Cloud Computing

In the competitive lodging and travel industry, hotel operators are seeking innovative ways to drive business and enhance the service they provide to guests. Technology is increasingly becoming a key differentiator. Hospitality Technology has selected three lodging operators to honor with 2014 Hotel Visionary Awards. Red Lion Hotels for its inspired website and booking channel, La Quinta Inns & Suites for its performance management solution, and Mandarin Oriental for its physical IT test lab that mimics an actual guest room. This month's cover story offers exclusive interviews and profiles of each award-wining initiative.

Launched as a Cendyn subsidiary in April, CendynONE made its HITEC debut with a cloud-based platform for creating integrated guest engagement campaigns across all platforms: email, web, display, mobile, video, social and search.

In-room control system from Evolve Controls, administered through Microsoft Azure cloud platform, ensures flexibility, consistent delivery of services that delight the guest.

Both Buuteeq and HotelNinjas will belong to the same part of Priceline focusing on providing B2B services to hotels

Thompson Chicago unleashes guest services from front desk with StayNTouch's Mobile PMS Overlay.

Restaurants spend a third of their total IT budgets on POS technology, and the market is hot for new investments. Within the next two years, 35% of restaurants plan to replace their POS. This POS showcase keeps buyers up-to-date on new hardware and software releases, including: mobile POS; all-in-one units; cloud-based POS; POS integration and more. (Sponsored)

Breckenridge Grand Vacations cuts online booking time by 50 percent with a flash-accelerated storage solution.

The 10th annual Hotel Technology Forum offered insights and valuable networking opportunities centered around the themes of loyalty, connectivity and integration. Here HT recaps just a few of the many highlights from HTF 2014.