Cover Story

This past April, Hospitality Technology magazine announced the winners of the 2012 Hotel Visionary Awards at the Hotel Technology Forum. Four forward-thinking hotels were awarded the honor in two categories: Infrastructure Innovator and Guest-Facing Innovator. This year's honorees are Flamingo Las Vegas, Gaylord Entertainment, Hilton Worldwide and La Quinta Inns & Suites. The executives behind the technology initiatives share the award-winning hotels' stories.

Black Angus Steakhouse battled back from bankruptcy to emerge with a growth roadmap to success. CEO Merry Taylor fills HT in on the details about the importance of investing in e-commerce initiatives, Black Angus Steakhouse's game-changing new sports bar concept and its profitable partnership with OpenTable.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas CIO, Kris Singleton, describes how transforming public spaces with guest-facing technology has enhanced the overall hotel experience. By extending amenities often reserved for in-room perks, The Cosmopolitan is offering the ultimate in connectivity for its guests across the entire property.

Papa Gino's CIO, Paul Valle, reveals how the company is embracing business analytics that delve deeper than merely financial metrics. By examining marketing, operations and customer feedback, Papa Gino's has been able to gain more complete intelligence and ultimately drive sales.

HT's Editorial Advisory Board, comprised of hospitality executives from a variety of industry segments, offers insights into what challenges and opportunities are emerging in technology for 2012.

HT covers all things relevant to your POS in 2012. Leading point-of-sale software developers recap the advancements they've made to their platforms this year, and share their innovation plans for 2012. Plus, HT reveals the results of the POS Reader Survey for must-have features.

The digital revolution is creating an imperative for technology and marketing departments to collaborate in new ways. Early on, the e-commerce and technology teams at Marriott International recognized this need, enabling them to reinvent marriott.com into award-winning platform. Get the inside story in this exclusive Q&A.

In May, Google marked its official entrance into the NFC-payment space with the introduction of Google Wallet. HT takes an in-depth look at this mobile payment advancement and its potential benefit to restaurants. Plus, Robert Notte, VP of IT for Jamba Juice, reveals the details behind his company's Google Wallet pilot.