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The articles goes over why Hospitality should start making pre-payment the norm in the industry. The examples given are because of high cancellation rates, fraudulent bookings, and cash flow impact.

The article discusses how hotels are one of the E-Commerce industries where payment is predominately received after the service is provided and not at the time of booking/purchase like most e-commerce businesses. This practice has hindered revenue growth over the years due to fraudulent bookings, long lead times affecting cash flow, and high cancellation rate for reservations. Which is why hotels should aim to further encourage payment at the time of booking, which according to D-EDGE (a cloud-based e-commerce company & booking engine) can be done by increasing the number of payment options, exemplified by their partnership with PayPal, that enables hotels to accept payments fast and securely by integrating the widely used PayPal platform to the hotel's website.

This article is about the importance of changing the way payment is done in the hospitality industry. There are negatives to paying after you have completed your stay. It includes people canceling before stays and people booking without any intentions of staying at the hotel.

When considering mobile technologies, many hospitality managers are not convinced of the potential benefits resulting in enhanced guest engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and increased consumer spending. The common goals of mobile technology implementation are acceleration of guest traffic, heightened interactivity, promotion and sales of goods and services, and gathering of feedback relative to the guest's experience. Mobile services include special website configurations, fluent marketing campaigns, location-based activities, digital couponing, and point-of-sale settlement. Currently, the fastest growing segment of m-commerce service is mobile payments featuring cashless and cardless payment platforms. If not already in place, hospitality management should consider business payment choices of coin and currency, credit and debit card, and mobile options.

1. IT The hot-button issue within the realm of hotel-information technology is mobile and cloud technology.A company could have tens of thousands of smartphones or laptops in the field at any given point-each a potential gateway to hackers and other criminals. To the problem the core principle is to provide end-to-end data protection with looking at cost and benefit and how it's supports the business. 2. Terrorism Ironically, one of the main reasons terrorism tops the list is because it has become less of an issue in recent years.Hoteliers need to keep their staffs and travelers mindful of possible threats, but they don't want to scare them. 3. Skimmers A related threat is that of "skimmers," or devices that catch credit card numbers when consumers use them for payment.The best prevention measure is to have an investigative team or third party on hand and making that known to employees. 4. Liability and insurance fraud These two related issues can double, triple, quadruple and quintuple corporate insurance premiums in the blink of an eye. The advisement is hoteliers to educate themselves on the issue, consulting with an attorney, if necessary. 5. Security as taboo "Security" still is something of a taboo in the global hotel industry.Hoteliers need to do a better job of "turning on the light" by talking about security openly and regularly at staff and association meetings, and hotel executives should insist their GMs make security a priority

1. ITAccording to the article, most mobile devices that are used for business are unprotected. Meaning that the devices if the device even have a password and if it does the password is not very complex. There could be thousands of employees accessing company information via the cloud through unprotected smart phones or other mobile devices. This could organizations at risk to hackers and other criminals  2.  TerrorismAlthough terrorist threats are less of a concern nowadays, that does not mean hotel managers should discontinue stressing the importance of security within their establishments. Keeping employees aware and diligent can prove to be a delicate assignment but it is a necessary of part of maintaining a safe work environment in the twenty-first century. 3.  SkimmersSkimmers are devices that steal credit card numbers when consumers use them for payment. Unfortunately, it is most commonly an employee on the inside who is committing the crime.  A third party investigation team will be needed to prove who is stealing from the establishment.  4. Liability and Insurance FraudCombined, these two issues could sky rocket a company's insurance costs through the roof. It is crucial that hoteliers be aware of the legal system and educates themselves on issues concerning liability. Both patrons and employees alike could potentially file claims against an establishment and entitlements can quickly get out of hand.    5.  SecurityDespite the best security measures, there is always the possibility of unforeseen danger. This fear of the unknown is a concern for hotel workers. To confront this fear of the unknown managers must regularly and openly discuss security with employees.  Security should be held as a top priority. 

This article discusses five main concerns brought on by the current state of hotel security. I must say that some of this information surprised me. Something that especially surprised me was learning that mobile devices that are used for business hardly use passwords. The article states, "Amplifying the problem is the sheer number of devices, he added. A company could have tens of thousands of smartphones or laptops in the field at any given point-each a potential gateway to hackers and other criminals." This piece of information is very unsettling to me. How could such valuable information not be protected? The article suggests the solution to this problem is PCI DSS. Terrorism as number two on this list also surprised me because that is not something that would first come to mind for me. The article states that it is ironically on the list for becoming less of an issue. I suppose this reminds hoteliers to never let their guard down when it comes to issues of safety and security within the hotel. However, "skimmers" and liability on this list does not really surprise me. The article suggests that hoteliers be educated about these issues to protect the hotel against them.

This article describes 7 travel and tech trends that are shaping the hotel industry this year. With labor shortages and growing inflation, hoteliers are turning to technology to relieve some pressures like using a native-cloud-based PMS platform, using mobile and kiosk-based self check-in, and using a a more consolidated payment processer that can deliver a more secure and seamless experience for guests.

The article reports MyCheck has created an app to eliminate ordering food and drinks at the table for some restaurants using tablets or servers. The app allows guest to order from the menu on their smart phone and the order is directly is sent to the POS system. The goal is to eliminate the big hardware. The hope is by restaurants using MyCheck the server will be able to spend more time on quality service. The power of ordering and paying will be at the power of the guest. Customer rewards are also going to be tracked through the app.

The article reports MyCheck has created an app to eliminate ordering food and drinks at the table for some restaurants using tablets or servers. The app allows guest to order from the menu on their smart phone and the order is directly is sent to the POS system. The goal is to eliminate the big hardware. The hope is by restaurants using MyCheck the server will be able to spend more time on quality service. The power of ordering and paying will be at the power of the guest. Customer rewards are also going to be tracked through the app.

This article is the resultant of a survey by Hospitality Technology as a deep dive into the minds of Restaurant Technology experts and executives. The results of the survey, commented by various executives from POS provision companies details their thoughts on the needs and direction of POS systems in the industry. The article, though lengthy, outlines current additions to existing POS systems and upgrades they are or will be implementing as a contrast to the opinions of the Technology executives. Out of this, several distinct trends emerge. POS will no longer be just cash register alternatives. They as a class of products are evolving quickly, integrating data, inventory management, third party integration (both service and distribution side) as well as an emphasis on Cloud-Based and managed implementations. All seem to concur that the future of the POS is not merely operational and operator functionality but also payment systems integrations that will make payment by the consumer friction-less and more diversified. On-line ordering is a distinct focus for all POS providers as online ordering grows exponentially for the foreseeable future. This includes critical items for brand based application ordering as well as third party aggregators. This includes the integration of omni-channel ordering including mobile, amazon-echo, Google-Echo and other AI/Voice based systems and the implications of their increasing usage. Data Security will be at the forefront of POS implementations with Restaurants having to increase their focus on vulnerabilities in their current systems and look to Cloud based systems to offer greater safeguards against hacks and data compromise. Finally, there seems a general agreement that a POS needs to be ready for the future, that is is extensible, up-gradable, and flexible to meet the rapid changes in technology in as bio metrics, payment methods (ie Bitcoin), new devices and services come to market. .

The hospitality industry began to develop the mobile point-of-sale (POS) technology. Technology vendors brought POS capabilities to consumers' own devices. Hospitality Technology has scanned many of the latest releases in point-of-sale technology to help restaurants keep up-to-date on mobile solutions. For example, Tabbedout, a secure mobile payment solution, allows patrons to open, view and pay their tabs, for free, with an iPhone or Android smartphone. Another example is Micros Makes Memorable Menus. An interactive restaurant menu and marketing portal built for the Apple iPad that enables restaurants to showcase upcoming events, programs, food and beverage menus, and daily specials; as well as to facilitate tabletop ordering and payment processing.

In this article they talk about how vendors are using "mobile payment system." They explain there are two types of mobile wallets, open-loop and closed-loop. A Open loop is using apps like Google wallet that you keep major credit cards and closed-loop would using payment method for a certain restaurant or vender. They went on to explain how the Federal Reserve states that 17% of smartphone users have use a mobile device at the POS in the last 12 months. The article went on to say that restaurant should start to embrace this type of payment because it gives the customers more options to pay. They went on to say that many of the new POS systems offer the ability to use virtual wallets and other types of payments. They are calling this new POS systems, mPOS. They state they are a great tool for quick service restaurants. You can see how this is explaining with the commercials of Chase Mobile Banking. In the article they mention "mobile-to-mobile" transactions. In the commercial they show you how a mom forgot to pay for a field trip but she can instantly send a payment to the classroom mom and not have to worry later. To me, it is an interesting concept. I have tried mobile deposits and accepting moneys via email transfers.

This paper discusses the increasing usage of the mobile wallet in restaurants and how this technology is changing how restaurants operate. The main disruption the mobile wallet is causing are challenges for smaller restaurants to remain competitive without offering mobile payment options. Larger franchises have easier access to funds necessary to make the switch while smaller operations struggle to fund needed technological upgrades. In addition to this, while many find offering mobile payment options to be a competitive advantage, this paper has shown that people rarely exclusively use mobile payment methods as most continue to also use physical cards and even cash. This makes it difficult for many managers to justify the expenditure on mobile payment systems because while lacking them may make your competitors that do more appealing, acquiring mobile payment methods may not actually increase your customer base at all.

In this article by Hospitality Business News, the author emphasizes the benefits of the new Mobile Payment Processing and the basic knowledge of the Smart Phone payment. This payment way attracts a lot restaurants owners' eyes, especially in large cities and big restaurants. This Mobile payment revolutionizes the traditional payment method in hotels and restaurants, and it brings much convenience to both merchants and customers. First, it can definitely increase speed of the table turn and save time for consumers and servers. Time is money, especially in the business, customers don't need to give the card to server, and then the server brings the card to the front desk, later bring it back to the customers and customers get that. that's a waste of time compared to this smart phone payment. Second, it is also a fully integrated extension of the current POS system, it makes the POS better and resolve some patches of the current POS. it is a win-win for everyone involved. This Mobile Payment Processing is now being applied in 13 states in 49 cities. In the future, I believe that it will be applied wider than that and it will be more and more popular all over the world, especially for those busy businesses.

This article expounds how technological advances in POS systems are changing the way different organizations in the hospitality industry do business. The article explains how each business can gain a competitive edge with speedy POS payment systems as well. According to the article, there are three new ways for customers to pay that includes contactless methods of payment , prepay, and mobile ordering. All of these new features are having an especially beneficial effect, allowing lines to move faster as transactions are processed more efficiently. The article further explains how future POS trends goes beyond faster payments and quicker queues. Modern POS systems offer the unprecedented access to detailed customer data that focuses on individual customers' patterns and preferences. In conclusion, with all the benefits that the latest technology offers, it stands to reason that he latest POS systems hold the key to the future of hospitality.

This article was really interesting. I liked the different methods it referenced with regards to how customers can pay, as I know those methods are really becoming integral to the industry. I also like how it talked about how businesses can use data mining to find out exactly how fruitful these innovations will be or how they are helping the businesses that have already installed them. I'm interested in seeing what new technological innovations occur in the future, especially with regards to how people pay for their meals.

"Indeed, consumer-facing technologies were the highest priority for the surveyed cohort of IT professionals. The other important areas of tech upgrades are adding bandwidth to on-property systems (especially as the industry trends towards personal content consumption), and preparing for the upcoming shift in North America to the chip-and-pin technology. Screen Shot 2015-01-26 at 12.12.53 PM The rise of mobile payments also poses a technology quandary to hotels, as there are currently competing standards without a clear winner. The reality of multi-brand mobile payments is also that there will likely be several winners, and guests might wish to pay via a variety of mobile-first payment systems in the near future. Migrating to the cloud continues to be a priority for many respondents. Services across the boar are being transitioned from on-property to the cloud, including PMS (15% moving to cloud), sales and catering (14%), POS(14%) and CRM (12%). The security of this data is obviously also a concern, with many hotel technologists seeing securing data as a clear priority. As the shift to cloud-based services continues, hotels must spend more money on security to prevent breaches or other embarrassing lapses. Mid-tier brands are the most likely this year to see an increased focus on security, investing 10.39% of budgets in security and PCI compliance. That's compared with only 6.87% last year." Hotels are investing in technology to better serve a more tech savvy consumer. By adding systems who cater to mobile devices and mobile computing, hotels are expanding their customer base. A transition has even begun to cloud based services.

This article highlights three hardware trends that is shaping the modern hospitality industry globally by focusing on the advances experienced in POS technology. The writer emphasizes that since the hospitality industry has been more focused on services than on retail, restaurant, bars, hotel and pub owners should pay keen interest on the technological developments. This technology is beneficial to the hospitality industry, as it will help the operators improve on customer experience. Hardware plays a critical role in improving the services offered in the hospitality industry. The three emerging trends in hospitality mentioned in the article relate to the trends in EPOS hardware in the industry. The first trend mentioned in the article is mobile EPOS (M-POS), which helps in taking orders, inputting them into the EPOS system, have the order forwarded to the kitchen and processing for the order payment by using wireless broadband. The second trend is kiosks that are self-service points in the hospitality industry. Kiosks have several uses like checking availability, making reservations when the patrons arrive in restaurants and allowing guests to order room service in hotel rooms. The last trend is the use of scanners, which is modern EPOS software for setting up a loyalty scheme for businesses. Scanners have not been a necessary part of the hospitality EPOS but their demand has grown due to the increase in popularity for loyalty schemes among businesses.

This article talks about the three hardware systems that are trending now in the hospitality industry. The Mobile EPOS, Kioks, and Scanners are all meant to make the job of the company run smoother and more efficiently. The EPOS makes it easier to get everything done in one place, for example placing an order, paying and receiving a receipt. Kiosks allow customers to place their own order and have the food delivered to them. Lastly, scanners are a great help when it come tp updating records.

Retail operators are now understanding that point of sale systems can also be used to not only assist in processing the final phase of the checkout but also throughout the entire process to increase the service aspect. The advancement in POS technology is the driving force behind this initiative. Operators of restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, etc., are using POS technology to improve the customer service experience. The main focus of this is placed on modern specialised EPOS software and hardware systems and how they can help to integrate operations across an entire business. There are three emerging trends in hospitality EPOS hardware that are used to run the software. They are mobile Epos (M-Pos), Kiosks and Scanners. Mobile EPOS (M-POS) use single devices at the table to take orders, input into the EPOS system, forwarded to the kitchen and process the order for payment. Kiosks, on the other hand are self-service points that allow users to process orders and payments separate from collection they can also allow users to check availability and making reservations, allowing them to perform tasks like choosing tables and dining times themselves. Kiosks could play a similar role in hotel rooms, allowing guests to order room service or offering a smart concierge option. The final hardware option mentioned was the use of scanners. Scanners are used in conjunction with the loyalty schemes which are growing in popularity as a way to incentivise repeat business and for updating records.

Hotels have to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, which are constantly updated since technology is developing. Also, 'the hotel industry has unique vulnerabilities to credit card theft', since the cards should be available over the long period of time, and to different 3rd parties as well. The new technology will encrypt credit card information at the point-of-swipe, and the number never gets to any other place in the hotel or other business. The other issue is payments on mobile devices. Where it is advised to encrypt information prior to using the device, and avoid "bring you own device policy'.

This article introduces the Secure Payments Framework in Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) Conference. The Framework applies mobile payment and cloud computing technology to reduce the cost and complexity of satisfying the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. The credit card security is a big challenge for all hotels, especially for the small hotels, lacking expertise and budget to protect customers' card information. There are many advantages of the new card framework. Firstly, the new Framework can encrypt the credit card information at the point-of-swipe. In this way, the card number can't be stolen by other systems. Secondly, it is scalable for different sizes of hotel. Thirdly, new guidance is made for accepting payments on mobile devices. Before processing payment, the merchant need encrypt cardholder, to make sure more security. What is more, new policy on cloud computing. The cloud service provider and its clients are both responsible for the security of cloud data. The policy also need merchants to evaluate competing cloud services and carefully pay procedures.

This article relates on the growth and efficiency of cashless & contact-less payment systems which are now part of the unattended POS systems. Their use allows for a fast & easy service and prevent people form worrying about whether they have enough change to pay for the parking meter or for the candy bar form the vending machine. The best part is the fact that the payment card can be placed nearby the device and the transaction can be processed; no need to put in a pin number and risk getting any financial information stolen.

This article is about touch less payments after COVID. It focused on three options: Paying at the table, the value touch less POS brings, and Near Field Communications which is used with Google and Apple Pay.

This article reviews Mobile POS systems and unattended POS systems and provides key features of each.

This article looked at the views on IT investments of Hospitality Technology's Editorial Advisory Board. The Board represents a variety of hospitality industries. The article focused on areas of improvement, emerging technologies, IT priorities for 2012, "wish list" IT investments, and more. Among the areas for improvement, guest Wi-Fi and mobile apps, loss prevention technologies, and social media targeting older clientele topped the list. Older guests connecting to and understanding social media are a worry among many of the Board members as well as lack of standardized, secure payment methods. Many also mention that their current systems (POS in particular) tend to hold them back from implementing new IT technologies because they would not be compatible.  Most Board members listed having mobile devices that could be used for a variety of purposes on the guest end as well as on the business end would be top on their "wish list" for IT implementations. With almost everyone owning smartphones today, I think this would be the smartest and most effective IT implementation to invest in. Many customers and guests are looking for easy and accessible ways of navigating through the hotel and restaurant environments without extensive help from others. Since many people, especially the generation coming up, are more and more attached to their phones and tablets, mobile apps for nearly everything seems like the smart way to go.  Cloud-based servers were a close second in terms of what they wanted in invest in. Many of the Board members pinpointed technologies that have been around but are still new, especially in their respective areas, when speaking of useful emerging technologies. Mobile apps, tablet and 73456

this article gives a great overview of the steps leaders in the Hospitality industry are taking towards new technology. In this article members of the industry were interview regarding weaknesses in the current hospitality market as well as emerging trends that each believe is in rapid increase. Some of the answers give very interesting approach towards technology. Although, overall it seems that the number one emerging technology is the use of cloud-based/mobile-based services.