How many of you chose Betamax over VHS? Sorry to hear it. I'm sure it felt like a good idea at the time, but ultimately the better technology did not prevail and VHS won the day, and our shelf space. Being an early adopter has its risks in the consumer environment and the same can be said in the hospitality guest room.

I was invited to speak at a hotel conference on the impact of 3D TV in the guest environment. Clearly this is exciting stuff and everybody wants to hear more about it, but how many of you actually don those 3D glasses at home? If you do, where do you find the content to watch?

Despite the hype, 3D content remains limited and traditional broadcasters are battling the lack of penetration as well as the total lack of broadcast standards. We are even seeing some of the major PayTV providers such as Canal Plus in France abandon its 3D trials until a day when the barriers to roll out are removed, and more importantly, when content is available. This is a pragmatic approach when one considers that HD is still not mainstream in Europe. So while we play with 3D and it is fun to think about, we suggest that as hoteliers you concentrate first on the basics which are still the migration to digital and HD. You don't want to be stuck with a shelf full of Beta in a VHS future.

I do quite a bit of travelling in my role at Acentic and in turn I get to explore many varied cultures. It is naive to think that all cultures work the same, and an important part of doing business in today’s global market is learning to adapt to the strengths of different cultures and find common ground where it exists. I’ve spoken to hoteliers across the world, and in my experience there is one point of emphasis that remains consistent. Whether meeting with heads of I.T., marketing, finance, maintenance, front of house or general managers, everyone in the hotel industry cares about the guest experience first and foremost. And this is true whether you are in the UK, Norway, France or Hong Kong -- speaking in English, Norwegian, French, Italian, German or Chinese. All differences in culture and methodology add up to one thing: improving guest experience.

Since our industry has its roots so firmly based in technology, it can sometimes be easy to forget about the human focus. As technology advances in the home environment and Moore’s Law (the law which states that computer processors double in power every two years) continues to prove itself out, our industry often looks to solve every issue by throwing the latest, greatest tech at the guest. While this is often helpful, it is very much only part of any good solution.

In basic terms, people stay in hotels for business or leisure. Regardless, the target for any hotelier is for the guest to leave happier than when they arrived. And this is often an uphill battle. Among all the magazine and TV ads, special offers and discount deals, it seems that hotels sometimes forget that the path to the dream hotel room sold in the brochure or website is a complicated one, full of potential annoyances over which nobody has any control. Before they even get to the front door of the hotel, guests often have to endure traffic jams, parking bays too small their car doors to open, overloaded public transport systems, luggage racks too small for their cases, delayed flights, cancellations, layovers the require an Olympic medal in spiriting and so on.

After all of this, the guest just wants things to work, without complication. If new technology can help this, great. If it makes things more complicated and the guest has to jump through hoops to get basic services, failure. On check-in, the guest is simply not interested in HDMI ports, Network Balancing, Guest User Interface etc., they simply want to get to their room, grab a shower, unpack and feel loved again.

Making the guest feel loved again is a core philosophy behind all Acentic products. No matter how tough the journey to the hotel, things will be better once you get through the doors. Whether the guest wants to use the latest on-screen app (such as the restaurant reservation app), buy the latest must-see movie, or catch up on some TV, the experience will be hassle free.

And ultimately, that is the world any hotelier is striving for, a world where hassle and annoyance ends at the front door. The challenges are different for every guest and every culture, but the goal is universal. As a guest, no matter what the trip entailed, no matter where in the world you are or where you came from, you should be able to expect to be taken care of once you arrive at your hotel. It is our job to ensure that all around the world, guests leave hotels in a better state of mind than when they arrived. Now isn’t that a great industry to be in?