Is there a new technology race starting in the hotel industry?  Three weeks after the Marriott, Cisco, and AT&T telepresence announcement comes this announcement by Starwood, Cisco, and Tata.  Is this a case of an industry still suffering from reduced business travel and reduced conference bookings finding a new strategy?  Telepresence is not going to make up the shortfall however; such a strategy could become a differentiator in attracting new business.  It will be interesting to see how the hotel chains position telepresence and how they will package it with traditional products.  Offering telepresence press events (see sample below) to conference organizers could be a starting point.

Thoughts?