Sounding Off: Try the shiny new tech but never expect results

Each Friday, PhocusWire dissects and debates an industry trend or new development covered on our site that week.

The rise and fall of the iPad in travel could be seen as a perfect metaphor for so many other bright and shiny ideas in the industry.

As we noted two weeks ago, when Hipmunk was finally turned off after a decade of trying to force a change in consumer behavior online, often the introduction of a new piece of technology or interface follows a similar path.

Take the launch of Google Glass, initially with a prototype in 2013 and then a full release to the public in 2014.

Travel brands were falling over themselves (Virgin Atlantic, in particular, somewhat inevitably) to illustrate how the wearable technology could transform the passenger experience.

That the device made the brand's business class reception staff at London's Heathrow Airport look like stand-ins from the movie The Fifth Element (i.e. fairly daft) was pushed aside in the race for marketing points and capturing the zeitgeist.

It became apparent fairly quickly that if the device hadn't been created by Google, then the buzz around it would probably never have been as great as it was and, predictably, use tailed off soon after as other, perhaps more useful wearables such as watches came into vogue.

Travel brands should be applauded for trying new technologies out - it's the natural process of the "test and learn" philosophy adopted by many as they beef up their research and development departments.

The industry currently finds itself in the middle of a significant wave of emerging technology that could have an impact on how it operates, ranging from blockchain and machine learning to biometrics and voice.

Some of these will come and go, especially those that require more than one brand or collection of brands to perhaps ensure they have a genuine and lasting effect (a challenge currently facing blockchain).

But here is the rub. Technologists will always want to play, but the bean counters upstairs often do not have the patience to let the nerds in the basement figure out if something new is relevant to a brand's strategic vision beyond the next few quarters.

An understanding and acceptance of both of these positions is vital if the industry is able to develop within its own parameters and those of the wider tech world.