Group items tagged

From reservation to checkout, technology aids communication and streamlines the entire guest experience. It not only expands revenue options but also helps maintain operational efficiencies for the industry.

With the global economic recovery and growing profile of domestic as well as international travelers, innovative technology is a must for the hospitality industry. The sector needs to take a proactive stance in implementing technological advances, while continually striving to build levels of service quality and guest loyalty to the boot.

With the global economic recovery and growing profile of domestic as well as international travelers, innovative technology is a must for the hospitality industry. The sector needs to take a proactive stance in implementing technological advances, while continually striving to build levels of service quality and guest loyalty to the boot.

With the global economic recovery and growing profile of domestic as well as international travelers, innovative technology is a must for the hospitality industry. The sector needs to take a proactive stance in implementing technological advances, while continually striving to build levels of service quality and guest loyalty to the boot.

Green roofs, also called 'vegetative', 'living', or 'eco-roofs', are living plants installed on top of traditional roofs. In addition to providing a haven for birds and other wildlife, the green roof provides many other benefits for the environment-- the reduction of storm water runoff, reduction in the amount of blacktop roofs in the city which reduces the heat island effect and reduction of HVAC cooling loads resulting in the lowering of utility bills. Green roofs also have the additional advantages of lengthening the waterproofing membrane life of the roof and help to improve the air and water quality of the area.

Build responsive infrastructure:

Cloud Security

Cloud reliability The hospitality industry wants to know that they aren’t adopting another solution that will prove obsolete in just a few years.

Even if it’s no fault of the establishment, customers will remember frustration reconciling a bill or having to wait a long time for check-in. The cloud adds a layer of protection against minor hiccups in their experience.

Personalize guest offers: Captured data offers a wealth of information. Cloud computing helps hoteliers and other hospitality organizations provide customized experiences and responsive, convenient services.

Cloud computing can offer a seamless experience to customers while reducing obstacles to service from the staff side.

The Airline was able to improve customer service by providing an instant response to various customer requests and reducing wait times.

Pre-arrival: Cloud services capture data from the moment guests first interact with the company or service. The hotel, for example, can make a note of what services or rooms the customer looked at and offer suggestions for upgrades.

Arrival: When guests arrive, their information is saved and ready for each member of staff. This offers personalization right from the beginning.

Cloud services can offer the full security expertise with automatic updates that the hospitality industry needs to keep information secure.

Departure: Not only does the cloud enable a frictionless checkout experience with no surprises, but it can also follow up afterward to continue to nurture relationships and reward loyalty.

Preparation: Following guest stays, businesses can enable targeted follow-up. Cloud computing can also handle things like predictive maintenance to reduce downtime, especially during peak seasons.

The Hilton made use of cloud computing to monitor all locks within its properties.

It’s only one instance of the Hilton’s shift to cloud computing. It has digitized rooms and created a type of mission control for everything from entertainment to ordering room service.

The stay: Knowledge of previous stays provides insight into customer preferences. A hotel may address mistakes right from the beginning or identify missed opportunities. Personalization continues with upsell offers that happen as the customer continues to interact with the business.

The cloud provides a real end-to-end solution for hospitality that brings back the excitement of travel. In an industry facing stiff competition, this type of solution could be a differentiator for success.

Companies can choose a provider familiar with the nuances required for hospitality excellence and reap the benefits of an end-to-end experience.

Cloud services also provide flexibility in services by allowing staff to operate from anywhere

Cloud services allow hospitality industries to pay only for the services they need.

Moving to cloud operations also allows the hospitality industry to scale.

In that case, cloud services allow a smooth transition with a central line of communication.

cloud solutions offer the chance to remove common frustrations and frictions across the entire ecosystem.

Cloud computing helps hoteliers and other hospitality organizations provide customized experiences and responsive, convenient services.

rigidity causes issues in connectivity and service. When the internet goes out, or a system goes down, operations cease.

Staff can work from anywhere, change devices if necessary, and mitigate the risk of lost or unsecured information.

The Hilton’s Room Lock Problem

The American Airlines Integration Challenge

The space continues to evolve, offering new ways to ingest, process, and protect customer data. And it’s this free flow of data that will allow the hospitality industry to move into the new era of the industry.

Use of cloud computing in hospitality continues to evolve, offering ne

w ways to ingest, process, and protect customer data.

cloud solutions offer the chance to remove common frustrations and frictions across the entire ecosystem.

cloud services allow a smooth transition with a central line of communication.

Cloud services allow hospitality industries to pay only for the services they need.

operate from anywhere,

Cloud services also provide flexibility

provide customized experiences

Staff can work from anywhere

he cloud adds a layer of protection against minor hiccups in their experience.

security is built-in.

Cloud computing can offer a seamless experience to customers while reducing obstacles to service from the staff side.

personalization right from the beginning.

address mistakes right from the beginning or identify missed opportunities. Personalization continues with upsell

handle things like predictive maintenance to reduce downtime

this type of solution could be a differentiator for success.

It has digitized rooms and created a type of mission control for everything from entertainment to ordering room service.

reducing wait times.

Menu options, travel directions, appointment updates, facial recognition software and contact information are just the beginning of the very real ways that event planners will soon be able to use wearable tech.

Event technology trends aside, the number one thing for any event professional to remember, is to let your tools work for you, rather than the other way around. The purpose of implementing advanced technology is to make your life, and the life of those whom you plan events for, as easy as possible.

5G will also make it more feasible to incorporate the cutting-edge into event experiences.

Projection mapping is the act of creating an augmented reality experience with the help of projectors.

this visual technology proves to be an efficient and cost effective way to create optical illusions in nearly every location.

event technology adoption can increase attendance by 20%, increase productivity by 27%, and decrease costs by as much as 30%.

branded apps provide limitless opportunities to interact with consumers right on their own phones

Apps can be customized to appear as if they were created specifically for events or stays, while offering functionality that serves to enhance and personalize the attendee experience.

Planners can utilize branded multi-use apps to connect with attendees and engage them on a variety of levels before, during, and after the occasion.

Event spaces can create customized apps to enhance experiences and share things like helpful facts, historical tidbits, and even the personalities of their unique employees,

Because they’re often cloud-based, these programs also provide accurate, customizable, and collaborative project planning that’s accessible by all managing parties

With event diagramming software, both event planners and venues are able to map everything out visually

provides helpful tools like drag-and-drop diagramming, 3D walkthroughs, and seating software on a single platform.

Hotels especially can use apps in this way, allowing guests to control their rooms from their phones and even communicate with chatbots to find nearby attractions.

Projection mapping5GBranded multi-use appsEvent diagramming

It also opens up new possibilities for app developers to push the boundaries of current event tech trends

Knowing event technology trends—and adopting the most valuable ones—gives planners and venues the competitive advantage

Studies show that using event technology can increase attendance by 20 percent and increase productivity by 27 percent. 

Each match automates personalized actions, such as printing a badge with the attendees name, sending an email with a scannable lunch voucher, and finalizing a swag bag for their ticket-tier (no sense creating swag bags for no-shows).

The technology speeds event check-ins, improves security, and helps businesses at tradeshows collect more valuable leads by tracking attendee visits to booths.

can also use facial recognition to watch for crowd flow bottlenecks and collect session attendance data so you know what worked—and what didn’t.

The ability to support advanced tech like facial recognition makes venues more attractive to corporate planners. The technology also allows automation at certain access points, which means lower manpower requirements and lower costs. 

Properly integrated apps add value to events, providing attendees with more opportunities for networking, interaction, and engagement with peers, speakers, and exhibitors.

Offering tech to support projection mapping provides bang for the buck. There’s no need to physically construct or deconstruct any part of your exhibit hall to add this fun, popular technology to your toolbox and draw more events. 

This visual technology is an efficient, cost-effective way to create optical illusions on anything—from cars to landmarks to stages.

With tradeshow or conference maps, speaker bios, and schedules in the event app, there’s no need for bulky information packets. Push notifications in the apps help keep attendees informed and on schedule. Planners can also use apps to personalize the event agenda through live polling and attract event sponsors with the option of targeted attendee surveys.  

Event spaces can create customized apps to share helpful info like maps, historical tidbits, and even the personalities of their unique employees

Easy-to-use 3D event diagramming software provides accurate, customizable, collaborative project planning regardless of venue design or size.

Give clients peace of mind and leave nothing to chance on the big dayUpload a floor plan to work with, so you know the diagram is to scaleTake clients and stakeholders on 3D ‘fly throughs’ to clarify your visionPlan seating charts and manage attendees’ meal choices or other preferencesHelp staff easily identify and accommodate VIPs and guests with special requests

Sales reps can collaborate with planners in real time, share variations on the event proposal, and visually portray upsells.

Attendees can use this tech to follow slide presentations, participate with quizzes and polls, take notes, and engage in text-based Q&A. They can also view graphs, tables, videos, and other content; and follow website and social media links. 

Any speaker can keep an audience attentive and engaged with this technology, leading to good reviews and a successful event.

Supporting second screen tech for presentations is much less expensive than making physical upgrades that aren’t in the budget. 

This data underscores the importance of social media sentiment analysis in monitoring your brand and messaging, keeping an eye on competitors, and making improvements to services during and after events.

Tracking attendee activity on social media during an event provides actionable data to help you make adjustments in real-time

Replenishing food and beveragesEasing show floor bottlenecksDriving session attendanceAddressing technology issues (mobile apps, Wi-Fi, or audio/visual)

Venues can social media sentiment to promote popular services and learn where there’s room for improvement:

Wristbands and smart badges using near-field communication (NFC) chips keep disruptions and lines to a minimum, thereby increasing attendee productivity and engagement.

Access different event areasExchange information with peersReceive exhibitor marketing materialMake cashless purchases

Wearable tech helps you speed-up check-in, control access, and monitor attendee behavior with less staffing. It also improves ROI for exhibitors, who can drive attendees wearing the tech to visit a booth of interest based on an individual’s profile.

On-site staff can use real-time data to learn when they need to offer overflow rooms or investigate security breaches, such as non-VIP guests in restricted areas. 

Indoor wayfinding helps attendees navigate exhibit halls with ease,

gather useful attendee behavioral data, send leads to sales team members in real-time, and build attendee profiles to send targeted messaging

You can also incorporate proximity advertising options as a value-add for exhibitors and sponsor

Post-event, you can utilize IPS data to see where attendees spent their time visiting booths and attending presentations.

Adding hotel bars, restaurants, spas, gift shops, and other amenities to the location map can help drive additional revenue during events while improving the attendee experience

store attendee admission information on their person, helping to detect fraud and streamline access

Attendees can review their travels throughout a tradeshow and see who they interacted with, while exhibitors are notified in real-time when sought-after prospects come into their booth.

Planners can generate pop-up directions for attendees based on their location at an event instead of investing in producing/shipping/replacing physical signage

validates your event and highlights improvement opportunities by tracking session popularity, length of attendee visits to exhibitor booths, and strong tradeshow traffic.  

RFID and beacon technology helps security and general event staff do their job better in real-time, which is essential for building trust and streamlining crowded events

event planners are turning to venue sourcing platforms to connect with the perfect site for their particular event.

discover detailed venue layouts, capacity ranges, and on-site services

Venue platforms offer exceptional ROI and generate more leads through improved discoverability.

Convey elements that make your venue uniqueShowcase your event spaces visually with accurate floor plans, 3D diagrams, quality photos, and videosLeverage the success of past events with testimonials and social media accolades

artificial intelligence (AI) tech is using badge scans, social media info, and other behavioral data to match attendees with people they should meet or seminars they may want to attend. 

Instead of taking-up significant time pre-event and on-site manually recommending seminars, exhibitors, and sponsors to attendees, AI can do it for you—even in real-time—based on their profiles and preferences captured during registration. 

it requires transparency and advance notice about how you may use data submitted by attendees. 

Attendees entering the geofenced area triggers predetermined actions, such as event check-in, push notifications, or advertising related to the event. 

Planners can sell geofencing to exhibitors and sponsors to reach attendees at events, or even promote their event on attendee devices at a competing event under a separate geofence. You can also provide attendees with a better experience via seamless registration and check-in, along with automatic app downloads as soon as they walk on-site.

provides analytics, both post-event and in real-time to help you better understand things like the duration of an attendee’s time at an event and overall peak attendance. 

Hotels can serve ads promoting their brand, facility, and services to attendees at events

once a prospect visits an event website, ads for that event will appear on any subsequent websites the prospect visits, in the form of website banner ads, search engine results, and pop-up or push ads on mobile apps. 

Event marketing teams should develop relevant and creative ads with clearly visible event dates to convince prospects who have visited an event website, but haven’t yet registered

venues can use it to generate return visits from event planners

retarget attendees during events with offers for in-house services like food and beverage, spa, and discounts on extending their stay.

Gameplay creates an immersive attendee experience, while generating leads and booth visits for exhibitors via quizzes, scavenger hunts, and trivia on mobile apps.

Gameplay fosters a sense of common purpose; creates an environment of collaboration and trust; facilitates easier communication; and boosts attendee confidence. You can also gather information about attendee engagement and interests via game choices.

Promoting the use of gameplay on-site showcases a venue to organizations looking for facilities supporting team building exercises as well as immersive attendee experiences.

Event technology is a term used to describe all of the digital tools and software used in the events industry. Everything from check in & registration, to diagramming, to social media tools, and more can be considered event technology.

Real-time data means real-time solutions to situations before they become problems. Just think of the time and money you’ll save by identifying issues before they blow out of proportion

Instead of printing out lengthy reports for every shift, now you can access your insights from any smart device—such as your computer, phone, or tablet—and get updated sales, inventory, customer feedback, and more, no matter where you are. 

Legacy systems only allow on-premise access to data, which means you have to be in your restaurant in order to access the information on your POS system.

If you anticipate growth or change, a cloud-based POS system is better enabled to grow with you. 

While buying up all of the necessary technology to get a cloud-based POS system off the ground may seem expensive, they tend to have cheaper operating costs in the long run and some, like Upserve, offer free support 24/7/365. 

With a cloud-based restaurant POS, you have the ability to add on a mobile POS unit that provides a number of benefits.

That decrease in time spent waiting for their check or credit card to return to the table also increases guest satisfaction, boosting your reputation. A mobile restaurant POS also provides contactless payments with a built-in EMV reader, minimizing the exchange between servers and guests – something that is particularly important in this moment.

Cloud-based POS systems update automatically and for free, just like the apps on your mobile device, while traditional POS systems require manual updates that can be labor intensive and costly. 

The beauty of the cloud-based POS format is how scalable and customizable it is—it can work for single-location full service and quick service restaurants, multi-location restaurants, and restaurant groups alike. 

Whether it’s updating your menu on the regular, launching new or improved loyalty programs, or requiring more precise inventory tracking, the more your needs will shift over time, the more sense it makes to opt for cloud-based.

If the internet ever goes down, the system that your legacy POS relies on will be offline and non-functional. Luckily, on a cloud-based restaurant POS system you have the option of switching to offline mode as a back-up. You’ll stay up and running until the internet is able to connect again.

Thanks to the cloud and its encrypted online storage, there’s no risk of hardware or software incompatibility or failure, no viruses or driver hiccups, and no risk of a hard drive accidentally deleting a weekend’s worth of sales reports. It’s all backed up, automatically. 

Plus, younger generations of workers—think millennials and Gen Zs—will be able to get right on board with a cloud-based POS solution with little-to-no training.

Customers will feel good knowing their credit card information is secure and encrypted with the most up-to-date technology. 

No matter what type of establishment, your cloud-based POS can track every last drop of product, allowing you to spot discrepancies in an instant and fix gaps before they become problematic.

Hardware costs are separate from service, and maintenance and support services often come with a hefty fee. 

While traditional POS systems certainly have lower start-up costs, they tend to come with plenty of hidden costs that reveal themselves over time.

upfront costs are kept to a minimum and monthly subscription fees are lower. 

Best of all, instant free upgrades mean no lost revenue from downtime or inconvenient hardware upgrades as your business grows. Instead, plans can be upgraded or downgraded at will, and most providers don’t even charge a fee for the trouble. 

If you have existing setups in place, many third-party vendors have upgraded apps for cloud POS systems to help you maintain your current rewards and promotions planning. 

Most studies are showing that those who switched are sticking with a cloud-based solution, and that legacy POS systems will only decline moving forward.

After over three decades with a legacy POS system that only slowed them down, they made the move to a cloud-based POS to bring their restaurants into the future.

“Our restaurants are chef-driven, so we have specials that change every day. We need to add buttons every day. We change pricing every day. Having to stop and reset all the terminals because it’s not instantaneous was a headache.”

Not only did constant resets of the system create roadblocks for the team at Homegrown Hospitality, but service was also less than stellar and cost more than what it was worth.

We went through a lot of pain—our system would crash all the time, credit cards wouldn’t spool, and data would be lost. Our IT department would spend numerous hours a week just trying to recover data,” Simon explained.

“That was pretty much the breaking point: we were at the point where we needed to upgrade, but it would have cost us several hundred thousand dollars. So we decided to source something new. The functionality and capability of Upserve won us over.”

Faster innovation With cloud-based hotel PMS, hotels can bring new properties online more quickly. Each new release brings new capabilities to help deliver great guest experiences, improve operating efficiency, and increase employee productivity. Lower IT complexity and costs With cloud-based hotel PMS, hotels can lower upfront capital expenditure on software and hardware. By going above-property, hotels can also reduce IT complexity and IT costs. Increase in RevPAR and ADR With cloud-based hotel PMS, hotels can effectively manage rates and allocation of rooms to various distribution channels, helping to maximize occupancy, rates, and revenue. Enhanced customer lifetime value With cloud-based hotel PMS, hotels get a single customer master with comprehensive guest profiles that allow them to personalize and differentiate guest experiences.

Until recently, hotel PMS solutions were often managed on premises. On-premises solutions include hardware that can take up a lot of space. Resources were needed to manage the systems and software updates, upgrades, and patches needed to be scheduled and installed manually by onsite staff. Cloud-based, mobile-enabled hotel PMS platforms offer hotels an innovative way to engage with guests while enabling hotels to reduce IT costs and simplify their infrastructure.

ncrease housekeeping efficiency with instant updates on housekeeping mobile devices when customers check out, freeing up rooms for cleaning

is now a critical business operations system

that replaced time-intensive, paper and spreadsheet-heavy processes.

seamless guest experience.

Enhanced customer lifetime value.

Hoteliers are challenged with providing a personalized guest experience

olutions help hoteliers deliver the experience guests want, while efficiently managing their business.

Connect operations and financial processes by leveraging prebuilt integrations

Increase room occupancy and ADR through real-time rate

ster innovation.

Lower IT complexity and costs.

aditionally, a hotel property management system was defined as a platform that enabled a hotel or group of hotels to manage front-office capabilities, such as booking reservations, guest check-in/check-out, room assignment, managing room rates, and billing.

rease in RevPAR and ADR.

OPERA Cloud hotel property management system offers hoteliers capabilities to enhance operating efficiency and deliver exceptional guest experiences. The platform integrates emerging technologies with ease, accelerating innovation to meet ever-changing demands. Hotel PMS Defined

The benefits of cloud-based hotel PMS solutions include:

r

Hotel PMS now integrates to other onsite services that impact the guest's complete experience, including:

T

OPERA Cloud hotel property management system offers hoteliers capabilities to enhance operating efficiency and deliver exceptional guest experiences. The platform integrates emerging technologies with ease, accelerating innovation to meet ever-changing demands.

Provide anytime, anywhere service to your guests using a mobile-enabled cloud-based hotel PMS.

Centralize and secure customer data and improve the quality and accuracy of guest profiles with reporting and analytics.

Empower managers to improve ADR with extensive options for setting rates and advanced rate-management features for manual and semiautomated revenue management.

With a cloud hotel PMS, hotels get a single customer master with comprehensive guest profiles that allow them to personalize and differentiate guest experiences.

1. Security and Access

One of the main ways facial recognition can be deployed within the hospitality industry is for security and access purposes. Within a hotel setting, this might mean using the technology to grant guests access to their hotel room,

When it comes to security, the technology can also be vital in helping to identify troublesome guests, or guests who have previously been removed from the premises.

2. Customer Service

The technology can also be used by those within the hospitality industry to deliver a greater level of customer service. For example, facial recognition can allow employees to quickly identify guests, perhaps before they even check-in, and deliver more personalised greetings and a more tailored service.

3. Payment Authorisation

Facial recognition also has a role to play in helping to authorise payments, making that process more efficient. Companies like MasterCard have already implemented systems powered by facial recognition, where a customer can confirm a payment using the camera on their phone, or a camera supplied by the vendor.

4. Research and Information

The technology can be set up for market research purposes, helping companies to know exactly how many people are in a location at a particular time. Additionally, it can be used to draw conclusions about customers too, reading their expressions to ascertain their mood, or their facial features to ascertain their age or gender. Most impressively, this data can be gathered automatically, at any time of the day or night.

One of the challenges for hotel managers and others within the hospitality industry looking to introduce facial recognition is balancing the benefits with privacy for customers. Indeed, many people have concerns about facial recognition, due to the fact that it means even more data about them being collected and stored.

Furthermore, many people fear their data being sold on to other companies against their will, and dislike the idea of businesses being able to track their every move. It is, therefore, important that the hospitality industry takes these concerns seriously and takes steps to avoid misusing data. In some cases, one of the best solutions may be to make facial recognition an opt-in or opt-out service, so that users have a choice in the matter.

If a company has a customer reward scheme, members may be given the option to upload a photo during the sign up. Facial recognition can then allow that company to instantly identify members and provide them with rewards. The technology may also identify returning customers, allowing them to be rewarded too.

To date, one of the most effective uses of facial recognition within hospitality management has been as part of the hotel check-in process. In two different Marriott hotels in China, for example, guests now have the option to bypass the traditional check-in desk and instead head to a kiosk. There, facial recognition technology scans their face, identifies them and provides them with a key card, all in the space of around one minute.

imagine a hotel where guests go to a kiosk, check out using facial recognition and confirm their payment in the same way, with no need to interact with a single hotel employee. Kiosks can also be used in restaurants, allowing customers to pay seamlessly on their way out.

Finally, in order to understand customers, improve services and optimise processes, hotels and other companies need to be able to gather feedback and data. This is an area where the uses for facial recognition may be less immediately obvious, but where those uses can be extremely beneficial.

The technology can also be used more generally to recognise certain things about faces, such as whether a face belongs to a man or a woman, or what age range the person is likely to be in. Facial recognition is used by security services, law enforcement and technology companies, and is becoming more prevalent in the hospitality industry.

Facial recognition technology can help hotel owners and others in the hospitality industry to improve the customer experience, make processes more efficient and enhance security. In particular, it allows for queues to be avoided, check-ins to be automated, and security and research to be more comprehensive.

Sabre Travel Network, for example, saw an increase of more than 7% in its GDS bookings during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year

“And it’s a steady trend that’s gone up over the last several years,”

Many hoteliers are attempting to leverage those increases in demand through dynamic pricing models, which offers clients a percentage off a hotel’s best available rate on each travel date as opposed to a fixed, negotiated rate for the year

But that does not mean leisure travelers are not using the GDS as well.

“If they are shopping online with (the OTAs), then they are using the GDS

Indeed, overall demand has increased from both leisure and corporate travelers

Corporate travel demand is primarily responsible for that uptick

“Hotels that have typically had a negotiated rate for each corporation can actually work better with corporations with dynamic rates, as long as they are able to ensure they are giving that corporation access to whatever the deal of the day is

One of the trends she is seeing in the GDS channel is the increase of combined business and leisure trips

“Insurance companies are also pushing today that (companies) know where their employees are,” which the GDS facilitates,

There’s more opportunities for hotels to put promotions, put leisure opportunities on there … It enables hotels to really take value of the GDS.”

More and more, Kennedy is seeing corporate account managers ask: “What would you offer our travelers for their weekend stay if they wanted to stay longer or extend?” “What can you offer for group rates?”

The GDS is not going away any time soon because of the unique solutions it provides for hotels and travelers alike

For instance, it is better-suited to handle incredibly large look-to-book ratios

The GDS also provides enhanced marketing support

Although these and other benefits will continue to attract hoteliers’ inventory, Cole said the GDS would provide additional value if distribution costs were lowered

Travel-management companies are coming up with many security reporting and informative ways to show corporations where people are at any point in time, which can be important for insurance purposes

. “People are traveling for business in parts of the world and extending it to stay for leisure.”

The pricing model provides corporations with a lower rate when demand decreases but also gives hoteliers the opportunity to achieve higher rates when demand increases, Kennedy said. “It’s a win-win for both sides.”

Many hoteliers are attempting to leverage those increases in demand through dynamic pricing models, which offers clients a percentage off a hotel’s best available rate on each travel date as opposed to a fixed, negotiated rate for the year,

Corporate travel demand is primarily responsible for that uptick

Sabre Travel Network, for example, saw an increase of more than 7% in its GDS bookings during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year,

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

The point-of-sale (POS) remains the main artery for restaurant operators.  As befits its prominent position, the POS also demands the largest portion of IT spending for restaurant operators according to Hospitality Technology’s 2014 Restaurant Technology Study.

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

Hardware continues to evolve with new integrations, features and peripherals, ranging from smaller and energy- efficient units, to tablets used as a traditional POS, or as tableside/kiosk devices. This year also saw the release of location-based beacon technology for restaurants.

The report reveals that POS systems — inclusive of hardware and software — account for 33% of the overall technology budget.

. “Mobile is the game changer,” says Ed Beck, CIO and senior vice president of technology at the National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org). “There is a lot you can do with mobile that you couldn’t do with a traditional POS.”

This technology is also ideal for self check-ins by guests at hotels as well as the next trend in this article: smart room keys.

Hotels will increasingly install smart room access systems that allow guests to unlock their doors by simply swiping their phones across a keyless pad on the door. Starwood (owner of the Sheraton, Weston and “W” hotel chains) has already upgraded 30,000 room locks across 150 hotels with this system and Hilton will be implementing a similar system at 10 of their US properties this year. In 2016, they will be deploying the smart room key technology globally. This technology will mean that guests don’t have to worry about picking up keys and front desk staff won’t have to issue new keys in the event that a guest loses their room key. Another innovative way to offer a keyless experience is through fingerprint-activated room entry systems and retina scanning devices. Retina scanning is even more accurate and secure than fingerprint scans and hotels like the Nine Zero Hotel in Boston have already installed an iris scan system in place of key cards to control access to the hotel’s presidential suite.

Some hotels are already offering more futuristic experiences, with robots delivering any items ordered through room service to a guest’s door. A boutique hotel that is nestled between Apple’s headquarters and other tech companies, called Aloft Cupertino, has a robot butler called Botlr that is able to move between the various floors of the hotel in order to take items such as toothbrushes, chargers and snacks to guests. These types of digital systems not only make it easy for hotel staff to deliver items to guests, but it also offers a forward-facing digital experience to people who stay at the hotel. Infrared scanners are now also used to minimise disruptions relating to housekeeping (which is a common complaint from customers). Instead of hanging a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on doors or having cleaning staff wake up traveling guests with knocks and phone calls, hotel staff can take a more innovative approach by using infrared scanners that will detect body heat within a room and tell cleaning staff that they should rather come back later if the room is currently occupied.

Digital conference facilities Besides being able to offer high density Wi-Fi for conferences and meetings, hotels also need to be able to offer access to audio-visual (AV) and digital facilities for conferences. While the amount of AV and digital equipment that goes into a typical conference room is fairly minimal, staging companies are often hired for various projects in order to equip the facility as required.

Mobile communication and automation In many airports, it’s no longer necessary to stand in a queue to check in and people are expecting the same kind of easy, technology-driven check-ins at hotels. Guests want to be able to do everything from checking in at a venue’s automated kiosk to ordering room service with a digital device instead of standing in queues and moving around the hotel premises to order food.

Cloud services Being able to provide entertainment on tap and mobile content has led to the trend of hotels investing in cloud services. While hotels want to be able to offer digital content, they don’t necessarily want to invest in IT infrastructure and IT staff, making cloud computing the ideal solution.

Feedback on social media Technology has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives and hotel developers need to realise that almost any person checking in at a hotel, resort, spa or lodge, will have a smartphone in their pockets.

Converged LANs to support multiple services Converged local area networks (LANs) will also help hotels to create more intelligent buildings. A variety of computer-based building services can be automated in order to control lighting, refrigeration, air-conditioning and heating. Besides reducing energy consumption, converged LANs can also be set up to provide a smarter, more personal experience. If a guest is known to prefer his or her room temperature at 18°C with the lights dimmed to 65%, for example, this can be programmed before the guest checks in at the hotel.

Integrated, seamless experiences Technology doesn’t mean that customer experience can only happen online and through devices, check-ins and online comments. All of these experiences need to be part of an integrated, dynamic system so that the guests’ experiences are at the forefront of the marketing and  operational team’s mind.

Marketing, management and hotel developers can no longer work in silos and these technology trends are giving them the opportunities, tools and solutions they need to create memorable experiences that can lead to positive change and growth in the industry.

"I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well.

Yet more card-free security systems are on the way.

Many industry watchers are keeping an eye on Houston's largest hotel, the vast 1,200-room Hilton Americas–Houston. The hotel has a facial recognition system that can identify and track guests, employees, and even suitcases. With 700 employees and an annual $16 million payroll, the system offers benefits such as employee time-theft monitoring and prevention for the hotel. But travelers aren't that concerned about employees taking an extra cigarette break. What it means for you is that the system includes alerts if unwanted people are on the property and a response time of mere seconds if there's an incident. Customer service is heightened as well: Returning guests will be recognized and greeted by name. And with 1,200 rooms worth of luggage in transit, the system makes it a lot easier to find lost or misdirected bags.

not everyone wants to be on-camera, all the time. With concerns about "snooping" and a Truman Show-like lack of privacy, might guests feel that systems such as this are too intrusive in our hotels? "

Technology is opening new doors to hotel safety, and the way we navigate hotels is set to change in the blink of an eye. Or the swipe of a cellphone. Or the print of a finger. With futuristic systems like scent and iris scanners and digital facial-recognition, hotel security is being taken to the next level. #plain_module { width: 590px; height:170px; border: none; float:left; margin:0px; font-size:12px;} #plain_module img {border:none; width: 13px; height:14; border: 0px; margin:0px; } #plain_module .mini_main { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:585px; height:220px; repeat scroll 0 0} #plain_module .mini_item_header {padding:10px 0px; margin: 0px 0px; font-size:16px; color: #555555; border-bottom:1px dotted #CCCCCC;} #plain_module .mini_item {padding:5px 0px; margin: 0px 0px;} #plain_module a { color: #49A3CA; text-decoration:none; } #plain_module a:hover { color: #F98419; text-decoration:underline;} span.gray {color:#949494;} .mini_main li{list-style-type: none;background-image: url(http://www.aolcdn.com/travel/bullet);background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: 0 1px;padding-left: 10px;} Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact-less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access. Much like the cruise world's one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York's Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties. But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether. "In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone," says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. "When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message." You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well. Movement-activated video-capture systems were showcased in New Zealand in September 2010. Researchers are at work on devices capable of recognizing an individual's gait or walk and even their DNA. Frank Wolfe says, "If you want to go 'way out there', there are some systems being explored that can allegedly sniff someone, and also systems that can recognize the pattern of blood veins on a human being which are apparently unique to the individual," says Wolfe. Quite common in Japan, vascular-recognition systems such as this are still "several years off," according to Wolfe. "I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."