Being different is not easy, according to Carlos Tato. Tato is the operations manager for a Country Inn & Suites hotel in a location surrounded by hotels "there are four within a half-mile radius and 12 within a two-miles of his Novi, Michigan site.

 

The solution Tato came up with to differentiate his hotel from his competitors was to install Broadband Hospitality (www.broadbandhospitality.com) wireless high-speed Internet access (HSIA) in the rooms. The investment is already paying off. Because only two competing hotels offer HSIA service, occupancy at Tatois hotel is up. "We get guests coming back to our hotel because we offer wireless high-speed Internet access," Tato says.

Whether it is Tatois single unit or roll outs at Wyndham, Hilton and Mandarin Oriental, more and more hotels are responding to the flexibility of wireless Internet access and digital entertainment options. From high-speed Internet to gaming, music and movies, hotels are giving guests more reasons to stay in the guest room. 

Customizing television content

At domestic locations of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group guests are able to check e-mail and access corporate networks via the PC or the television and can request some of the latest movies, including those still in theaters through its Intrigue System from General Dynamic (www.intrigueonline.com). Nick Price, director of technology for  Mandarin Oriental, wanted to deliver a five-star product, for his upscale hotel chain. "We didnit want typical pay-per-view," he says. "Knowing that most viewers watch for just 20 minutes at a time, movies and documentaries need to be shorter. We want to put it on a digital platform that is accessible -- something that can be searched, quickly and easily without channel hopping."

For Mandarin Oriental, finding the right pricing model and level of control was key. By paying for the installation, Mandarin has more control. And, because it is a digital and flexible system, management can direct specific content to individual guests. Price says, "Thatis very different than the other model, where everyone sees the same stuff."

Control of content was also a significant consideration for Hilton, notes Robert Machen, Hiltonis VP operations technology. According to Machen, Hilton sees the TV as a highly strategic asset that provides the ability to enter into direct communication with guests. Using LodgeNetis (www.lodgenet.com) SigNETure TV, Hilton hopes to extend its branding to the TV screen with customized content. "We are working on a new interface," he explains. "When a guest turns on the TV we will be able to deliver a customized message to each guest in his or her room."  

Wireless revenue

Another way hotels are working to make profits from wireless high-speed Internet access is finding providers that are flexible in the purchase or lease arrangements for the system. Last February Kevin McShane, senior vice president of operations for Trident Hospitality, installed Stayonlineis (www.stayonline.net) wireless access solution. "A lot of systems expect a certain percentage of the growth," McShane says. "With Stayonline we just pay them a monthly lease payment and we can do what we want. Itis helped us to continue to grow our client base."

For some larger hotel chains, the profit from wireless HSIA has come from meetings business. Dave Reilly, Wyndhamis VP catering and meeting services, said that since Wyndham selected Wayport (www.wayport.com) in 2000, it is its meetings business that has helped reap a return on the investment. "There are definitely more business groups coming than before," he says. The key, he notes, is having Wayport provide 24/7 technical support for guests as well as sales support for the hotels.

Tom Keller, general manager at the Auburn, Michigan Hampton Inn saw the Roomlinx (www.roomlinx.com) wireless solution as the only way to offer guests in-room Internet access. Keller says the age of the property prohibited it from using Cat-5 cabling. "That would mean having to rewire the entire building at extraordinary cost," Keller says.

So for Keller, as for others, the final selling point was the systemis flexibility. Whether it is to adapt to the desired content of Mandarin Oriental guests or Hiltonis marketing message or to help a single property standout in a crowded market, digital entertainment and wireless high-speed Internet access solutions are putting hoteliers back in control.