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This article talks about the future delivery trends expected to emerge in the Ecommerce business. Many shoppers are moving their shopping experience online for reasons such as convenience, time saver etc. However, there are many consumers who prefer the offline shopping experience and some choose to do it because of the lack of certain services online. One of the main reasons they prefer going to the stores is because they have their product available to them immediately rather than having to wait for the delivery. Many retailers are working on solving this issue. The three trends that are most likely to emerge as solutions soon are: same day delivery, drone or robot delivery and pick up and pack companies. These three options will entice customers to shop online since they will be able to receive their products same day. "Research shows that consumers are willing to pay more if it means getting faster delivery. Although this could increase costs for brands, they will get more sales and will be one step ahead of other brands who do not yet offer this service".The retailers might raise the cost of the product but consumers are willing to pay a little extra for same day delivery.

This is a great article that provides tips on how to use green practices within the IT realm. It starts by giving statistics on how much energy can be consumed by equipment, and also how much electronic waste can be done when not reusing or recycling such equipment. There is tips on how to increase efficiency with your technology and also providing tips on how to properly purchase needed equipment. Another set of tips covers reducing the running costs of office equipment and reducing e-waste by the 'reduce, reuse, and recycle'. Lastly, developments for green technology and equipment are provided for us. My opinion is that this article is very informative and should be read by all hoteliers to look into and apply the tips given. Showing the statistics paints a great picture for the reasons why we should be going green with technology.

It seems that stores have just begun to jump on the self-checkout process. However, the self-checkouts are old news, the technology that is coming out now, known as "Grab and Go" is creating an even more automated process. This technology can allow you to take an item off the shelf (update inventory immediately) and simply walk out of the store, without ever having to take out your wallet. Spending money is becoming easier and easier, allowing consumers to consume more than ever. Some pros of this technology include, customer loyalty (personalizing the customers experience), lower overhead (saving money on labor costs and extending hours), and reduces shrinkage (real-time inventory tracking). Technology is improving so quickly that it is hard for companies to keep up and stay up-to-date. For example, the self-checkouts have just become a norm; how long until they are fully replaced by "Grab and Go?"

Marketing and advertising trends are constantly changing due to evolving consumer expectations. These changing expectations are essential for business owners to notice and address in order to stay relevant in the market and industry. Businesses must understand their vision for the future in order to address those expectations. This is the foundation that business will be able to build off of as consumers value truth and consistency. Companies must also stray away from the safe and obvious choices by pushing the boundaries. It is important that business owners are always looking ahead to the future in order to stay ahead of the curve.

This article talks about how we have seen technology in restaurants change in the past year as well as what to expect moving forward. Restaurants have begun to see how new technologies like contactless pay are allowing them to expedite services and benefiting their businesses. It also discusses how even though things like QRs have become more common they won't replace aspects of service experience that are crucial to hospitality.

Almost a third of hospitality companies have reported that they do not have a policy in place for storing and disposing of confidential information. In that same group another 19% reported that they don't have policy for storing or disposing of confidential paper documents. This is a alarming because most hospitality companies have to store consumer information. Nearly 23% of consumers reported they would take their business elsewhere following a data breach which should be a walk up call in the industry to improve their current security. What is even more alarming 41% of hospitality businesses say they believe that their organization will experience some form of data breach in the next five years.

The security of data in the hospitality industry is now more and more important. Although some hotel owners may not keeping it in mind as an important issue, a large percentage of hotel guests feel concerned about it. This discrepancy should be a wake-up call for hoteliers. Organizations can do three things to minimize risk: update security policies, train employees better, and regaining customer trust. Current statistics provided evidence that these three aspects are all important and can be improved.

Hospitality consumers are only getting more and more tech savvy, therefore, businesses must meet their patrons' standards and expectations when it comes to preferences, efficiency, convenience and speed. Examples we experience daily are mobile ordering at a restaurant, online/kiosk check in at a hotel, food delivery apps and more.

Being able to customize to the consumer and their needs is a game changer and with data analytics available today this is becoming more of a reality and could soon be a consumer expectation as we want content and experiences that are relevant to us.

The more technology is evolving into the world of business the more human interaction is less needed. parallelly, customer expectations keeps getting higher every year. some consumers tend to look for more personalized service, this is very difficult to provide through technology solely, till now at least, human interaction is essential to keep up with guests expectations.

Global distribution systems work by connecting travel companies (airlines, car rentals, cruise lines) to travel agencies (online or human) who then connect with the interested traveler. By this chain, the travel agent is able to offer real time availability from the companies to the traveller. The benefits of this system are the ability to deliver tons of information direct from the relevant companies, it is convenient for those that use them and easy to track travelling trends and interests. To me, it works like a mass marketing strategy. The content is generated by the owners and instead of enlisting their own man power, they utilize the efficiency and convenience of remote technology to mass distribute. The intended consumer receives the information without ever having to think where it's coming from, but inevitably trusts its reliability. The productivity of this system is something that those in the hospitality industry cannot ignore because this represents moments of the first interaction between the interested consumer and your operation. In order for the information to reach them in a convenient medium. In summary, GDS's help information get from the travel company to the consumer everyday in real time via global networks.

Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are largely responsible for the expansion of the travel industry. They provide the foundation for most internet-based travel services offered globally, and they link the providers of travel services in real-time. To make the travel business more complex and informatics, the GDS system provides global data, pricing, inventory, offers, and real-time availability of flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, and even bus tickets. GDS enables travel agencies and their customers to access travel information, purchase and compare options for reservations, and schedule trips. One of the most essential tools for the travel industry is the GDS system. Global Distribution Systems are server-hosted web platforms that offer worldwide discounts on the booking of travel-related goods like airfares. Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport are the three main GDSs in the market, and they are connected to more than 650,000 travel agents. Travel agencies depend on GDS's assistance to maximize their own profits because GDS is a direct seller of airline tickets. To increase their revenues and their ability to offer tickets to customers, travel agencies enter into an agreement with GDS and gain access to a listing of fares.

" Benefits of Global Distribution System Global distribution systems are widely responsible for the growth of travel industry and stepping stone of most internet based travel services. Benefits of Global Distribution System for Travel Agents and Tour Operators GDS systems deliver worldwide data, rates, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets, and many more to make the travel industry more informatics and sophisticated. How Travel GDS Marketplace Is Reshaping the Travel Industry GDS stands for Global Distribution System and it's essentially a central reservation system that allows travel agencies and their clients to access travel knowledge, buy and compare reservations choices and book travel. functions across the world and connects the travel service suppliers or vendors to the travel agencies in real-time, by providing a centralized service that covers the bookings of airline tickets and more. permits travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, feature and costs for airlines and extra travel services worldwide. The leading global distribution systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, and Worldspan. This permits users to buy tickets from various suppliers or completely different airlines. GDS can link services, rates, and bookings that combine a spread of products and services in travel sectors: e.g., airline bookings. Independent travel agents, travel agencies are now using an increasing sophisticated GDS system to seek out the best travel and accommodation and rates for their clients. Travel Agencies have historically relied on GDS for services, products & rates to produce travel-related services GDS system is one of the most necessary tools for the travel business the system will yield results with real-time pricing and availability comparisons There are 3 major GDS within the market- Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport here are over 650,000 and travel agents connected via a GDS system Systems enable users to bu

Restaurants need to keep up with the latest technology otherwise they will not grow accordingly. Digital ordering and coordinated contactless delivery helped to keep both workers and consumers safe and allowed tech savvy food service operators to stay afloat. Even though the younger consumers are the most accepting and enthusiastic about restaurant automation. The older generation will follow sooner or later.

There is clearly a connection between ownership of "stuff" and proper stewardship of the same. this article brings to light how this process needs to be sustainable and the responsibilities that we all have to ensure that our own footprint is not causing more harm to our planet through poor management of the items we have purchased. According to a 2013 report by the Consumer Electronics Association, the average American household uses about 28 electronic products such as personal computers, mobile phones, televisions and electronic readers (e-readers). With an ever increasing supply of new electronic gadgets, EPA's Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling show that Americans generated 2.7 million tons of consumer electronics goods in 2018, representing less than one percent of all municipal solid waste generation.

This article is about the integration of social media in marketing for restaurants, and particularly how that has adapted and changed as a result of the pandemic. The article gives a brief introduction with some statistics outlining the particular usage of social media by different generations and how they make decisions regarding the content they see on that social platform. It then goes into detail about how Instagram is the primary platform that leads to success for restaurants marketing. It then takes a slight turn and explains that many consumers are looking to give their business and attention to entities that take social or other stands and seem to have a genuine care for making the world a better place. It has also been shown that outsourcing of marketing has reduced as a result of the pandemic and the need to save money during the hard times. Additionally, there is something that consumers find appealing about the genuine marketing that an internal employee is able to do on a platform such as instagram. The article concludes that even though the pandemic has been a terrible thing, it has forced restaurants to become more proactive and innovative in their marketing strategies.

Geo-targeting is a step above geo-fencing and like that of Proximity marketing is a digital marketing technique meant to geographically target consumers within a set of parameters. The purpose of this is that while digital marketing has been around, is being used and the future of it is quite relevant it requires companies to adapt using various methods of marketing to reach the consumer. And geography is an area that is highly required. And unlike geo-fencing, geo-targeting is more generalized in the locale. It is asserted that companies need to have a better understanding of their guests at a basic level than before. "Hotels can no longer take a blanketed approach---understanding where a guest is coming from and the impact of a hotel's digital footprint" is just as important. A reason hotels might want to use geo-targeting is that direct business captures "95% more revenue than that of indirect channels". Interested enough many guests book last minute and that accounts for 72% off mobile bookings. Geo-targeting relies on revenue to determine its success. One issue noted is the use of VPNs can create miss-targeting when users are receiving messages from a location they are not in. Several things to note are prioritizing a focus on existing and prior guests because they cost less than advertising to new guests. Secondly, using CRM can create personalization through guest profiles and add an extra special factor to their experience. One example shown was Denny's and it showed an increase in visits. Geo-targeting is a marketing strategy that can help companies stay relevant.

This take on proximity marketing is interesting in that it requires a little more thought in implementation because you aren't just narrowing it down to a specific locale, you are creating a wider net to catch people in. That means you have to have a broader understanding of who you are catching which would be multiple targets that may not be alike, but have similar needs. They used the pandemic as an example of how it benefited them to use geo-location, While not marketing to a whole section of the US they targeted a more localized net ( a state away) but not too narrow as to leave out a specific target. It showed some success in that they were able to save money and help bring brand awareness to a different type of consumer. They not only target those locally but "neighbors" and I know that I as a new guest appreciate seeing local people utilizing a product or service and come back for more because it gives me an idea that the product or service or both is appealing to guests. This also helps hinge on the word of mouth of the customer. That is an additional positive aspect of this type of marketing. Seeking local rather than national or global customer-created brand devotion.

This article was about how online travel agencies are attempting to shift their priorities based on the technological advancements and desires of the consumers. These improvements are bringing along challenges in booking trips/ hotels. Booking online was once a smaller portion of businesses. Now, it has gained a major spot in businesses, especially in the areas of consumer sales and research. Now, businesses are attempting to keep up with today's focus in ratings and reviews, mobile, and media and distribution (especially through mobile usage). Being able to research and book trips/hotels through mobile devices is becoming a major move and an important factor for consumers. Most consumers are pressed for time and don't have the opportunity to sit at a computer to research and book trips/hotels. So, implementing this through mobile devices gives the option to book and research from anywhere easily. Any businesses that can keep up with this will definitely be able to thrive in the industry.

This artical is takling about future trends in hotel e-buinsee. In the artical one of the top strategies for hotel e-buiness is evolving from selling to engaging the customer, the way is hoteliers need to fulfill the experience expected by customers. What's more, they can engage the customer through social computing. Then this artical is talking about how to get succeed in hotel e-business, to truly engage digital travelers,hotel e-business must evovle from channel to gateway, from single purpose to all encompassing, and from functional to fulfilling. What's more, this artical show five important trends affecting hotel e-business. They are more demanding consumers; more comples distribution channels; changing business models; emphasis on technology and richer contemt; change in the structure of hotel e-business. Last this artical is talking about we need to think about both globalization and localization in any business.

This article expounds how Google is contributing to the future green advancements of the world by implementing them in their every day operations. Although developing next-generation consumer electronics is an extremely lucrative sector of technology, Google has shifted their thinking away from the immediate consumer electronics field, moving towards the development of green technology. The article further mentions Google's wide-range of environmentally-friendly initiatives which includes the development of an application plug-in that would help automobiles determine where the driver is going that in turn reduces energy use, incorporates renewable energy, and offsets carbon emissions. Also, despite the large amount of Google data centers, Google has managed to cut their energy use in half through practical thinking that included purchasing a wind farm in Iowa with plans of running entirely on renewable energy in the near future. The company also made it a point to cut down on greenhouse gases by having goats roam their Google campus to eliminate the need for fertilizer and lawn movers. In conclusion, by adopting unconventional techniques for effectively lowering its environmental impact, the company has become a model example for more companies to think outside of the box and focus on implementing green technology in an efficient and innovative manner.

Bluetooth proximity marketing was the new and upcoming marketing technique back in 2014. As learned this week in class this kind of marketing is used to connect with potential and existing consumers. There are four different types of proximity marketing that should be considered:  Internet enabled device (cell phone, tablet, etc) with GPS.  WiFi device (cell phone, tablet, etc) within range of a transmitter  Bluetooth device (cell phone, tablet, etc) being within range of a transmitter  NFC enabled phone that can read a RFID chip on a product or media. The main one described in this article is Bluetooth. An example of Bluetooth proximity marketing would be a retailer adds a transmitter to a specific promotional spot, and the person with a Bluetooth enabled phone may receive a coupon for the products found at that promotional spot or a complimentary product. The target is to directly market the consumer, you can send coupons, engage the costumer, send relevant information, etc.

In this article we find out how the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is challenging the authenticity of Tripadvisor as a result of a complaint by online reputation specialist, KwikChex Ltd. The ASA is complaining that Tripadvisor is allowing hotels to submit their own reviews to boost their reputations, compromising the legitimacy of the website's "honest travel reviews." The ASA and KwikChex believe that consumers are not aware of the difference between honest and hoax hotel reviews on the site. The website is fighting back saying that the large number of users that visit the site help balance out the small amount of fake posts. In addition, they state that they have fraud detection systems in place to weed out illegitimate reviews. But most importantly, they argue that those reviews that do manage to creep in do not carry much weight because users read an average of 12 reviews before making final decisions. Tripadvisor is one of the most popular websites among consumers making purchasing decisions because it is founded on real, consumer hotel reviews. Consumers today, specially the millennial generation, rely on peer reviews for important purchases such as travel and hotel stays. As consumers it is vital for us to remain educated and alert, specially when we cannot prove the legitimacy of the contents' authors.

Six of the world's leading hotel companies, Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International Inc. and Wyndham Hotel Group, launched Roomkey.com, an innovative new online hotel search engine. It enables consumers to search and book directly with the hotel, and it gives consumers confidence that they have made the right choice by providing accurate hotel information straight from the source. The brain behind this project is John F. Davis III, Chief Executive Officer of Room Key, who is a highly experienced hospitality industry visionary with a history of entrepreneurial successes. The technology platform for RoomKey.com was acquired from hotelicopter, an innovative flexible hotel search and direct platform, which allows Room Key to evolve and enrich the user experience quickly. Additionally, hotelicopter's affiliate platform provides destination marketing organizations with a hotel marketing platform that helps drive more direct bookings to their local hotels, now under the Room Key Solutions brand. Shafiq Khan, Senior Vice President of eCommerce, Marriott International, said, "Room Key's new and unique offering will embody the best of what hotel company websites offer consumers, giving them confidence in their booking decisions - a personalized and welcoming experience that offers flexibility, accuracy, and benefits of booking with the hotel companies' proprietary sites." Now is time for consumers to use new "Rom Key"and make their way to hotel rooms around the world.

The opportunity to improve utilization of predictive personalization in hospitality marketing is vast. A role that was previously fulfilled entirely by a human is now able to be translated into the digital world. There are a number of reasons that marketers are not yet excelling at the use of this data to provide results, the greatest of which is that clearly defined goals are necessary to narrow down the specific data that is needed in order to create a program that produces the desired result. We still have a long way to go before we know how to fine tune marketing according to digital activity but a starting off point is to use location markers to customize email and website marketing to the area in which the user is interested.