Hotel & Motel Management - June 16, 2008 - (Page 24) Special Report TECHNOLOGY TRENDS H&MM June 16, 2008 | HotelMotel.com HITEC will focus on education, including the Guestroom 2010 project that spotlights future technologies. HITEC to feature ‘cool’ changes By Jason Q. Freed SENIOR EDITOR Austin, Texas–The Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals team began planning 16 months ago for what will be the “coolest” Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference yet, said Frank Wolfe, c.e.o. of HFTP. Wolfe said attendees will recognize some changes this year. Most importantly, the conference starts earlier in the week— on Mon., June 16. And Guestroom 2010, the showcase of future technologies that is a popular staple at HITEC and other hospitality tradeshows throughout the year, will receive a new name. Wolfe said the HITEC advisory council thought it would be a good idea to move the opening sessions to Monday afternoon instead of starting on Tuesday. The welcome reception will follow immediately afterward. “It creates an empty night on Tuesday so suppliers will have more time to entertain,” Wolfe said. Wolfe said he is excited about this year’s Fewer clothes, less cost In response to increases in checked-luggage fees, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals is asking HITEC 2008 attendees to dress in businesscasual attire. “We are trying to help people cut down on luggage,” said Frank Wolfe, c.e.o. of HFTP. “Come comfortable—leave the suit and tie at home.” Wolfe said if the announcement can reduce the amount of suitcases flying to Austin by 500, it could make a significant impact on jet fuel costs. Guestroom 2010, which will actually receive a new name through an announcement at the show on June 19. “We hope that this year is the coolest,” he said. “There is going to be a lot of new technology in there.” Wolfe said the focus of the show is education. “The tradeshow is as important to education as the conferences are,” he said. “That’s one reason we started the supplier sessions that are specifically designed by the suppliers to teach about technologies.” Anthony Fonzo, a product marketing manager with Philips, said the television manufacturer will be displaying many new trends in the commercial television industry at HITEC. “You’ll see technology that’s advanced, but technology that’s not too complicated,” he said. Among the new technologies Philips will be displaying are: Advanced control HITEC technologies that can be imbedded into the display, such as HVAC and lighting controls; “Smartpower” technology, where a television runs at nearly half power and can lead to significant energy savings; and builtin solutions for pay-per-view options. Ermis Sfakiyanudis, c.e.o. of eTelemetry, an Internet- and bandwidth-monitoring solution, said he’s expecting to “make some good contacts” at HITEC. The company recently released Notify, software that allows hoteliers to delegate bandwidth to individual guests and message them when they are in need of upgrading to premium bandwidth. “We expect to get some good exposure, get the message out and let [hoteliers] know this tool is available,” Sfakiyanudis said. jfreed@questex.com shape deployments. You could do some innovative deals.” One innovative way vendors are suggesting hoteliers operate more efficiently is by monitoring guests’ broadband activity. By doing this, hoteliers could save on massive bandwidth upgrades by simply allocating bandwidth to certain areas or individual guests. Wayport is one company thinking along the same lines. In a presentation titled, “Improve guest satisfaction and operational efficiency by leveraging your network investment,” Wayport’s v.p. and g.m. of hospitality Kevin McKeand made a case for convergence at the property level. He said a small initial cost can save hoteliers plenty in the long run. With a converged network of voice, video and data, hoteliers and service providers can more efficiently manage network services, McKeand said. Costs can be reduced at the property level by reducing labor hours. Revenue can be increased by offering revenuegenerating services, such as movies and telephone services. “Once a converged network is installed, we can control the use of the network,” McKeand said. “Each guest that logs in agrees to See Tech | page 30 Transforming tech Continued from page 1 technology by just 2.8 percent this year. That is a substantial downward revision from the 4.6 percent growth that Forrester was predicting in December.” While the economy teeters on the brink of a recession, significant advances in technology flourish. As a result, hoteliers struggle with high-cost upgrades needed to provide the best broadband access, wireless Internet, high-definition television, property-management and yield-management programs and point-of-sale equipment. that if it doesn’t have fully understood long- and short-term plans to add value to the business plan, it’s difficult to get anything done,” Maradik said. “The c.e.o. and the board both have to know the context. You have to be able to say, ‘here’s where IT fits into the business plan,’ and if everyone is on the same page it helps.” Maradik helped Gaylord develop a three-pronged review process to determine whether funds should be allocated to new technologies. A technology board meets monthly to review new services and products, analyzing effectiveness, efficiency and value. Gaylord case study “When it comes time to impleIn March, Gaylord Hotels took a big step by deploying wireless ment a value plan so we can make networks throughout each of its an allocations decision, we look four resorts, providing guests with at a five-year road map,” Maradik said. seamless Internet access When pondering in all guestrooms and whether to install a wirepublic spaces. less network, the board Gaylord’s chief indug even deeper. Maraformation officer, Rich dik said Gaylord impleMaradik, was an integral mented three phases of part of the decision-makinvestment: give customing process. ers what they want, drive “At the end of the back-end savings (such as day, one challenge tech- Maradik internal cell phone cost nology has in general is GAYLORD GAYLORD HOTELS Gaylord’s new D.C.-area Gaylord National property charges guests an additional $5 for wireless service as part of its resort fee. reductions) and deliver a wireless experience that will drive return customers. So how did Gaylord afford completely rewiring all four resorts? Easy. They charged the guests. “We raised the resort fee another $5,” Maradik said. “It’s what you pay when you go to the resort; it’s not an opt-in feature,” he continued. “Before it was $10, now it’s $15. With the additional costs, you get a couple bottles of water, wired and wireless Internet access. “We think it stacks up pretty well for the value,” he said. Maradik said Gaylord executives realized there would be a significant up-front cost to install the system, especially with the sheer size of the four resorts. But, he said the culture at Gaylord is to invest in tools that make the guests happy—not to mention the return on investment analysis that resulted in a 7- to 10-year payback. “When we looked at our competitive set, most resorts were offering an opt-in model where guests must pay per day for wireless access,” Maradik said. “If you look at what we provide in our resort fee, it actually will cost the guest less.” Work with vendors Maradik said Gaylord has a solid roadmap when it comes to implementing technology upgrades, and that the company hasn’t tabled anything because of tighter times. He said there are creative ways to get deals done when you’re on a strict budget. “We were very aggressive at working with the vendors,” Maradik said. “If you know where you want to go, it’s just a question of how you want to get there. A lot of technology vendors are willing to http://HotelMotel.com
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