Hoteliers can learn from early flat-screen TV adopters
The early adopters
of digital flat panel televisions in hotels encountered a number of
problems, such as poor picture quality, but, as technology has evolved, the
industry has learned from its mistakes and some of those setbacks can now be
avoided. Among tips for successfully installing flat panel televisions is
making sure to provide digital video signals and higher-resolution video
formats to digital and HDTVs.
Hospitality Upgrade
Lavish Emirates Palace Hotel a techie's dream come true
The $3 billion
Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi is as spectacular for its
state-of-the-art technology as for its over-the-top, 60-acre lavish design.
Guests receive a handheld computer to interact with everything from the TV
and stereo to the maid service, and the hotel's 17-person technology staff
includes a full-time security officer who monitors 16 firewalls.
USA
TODAY/Associated Press
World's highest-priced hotels draw guests with highest standards
A Forbes.com list of
the world's most expensive hotels includes such high-priced properties as
the Mansion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Wakaya Club in Fiji and
Little Palm Island in Florida. Well-heeled guests who can afford the
four-figure-per-night rooms can be some of the toughest to please, however,
as guests expect over-the-top service that matches the high price.
MSNBC/Forbes
Hotel
phones on the way out?
Statistics show
phone use in hotel rooms has dropped significantly as guests balk at high
phone charges and increasingly carry their own cell phones. Some speculate
the high use of cell phones will lead to the extinction of in-room phone
units altogether, but hotels will need to stay on top of what other
technological amenities the public will demand.
Hotel News Resource
Travel increases with start of Passover
More vacation
spots than ever are offering special packages -- such as daily Jewish
study sessions -- and meals as the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover
begins. According to a Manhattan-based research firm, about 50,000
Americans will spend $175 million on Passover-related travel in 2005.
The Wall Street Journal
Wyndham launches English language skills program
Wyndham
International has announced a new program, said to be the first of its
kind, to improve the English skills of its Hispanic employees. The
program, called Sed de Saber, or Thirst for Knowledge, includes a
self-guided curriculum that helps employees with language skills to be
used on-the-job and on the personal level.
Successful Meetings
Analysis: Rise of business travel prompts fall in room discounts
As business
travelers get back on the road in droves, hotel room discounts are
becoming fewer and farther-between, according to MSNBC. Hotel rates are up
at least 7% on a year-over-year basis, an analyst says, and the chances of
finding discounts on last-minute weeknight reservations are much slimmer
than they used to be.
MSNBC
World's
highest-priced hotels draw guests with highest standards
A Forbes.com list
of the world's most expensive hotels includes such high-priced properties
as the Mansion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Wakaya Club in Fiji and
Little Palm Island in Florida. Well-heeled guests who can afford the
four-figure-per-night rooms can be some of the toughest to please,
however, as guests expect over-the-top service that matches the high price
Continues on page 152
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