Hotel Brand -- Boutique/Lifestyle

The new DigiValet places all in-room guest conveniences wirelessly on the Apple iPad/iPod to revolutionize two-way communication from the guestroom.

Infor expands hospitality offering adding the cloud-based revenue management system to its offerings.

hotel SystemsPro launches an advanced mobile sales system platform that puts the entrie sales office in the palm of a hand.

The Alila Jakarta has deployed EzRMS to improve business yielding capabilities.

The hospitality industry as a whole should embrace the benefits of cloud technologies as services ranging from human resources to business intelligence all have cloud-based options.

Mobile apps, wage monitoring and business intelligence tools are changing the way operators manage workforces. From employee portals and performance tracking to mobile timecards and productivity analysis, today's systems are providing more options for operators to manage labor at a much deeper level.

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.

The next wave in customer engagement is social customer relations management. As more formal tools emerge to build brand awareness and identify influential customers, many leading companies are taking a more proactive approach to utilize social media by customizing offers based on activity in order to increase loyalty and sales.