‘Good Day: This Is Your Hotel Room Speaking’ : Trends: Automation and a multitude of conveniences figure to become a way of life throughout the travel industry. But the human factor may be sorely missed.

Welcome to the future of travel.

The automated voice synthesizer wakes me in my hotel room. I get up and go into the bathroom, where a TV screen displays up-to-the-minute videotext of the overnight news and stock market reports.

A horn suddenly sounds in the room--not too loud, but definitely noticeable. It is followed by a voice synthesizer asking me if I am awake, making sure I have not overslept.

It is time to check out. I slide my credit card into a magnetic reading slot near the TV set. My bill is displayed on the screen, my card approved and a paper copy printed for me.

The insertion of the card also alerts the bell staff. There’s a knock at the door. It’s the bellman who has come equipped with special bar-code tags.

He takes my bags, checks my airline ticket, tags the bags to my destination and leaves, taking the bags with him. I will pick them up after my plane lands.

I take the elevator down past the lobby to the basement, where a shuttle subway is waiting.

I am whisked by high-speed train to the airport in plenty of time to make my plane.

When I arrive, I go to the gate. The agent checks my coded bag tags and puts them through a scanner, which confirms that all of my bags have arrived at the airport, and, for security reasons, that I have checked in for the right flight.

I then produce my ticket. It is not an ordinary ticket but a plastic “smart card” that the agent inserts into another scanner. It knows my meal preference, that I like a window seat and that I wish to be alerted during the flight for incoming fax or telephone messages.

It issues my boarding pass. But there’s no mention of frequent flier miles. Instead, the number “three,” indicating a 3% rebate, is displayed next to my name. The days of the mileage award programs are over.

Instead, frequent fliers are rewarded with direct rebates on their travel by the airlines, based on dollar volume of travel. The rebates are deposited electronically into my bank account.

The number “three” indicates that I qualify to receive 3% of my fare back as a rebate. (Others can receive as much as 10%.)

I board the aircraft and take my seat. It is not an ordinary seat, but a computer-controlled electronic work and entertainment center. Liquid crystal display monitors provide up-to-the-minute news and information. Another channel shows the weather radar. I have a choice of six movies and six video games.

On the seat back in front of me is a satellite telephone. The system allows me clear communications anywhere in the world. The phone unit also contains a dataport for my portable computer or fax machine.

From a technological perspective, there is no doubt that we stand at the threshold of the wonder years of travel. The technology exists--and in many cases is already in place--for us to get from point A to point B faster and fresher, and to communicate better along the way.

Already, a new generation of long-range, long-haul jets is in service, making it possible to fly non-stop between New York and Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Bangkok--and beyond.

Hypersonic jets were on the drawing board 10 years ago, and the development of an ultra-high thrust, economical ramjet engine is still proceeding.

High-speed rail links exist in parts of Europe and Japan, and new lines are being planned in such diverse locations as London and Las Vegas.

Automobile technology is also improving in both safety and speed. If fuel prices remain stable and auto design takes into account the need for a combination of comfort, communication and speed, the concept of the high-tech family auto vacation could soon be upon us.

Hotels are being designed with rooms that will be more functional, with the emphasis on ease of communications and ease in getting in and out of your room. The unresolved area remains the human factor, the level of personal contact, personal service and personal satisfaction that means the difference between a successful trip and an endurance run.

To what extent will technology overtake personal service? To what extent will demographics take precedence over common sense?

Another potentially serious problem confronts the traveler in the ‘90s. Assuming the service problems can be licked, how many companies will be around to provide it?

We didn’t have to wait for the ‘90s to see the disintegration of strong competition among airlines, cruise ships and hotels. Mergers, consolidations, acquisitions and outright failures have all contributed--and continue to contribute--to an oligopoly of mega-companies thriving on the verge of price fixing. The 1980s may have started the era of deregulation, but the 1990s begins with the thought that it might now be called the “error” of deregulation.

With less competition, and with the costs of goods and services increasing, the new decade does not hold great promise at the outset of either reasonable fares or good service. Instead, it is not unthinkable to project that the next few years will see an increase in domestic travel, more auto travel and a growing rebellion among airline passengers, especially business travelers, against a steady and almost unstoppable increase in average air fares.

In the first quarter of 1989, fares used by business travelers rose a whopping 44% from the same period in 1988. And although you may have heard reports about some fare cuts announced by airlines, remember that these are seasonal adjustments announced during the slow travel period from January through March, and do not usually affect business travelers.

It is also quite possible that the 1990s could be known as the decade that ushered in the age of re -regulation. My hope is that there will be some middle ground, that airline executives, hoteliers and others in the travel industry will once again embrace the philosophy that they are not offering us a “product” but a service, and that good service should not be a lost art.

And while it’s commendable--even exciting--to be on the cutting edge of technology, it’s still more important to be nice.