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In "How Technology has Shaped the Hospitality Sector in 2019," author Pranjal Prashar believes that the use of certain technological advances, will allow hotels to provide exceptional guest experiences. Prashar states that there has been an increase in the number of hotels that have recognized new and innovative technologies and have started to implement these advances to deliver a better guest experience. One of the benefits of using such advances as the PMS and RMS systems is that it can help hotels make data- backed decisions. In today's world, guest expectations have moved from basic needs such as clean rooms to including the need of an experience says Prashar. With millennial's projected to overtake baby boomers as America's largest population, I believe it is vital that the hospitality industry as well as other industries invest in technology to stay in front of the curve.

The article summarized several reasons and examples of a management system, what kind of benefits should include, and how it can help the owner. The technology is growing fast if we can think out of the box to understand how to use it. The software can be the best helper.

Maestro and b4checkin are coming together to make paying for hotel stays easier, especially when booked online using CNP transactions Their payment platform TransForm is helping to fight fraud and chargebacks while also better protecting guests' card information.

Hospitality employees are faced every day with multi tasking which can lead to human error. AI has many benefits in making the majority of these tasks automated. Hatboxes will take a guests information, and record it into the database which will allow the staff to make the stay more personalized with information at hand.

The article simply describes the ways in which AI is apart of our everyday lives and how it has not only impacted us as individuals but in the hospitality industry. Years ago, when we thought of AI we would think of big robots but now AI is as small as a chip in an iPhone, or as intangible as data on a software. AI has enabled a deeper level of personalization to guest experience as well as added close to maximum efficiency in the data and intelligence realm. It allows for multiple processes to be happening at the click of a button, lessening the potential exhaustion of our human resources in these businesses. In my opinion, AI has brought exponential convenience to our everyday lives and although sometimes intrusive, it makes life easier. Being able to rely on a piece of technology to remember certain patterns and trends is convenient and efficient.

In this article, the author thoroughly discusses how artificial intelligence has severely impacted the hospitality industry. The author begins with a short description of what AI really is, stating "The term "AI" doesn't have to refer to an autonomous robot that handles the cleaning in your home. It can just as easily refer to the algorithm used to personalize the marketing emails you receive". They then go on to explain how AI can be and IS extremely helpful to the operations side of the hospitality industry. For example, when the front desk phone rings, AI can be implemented to intelligently reroute incoming calls to the correct department's line, alleviating some of the work off of the front desk staff who would've otherwise needed to stop what they're doing to answer the phone for something as simple as a transfer to a different department. Next is a section dedicated to how AI can personalize the guest experience. By collecting data on guests while they're using your website, you can show them offers and amenities at your hotel that are tailored to them. The example in the article states "You might make special offers that speak to their unique needs, such as child-friendly rooms, all-inclusive stays, or experiences that include a room at the hotel, but also tickets to events or shows in the surrounding area". All in all, AI is vital to the hospitality industry. It not only helps guests have the best experience they possibly can, but it also helps the staff with providing the best service they possibly can to the guests.

I used Maestro in my first position in the hospitality industry as a front desk agent in a Boutique Hotel. We also used Micros for the POS system for the in-house restaurant but they were two separate entities at the time. I am happy to see the advancements that have been made to this now highly efficient system. After reading this article and doing some research on Maestro's website I feel Maestro outshines its competitors by providing excellent 'Diamond Plus' service to its clients. Compared to the Webrezpro system that I just analyzed for our Discussion assignment, Maestro provides several free tools and resources twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. An impressively North American based Help Desk is available 24/7 to ensure smooth operations of the system and optimal staff training. In addition Maestro provides install, staff training, transition assistance, refresher training, online tutorials, webinars, productivity audits, upgrades, enhancements and much more. Maestro management strategies collaborates with Hotel Executives and staff to increase performance, deliver high quality guest services and increase profits. Their professional team also addresses issues such as under-utilization of the system and ways to get the most value for your investment. Since Maestro supports platform and database independence updates occur instantaneously. To help Hotels save time, increase efficiency and have higher levels of staff productivity Maestro is the chosen tool for the job. Maestro clearly puts their clients' needs first and is therefore trusted by several Hotels worldwide.

Maestro appears to be a good product based on the article. I would say though that both this and webrezpro do have some similarities of operating on cloud computing. The key is that depending on cost and application a company may choose what works best for them.

Many hotels may want to chance their accounting systems but at the same time are trying to avoid all of the new costs and possible disruptions that come with a new system. By staying with their old systems though it could end up costing them more money in the long run if the system decides to just stop working and then you lose all of your data.

This article describes what basic capabilities an accounting software for a hotel who is trying to expand globally should have. As well know, it is very important for a company to be able to adapt to changing times. Hotels are an industry that is constantly facing challenges, especially when trying to expand globally. This article gives some very important tips on what hotels should looks for when putting their financial management system in place. For example, expanding globally means a hotel would have to handle different currencies at one time. This is somewhat of a complex task for a company who is new to the global arena. Hotels should make sure to have a system that would make following different sets of accounting and business rules easier for the company. Another example is hotels should have a system that is able to utilize multiple accounting standards. "GAAP, IFRS and local accounting standards require different accounting treatments", therefore, software for hotels should be able to accommodate these variations.

I found this article very interesting as it discusses various aspects that a financial system should have in order to provide the most accurate and timely financial reports and analysis to help hotels to be more efficient and increase profit. According to the article, as all the hotels are evolving and changing at all times and the financial system has to be able to keep up with all the changes. One of the few things a financial management system should be able to do is to handle currency complexity and make sure that the hotel's accounting system can handle multiple currencies. A good financial system should also be able to handle multiple different languages for employees with different language backgrounds and also units of measurements and formats. The system also needs to be able to support multiple charts of accounts. According to Ventana Research 2011, "maintaining multiple charts of accounts may prove to be both simpler in the long run and more productive." Another important aspect of a good financial system it to handle tax complexities for hotels operating in various countries. The accounting software should be able to "handle complexities associated with different tax regulations and help defending tax audits." The last important fact it that the software should web based therefore accessible from anywhere and anytime. I find the last one the most important one as our technology and our PMS are moving into cloud based systems, it is curial that we are moving in the right direction with all of our systems and have them synchronized.

This article introduce the Maestro's sales and catering development, it integrated with Maestro's front-office system to simplify the accounting

Hotels are taking advantage of new technology as it betters customer relations and sales. A cloud based PMS allows you to communicate across platforms in real time. Hotels can now make better decisions for their business by having a system that collects data. Guests also have access to data such as check in and check out times. All due to the rise of IT in hotels.

Technology is on the rise with many hotels beginning to use property management systems to create guest profile's. Hotels are also using more artificial intelligence, and voice-enabled devices like Siri, Amazon Echo, and Google Assistance. The hotel industry is looking to invest in more high end technology to increase travel and guest experience.

As the hospitality industry keeps expanding and the demand keeps accelerating from the increasing number of travelers. Businesses operating under this industry relatively also have the increasing need for maintaining efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Major B2B software providers are now currently getting into this rapid growth wave to meet the needs of these businesses.

This article captured my intrigue in that it effectively compared Julia Child's words in the kitchen being the heart of a home, and how an organized kitchen allows for the operations to run smoothly. In a hotel alike, the heart of the hotel is technology and it is important to keep the heart beating by running efficient, interfaced, and integrated systems. Moreover, this is the reason service lags in the hospitality industry - because we continue to run on a myriad of systems that do not work well with one another. Should we begin investing in systems that sync and run well with one another, service and efficiency would improve.