A great new post from Hotel eMarketer on possible best practices and opportunities in the niche of mobile marketing to capture, inform and relate to hotel guests in the near future:

Hotel Mobile Marketing - A Hotel Guest Story From The Near Future: Here’s a peek at the hotel guest experience in the near future. With mobile phones becoming an increasingly important marketing and CRM channel, improving technology and awareness will soon allow hotel marketers to enhance the hotel guest interaction, in a very similar way to what’s described below…

This took a while to happen but it's great to hear that Hotels are finally jumping onto the Internet Telephony bandwagon and offering hotel guests services like Skype in their hotel rooms. Here is a release from 'Nordic Hotel Forum', based in Tallinn, Estonia about their creative tech deployment (story sent through by Dimitrios Buhalis):



Nordic Hotel Forum first in Baltic States to offer Skype telephones in hotel rooms: The business and conference hotel Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallinn is the first hotel in the Baltic States that offers its clients the opportunity to use Skype telephones from February this year. The new business class rooms are specially designed to meet all the needs of business travellers. All rooms have wireless Internet connection with Skype telephones that can be used without a computer.

A blast from the past...almost. Here is a guest video of a Sheraton Hotels Demo of Microsoft Surface and how it can be used to enhance the dining experience and guest interaction:

Google, ever the innovator, has just announced "Google Flu Trends", which will allow US searchers to track Flu Trends and flu-related activity upto 2 weeks ahead of traditional flu tracking and surveillance systems.



The official Google Flu Trends site explains how this is done:

Each week, millions of users around the world search for online health information. As you might expect, there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. You can explore all of these phenomena using Google Trends. But can search query trends provide an accurate, reliable model of real-world phenomena?

Exclusive video snippets of the Sheraton G.O.O.D (Global Out of Office Day) launch on Monday.



Official Release: Fortune 500 Company Relocates Headquarters to Central Park as Sheraton Hotels Hosts First-Ever "Global Out of the Office Day" on Monday, Sept. 15: Hundreds of New Yorkers Ditch their Desks to Join More than 600 Starwood Hotels Associates Working in Central Park at 34,000 Square Foot "Link@Sheraton" Technology Lounge Sheraton Announces Free Wi-Fi in Sheep Meadow for Month of September and Summer 2009 Sheraton Work-Life Study Reveals 87% of Workplace Professionals Take PDA to Bed

Are PDA’S Replacing Pillow Talk? 87% of Workplace Professionals Take Their PDA to Bed, According to Work-Life Study
85% Say New Technology Means We’re Never Off the Clock, but 84% Say it Means More Quality Time with Family and Friends
WHITE PLAINS, NY – September 15, 2008 – Technology-addicted professionals just can’t keep their hands off their personal digital assistants (PDA’s), as new technology continues to transform the way we live and work. In a new work-life study from Sheraton Hotels & Resorts today, 85% of U.S. professionals surveyed said that because of modern technology, they feel compelled to be connected to work 24/7 and 81% say they work harder now than they did five years ago.

Google has just announced the Beta release of its long awaited open-source browser, called "Google Chrome". Just downloaded it ...it features a very Apple / Safari style look and it was built on the same development platform. Love the dazzling speed and general feel of the browser! Google's official line on the new software: "Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier."

Market-leading revenue-management software for hospitality sector expands SAS’ portfolio of industry-specific solutions. CARY, NC (Aug. 04, 2008) – SAS, the leader in business intelligence and analytics, has acquired IDeaS Revenue Optimization, the premier provider of advanced revenue-management software for the hospitality industry.

With its existing broad and powerful portfolio of market-leading advanced analytics, business intelligence and industry-specific solutions, SAS now has the leading revenue-management offering designed specifically for the travel and hospitality industries. IDeaS customers will benefit from the global resources of SAS, a $2 billion company.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Microsoft Corp. announced today a partnership to implement products and services at the “Link @ Sheraton,” its signature communications hub rolling out in Sheraton lobbies this year. Under the agreement, Sheraton will also co-brand and rename the space “The Link @ Sheraton experienced with Microsoft.” The partnership is one component of a comprehensive effort to enhance and differentiate the guest experience at Sheraton's 408 hotels across 75 countries, currently rolling out globally.

Westin Hotels becomes the First to Adopt Nintendo's Specially Designed Wii Console for Hospitality Industry; Announces Plans for Integration of Wii Fit



Tennis, anyone? Nintendo and Westin Hotels & Resorts announce a partnership today that will allow guests to experience the Wii™ sensation with a special version of the console ideally suited for use in the hotel environment. Westin Hotels is the first hotel company to partner with Nintendo for its Wii console and will feature this specially designed console as part of the brand's WestinWORKOUT program at 10 hotels across the United States. The special game console is pre-loaded with many popular games, including the groundbreaking Wii Sports™ game, and today debuts at WestinWORKOUT fitness centers at The Westin Times Square in New York City and The Westin Bellevue in Washington state.

Guests Can Use Free Wi-Fi to Instantly Access Essential Local Information and Relevant News

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyatt Place today announced the hotel industry’s first customized webpage populated with location-specific content using iGoogle1. This marks the first time a hotel brand is providing guests with the ability to immediately view relevant, local online content to assist them during their stay.

"Scene @ Sheraton" to Provide Guests with Unique Access to Highly Acclaimed Content Through Partnerships with Coveted Entertainment Brands, Including Showtime and Sony BMG Music Entertainment

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is announcing a new in-room entertainment initiative, entitled "Scene @ Sheraton," that will offer guests special access to a wide variety of entertainment content. The program is one component of a comprehensive effort to enhance the guest experience at Sheraton's 398 hotels across 75 countries, currently rolling out in key cities nationwide. Through "Scene @ Sheraton," Starwood's most global brand is taking a leadership position in the hotel category by forging exclusive partnerships with coveted entertainment brands, including Showtime and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. These alliances enable Sheraton to provide unique access to content that is highly acclaimed, popular among guests and, in some cases, exclusive to Sheraton.

To cater to India’s fast growing hotel and travel industry, Dynamic Vertical Solutions (DVS) launched Cenium - a cohesive secure system with single database and a standardized user interface. Cenium is a system built directly on the Microsoft DynamicsTM platform, one of the most widely used financial and ERP-systems in the world. The software provides the industry with a one-stop business solution in terms of a hospitality front office together with an accounting back office. Cenium solutions have been deployed by hotel chains like Choice Group of Hotels and the Clarion Collection; one the largest chain of business/leisure hotels in Scandinavia.

The Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel is the first Sheraton hotel in the Middle East to launch the Link@Sheraton, a new brand standard intended to create a lively experience for guests while working online.

The opening ceremony and ribbon cutting was honored by the presence of Roeland Vos, President Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Gerhard Foltin, General Manager of the Sheraton Doha in addition to high profile Executives, celebrating the launch of a new distinguished facility.

The Microsoft Surface Teaser Video

What is MS Surface? Microsoft Surface (Codename: Milan), is a forthcoming product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects. It was announced on May 30, 2007 at D5, and is expected to be released by commercial partners in November 2007. Initial customers will be in the hospitality businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, and public entertainment venues.