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Disruption In The Business Events Industry: Rising To The Challenges Of COVID-19 - Cong... - 0 views

  • If there is one subject driving the conversation among meeting and event planners and organisers today, that has to be disruption. In a matter of weeks, the global landscape has changed enormously, and professionals in the meetings industry now face the pressing need to make tough decisions quickly.
  • In this unusual scenario, event organisers are required to reconsider their options and to balance two priorities: on the one hand, it is crucial to uphold the health and safety of staff, sponsors, and attendees; and on the other, it is necessary to meet financial obligations – or at the very least to minimise the losses caused by disruption.
  • Over the past few weeks, a significant number of meetings and conferences have been redesigned as virtual events. If adaptable, this meeting format is probably the best alternative in these challenging times.
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  • Hybrid events feature a mix of live and virtual components. In this model, a number of people may be present at a physical location, while the audience at large attends the event remotely. Hybrid events have several advantages: they may attract sponsors who would not have otherwise been drawn to a live event, and if needed, they can be easily modified and turned into virtual events.
  • Professional events have several key functions: bring brand awareness and revenue for the organiser, sharing up-to-date information, and networking.
  • With the current technology, anything from scientific sessions to workshops and exhibitions can be delivered virtually.
  • Do not overlook the social aspect of meetings. Remember that virtual meetings should fulfil two critical functions: circulating information and providing a space for professionals to network.
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Making shipping more efficient through disruptive technologies | Hellenic Shipping News... - 0 views

  • Oceanic
  • This will lead to better management and utilisation of stock, reduction of food waste, as well as improved hygiene and safety practices.
  • improve efficiency in the shipping industry
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  • Safetytech Accelerator
  • CYENS
  • better management and utilisation of stock, reduction of food waste, as well as improved hygiene and safety practices.
  • augmented realit
  • computer vision
  • increasingly relevant for maritime transport
  • real difference in seafarers’ lives
  • Safetytech mission is to make the world safer and more sustainable through the wider adoption of technolog
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    The article "Making Shipping More Efficient Through Disruptive Technologies" discusses the opportunity of using augmented reality and computer vision to improve efficiency within the shipping industry. Safetytech Accelerator in collaboration with CYENS and Oceanic will be assisting crews in the safe handling and storage of vessel provisions. The goal is to become efficient, safer, and sustainable through this process. For example, some of these projects include using technology to fight fires on container ships.
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How Hotels Are Becoming Smarter to Adapt to Changing Times - 1 views

  • As one of the largest and oldest industries globally, hospitality has been adapting to a changing world for thousands of years.
  • the social distancing measures imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak have resulted in greater demands for cleanliness and contactless transactions. In contrast, concern over sustainability has made green initiatives a wise financial decision and a marketing necessity.
  • a 2019 PWC survey found that 70 percent of hospitality executives report being actively involved in IoT projects at their properties, compared to just 48 percent of executives from other industries.
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  • an IoT platform could save guest settings so that each time they book a stay at a particular property or brand, they will find the room tailored precisely to their preferences.
  • hotels are beginning to experiment with occupancy sensors in rooms, too (among other things) inform staff of the best times to clean a room to avoid guest disruption.
  • Hotels such as the YOTEL Boston, Aloft Cupertino, Renaissance Las Vegas, and Hard Rock Hotel Biloxi have begun experimenting with robot helpers to clean or provide contactless guest service.
  • For some hotels in Asia, robots proved to be the safest way to deliver food or vacuum the rooms of guests who were completing mandatory 2-week quarantine periods upon arriving in the country.
  • Starwood Hotels & Resorts has begun automatically adjusting indoor lighting in their public areas based on the amount of natural light entering the space.
  • the Wynn Las Vegas scans the temperatures of all people entering the hotel and pulls aside for additional screening of anyone whose temperature registers greater than 100 degrees.
  • In the future, facial recognition technologies could be used to allow staff to identify guests by name.
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    While Covid-19 has caused some major challenges to the hospitality industry, the industry is particulairy known for changing and adapting to an ever evolving world around it. Covid created a big push for hotels and large properties to begin to assess their technology stratagies moving forward and the industry is expected to continue to see a large push for new advances in technology that not only will help to create more sustainable properties but an overall better and more enjoyable guest experience. While this does potentially create an overall more enjoyable guest experience, the upfront capital expenditures for properties could cause potential impacts to the bottom line as well as disrupt the guest experience during renovation times.
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GDS Will Evolve Into 'Value Creation Hubs,' Harteveldt Says - 0 views

  • Airline distribution will migrate from global distribution systems to “value creation hubs” over the next five years, according to airline and travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt.
  • Value creation hubs, or VCHs, will be aggregators that enable extensive airfare and product transparency, dynamic pricing, and rich merchandising and retailing,
  • “The GDSs have served airlines well for many decades,” Harteveldt wrote. “GDSs’ security, reliability, speed and accuracy are among the best in any transactionally based industry. “
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  • Airlines want more flexible, robust commerce platforms built on contemporary software and architecture,” Harteveldt wrote.
  • “Airlines want commerce platforms that can support extensive fare and product transparency, dynamic pricing, rich basic and ancillary product merchandising and retailing and the ability to reliably and securely process the massive volume of shopping sessions.”
  • The airlines also believe that new providers who enter the airline distribution and commerce space will generate more competition and better selling solutions,
  • They will use the new-generation commerce technology infrastructure that powers airline CRS/PSS host systems and e-commerce solutions, thus reducing the need for lengthy, costly disruption in a conversion to a new passenger services system.
  • Like GDSs, value creation hubs will be designed to support high-frequency, high-volume shopping.
  • value creation hubs will be developed with the database-commerce operating and business environment in mind and will be designed to provide extensive fare and product transparency, support dynamic pricing and enable rich merchandising and retailing.
  • A key difference between GDSs and VCHs will be the business level at which they operate. Unlike GDSs, which work with individual airlines, VCHs will be developed for each major alliance – Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance.
  • Because the VCHs will operate at a “group” level, rather than at a single-airline level, the VCHs will house a “community link,” similar to the common platform operated by Amadeus, which will function as the “hub of the hub,” he said.
  • An important distinction between the GDS and VCH models will be the commercial relationship with subscribers, including agencies and other intermediaries.
  • Does this mean GDS companies will disappear? No, Harteveldt said.
  • Value creation hubs, or VCHs, will be aggregators that enable extensive airfare and product transparency, dynamic pricing, and rich merchandising and retailing, Harteveldt predicted in a white paper on “The Future of Airline Distribution.” The paper was underwritten by IATA
  • They will use the new-generation commerce technology infrastructure that powers airline CRS/PSS host systems and e-commerce solutions , thus reducing the need for lengthy, costly disruption in a conversion to a new passenger services system.
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    This article is explaining how Henry Harteveldt, an airline and travel industry analyst, believes that GDSs will evolve into value creation hubs, or VCHs, over the next five years. He believes GDSs have served airlines the best among many transactionally based industried; however, many areas of airline marketing, sales, distribution and e-commerce are looking for more. He specifically states that airlines are looking for "more flexible, robust commerce platforms built on contemporary software and architecture", as well as "commerce platforms that can support extensive fare and product transparency, dynamic pricing, rich basic and ancillary product merchandising and retailing and the ability to reliably and securely process the massive volume of shopping sessions." VCHs will be used to support the high-volume, high frequency shopping, similar to GDSs, and the system will the new technology that powers airline CRS/PSS host systems, reducing the need for costly conversion disruption.
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Six Technology Trends Revolutionising The Hospitality Industry | By Calum McIndoe - 1 views

  • Firstly, upfront investment is lower with the cloud as there are no initial hardware costs or associated expenses such as full time, in-house IT staff to maintain the system. Secondly, hotels like the idea of taking the headache and distractions of IT off their site, leaving them free to focus on the day-to-day business of looking after their guests.
  • tablets and smartphones revolutionise the way we interact with technology.
  • City Nites accesses its hotel management system on Apple iPads to eliminate old-fashioned, manual registration desk processes. This enables hotel team members to 'meet and greet' their guests at any location, improving the personalisation of the check-in experience and reducing the costs associated with static reception desks and all their technology at each location.
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  • The online reputation of a property is business critical. It does not however, stand alone as a marketing department concern, but relates directly to daily operations.
  • the technology systems in use - especially those in large chains - must account for the global perspective.
  • Integrating these systems can provide more comprehensive management information, faster reporting and a truly comprehensive view of profitability.
  • Elsewhere, integration offers the possibility of being able to "revenue manage" the guest across all areas of their stay: this requires transaction level interfaces but need not be complex to use. Critically it aligns the marketing -based personalised offering with the financial outcome of the revenue secured.
  • Customers expect their experience within a hotel to be totally personalised to them:
  • However, the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • However, the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • However, the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • All of these trends have already brought about a profound change in the hospitality industry - and they will continue to disrupt and redefine operations. From the back office to front of house, from the hotel to the corporate office, the technology that underpins these changes will deliver a sharp competitive edge at all levels.
  • All of these trends have already brought about a profound change in the hospitality industry - and they will continue to disrupt and redefine operations. From the back office to front of house, from the hotel to the corporate office, the technology that underpins these changes will deliver a sharp competitive edge at all levels.
  • However, the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • However, the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • the savings and improvements that technology can deliver mean that managers and directors really need to keep one eye on these six trends.
  • All of these trends have already brought about a profound change in the hospitality industry - and they will continue to disrupt and redefine operations. From the back office to front of house, from the hotel to the corporate office, the technology that underpins these changes will deliver a sharp competitive edge at all levels.
  • around 85% of the queries we see from hospitality companies and hotels include a serious look at cloud computing.
  • The sum total of these drivers is that cloud technology is no passing fad: for the hospitality sector it is the new norm.
  • the low capital expenditure investment for mobile hardware and much reduced software costs mean that mobile is a viable option for small independent properties, looking to develop customer service as a competitive edge.
  • As such, social media monitoring MUST be interfaced with the hotel management systems so that swift, appropriate action can be taken.
  • it is embedding the process of capturing guest preferences and proactively using that data.
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    This article gives us a glance at six different technological trends being used and "revolutionizing" the hospitality industry. The six trends are cloud/software services, mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization. The trends are all seen across the board in hospitality nowadays and are making huge changes in the industry. We have been talking about cloud computing and the pros and cons of using a cloud to store information and even with all the controversy, companies are investing and using the cloud. The use of tablets and smartphones has changed the way we interact with technology and the hospitality field is not staying behind. They are developing mobile sites and apps to help customers look at pictures and reviews about a place, check in and check out or make other arrangements. Social media is also revolutionizing hospitality by creating a reputation for businesses whether they be positive or negative. People can freely post about whether they enjoyed their stay at a certain hotel and helps build the online reputation of the company. In addition, more and more companies are looking to become more personalized experience. When I think about this part, I think mostly of the new systems rolling out at Disney World that scream personalization, guests can select their Fastpasses ahead of time, can use MagicBands to purchase things, get into their hotel, get into the park as well as to utilize the Fastpass system and every time a MagicBand is scanned at a touchpoint, the cast members know the person's name and whether they are celebrating something. With integration, customers and staff can access information from different departments all on one system and with globalization companies are trying to use systems that are global and used worldwide. 
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    As technology continues to grow, it's hard for hotels to keep up. But, there are six trends that could be very beneficial to hotels. The first being the Cloud/Software as a Service. If hotels begin to use a cloud based hotel management system, it would reduce cost of ownership by minimizing property hardware. As well as take the burden of maintaining the system off IT. Another trend that is growing is using mobile devices, such as tablets, to interact. Some hotels have recently decided to use Apple iPad's at the registration desk. This is an idea that needs to grow in the hospitality industry, because it increases the personalization of the check-in experience and reduces costs involving technology at the reception desk. Social media has a huge impact on the hospitality industry. There are reviews, referrals, and other types of communication about hotels on every type of social media. It is crucial that hotel management monitors and addresses every type of social media, in order to respond appropriately and take action. Being able to integrate the operating systems of all the amenities of a hotel (accommodation, event catering, the spa, etc.) is another tool that would be beneficial to the hospitality industry. This would provide better management information, faster reporting, and will allow management to view profitability. Last but not least, the last major trend the hospitality industry needs is globalization. As international travel, trade, and business grows, hotel companies will need to create different management tools in order to survive. International links are important for the hotel industry. Which means technology systems, need to be global.
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    Technological developments continue to have a great effect on all aspects of our lives, the hospitality industry not being an exception. Calum McIndoe in his article "Six Technology Trends Revolutionising the hospitality industry" outlines areas of technology that managers within the industry need to take advantage of. Cloud technology, though this concept is fairly new it can provide great financial benefits to companies as it cuts cost greatly due to the fact that it eliminates the heavy hardware requirements traditional technology offered. Mobility, the fact that portable devices can add a competitive edge to the service offered. Think traditional services being provided on the go away from a fixed station. Social; the popularity of social networking sites have changed the face of hospitality and tourism marketing completely. Properties are now forced to monitor social networking sites to learn about customer demands and to also learn about the image their company has out there and how they can improve it. According to Mr. "for any hotel to not at least monitor social medis is tantamount to willingly flying blind." Personalized systems; value for customers within this industry has to do greatly with the personal touch added to the service delivered. These merged systems allows properites to use data to ensure that guest needs are met. Integration; the joining of isolated systems used in all areas of operations on the property. The use of integrated systems allows for the pulling of data from the different departments thus ensuring proper management of services delivered and revenue management. Globalisation; It is important that hospitality companies adapt to changes and trends brought about by globalisation. Whether the current global outlook is taken into consideration when considering how a company operates can greatly impact the final product.
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    ((NOTE: The author already highlighted the article in yellow when I found it, my personal highlighting is in PINK. Sections 5 and 6 are not highlighted in pink because I agree with the parts that the author highlighted yellow in those sections; Diigo toolbar will not let you highlight over something that has already been highlighted.)) This article mainly focuses on the technological changes in the hotel industry in pertinence with storing hotel information versus the traditional method(s) used by hotels that involved little to no technology at all. The article lists six different points or examples and states that businesses, especially small or upcoming businesses, need to follow by these six trends. The part of the article that stood out to me the most when reflecting on the lectures and power points for this week is the first trend. The first trend speaks about a "cloud" software (which I am not really familiar with so excuse me if my explanation is not 100% sound) and announces that "around 85% of the queries we see from hospitality companies and hotels include a serious look at cloud computing". The author lists a few reasons why such a high percentage of hotels are doing it this way. He basically says that you do not need special staff or special training to maintain the system; the system maintains itself so you can have more time to focus on your guests and trends in their patterns. Also, as far as the cost is concerned, "upfront investment is lower with the cloud as there are no initial hardware costs or associated expense…". Even though I am not very familiar with this service just yet, I like the idea of freeing up employee time to go and interact more with the customers; attending to the customers' needs is the most important thing in my eyes. The article goes on to list mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization as all equally important parts to this revolution of technology pertaining to the hospitality industr
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Ransomware: One of Hospitality's Biggest Threats in 2017 | News | Hospitality Magazine ... - 0 views

  • attack made headlines for locking guests out for their rooms
  • discuss how ransomware can affect the hospitality industry and what hotels and restaurants should consider to protect themselves from future cyber attacks.
  • Travelers may be annoyed, but for the hotel, ransomware can be a major business disruption.
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  • The cyber threat has been used to target a variety of businesses from hospitals to retailers and now the hospitality industry
  • , businesses need to always be ready for a breach. Every business should have an action plan in place to prevent their company from being the next victim of ransomware or any other cyber security threat.
  • pirated software, file attachments, web links, and suspicious emails.
  • keep additional devices from being infected.
  • best practices for any company to employ are regular backups and a tested disaster recovery plan
  • Using anti-malware software is a necessary start, but it will not stop everything – especially rogue software downloaded by employees
  • important to act quickly by segmenting portions of the infected network and removing devices to try and prevent the problem from spreading.
  • install ransomware protection
  • malicious software will continue to rise as businesses and consumers become more dependent on the internet for everyday needs.
  • it’s important that businesses take proactive steps to protect not only company data, but the overall integrity of the company network from hackers.
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    The article discusses ransomware attacks on hospitality properties. A 2016 attack left guests locked out of their rooms but the threat could affect different areas of a hospitality business and cause significant disruption to their business. Properties need to be prepared for a security breach with an action plan to prevent cyber-attack. The article points out that it's important to act quickly to segment the network and try to prevent any new devices from being infected. Best practice recommends regular backups and a recovery plan, using anti malware software and being cautious with employee installed software. The most important thing a company can do is to be proactive and prepared for an attack.
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One in Four Businesses Struggle to Adapt and Thrive from Technology Disruption | Hospit... - 0 views

  • ew and emerging technologies often impact the value of existing models and services
  • which leads to many companies re-evaluating and transforming.
  • ‘technology that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or creates a completely new industry’.
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  • business models within industry sec
  • technological change has made them significantly more competitive in the past three years
  • a large majority of companies are still struggling to keep up with this change.
  • 1 in 4 businesses still struggle to keep up with the times and thrive from digital disruption
  • etermined this was down to the companies approach to technology adaption
  • businesses reported to have a proactive ‘opportunity-minded’ approach, ensuring they remain competitive and up to date.
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    This article describes how technology is forcing companies to reevaluate and change how they take certain approaches to business. A lot of companies are having a difficult time keeping up to date with technology as more and more different companies emerge and start using more advance technology than they have. An alarming amount of companies have admitted they have no approach. Experts are telling companies to be open-minded and start thinking of an approach.
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Reimagining the future of travel and hospitality with artificial intelligence - 0 views

  • primary sales processes
  • ustomer personalisation
  • assimilating patterns in image, voice, video, and text, and turns it into meaningful and actionable insights for decision making.
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  • One great example of an AI concierge is Hilton World wide’s Connie, the first true AI-powered concierge bot.
  • Connie is powered by IBM’s Watson AI and uses the Way Blazer travel database.
  • it can learn and adapt
  • Mezi,
  • It talks about bringing on a concept of bleisure (business+leisure) to address the needs of the workforce.
  • With AI and NLP, Mezi collects individual preferences and generates personalised suggestions
  • Lola.com provides on-demand travel services
  • instantly connect people to their team of travel agents
  • Chatbot technology
  • Skyscanner is just one example, creating an intelligent bot to help consumers find flights in Facebook Messenger.
  • Trivago acquired Hamburg, Germany machine learning startup Tripl as it ramps up its product with recommendation and personalisation technology,
  • connecting with consumers in their own time and in the social media spaces they most frequently visit.
  • Aero Mexico started using Facebook Messenger chatbot to answer very generic customer questions.
  • 80 percent
  • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines uses AI to respond to the queries of customers on Twitter and Facebook.
  • Digital Genius,
  • Deutsche Lufthansa’s bot Mildred
  • voice-activated search,
  • customer-centric
  • request travel recommendations and random suggestions.
  • customised pictures and text
  • KePSLA’s travel recommendation platform is one of the first in the world to do this by using deep learning and NLP solutions.
  • Dorchester Collection is another hotel chain to make use of AI.
  • analyse customer behaviour deeply in the form of raw data.
  • Metis.
  • surveys and reviews
  • measure performance and instantly discover what really matters to guests.
  • intelligent algorithms that monitor and send out timely alerts with hot deals are currently in high demand in the travel industry.
  • The AltexSoft data science team has built such an innovative fare predictor tool for one of their clients, a global online travel agency, Fareboom.com.
  • elf-learning algorithm, capable of predicting future price movements
  • automated disruption management is somewhat different.
  • time-sensitive task, requiring instant response.
  • predict such disruptions and efficiently mitigate the loss
  • 4site tool, built by Cornerstone Information Systems
  • Thus, Amadeus, one of the leading global distribution systems (GDS), has introduced a Schedule Recovery system,
  • AI could start to infiltrate business travel even more so than leisure in the next 12 months.
  • trends in users’ social media activities
  • Trends, outliers, and patterns are figured out using machine learning-based algorithms that help in guiding a travel or hospitality company to make informed decisions.
  • Due to the greater need for structure and less of a desire for discovery, it certainly makes sense that AI would be more suited to business travellers.
  • it could help to simplify the booking process for companies, and help eliminate discrepancies around employee expenses.
  • The travel and hospitality industry transformation will morph into experience-driven and asset-light business, and wide adoption of AI will usher a new-age customer experience and set a benchmark for other industries to emulate.
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    This article examines the current and upcoming updates in AI technology and how hospitality companies are using AI to their advantage. From helping airline companies deal with disruptions in real time to improving the breakfast experience at a hotel, AI is being employed successfully to instantly solve problems and mitigate new ones from occuring.
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    This article mainly describes examples of how the hospitality industry uses intelligent data to influence its value chain. Such as intelligent travel planning customization, intelligent travel search, travel assistant, intelligent social media data analysis, intelligent forecasting, and so on. With the continuous development of the intelligent trend, many tourism and hotel organizations have begun to continuously introduce AI equipment, which has also promoted the transformation of enterprises to experience-driven and asset-light businesses.
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Technology: Disruptive Innovation in the Tourism Industry | urbanNext - 0 views

  • Technology,
    • moonlogs
       
      Technology works exponentially.
  • As a result of these realities, not only are products changing and improving, but markets and organizations are changing too.
  • Companies grow in relation to these laws based on what might be called the generative principles of exponential growth: Reach, Interaction, and Resilience.
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  • Finally, an organization’s Resilience depends on the number of business partners that have developed their commercial offerings and lifestyles based on its standards and market and the number of people who feel a sense of shared ownership of its open resources.
  • these levers and principles in relation to some of the most disruptive companies in the tourism industry
  • they owe their initial edge to their community,
  • Not all innovations are specifically sought; sometimes they arise in response to a problem or need.
  • it is important to understand that technology is not an end, but a means, and that tourism is an individual experience, often shared on- and offline.
  • In short, to be innovative, an action must mark a milestone, such as: – Opening a new market. – Creating a new product. – Modifying an existing product. – Improving a production method. – Finding a new source of supply. – Creating a new form of organization
  • technology permeates the reasoning and experiential part of the brain much more powerfully and markedly in the new generations.
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Panera tests ghost kitchens, mobile kitchens, virtual catering - 0 views

  • Coming off a year of innovation during the pandemic, Panera Bread is looking to go all-in on convenience technology in the future, with ghost kitchens, mobile kitchens, virtual catering, and redesigned drive-thru lanes already in the works
  • ted about
  • “We are excited about creating our vision of the next generation of Panera,” Chaudhary said. “This next generation [of Panera stores] will use 5-6 disruptive ideas to drive greater customer engagement.”
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  • “These are the kinds of things we are thinking of recreating and redefining for the Panera of the future, which is going to be more off-premise-oriented, and led by technology and convenience,”
  • Besides smaller physical footprints, other aspects of Panera 2.0 will include delivery-centric ghost kitchens and mobile kitchens
  • An online version of catering will look like all of us sitting around a Zoom meeting with our food arriving at the same time
  • That is a disruptive way of serving the same needs consumers have in a different way that is more convenient and relevant in a world that looks different.
  • The pandemic has changed the way operators should approach convenience technology
  • Chaudhary said they’re looking at other forms of technology like touchless kiosks where instead of tapping a screen to place their order, customers might use hand gestures instead like giving a thumbs up, for example. This way, they can leverage consumer needs for contactless experiences without sacrificing engagement.
  • A disruptive model is a hybrid of both [third-party and in-house delivery],” Chaudhary said. “We might leverage our existing drivers for orders and every time we need some help, we can outsource it. These are examples in this new world of us being able to innovate, to improve and strengthen our business model
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    The article explains how Covid-19 has affected the dining industry and how companies have to adapt. In this article, specifically, it talks about how Panera is implementing ghost kitchens, changing how they approach catering, and how they can keep their consumers safe in a post Covid-19 world. Many hospitality based businesses are changing the way they operate, permanently, because of the pandemic.
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Council Post: Nine Ways Tech Companies Can Stay Ahead Of The Curve - 2 views

  • Technology is changing at an exponential rate, with new software and systems emerging constantly
  • The fast pace of technological advancements requires businesses in the field to spare no effort in staying up to date with the changes or, indeed, being at the forefront of change, if they want to stand out and be successful.
  • ways in which tech businesses can be prepared for change and stay ahead of the curve.
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  • Embrace The Discomfort
  • Be receptive and adaptive to change, however uncomfortable that may be.
  • Tech execs need to disrupt the current thinking within an enterprise, they need to be agile in decision-making, take risks and keep up with the innovation ecosystem.
  • Respond Rapidly To Change
  • Technology executives need to be able to respond rapidly to this change, not let it overwhelm them
  • It is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team.
  • Be Disruptive And Agile
  • Focus On Innovation
  • Understand Scale
  • Not Be Afraid To Ask 'Dumb' Questions
  • Be Innovative And Proactive Instead Of Reactive
  • With the rate technology advanced in the past, executives needed to be flexible and adaptable
  • Technology leaders need to innovate, to be proactive rather than reactive. The ones who will be successful are the ones who will find new, creative ways to use technology to make their teams better
  • Innovation isn't about managing at scale. It's about focusing on the one key product that will win an industry
  • Technol
  • From the internet of things to artificial intelligence, the tech space is ever-evolving and is doing so at breakneck speed
  • his is how critical items, especially in cyber defense strategies, get missed or simply incorrectly configured. Leadership is knowing when your team needs help
  • he best thing I can say will bring success to any technology exec is to get a coach.
  • Their coach helps them be accountable, bounce ideas around and will be there for them when they need advice and support.
  • Are their technologies and teams going to scale to the challenges they are facing today and tomorrow
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    This article looks at the ways that companies can use to remain ahead of the curve in technology. Such ways include being receptive and adaptive to change, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their teams, responding to change quickly, as well as being disruptive and agile. The article also encourages businesses to pay attention to innovation, and to be proactive and innovative, instead of reactive.
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    This is a great read. When a company is willing to see where they can improve (just like anyone in life), it gives them a better edge at being successful. If they turn a blind eye to growth and change, they do not realize how detrimental this can and will be to their company.
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    I thought this article was very informative and useful for companies who are innovative and like to think ahead. It is important to be adaptive and flexible when change arises. It is also important to be quick when responding.
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    This article was very interesting and informative. It is eye-opening to the business owner because it mentions ways in which companies can be steps ahead from the competition. This is important for a company because as things change and evolve, a company needs to be able to adapt to the circumstances to be able to survive and not be replaced by another company.
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    the article explains how companies can stay ahead of the curve in technology and outdo their competitors
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What is Network Redundancy and Why Does It Matter? - 0 views

  • The underlying concept of redundant networks is simple. Without any backup systems in place, all it takes is one point of failure in a network to disrupt or bring down an entire system. Network redundancy is the process of adding additional instances of network devices and lines of communication to help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure along the critical data path.
  • All valuable data should be backed up regularly, preferably in another location. A good data center location strategy maps out the best places to replicate and store data so it can be easily accessed in the event that other redundant systems fail and the main network goes down. By using more than one data center, companies can ensure that even if some disaster occurs, they will be able to carry on with minimal disruption.
  • Colocation data centers regularly conduct tests to assess the integrity of their backup systems and redundant networks. They can test different connections by physically disconnecting hardware to make sure failover occurs as anticipated. If things do not go as planned during testing, data center managers then create an after-action report that lists the items they need to fix as a result of the testing. They also create a procedure to follow for both automatic and manual flip over. 
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  • Network redundancy is the process of adding additional instances of network devices and lines of communication to help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure along the critical data path.
  • A network outage, then, whether it's caused by equipment failure, an unexpected cyberattack, or some form of human error, can be devastating for a business. Every moment of system downtime translates into very real financial losses in the form of lost revenue, diminished brand reputation, and missed opportunities.
  • For many companies, their networks are the primary point of contact for delivering products and services to their customers.
  • Without any backup systems in place, all it takes is one point of failure in a network to disrupt or bring down an entire system. Redundancy in networks helps to eliminate single points of failure to ensure better network stability and uptime in the face of events that would otherwise take the network offline.
  • fault-tolerant redundant system provides full hardware redundancy, mirroring applications across two or more identical systems that run in tandem.
  • Ideal for any operations in which any amount of downtime is unacceptable
  • A software-based redundant system, high availability uses clusters of servers that monitor one another and have failover protocols in place.
  • there is a brief loss of service while the backup servers boot up applications.
  •  
    Network redundancy is the process of adding network devices and other instances of communication lines to help ensure network availability and reduce the risk of failures on critical data paths. One of the first steps in the network redundancy plan is to create a network strategy that reviews the existing infrastructure. A high-quality hosted data center should have an extensive backup system to ensure that it is always available. All valuable data should be backed up regularly, preferably in another location. By using multiple data centers, companies can ensure that even if certain disasters occur, they will be able to proceed with minimal losses. In addition, a well-maintained UPS system ensures that the server can be switched from power to backup generator power without losing any data or applications.
  •  
    A network outage whether it is due to a cyber attack or simple human error can be devastating to a company. It makes them look very bad, damaging their reputation, and can cost the business millions of dollars. Network Redundancy can help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure. There are 2 forms of redundancy. Fault Tolerance where there is a mirrored backup system that takes over with no loss of service, and High Availability where the backup servers take over and restart applications that were running on the failed server.
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Transforming Disruption Into Opportunity: Post COVID-19 Hotel Customer Experience | Hos... - 1 views

  • With airline travel down by a staggering 90+ percent between mid-March and now (compared to last year), and hotel occupancy rates hovering in the low-single digits, global travel industry experts forecast a $2.1 trillion dollar loss for 2020, and a slow recovery that could take years.
  • oday’s new “norm” for user experience is the singular result of a worldwide health crisis that has already driven each and every travel and hospitality company into swift and decisive action,
  • and will require thoughtful and meaningful investments in digital technologies to improve the customer experience.
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  • Hotels are looking for innovative ways to communicate with customers, meet unprecedented demand on call centers, or have contact center staff work from home.
  • Going forward, all guests – not just loyalty reward members – will likely use a mobile device for reservations, check in and get room keys, bypassing the front desk altogether.
  • Hotel entrances may include thermal scanning at the entrance, and guest rooms and conference facilities will be sanitized between uses. Connected room technologies would allow guests to control the lights, temperature, curtains, television, entertainment and more in the room with their own smart device or contactless gesture control.
  • A profusion of devices and wearables, equipped with geographic mobility technologies, that track and provide data anytime, on any device.
  • Enabling technology support will be critical for these operational changes. Hotels will need to constantly track customer feedback and social media response and manage inevitable setbacks and negative reviews with tweaks to their customer experience strategy.
  • interpret and execute more than just transactional, process-driven actions.
  • Predictive analytics
  • monetize big data
  • More pervasive use of digital labor to augment human staff or automation
  • personal safety as well as customer data
  • Travel and hospitality companies that manage the impacts of this crisis unambiguously and compassionately will generate increased value for their organizations and ultimately emerge even stronger than before.
  •  
    With the impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and hospitality industry, companies have had to turn to digital innovations to improve customer experience and regain trust. Innovations such as digital temperature checkpoints, connected room technologies, and digital labor can increase safety and allow hotels to operate during a crisis in a way that still provides the upmost customer experience. Those who capitalize on these innovations in a timely manner, and who manage the impact of COVID- 19 compassionately, may increase both their customer confidence and their value as an organization.
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Google Hotels is the Elephant in the Room, Is it Good or Evil? - 0 views

  • First there was Google search then Google maps, Google flights now Google's hotel search product is aiming to take on other hotel booking sites and disrupt the online travel agency model.  With flights and core search Google is already a travel industry leader.
  • As Google takes on the OTAs head-to-head, hotels benefit from a significant new distribution channel which (alongside Airbnb) is a major shift in industry dynamics.
  • Rather than hotels distributing to OTAs, who charge commissions for capturing demand from Google (almost like advertising arbitrage), hotels can advertise directly on Google. This shortens the value chain and somewhat balances the  distribution power dynamic in hotels’ favor.
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  • There’s growing mainstream awareness around the potentially monopolistic characteristics of Google's position as the place where the majority of the world start their online searches.
  •  
    OTAs identified an unmet customer need and created digital destinations that became the first stop for prospective travelers. Unfortunately, the very thing that made OTAs the original travel disruptors- the ability to aggregate digitized data to create economical, do-it-yourself travel planning - could be what gives rise to another innovative disrupter: Google.
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(11) Disruptive Outliers in Hospitality: 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Accommodations ... - 1 views

  • The hospitality industry has experienced unprecedented disruption in the past few years, with the emergence of new technologies, changing consumer preferences, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A customer service robot
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      Will be useful for research paper
  • The online food delivery market will grow by 12.33% by 2027
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  • Food services businesses are also adopting the ghost kitchen model to offer delivery-only services without the overhead costs of a traditional restaurant. 
  • Employers are offering attractive benefits to entice talent into their teams.
  • Businesses are responding by reducing waste, using eco-friendly materials, implementing energy-efficient systems, and promoting local and organic products. Meiser Hotels introduced a “green button” for guests to opt out of cleaning easily. Kyma Restaurant and Bar is increasing its use of organic, locally sourced ingredients in its menu. 
  • About 54% of US adults agree that they have become more concerned about their family's health and safety since the pandemic
  • or example, treehouse hotels offer nature lovers a unique and rustic experience, while glamping resorts provide a luxurious and comfortable camping experience. 
  • (Sims, 2020). 
  •  
    This article is relevant to the current discussion of disruptors in the industry because it discusses how Covid-19 impacted the industry as a whole. Not only did Covid-19 lead the hospitality industry to have more cleanliness, but it also caused the industry to develop technology that would continue to serve guests even in times with something like Covid. This article also has mentions of Artificial Intelligence and how it is leading to changes in the industry, which will be helpful for the research paper if I get to write about that topic.
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Airbnb is out, new disruptors are in | Hotel Management - 1 views

  • At first blush, it may seem that Sorenson was calling out the likes of Airbnb, a common target blamed for poaching travelers seeking hotels. However, this is not the case. Instead, Sorenson said it is the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba that have captured his attention.
  • ng hotel
  • velers s
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  • . Instead, Sorenson said it is the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba that have captured his attention.
  • “They are all trying to have a profile for every customer, so how do we use that to make sure we are monetizing as much of that relationship as we can?
  • If companies such as Google, Amazon or Facebook make a push into the hospitality business, there is no doubt that the level of disruption on the current business environment would be staggering.
  • Getting to know your customers and what they value is something that Amazon, Google and Facebook have mastered
  • According to Nassetta, hotels and hotel operators are masters of their environments. If they fail to capture guest attention, it is no one’s fault but their own.
  •  
    While Airbnb is still one of the larger competitors the hotel industry is up against, at the NYU Hospitality Conference, a new possible disruptor was brought into question. Speakers began to discuss the possible disruption that online services like Google and Amazon to name a few. The advantages that these companies have, should they dive into the realm of hospitality, is the sheer amount of information that these sites contain about the consumer. Although they have this extensive data, they are lacking in interpersonal experience as these companies don't deal with the consumer physically. The hotel industry however, leads far ahead of these companies in this regard, as it's what they've been known for. However, for the hotel industry to ultimately come out on top, they will need to partner with these companies and work together, rather than be taken down. 
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What will ChatGPT mean for the travel industry? | PhocusWire - 1 views

  • ChatGPT (which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a free artificial intelligence chatbot that has incredibly human-like communication skills (and a fee-based premium version in development)
  • Microsoft is reportedly considering a $10 billion investment in ChatGPT owner Open AI according to multiple media outlets.
  • Because of this, tech companies are seeing value in data-driven personalization solutions and ChatGPT fills that need. It can help save companies time and money to allocate resources to solve more complex and specific problems.  
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  • With a large dataset already in place, integrating this technology into our platform could hyper-personalize search results for travelers and supports our vision of offering open-ended, flexible search options. 
  • saved more than eight million hours in agent time, allowing travelers to resolve issues faster with self-service. 
  • but the technology is still in a relative state of infancy
  • ChatGPT really captured everyone's attention when it launched,
  • - it's already dividing opinion with responses that can range from entertaining and creative to glaringly inaccurate
  • It's too early to say whether the likes of ChatGPT can truly emulate those very human instincts.
  • First, people need to recognize that it's not generating anything new as much as scraping and regurgitating the internet
  • Every single tour operator, even single hotel, every transport company now has the same opportunity to be as productive as a company much bigger than themselves. I see that as a commodity – everyone has access to it therefore, in some ways, where’s the value. But it’s the most productivity-enhancing thing I’ve ever seen. 
  • However I don’t think that’s the real impact. I think that’s just the start of the game. Once AI starts to get into the actual experiences – not just tour experiences but hotels, airports… the ability to speed up and enhance the actual experience, especially in something that is not a good experience at the moment like an airport, is going to be quite dramatic.And the real game changer... is once the general public has it, it changes everything. You are a tour operator, and you create itineraries. The consumer can now do exactly the same thing as you and do it in real time. And 1,000 people can create 1,000 different experiences tailored to what they like. So the creation of a travel experience on the ground, which tour operators have dominated, is going to be disrupted by travelers being able to do it themselves. 
  • it’s not the live data, it’s not up to date, the facts may not be 100% and it doesn’t have geolocation.
  • The weakness at the moment is it’s only scraping data through 2021. So
  • This could make entirely new businesses or it can destroy businesses.
  • will save hundreds of thousands of dollars on freelance costs, so there's big disruption to come.
  • For basic service copy – simple product descriptions, basic articles, email campaigns, that sort of thing, it's going to be very useful for brands and very painful for content creators.
  • There’s some interesting use cases that we hope to explore such as improving automation and responses for common customer service requests through chat (and eventually even speech and video), as well as concierge-like services to recommend travel destinations, create personalized itineraries and the like.
  • . So there are issues with accuracy and truthfulness, and it needs human expertise to fact-check the output.
  • ChatGPT might herald a revolution in automated content creation, but I also think it could create a new premium for genuine human expertise too.
  • ChatGPT has been trained with information existing until end of 2021. Travel is a super dynamic category where this morning’s information is no longer relevant a few hours even minutes later. Inventory availability, prices, category of rooms/seats/cars change by the minute. You need good old-fashioned technology like CRS, WBE, RMS, etc. to handle these dynamics, not ChatGPT.
  • Google can provide a much better AI-powered chatbot than ChatGPT that spews much better answers in milliseconds, but how are they going to make money?
  • Specific to ChatGPT, I believe that this technology will eventually be used in conjunction with a brand’s own content, in addition to the internet as a whole, so that it can be trained and customized by the brand to answer questions.
  • What’s also really interesting is how this once again demonstrates that the most disruptive innovations often come from outside the travel industry.
  • ChatGPT is gaining that trust in its ubiquity and daily usage, so I think travelers could be much more likely to accept its itinerary recommendations without nearly as much research and shopping around. This has implications for human agents too.
  •  
    ChatGPT is a new technology that is hoping to take over the travel industry. It is an AI product, similar to google, which will generate answers to questions that travelers may have via a chat service. It is meant to replace tour guides, travel agents, and concierge experts and can either save business time and money, or create chaos and the need to speak to an expert human instead. Like all technology products, there is always room to improve and grow in the initial stages, and not all roles are better off being completed by a computer, rather than a human. Although AI may have access to more information at a quicker pace, and may even be able to write better than most people, some companies believe that the possible errors and inaccuracy provided by ChatGPT will make content creators and human expertise way more valuable. ChatGPT accesses data from 2021 and prior, which means it is not current and up to date. This is a major flaw that will need to be improved.
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Overcoming Resistance to Innovation in the Hotel Industry - 0 views

  • one in every two respondents said they want smart hotel rooms that automatically adapt to personal preferences by 2030
  • One of the biggest disruptions to the hotel market has been the introduction of a credible rival. Airbnb
  • The digital experience—ordering room service through in-room tablets such as SuitePads, centralized in-room controls, the use of big data to provide personalized services, and potentially much more—is something that will make prospective guests choose the hotel experience over the Airbnb experience.
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  • Airbnb is a classic case of disruptive innovation: an innovation that creates a new market and in a few years, moves to an existing market to disrupt”
  • The adoption of new technologies will also spark healthy competition within the hotel industry again, further driving innovation.
  • The three main reasons are suspicion of new and untried technologies, high costs, and a lack of infrastructure.
  • Diffusions of Innovations Theory, which states that adoption of technology within a market takes place in five stages – innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.
  • To help overcome these, it’s important for the drivers of innovation to understand that running a business—especially in the hotel industry—is a highly emotional line of work
  • It’s about building trust in the long term by endorsing business practices that are clear and honest, and providing solutions that help hotel businesses grow and develop.
  •  
    In this article, it is described why hotels are not as open to new innovative technology. Although they are now competing with companies like Airbnb, hotels still have a hard time adapting to new technology as they may need to change their infrastructure, or it cost too much to obtain. Overall, this article makes it clear that in order for hotels to compete in this new competitive market, they will need to continuously keep up with new forms of technology to stand a chance.
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20 Technology Trends in the Hospitality Industry | Stasher Blog - 0 views

  • Infrared scanners are poised to become one of the most disruptive trends in housekeeping
  • With infrared scanners, housekeeping will know when guests are present and can return later to tidy up when the room is unoccupied.
  •  
    This article discusses 20 disruptive trends in the hospitality industry bought on by scientific advances and the pandemic. Hotels must be on a par with the latest technology to satisfy customer demands and stay competitive. The Internet of Things (IoT) in hotels rooms provide guest with customization options.
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Controlling Telecommunication Costs | CBRE Hotels - 0 views

  • Although telecom accounts for a small percentage of expenses, data during 2015 through 2019 revealed a significant upward trend in telecom related expenditures.  At the same time, the data also revealed a steep decline in revenue generation from charges for phone calls and internet access.
  • To manage costs more efficiently, organizations within the industry are undergoing IT audits and consolidating telecom vendors across portfolios.  At the same time, competitive organizations are recognizing the need to upgrade certain technologies.
  •  The emphasis of connectivity within the hotel industry is unquestionably going to grow in the coming years, ultimately placing headwinds on balance sheets.  Owners and operators across all segments of the industry are tasked with better managing and creating efficiencies with their property portfolios.  Additionally, as portfolios become larger through acquisition across the globe, being able to limit disruption and deploy the best technology becomes even more important.
  •  
    There is a significant increasing cost of phone and internet service in hotels. In order to survive this changing landscape organizations are undergoing IT audits, consolidating telecom vendors and upgrading certain technologies. Another concern would be to limit disruptions in service.
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