Cover Story

For the 50-unit frozen dessert chain Tasti D-Lite, cross-department collaboration has spawned a customer engagement strategy that is helping to bridge the online/in-store gap. HT talks to VP of technology BJ Emerson about Tasti's social engagement roadmap, plus how the growing mobile and social trends are expected to change the face of loyalty as we know it.

The technology team at Caesars Entertainment not only develops IT applications, they're also involved in collecting and assessing guest feedback on these apps. HT talks to members of the IT team at Caesars, including CTO Katrina Lane, about how guest feedback, plus a bit of a thick skin, is helping to bring stronger technology to market, faster.

Hospitality Technology taps the collective wisdom of its Editorial Advisory Board to get the answers to many of your, and our, burning questions. This group of hotel and restaurant executives offers perspectives on the industry's pace of recovery, emerging technologies to watch, top challenges for the year ahead, and more.

If your New Year's resolutions typically loose their “umph" by Groundhog Day, maybe it’s because the shadow of their past is haunting them. This year, HT offers a fresh approach to four technology projects that have been on many executives’ to-do lists for too long: menu labeling, social media, PCI, and table-side ordering and payment.

Hospitality Technology surveys more than 300 foodservice and lodging executives to pinpoint the platform innovations that matter most to them, as well as their 2011 POS purchasing plans. Meanwhile, POS vendors recap their biggest software innovations from 2010, and offer a sneak peak at the technologies and big-picture trends that are expected to make waves in the year ahead.

In taking home J.D. Power and Associates' top honors in guest satisfaction in 2010, the 45-unit Omni Hotels & Resorts is solidifying its place as a leader in the upscale pack. Richard Tudgay, Omni's VP of technology, reveals how technology has helped the hotel chain make a name for itself in this competitive segment, and even carve out its own unique niche: "innovative luxury."

Fully recovered from his nearly-fatal run-in with a bus during the 2009 Super Bowl, Jack (namesake and fictitious founder of Jack in the Box restaurants) is entertaining web site visitors with playful interactive technology. Meanwhile, the IT team behind the scenes is working on several innovative projects to help Jack in the Box bring efficiency and effective communication tools to guests and franchisees. HT talks with CIO Debra Jensen and VP of systems development Michael Verdesca.

Hospitality Technology surveyed its audience of IT professionals to determine how their companies are faring in 2010, and to pinpoint the technologies and initiatives that are top of mind for the year ahead. We also asked a select group of restaurant and hotel operators to provide detailed answers to some of our burning questions regarding customer engagement, Payment Card Industry standards and more.