities within their network and ensure that it is protected.

Could you shed some light on one of your recent projects?

One of the current projects I am working on is an emergency response system for active shooter situations. Active shooter training has become very important in recent times. An armed individual can enter a workplace anytime, and the organization needs to be prepared to tackle such situations to protect employees and other individuals in the building.

This can be achieved by strategically placing emergency buttons that would trigger an alert to the authorities in case of an event. When activated, the system will send all the necessary information to the local authorities as well as the on-campus security.

We recently implemented such a system here, making us better prepared in case an unfortunate incident happens. The system can be improved further by training staff about the emergency response system and training with the local police and on-campus security to identify the best motions to go through in case of an event. We have conducted mock drills here to be prepared to protect our environment in the best ways possible.

What does the future hold for the travel and hospitality industry?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the hospitality industry. AI and autonomous machines are becoming increasingly prevalent across the industry. From vacuum cleaners for cleaning hallways to machines for picking golf and tennis balls, AI is all around us. Hotels have also implemented autonomous delivery systems where robots deliver at the door. AI holds limitless potential and will remain at the forefront of the industry for years to come.

What would be your sage advice for industry veterans and fellow peers in this field? 

Data is the new gold, and if you don’t protect the data within your environment, you will be in a host of trouble. My advice to my peers would be to continue to be resilient and fight the cyber security battle. Protect your environment in the best way you can with the software and hardware it needs. Speak to the decision-makers and ensure you have the necessary items in place to protect your environment.