Minden company finds niche with hotel technology

Business travelers now expect more than bed and breakfast from a hotel. Much more.

They want wireless Internet, paper printouts, online directories,movies on demand and even free long-distance phone service.

And hotels are hustling to please.

Leading the charge to provide that plethora of amenities is InformaCorp LLC.

The Mindenbased firm develops and supports the proprietary software that powers those services.

With product in 12,000 hotel rooms across 23 states, the company has barely touched the market, says Chris Sennings, InformaCorp's president and chief technology officer.

The total market potential, he says, is 5 million.

Others have noticed the opportunity.Not too long ago, Sennings recalls, InformaCorp was the only one touting such offerings at trade shows.

"But this past year, four or five competitors popped out of the woods,"he says.

Also under way, he says, is a big paradigm shift in the hospitality industry:Where before, hotels charged dearly for an Internet connection, 95 percent now offer it free.

Founded in 2001 by Sennings and Chairman Gerald Novotny, InformaCorp's first product, Informatouch, allowed hotel guests to access the Internet, look up local restaurants and order movies all from a screen terminal installed in their rooms.

A second product, Informanet, provides wired or wireless Internet access from hotel rooms.

And Informaflix, a TV set-top product, delivers movies on demand via an onsite video server.

The latest push is providing VoIP (Voice over Internet Phone).

"Hotels realized they hurt themselves by charging $2 to $3 an hour for long-distance phone service," says Sennings."Now they want to make amends by offering free phone."

And how do hapless hotel clerks support this tangle of high tech gadgetry now provided to their guests? They don't.

InformaCorp provides a 24/7 on-call support center, staffed by some of the 15 employees at its Minden office.

"We're one of the few tech providers that host on-site support in the U.S." says Sennings.

"It's a big selling feature."

Hotel room climate control is another market for which the company is developing product.

Energy savings is the driving force.When hotel guests insert a key card in the door, the technology installed in a central location powers up the room; when they leave, it powers down.When they check out, it turns everything off.

Locally, InformaCorp has installs at the Tahoe Seasons Resort and the Resort at Red Hawk.Nationally, it serves major hotel chains including Radisson, Sheraton,Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn and Days Inn.

"We're becoming the one-stop tech place for the hotel industry," says Sennings.

And, the company is looking to service the related markets of time-shares, apartments and condos.

Plus golf courses,marinas and RV parks.

While Sennings sees the high-speed Internet market becoming saturated,with a resultant rash of mergers and fallouts, he sees 5 million developing markets for the next wave of technical amenities for travelers.