I can't help but give a shameless plug for my college. The school built a Courtyard by Marriott on campus a few years back and it is used as a both a revenue producer for the school and a site for classes and practical training for students. It is also a provides a place for professors to do research. Professor Cihan Cobanoglu, Ph.D, has taken over one room in order to do research about guest room technologies. The X-Room is a small view into the future of lodging. The technologies are varied and aimed to provide guests with tools that will enhance their stay whether they're staying for business or pleasure. Guests can be randomly assigned to the room or may request it. In return for the X-Room guests are asked to fill out a few questionnaires in order to learn about how the different technologies are accepted. Check out this great promotional video with one of my favorite professors.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
University of Delaware's X-Room
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Get Your Company Noticed Online
I think that it is safe to say that most people know what Google is. The brand is an online juggernaut and can be seen on every corner of the web via advertising, embedded search bars, or all of thoseYouTube videos your goofy friend sends to you. Well the company is currently making an effort to educate even more people about their services and business by sponsoring a marketing challenge for students around the globe. The contest exposes students to online advertising by providing them with a $200 credit for Google AdWords. Students then pair with a business and manage a keyword campaign for three weeks. Student groups also submit pre- and post-campaign strategy plans to Google for review.
I'm currently taking a class called Hospitality Web-Based Marketing, and one of my major assignments is to participate in this contest. I find this so interesting and was really excited to start. I naturally gravitated to the things I already knew about... the hospitality industry. I'm currently working on research concerning hotel booking behavior on the web but found out that the hotel business is one of the most hotly contested markets on Google. It's really no surprise. When you type in "hotel" on Google, ads cover the top and sides of the pages. Even on blogs as unknown as this one,Expedia is advertising to any potential traveller in the small ad boxes.
Once I realized that our budget could not compete with the big guns for three weeks (maybe not even a day or two), we had to look elsewhere. My next thought was restaurants. Although when you think of restaurants and the web there isn't much e-commerce that comes to mind. And then it dawned...table reservation companies. Many people know about Open Table but there's no need to conduct marketing for a site that most people visit directly from the address bar. We searched out the lesser known companies and actually settled on Restaurant Reservations. The New York based company expressed a lot of interest in working with us to market their restaurant directory and reservation service to the millions of web users. We are currently in talks with the company and we actually had a conference call with the CIO today to go over some details and goals.
There is so much that individual companies can do to give themselves an online presence and hopefully this project will help to illustrate how the restaurant industry is affected by the web. I'll continue to follow up with information on how to perfect on online marketing campaign using relatively inexpensive tools like the ones provided by Google. I'll also try to give some follow up on this project.
What I'm very interested in also is if any of the readers of this blog would be interested in participating in this contest as well. I'm currently looking for another company to work with and will work with any type of business from almost any industry. The only requirement is that you do not currently use Google AdWords and that the company has less than 100 employees. I really hope to hear from you if your business would be interested.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Table + Food + TV = 3D Menu for Restaurants
I previously mentioned how Microsoft's Surface technology would soon be in hospitality operations but this is surface computing taken to a whole other level. This new product by TEC Japan projects 3D menu items. You can't get the 3D effect from the picture but this product actually shows the menu on your table. It will hopefully take all the guesswork out of ordering when travelers in a foreign country. I can't wait to see this come to your local high end restaurant where every food seems to be piled at least a foot high with garnishes.
Via CScout
Keep Business Travellers Happy, Eliminate Dead Zones
Cell phones are a necessity for many travelers and they need them to work at all times. There is a patent pending technology produced by Wi-Ex (www.wi-ex.com), that can boost cell phone reception indoors. The technology works by repeating and amplifying the cell signal. The majority of products in this category use an antenna that is close to the outside of a building and attached to a device within the building. It can create improved reception and signal strength in spaces as large as 10,000 sq. ft. Installation is relatively easy and the device can be placed out of sight. These products work with all frequencies and are therefore compatible with almost every carrier.
This technology could be greatly appreciated by guests who rely on their cell phone or PDA in order to conduct business. Hotels could eliminate all dead spots on their property so that guests could receive excellent reception no matter where they are on property. They could be installed in elevator shafts, meeting spaces, and guest rooms or floors. This could be very useful for hotel properties with structures that inhibit cell phone signals from penetrating all areas. A guest would never again have to stand by a window in order to make a call or send data messages. Providing guests with a better work environment would increase guest satisfaction and increase the productivity of business travelers.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
New Domain Name For My Blog!!
Attention all readers (I'm hoping it's plural), I have officially gotten this site its own domain and while blogger should redirect you you can easily come right here by going to rmcavanaugh.com.
Mmm that sounds a bit more professional.
Can a Wii Take the Place of a Treadmill
The recent developments in video game technology offer very unique opportunities for hotel guests. Nintendo’s Wii video game system is a more hands on approach to gaming that allows a user to manipulate the game. Nintendo is coming out with a new product focused on fitness. It is called Wii Fit and includes a game and a peripheral. The peripheral is a small board that measures weight distribution and body movement as the game runs people through a series of fitness programs. The game can track your progress as well as calculate body mass index (BMI) in order to help people track results.
This technology could be very useful in a hotel room of the future. People are more health conscience and fitness options are being demanded by guests. This system by Nintendo, or one like it, could allow for people to work out in their guest rooms. Guests could ask for rooms with this technology if they are not interested in going for a run in a strange city. It could also be delivered like an amenity. Hopefully the technology will also make exercising more fun for hotel guests. The game system is popular across several demographics and according to a 2007 article in Travel Agent Magazine it has already been installed in cruise ships owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. with success. Perhaps hotels could implement this technology in a cost effective way by using the same technology that’s employed for offering video games in a guest room without an actual game console.
I know I'm not exactly an industry insider, but I am aware that that at least one Courtyard by Marriott is testing Wii systems in the guest room. The testing has only been underway for a few months and is being evaluated on guest feedback. For now though, it is purely for gaming, not training. We'll have to see what hoteliers will do do to continue to push guest room technology.
Ps. If by chance you're reading this blog let me know, leave a comment I'd like to know what you're interested in!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Don't get Stuck by the Bathroom
As someone with long legs I tend to be pretty sensitive to the seat I get on an airplane. My dad quickly taught me how sweet talk the attendant at the gate and get a seat where my knees wouldn't be rug-burned by the seat in front of me. It was great having the advice from my dad but SeatGuru.com combines the knowledge of every traveler into a easy to research airplane seat database. To us common folk it may seem that every first class sleeper seat is travel perfection but SeatGuru gives you the inside information about the seat that's a little too close to the flight attendant's station. A quick review of the site and you'll feel like a true travel insider.
Get Flight Updates on the Fly
Picture courtesy of Jaunted.com
