Many mobile and wireless applications have debuted recently, most geared toward helping the guest navigate within and around the hotel. Vendors assure hoteliers these services are meant to enhance the traditional concierge, not replace it.

Exclusive H&MM photos from the Hospitality Industry Technology Expo and Conference trade show floor, where hotel vendors introduced new products for the hospitality market.

The surge in 3-D technology at movie theaters has begun to trickle down into the realm of in-home entertainment. And if 3-D becomes commonplace in the home, expect hoteliers to feel the pressure sooner or later.

Vendors at HITEC 2009 clearly saw the advantages to mobile services and introduced early versions of Web- and mobile-based applications. A year later, the industry is beginning to separate what really works and what is pretty but not practical.

The guestLINK plug-and-play connectivity console will soon be available at additional hotels within the Fairmont collection.

The integration of LodgeNet b-LAN technology into Panasonic's LRU20 Series HDTVs expands the range of LodgeNet-ready TV options for hoteliers.

Some vendors were wildly impressed with the quantity and quality of prospective buyers; others expected more attendees. Here are the top five trends I noted at HITEC 2010.

The Plaza in New York City announced it will offer iPads in all guestrooms and suites, featuring the first virtual concierge application available on the tablet devices.

Thinking that more is better and overcomplicating things is a problem many hoteliers make with technology. Know what your guests want and how to deliver it.

Design and technology is a marriage that should come standard with two therapy couches. Whether the rocky relationship can be blamed on the owner/developer side or the design side is a separate debate, but suffice it to say that the relationship needs to be prioritized from the beginning.