Seattle Hotel Embraces Computer Revolution

At last, Seattle - a city in Microsoft’s back yard - has a hotel with a bit of dazzling computer technology.

It’s the Vintage Park, which in a deal with the Redmond, Wash., software giant has outfitted 30 of its rooms and suites with computers, Microsoft Office Suite software and digital T-1 lines that can provide access to e-mail and the Internet at speeds up to 100 times faster than a dial-up modem.

“Corporate travelers are doing less wining, dining and partying these days and using their rooms more for quality things,” said Stephen Pinetti, vice president of sales and marketing for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurant Group, which manages the hotel. “We’ve found that about 30 percent of guests in our high-tech rooms are accessing the Net - half of them for the first time.”

With its partner in the Vintage Park deal - the San Diego-based Atcom/Info, which has installed many Internet-access kiosks at airports - Microsoft has an even bigger game plan afoot for business travelers. Next month, the computer team - together with a third company, CGX Communications - will begin testing a new jack called Iport at 10 to 15 hotels nationwide.

The sophisticated device will make it easy for laptop users to plug in and call up e-mail and World Wide Web addresses swiftly.

“The truth is, the hotel industry has been thinking about Net access in rooms for more than a year,” said Neil Senturia, a former real estate developer who is the chief executive of Atcom/Info. “We’re going to supply it.”