Cover Story

The emergence of Web 2.0 is transferring brand buzz power into the hands of customers through new marketing strategies and applications such as social networking, cell phones and more. Hospitality Technology sits down with Don Zimmerman, CIO of the newly formed Wendy's/Arby's Group, to discuss which technology trends hold the biggest potential for driving customer loyalty in the emerging marketing landscape, and why. 

Peninsula Hotels is known for its in-room technology, delivering a customized and comfortable hotel experience to guests across the globe. In this exclusive interview, HT infiltrates Peninsula's research and development facilities, the nerve center for more than half of the hotel's custom-built and modified guestroom technologies, to examine its technology differentiators and to preview the next big innovations to come.

As the end of a tumultuous 2008 draws near, the majority of hospitality operators are looking for ways to cut costs, curb waste, and coax consumers into their doors. What many may not have considered is that one of their heaviest pieces of artillery in the battle against a downturned economy is their point of sale systems. Hospitality Technology puts a focus on POS trends, functions and releases to find out what exactly this system can do to help restaurants sell more and spend less in 2009.

Wyndham Hotel Group is ushering in an era of innovation that focuses on next-gen guest room technologies, sustainability, and connectivity for its guests. In this exclusive interview, HT sits down with senior level executives to discuss the company's deliberate strategy for tying IT development to revenue goals, and the 1,000 page document that paved the way. Also go inside the Wyndham guest room for a look at some of the proprietary solutions that are already boosting guest satisfaction, and a preview of what's still to come.

The Los Angeles based uWink knows how to create a truly unique dining atmosphere that marries social game play with meal time. Touch screen terminals at every table not only route food and drink orders directly to the kitchen, but offer more than 70 games to delight and entertain guests. In this exclusive interview, uWink CEO Nolan Bushnell (also founder of Chuck E. Cheese and Atari Corp.) sits down with his son and uWink's CTO Brent Bushnell, and together the two spill all the family secrets behind this next-generation dining concept.

No matter where you look these days, everyone is talking about "Going Green." Hotels across the nation are beginning to get in on the trend by initiating a multitude of eco friendly IT measures, from using in-room climate controls to installing virtual desktops using thin-client computers. Hospitality Technology sits down with these earthy innovators to bring you the technology that will reduce not only your carbon footprint, but your bottom line as well.

Seattle's Hotel 1000 opened in 2006 with one of the industry's first fully-converged IP networks, and since then has continued to exceed guest and industry standards for IT innovation. In this exclusive interview with the hotel's management company MTM Luxury Lodging, HT offers the inside scoop on how Hotel 1000 is leveraging its network with new applications that wow guests and offer many happy returns.

Fuddruckers embraces open communication, business intelligence and Internet bloggers in its quest for knowledge. Alan Watts, SVP of operations, offers an exclusive look at the tools and strategies that are helping the "Worlds Greatest Hamburger" become its smartest, too.