| December 4, 2007 - Not that long
ago, companies inside Washington, DC�s beltway were better known for their
lobbying efforts than technology. In the 1990s that changed when
a massive influx of IT firms flooded the area to support the federal government�s
rapid systems expansion, causing the area to be re-branded as �Silicon
Beltway.� Today, business people flying into the nation�s capitol
are as likely to be on the technology circuit working with Federal agencies
as they are promoting legislation to Congress, and hotels are learning
that these traveling tech executives expect a new level of property sophistication.
At the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport, located just two miles from one of the nation�s busiest airports, management recognized its growing tech-savvy customer base had new technology needs, so the property aligned many of its services to provide them. According to General Manager David Welliver, CHA, more than 40 percent of his property�s customers are repeat business, a clear indication this Crowne Plaza is delivering the goods. �Our hotel is focused on providing professional business travelers with the highest standard technology and meeting all their service needs,� Welliver said. �Our responsiveness to guest needs and the quality of our tech offerings and business amenities are valued by our clients and have earned us a reputation for innovation.� The property�s business-targeted service focus is a primary reason the hotel installed Flyte Systems� unique FlyteTouch airline flight information kiosk in its busy lobby. The next in-room coffee maker �It is not hard for any experienced airport hotel manager to understand the value of real-time flight status information to travelers,� Welliver explained. �Our guests use the Flyte Systems touch screen kiosk all the time to verify flights or to see if they should leave for the airport. This is a technology that gets a lot of use.� Welliver also says his tech-savvy guests understand how to leverage it to their benefit. The property�s airport travel information service has been so well received, and the start-up costs so low, Welliver expects to install Flyte Systems� FlytePass boarding pass printing kiosk in the future. �This technology is so easy to use and so valuable, that flight information and hotel boarding pass printing may be the next in-room coffeemaker,� Welliver explained. FlyteTouch is a touch screen kiosk designed for use in hotel lobbies, conference centers, restaurants, bars and other public areas that displays airport travel information for one or more airports. It enables individual guests to search flight status information with a touch screen that displays real-time current arrivals, departures, airlines, flight numbers, cities, flight status, times and gates for one or more airports. The Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport also installed FlyteChannel on its in-room televisions so guests can view flight information conveniently any time. What sets these products apart from other PC-based systems is their ability to post accurate real-time airline flight arrival and departure information, not FAA-regulated scheduled departure times that do not list delays caused by:
The Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport
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Road
warriors demand newest technology
