Group items tagged

Designed by Michele Puzzolante, the floating resort touts to be eco-friendly, self-sustaining and non-polluting. It will harness solar energy for power and use modular manufacturing methods as a way of building the resort more efficiently. I whole-heartedly agree with the theory of the floating resort as an alternative to the travel carbon footprint, but do not believe this particular model is going to make a huge difference. It is targeted toward the luxury market, only holds 6 people in the resort, and does not explain the full effects its presence will have on the ocean.

My article this week is about how GDS (Global Distribution Systems) can be compared to a seatbelt. The author opens the article discussing the main reasons we still continue to use seatbelts; even though they aren't the most comfortable or fashionable items to use, they still do their jobs in saving our lives when it comes to a collision of some sort. The author is in favor of GDS and makes the claim that like seatbelts, the GDS may not be the most up-to-date or may not appear to be as nice as other local systems to each individual airline, but they get the job done and there are no other systems out there like it that we know of (no other systems that do everything he GDS system does that is). The main topic of discussion that the article is concerned with is the recent decision made by the company Lufthansa to start charging its customers an additional surcharge for using GDS systems instead of going through its own system. The author clearly makes it know that she doesn't believe Lufthansa when they say they are charging this additional surcharge because GDS is the most expensive channel to go through. "Because there's no reason to think that an airline should expect to distribute its products without any cost, Lufthansa's recent gambit seems more of a tactic for increasing lagging direct distribution... Its strategy seems to rest in shifting distribution costs to corporate buyers" claims Rose, the author of the article. The author also points out some of the draw backs of using agency portals, the main reason being that a customer cannot compare rates of other competitors and that agency portals cannot handle high volume transactions like the GDS can. It is also made known that there are costs that come with other channels as well, like the prices you pay for building airline websites and keeping them updated. The author concludes that "Given the history of negotiations between airlines and GDSs, it's impossible to know whether Lufthansa is using DCC as

All of the big three global distribution systems were still expanding as well as increasing productivity and revenue as of June 2014. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport have each made significant moves in the hospitality industry, although primarily for airlines. Amadeus is by far the largest and currently most successful GDS with the highest profit, booking volume, and market share (air travel). As of 2014 Southwest Airlines was their biggest client, but they provide GDS services and access to over 100 other airlines as well. Sabre is second best to Amadeus. The company elected to go public in 2014 and since then their billable bookings, booking share and growth have all increased modestly. During the same year they gained American Airlines, newly reformed at the time, as a client. Presently, the company expects continued improvement in revenue. Travelport has made the decision not to compete directly with Amadeus or Sabre in that they have chosen not to provide "full passenger services systems to airline on a multi-host basis." However the company is still working closely with Delta Airlines and researching "add-on" features with their main focus being the continued growth of "beyond air" activities. Honestly, I was shocked that Amadeus is the largest and most successful GDS. I truly expected it to be Sabre. This belief was based on what I have personally experienced: every OTA I have used required a link to the Sabre GDS, but I can only recall one that required one to the Amadeus GDS. After reading the chapter 8 of D.V. Tesone's "Hospitality Information Systems and E-Commerce, along with the research report from our discussion forum I have changed my paradigm. Regardless, GDSs are still used widely in the hospitality industry. Different segments of the market prefer to book in different ways: via offline Travel Agents, OTAs, hotel websites or on the phone. Those that use either form of TA are using a GDS.

Leisure guests tend to book for themselves with rare exceptions including some forms of international travel and cruise travel. These guests use OTAs or intermediaries such as Travelocity (Owned by a GDS company) or TravelZoo. In the case of TravelZoo, a guest uses the TravelZoo website to access information such as availability and pricing that TravelZoo pulls from a GDS before making a selection and processing a transaction. On the other hand, business and corporate travelers are more likely to use an offline TA. An offline TA is better equipped to meet the needs of a customer whom is travelling for business. Offline TAs require less information when booking a hotel room then an OTA does, making it simple for a secretary to book the travel arrangements for the guest. In addition, offline TAs can work easily with a hotel to make special accommodations. The hotel receives contact information for the travel agency that booked the stay in case clarifications on requests are needed. In conclusion, as long as either form of TA is in the market, a GDS will be necessary to streamline bookings and ensure that each TA has the correct pertinent information when making a booking or completing a transaction. As a result, as new OTA options or hospitality enterprises enter the market GDSs are continuing to morph, merge and grow.

Beacon-based indoor location technology is driving the future of airport consumer experiences. Mobile applications use these beacons to provide up-to-the-second information to travelers regarding everything from flight data and security checkpoint line length to taxi wait times and baggage tracking. The largest commercial value of these apps and beacons lies in the platforms' ability to integrate with third-party apps and infrastructure from airline carriers and airport retailers. While this integration could potentially drive advertisement revenue for the airports, many of the locations that have begun experimenting with these technologies report that the systems investment pays for itself in increased efficiencies in internal systems, including security checkpoints and taxi queues.

One of the reasons why I felt this article was very insteresting is tha I have use "despegar before and I have also not used or decided not to use this travel agency because of the "not friendly" sfoftware or technology they had on their website. As a customer I feel this would give an amazing positive revenue to the company. This articles texplain how this GDS software called SABRE has sign a contract of extension with Despegar.com

This article focuses on GDS emerging competitors now and in the future. Online booking has become more attractive to the consumer, with no surcharges unlike the GDS system airlines use for booking.

I chose this article because it is an opinion article from the Huffington Post about the balance of luxury and being eco-friendly. Joanna Zelman shares her views on green hotels. She presents the question of whether living luxuriously during your hotel visit means sacrificing our planet. She also shares that hotels are indeed recognizing the major amounts of waste they have been producing. Zelman feels that hotels are trying to be green, but in the end they let the guests decide how green they want to be.

"Some hotels now recognize the astronomical amount of waste they produce daily, and a green hotel movement is underway. The Hilton Americas-Houston generates a reported 675,000 pounds of dirty linens per month. With the purchase of an AquaRecycle water recycling system, they reduced their water usage by 75%, from 630,000 gallons to 157,500 gallons per month."

Some hotels now recognize the astronomical amount of waste they produce daily, and a green hotel movement is underway.Element Times Square West is Starwood's most recent endeavor, an "eco-chic" hotel located on W. 39th street in New York City. The hotel proudly touts recycling bins in every room, complimentary bikes, reusable laundry bags, silverware instead of plastic, dispensable bath products, and an organic on-site pantry.But right next to the reusable laundry bag is a plastic laundry bag, beside the ceramic mugs are paper cups, across from the dispensable soap is an individually wrapped bar, and after consuming your organic food, you can rest your guilt-free head on a bunch of down feather pillows. Someone suggests that guests unplug chargers when not in use, turn lights off, and take advantage of linen reuse policies.

E-marketing is the perfect way for a company to show his product to the consumers. Each day more companies are realizing that they need to put more effort and resources to the internet marketing. Today we could say that the traditional marketing media such as television, radio, newspaper are in the past. Not even talking about the traditional printing brochures .Through the internet, people can have the experience of being in their dream vacation while they still being home. Smart travel communication is a perfect example of how internet has impacted the Hospitality and tourism industry

Hertz introduces iphone apps to deliver extended travel experience to customers. The app is called My Explore, including 11 major cities in U.S. with most travel information. Each city app includes six categories: explore, Top Must See, Events, Favorites, Tours and neighborhoods. Those probably cover major needs during traveling.

    This article is a kind of blog, written by a traveler who formed by years of working in the facility management field. She described her ritual when she checked in a hotel room. She mentioned the National Facilities Management & Technology Vegas Conference & Expo and discussed just how hospitality facilities can demonstrate best practices for all buildings in sustainability, energy efficiency, occupant safety and ADA compliance.       Nowadays, more and more hotels try to address the energy efficiency initiatives. And they also know the importance of controlling the operational costs.     The technological facilities can highlight some key innovations and solutions for the entire facility management marketplace.

"have knocked $5 million in operational costs off the annual budget"

This article shows us some advanced facility and technology in hotels in Las Vegas. People have Many people would like pay attention to the physical plant. The author works in the facility management, he habit to check the floor, bed, energy-efficient equipment, and so on. The NFMT Vegas Conference & Expo, with best practices for all buildings in sustainability, energy efficiency, occupant safety and ADA compliance, which impresses the author a lot. The vice president of HEI Hotels and Resorts addressed "Energy Efficiency Initiatives for Hotels" as important goal. In the past three years, they have made 5 million in costs off, and also, there is a must-attend presentation on bedbugs. They won the 2012 U.S. EPA's Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award. The president discussed the impact of the ADA Final Regs on the hospitality industry. Some information about requirements, hospitality-specific concerns. The author desired to see the latest development in hospitality. He impressed the effects of key innovations and solutions for the facility management marketplace.

This article discusses different approaches to tourism marketing through social media outlets. The author points to excessive advertising costs especially with printing brochures and guides that are usually tossed in the trash. E-Marketing strategies need to involve the users interactively by having them join, register, or enter and engage in activities. This way you are collecting user information, gauging trends, and possibly making more customers out of viewers.

This article tells us How to Select Human Resources Information Technology. The need for HR information technology systems is increasing. With HR staff finding a vast array of options in HR information technology systems, it is increasingly important to analyze and weigh all options available. Choosing an HR information technology system should be looked at as an investment that will grow with the department and company's needs.  Here are 18 questions that a HR manager should ask when selecting a HRIS.

Human Resources information technology (HRIS) is essential for companies to manage their benefits plans and their employee information. Benefits management technology is no longer a nice to have, but a necessity to help HR manage both a sea of information and the money spent on benefits plans, as HR faces limited resources and constantly changing data. But how do HR and other executives know they are selecting the best HR information technology to manage all of the details, and that the solution they select will stand the test of time?

Hotels have been lax on keeping up with the technological advances that have come about in the past few years. This article talks about how a few different hotels all over the world are starting to use these technologies to their benefit. Some hotels have hosts greeting guests with an ipad and making room keys etc.. while they have a drink at the bar. Others have given their guests capabilities to play the movies or music they've purchased on their ipad or iphone directly on the room TV as opposed to purchasing movies from the hotel. It seems like hotels are starting to grasp what their guests really want which is quick, paperless and technilogical convenience.

Hotels are catching up with the technological advances

inamo™ is like no other restaurant anywhere in the world. Located in central London inamo and inamo st james are pioneering Oriental fusion restaurants where the control of the dining experience is placed firmly in the customer's hands. At the core of inamo™ is its interactive ordering system, E-Table™. With an E-Table™ system, diners place orders from an illustrated food and drinks menu projected on to their table surface. Customers also set their table ambience, discover the local neighbourhood, and even order a taxi home. The Content Management System makes Restaurant management easy. All E-Table™ ambience and retail activity is conveniently connected to a central management system. It has been specially developed for E-Table™ and designed so anyone can intuitively control the management process. Features include: Easily update and edit Names, Images, and Descriptions of products. Create and modify food and drink menus. Instantly create paper menus and website copy direct from the Management System. Update images and patterns with direct upload from your computer to change the look and feel of the tables. Create new permanent and seasonal sets of images and patterns. Set up a private dining room. Create custom configurations and apply any combination of themes, menus, images and patterns, to groups of tables on the system. Change your menus according to the day of the week, season, time of the day, special events. Create and modify "where next" maps. Guests can see what they and their group have ordered at any time, call a waitress over to attend to them and request the bill when they are ready to go. A host of extra functions are available - guests can view a live video of the kitchen, order a taxi home, or see what's on at the local cinema.

This article talks about five ways to invest in travel and tourism. It specifically mentions the Online Travel Providers. In many industries, including traveling industry, internet continues to generate revenue to the business. Priceline in particular has been increasing profit growth in the last five years offering lower price and online bookings, last minute travel deals and bids.

Medical Tourism is a growing sector of the Hospitality Industry. Though Saudi Arabia is not a major part of this industry yet, a move to improve it's health services is a step in the right direction. 

Apple's $20 million acquisition of WiFi Slam, announced over the weekend, is more than a business move. What it does with the new technology brings the question of consumer privacy to the forefront and puts the spotlight on what's called proximity marketing, which companies like ISign Media Corp., are using to help brands.

A plan developed by the U.S Travel Association and a panel of travel and security experts aims to improve security at America's airports and reduce the burden on travelers. Among the most notable recommendations are the creation of a trusted traveler program and a requirement that travelers be allowed to check at least one bag at no additional cost to the ticket price as a means to reduce the amount of luggage going through the security checkpoint. There are recommendations about this plan: Reduce duplicative TSA screening for international arrivals.  Expand trusted traveler programs to qualified international passengers. Give TSA authority over the entire checkpoint area.  Develop a comprehensive technology procurement strategy.  Implement well-defined risk management processes. 

"The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software, an online solution for the data entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the Human Resources (HR) and management functions within a business. Normally packaged as a data base, hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS and every HRIS has different capabilities."

The Hospitality industry is known to have very high attrition rates. This makes it all the more critical to have a robust HR information system (HRIS) in place. HRIS has emerged as among the most crucial aspects of hospitality IT. No hospitality management system can be considered complete without an effective HRIS system. An efficient HRIS system manages the recruitment, staff-shifts, time & attendance, and many other aspects of your hospitality HR requirements. It should be able to drill down to history files and provide e-leave application & training management. Immerauf has partnered with Greytip software to bring you one of the industry's best Folklore HR software to suit all your HR needs including a resume bank to store a active database of prospective employees.

HRIS solution in hospitality industry is crucial. it makes managers save time and money to pursue the high profitability. this software can collect the employee information or interviewers information and choose the best employee who are suitable for hotel. this solution can compare the employee working experiences like how long this employee works in hospitality industry, what his job was before, what his position was before. using this software, managers can have a clear understanding of the performance of the employee.