StayOnline, an Atlanta company headed by a Georgia Tech alumnus, produced the North American Wi-Fi Symposium to define future uses of wirelessly enabled applications and mobility computing in the hospitality and travel industry.

More than 70 hotel owners, management company executives, technology leaders and product innovators attended the April symposium at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida.

Antonio DiMilia, ICS 89, CEO of StayOnline, said, "This symposium was not only a conduit for essential sharing of information, but also for future alliances that will drive the ways each of us will interact with technology to make our travels more efficient and more personal to each traveler."

StayOnline demonstrated a work order system the company is developing to help hotels save manpower and troubleshoot problems. Participants also examined a communications system worn on a lanyard around the neck that enables hotel employees to talk to one another over a wireless network and radio frequency ID tags that could track everything from hotel inventory to guest data.

"Hotels and resorts need to realize that a poorly constructed wireless network can be a differentiator for them because of the applications it will enable. They must know that their selected wireless vendor is capable of installing and managing mission-critical applications," DiMilia said.

One symposium participant, Bill Croke, executive vice president of hotel operations for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, said, "With the lightning-fast adoption of wireless technology by consumers, it is imperative to bring suppliers and customers together in a way that enables a strong interchange of information."

To listen to an interview with DiMilia, log on to http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4023320.html.

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