C. Scott Hansen, director of guest technology for Marriott International, said his company's objective over the next several years was to connect every guest-room TV to the Internet.
Josh Weiss, vice president of brand and guest technology for Hilton Worldwide, said his company offered a broad range of short, low-price TV programs, similar to those available from Netflix or iTunes, in many hotels, provided by LodgeNet and others.
The W hotel chain of Starwood Hotels and Resorts is working with the Geek Squad at Best Buy to handle guest technology problems its own employees cannot fix, and Marriott International is gradually replacing the cable modems in rooms with newer boxes that can handle more data with fewer glitches.
However, one hotel I recently stayed at, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, has actually tackled the challenge of providing innovative guest-room technology that's intuitive and easy to work.
Somehow they soldier on through jealousy, rage, dysfunction, cancelled guests, evolving technology, relentless scrutiny, tardy rock stars, fierce competition, 4 am calls, failed comedy ideas and a very demanding boss.
Hotel owners in the United States are increasing their spending on improvements to their properties this year, upgrading guest rooms, restaurants, technology and other amenities.
CitizenM, a Dutch chain of what it calls "affordable luxury" hotels — now all in Europe, with two slated to open in Manhattan this year and next — provides a Samsung tablet in each guest room, with technology from Swisscom that provides a music library and free video-on-demand TV and also controls the blinds, lighting and temperature.
"With technology, guests are doing everything by themselves," said Nathaniel Ramos, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.
"So many of our guests use voice technology in their home, and we want to extend that convenience to their travel experience.
She also bans guests from using technology like smartphones, ensuring a certain amount of focus on the task at hand.
Now, with increased guest interest and newer technology that allows hotels to review pictures and title lists, the number of hotels ordering has increased to about 40 annually.
