IRVINE, CA—The drive to provide betterhotel-guest services and increasesustainability is creating synergies betweentechnology and hospitality,Steve Arnold, president/CEO of PacificHotel Group LLC, tells GlobeSt.com. As we reported earlier this week, thefirm has implemented PressReader HotSpotat all of its hotels and resorts, including allproperties within the MeritageCollection—Bacara Resort & Spa, Balboa BayResort, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa and theMeritage Resort and Spa. The technology enablesguests to receive their news digitally and free of charge, givingthem access to more than 3,000 publications, and the capability toconnect through any device including smartphones,laptops and tablets. GlobeSt.com spoke with Arnold to discuss theintegration of technology into the hospitality sector and where hesees it leading.

GlobeSt.com: What new role is technology playing inthe hospitality sector, and how is that role beingmanifested?

Arnold: I think technology is going toplay a very significant role in the hospitality sector movingforward. PressReader is a great platform for guests to get newsfrom their city, country or local area right on property. It's alsoexciting from a sustainability standpoint. We have about 2,200hotel rooms companywide, and if you do the math on how many paperswe were delivering on any given day, it adds up to 550,000 papers.Many guests walk out of their hotel room and leavethe paper there unread, and it's a huge waste. We're excited aboutPressReader, but equally excited about the elimination ofhard-print paper everywhere. That's one example. We still offerlocal papers in our lobbies, but it's a fraction of what we used toput out, of course. The sustainability piece turned out to be amajor bonus in going to digital.