Here’s an interesting guest post by Doug Archibald, vice president, sales and service at Ungerboeck Software International- a worldwide provider of mobile event management software for conferences and venues. He’s talking more to the venue side than the meeting planning side, which is a different perspective than you’d usually see here. I hope you enjoy it.

As smartphones, iPads, and tablets take over the market share of wireless Internet devices, accessing the Internet at a conference or large-scale event is not only necessary, but expected by attendees. This expectation can be an opportunity for large venues to gain a competitive edge, and generate additional revenue through providing the wireless access while generating additional revenue. There are many options when it comes paying for wireless, and generating a revenue stream in the process is the norm for most venues.

The simplest and most popular way to generate revenue is to charge for the wireless itself or charge for additional services. A venue can ask the user (attendee) to pay to access the service itself, or charge a fee to access the service at a higher download speed. Another option is to charge the organization hosting the event, and they can pass the fee onto their attendees as they wish. Various options such as network speed, restricted site access, and data usage can be priced differently to increase revenue.

Some venue owners do not want to manage wireless access, and a popular solution to this issue is to allow commercial wireless carriers (such as AT&T or Sprint) to install access points for their services. Carriers pay rent for the access points, which provides revenue to your organization while servicing your attendees. Carriers install their own equipment and are responsible for maintenance and technical support. Many convention and conference centers are made of concrete and steel, and receiving a signal or maintaining one can be frustrating for the venue owner and attendees. With this option, managing wireless access problems is passed onto the carrier. The carrier can also sell directly to event organizers, eliminating the hassles of selling wireless service as well.

Even if the market demands a venue offer free service, then generating revenue through advertisers on the network is common and often the most profitable. Branded portals are available, and your venue can sell sponsored ads within this custom app. Branded portals can also be linked to social media sites, giving your venue even more exposure to potential clients and organizations.
Venue owners can easily profit from the new age of wireless by researching the options available, knowing their competitor’s wireless service options, and selecting the right combination of products and services. Conference or event attendees expect to have access to the Internet, and venue owners can easily turn this into a revenue stream with the right knowledge and some creativity.

HotelChatter has come up with its top 10 list of resolutions it would like to see hotels make for the coming year, from free and functional WiFi to a plethora of outlets for your plugs to more cool art to new hotel reality shows. I’m on board with all but the last one, I think. Though it is always interesting to see behind the scenes, so maybe hotel reality shows wouldn’t be so bad?

What changes would you most like to see in the hospitality business in 2012?

In an article on HotelOnline, the 40-year CEO of Marriott explains why he decided it was time to let Arne Sorenson take over the daily grind of leading the hotel company. Here’s a snip: I try to lead from my heart and my heart said, “Now’s the time.” For some reason, many of you thought that we were talking about the “R” word – retirement. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be executive chairman and as I said in numerous media interviews, Arne will be driving the bus, but I’ll still be onboard.

Robert A. Rauch, CHA, outlines his top 10 trend picks for hotels in the coming year. Among them:

-Look for more capital reinvestment in renovations and refurbishments (I foresee a lot of press releases in my future).

-More online and mobile device booking, and more social media interaction with travelers

-Up but uneven rates and occupancy, where rebounds depend on the destination

What do you see coming next year on the meetings side? Here’s what AMEX thinks is coming.

From snow showers to “amusement park” spas (can’t help but wonder what those might be?! Just looked it up—the Arctic Ice Room at Caesars Palace in Vegas includes falling snow) to “eyebrow coaches” (seriously?!), here are the latest spa trends around the world, according to SpaFinder. Who knew there was a health and beauty Facebook game named Spa Life? Obviously, not me, but then again, I’m not much of a spa person. I’ve never even heard the term “blingy beauty” before today—I must live a sheltered life.

I’ve been hearing so many bad hotel customer service stories lately that I started to lose hope. Then I read a post on MeCo (and later on HotelChatter) about a guest at a Kimpton property—Hotel Monaco in Portland—who, in response to the hotel sending him a note asking if there’s anything he needed for his upcoming stay, joked that he couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t outrageous (like a bed full of puppies, or a tub full of Reese’s Pieces) and he wasn’t celebrating anything special but if they’d like, they can pretend he’s celebrating a quintuple homicide acquittal.

Then they send him back a note saying they couldn’t accommodate the puppies or candy thing, but would do their best to make his stay special. He found this when he walked into his room:

Along with a funny handwritten note and a gift certificate for $10 off the minibar. Kudos, Kimpton, for hiring folks with senses of humor and great service attitudes!

Speaking of fees—here’s a new twist on cancellation fees: airline-like rebooking fees (read through the comments for more interesting takes on it). My biggest takeway? Read all that fine print!

How else can you take the news that U.S. hotels are now raking in a record $1.8 billion (with a “b”) in fees and surcharges? To be fair, some of the increase is accounted for by an uptick in occupied rooms (which come with all those fees and surcharges), rather than just from an increase in the number and amount of the fees. And I can see the appeal to hoteliers, since the report points out that these things tend to have profitability of 80 percent to 90-plus percent, and let’s face it, business hasn’t been all that fabulous lately. But still, doesn’t this seem just slightly outrageous?

What are these fees and surcharges? From the report: “resort or amenity fees, early departure fees, reservation cancellation fees, internet fees, telephone call surcharges, the costs of local calls, business center fees (i.e. cost of sending/receiving faxes and sending/receiving overnight packages), room service delivery surcharges, mini-bar restocking fees, charges for in-room safes, and automatic gratuities and surcharges. For groups, there have been increased charges for bartenders, service, and other staff at events; charges for set up and breakdown of meeting rooms; charges for meeting rooms in which meals are served (the common practice has been that there is a charge for meeting rooms but not an additional room charge for rooms in which meals are served); and fees for master folio billing and baggage holding fees for guests leaving luggage with bell staff after checking out of a hotel but before departure.”

The report come courtesy of Bjorn Hanson, PhD, with the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

If people are talking about your property, it behooves you to listen, don’t you think? And yet all too many hoteliers still aren’t paying attention to what meeting goers and other guests are tweeting and Facebooking about their properties. Cara has a great post about those who are doing this well, as well as suggestions on how hoteliers can better serve their meetings specifically through social media monitoring.

Hospitality workers who want a break can get an especially good deal at the Downtown Disney® Resort Area Hotels from August 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011. The company is giving them the lowest rates of the year “as a special salute to the front-line ranks who make vacation wishes come true for millions of travelers each year,” according to a press release.

“Travel industry employees work hard year-round to ensure that visitors enjoy their travel experiences, and they certainly deserve recognition for their contributions to the traveling public,” said Marti Alexander, chairperson of the Downtown Disney Resort Area Hotel’s marketing committee. “There’s no better way to salute them than with special savings for their own travel.”

The offer’s good for employees from hotels, restaurants, airlines, airports, attractions, rental car companies, cruise lines, tour operators, and other travel companies. Isn’t that nice? I hope lots of people are able to take them up on it, though times are still pretty tight for everyone, but especially for those who work in some of the hospitality industry’s hardest and lowest paying jobs.