2005 Wireless Report

For years, analysts, pundits and even an editor or two have predicted that wireless technology would revolutionize the hospitality industry. We are not going to go down that road• because it is already too late.

Wireless networks have already changed how service is provided at hotels and restaurants across the world. Whether it is Internet access for guests at Colonial Williamsburg or wireless point-of-sale at Citizen's Bank Ballpark, wireless has clearly made a splash.

Still, it is not the splash that causes wonder. Rather it is the ability of a regional manager to grab a cup of coffee at a Starbucks, open up her laptop and see real-time sales figures for all her stores. It is the ability for a conference hotel employee to walk out and meet a tour bus and begin checking guests in before they reach the door.

We've come a long way over the past few years, more than we realize. Now that many hotels and restaurants have wireless networks in place, the next step is to expand your horizons. The articles that follow provide a guide to the steps hotels and restaurants need to take to implement wireless technology, but even more importantly, the technologies that will help you leapfrog your competition.