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Three Mistakes Hotels Are Making with Wi-Fi
Posted: 09/18/2023

Wi-Fi is now like the foundation for your hotel: if it’s not solid, it can jeopardize everything.
Your HSIA network has to deliver the performance and experience your guests demand; Wi-Fi has evolved from being an amenity to a necessity and key driver of guest satisfaction.
In the converged world, all your systems for business operations depend on a solid and secure Wi-Fi network. Without it, nothing else works properly—your staff and systems will struggle, and you will waste precious time, money, and resources trying to recover.
Here are three things you may be doing that put you and your Wi-Fi network at risk, and what you should do instead.

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Definitely Doug 9/15/23: Experience Matters!
Posted: 09/15/2023

Hotels are usually the first thing a traveler books within a destination. And hotels usually know that destination better than anyone else (or any website) a guest might consult. But are hotels connecting the dots?

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Definitely Doug 8/25/23: Check It Off the List!
Posted: 08/25/2023

This week I will cover software that goes under various descriptions, including quality assurance, audit, and checklist management. It includes anything that involves a standard list of things that someone needs to perform or verify. In hospitality, this is still an emerging field, but is growing very rapidly.

Between 2020-2022, traveler adoptions fluctuated drastically due to the lockdowns, the impact of the variants, and the vaccination schedule. As the pandemic is behind us and people start to travel in 2023, one question is on every practitioner’s mind: What are the traveler’s current expectations and preferences in the post-pandemic world?

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Definitely Doug 8/11/23: Charge Me Up!
Posted: 08/11/2023

Few things make travelers more anxious than a mobile phone with a low battery. For years, hotels have tried to play catch-up with evolving mobile device charging standards, and many seem to have given up. Guests can sometimes find desktop or bedside USB ports (dated but still relevant charging standard), but most hotels offer only an electrical outlet, and too many times it is in the most difficult-to-reach location possible. Others have made expensive decisions to install USB ports on bedside tables or work desks, only to find them out of date when the standards changed – or broken by frequent use.

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The Single Best Summary of HITEC 2021

11/02/2021 Tagged as: HFTP, HITEC, Hotels, Technology

by Lyle Worthington

It felt so good to be back in the real world. I suppose that is the single best summary of HITEC 2021 I can come up with. There are quite a few recaps out there on the education and vendors – so I want to focus first on the human side of HITEC. After two years of virtual meetings, video chats, and home offices, we were once again able to walk a convention floor, shake hands, hug, and celebrate in person. Despite the need to wear masks and the extra-wide spacing between chairs and booths, it felt like a normal HITEC: a large convention floor, big vendor events, and a full education program. Certainly, there were fewer people this year, but at some of the events and in some of the sessions you couldn’t tell. Many of the education sessions were standing room only - even the Monday morning sessions.

I think I had taken for granted how much better in-person education is. After 2 years of virtual conferences and webinars, being able to sit in a room and interact in the real world was refreshing. I thought I had adapted rather well to the virtual world, but at HITEC I felt much more engaged and energized. Physical is so much better than virtual, and in-person conferences should bounce back quickly in part because of this.

While it was unfortunate that many of our friends and supporters from other continents weren’t able to attend due to travel restrictions, many vendors who couldn’t travel still sponsored the show - giving their continued support to the industry and showing that, despite the troubles in our industry caused by this pandemic, we are bouncing back. Perhaps my favorite example of this was Steven Bronken cruising around the Safety NetAccess party on a mobile telepresence robot thing while attendees were dancing on stage with the Spazmatics. Gold!

One thing that struck me the most – it seemed like there were many more new faces than in previous years. I can’t remember another HITEC where I saw so many new exhibitors and attendees. This wasn’t actually the case, though. Official numbers list new exhibitors and attendees in the 20-25% range, which is about the same as previous years. I think it just felt like that due to the lower attendance and the extra space built in due to COVID protocols. Either way, the reduced attendance meant I was able to spend more quality time with people, which I really appreciated. I also had additional time to walk the floor and demo new products. With HITEC being such a big show, this is really a luxury. I’ve heard this echoed by many people.

On the conference side, as expected, several new contactless solutions have popped up, from white-labeled hotel apps to web and on-premise kiosks. There were a few established companies that have launched something in this space as well as several new companies dedicated just to contactless. I was quite happy to see how well developed these solutions already are, including also self-service F&B kiosks. Airlines, supermarkets, and retail outlets have shown us that well-designed kiosks are preferred by many of our customers, so this is something we should all provide as well. Proper guest service is about providing the service the way your guest wants it - and if that means a kiosk, you should have a kiosk.

I was also quite happy to see the term ‘Customer Data Platform’ growing as the industry continues its path towards putting the customer at the center of our tech architecture. The push towards open integrations and data sharing across the industry has had a noticeable impact on this, as so many systems are involved in the customer journey. We have seen a lot of progress in this area over the years, and it is refreshing to see not only new products entering the market with an “Open API/Integration” model, but also established vendors adopting this model as well.

One thing notably missing due to COVID was E20X. With startups being such an important part of innovation in the industry, I look forward to next year and the hopeful return of this exciting pitch competition. If you’re with a startup or are about to launch one, connect with me on LinkedIn. I’d love to chat with you about E20X.

So a few things were different, but overall, HITEC was HITEC. I’m thrilled I was able to see so many friends and make new ones once again. The World is returning to normal and life is continuing. I expect HITEC 2022 to be even bigger. Can’t wait to see you all there.

About The Author

Lyle Worthington
CHTP

Lyle Worthington, CHTP is a hospitality technology executive, advisor, mentor, and world-renowned technology consultant with over 24 years of diverse technology experience ranging from software developer and founder to CIO. He is a CIO advisor to multiple global hospitality brands and Past Global President of HFTP. He has served on and chaired several boards, committees, and councils specific to the hospitality industry and has been an active voice for technology in Hospitality for over 15 years. He regularly speaks at global technology and hospitality industry events and has written numerous articles for hospitality technology printed and digital publications. Outside of hospitality, Lyle spends his time helping technology startups grow and scale, playing and coaching lacrosse, running obstacle course races in the mountains, and skydiving.