Some hotels dip toes into brave new digital world
	The hospitality industry, traditionally slow to adopt new technology, has begun to accept that a wired population expects new services.
At Hotel 1000, which markets its high-technology trappings to those visiting this tech-driven city, occupants can get high-definition movies delivered over the Internet to a giant flat screen. That is, they can if they point the remote at exactly the right spot: an unlabeled clump of wires peeking out from under the monitor. At the W Los Angeles-Westwood, guests can use something resembling a plastic parking meter to order margaritas from a poolside chaise. Most stick with the waiters. At the new Grand Del Mar resort in San Diego, a breakfast tray left outside the room will beam a silent complaint to the management until it gets picked up. At least, it will after the hotel gets some new gizmos to make it work. Many such hotels are trying to catch up with a population that is more comfortable with technology than ever. The $133-billion lodging industry's cutting edge sees a business opportunity in traveling lawyers pining for high-speed Internet access, twentysomethings looking for a place to plug in their iPods and vacationers preferring YouTube over the boob tube. But although the trend is gathering steam, it's a tricky proposition for an industry that is more Flintstones than Jetsons. "We're a business that's still trying to come to grips with the toaster," complained John Burns, president of Hospitality Technology Consulting in Scottsdale, Ariz. "If you have to turn the knob to make it lighter or darker, we have to think about that." Still, customers want what they want. In a survey of business travelers this year, 58% said free high-speed Internet access was "very" or "extremely" influential in determining where they stayed -- triple the proportion from five years earlier. External Source - For the complete article click here Source - LA Times