The conference heard �What the Customer is Saying� from a panel of experts including Bill Hemmings, vice-president of Rosenbluth International, which conducts part of its customer research through a unique state-of-the-art travel laboratory currently based in Philadelphia.

A recent Rosenbluth survey of 500 travel managers and corporate business travellers discovered that among the most important features in selecting a hotel � for 25% of respondents � were room comfort and furnishings.  Hemmings offered a personal checklist of �must have� items that make the business travellers� life hassle-free: two powerpoints, situated above the desk (not under the bed or behind the TV armoire); phones in the bathroom, on the desk and by the bed; key cards that work, easily visible information on the phone number, how to get an external line, the international dialling code, and how to work the remote control.

Jon Freeman, head of sales & marketing for Quadriga UK underlined the need for technology to follow the pace set by the customer with illustrations from the findings of their Guestlife survey (among 500 business travellers in UK, France and Italy).  He said although 40% put on the television within 30 minutes of entering the hotel room, only 6% actually use the TV to get information on hotel services.

Availability of technology, he said, was becoming a powerful selection motivator, but there was still a gap between awareness and usage of it, which meant that hotels were not capitalising on their tech investments.

That view was reiterated by Dries de Vaal, partner at Deloitte Consulting as he opened a session entitled �Beyond 2000 � The Second Wave�. In spite of massive initial investment, the benefit to hospitality had been comparatively limited so far � but the industry would move into a new era and start reaping the benefits provided it kept the customer at the heart of its high tech development strategy.

Alex Kyriakidis, partner in charge at Arthur Andersen UK said that growing systems integration and connectivity would make it possible to transform all the knowledge that hotels have into information that can be used effectively and efficiently � and to convert the hotel from a traditional service-based organisation into a knowledge-based one.

If the industry failed to make the transition, he warned, it could find itself competing with some major new competitors � the Microsofts and credit card companies � who are already converging on hospitality customers. If the industry were to consider forging alliances in this direction, it must retain ownership of its customer relationships.

What will make the real difference in the future, insisted Andreas Vögl, managing director of Horwath International, Austria, will be its ability to get right the process that accompanies the service.  Beyond 2000, the sector would be challenged to invest further in terms of its people and tools they need.  Technology must be thought of as an enabler to free people so they can concentrate on the finer aspects of services and meeting market expectations.

Sam Anahory, director of customer dynamics for Deloitte Consulting, illustrated the applications for data warehousing and mining currently being successfully exploited in the retail industry to create customer loyalty and increase spending among the most profitable customer segments.  He emphasised that hotels too can charge a premium for the differential service levels provided they offer it consistently at every customer �touchpoint�.

EURHOTEC, convened annually by the Paris-based International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), focuses on the use of technology to improve management and profitability in the hospitality industry. EURHOTEC '99 attracted more than 1,100 visitors from 54 countries.  62 technology experts headed the three-day conference programme, with 90 exhibitors showcasing their hi-tech products and services at the EURHOTEC exhibition.  EURHOTEC 2000 will convene at the Congress & Exhibition Centre Bealieu, Lausanne, Switzerland, from 16-18 February.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a global network of independent and chain operators, national associations, hospitality suppliers and educational centres in the hotel and restaurant industry in more than 150 countries.  As the voice of the industry it represents, protects, promotes and informs its members to enable them to achieve their objectives.