Challenge Of Choosing From Fluid Technology Arena Looms Over Hotel Industry

NEW YORK— No one suspected decision-making would get easier when it comes to hotel technology, but 2001 is becoming a year when decisions that have already been made will have to be re-made— thanks to the technology wash-out. Thats because hotels that had contracted for wired access discovered their suppliers no longer found them to be profitable partners, and were thus left high and dry without receiving their Internet installations. What to do in the wake of this wash-out remained a key challenge for the industry, from hotel corporations down to properties on the local level. Others that had signed up with e-procurement companies found some of those decisions to be lacking in appeal. Starwood nixed its deal to have Zoho as its purchasing platform, while properties working with hsupply.com last November learned that high-flying start-up was shutting its doors because it was, quite simply, out of cash. Other purchasing dot-coms were reporting financial woes; as of presstime, PurchasePro restated its first-quarter earnings downward by 45% “without explanation.” Left to rethink some of these vendor moves, hotel companies still had the typical decisions of what type of technology to select for their properties. In some cases, properties preparing for opening suffered from the thought of having to make their in-room entertainment vendor selections too early, knowing that new, digital options were just on the horizon. High-speed Internet access in 2001 remains the greatest challenge, as some hoteliers grappling with whether to install the service now wonder if wireless is instead the new way to go. One thing is certain, however, there is no longer a free-installation model, which CAIS, STSN and Virtualinc had served up, as that plan, based on revenue-sharing, has proved for the most part to be unprofitable. Those who havent made any Internet decisions may have made the best move, as new technologies are sure to be available soon. The only question is, how much longer can a hotel go on without providing the services? Other issues, like how to build a hotel that would be prepared to receive future technology that hasnt even been created yet remains another chore, one which some executives report has awakened them in the middle of the night. If all that isnt enough, word is out of an entirely new technology called Bluetooth, which will dramatically affect the hotel industry, and it will be rampantly available to consumers within months. Whether to gear up for this new platform, which has the ability to allow hotel guests use their chip-enabled cell phones to check in, check out and even open their guestroom doors, is something most hotel corporations are presently pondering. But, many of those executives who must cull through these challenges seem to savor it, and most of them will be present at this years HITEC show, being held in Orlando through June 28, which is expected to draw a record crowd.