Making a trek? Tech shows up everywhere

— -- The business of travel is notoriously cyclical. So when recession and terrorism in 2001 knocked it flat on its back, it was just a matter of time before it would come back.

Travel in the USA has been resurgent for more than three years. But there's a difference in this particular rebound.

From booking the trip to the cab ride home, technology has changed the travel experience. Today, technology has become the traveler's constant companion. At its best, it eliminates the bottlenecks of the past, reduces stress and saves time. It's a different story when the robot on the other end of the phone insists you're saying Bulgaria, not Baltimore.

Machines today may provide as much or more customer service to airline passengers, hotel guests and rental car customers than humans do. It's now possible to check into a hotel room — or order a drink at the bar — without coming in contact with a hotel employee. It's possible to rent a car without human interaction. And many air passengers reach the jet bridge at the gate before encountering an airline employee — who scans their boarding pass with a machine.

Machines have been taking over from humans in other service industries for years. You can buy a gallon of milk at the market or a gallon of paint at Home Depot without a cashier by using a self-serve device at checkout. Many people are so hooked on ATMs, they never set eyes on a bank teller.

But customer service technology has taken hold in the travel industry only in the last few years, partly because of strong labor unions and tradition. In the disastrous travel downturn following the Sept. 11 attacks, airlines fighting for financial survival cut 150,000 jobs and replaced many with technology.

Voice-recognition software and travel websites took the place of many airline reservation agents. Some ticket agents were replaced by self-service check-in kiosks at airports. Although the changes cost thousands of jobs, airlines found that many travelers love the impersonal devices that let them zip through the airport.

A look at how technology is changing the travel experience:

Hotels

Self-service kiosks cover most bases

Hyatt Place, a new limited-service hotel chain launched two years ago, shows where hotel technology is heading.

There, guests check in and get their room key from a kiosk in the lobby. They order a snack from the kitchen and pay for it using a touch screen. They have the option to order up a sitcom they just missed on network TV. Before leaving for the airport, guests may stop by the lobby kiosk to print out their boarding pass.

New technology is sweeping through hotels up and down the luxury scale. It's caught on especially with younger travelers, who have grown up with automation. Hilton surveys show more than a third of its customers carry an iPod, 89% carry a cellphone, and 49% have a high-definition TV at home.

"Our guests are coming in with new expectations, because the technology has really arrived," says Hilton Hotels executive Robert Machen.