One of the truly entertaining things about our profession is the opportunity to observe or sometimes even embrace the various fads, waves and trends that sweep through the hospitality technology industry on occasion.  Every so often, a new technology, a new approach or business model sweeps through the space and seizes everyone�s imaginations.

You can see these fads on the rise, as the early adopters become true believers and their eyes glass over as they proselytize on behalf of their most recent adoptee, whether it is artificial intelligence, informational kiosks or, one of my personal favorites, e-procurement (see �Life After A Dot.Bomb,� Hospitality Upgrade, Spring 2001).  The media buzz rises, the sales force expands and competitive anxiety sets in when the hotel across the street buys one�.whatever it is.

More often than not, these fads are fueled by new entrants into the industry.  They usually have more PR and marketing people than they have customers, more advertising dollars than revenue and more buzz than brains.  Survival instincts compel free or revenue-share business models over fee-for-goods-and-services approaches.

For some reason the in-room entertainment space seems to be frequently haunted by the ephemeral.  That segment has seen successive waves of satellite video-on-demand (VOD) servers, city-wide centralized VOD servers, not to mention their burden of the in-room high-speed Internet access morass and more recently digital service to the guestroom.  Maybe it is the revenue-share business model that makes that area such a target for fast-burns.

Now, I am not saying that all products that enter the market as fads are bad, just because most of them have life cycles resembling the flight paths of The Challenger.  Many find a place in the market and become generally accepted, but often not until the cost side of the cost/benefit equation comes down�way down.  Many of the wireless handheld applications seem to have some promise (I love the package-tracking application).  The early touchscreen POS systems took a while to take off (anyone remember Microvertics?), but as hardware costs came down, reliability went up and Windows NT matured, colored overlays and fixed keys were pushed out of the market pretty quickly.

Let�s examine some of the factors that make some new technologies merely passing fads and others mainstream applications in the hospitality technology sector.

• Does the new tool increase guest service levels or meet shifting guest expectations? 

• Does the new technology increase revenues or decrease costs measurably, relative to the investment to acquire and maintain?

• Is the hotel, hotel company or hotel owner willing to pay for the new technology?

High-speed Internet access (HSIA) has been the classic example of a fad fueled by new entrants generating lots of buzz, followed by a rapid and pronounced pull-back.  Yet, as people become more and more dependent on persistent broadband access in their homes and offices, there is little doubt that it will become an expected amenity.  College kids have been able to connect their laptops all over campus for the last six or seven years. Now that these kids are business travelers, why not connect all over the world?  HSIA meets the guest expectations test. 

I don�t think that you can say the same thing about increasing revenues or decreasing costs, certainly not at today�s difficult-to-measure take rates.  Willingness to pay has clearly shifted from �not on my dime� to �what can we do to lower our cost per room?� and the trend certainly seems to be an increasing willingness to pay, notably among Starwood and Marriott.  Looking at those three factors, one expects that HSIA will make the curve and go mainstream.

Another technology under glass, again driven by new entrants and audible buzz, is the recent explosion of digital video served to the guestroom.  Now, not too many hotel guests care whether they are seeing an analog or a digital signal.  They want a clear picture with good audio and want to know on what channel they can find CNN*.  Likewise, revenue increases from more selection are unlikely: adding pay-per-view titles is a function of the head-end, not the terminal, and adding free-to-guest channels decreases revenue.  Costs don�t decrease, but rather point straight up.  And on the willingness to pay measure, the in-room entertainment vendors have succeeded in training the industry to never expect to shell out for anything.  If nobody wants it, it doesn�t make economic sense; and if nobody is willing to pay for it, then the prospects for that piece of fadware are in fact dim.

So the next time a sales guy in a sharp suit is touting your need to get in front of some insanely great technology, apply these three simple, common-sense tests.

• Do my guests want it?

• Will it increase revenues or decrease costs enough to matter to my boss?

• Am I willing to request it in next year�s budget?

* Is there any good reason why it isn�t always on the same channel in hotels?

Mark G. Haley is principal consultant with The Prism Partnership, a professional services firm with proven expertise in all aspects of hospitality technology and marketing consulting based in Boston, Mass. He may be reached at (978) 521-3600 or [email protected].