Ian Schrager on How Hotels Get Technology Wrong

Technology remains the new frontier but plenty of hotels are still getting it wrong, according to the man who pioneered the boutique hotel movement in the United States. Ian Schrager, who founded the Morgans Hotel Group and has launched a number of other brands, said hotels are too focussed on showing gadgets rather than using technology to make things easier for guests. "I think technology is the future but not mood boards in the lobby, and not iPads in every room but technology that really makes everyone's stay at a hotel easier, cheaper and there is a reason for it," Schrager at Skift Global Forum on Thursday in New York City. "Up to now I don't think we've been using technology well." Schrager said that hotel companies need to remember that they are in the hospitality business and that the guest experience needs to be "doing something that astonishes people," with added "excitement" and "glamor." One of the best uses of technology, Schrager said, is to make the