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This article summarizes the findings taken from research done within the Expedia Group's global hotelier panel consisting of 1,215 hotelier participants that used a choice-based study to compare technology investments between defined hotel chains and small independent hotels. In summary, chain hotels were likely to invest twice as much in technology when compared to small independent hotels. Conversely, small independent hotels were likely to invest more in rooms reservations than chain hotels. The I.T investment strategy varied among the two hotel segments. Small independent hotels choose technology based on affordability, value, and complexity of technology, whereas chain hotels bought technology based on its ability to integrate into their existing systems, the price was not mentioned.

My opinion on this article surrounds my personal experience in the way I have been able to experience third party extranet portals and because of these enhancements that Expedia has developed for hotel partners, I have seen a tremendous amount of return on investment that goes into technology development. Many consumers have been influenced by these third party sites because they offer a type of experience that is different from traditional booking methods and often times consumers are able to snag cheaper rates than they would with booking hotel direct. I would like to see how this trend goes on in future years because I have seen more third party bookings in recent months and it should follow that trend for years to come.

The article focuses on applying technology in the hospitality industry, based on the study conducted by Expedia Group (Big Think). The article summarized the research study conducted on 1215 hoteliers worldwide, assessing the focus and prioritization of technology investments by these businesses. The study provides that Chain of hotels are twice as likely to invest in technology than SME in the hospitality industries, with these SMEs being 1.5 times more likely to invest in renovations. In the year 2019, approximately 54% of hotels focused on increasing their technology investments, with only 8% focusing on reducing the same. This provided that more hoteliers were willing to "stay ahead of the curve" than those that focused on adopting the "wait and see" approach. In this respect, hoteliers identified that their main technology investments were influenced by the value and affordability of the same and the capacity to integrate them with existing technologies. On the other hand, the main challenges associated with the technologies were complexity, affecting 25% of the respondents, and ease of use, affecting 33.33% of the respondents (Big Think). In focusing on technological advancement, the Expedia Group focused on technological elements such as Partner Central Mobile Application improvements, new "rooms and rate," page improvements, new "marketing" improved pages, new homepages adaptive, as well as multiple-property portfolio dashboards. With regard to the market perspective, digital marketing/website optimization, smart room, reputation management, revenue management, guest check-ins, and payment solutions were the main technological focuses for the hoteliers. Focusing on the reasons hoteliers were motivated to invest in technology, the study established that improving productivity, improving loyalty and repeat visits, improving guest experiences and reviews, reducing costs, and improving revenue generation topped the list.  

Over the years, some businesses have controlled almost all factors of production and distribution (Ford in its early days) whereas others have outsourced almost everything (Dell). In the early days of industry, large enterprises controlled and owned most factors of production and businesses like Ford Motor Company in the USA had their own foundries, railroad, forestry and electricity generating plants, In the UK, Cadbury's and Lever Brothers went so far as to build villages and amenities for their workers. The motivation for this vertical integration was varied but included cost and quality control, worker loyalty and protection of proprietary processes. As well as control of production, resources and employees, businesses like Ford also controlled the retail sales and service network.

The virtual value chain, created by John Sviokla and Jeffrey Rayport, is a business model describing the dissemination of value-generating information services throughout an Extended Enterprise . This value chain begins with the content supplied by the provider, which is then distributed and supported by the information infrastructure; thereupon the context provider supplies actual customer interaction. It supports the physical value chain of procurement, manufacturing, distribution and sales of traditional companies. To illustrate the distinction between the two value chains consider the following: "when consumers use answering machines to leave a message, they are using an object that is both made and sold in the physical world, however when they buy electronic answering services from the phone company they are using the marketspace-a virtual realm where products and services are digital information and are delivered through information-based channels." (Rayport et al. 1996) Many businesses employ both value chains, including banks, which provide services to customers in the physical world at their branch offices and virtually online. The value chain is separated into two chains because the marketplace (physical) and the marketspace (virtual) need to be managed in different ways to be effective and efficient (Samuelson 1981). Nonetheless, the linkage between the two is critical for effective supply chain management.

This article focuses on the benefits that Maestro (a property management system) offers to hotels and how it has been benefitting hotels that currently use their system, more specifically, smaller, independent hotels. Most chain hotels and large facilities are required to utilize a flag-mandated property management system. However, independent operators are not linked with these mandated systems, and have a choice as to which system to utilize. Maestro claims to offer Northwind, a service that allows Maestro to be utilized in a cloud-based system, enabling it to host multiple properties and save the establishment money by not requiring them to purchase servers and security, whereas a traditional PMS would have done so. The president of Northwind also states that they strive for their clients to succeed and that it is more of a partnership with those who utilize their service, and their goal is to make a hotel's operations more profitable and efficient. The article continues on to explain the uses and functions of the Maestro system, including being fully-integrates and offering operators loyalty program benefits and the functionality to compete with programs that were solely available to chains. It also tracks points earned and redemption stays as well for those loyalty programs, and claims to minimize errors and save operators money. It also allows integrations that provides social media outlets through the property management system, allowing the user to operate their business simultaneously through different systems. Maestro also boasts that the utilization of their property management system allows hotels to increase their direct bookings through the property for a lower cost than if they were to utilize a different system in which it was not flawlessly and seamlessly integrated with a global distribution system. It seems to be a property management system that enables users to complete many tasks at once, from one location, without having the hassle of

This article highlights the benefits of restaurant chains using HRIS software for better employee management. The restaurant business is one that is fast paced and can be complex at times. According to the article, HRIS can bring greater consistency to the workplace and empower employees. This system has proven to help with many other large restaurant chains. It simplifies scheduling for managers and employees by allowing them to make edits on the software or request days off or vacations. It also helps control labor costs by identifying the labor needs and pairing it with the employees' availability. It empowers employees because it gives them the access to view schedules and reduce errors or miscommunications. The HRIS keeps everything organized and accessible for compliance purposes. In my opinion, this would be a great addition to the restaurant industry. An industry that is constantly moving must have something in place to keep it organized in regards to files and employee management. The HRIS provides an efficient and effective way in doing so.

This article discusses several critical factor in the process of using an HRIS in a restaurant chain. It notes that there is little research specifically discussing this area for the hospitality industry. The article examines the factors that should be considered by a restaurant chain in making the decision to use an HRIS. Also, the article discusses a study of issues that will contribute toward the successful implementation of HRIS for restaurant chains.

In this article, Binu Mathews, Ceo at IDS Next, discusses how the hospitality industry faces massive disruptions and the majority of the challenges related to technology. He discusses how these challenges affect larger hotel chains.

This articles talks about the physical plant situation that Marriott had years ago. After Marriott faced challenges in 2005 with its management company that was in need of separating its IT infrastructure from its parent company, they now use Oracle E0Business Suite 22i's HR and Payroll applications. Marriott in North America had a long history of using Oracles application, Marriott U.K and Hewitt stayed with Oracles .

"One goal of the new guidelines was to recognize the increasing globalization of the hotel industry, Temling said. "Many of the changes are reflective of what's happening in the world in our industry," he said. "Chains based in the (United States) have generally adopted the guidelines; that's not the problem. But we also hope chains domiciled outside this country will accept the changes outlined in the book." Some of the changes are small, but symbolic, Temling said. In previous editions of the book, accounting for some employee benefits reflected terminologies used by U.S. companies. "Up through the 10th edition, we called it FICA or social security for employees' benefits," Temling said. "This time around we call it social benefit contribution, which is more universally acceptable." Large hotel companies might have more difficulty adopting the new guidelines than will smaller ones, said Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, a hotel asset management and real estate advisory company. She is a member of the financial committee that created the latest edition. "It's actually harder for larger operators because they often have many divisions," she said. Examples she cited affect reporting of telecommunications, labor and segmentation data. "We created a new (information technology) department, and in a large company that is worldwide that operates on multiple accounting platforms, the mapping process is massive," she said, adding that some companies have decided to defer adopting the new IT department guideline until 2016."

This article discuses the changesin technology and increasing globalization in the world with a highlight on the hotel industry. It explains the guidelines large are small hotels take to adjust.

This article explains the changes and increasing globaliztion in the world and hotel industry. It explains the new guidelines and the procedures large and small hotels take.

The best of both worlds is described in this article using a cloud computing system, PMS and POS are integrated to a user friendly system that helps manage retail, food and beverage and rooms in one. The system maintains pricing structure thru out a group of hotels in real time.

Hotel technology vendors release functionality previously unseen in hotels - enabling better guest service and tighter control hetras, the developer of cloud-based hotel management software, and Vectron, a leading provider of point of sale systems for hospitality and retail, announced today the certified integration of their products. hetras, the developer of cloud-based hotel management software, and Vectron, a leading provider of point of sale systems for hospitality and retail, announced today the certified integration of their products. The new seamless interface between the hetras hotel management system and Vectron's POS provides, in addition to the standard features one has come to expect, a host of highly advanced capabilities long desired, but before today never achieved, in a hotel environment. Some unique features of the interface include: Automatic discounts for loyalty club members at the article level. Front office credit limit detection at the POS with multiple resolution options (e.g. allow charge to room, allow partial charge to room, deny charge to room) Full guest check detail can be sent to PMS enabling detailed folios and statistics in the PMS. POS discounts can be sent to PMS in detail for full tracking of discounts in the PMS or accounting system Extensive handling of house bons (e.g. for hotels staff) between PMS and POS Both charges and payments (e.g. cash or credit card) can be sent from POS to PMS.

The compeat restaurant management system is a cloud based highly configurable system which is developed by Compeat and the founder of ReMACS. By utilized this system, the restaurant managers can operate the business more effectively than before. It provides real-time "Deshboards" and "Alerts". The employees can simply access the internet through "myworkforce" to view the work schedules even pick up or change the schedule which save the time of the manager to communicate with each of the employees to comfire the scehdule. Meanwhile it provide a new channel for the employee to communicate to the managers. Especially for the chain restaurants, this system offers inventory control, food cost analysis, cash and sales management, forecasting, time& attendance.

According to the article,  Compeat Enterprise is a targeted solution for restaurant chains looking for a highly configurable system that can be tailored to their specific operations and easily integrated with their existing systems. Compeat Enterprise is centrally hosted (a cloud based application) requiring only Internet connectivity and a browser in the restaurant. Compeat Enterprise will provide chain restaurants with inventory control, food cost analysis, cash and sales management, forecasting, time & attendance and labor scheduling. Enterprise includes real-time "Dashboards" and "Alerts" for managers in the restaurants as well as executives above the restaurants. Enterprise also includes a Portal (myWorkforce) that employees access via the Internet (desktop or mobile) to view their schedules, pick up shifts, request schedule changes, and communicate with their manager.

Today, going green is one of the defining movements of our time. The movement to conserve and replenish the earth's resources continues to build momentum and meeting planners and suppliers are doing their share to advance the cause. It is really a very good phenomenon that some major hotel chains are making to help planners organize eco-friendly meetings and events. This article talked about what the major hotel chains are doing to support eco-friendly meetings. 1. Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts' Eco-Meet program. 2. Hilton International has declared that all of its 3,600 properties will be using its carbon calculator program, which the system analyzes 200 operational practices, including housekeeping, paper product usage, food waste and transportation, and determines their environmental impact in terms of energy and water use, waste production and carbon output. 3. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts' Meet and Be Green initiative, offers clients a 3 percent rebate on qualifying charges on the final pretax master bill for following the chain's 10-point green guidelines. 4. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants became one of the first hotel chains to offer a dedicated green meetings package brandwide, attracting immediate interest from corporate clients such as Microsoft and Aveda. 5. Marriott has offered green meetings standards across its JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts and Courtyard by Marriott brands. 6. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide recently announced it would implement its new Sustainable Meeting Practices (SMPs). According to those hotel chains , by following the Eco-Meet guidelines, groups can save up to thoughts of plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, writing pads, pencils, paper cups and other else per year.

The advances restaurants are making with technology are astounding. Because of the rise in minimum wage and health care recently, companies are forced to figure out a way to cut labor costs. With the addition of iPads and tablets, restaurants are now able to use technology to help with reducing the amount of labor needed. Some chain restaurants are providing guests with table-side tablets to order and pay for their meal, which will allow servers the opportunity to take on more tables and allow the customer to assist in the serving process. Managers will be able to evaluate their team based on speed and time it takes to turn the tables over, which could allow for either more customers served or allow managers to make the decision to reduce the amount of servers needed at their establishments. As this technology continues to become more available and user friendly, more establishments will be transitioning to computers/tablets instead of having face-to-face service.

The use of tablets being used in casual dining chains is a great idea that will not only make things more convenient for the customer but will also drastically cut labor costs for restaurants. From a management perspective these tablets seem to be a great idea. Some may argue that part of the dining experience is being able to interact with ones server. However, how many times have you waited at your table hoping to pay the bill? Now guests are able to pay their bill when they are ready and the tablet even prompts the guest on how much to leave as a tip, which may help eliminate or at least cut down on the number of bad tippers. The only negative may be that since there is less interaction with guests and guests have the ability to pay the bill whenever they are ready to leave, could this increase the number of guests who walk out on the check? Nevertheless, many companies are starting to use this technology.

The use of tablets can also cut down on error in the ordering process. Even if the wait staff remains, they can easily repeat everything ordered to the customer and there will be no mistakes for poor penmanship. Payment can be done at the table, also cutting down on potential identity theft using skimmers etc., under the bar or at the wait station.

The article outlines the power of integrated back office solutions for hotels and hotel chains. The article was an interesting read and brought up many good points. I think the first line highlighted in pink is a critical position in the article. In hospitality we put a lot of involvement with the I.T department as they stated. It is critical for I.T to support and ensure the hotel management systems are reliable, HR is recruits effective and that the account software is reliable and secure. These systems are completed by the back office. The back office is important to a hotel chain. They work behind the scenes to get the job done. Back offices are required in order to increase productivity and complete tasks. While of course there are positives and negatives with anything, I think the positives of the back office are crucial. The positives include the system administrator is cheaper, integration makes system administration easier, the most complex back offices can run from anywhere and there is increased room for accelerated growth. Back offices are not guest facings so they can operate in a more relaxed environment. The work can be completed anywhere which increases accessibility. Back offices are a key to the industry which provide an important service for hotels.

In this article it discussed the main green technologies used for hotel chains and independent hotel owners. In a bid to reduce carbon emissions ahead of possible future legislation, many hotels are adopting strategies to comply with stringent energy guidelines. Large hotel chais are making sure they go extra miles to ensure their green credentials are noticed. Green consultants and architects are employed and eco-friendly strategy for sustainable technologies are rolled out at the entire hotel groups.  Hotel architecture transform to more new green hotel developments which more fit in  with the local landscape as well as energy reducing technology apply for the roofing and building materials. Bio fuel heating replace for diesel and recycled water being used to irrigate hotel grounds. Some hotels are using ozone instead of chlorine in the pools. Other green energy management systems has become increasingly common. Green gadgets are proving a cost effective choice and can also reduce the impact of heavy guest usage on resources.Many Chins are minimizing waste by avoiding over-paced products and asking to deliver minimal wrapping.  Further cost effective measures can be applied to guest activities. They promote local restaurants and attractions within walking distance or only a short care journey away. Bicycles are offered for guests or endorse local tour firms which save on multiple car journeys.  Eco-friendly measures and green technology as part of hotel's general philosophy are well accepted. It also helps to ensure future goodwill and increase occupancy rates. It worth adopting a green technology policy to suit a hotel budget.

Through the article, I found that more and more companies and customers concern about green technology and it has became a heated issue for hotel chains and independent hotel owners. Then why do we need green technology in hotel industry? The answers varies: the general one could be that we need a green world and we should reduce the burden of our environment; for customers, I think we should try to protect the place that provides us beautiful view and nice mood and to make it more comfortable to live in; for hoteliers, building and operating hotels means more saving on energy, more profit,and higher reputation. Even through we have different points of view, we can work on the same theme. Then the problem came in: how to build and operate a green hotel. The author of this article gave me some ideas and I am sure green technology can be everywhere. For instance, large hotel chains can employ green consultants and architect and even launch test sites where they can assess the effectiveness of their green strategy. Professional architects can customize their design to fit the local landscape. From the beginning we can have the green roofing and building materials which can benefit us a lot later. The facilities and operation system can be energy saving by focusing on every detail such as the recycled water and bio fuel heating.  Besides in room technology can be green too. Hoteliers can also try to plan some actives that are environmental friendly for their guests.  Green technology can be applied to every step of building and operating hotels.It is meaningful for hoteliers to focus on the green theme. 

Covid has put a large strain on the global travel industry and a large portion of the hospitality industry are relying on technological means to recover. Hotel chains such as Japan's Ressorttrust inc. has made an agreement with Sabre Corporation to utilize Sabre's SynXis booking engine. The platform expands Ressorttrust's points of access by exposing them to over 600 online global platforms and over 900,000 travel agents. The software's ability to provide an easier, quicker, and convenient style of booking has already resulted in growth of Japanese tourism. This decision also posed well for brand image. The success of Sabre SynXis highlighted the company's dedication to helping bring back Japan's tourism.

This article discusses some current trends in property management systems and how Maestro by NORTHWIND is ready to deliver. Maestro by NORTHWIND is a PMS used by many independent hotels and resorts and offers 20 integrated modules. One of the top trends for 2012 is mobile optimization for management and guests. More and more people are turning to mobile apps for personalized services, and express check-in and check-outs. Maestro Xpress Check-In App allows properties to use iPads and other tablets to do this anywhere there is WIFI. Maestro's App will also allow managers access to reports, and real-time activity from anywhere allowing managers more control over their business. Another growing trend is cloud PMS. Maestro has a cloud based system that claims it can increase productivity at the same time reducing costs. Managers can manage multiple hotels from a single location and reduce costs because they won't have to maintain an in-house PMS. There is also a steady increase in direct online booking from mobile apps and social media sites. Maestro Web Connection reduces the commissions paid to online travel agencies and 3rd parties by allowing guests to book reservations directly. Another way Maestro helps independent hotel chains is by offering them a guest loyalty system to help them offer some of the same incentive and reward programs offered by larger hotel chains.

Northwind Maestro leads the innovations of industry. Cloud system platforms are not just for the large chains. Small, independent operators also can use web-enabled platform with lower cost. Mobile is another trend of PMS innovations. Customers can check in and checkout on iPad by using Maestro Mobile Apps. In addition, direct-booking online from Mobile is the third top trend in 2012 PMS technology. Maestro's Guest Loyalty System with online capabilities is the first application to offer independents the same benefits as major chains to recognize, reward, and retain guests.

Seeing the rapid development of mobile devices and social media, hoteliers are connecting PMS with mobile devices and social media. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is a kind of software which satisfies hoteliers' current requirement. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is an Internet-based PMS. It brings plenty of benefits to hotels. To illustrate, Maestro can reduce cost, create operating efficiencies, secure cardholder information, and to have instant remote access to their property or hotel group's data. Furthermore, since more and more people are using mobile devices to book rooms, make dining reservations or some other services, Maestro also develops mobile apps. "The Maestro Mobile App enables operators to wirelessly connect to their Maestro centralized system and provides access to management reports, real-time activity and other features found in Maestro." Maestro also thinks of customer loyalty by tracking customers and establish database.

This article talk about the PMS system in Middle east recent years. It is an important time of year for the hospitality industry in the Middle East. The region's industry has witnessed a strong recovery of 78.6% occupancy rates over last year and the holiday season continues to hold tremendous promise of high tourist traffic and increased occupancy. With the highlight of the year- Dubai Shopping Festival 2012 fast approaching, hoteliers need to brace themselves for round-the-clock services as they run at nearly 100% occupancy. Here will be integral for them to relook at existing business procedures to ensure efficient use of resources and enhanced guest experience. Technology is a key driver of business growth for the hospitality sector across segments. While hotels leverage technology, hoteliers need to remember that mere adoption of innovation does not suffice. Effective implementation of required hardware and software proves beneficial only if the hotel ERP is adequately aligned with the hotel's business needs. In 2010, tourist arrivals to theMiddle East increased by 14%, registering a total of 56.6 million tourists. The positive outlook of the year ahead will place an impetus on the adoption and implementation of CRM tools as well. Luxury hotel chains in theMiddle Eastalready offer rewards and loyalty programs for customers, however, with the advent of social media, CRM tools have been revised to track discussions and reviews on hotel properties. One of the key challenges for large hotel chains is to stay connected with their managers on-the-go. Hand held devices like PDAs enable hoteliers to stay connected with ongoing activities at their property and an integrated PMS system sends out automated updates to improve communications.

This article presents that many of independent hotels choose the cloud based PMS to make their working systems more profitable. One of the cloud based PMS, Maestro property management system showcases enhanced technology, additionally customer engagement for increasing a loyalty as like as chain hotels. Here are trends that make independent hotels more productive and profitable. First, it makes direct booking that could reduces reliance on OTAs and boost occupancy. Second, its automated e-messaging increase guest retention and revenue. Third, it boast its affordable and secure information. It delivers instant remote access to property and let operators manage multipe properties. Fourthly, it provides dash board to access to real-time data and make on-the-spot decision. Fifthly, it provides guest loyalty programs to compete with chains. It has automated tracking system to redeem points and boost customer loyalty. lastly, it offers to users the knowledge center for 24/7 to let Maestro users to be familiar with the system and provide access to tools and resources.

WebRezPro, Charlestowne Hotels and Stash Hotel Rewards are now working together to develop an automatic system that sends data directly to Stash Rewards upon check out. With this new system, night staff does not need to gather all of this data nightly and send it to Stash points. All information and transferred immediately. Having this software allows these "independent hotel clients to compete head-to-head with chain hotels." This still allows the independent hotels to be smaller and provide personalized interactions with guests.

MobileDemand and Peak-Ryzex have recently announced that they have partnered up to enable Peak-Ryzex to integrate MobileDemand tablet Pcs into their portfolio of supply chain and mobility solutions. MobileDemand is a worldwide provider of tablet PCs. They are better known for their ruggedized products. Peak-Ryzex is one of the top providers of supply chain and mobility solutions. This partnership allows for companies to make business decisions and complete business transactions in the mist of it all. With the tablet's special design, it has the potential to last longer than others with daily use. The tablet is built with the user in mind; specialized docks allowing for better productivity. Tools such as a tablet made to withstand harsh conditions is a particle and mush needed product in the hospitality industry, more so in the Food & Beverage industry. A ruggedized tablet would allow a chef to focus more on the meal they are creating rather than the tablet falling or breaking.