Group items tagged

Statistics re: the use of tech in events and its importance/future

This article describes accounting software functions within the Hotel industry. The article states that "Accounting software is used to track the profitability of hotel operations and identify trends in the hospitality industry". It is said that when selecting accounting software, you must identify what results you are looking for from the software; and also the functions that you are able to receive. You must also understand the needs of your property, and industry. The article also discusses various decision criteria, which is a part of the selection process. Some of these criteria's that you must look out for are: annual revenue, budget, location, multiple sites, national or international locations, in-house verses outsource operations. I love the fact that this article also discusses the functions of hotel accounting software. Some of those functions that were stated are: account payable, account receivable, and payroll. The article also brought up some trends about hotel and lodging accounting software. One of the trends that stand out to me was the fact that some companies hand over their entire accounting responsibilities to major accounting companies or, accounting firms; this is referred to as outsource. Having a accounting software is a very beneficial asset for a company.

The hospitality industry has had steady growth, with increasing demands for internal controls and financial accountability. Accounting software is crucial in measuring and tracking the hotel's profitability. Accounting software is used to track the profitability of hotel operations and identify trends in the hospitality industry. So it's important for hotel manager to choose the suitable accounting software. This article tells how to select hotel accounting system properly. Including the decision criteria used in selection process, areas of functionality in hotel accounting software and standards used for accounting and auditing in hotel industry, etc.

Hotel managers are often faced a lot of problem to deal with the accounting system. Now hotel manager can manage all of the accounting responsibilities by use hotel accounting technology. Using Web-based hotel accounting software can save your business money . The functions covered in all of the accounting systems.

This article goes over different ways artificial intelligence is able to be used within the hospitality industry. Some examples used in this article are the virtual customer service representative known as Connie by Hilton Hotels as well as chatter box messaging. These are just some of the ways of many AI is being used throughout the industry.

AI is playing an increasingly important role in hospitality management, primarily because of its ability to carry out traditionally human functions at any time of the day. This potentially means hotel owners can save significant money, eliminate human error and deliver superior service. With artificial intelligence, the possibilities for improving this aspect are almost endless, ranging from increased personalization to tailored recommendations.

The chosen article provides an overview of proximity marketing and its benefits for improved consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Particularly, the article suggests that proximity marketing helps to personalize the consumer experience and provide a sense of connectedness with the brand they are purchasing from. Businesses that manage from a specific location may issue coupons or offer discounts applicable to the consumers within a store to enhance purchasing experiences. Proximity marketing is commonly implemented by hospitality organizations, where various on-site events are arranged or individual purchase-based rewards are offered to consumers. Similarly, restaurants engage their consumers in fun activities and games as well as introduce new discounts and promotions while they wait for food. Real-estate businesses also use proximity marketing to create high-value where need and preference-based homes, office spaces, and rentals are offered. However, advertisers need to be aware of consumer preferences to offer useful and effective personalized services. Geo-targeting is an impactful proximity advertising technique where location data is used to tailor offerings as per the identified local trends and behaviors.

Augmented reality has changed the way facilities management functions. AR technology has capabilities of tracking preventative maintenance check-ups and wearable technology to provide instructions to engineers. These systems also store and maintain work order statuses and relay communications to other team members and departments.

This article tells us how Augmented Reality (AR) is a major tool for the Hotel Industry. AR can be used for interactive hotel rooms, augmented hotel environments, and Beacon technology. AR is the key for providing information to guest before and once they arrive to improve their experience.

This article points out a flaw in current PMS systems that haven't been addressed by the tech world. The right or future PMS system will have an integration that continues to provide the "non-intrusive integrated technology" that still helps the BOH provide seamless real-time payment solutions. Currently, the challenge resides in the "multiple channels of payment technology" that saturate and complicate the settling of payments in BOH. Guests are "entertained for free" until that payment on the backend has actually been settled. Delays and dysfunction are at the crux of this issue. Utilizing a modern PMS with integrations that help solve complicated and often messy payment issues will help management and consumers alike. This is a topic I hadn't even thought of. But now thinking about it how does money actually get from point a to point b. It does have to be "released by one institution or another" electronically, human or ai or otherwise. I think the many ways we can now pay for things does muddy the waters when it comes to how a business can get paid. Not offering a variety of payment options is not an option and will deter people from using your services. So we have to get creative, but thankfully technology is catching up and emerging to provide for these complications that "tech" has created.

Using biometrics to allow people access to events and keep track of their whereabouts is becoming more and more common across several industries including hospitality. Although seemingly helpful and more efficient that regular tickets or keys, there also seem to be concerns about the security. However, many believe that although these concerns exist, the use of biometrics is one of the safest verification routes currently.

Cloud computing is the delivery of services through the internet with the use of a cloud based remote database. Cloud computing helps businesses with cost savings, productivity, speed, efficiency, performance, and security. There are different types of clouds which include public clouds, private clouds, and hybrid clouds. In addition, there are also three services in cloud computing which are; software-as-a-service which provides the user with a pay as you go model, infrastructure-as-a-service, which provides the user with services via IP addresses, and platform-as-a-service which is a platform delivered via the internet. There are both pros and cons when it comes to cloud computing. Some pros include the ability to use the software from any device, cost savings, and storage utility. On the other hand, some cons include security concerns, internal bugs, and power outages.

I also read this article just for a better understanding of the cloud and to really dive deep into the good and the bad, because as we know you can't have the good without the bad. I didn't realize the many different types of cloud computing so that was interesting to read.

Hello Alejandra, This is another great article that you have posted, thank you! Although I have been doing a lot of reading this week on Cloud Computing, I was truly enlightened by some of the information in this post; for example, Cloud Computing offers both public and private services, coupled with a Hybrid option that allows more flexibility and helps optimize the user's infrastructure and security. Further, creating and testing apps, and audio and video streaming were highlighted in this article, unlike others that I have read. Moreover, it broke down the functions of the components of the system (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS). Equally, some disadvantages stood out to me, like if the encryption key is lost, the data disappears. The geographical reach of cloud computing cuts both ways: A blackout in California could paralyze users in New York, and a firm in Texas could lose its data if something causes its Maine-based provider to crash. Additionally, with many individuals accessing and manipulating information through a single portal, inadvertent mistakes can transfer across an entire system. In closing, I have noticed that overall the benefits of Cloud Computing can tremendously assist companies in many ways, but some of the disadvantages can have a catastrophic impact on businesses and their operations. Shineal

This article highlights several important security issues in the hospitality industry, followed by the practice of protecting data from loss. The data structure of the hotel industry is complex, customers mainly use bank cards to pay, and the staff turnover rate is high. There are certain internal threats. In order to solve these problems and avoid data loss, it is not enough to strengthen network security. It is also important that employees are trained and familiar with and comply with relevant regulations.

Hospitality offers an ideal target vector for conducting Cyber crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud due to the existence of multiple databases and devices containing both Payment Card Information (PCI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Restaurants, hotels, and other companies in the hospitality sector often have complex ownership structures with an individual owner or group of owners, and a management company that acts as the operator. Each of these groups may use different computer systems to store information, and the information can also frequently move across those systems.

In this article, we learn about the top five data security risks as well as best practices to help prevent data breaches. According to the article, the hospitality industry is a prime target since it stores a vast amount of sensitive guest information like names, phone numbers, addresses, and credit card numbers. Some of the five risks included complex ownership structures, reliance on paying by card, and insider threats to name a few. In order to avoid these threats, the article suggest that companies become PCI compliant, use cybersecurity measures like firewalls, and know where exactly their data is stored.

This article is about how augmented reality has made such improvements in the hospitality industry. The changes that are being made are actually for the better, not only fr the hotel but also for the customers that benefit from these augmented realities.

A great article that explains what augmented reality is and how it is being integrated into the hospitality industry.

This article relates to augmented reality and a few of the different ways it is being incorporated into hotels. Augmented reality allows the hotelier to enhance the guests environment real time in a number of different ways. Some of these ways, as described in the article are: interactive hotel rooms, gamification, augmented hotel environments, and beacon technology. At the end of the article there are a number of links to articles about other digital trends, such as robots being used in the hospitality industry!

This article is about the history of the use of robots in the hospitality industry, back in the early 2000s. It then follows the deployment of ALO butler and the tasks it executed. Thereafter, a look into how robots are used today in various departments is presented. Also in this article are information about the pros and cons of using robotics both for the property and for the guests.

This article focused in how robots, specially drones, will affect the food industry. Drone delivery services are already being tested in Los Angeles which costs 30% less than traditional deliveries. In addition to drone delivery, by using cashless transactions and lowering labor hours, food delivery services could be used twenty four hours a day.

POS systems play a large role within the hospitality sector and develop by being used within different company types and industries. One main place where a POS is used and is extremely important is in retail. Along with creating speedy checkouts for customers, it is now a basic need for most of these POS systems to be using an inventory calculating software.

This article goes into details about the types of hotel POS systems, features, and the possible integrations. One of the things we have heard about a few times this week is "how POS systems allow for collecting guests' orders and purchases from different points of sale and charging them directly to their room". I highlighted and used this point because this is the main purpose and takeaway of a POS system within a hotel. Another good point in this article is how they touched upon the integration with a CRM to collect data on your customer. This is how hotels and other businesses target their customers.

"Major technology firms will replace most hotel brands, because they can offer technology solutions and create markets to attract customers. The traditional hospitality industry will evolve into niche markets..." -> This quote from this article is able to summarize where this industry is headed in just a few sentences, but the article as a whole was able to pinpoint the top trends that this industry will have faced in 2022 due to the rapid changes that had to be made due to the COVID-19 pandemic which we still face today. Such as sanitation and other safety protocol that is still enforced. Companies have had to adapt because of this to make up for their lack of revenue. For example, "This means that hospitality venues are being used as make-shift offices for bleisure travelers, as well as locals seeking a change of work environment. This is a great opportunity for hotels and F&B venues to capitalize on the trend and adapt their offering to meet the needs and wants of this emerging segment; ample plug sockets, free high-speed WIFI and great coffee are good starting points." The author of this article stated that the number of guest book long term trips have decreased, but when it comes to reserving hotel conference rooms as office space, staycations have increased with this transition. "Videos providing 360-degree views of restaurant ambiance, café terraces enveloped in greenery or hotel beachfront locations, for instance, are just the ticket to make an establishment stand out this year. As ever, keeping the access threshold low is key to reaching as broad an audience as possible with virtual reality material: making content accessible on a variety of devices, without the need for a VR headset." Another point made in this article mentions how virtual reality is now being used to enhance the customer experience. As a personal observation this has also helped with the transition post Covid-19. The changes that have been made and implemented and have opened the door fo

This article discusses a recent cyber-attack on ICH that is believed to have been a ransomware attack. It's stated that hospitality is the 8th most targeted sector for ransomware as of recently. The recent attack on ICH 4,053 users and 15 employees were compromised, which is actually far less than their last attack in 2016 that effected 1,175 properties. Hotels must take as much precaution as possible against cyber attacks because not only does it decrease their bookings, but they can also be charged millions in fines for information breaches.

The article discusses the benefits of using POS software in hotels and how POS software can improve revenue generation over time. Some of the key benefits discussed include ease of processing payments, better management of inventory, opportunities to upsell and market different products, improved employee management and more analytical insights. The article further highlights a POS system's ability to integrate with the hotel PMS to further increase efficiency. Current and future trends have also been covered.

Cloud computing has come a long way. The hospitality industry is quickly incorporating cloud computing services for guest satisfaction and productivity of employees. The article shares several real life examples where cloud computing were beneficial.

Cloud computing is the future whether businesses want it to be or not. With the growth of technology, we need to embrace one tool that is become very developed, cloud computing. It gives more efficiency to businesses who need to know more about their clientele and also can provide information and data that humans could never do. It gives a more personalized experience to each guest while organizing data much faster than on a excel sheet that stuff have to manually update. It improves experience and reduced cost for business as well. It allows information to be reached anywhere and business can be taken home or traveled with. It brings a new level of security to businesses and customers and allows more flexibility in service in the hospitality industry.

Cloud computing transforms hospitality by a offering seamless experience to customers while reducing obstacles to service from the staff side. It also offers individualized, quick solutions in an industry that is highly competitive.

Highlights: 1) Computers are used extensively by lodging managers and their assistants to keep track of guests' bills, reservations, room assignments, meetings, and special events. In addition, computers are used to order food, beverages, and supplies, as well as to prepare reports for hotel owners and top-level managers. 2) As for front desk, these computers have an intricate soft ware called the Property Managemen System (PMS) to do all the check ins, guest accounting, and etc. 3) In the restaurant, lounge, or bar is a new computer entirely called a Point of Sale System (POS). This will collaborate with a PMS to bill guests for a meal and etc, but can also be used as a cash register. 4) The computer in the sales office, which software is most likely DelPhi which is a booking terminal. 5) Nowadays hotel without a computer is like a bank without a vault. 6) The PMS may interface with central reservation system(CRS) and revenue or yield management system.

This article talks about the various types of computer systems in the hospitality industry, as well as their usage and benefits. Most of the common computer systems in the hospitality industry are PMS, POS, CRS, and DelPhi. A computer systems may be link to another to ensure streamline process. For example, the POS system at a hotel's restaurant can be linked to the PMS system at the front desk. That way, the guest's restaurant bill can be directly charge to his/her folio. Most of the large hotels do use computer systems. As the author mentioned, "a hotel without a computer is like a bank without a vault." In my opinion, hotels will not be able to deliver exemplary guest service without inventing in computer systems in today's competitive market.

AR is closer than you think! The Marriott Moxy brand is launching a limited-time AR experience at select hotels. QR codes, avatars, and holographs!