With Hotel Nets, Loyalty May Be Version 3.0

Hilton announced plans to install 251,000 "Hilton Family Clocks" designed to easily play MP3 and CDs from their guest's iPods, laptops, and personal audio devices.

Earlier I had discussed how certain W Hotels were adding Sirius radios to some of their suites. I like Hilton's approach - they're promising the guest a consistent experience, no matter what Hilton you're staying at. Right now I use a special cable to connect my photo iPod to the television set. The economics remind me of Sprint's Dime-A-Minute program which simplified complex telecom tarriffs in order to provide consumers with flat-rate pricing.

As high-end venues continue to compete on amenities - a la Westin's Heavenly Bed - I think hotels are going to re-think the value of "network economics" (Adobe Acrobat required) - and develop a plan for versioning technology and infrastructure to build new and compelling value propositions. I think the hotel industry will adapt without any problems: they, like Microsoft, know all about leverage.

Link: Wall Street Journal article (subscription required)