Technology for the Next Generation Travelers

The next generation travelers have been described as being highly educated individuals with a desire to travel. They are very demanding and seek the latest trends in technology. They have grown with technology and expect hotels to adapt to technology. The top four in-room technologies that all next-gen travelers will love are: 1) iPhone applicability, 2) Converged services, 3) Plug and Play, and 4) Radio revolution.

iPhone applicability is solved through Hotel Evolution (from the company, Runtriz), which is a mobile touchscreen platform that allows hotel guests to utilize their iPhones to order room service, view hotel information, make reservations and schedule transportation. Everything is at their fingertips and the next-gen traveler is far to wired to browse through traditional hotel directories.

Converged services is offered with Fonekey, Inc. which provides a solution that allows travelers to access a wide variety of hotel services through a device they are most comfortable with: their cell phone. Guests can remotely make a reservation, check-in, obtain room assignments, unlock the door, adjust the room temperature, operate the guestroom safe, mini-bar and television, access guest services and even check out.

Plug and Play: When it comes to in-room entertainment, next-gen travelers are looking for more then just an HDTV in their rooms. What they want to have is the ability to connect laptops and gaming systems to large screen televisions to enhance the use of their devices. Hyatt Place is just one of a few hotel companies that are offering more then just a large flat panel HDTV. Its Plug Panels are connected to 42" HDTV's and come equipped with jacks to connect all of these devices for increased usability and enjoyment.

Radio revolution: Not very long ago the main piece of technology in the hotel room other then the TV was the clock radio. Today, the next-gen traveler would be insulted if this was the lone piece of musical entertainment in the room. The next-gen traveler wants to either plug their iPOD/MP3 player into a device that delivers a full rich sound or have a radio/CD player that delivers the same quality of sound. Bose Corporation is one vendor that has recognized the importance of the hospitality industry and next-gen traveler. Two of its product lines, Wave and 3.21 Entertainment systems, are fast becoming staples in hotel rooms.

ICE - The Interactive Customer Experience

Intelity announced their launching of ICE, an in-room concierge and back-end monitoring system that can drive the guest experience through service and personalization in the timeshare and fractional space. With ICE, the hotels will not only have a competitive advantage over some of their biggest rivals but it is also much of an amenity to the guests as it is an asset to the hotel. 

ICE is integrated into the hotels' point of sale software, allowing them to easily track guest requests and habits, as well as monitor daily operations, schedules, and performance levels. The guests can use ICE to book dinner reservations, spa appointments, review meeting details, and make requests. The hotels' managers and supervisors use ICE to ensure that the hotel is running smoothly and the staff is completing service requests in a timely manner. 

Every ICE interface is different because it is customized to the brand. All amenities, services and options are programmed to make the ICE experience uniquely your own. 

There are several benefits to the guests which are: in-room control, one-touch ordering, instant requests, automated amenity reservations, improved staff response, maps & weather, airline information, hotel & resort information, internet access, group messaging, SMS confirmations, pre-order services, and self-service solution. 

Not only are they beneficial to the guests, but also benefits the hotels through: increased RevPar, Real-time Marketing, increased average check, instant guest feedback, virtual welcome, brand building, SMS guest communication, real-time analytics, guest tracking, service monitoring, controlled upselling and better guest experiences. 

Also timeshares gain benefits from ICE, which are: in-room interactive guest messaging, incremental in-house tours, linkage tours, show rate, value-added guest experience, intelligent guest segmented reporting and reduced marketing costs. 

Hotel and Restaurant Reservations Never Got Any Easier!

There are two new services/applications that have been designed for the mobile phones. Lodging Interactive, an interactive marketing agency servicing the hospitality industry, has mobile services that enables hotel websites to be rendered on all major smart phones and cell phones, and provides direct website reservations capabilities for mobile users. Lodging Interactive creates a mobile website specifically designed for the hotel to ensure it is properly rendered on any cell phone. The technology can detect which cell phone platform and browser the visitor is using and display the most appropriate website rendering. So, visitors who are using Apple iPhones will enjoy a more complete mobile experience designed for the iPhone's Safari mobile browser. 

There is another application for iPhones, which is the OpenTable Application. OpenTable Inc. is a provider of free online reservations for diners and guest management systems for restaurants. OpenTable for iPhone allows diners to check the real-time availability of multiple restaurants in the area, get the restaurant's location, make free, confirmed reservations, and then follow directions to the restaurant. Diners simply specify the desired date, time and party size, and they are instantly provided with a list of available tables at nearby restaurants. They can also view results on a map, get directions to the restaurants and send emails complete with reservation information to friends. Additionally, registered OpenTable members have the ability to see their upcoming reservations, earn OpenTable Dining Points and view their current Points balances. This service is now available on iPhones as one of their applications, so now they can make reservations on their phones instead of on their computers. 

Microsoft Surface - A Brand New User Experience

Microsoft Surface is a revolutionary surface-computing platform. Microsoft Surface is a machine built from a standard Windows Vista personal computer and employs a camera-based vision system that lets users grab digital content with their hands and move information between objects with simple gestures and touches. The sophisticated system also recognizes fingers, hands, paintbrushes, tagged objects and a myriad of other real world items. With a 30-inch table-top display, multiple users can get together to interact with digital information and with each other. The rugged tabletop is able to withstand most everything from sticky hands to spilled drinks, and its viewing angle and brilliant display allow a number of users to see the screen while surrounding the table. 

Currently, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is the first major hotel chain to feature Microsoft's Surface in the public spaces of five hotels, which are Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Sheraton Boston, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Sheraton Seattle, and Sheraton Gateway San Francisco Airport. Sheraton's parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts said that it is a pilot program that could become chainwide. Sheraton is offering guests three applications free of charge: gathering information on the local destination, playing music provided by Sheraton, through the Surface's loudspeakers, and finding information about other Sheraton properties. 

I think that this product is going to revolutionize the hospitality industry with its innovative technology. 

MeetingMatrix LIVE!

Meeting Industry software provider MeetingMatrix International has announced its newest initiative with the introduction of MeetingMatrix LIVE!. MeetingMatrix LIVE! is a packaged collection of services that will allow any venue to fully and effectively interact with their meeting professionals from any touch point. It makes the most out of Meeting Matrx Certified Room Diagrams by leveraging them to gain worldwide exposure. All diagrams are accessible online through several portals including top meetings industry websites such as www.pcma.org, allowing any planner access to diagrams to help plan their meeting or event with the utmost accuracy and efficiency. The tools MeetingMatrix LIVE! provides will erase worries, uncertinty, and last minute scrambles, as well as provide a solution for many of the unique problems meeting professionals face today. 

The MeetingMatrix LIVE! packages is a revolutionary concept within the meetings and events industry. Many industry studies show that the most important criteria for meting planners when selecting a venue is accessing accurate floor and room diagrams The MeetingMatrix LIVE! package provides these critically important diagrams while at the same time, changing the way event and meeting planners conduct business. Meeting professionals will no longer have to tour property sites, spend hours taking pictures, and travel back-and-forth to the site when changes occur. Rather, they have all the tools they need to view and plan an event from their computer. 

"Using Technology to Bring Politics Out of the Darkness"

In the political world, there is a lot of light and darkness. "As more of the visible parts of government are explored with the precision of digital technology, there may well be pressure to reduce the area in darkness." This was one of  the topics discussed in the fifth annual Personal Democracy Forum, a conference in New York about the impact of politics on government. There was a lot less discussion about the use of social networks, such as Youtube, and blogs in campaigns this year but instead, the attendees were talking about how the next generation of Internet sites is going to affect the government.

One big theme is how to get more meaningful information from the large amounts of public data about politicians, government and those trying to influence them. For example, the Sunlight Foundation suggested that the data trying to influence the government needs to be made public more quickly. The article states that “Campaign contributions are published long after they are made, and lobbying activity is disclosed well after the votes in question are taken.” Although faster leaking of lobbying information may require laws to make it happen, but in some cases, peer pressure might help. The Sunlight Foundation has requested that legislators publish their schedules online. So far eight of the 535 have agreed. The group hopes that the example will encourage more lawmakers to do the same. 

Another issue is how some information about the government is controlled by private companies. MetaVid is a project of the University of California at Santa Cruz. It has stores videos of the proceeding of the House and Senate. It lets users search for any phrase mentioned (because it associates the closed caption transcription of what is said with the image). It also lets users annotate and comment on video as well as to insert clips of legislators on their own sites. Michael Dale, the researcher behind the program, said that because Congress owns the cameras in the House and Senate chambers, that video is public and MetaVid has full rights to use it. But C-Span, a cable news channel, pays for cameras in many hearings, and that video is more restricted. 

There is also a very interesting search engine, OpenCongress.org, that brings together information about proposed legislation, organized by bills. 

Nonetheless, the public has a hard time getting meaningful information, but for different reasons. A journalist has no reason besides laziness to omit a bill number from an article. C-Span has restricted access to the public for an economic reason: to get a return on their investment. Lobbyists prefer to be private. As people start to see value in the new presentations of the data that is available, they will demand better and faster disclosure of what's still kept in the dark. 

I think that this article will raise even more issues and demands from people to make more information public. The public knows the general information but never really knows what is the real truth. I wish that soon, the government, hopefully the new President, will tell the public the whole truth, and not keep some truth in the dark. 

ScheduleFlex - Advanced Session Conference Management Web 2.0

ScheduleFlex is the most interactive online conference catalog and session scheduler application in the Meetings Industry. ScehduleFlex was released by Cardinal Communications, a pioneer in online registration. It is now offered as a module to event registration software, but Cardinal Communications Chief Executive Rodman Marymor states that he plans to expand Schedule Flex into a full registration application in about a year. 

ScheduleFlex is built on Adobe Systems' programming technology Adobe Flex. Although the users access the application through a web browser, ScheduleFlex actually operates in Adobe Flash, which enables the animation and interactive features. It allows meeting planners to build an online version of a session catalog, making it easy for attendees to search for conference sessions by date, time or topic. It features the drag-and-drop function, where attendees can click on session titles from a searchable database and then drag the session onto a personal event calendar. Using the same method, attendees can also reserve time slots for one-on-one meeting at exhibitor booths. The calendar can then be printed in a "schedule at a glance" Adobe PDF file. 

This new technology is especially helpful for meeting planners who must manage a large number of sessions. They can easily reschedule sessions times and the system will show attendees not only the changed times but also whether the session conflicts with previously scheduled sessions. Planners can also limit session seat capacities and assign sessions to certain audience groups, such as presenters or employees. They can track in real time session sign-ups and cancellations. 

nTag, an Interactive Name Badge

There are a couple of different technologies that are used for conferences and events, such as Spot Me and The Event Assistant. Another technology is nTag, which is an innovative Event Data Management (EDM) system built around the world's first interactive name badge. nTag provides solutions to meet business objectives more effectively.

nTag has all your information that you filled in on the event's registration form and you can edit or add any information at any time during the event. nTag has the event agenda, directories and schedules of sessions where one can view at any time or personalize them. nTag makes it easy for attendees to network by lighting up when one approach an attendee with something in common. It helps breaks the ice and to start a conversation. In order to exchange information, one can do so through their nTag and one can even make notes about the person or the conversation to remind him/herself how to follow up using the electronic keyboard. The information is constantly available on the nTag webpage as well as on the nTag itself.

nTag is not only useful for conference attendees but it is also useful for exhibitors and sponsors. It helps them to better target their offers to the right audience for a higher quality leads. Exhibitors can send messages to attendees, who match a targeted profile, inviting them to see/visit their booth. The contact information that the exhibitors and attendees exchange are automatically sent to the exhibitors' sales offices and CRM systems for immediate action and follow up.

nTag is also used as a tool for engaging and getting feedback from the audience. It has a audience response application where the audience can answer the question on their nTag and the results automatically appears on the speaker's screen for display. nTag can be used by different speakers in different rooms simultaneously without any risk of data conflict. The data can be downloaded through other data management or other CRM systems to be used or made available even after the event. nTag can be used for polling, Q & A, voting, brainstorming and asessments and quizzes. It also has a surveys and questionnaires application where after the session or event, the attendees receive a survey or questionnaire to complete on their nTag. The results are made available right away on the nTag Event Dashboard.

nTag also makes it easier for event planners to manage the event. On the nTag Webpage Event Dashboard, it provides a complete real time view of on site activities so the event planner can make changes accordingly. So if there is one session which is appears to be more popular than expected, the event planner can move the session to a larger room and sent a message to the attendees to avoid any inconvenience.

Lastly, at any time during the event or after the event, attendees can log on to view their trip report on their personalized my nTag page. The trip report provides sessions they attended, booths they visited, and contacts that they made in a convenient format. The contact information is in a v-card format which they can automatically download to their Microsoft Outlook.

I think that nTag is has made one more step into making the conference and events run more smoothly for everybody, not only just for the attendees but also for the event planners, exhibitors and sponsors.

How to Keep Your Audience's Attention...

How can you make a strong first impression to the audience? You can do that by using water. One way meeting planners keep the audience interested is by 

projecting images through a 

wall of water. 

Water walls can be used onstage, mid-room or on a back wall as projection screens, or in a trade show booth. The water screens provide the unique visual experience of glimmering, rushing cascades, along with the rippling sounds of falling water. The screens work by creating a thin film of water ideal for rear projection of video, lasers, gobos (which created illuminated elements such as logos), and other lighting effects. The projection source can be a laser, video projector, or lighting fixtures with gobos, making images appear to float in front of the audience. The water falls from an overhead nozzle system into a basin, where it is recirculated by a high pressure pump. The surrounding area stays dry, with performers or speakers behind the system unaffected by the curtain of water. The systems are available in six or seven foot wide sections that can be joined to create screen sizes of 40 feet (or more) in width, with a screen height of 15 to 20 feet. Screens can be set up conventionally or to surround guests. 

There are also fog screens, which as created by using water to create a thin, suspended layer of dry fog that enables projection of images that appear to float. These are great for grand entrances and exits through laser or video-projected company logos, as well as for themed event content. 

Unfortunately, there are limitations like any technology. The water screens work best with low ambient light, so it can't be used during day time events. The technology is fairly costly. One manufacturer, Prina sells a seven-foot section with a screen, ejector, tank, hose, water pumps, and filtration system for $18,900. Most planners rent either through a production house or from a manufacturer like Prina, where the daily rental is $2,300. The longer the rental, the lower the price and it is estimated that three days would run $3,500, plus shipping. 

Nonetheless, water screens are becoming popular because of its eye-catching effects. They have been used at corporate meetings, orchestra performances, award ceremonies, etc. I think that this technology is definitely a plus for meeting planners to be aware of since it provides a different way to keep the audience's attention. 

The Event Assistant, Mobile Phone Application for Meetings

        A Dutch company, Log on has created a Web-based application that allows conference attendees to use their mobile phone to network, view the agenda, participate in polls, and more. The product is The Event Assistant. This application only allows the attendees who registered for the conference to view the mobile Web pages. The web pages allows them to search for people by name, title, or company, and in case of exhibitors, by product type and country. Through text messaging, conference organizers can send information out to individuals and groups such as "the seminar location has been changed to Room # " and it also conducts instant-response polls.  The Event Assistant also displays the agenda, where users can get information on the event, the presenters and personal meetings and can also order session presentations, as well as get information on the destination, venue, and transportation. 

       The service works on any device connected to the internet and on any type of connection regardless of the phone service provider. For phones without an internet connection, attendees can still register to receive SMS notifications, to participate in SMS voting and to order session presentations or exhibitor brochures. 

        The fixed cost of the system ranges from about $10,000 to $18,000 per event but it depends on the number of service modules selected. For repeat customers, the prices are about 50% lower and for small meetings, there is a less expensive version available. There is also a variable cost to the system, which depends on the number of SMS messages sent and received. The systems is set up with space for sponsor mentions on the Web pages, SMS messages and elsewhere. 

Tools that Gives the Audience a Voice...

With the technological advancements, the power is shifting from the speaker to the audience. Twitter, a Web 2.0 phone-based networked community, is a technology that allows them to speak their voice. The power shifting from the speaker to the audience is a trend that meeting professionals and speakers are starting to recognize and prepare for it. 

There are a couple of tools that are phone-based methods of engaging the audience to give them their say. One is Zuku which is a text message audience polling product. A speaker or meeting planner can set up an account for about $300 per year for unlimited use. For this, they will receive a phone-based audience polling and question system and a private webpage to set up and retrieve the responses. When a speaker or meeting host wants to receive questions or conduct a poll, all he or she has to do is ask the audience members to pull out their phones, and send a text message to a unique 6-digit short code. This message can either be a text question, or a numerical response to a multiple choice question. Responses are immediately tallied and displayed on a password protected page on the ZukuWeb website. This page can be protected to the audience on a screen for everyone to see just like a traditional audience polling systems, or reviewed by the speaker or moderator to respond to questions.

Another tool is VisionTree provides full audience polling, text questions, conference messaging, conference agenda services and more using the iPhone and other web-phone products. THey will come to your meeting, set up a local wireless network, and will pass out iPhones to those attendees who are not already carrying them. Questions can easily be submitted anonymously to the speaker. 

The Increasing Use of Technology is the Biggest Meeting Industry Trend

  The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International's (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings National and Event Technology Expo pre-show survey revealed that planners are noticing an increase in the amount of technology used for meetings, regardless of its size. The majority of meeting and event planners (57.5 %) are incorporating technology into their meetings with the use of online registration, followed by video conferencing (20.4 %), social networks (17.7%), and blogs (14.2%). Others mentioned the increasing use of electronic surveys, cyber cafes and podcasts. In addition, since the economy continues to be a big factor in meeting planning, planners are moving towards "greener" options for meetings. They are recycling, reducing waste by reducing the use of water bottles and cans, decrease on-site meeting materials, and relying on electronic information and meetings technology. 

       Technology was playing a role in the meeting industry, but now as technology is advancing as fast as it is, it's role in the industry has become even bigger. Also, because of the current economic status, meeting planners are looking to going green by recycling and even more heavily depending on the fast and advance technology. This goes to show that not only is technology becoming a big part of the industry but it is also becoming a huge part of our lives. 

(Certain) Airplanes Now Have Internet Access!!

        Aircell has launched a new technology, Gogo, that allows you to get broadband Internet Service on your laptop. But there is one thing that you cannot do, which is use this service for VoIP, the voice over Internet protocol services provided by companies like Skype. In other words, you cannot use this service to make a voice phone call because it will interfere with the avionics communications. Currently, the Gogo service is available on American Airlines for the cost of $12.95 for cross-country flights or $9.95 for those of three hours or less. By the end of the year, Delta Airlines and Virgin America plan to offer Gogo and Air Canada will offer Gogo on certain flights between Canada and the United States starting next spring. 

        I think that this is a huge breakthrough in the business world because when flying for a business trip since you won't be isolated from updated information while on the plane for hours. But, I believe that there is a pro and a con to this new Gogo service. For people traveling for business purposes, it is definitely a pro but for people traveling for leisure purposes, it is a con because now companies will assume that since there is internet access on airplanes that you know all of the updates. In other words, people traveling for leisure purposes can be bothered by their business. Of course, right now, there is a way to make it a pro for business and avoid being a con for leisure. For business people, they can deliberately book an American Airlines, since they are the only airlines offering this service so far. For leisure people, they can book on flights other than American Airlines because other airlines do not have this service yet. 

Blog 1 - Wi-Fi Service

As we have briefly discussed in class, I have found a short article talking about the Wi-Fi Services in the Hospitality Industry. The article states that Wi-Fi is the biggest technology demand in the industry right now. The American Hotel & Lodging Association has conducted a survey of hotel executives and the survey show that 86% of hotels now offer Wi-Fi. One-fifth of the remaining hotels plans to add the service within the next five years. The article also states that the number of hotels that are charging for their Internet services are decreasing. In 2004, 22% of hotels charged for in-room Internet access; in 2006, 19% of hotels charged for their Internet access; now only 16% of hotels charge. This article really shows evidence that the hotels know that they soon have to give away their Internet access for free, but they do not want to be the first to do so. From this article, I have realized that the guests will never be satisfied and will keep on wanting more and more. I wonder how much money does the industry need to spend to keep the guests content? How many more services will the industry need to provide?