Home work: hotels use technology to draw business travel.

The lines between work and home continue to blur, so why should business travelers feel any less at home when they are on the road?

Hilton Hotels Corp.'s Garden Inn line of moderately-priced business hotels has begun to outfit its rooms with the latest must-haves--high-definition televisions, MP3 compatible radios and wireless Web access--to burnish its standing in the hotly competitive business hotel market.

The changes are part of an effort by Beverly Hills-based Hilton to sharpen the brand's recognition among consumers.

"Our idea is to provide our guests with what they need before they even know they need it," said Mark Nogal, vice president of marketing for the Garden Inn line. "We have been the leader in terms of technology in our segment, and we are going to continue to be a leader within the segment."

High-tech amenities like plasma-screen televisions and WiFi connections have been a part of the luxury hotel landscape for some time. The acknowledgement that they appeal to price-conscious business travelers is a bit of a shift in the marketplace.

The Garden Inn is Hilton's moderately priced business hotel brand. Nightly room rates for its hotels, typically located near convention centers or airports, outside of central business districts, are $100 per night. About 95 percent of Garden Inn locations are franchised.

The upfront bill for the technological upgrades will largely fall in the laps of Hilton franchisees, who voted to accept the changes and generally agree that improvements are necessary to build and retain guest loyalty in a competitive market.

By 2006, 10 percent of the chain's existing king-bed rooms and all king-bed rooms in new hotels will have 26-inch high-definition televisions. Wireless Internet access will be in rooms next year, and MP3 compatible radios are scheduled this year. The goal is to have all 223 units in the chain outfitted by 2008. Most of the Garden Inn rooms now have wired high-speed Internet access.

The amenities will push Garden Inn room rates up slightly, but Agnes Sibal, a Hilton Garden Inn spokeswoman, said she didn't know by how much. She emphasized that the hotel "will still be in the mid-price category."

Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott International Inc.'s moderately priced business brand, is the Garden Inn's leading competitor. Others include InterContinental Hotel Group's Holiday Inn Express and Choice Hotels International Inc.'s Clarion Hotel.

Marriott offers high-speed Internet access throughout its chains, but wireless offerings are more sporadic. For example, at Courtyard Marriott LAX, wireless connections are available in the meeting rooms, not the guest rooms. Courtyard Marriotts do not have flat-screen televisions in the guest rooms.

Hotels in the mid-price category generally offer stripped-down facilities designed for business travelers who find luxuries such as spas unnecessary distractions.

By sprucing up the chain, analysts said the Garden Inn is adapting to the rebound in business travel. The Travel Industry Association of America estimated that business travelers will take about 150 million trips this year, up nearly 4 percent from 2004.

Catering to the business client has its risks. The sector is highly sensitive to economic downturns, which could potentially leave the Hilton with empty Garden Inn rooms if times turn bad.

But Cline said technological upgrades are attractive to both business and leisure travelers, who increasingly bring work with them on the road. "Hotel marketers are concerned about putting all their eggs in one basket. Making one's hotels appealing both to business and leisure travelers is just smarter," said Roger Cline, chief executive of New York-based hotel advisory firm Roundhill Hospitality LLC.

Eric Maryanov, president of AllTravel.com, which has offices in West Los Angeles, Valencia and Torrance, agreed. Business travelers, he said, generally find things like flat-screen TVs "kind of a nice add-on, but no big deal." They do, however, appeal to leisure travelers who have time to laze in the room.

To satisfy a business traveler, a business hotel must recreate an office in the room. Maryanov said his corporate clients will avoid hotels that don't have free high-speed Internet access, and they prefer wireless.

"Most businessmen are carrying their own laptops, so they are going to want that accessibility." said Beth Mohiuddian, a manager at Woodland Hills-based Travel Syndicate-American Express who handles small business and leisure travel.

With most hotels inevitably beefing up their technological amenities, Hilton's modest lead in the effort probably won't matter much, said Harry Nobles, a hospitality consultant with Virginia-based Optimum Rating. "It is important that you have it. Nobody is going to remember down the road that you are the first," he said, referring to the flat-screen television.

But Cline said that hotel amenities do make a difference. Travelers decide what hotel to stay at based on price, location and the hotel product, he explained. In the business market, where there are many hotels priced similarly and location is generally non-negotiable, hotel amenities can sway hotel choice.

"There used be a time, many, many years ago, when a traveler would leave a more modest home experience and go out in the hotel room and find sophistication," said Cline. "There is plenty of sophistication occurring in the home experience and, of course, in the office experience, and the hotel industry has to run to stay apace."