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Cloud computing makes sense to work business in a cloud setting. The article states that Cloud computing has "transformed businesses" throughout the world. We learned that a disadvantage of Cloud is the dependence of Internet connection. With Cloud computing, you can share and store data. This can be a better way to run business. We have learned that Cloud computing is more scalable, secure, and reliable. Cloud computing cost less, and you can pay for what you need. Cloud you can customize what you need, to your specific needs. The article even mentions it "lowers management costs." Unlike unintended PMS, which can require maintenance, and be highly costly. We discussed in our video lecture from this past week, how hotel check-ins are being done from smart phones- as this article includes. This is beneficial for enhancing guest experience, and increasing the speed of check-ins. Travel agents have their own way of how they conduct themselves, their business, and the services he or she provides. However, the article shows how with Cloud computing, you would not need to depend on travel agents. Furthermore, Cloud computing can increase sales and revenue for a hotel property. Cloud computing is replacing traditional PMS system's and have a multitude of benefits.

Hoteliers today are joining in on the trend of the use of cloud computing. Some benefits of cloud computing include the increase of operational efficiency, lowering management costs since the hotelier only pays for what they demand. Energy costs and hardware operation costs are also decreased. It allows for hotel check ins to be done via smart phones and tablets and not just at the front desk upon arrival, and it also allows for hotels to not have to rely on travel agents all the time for bookings which saves them having to pay commission to travel companies.

No matter the industry, cloud computing has changed organizations all around the world in recent years. Today's need for access at any time and from any location has soared, and cloud computing is supplying it. All you want is a reliable internet connection. Businesses might choose a cloud service that would store their data in safe data centers rather than burdening themselves with traditional in-house servers to store data. At all levels, cloud-based services are now taking the place of outdated and conventional technologies. Many hospitality firms now use cloud computing services offered by infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS). And they are all fired up with the incredible benefits of cloud computing. Cloud computing can benefit hoteliers by driving down costs like energy, hardware, and operations. Your hotel's requirement for hardware overload is decreased, which significantly lowers your electricity costs. The hotel sector uses cloud computing to speed up projects, which reduces costs and increases efficiency. An efficient and effective hotel PMS will help you to ensure that your guests receive a first-rate experience and will provide the hotel employees with the best set of management capabilities. Another benefit of cloud computing is that it frees your personnel from stationary terminals, allowing them to work more independently and productively. Due to the cloud, guests may now check in at hotels using their smartphones or tablets as well as the front desk. Working remotely is possible thanks to cloud computing in the hospitality sector. Managing the business becomes a little more challenging when you, the hotelier, are not on the premises. However, putting your hotel management and operations in the cloud gives you the flexibility to access and operate on them from any location in the world.

Software as a Service is becoming an essential part of the healthcare community. The time saved researching information about a patient, searching for medications or treatments could be valuable time needed for saving a life. It is project that "the number of businesses using cloud-based apps is expected to increase by 19.6%." With the increase in the use of cloud-based applications, there is a stronger need for the attention given to data security. Especially when it comes to patient information. Multiple cloud based options may initially be utilized before phasing into singular sources over time. This will alleviate some of the pressure needing to have the increased security for two platform rather than one.

There is often talk about how robots are replacing or eliminating hotel jobs. This article is a good balance of how human workers can co-exist with their co-bots (co-workers). ROI's on robotics are starting to pencil and this favors owners as robotics can help bridge the gap in labor shortages. Robotics can be used to do mundane and repetitive tasks (mostly cleaning and delivering items) and leave the more personal interactions up to the humans.

The article discusses a new robot that is designed to access multiple stories, allowing it to serve more than just one area. It highlights its capabilities such as an "interactive touch screen, security doors, large video display screen for advertising, and mobile app integration." It proves it self to not only be advanced technologically, it could be a great revenue stream with its available advertising space. The robot delivering to the wrong room is also not an issue as it will call/notify the receiver of its arrival along with the items being locked via passcode access.

This article shows how important sustainability is in the hotel industry and how innovation and technology can help companies sustainability efforts. Even though technology like the smartphone has a huge footprint on the environment, they can be used to help in sustainability such as hotels using the smartphones that guests already have to perform some functions without having to use paper. Mobile phones can also be adapted to help in running of smartrooms to improve customer experience and also reduce the footprint on the environment.

A quick read but very enlightening statistics about generational feelings and loyalty to green technologies in hotels.

It is becoming more common for hotels to become more sustainable and green in there business practices. Guests are finding these practices to be expected more often that none. Hotels are now becoming more efficient on there sustainability efforts by utilizing technology in order to reduce costs as well.

This article talks about companies transitioning to multifactor authentication as an added layer of protection of cybersecurity.

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.

This paper discusses the increasing usage of the mobile wallet in restaurants and how this technology is changing how restaurants operate. The main disruption the mobile wallet is causing are challenges for smaller restaurants to remain competitive without offering mobile payment options. Larger franchises have easier access to funds necessary to make the switch while smaller operations struggle to fund needed technological upgrades. In addition to this, while many find offering mobile payment options to be a competitive advantage, this paper has shown that people rarely exclusively use mobile payment methods as most continue to also use physical cards and even cash. This makes it difficult for many managers to justify the expenditure on mobile payment systems because while lacking them may make your competitors that do more appealing, acquiring mobile payment methods may not actually increase your customer base at all.

Cornell gathered a few industry design and green tech experts to discuss the future of sustainable technology in hotels. Modular hotel buildouts can save construction waste and shorten build times, but developers can rarely afford the investment in sustainability practices that exceed code requirements. I see this daily in my career. The benefits are more long-term and if developers are not holding onto the asset long-term, they will not really see an ROI on LEED certifications, etc. CRMs can be used to track guests' digital breadcrumbs and build guest preferences in its database. Building data collection systems into the infrastructure of the hotel will give owners an overall view of where it can improve its sustainability practices.

This article is based on how we can improved e-wastes on doing little changes that will benefit on our future. Most of the e-waste is not recycle properly, we buy things after things and more after more, every time a new technology comes up there is the motivation on buying what is the lasted cool technology, and what about what we have , where does it go ? to the trash or recycle, but we do not know where that recycling goes, I believe learning more about it will help on our routine of how to recycle better and help with this process to proceed right.

We quickly move to 'next' as far as technology goes and rarely think about how to get rid of it when obsolete. In the Caribbean for example, there are not may recycling plants for e-waste, in fact, many rarely do recycling on a whole. In the Turks and Caicos, disposing of a television or a phone is as simple as throwing it in the trash among everything else. What happens next? It goes into the landfills and there they lie. Imagine the toxic waste from over 40,000 inhabitants on a small island. While moving with the crowd seems to be the way of the world, I believe government entities must act swiftly in ensuring e-waste is disposed of correctly to preserve this island and its inhabitants for generations to come. The technology should not outpace the disposal thereof.

The use of robots is predicted to become more common in the airport operations environment in the near future. Several airports are already testing advanced technology to improve guest experience by providing customers with security, entertainment, information, cleanliness, and advice. During the transition period, humans will continue to play an integral role, but some functions will likely eventually become fully automated. Robots can lower operational costs and improve efficiency. Even though there are barriers to implementation, including development costs and digital adaptation, several companies are investing in airport robotics. It is expected that consumers will need to adapt to this changing environment, which is intended to improve the overall air travel experience in an increasingly demanding aviation industry.

This article is very interesting because it is about the Vdara Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas and how they use robots for room service. The delivery robots look like dogs, called "Jett" and "Fetch." They are super technology innovative, and they can do different tasks such as; calling for elevators, alerting guests when they arrive at the hotel through an automated phone call, and traveling alone across the lobby to make sure guests have what they need. Other hotels in Las Vegas are also adopting technology to provide excellent guest services and great experiences. For example, a bar name Tipsy Robot has large machines that make drinks for their customers. Adopting robotics in Las Vegas has become a new trend that can make huge changes for the 300,000 people currently working in the gaming and hospitality industry.

This article speaks about how companies from retail to hotels are using proximity marketing to reach their target markets. One constant with all is data capture. This trend is booming. As cited in the article, "Proximity marketing is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.6% through 2021, expanding well beyond retail applications to benefit other businesses such as gas stations, restaurants, movie theaters, and hotels. Companies that now begin to make strides in understanding and integrating proximity marketing trends into their current strategic models will be at the forefront of their industries.

This article talks about a situation the Radisson Hotels had on 2018, they confirmed a data of breach that exposed personal details of small percentage of members rewards. It was first reported by a Business Traveller after receving an email that his details has been compromised. Radisson took incident and did an extensive investigation to prevent future breach of data happening to their customer.

Technology as with anything has the pros and cons. Whatever we put on the world wide web is at risk to be hacked, this is the harsh truth. By simply purchasing online or self check out, we are vulnerable. The sad thing is that hotels worldwide has the traffic of visitors and stores a wealth of information, a field day for hackers. As technology increases so is the need to employ cyber security and perhaps inventing high tech robots to guard information should be coming more to the forefront. Daily there are people developing codes to break in.