Guests at The Peabody Orlando, the 891-room luxury, 57,000 sq. ft., convention/resort hotel on International Drive, have been provided a fast, efficient, convenient way to access the Internet and stay connected to their homes and offices.
They simply switch on their in-room TV and using the full-size keyboard provided, navigate the internet and related services on screen using the Tab and pgUp and PgDn keys and arrows.
 
“This is a very welcome service for our guests, most of whom are business executives and convention delegates who need to stay connected,” said Barry Anderson, vice president of marketing, Peabody Hotel Group.
 
The service is provided by OnCommand @Hoteltv, and is installed in all 891 guestrooms of the 27-story hotel. @HotelTV is T1 based, providing significantly higher connection and transfer rates than standard telephone dial-up connections.
 
  “Advances in communications technology are ongoing, and we are constantly reviewing the innovations to evaluate their application, convenience and efficiency for guest use,” said Andrew Whitaker, manager of telecommunications for the hotel.
  “Viewing the Internet on TV is not the same as a PC. The text is larger, images appear to be smaller. Not all web sites and features are compatible with the TV. Of course, major web-based accounts such as Yahoo!, MSN, etc., and POP3 accounts using Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Mail or Microsoft Outlook Express, or a similar service, provides access to any Internet accessible e-mail account, including corporate e-mail, Internet Service Providers (ISP) mail and web-based HTML mail accounts using the `Get Your E-mail` feature.”
 
  There is a twenty-four-hour charge of $9.95 for internet access through the hotel`s in-room TVs which is charged to the guestroom portfolio.

Traditional dial-up for lap-top connection still is available through the data port on both two-line phones.
The Peabody Orlando is a member of Peabody Hotel Group, which is headquartered in Memphis, TN., and also is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

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