CHICAGO— Sprint and KoolConnect, which were on hand at last year’s HITEC to show off their fledgling in-room entertainment, high-speed Internet offering, this year announced they’ve signed a deal with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to deploy its Sprint InSite product in the Westin San Francisco Airport and the Westin Ft. Lauderdale. The goal, said Tom Patchin, director of sales for Sprint’s business market group, is to eventually get a contract for the entire Westin brand. The Sprint InSite product will be deployed over a Cisco-converged IP network at the two hotels. Starwood in March 2001 signed an alliance with Cisco to install broadband technology in its hotels. Cisco, meanwhile, signed a deal with Sprint last December to jointly sell IP-based broadband solutions. Sprint InSite provides a series of guest applications, including entertainment, high-speed Internet access, music, and digital movies on demand as well as online concierge services. The program works like this: when a guest checks into a hotel, they’re asked a series of simple preference questions, such as types of food they like, and what kind of television entertainment they prefer. When they get to their room, their television screen shows a personal greeting, and calls up restaurants according to the preferences they’ve indicated at the front desk. When searching for in-room entertainment, guests will also find out television shows available according to the genre (ie, comedy, drama) they’ve selected at check in. Hotels using the product will be able to customize it for their property’s image. Westin intends to use the product to further its identity as the brand “designed for today’s contemporary travelers who care about maximizing their comfort,” according to Starwood. — Ruthanne Terrero