Organised and managed by the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), EURHOTEC �99 will feature 25 high-powered educational sessions, where leading hospitality technology users and vendors will share their expertise with an anticipated 1,500 delegates.

A session on �Low & High Budget Solutions � Innovative In-Room Technology Case Studies� will assess the hotel room�s transition to a hi-tech haven, using the experiences of two major hotel companies to identify evolving guest expectations, and how to meet them.  Moderated by Jules Sieburgh, VP hotel systems at BASS Hotels & Resorts, the session will address the current status of guestroom technology and predict what the future will bring in this fast-moving domain.  Speakers are Fraser Hickox, group general manager research & technology, Peninsula Hotel Group, and Rick Warner, senior vice-president, hotel systems, BASS Hotels & Resorts.

The increasing demand for in-room hi-tech is reflected in the EURHOTEC exhibitor line-up, which includes a significant number of specialists in guestroom technology.  Among the 80 companies present in Vienna are Quadriga, 4th Network, Guestlink, Grundig, Locatel, Maginet, Netgame, Philips, Prodac Media AG, TMS and Visual Media Services.  The exhibition will offer delegates a hands-on opportunity to see the latest tech-based solutions in action in all areas of operations, including information processing, yield management, call accounting, energy control, F&B management, check-in/check-out, hand-held technologies, safety and security, and property management.

EURHOTEC �99 will also provide an update on the European Single Currency, the euro, and its impact on technology applications.  Led by Robert Craig, head of servicing and development at American Express Establishment Services, the session will attempt to draw lessons from the run-up to the euro�s introduction on January 1, 1999, and examine what the subsequent 55 days have shown.  Ian Graham, vice-president business support at BASS Hotels & Resorts will be among speakers assessing trends in business and leisure guest demand since the adoption of the new currency, and how the industry needs to evolve between now and 2002 when the transition phase to the euro is complete.

The conference programme will prime delegates on latest developments in the hottest hi-tech debates of the decade: the millennium time-bomb (the Year 2000 dateline), database marketing vs. personal privacy, the impact of e-commerce, and �battling the multinationals� - how independent hotels can utilise technology to level the playing field with multinational hotel chains.

The event will be preceded by an IH&RA Think-Tank on Information Technology, a high-level gathering of industry executives, technologists and educators who will determine which aspects of the hi-tech revolution will reshape hospitality, and anticipate their likely impact.  A session on 25 February, presented by Daniel Connolly of Virginia Tech in the United States, will allow delegates to hear first hand the Think-Tank findings.