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yessica henriquez

Green Lodging News - 0 views

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    Lodging's Leading Environmental News Source
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    The American Hotel & Lodging Association and TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, have joined forces on their sustainability initiatives to encourage the hospitality industry to adopt more eco-friendly practices. this partnership will effectively educate consumers about green practices incorporated by the lodging industry in their operations, and it aligns these two important industry programs.
natalieemmanuel

Eventbrite Launches 'Neon' App, An Event Planner's Mobile Command Center - Forbes - 1 views

  • Neon allows event organizers to sell tickets as the event—be it concert, lecture, educational class, etc.—is about to happen or after it has already begun, on the spot. In fact, if showtime is closing in, the app allows those in charge to offer special last-minute deals to help fill the venue. The program can accept mobile payments as well, making a manager or booker’s iPhone an all-in-one command center.
  • Neon also collects all kinds of data connected to the event, with information on ticket sales, check-ins, and everything in between accessible at any time. This data is important to venue owners and those booking events, as it can help when planning future events, dictating times, prices, and showing what kinds of events are most popular.
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    Neon is a new app designed by Eventbrite to be used by Event Planners in order to help organize the events they are coordinating. The app is available for iPod, iPad and the iPhone making it conveniently accessible through one's mobile device. The app allows event organizers to sell tickets in advance to an even as well as provide last minute deals to fill all remaining spots. The app even allows payment to be taken right from the event organizer's mobile device. The app also allows the user to manage guest lists and even helps those who have access to the app to make customer service decisions so that disgruntled guests are not sent to a different location to settle ticket disputes. With all the data the app collects even organizers are able to see important data pertaining to popularity of certain events as well as price variations. The app was designed to be used in dark places. This feature, along with many others makes it user friendly and it is helping event organizers to keep track of important data that will allow them to better assist customers in the future.
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    I think I'd need to see it in action. The Forbes article sounds a lot like an Eventbrite press release. I like the idea in principal, but it almost sounds like too much to jam into a single app. Tickets sales, venue status, customer service, revenue tracking.,,, Deployed and linked across multiple tablets, each with it's own purpose and/or scattered across the event venue (with users in some sort of identifiable uniform), I can see it being useful. This also seems like a bit of a departure from straight tickets sales. Who else is in the market space? I'd be interested if Ticket Master is also coming online with event software.
rachelrosen

Network Solutions | Role of Computer Networking in Hospitality Industry - 1 views

  • Network inside your organization is as important as outside. Things not end there; when some guests reach your hotel you will need a network to keep track of reservation, inventory, services, and maintenance. Free Wi-Fi accessibility, guests’ connection with front desk and monitoring for safety; these things have now become the signature of modern hospitality. LAN connection for easy and safe data transfer and all other things are needed in networking for smooth running of your hotel.
  • nization is as important as outside. Things not end there; when some guests reach your hotel you will need a network to keep track of reservation, inventory, services, and maintenance. Free Wi-Fi accessibility, guests’ connection with front desk and monitoring for safety; these things have now become the signature of modern hospitality. LAN connection for easy and safe data transfer and all other things are needed in networking for smooth running of your hotel. In hotels, computer networking play a vital role, communication between workers and staff creates a stable environment. Communication between front desk and manger office is important as in case of any unusual event. And the link of rooms with the service providers’ staff creates a healthy effect on guest’s mind when services are provided to them in no measure of time. Fire alarm or emergency alarm in case of any accident ensures the guest’s safety and also increase the rating of your hotel. The interlinked electronic systems in rooms which control all the electronic devices in room are too much helpful. The Wi-Fi accessibility now becomes an essential thing in hotels. So networking makes it possible to provide that service efficiently. Some five star hotels provide alarm bells on the table in the dining restaurants. These bell ring in the kitchen and makes it possible for the staff to attend each incoming guests at that time and avoid complaints. Here we present a complete solution to all your network problems; Network Solutions Why Network Solutions? Network Solutions is an organization with an extensive geographic stretch providing IT guides. They have worked with almost every kind of business organization and have an extensive vision of their work. They have genius IT specialists who not only show their professional aptitude during their work but also show personal interest in your business that content you mentally. They have an experience of almost all fields as they have worked with almost every genre of business you can think off from health care to education or flaunting fashion to secret secure banking systems. They know perfectly how to prove themselves as the best option available. They work with you, understand you, give respect to your needs and know how to use resources efficiently and bring up with something that does wonders your business. Some of their core networking values are: Envisage They do a lot of research work and observation, and try to sum up things. First they give a close view to your business in order to know your need of networking. They predict the average traffic you are going to have on your network. So that they can provide you with the best and never disturbing network facilities. In Hospitality industry the network traffic depends on your choice, how much you want to give ease to your business or your guests, connecting every room with the front desk or you just want to establish a connection between you workers and manager. Identification  They observe your style and know your needs. And now is the time to identify your problems and your pains. In hotels the problems you face in network in unresponsive and slow communication which creates irritation both among your guests and workers. So to save you from pain Network Solutions is there. Monitoring They monitors the WAN accessibility and the performance of the established network. Measure Fair usage policy and to monitor the traffic of net is another important thing in networking. Network Solutions has made it possible for you. Analyze Analyze the general or common pattern traffic utilization patterns and try to make it more seamless. Automation The network change and configuration are under Automation. Troubleshoot Any kind of trouble in network afterwards, network solution is there to fix it.  To ensure the quality of their  service. (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Comment
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    Networks provide efficiency in the hospitality industry on a multitude of platforms. They are useful to the resort itself, who can connect and make reservations, check guests in, allow guests to charge food or additional items to their rooms, and provide service for any additional guest needs. For guests they can make reservations, learn about the hotel, and be connected and feel at home even away from home. More than that, networks can connect in the article posted and provide security, connecting the entire resort. For example, if there is an emergency the network can link to all rooms and set off the alarm to inform the guest.
abalitz

The Future of Hospitality Hangs in Balance of Mobile and Social Implementation - 2 views

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    Hospitality Industry is seeing a increase in bookings of hotel rooms, airplanes reservations, and even dining reservations through mobile devices. Expedia website belives there will be an increase to 32 million people using mobile devices to book hospitality venues in 2016. Expedia has also noticed that many people are booking same night hotel reservations from their mobile devices. Many people who are using their mobile devices for booking are under the age of 30 years old. National Restaurant Association also confirm that a younger generation is using mobile technology to find a restaurant, from booking a reservation, to looking at menus, also even ordering their meals and paying for it using their mobile devices. Another thing is that mobile devices are being used to do research on restaurants and reading reviews before choosing a particular venue. A downfall to this mobile outbreak is how do hospitality establishments respond to bad reviews. The response to a bad review can make or break your establishment in my opinion. Many restauant owners are asking themeselves how can I take this social and mobile technology and introduce it to my concept and goals. So my feeling is that the hospitality industry is embracing mobile and social technology as it grows. However, are they embracing it fast enough? It seems to me the customers who use mobile and social technology are growing more rapidly.
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    It will be soon that all hotels go to using mobile check-in. We have implemented it on our current Hilton hotel and this technology gives the guest the power to pick their own room within the hotel, electronically check in from their phone, as well as use their phone screen code to unlock their room door. It all but eliminates the need of a front desk staff upon a guest's arrival. Without the personal communication I believe that some of a guest's experience is taken away, however there is no slowing down this technology and the use of it within the hotel industry. I agree in the fact that management has to stay educated and up to speed about how all of this technology operates as well as the affects it can have on their operational scores. On a positive side, management might cut some of their labor costs by having this technology act as a sort of hourly employee.
kayshap96

Hospitality Employees Play Big Role In Sustainability Efforts - Facilities Management I... - 0 views

  • Hospitality Employees Play Big Role In Sustainability Efforts
  • When it comes to the environment, employees leave a big footprint, Gaines says. "Employees are aware of their footprint and it yields a lot of returns," he says. "As a result, they're watching their fellow employees and holding each other accountable because they understand that every little bit counts."
  • With employees outside of the facilities department, it's often the little things that make a big difference, such as getting employees in the habit of turning off lights and checking thermostats in unoccupied meeting rooms, as well as having them remind each other to keep an eye out for potentially wasteful use.
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  • A side benefit of involving non-facilities employees in sustainability efforts is the force multiplier effect, Witt says.
  • when employees take these lessons home, it can expand out the effect of sustainability efforts.
  • "Ideal for us would be if we give a housekeeper the tools to minimize the amount of water that she uses when she cleans the bathroom, then that person in turn goes home and teaches her kids to turn the tap off when they're brushing their teeth," she says.
  • tresses the importance of training employees outside the facilities staff on what they can do to help
  • keeping an eye on the lights, turning down — or off — ovens that weren't in use, and not propping open cooler doors, employees with no energy management experience or responsibility could help contribute to big savings.
  • More Room to Keep Going Green in Hospitality Industry
  • While the hospitality industry has made great strides in its sustainability efforts over the last few years, there are still opportunities for improvement,
  • According to Bendewald, the industry spends nearly $8 billion annually on energy costs, but is often limited in how aggressively it approaches efficiency due to concerns about occupant demands.
  • how can hotels provide the same, or often better, services with reduced energy use?'"
  • So instead of having to evaluate each building from scratch, facility managers can test strategies and products in one or two facilities, then roll them out across the chain.
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    The articles talks about the difference of having in-house facilities employees versus having out of the house employees in the hotel. It also touches on the education and mindful behavior all facilities employees should have in order to save more resources to the hotel.
anonymous

Technology's Role in Event Planning - The Business of Travel - 3 views

  • A majority of planners (57 percent) use events or meeting management technology or software when planning events and nearly all who do (96 percent) find value in using technology to manage their meetings and events
  • Location (27 percent) and cost (26 percent) are the top factors for choosing a property to host a meeting or event.
  • the planners who use this type of technology find it very valuable to make more informed decisions
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  • Once the city is chosen, RFPs are often sent to a number of venues to collect additional information before making a decision.
  • Planners would also like the ability to track each venue’s pricing from the initial bid to final negotiated price, which becomes very helpful when companies place an emphasis on budget tracking and cost savings.
  • wo-thirds of planners use (63 percent) and value (67 percent) meeting and event planning technology that allows for two-way communication with vendors.
  • Education is key as many planners express frustration with not knowing where to go to learn about products in the marketplace that could address their specific needs.
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    This article summarizes the results of a study examining the usefulness of technology tools for event planning. Technology aids in the venue sourcing process as well as RFP generation and organization. This type of technology is also a useful tool for forecasting budgets and tracking financial KPIs. IN addition, it serves as a great communication tool connecting planners with vendors as well as customers.
pelaez17

Why is GDS important to the travel industry? | TTS - 4 views

  • he Global Distribution System (GDS) is a primary reservation tool for travel agents.
  • GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options, and book travel.
  • The modern GDS system evolved from this early labour-intensive manual system, thanks to the collaborative team efforts of American Airlines (AA) and IBM.  The result of that collaboration? The first airline industry mainframe-based system, SABRE.
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  • Through such commerce platforms as the GDS Travelport, agents can access scheduling and inventory of hotels, airlines, car rentals, and (some) railway and bus reservations – in real time. GDS links all those services across the three primary travel reservation sectors (airline, hotel, and ground transportation, i.e., car rentals), and activities.
  • Promotional messaging to agents through GDS cores like the most prominent airline national distribution systems (Amadeus, SABRE, Galileo, and Worldspan) alert agents to special rates, fares, and travel packages – an effective marketing tool for passing savings on to agents, and from agents to their customers. 
  • GDS booking has increased worldwide over the past 4 years yet some industry observers suggest that GDSs may become nearly obsolete by 2020. But like many technology/software-based systems, GDS may evolve, instead.
  • GDS is probably not going to fall into disuse any time soon. Rather, it will continue to evolve as it did from the Lazy Susan system of the 1950s.
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    I found this article interesting as it talks about why the GDS is important and also gives some insight to how the booking process has changed over the decades. For instance, thanks to the internet we can book a flight within minutes while comfortably sitting on our cough. The article however states, what I did not know, was that back in the 50's, it took an airline reservationist 1.5 to 3 hours to book a single airline flight for the customer. At the end, the article also states that GDS most probably will not be going anywhere any time soon and still be around, at least for some time, and keep on evolving.
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    The Hotel industry has been trying to move away from Global Distribution Systems (GDS), because of the high cost associated with them; however, travel agents more than ever are turning to the global distribution system for their hotel and travel bookings. In a recent article written for Travel Technology & Solution they discussed why GDS is important to the travel industry. Educating the reading on what GDS is and how it works, the importance of GDS to travel agents and the future of GDS. According to tts.com "GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options, and book travel. This allows for the travel agent to provide the best option at the best price to their clients. Travel agents are in favor of this system as what once took hours to complete can now be done in minutes. An agent has the ability to receive messages through the system alerting them of special rates, fares and travel packages which in turned are passed on to their clients. "Not only is messaging through GDSs effective in promoting travel savings to clients, GDS providers are becoming fundamental to the supply of travel products to retailers in the online channel." With a large percentage of people still turning to travel agents to book their travels GDSs might be here to stay. Over the past four years the use of the Global Distribution System has increased, "yet some industry observers suggest that GDSs may become nearly obsolete by 2020".
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    This article discusses the history, importance, and future of GDS in a way that is simple and easy to understand. It use to take a long time to make a travel reservation until GDS came along, and it is now used by travel companies and their agents everywhere. It allows them to see a variety of airlines, hotels, transportation, and activities to compare pricing, in order to select the best of each one for their clients. They say GDS will become extinct in a couple of years but this article states otherwise. They believe it will become more sophisticated/developed into something greater.
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    The article describes the importance of GDS to the travel industry. The article describes GDS as "a network/platform that enables travel agencies and their clients to access to travel data, shop for and compare reservations options and book travel." The system is used globally as it helps in generating travel sales in billions of dollars. Travel agents use the system access scheduling and inventory of hotels, car rentals, airlines and bus tickets all in real time. The system achieves this by linking the travel reservation sectors of car rentals, hotels and airlines. The major GDSs in the world are Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan, Apollo, and Galileo. The authors argue that GDS is important to travel agents as it helps the agents to make reservations in real time for their clients and can complete bookings for their clients within a short time. The end of the article proposes that GDS may become obsolete by 2020 due to technological advances. However, the authors argue that the system will evolve with the technological changes and will not fall into disuse anytime soon.
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    GDS I feel will always have an impact in the travel industry because it is what it was built for since the beginning. Yes, we advance with apps and direct booking but people will always use travel agencies and GDS I believe will always be the primary source for booking for travel agents because it is what makes them comfortable.
mrueda

HNN - Hotel industry explores voice tech, smart speakers - 0 views

  • Through the smart speaker, guests can request information, such as hours of breakfast or for the fitness center, and they’ll receive an immediate “canned” response, he said. For other more specific requests, such as asking for more towels or for a late check out, the platform converts the request through a tablet, which triggers hotels staff to respond accordingly and complete the request.
  • Hotel companies have begun switching over some requests that would normally go to a concierge, such as restaurant recommendations, to voice-activated smart devices, while some have gone a step further and let guests control lights, shades and the HVAC system, said Victor Idrac, project coordinator at HTNG.
  • tness center, and they’ll receive an immediate “canned” response, he said. For other more specific requests, such as asking for more towels or for a late check out, the platform converts the request through a tablet, which triggers hotels staff to respond accordingly and complete the request.
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  • Through the smart speaker, guests can request information, such as hours of breakfast or for the fitness center, and they’ll receive an immediate “canned” response, he said. For other more specific requests, such as asking for more towels or for a late check out, the platform converts the request through a tablet, which triggers hotels staff to respond accordingly and complete the request.
  • fitness
  • many risks to accept and challenges to solve with new guest-facing technology.
  • “During the early adoption phase of any guest-facing technology, guest education is critical to utilization, experience and value,” he said. “Another equally important part is staff training, as implementation of voice-based solutions can impact the staff in a multitude of ways.”
  • Routine updates on the devices are a necessity, he said, and software updates should not only introduce new features but also fix any security bugs ore vulnerabilities that have come to light
  • Routine updates on the devices are a necessity, he said, and software updates should not only introduce new features but also fix any security bugs ore vulnerabilities that have come to ligh
  • The world is more and more connected to mobile devices, Pohl said
  • This technology will eventually be as commonplace as a television is in guestrooms, Idrac said.
  • Voice is one of the greatest emerging technologies of this decade, and hotel brands should get comfortable with this tech now, he said. Some brands that will come later to the game will need to listen to their customer base, he said
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    This article discusses the never ending demand and growth of technology in the hospitality and tourism industry. The article specially discusses voice technology. Similar to the Amazon Alexa and Google Dot.  Many hotels across the United States have already implemented this technology into their guest rooms. According to the article, "it provides better tracking capability." Ron Phol SVP and COO of Best Western Hotel & Resorts.  A guest can put in a request through the voice technology and software is able to track the time it takes for a guest to receive a response back. This voice technology is still in its baby stages. So an extended amount of training and care is involved when introducing it to hotels, not only for the staff but also the guest.  There is also the concern of security breaches and down time that can slow down the day to day functions of a hotel.
ccepe015

What is the GDS - 1 views

wrong article sorry. http://www.tts.com/blog/why-is-gds-important-to-the-travel-industry/

hospitality hotel software business travel

zport003

Online Marketing and the Hotel Industry - 0 views

  • The rapid spread in the usage of the internet and the increase in access to ecommerce and online bookings has definitely been a boon to the hospitality industry.
  • In other words, the advent of online booking has been a win-win situation for the hotels and the customers. Next, with so many guests from around the world flocking to the internet to book their rooms and plan their itineraries, hotels are turning to online marketing of their products. This has the effect of reaching out to a wider guest base as the hotels need not constrain their marketing efforts to nearby places and geography is no longer a limiting factor for hotels.
  • Online marketing by hotels has the added advantage of improving the brand image of the hotel by ensuring that customer reviews of the hotels and the glitzy marketing of the hotels have the intended effect of enhancing the reputation of the hotels.
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  • As the internet is supposed to add value to all stakeholders in the value chain, the experience of the hospitality industry is a case in point about how the online transactions can result in a win-win situation for all.
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    I found the following article to provide a lot of useful information regarding the new trend of online marketing within the hotel industry specifically. The article reviews how the hospitality industry is now moving towards a "paradigm" and a business model where the service providers and the customers interact directly leading to the removal of the intermediary layer. eMarketing has truly taken off and it is important to be aware and educated when it comes to new marketing aspects in order to set the trend and put yourself has a business ahead of your competition. The key to eMarketing is that one has to be aggressive at all costs while keeping an open mind in order to be creative and unique in order to stand out above competitors.
pelaez17

Tablets replacing paper menus in restaurants - a long-term trend or too problematic? - ... - 0 views

  • Customers will be able to browse the food menu and place their order which eventually gets posted in the kitchen display console. That’s the core functionality. But there are other extended features: Customize: Monteko of Stacked Restaurants says that 95% of diners customize their orders. Visualize: Pictures and detailed descriptions of the food item can be shown. How many times have you read a food item (say ‘Death By Chocolate’, a dessert dish) and wondered “how does this dish look?” Engage (and Earn): Restaurants can engage the customers by offering a lot of innovative features in the tablet, such as social media connections.
  • Credit card security.
  • Extensive use of technology everywhere
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  • Breakage.
  • Risk of replacing human with techno-machine.
  • Theft
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    This article reflects on this weeks topic of e-menus. It refers the different companies that have started this trend and the birth of this technology. It explains the pros of having this and what encouragements are embedded in order to grasp the user and influence them to play. AS mentioned in the summary, not all restaurants will adopt this as their are many risks involved with this type of technology.
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    The hospitality industry is a service driven industry. In order to enhance service menus are a current topic of concern. Through the benefits of technology traditional menus are being replaced by E-Menus, ipos, menu pad, deplooid, own point, imenu and many more. This article outlines E -Menus in the form of a tablet and its associated concerns for the long term. In traditional times menus were in the form of paper however, in today's day we are moving towards a technology based society. The core features of the tablet menu for a restaurant are noted as customization, visualization and engagement. A tablet menu allows for a restaurant to ditch the paper. This provides a change and the ability for your restaurant to stand out against the competition. It is however important to note, tablets should not replace the traditional server or waitress. As noted in our previous discussion topics I think technology should be used as an enhancement not a full replacement. As with anything there are both negatives and positives. The article notes theft, credit card security, breakage as several negatives to look out for. Tablet menus are a trend but not one that every restaurant will adapt. The restaurants who adopt new menu changes are able to take the risk. At the end of the day technology is great but also risky.
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    This article was very interesting as it analyzes whether combining technology in the restaurant industry will appeal to customers. The debate of using tablets to replace paper menus has been considered by different restaurant segments. Its advantages include the ability of updating a menu continuously and offering clients additional advantages such as the option of viewing images of the dish. One of the benefits it offered is that guests can use tablets for more features, such as playing a game and competing with another diner in the same restaurant. I personally feel that not all restaurant segments will appeal to this. With regards to etiquette, fine dining establishments prefer to offer a well- designed paper menu. A tablet is quite distracting and it is an expensive investment if each guest is to have one. I believe this is only useful in a fine dining establishment while reading the wine menu as it can be updated frequently. For other restaurant segments such as a casual restaurant, this can be appealing. While technology can always be beneficial, some establishments are better off with traditional approaches to dining.
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    As i have mentioned in all of my posts this week, e-menu is believe is the future of the restaurant industry. Throughout this article you read about the positives of electronic menus as well as how difficult it might be to get the electronic menus might struggle to hit the ground running. It is a very interesting and educational article.
da7327

From Agony to Ecstasy: Learn How to Implement Large-Scale IT Projects During #MURTEC | ... - 1 views

  • Last year, #MURTEC introduced MURTALKs, concise 20-minute presentations that deliver big insights. On March 8, 2017, Stephanie Nardini, senior director of IT, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, will deliver one such MURTALK as she describes the agony, ecstasy, risks and rewards of going all-in with a large-scale technology project in her presentation titled: "Thinking Big with IT: Implementing Large-Scale Projects."
  • She will illustrate how to take a company-wide initiative from inception to successful implementation, all while navigating proprietary technology, vendor partners and multiple stakeholders.
  • Now in its 22nd year, the Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference (MURTEC) produced by Hospitality Technology, has become the “Gold Standard” event for education and networking in the restaurant technology industry.
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    This article introduces one of the big events about hospitality technology investment, MURTEC. MURTEC is the conference that technology-savvy restaurant companies, top executives, CEO, restaurant group, or independent operators gather to talk about technology initiatives, the limitation of existing hospitality technology and development. It is interesting that this type of event is held regularly for people who are interested in technology development, especially in hospitality industry. Good information about savvy technology will be introduced here and professionals can have chances to hear an explanation about new technology. Of course, the vendors also can experiment whether their technology will be successful or not based on attendees' response and competitors' products. Not only for this but networking can be established through the event. Sometimes though they have good products, their business cannot be successful if they fail to find proper buyers. Considering this issue, both vendors and buyers can have benefits via the event.
Maria Zuniga

How to Invest in Hotel Real Estate - CrowdStreet - 0 views

  • Commercial real estate investments are subject to shifts in supply and demand that can have a notable impact on net operating income, profitability and yield
  • hotels have the ability to mark rents to market on a daily basis. The upside of that flexibility is that hotels can quickly react to heightened demand and improving economic conditions and raise room rates as much and as fast as the market will bear.
  • The flip side of this fluidity is that hotels are more susceptible to operating fluctuations when compared to other asset classes.
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  • Hotels are defined primarily by the services and amenities that they offer.
  • Full-Service
  • Limited-Service
  • Budget
  • Extended Stay
  • OTAs have had a major impact on how hotels are booked since their inception some twenty years ago
  • ADR = Room Revenue / Rooms Sold
  • RevPar = Occupancy Rate x ADR
  • The two core customer groups that fuel demand for hotel rooms are tourism and business travelers
  • Hotels have unique industry standard metrics to track performance and growth, which include average daily rates (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPar)
  • Demand drivers can change as a metro grows.
  • The hotel industry has seen substantial change both in terms of how hotels are developed and used as well as how they are marketed. Most changes in use are rooted in the adoption of technology.
  • Hotels also can benefit from locations adjacent to or near convention centers.
  • illenials are driving changes in use of practically everything they touch and hotels are no exception. Through their desire for affordable yet “cool” hotels in urban locations, hotel brands have been rapidly evolving to deliver concepts that cater to their tastes
  • While some pundits argue that the Millenial hotel is a fad, it is nonetheless changing the industry landscape and bringing a new breed of hotel to a magnitude of urban destinations.
  • nother way in which technology is changing the use of hotels is by enabling guests to redefine the period of the traditional night stay.
  • These apps are yet another example of how technology can be used to generate efficiencies – in this case to fill intraday hotel vacancies that would otherwise go unused.
  • Anyone who has traveled for either business or pleasure can grasp the basic building blocks of a successful hotel investment, which include: product offering, service, location, and competitiveness.
  • It also doesn’t require an industry veteran to appreciate that investing in a five-star hotel doesn’t necessarily correlate to earning five-star returns.
  • The takeaway is that hotels across all categories and price points have their own market segments, competitive sets and corresponding metrics. The key is to conduct a comparative analysis amongst similar hotels in order to determine whether or not the subject asset stands to win greater than, equal to or less than its fair share of its market demand.
  • There are a variety of entry points into hospitality real estate investments with a host of strategies
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    This article is very interesting because it breaks down everything about investing in the hospitality industry. Hospitality is one of the few properties that shift in supple and demand can be felt immediately. The article explains that hotels have no lease agreement so they are able to market on a daily basis. This is why they are able to raise the prices on the rooms. I really like how the article describes the key metrics used to evaluate hotel performance. The article also explains recent changes in the hospitality industry that have brought to the market new types of hotels. It is important to note that the two core customer groups that fuel demand are tourism and business travelers.
upasnab

Hotel Security: How to Protect Your Hotel and Your Guests from a Data Breach - By Kevin... - 0 views

  • Information thieves are increasingly targeting hotels due to the large amount of personal information collected from guests.
  • hospitality industry accounts for 87% of point of sale breaches
  • Failure to take precautionary measures can ultimately affect your hotel’s bottom line, and lead guests to feel unsafe and not wanting to return.
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  • surprising 74% of hotels do not have proper protection measures in place
  • Destroy information you no longer needed.
  • Provide on-going staff training
  • Continuously update crisis plans
  • Implement a mobile security policy.
  • A Ponemon report shows that 63% of organizations have had a data breach as a result of employees using their mobile devices to access the company’s sensitive and confidential information.
  • Create a document destruction schedule.
  • Despite the fact that 86% of companies have document destruction procedures in place, only 40% of businesses have a system followed by employees.
  • With technology changing hotel operating systems, it is important for the hotel industry to re-visit information security procedure and continuously educate themselves on data security protocols.
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    This article talks about the increasing cyber threats in hotels and its consequences for the guests. The hotel guests are paying more attention to how their data is being stored, pushing hotels to make some much needed changes in their data security plan. Despite these pressures, many hotels do not have any proper protection measures. "The Hospitality Technology's 2017 Lodging technology Study showed that a surprising 74% of hotels do not have proper protection measures in place". Steps to prevent such breaches and avoid millions of dollars in loss and reputation damages are mentioned in this article. Some practical ways highlighted in this article are: Provide on-going staff training, implement mobile security plan etc.
kteme001

Cybersecurity and the hospitality industry - Las Vegas Review-Journal - 0 views

  • 42 million visitors last year
  • nearly half of cyberattacks worldwide in 2015 were against small businesses with fewer than 250 workers.
  • the average consolidated total cost of a data breach is now $3.8 billion
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  • A study by Verizon stated that 99 percent of breaches in 2014 were caused by known vulnerabilities with fixable patches.
  • all working together in an atmosphere that prioritizes data security
  • PCI and our partners are working together to educate our members, find solutions to prevent cybercrime and ensure our work-force and our patrons’ data remains secure.
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    This article highlights a meeting that will be held to gather the world's cyber security experts to discuss and troubleshoot potential threats. Las Vegas specifically is at high risk for intrusion with the high amount of room and restaurant reservations made in this location. The hospitality industry in general is at high risk for cybercriminals to invade their data. Especially small business, the article stated that half of the cyber attacks made in 2015 were against businesses with 250 employees. The data being breached has reached the outrageous total of $3.8 billion. The main point is that most of these issues are preventable, it's all about knowing what can and can't protect you. Investing in the proper technology and dedicated staff can make all the difference. Las Vegas' efforts to prevent these intrusions should set an example for others.
knare002

Hawaii's long and winding road to sustainable tourism | GreenBiz - 0 views

  • "The entire travel and tourism industry is going to rely on being sustainable," Foster said during a plenary conversation at VERGE Hawaii. "Being sustainable economically, ensuring that local communities benefit and being sustainable environmentally."
  • The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) already publishes monthly figures about occupancy, visits to parks and attractions, and other metrics. Nishizaki asked: Why not start sharing data about the carbon footprint, water usage, energy efficiency or local procurement strategies of hotels, resorts and rental car companies? Hotel property managers and local residents should be far more aware of these figures, he argued. This could be accomplished by displaying metrics on signage in hotel lobbies or at public attractions, for example.
  • Tourism is Hawaii’s biggest industry: more than 9.4 million people visited the islands in 2017, generating $16.8 billion in spending, according to HTA data. "The economy of this place is completely dependent on being a place that is welcoming and in demand by tourists," observed Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram.
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  • And in April, Hawaiian Airlines began a collaboration with Raw Elements, which makes sunscreen specially formulated to not damage coral reefs. The chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, which show up in most of the world’s leading sun protection products, are toxic to many corals. Hawaii has banned those ingredients starting in 2021, and Hawaiian Airlines is showing in-flight educational videos meant to highlight this issue with would-be snorkelers, swimmers and scuba divers.
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    The article reports the state of Hawaii's hospitality and tourism industry is beginning to become more aware of how going green initiatives will effect the economy in a positive way. A management member of a consulting firm stated the efforts the hospitality and tourism industry need to be known to the community, guest and the staff of the hotels. He feels the research, figures and strategies need to be posted so everyone understands their role in the advancement of the states main industry's desire to become more sustainable. Hawaiian Airlines along with various hotels are reducing waste and sourcing more local items with in their outlets.
kteme001

Why sustainability should be a core subject in hospitality management | By Arturo Cuenl... - 0 views

  • The CEO of Scandic hotels Ronald Nilsson prognosticated in 1994: "Tomorrow's market is about mutual values.
  • These hotel groups strive to accomplish their key performance indicators such as reducing energy and CO2 emissions, reducing water consumption or waste going to landfill.
  • "No complex, evolving, and self-adapting organization can be adequately understood merely though analysing its parts and ignoring the full system.
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  • And, of course, sustainability still needs to fulfil the classic economic axiom: to offer great value for money.
  • the environmental dimension: how can we minimize environmental impacts in our organization? (2) The economic dimension: how can we maximize our economic profit? And (3) the social dimension: how can we maximize the social well-being of all stakeholders?
  • Hospitality practitioners consider it essential that hospitality management educators provide students with a more realistic view of the industry in addition to the technical skills and knowledge essential for careers in the industry.
  • The interesting thing about hotel companies that are more sustainable is that they are better capable of attracting and retaining talent.
  • Employees work together with managers to improve and innovate in social and environmental actions.
  • However, though sustainability is about improving company image, it should not be seen as involving only one specific department or consisting only of isolated actions. It must be established as a core value within the company, as a part of its DNA
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    This article touches upon why it is so imperative for sustainability practices to be taught in the hospitality industry. It talks about how the next generation to come will not be able to tolerate today's world's insensitivity to the environment. Sustainability has shifted from a want to a must. Many big name hotels, like Marriott, have set high goals to reduce their environmental impact. They have key performance indicators like reducing energy use and the level of CO2 emissions to help aid the Earth's environment. The goal should be to have zero CO2 emissions and zero landfill waste, but this is a goal that will take time to reach. Profits should not be the only thing businesses are interested in. Sustainability should be included in the training process of employees within the business whether they be in customer service, kitchen or marketing...everyone can help save somewhere. Sustainability has become the new management dimension, right along with providing memorable experiences and providing good service. It has been shown that companies who practice sustainability in the workplace have a lower turnover rate because the employees know they are working towards a greater good and are given a sense of purpose.
bdolman

Why good human resource management is vital for small hotels - eHotelier - 0 views

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    The article "Why good human resource management is vital for small hotels" focuses on the relationships of high quality service with human resource management. Within the service industry, Human Resources is what creates the company's competitive advantage. Businesses that focus on offering superior customer service need to rely on their workforce to carry out their philosophy. Due to this, the economy of the country in which the business is located is important to take into consideration, since a well educated and motivated workforce stems from the country's economy. Thanks to improvements in technology and globalization, it has become more effective to hire and train staff. While it is true that small businesses have less resources, time and money to invest in human resources, it is still one of their most important assets. According to the article, "The very nature of the industry is to provide hospitality, and that requires the use of HR in delivering proper services. Hence, small- and medium-sized hotels should formalize their HRM practices. Small hotel owners or managers should be more willing to involve further formality in their firm's HR practices, since an 'adequate' level of formality does positively relate to performance". The advantages in Human Resource Management are endless, and as a result, all types of businesses, regardless of their size should value this scope.
galca008

Green IT | Green Hotelier - 1 views

  • With the world becoming ever more reliant on IT, from computers and laptops to smartphones, the issue of how you make it more sustainable, in terms of reducing energy requirements and electronic waste, becomes ever more pressing.
  • In 2010, it was estimated that 360 million computers were manufactured. A computer is one of the most resource-intensive pieces of equipment, requiring over 10 times its weight in fossil fuels to make
  • The production of a computer requires 22kg of toxic chemicals, 240kg of fossil fuels and 1,500 kg of water. 80% of life-cycle energy use is accounted for before we even switch a PC on for the first time. Computer Aid International About 2% of the world’s total energy is consumed by building and running computer equipment. BBC Office equipment is the fastest growing energy user in the business world, consuming 15% of the total electricity used in offices. This is expected to rise to 30% by 2020. In the UK, the cost of running this equipment is estimated to be around £300 million annually and rising each year. Carbon Trust 200 million computers and 550 million mobile phones reached the end of their life in 2008.  Computer Aid International 50 million tons of e-waste was generated worldwide, but only 13% was recycled. US Environmental Protection Agency Reusing working computers is up to 20 times more energy-efficient than recycling them. Computer Aid International
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  • A data centre is a facility used to house computer systems and their components, and it can be far and away the biggest contributor to an organisation’s carbon footprint. A data centre’s life expectancy is relatively long so it is imperative it is built to the highest standards in terms of efficiency as any excess energy use will lead to significant cost implications over the years.
  • 1. Build the most energy-efficient data centre possible. This will save energy and costs over its lifespan. 2. Only get the data storage capacity that is currently required and forecast for the lifespan. Many data centres have excess capacity that burns energy (and therefore costs) unnecessarily. Don’t have servers or equipment that will not be used. 3. Cooling data centres. Traditionally cooling has been done by air circulation, which is very inefficient. Larger data centres already use other technologies to cool more efficiently, such as water cooling. 4. Virtualisation technology. Improve your system’s resource utilisation through virtualisation technology. Virtualisation is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, server, network, etc. and allows a single user to access several physical devices on one terminal. A computing device dedicated to an individual member of staff or allocated for one software application is highly inefficient and expensive. Virtualisation consolidates resources, requiring less power and cooling. 5. Consider cloud computing. This is a location-independent IT service, typically available over the internet, where shared servers provide resources, software and data to computers and other devices on demand, increasing IT capacity and capabilities without an organisation having to invest in new infrastructure. Keeping data virtually, or “in the clouds”, means less information stored on IT systems and therefore less energy being used to run the systems. Systems such as BT’s Virtual Data Centre, a hosted data centre that enables businesses to create, deploy, monitor and manage their own service through a self-service portal, claim to offer savings of up to 40% of the total cost of running one’s own data centre as well as reducing the space required, the level of emissions produced and the power consumed.
  • 6. Measure and monitor power usage. Once you know what’s using the power, focus on why and whether it’s possible to reduce consumption.
  • 1. Upgrade. Before buying new, investigate options to upgrade with the latest energy-efficient components to extend appliances’ working life and efficiency. 2. Green labels. Look out for the certification labels denoting more energy-efficient equipment, from Blue Angel in Germany to TCO in Sweden and Energy Star in the US (see below). 3. Screens. Opt for flat screen monitors, which reduce energy use by over two-thirds. 4. Get the right equipment. Consider your information technology needs against the tasks required. For example, laptops may be a better option in some circumstances because they have been developed to be energy-efficient and generally match the computer to the task required. Remember: not all staff have the same needs. 5. Consider running costs. Look at the life cycle costs, not just the purchase cost. Take note of running and standby costs of equipment. These can vary enormously.
  • Top 10 Tips to reduce running costs of office equipment (source: Carbon Trust) 1. Computers. Activate energy-saving features. In fact, most office equipment will have these features, so make sure they’re activated. 2. Standby features. Introduce a policy to activate standby features, don’t assume employees will do it. 3. Turn it off. Buy seven-day timers. These can save up to 70% on energy costs. 4. Monitor and manage the equipment that is peripheral to computers, such as speakers, printers, etc. and consider installing intelligent switch-off solutions. Printers can consume 30%-40% of their peak power demand when idling between printing and standby modes, so minimising this can produce cost savings, reduce heat output and increase its operating life. 5. Educate your staff. Consider a screen saver with an energy-saving message. 6. Rationalise your equipment via networking to reduce the number of printers (for example) in any office area. 7. Printers Use only black and white for internal documents and colour only when absolutely necessary. Consider the benefits of inkjet printers v laser printers. Inkjet energy use is much lower than that of a laser printer. Encourage staff to use print preview functions. Set default printing mode to double-sided. Use lower-specification printers, such as inkjets, for internal documents and encourage staff to use these for day-to-day use.
  • 8. Photocopiers High volume copiers use more energy so should be used sparingly. Use low melting point inks (available from stationery suppliers). Encourage staff to copy in batches to increase standby time. Stick to black and white copiers and only use colour when absolutely necessary. Set default copying to double-sided. 9. Invest to save and purchase only what you need. 10. Don’t forget to motivate staff. Keep repeating the message of the importance of energy saving in ways that they can understand (for example, a computer monitor switched off overnight saves enough energy to microwave six dinners).
  • WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), or e-waste, is the term used for old or disposed electronic equipment. It covers both the toxic and valuable materials found in appliances. The most important lesson is to reuse, not recycle. With so much e-waste, and electrical devices such as computers and flat screens often being replaced well before the end of their shelf life and ending up in landfill, it’s imperative that the most is made of these materials by reusing them productively.
  • Options to investigate when trying to reduce e-waste are: 1. Can you upgrade your equipment with new energy efficient components? 2. Can it be used by someone else in the company? 3. Can it be given to a charity? (Note: charities must be registered to take WEEE.) 4. Will the manufacturer take back the old equipment and reuse parts in new products?
  • Developments on the horizon include: 1. Smaller, more efficient processors. The continuing development of microprocessors means a mobile phone can have around the same computational power as the average desktop computer back in 2000. 2. Memristors. Electronics giant HP is in the process of developing “memristors” (see photo above), which have greater memory storage capacity while requiring less energy and space. They are due to be on the shelf in about three years. 3. Specialist data centre design. Siemens recently launched its transformational Data Centre Solution, a groundbreaking strategy in data centre energy-efficient design and operation. It claims the system, which uses virtualization and efficient power and cooling, offers many benefits for businesses, including up to 50% energy savings through ground water cooling and IT costs reduced by 30%. 4. Outsourcing. Hotels of all sizes are starting to view IT outsourcing as a viable option to gain flexibility and reduce short-term costs and increase transparency of cost structures and processes. 5. Optimisation of resources. This will become a necessity either through virtualisation, networking or cloud computing. 6. Water cooling. IBM is currently working on a supercomputer that is cooled by water (a given volume of water can hold 4,000 times more waste than air), which claims to be 50% more energy efficient than the world’s leading systems. The Aquasar stacks many computer processors on top of each other with cooling water flowing between each one. IBM’s Dr Bruno Michel told the BBC in November 2010: “We plan that 10 to 15 years from now, we can collapse such a system into one sugar cube — we’re going to have a supercomputer in a sugar cube.”
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    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.
ramomar4

What are the biggest problems experienced by hotel and restaurant management? - Quora - 2 views

    • ramomar4
       
      The main software used for a succesful day to day operation of a hotel is (PMS) Proterty Management System. While most PMS softwares have many functionalities, the success of the operation depend on the extent of usage given to it. These systems come with many capabilities so a lot of training and audits are required as well as contuinous education between the end users and departments.
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