HB ON THE SCENE: Experts Assert Enhanced Guest Experience Should Be Main Tech Goal

MINNEAPOLIS— Today at the 2006 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference, which is being held here at the Minneapolis Convention Center, the annual Ask the Experts panel session convened with most of its topics centering on the need for hotel technology to enhance guest experiences, which is a fact that some owners have apparently forgotten over time. Moderated by Richard Siegel, the president and publisher of Hospitality Upgrade magazine, the session featured Jon Inge, president of consulting firm Jon Inge & Associates; Doug Koontz, director of technology at Morgans Hotel Group; Mark Ozawa, managing director at Accuvia Consulting; Nicholas Price, chief information officer and chief technology officer at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Ltd.; and Michael Schubach, vp of resort technology at ClubResorts/ClubCorp. The session began in an unusual fashion with the introduction of two local Minneapolis residents who were asked to talk about their hotel technology experiences and needs. While one was a college student and the other a senior citizen, both noted that when they travel neither remains in their hotel rooms for long and, consequently, such technological amenities as LCD high-definition televisions are not important to them. Such information was not lost on the panelists, who proceeded to emphasize that technology must enhance guest service and not be used just to compete with other properties. “Technology is not a substitute for good service at all,” Price said. “This business is still all about bed, bath and breakfast with everything else on top of that. And there is no technology that is a substitute for good personal experience. Technology is all about making the guest experience better. But there’s no silver bullet.”