Making A Connection

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- Hotels, 6/1/2007

In the guestrooms of new-build and renovated North American properties, Marriott International is installing work stations with connectivity panels and swiveling desks that can face toward or away from flat-screen TVs.

While it might strike some as oddly anachronistic in today's increasingly wireless world, wired connectivity panels suddenly have become the hot, new, must-have product in hotel guestrooms. The ongoing trend of upgrading to flat-screen-and, where available, high-definition-televisions is motivating hoteliers to make the most of the expensive hardware by offering guests added multimedia options. And while such panels seemingly encourage guests to tether themselves to their desks, hoteliers are touting them as user-friendly, convenience-driven amenities.

Marriott International in particular is making a big marketing push over its new plug-in panels, nicknamed "Jack Packs," being rolled out in Marriott, JW Marriott and Renaissance properties in the United States and Canada. The LGmanufactured desktop panels, which are integrated with the brands' new standard 32-inch (81-cm) LCD highdefinition televisions, feature outlets for AC power, Ethernet, audio, video, S-video, PC video, digital video, highdefinition interface and even a standard phone jack. Guests can use the inputs to surf the Internet using the TVs as their monitors, an especially handy development for users of Slingbox and other streaming media. Content from portable DVD players and video game consoles can be displayed easily on the TV, as can digital cameras and camcorders. Digital music can be played through connected 25-watt speakers.

The Marriott panels also allow for split-screen TV viewing. A guest could use half the screen as a word processor while watching a ballgame on the other half. "Now that is multitasking at its best," says Thom Puccio, director of sales and marketing for the Renaissance M Street Hotel in Washington, D.C. The property recently completed a US$25 million upgrade that included the installation of nearly 9 km (5.5 miles) of fiber-optic cable. Feedback has been positive, Puccio says, although many guests have not yet figured out how to use the connectivity panels to their full potential. "People love it. They really, really enjoy it, like anything that is new. But because it is so new to the market, they are still getting used to how they can use it," Puccio says.

To both promote the Jack Packs and give guests some ideas about how to take advantage of all they have to offer, Marriott launched a dedicated Web site, www.plugintomarriott.com. The panels are to be installed in most U.S. and Canada Marriott hotels by the end of this year, with worldwide installation completed in 2009, says Lou Paladeau, Marriott vice president for operations technology.

Global Hyatt is installing a similar connectivity product in its 120 Hyatt Place properties and its 30 Summerfield Suites locations. The LaunchPad, produced by LodgeNet Entertainment (Hyatt is marketing it as the "Plug Panel"), offers the same input devices as the Marriott panel, albeit with a slightly different configuration. The overriding goal, says Jim Abrahamson, senior vice president for Chicago-based Global Hyatt, is to give guests the opportunity to create their own customized media experiences.

"It does not take a lot of research to know that travelers are watching DVDs on their laptops and television on their cell phones," Abrahamson says. "People are bringing their own media with them. People are traveling with Game Boys and Xboxes and a variety of other hookups." As technology becomes more advanced, it also tends to become more complicated. "Before, you had to bring a 14-year-old with you just to plug in your video games and laptops. We wanted to make that easier," Abrahamson says.

Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts is another company that sees potential in the connectivity concept. Pan Pacific is in the process of designing its own version of the multimedia hub, says Mark Fancourt, corporate information technology director. "This alleviates the need for the customer to touch the cabling at the back of the TV, which is quite complex," Fancourt says. And while some TVs have accessible jacks on the side or front, "it adds to the convenience by placing this in a more usable location, such as the desk or the credenza in front of or below the TV." Perhaps just as significantly, Fancourt believes a connectivity panel could ultimately save on the entertainment technology budget, since it would be cheaper down the road to install panels with advanced technology than to replace the televisions altogether.

Several other brands are working on versions of connectivity prototypes. Hilton Hotels Corp. is piloting 55 special Sight+Sound guestrooms at its Chicago O'Hare and San Francisco hotels. Besides extensive television offerings, the Sight+Sound rooms include LaunchPad connectivity panels and a variety pack of cables, so guests can leave their cords at home. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts are likewise involved in the connectivity craze.

The obvious question, of course, is how the connectivity panel concept will remain viable as consumer electronics continue to rapidly evolve. Even assuming the panels can be easily adapted to incorporate technology not yet invented, guests who become used to wirelessly using various devices may not have much use for hooking up a bunch of cords, no matter how accessible the outlets. Some variation of the connectivity panels-one devoid of any physical wiring- could ultimately be the answer, but the technology is not here just yet. "Believe me," says Marriott's Paladeau, "we've looked heavily into whether that can be done."