Hotel Mtgs. Technology Lags

<B>Hotel Mtgs. Technology Lags</B>
<I>Demand Unmet For Tech-Ready Conference Venues</I>

By Chris Davis

Extensive upgrades to technological capabilities and Internet wiring of hotel room meeting space always has been a dicey proposition for hoteliers, given the high cost, uncertain demand and prospect of quick obsolescence. In today's economic climate there's even more uncertainty, and meeting buyers are concerned that improvements to high-speed Internet access will be an afterthought. Some buyers said their technological needs already have surpassed the offerings of some meeting rooms, leading to a shortened supply of hotels capable of hosting their conferences.

"It seems that of the many hotels that boast enhanced technological features, we've found that their capabilities are not up to our requirements," said David Kassel, senior manager of the global conference group of Wilton, Conn.-based Deloitte & Touche. "Perhaps their capabilities were state of the art when they were introduced, but they can't keep up with the advancements."

One problem Kassel finds is that the hotel's meeting room high-speed access slows considerably when connected to a local area network, which is a critical component of his corporate training meetings. As a result, Deloitte & Touche often brings its own technology to properties when possible, looks to outsource to a local technology company or holds the meetings at a corporate office and books sleeping rooms nearby, an option Kassel does not prefer.

"Our technology has outpaced theirs," Kassel said. "For the most part, they could support our needs 18 months or two years ago. But today, what they say they can do sounds good in theory but poses problems in practice. I haven't heard the buzzwords of rising to the technological occasion in a while."

Others understand the hotels' predicament but said that it doesn't change the fact that their companies need to have more robust offerings.

"It's a bigger undertaking than any of the hotels realized," said Carol Muldoon, director of meeting services for Montvale, N.J.-based KPMG. "It's not a quick fix. We're frustrated as clients, but we know from the world in which KPMG operates the kind of investment it takes. So we understand, and I think they are ready to invest. But if there is a recession, will these improvements be held back?"

Muldoon also finds many properties' wiring and connections lacking and often turns to conference centers, which often tout their technological prowess. But even for the conference centers she uses, Muldoon said, reserving rooms equipped with the requisite capabilities and connections often requires a three-month advance reservation, well outside the booking window of a typical KPMG small meeting.

Hotels acknowledge the situation, and said the economic uncertainty that has worried all industries has crippled several suppliers' high-speed access plans, leaving many hoteliers unsure of their next move.

"We have a program in place to roll out high-speed Internet access to hotels that have clients who have a need for it," said David Sjolander vice president of hotel information systems at Carlson Hospitality, owner of Radisson Hotels Worldwide. "But the high-speed Internet industry is in a huge state of flux right now, as several vendors have gone out of business and the handful of others left are struggling because the revenues just aren't there--many installed these systems at very low cost to share revenue, and it hasn't materialized."

Since the availability of cutting-edge meeting room technology can be the determining factor of a corporate planner's site selection, Carlson simply cannot wait and see how the wiring industry plays out. As such, the chain will try to expand internal technological applications to its guest and meeting rooms.

"We've decided to leverage our existing wide area network that we use for our own business applications and try to expand it," Sjolander said. "We do have a plan, but it's tricky, and we'll try and implement it until our suppliers figure out what they'll do."

Even before the wiring industry troubles developed, Carlson did not fully upgrade every single hotel in its portfolio, preferring to analyze each property's demand and base of business before proceeding.

"It takes reconfiguration of infrastructure, and that can be pretty expensive," Sjolander said. "Like any business venture, the demand has to be there, and we have a wide variety of hotels and a wide variety of meeting space in them. The situation varies dramatically among hotels, but there always will be demand in many hotels, so there will be solutions."

Other hoteliers are somewhat more optimistic, but still note that chainwide upgrades aren't usually an option, as the chain will analyze the dependency on high-tech corporate meetings for each property.

"Each hotel should be evaluated for such upgrades based on its business requirements," said Gustaaf Schrils, vice president of hotel services and technology for Bass Hotels & Resorts. "More meeting planners are requesting this type of service because it's easier and more cost-effective than coordinating bandwidth on their own for a short-term meeting. Meeting services are very well received for several reasons. First, the visitor comes prepared to use the service; second, the expectations have been set in advance. As to the current capability, if the proper infrastructure is put in place, then it is easy to expand as the users need to. Currently, a T-1 circuit provides more than enough bandwidth for most clients at reasonable costs, but virtually any amount of bandwidth can be provided given the facilities and the cash to pay for it."

Still, some meeting managers, even those at technological firms, already frequent hotels that have connection speeds commensurate with their needs.

"Generally, it's not been an issue, because if we have 25 or more people at a meeting, we'll plug in and dial into our own service on H-P servers," said Rich Del Colle, Burlington, Mass.-based meetings program manager for Hewlett-Packard.

"Meeting attendees find the connection speed is okay," he said. "We haven't heard much negative feedback about it. If someone wants to link 150 PCs, then we'll have to do some searching. If there are problems, it tends to be in individually owned properties. But even the chains' moderately priced properties are wired now.