I’ve been at HITEC this week in Anaheim California. The attendance is way down on last year but I guess that’s to be expected. As I wandered down the aisles looking for some inspiring new technologies and at the same time dodging the sales people who are dragging innocent bystanders onto their stands, I stopped at a stand which had more customers than most. In a bit of a daze ( because these events are quite tiring and always too hot) I suddenly twigged that there was a bizarrely dressed man standing high up on a podium with a microphone strapped to his head. He was a magician about to start his show!!! Fantastic… I love magicians!

He was brilliant. He would ask a member of the audience to pick a number between 20 and 60 or something like that, and as they figured out what half of it was, he was filling out a 4 by 4 grid out with 16 numbers. Then, when the punter was asked what her number was, he drew attention to his grid in which every line, in every direction added up to HER NUMBER! … Genius!

The crowd dispersed and I wandered off to find coffee thinking to myself “maybe we should have a magician with numbers in Acentic” (only joking Stuart). As I sat down with coffee I had a more alarming realization which was that I had  just stood on a stand for 15 enjoyable minutes but have no idea what they sold. I must review our marketing to make sure that the message is clear.

We were told recently by a successful hotelier that no matter what the company name that “Hotel PayTV” is dead. I agree.

I agree because, the TV world is experiencing the most rapid technological change since the advent of colour. Hotel guests, whether business or leisure, are also expecting higher levels of sophisticated technology based on the home entertainment options and innovative personal technology that is already a major part of their daily lifestyles, i.e.: more channels, video on-demand, interactivity. The challenge for the hotel industry is to meet these expectations, taking into account the specifics of the hotel room and the travelling guest.

At home or on the road, users access entertainment via televisions, personal computers, Blackberries and iPhones. But in the hotel room, where the focal point is the television, this screen needs to be the guest’s one-stop source for entertainment and information. The television has become an aggregation interface, providing access to multiple sources, including television programming, video content and the Internet.

In the next few years, hotel guests will continue to expect more from their hotel experience, so hoteliers have to be prepared to give it to them. Non-linear television, with digital video recordings (DVRs) and the ability to pause, rewind or fast-forward television programming is a reality of entertainment expectations. Also, Internet-based content streaming to television screens in hotel rooms is already a favourite of guests in hotels throughout Europe.

But before making sweeping changes to in-room entertainment and information amenities, it is important to take the time to develop a robust and relevant strategy that will not be outdated in just a few months. Don’t use your hotel as a laboratory; research new technologies and create a system that works for you and your clientele.

Even if hoteliers think that Hotel PayTV is dead (the whole market of Pay TV) we, Acentic, are NOT just a Pay TV provider. Most importantly, we are a technology company providing hotels with state-of-the-art digital services. But hoteliers must not get too carried away: Acentic’s research shows that the most watched television program among hotel guests around the world today is still the news.

I have recently attended several Hotel IT managers’ conferences to speak on the dizzy topic of hotel entertainment systems. At the most recent in Geneva, I was asked to set the tone for the conference, which was centered around three days of workshops to come up with an in-room technology strategy for the International hotel group hosting the conference. What I really tried to get them to think about, or not think about actually, was the obsession with converging technologies in the hotel room. Instead, I wanted them to really consider the content and services that their guests would require now and in the future. My presentation was drawn from the article that I recently wrote for HOTELS Magazine, which can be found under the below link:

Will TVs and PCs Converge in Hotel Bedrooms?

By Alistair Forbes, CEO Acentic

Over the past few years there have been many debates on this topic. My short answer is “you’re smoking something” if you think it will work. But, let’s give it a little consideration. Yes, it is physically possible to converge such products and it seems like a neat idea. I, for one, would like to converge an ironing board with a beer dispenser, as I tend to carry out both activities at the same time. Read more... http://hotelsmag.com/article/CA6664515.html?industryid=47564

How many of us get stressed out during travel? Whether it’s for business or for pleasure, travelling puts a toll on your mind and body. If you’re in a luxury hotel, just being away from home and daily comforts, not to mention however you travelled to get there, can put you through stress. When you’re very stressed it is difficult to free yourself from it through standard relaxation.  Acentic’s executives know this as well as anyone, which is why when we were brainstorming new content for our system and the idea about some stress-busting videos came up, we jumped on it! Acentic is finalising this new programme with Meditainment to develop a new approach to stress release through deep relaxation and health and wellness videos. The videos will take the hotel guest to paradise unwinding, calming the mind, and guiding them to relaxation. A spokesperson from Meditainment said, “It's a natural progression to take these wellness and relaxation programmes into the in-room environment to aide guests with getting the most from their stay by providing programmes that can help them get to sleep, deal with stress and get totally relaxed. Acentic is a true pioneer in the area of in-room entertainment, and we are thrilled to be collaborating with them to make hotel guests' stay as stress-free as possible."

Thanks Meditainment! We love your relaxation programmes and look forward to letting our guests make good use of them as well. We’ll be rolling this content out to hotels across Europe over the course of 2009 to allow guests to take advantage of these relaxation programmes and get themselves into a state of complete leisure.

I was chatting with some of our senior sales team this morning. They had all just returned from recent trips to Kiev, Madrid, Warsaw and Sofia and although they recounted to me the ailing economic impact on revenue per available room (RevPAR), they had met with General Managers of hotels in those regions who remain positive, upbeat and keen to learn about what hotels can do with in-room technology around the world.

We can read all the articles, advertise in all the publications or better yet, we at Acentic, believe face to face is the only way to mutually learn and develop our businesses. Despite negative press editorials about travel budgets we at Acentic are more than ever seeking to meet with hoteliers because our realization for today is that hoteliers remain the best customers to have and they remain positive and always hardworking towards ideas to generate business and improve service.

Relive a scene with me from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Lippincott 1961)

"First of all,” he said, “ if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view..."

More than ever in business, we must seek to understand.