HITEC 2009 Hilites
Some musings and miscellany from HITEC 2009…
Within "a matter of months," VingCard Elsafe expects to launch a locking system that uses guest loyalty program cards as keycards, according to Rune Venas, North America president of Assa Aboy Hospitality Inc., VingCard’s parent company. Venas is coy about how exactly the system will work, but he says it would allow guests to bypass front desk check-in. Rival company Saflok has been working for a couple years on a similar product called Reggie, but it has yet to achieve market penetration…
Speaking of Saflok, the company’s sister brand, Ilco, gets my award for coolest innovation at HITEC. The Ilco Powerlever is an electronic lock that eliminates the need for batteries by generating its own electricity each time the door handle is turned. It is basically a miniature turbine. It may be some time before it comes to market, though, as the ROI just isn’t there yet…
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is about to begin installing Microsoft Surface at select properties. The rollout will begin later this year in Tokyo and will feature a customized wedding planner application, allowing salespeople and brides-to-be to sit around the interactive tabletop computer and digitally design the big day, right down to ballroom layout. In limited market testing, the brand claims to have already closed several wedding bookings thanks in large part to the interactive planning program…
Microsoft’s Experience lounge at Hotel Sax Chicago is now a branded concept, having been also installed at Residence Inn Seattle Bellevue/Downtown. Microsoft is offering to customize future Experience lounges via a la carte packages…
Cendyn figured out how to draw a crowd for its announcement about partnering with Arcaneo on meeting venue sourcing software. The key: booze. Lots and lots of free booze. And an iPhone giveaway. Free alcohol plus a must-be-present-to-win raffle equals a large audience…
At a session featuring numerous roundtable discussions of industry issues, the table devoted to Twitter had twice as many people—and a more captive audience—than any other. In fact, the Twitter table dwarfed even the green table. Does that mean Twitter and/or social media is the industry’s new hot topic?
