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I thought this may be nice to share with everyone, even though we have known this for a while.

Cecilia is bartending technology that uses AI to create an experience that is more personable than the Smart Bar. Cecilia's clients thus far seem to be large corporations (Microsoft, KPMG), but is being marketed for event rental, and used as an educational tool at FIU. Though no machine can replace human interactions, Cecilia provides a viable contactless service alternative.

So I'm a beer person. I brew with 'Brew FIU' team and I'm a TA for Professor Gump. This story just makes me smile. Leave it to beer people to find another reason to make more beer. In the brewing process malt, barley and other grains are used as a sugar and flavor source. It's what makes beer, well beer. After the grain has been used it's considered spent due to the fact that most to all of the sugar and starch has removed. At this point it's common to dry the spent grain and turn it into flour for cooking or send it to a farm for animal feed. Which is a green thing to do as is. But the Alaskan Brewing Co. decided to turn it's spent grain into fuel. Now their entire facility is run off of spent grain. How cool is that?!

This short article reminded me of the example given in class by Professor Cilli of the how FIU is trying to improve the way they track student attendance to certain events.  I think it's interesting that Eventbrite information will now be used in political campaigns. I believe the way information will be regularly up to date is a great way to track participants and always have the correct, relevant information on them. 

The premise of the article is based around the future of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and food delivery services within the industry. Within it is the premise it states that the Total Addressable Market for delivery will increase from $60 billion to $220 billion. Furthermore it notes that Amazon's acquisition of Wholefoods and the use of technology in more traditional restaurants may effect QSR performance. That being said though QSR like McDonald's, Dominoes, and Panera, have spent a considerable amount on their I.T structure to further compete with the trend.

This article can be summarized by researchers analyzing how and what guests experienced staying in green hotels. Many hotels and hotel managers are becoming aware of the carbon footprint the hospitality and tourism industry is leaving on the world, and doing something about it. Many hotels have implemented actions such as; using solar panels to heat and power water, using low energy consumption lamps in guest rooms, and supplying cleaning products with certified quality. The surveys used for this research suggested that guests positively recognized the commitment these hotels had in becoming green, and that these guests were more likely to develop loyalty specifically towards hotels implementing green practices.

Chapter 4 of Global Hospitality and Tourism Management Technologies outlines the diversity that Italy experiences in each of their 20 regions. Advanced technology and tourism behavior trends show how Italy is a perfect example of an evasive environment. In this chapter they illustrate the complexities of southern Italy in Calabria. A tourist would likely visit places like Rome, Milan, Pisa, and Venice, Calabria is not an option when you speak of other places Italy is well known for. Virtual Reality is introduced to be an attractive way to have tourists understand the culture and acquire more information. The chapter concludes by saying the advancement of technology in southern regions (Calabria) can also create tourist loyalty at more lesser known destinations.

The article discusses how a service-based approach to e-commerce has tremendous value. The article focus on how Rakuten choose to infuse hospitality services, normally reserved for brick & mortar establishments on internet based business. Affording them the opportunity to generate profits by having access to this type of infrastructure at a fraction of the cost than if delivered in a traditional format.

I enjoyed reading this article and learning more about Rakuten. Their business approach seems valuable particularly for the culture it serves. Being that he is familiar with Japanese culture and their preference for an interpersonal approach, Hiroshi Mikitani the CEO of Rakuten was able to veer from the norm of a standardized and process-oriented approach and build a successful business. Rakuten platform allows allows hotels to set up so they can edit their pages themselves and tell their own stories, which allows the hotels to make a connection with customers.

This is an excellent, comprehensive article and research study that fully looks at environmental technology through interviews with hotel professionals. It has many specific examples of hotel environmental technologies. It also specifically looks at energy, water and waste in the hotel industry.

This article by Leo Huang suggest ideas, base on his research at Taiwan, on how to generate more revenue in Bed & Breakfast market by having eCommerce. Mr. Huang send out survey to B&B that have less then 15 rooms in Taiwan to get an insight on eCommerce development in local area. Mr. Huang was able to obtain 51.32% of the target population and a total sample size of 302 B&B owner survey. At the end of the research, Mr. Huang recommend B&B owner should work with travel industry when developing their eCommerce strategy. Mr. Huang also suggest that owner should seek partners to attracts customers during off season and to have a strong pricing strategy. Base on the research result, B&B business will get resource, competitive and performance advantages by having eCommerce The research also say that it increases sales and better in ROI.

With the occurrence of new technologies, hotel and resort are constantly looking into running their operations more efficiently, reducing labor costs and enhancing guests' experience. According to the article Housekeeping communication gets more efficient, high-tech The Umstead Hotel and Spa has implemented tray detection technology from Axxess Industries that allows the staff at the hotel to track trays from room service that are passed by the entrance door of rooms giving a signal to the room service staff that they are located outside of the room now and needs to be picked up. Staff also is alerted when a room is available for cleaning. Guests click a button, which sets off another sensor, to indicate they are gone and the room can be cleaned. Another very beneficial technology is the REX system by M-Tech that works in conjunction with a property's PMS system using iPod touch technology. he iPod will show each house-keeper his or her list of rooms for that day, and once a guest checks out-or even leaves the room unoccupied-the housekeeper is notified a room is ready to be refreshed or turned over. Using the REX system allows hotels for more efficient communication between staff and helps tracking all the assigned rooms for the day that need to be serviced. There are many opportunities for hotels to cut enhance guest experience using technologies that allow for better tracking and communications between department resulting in the end of enhancing guest experience and even though hotels might be reluctant to the initial cost of implementation, I am strongly convinced that these solutions are the solutions for the future and will provide hotels with competitive advantage.

The demands from guest on updated technology in the hotels are higher than ever before. In order for hotels to keep up with those demands, the hoteliers have to think ahead. The speed (bandwidth) of the internet is very important for the guest. The hotels that provide the guest with the best technology will stay on top. Today, hotels can increase its bandwidth at a very reasonable price without busting its company budget. The answer to that is cloud competing and bandwidth management. Bandwidth management allows the hotels to give guest different type of internet speed. Which is very smart, business guest the hotels can be offered a faster speed than a non business guest, and the brilliant part of this systems is that everyone is on the same network/server.

Conrad hotels have provided a new function into their Concierge mobile app, The Conrad Meeting. This app provides detail information about any of the twenty-three Conrad properties. The app can assist in adjusting meeting room amenities and provide any updates or changes to events. The Conrad Meeting allows excellent communication between hotel workers, event managers, and guests. Technology has provided convenience ways to make jobs easier and more efficient. Conrad had just made planners job a lot much smoother in their operational process when things or last minute things need to get done.

This article discusses how a convention manager for a Chicago planning firm keeps the SIGGRAPH convention happy every year the convention takes place. It explains that SIGGRAPH brings in 30,000 to 50,000 graphic artists and software designers to the convention, so it is important that planning company keeps their technology up to date. There is a positive side to SIGGRAPH convention goers, which is they understand that small glitches in technology do occur and they do not get frustrated when those glitches do occur. They had to implement a technology that will occur in real time, so they do not have to waste time inputting information, this is something that the SIGGRAHPH convention required if they were going to continue their business with the planning company. The software they developed allowed for everything to be in real time, all the staff had to do was review to make sure all the registration for their conventions were correct. I think that this article is a great example of why event planning firms should stay up-to-date on technology that will aid them in the planning process and keep clients returning.

The hospitality industry is experiencing a technological transformation. Current technology is improving and being put to better or new uses. According to this article in Hospitality Magazine, there are seven technologies that are taking the industry by storm. 1. Online Booking Systems I agree with the many industry insiders that now consider an online booking system essential. Penetrating the online marketplace is an absolutely mandatory part of the formula for success. However, opinions differ when it comes to how to accomplish this aspiration. As expressed in the article "Taking back control of the direct channel for hotels" posted on the class ScoopIt!, using online travel agents as a properties online booking system has easy setup and maintenance but lacks true customization and can put a sizable dent in profit margins, but building and utilizing a 100 percent customized system does not necessarily grant instant access to hundreds of travels sites on the web. Over all, I am of the opinion that online travel agents are still the best option-for now-because the pros out way the cons. 2. Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) Primarily used for mobile or self-ordering, EPOS systems can replace waitresses' use of paper orders and remote/hidden POS systems. In my opinion, this streamlines the look of the restaurant floor and provides better and more instantaneous service. Panera Bread uses self-order tablets as some of their locations that allow customers who know what they want to order traditional menu items quickly and independently. Having used this system, I find it more of a novelty than a convenience because the system isn't exactly self-explanatory. Currently, the technology is much more enjoyable as an aid to waitresses where the restaurant can experience increased efficiency and a higher standard of service while guests can experience the "that's cool" factor without the frustration of having to navigate the service themselves.

3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) CRM technology provides efficient electronic storage and management of contracts and customer information and many versions also feature cloud-based applications that provide easy access to frontline employees. Electronic storage and online back-up are not totally new ideas (i.e. the floppy disc) and despite the long way these technologies have come is, in my opinion, not enough to do away completely with paper back ups. Even with electronic files, my previous property kept basic papers for 1 year and more sensitive files for much longer. Basically, CRM technology is something we should utilize more, but I doubt many will do away with a paperback up system anytime soon. 4. Marketing Automation Automatic email and text communications have been made possible by the development and improvement of marketing automation technology. Having worked with this type of technology, there is not an overabundance of companies/technologies from which to chose; however, the technology available various greatly in effectiveness and quality. In my opinion, Constant Contact is the best marriage of quality and ease of use for marketing automation technology available. This type of marketing can really step us a properties game, but beware of poor performing products. 5. Social Media According to the article, photos are the most popular posts by social media users, but the arena has become a bonafide space for reviews. While sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia provide a niche arena for travel/tourism/hospitality related communication, general social media sites also invite open, unfiltered discussion. Whole social media is BIG, it is important for companies to assess and utilize only the social media outlets that their demographic are actively using.

6. Smartphones Smartphones are already super convenient. They are constantly being integrated and synced with our daily lives. Applications such as Apple Pay, in combination with CapitalOne, have provided another level of integration. Currently, there is talk and work on guests being able to use their cell phones as hotel room keys but I wouldn't be surprised if in the future we will have QR Code or RFID storage for our driver licenses, insurance policies and other important information. 7. Smart Appliances A part of American households for sometime, smart appliances are beginning to make their way into the hospitality industry. Luxuries such as electronically controlled blinds, thermostats, lights and more are something we can expect to see in hotels sometime in the future. My biggest concern is the time between now and implementation because while these products are available for purchase by consumers directly, they have not taken off nor seemed to gain any ground in the typical household. Could the hospitality industry be just as slow to adopt these technologies? I believe that it is likely so-mainly due to the high cost of implementation. In conclusion, technology is still advancing and most industries are feeling the pressure to update existing technology and adopt new technology. In the hospitality industry this is especially true.

This article discusses different marketing companies that are reaching out to hotels and casinos to offer something new to their consumers. Duetto is a software that will optimize profit for casino hotels, by tracking the individual guests on their spending. They can utilize that data collected by recommending room pricing for individual guests, allowing to maximize profit. This article also continues to talk about other technology companies such as JOINGO. JOINGO is a company that focuses on customer loyalty in the gaming and casino industry, setting up loyalty programs that are customizable to each individual guest. They will send out offers and alerts to the target market, which the consumer can use because everything is offered in real-time. It goes on to explain other technology companies that are optimizing profit for these casino's and resorts. I believe these are all great companies that are working to maximize profit, but I do believe that a company should be created that utilizes all these features offered in one. A lot of the companies are teaming up to work with the casino allowing for everything to go in too many directions, I believe it would be wise to have one company create a software that has all features.

In this article, Hazel Jain explains that companies that have invested in email marketing are struggling to get their "open and click" rates up with an average open rate of 15% and click rate of 4.7%. Jain also states travel companies can add value to their email marketing campaigns by making the emails targeted and personalized. A customer is 19 times higher to purchase an items when a remind email is sent, reminding them they have items left in their cart. This practice is called abandoned cart remarketing campaigning. Also explained in the article is that mobile internet is still on the rise. With the ever increasing mobile internet; companies must modify their websites to support the newest technology used by their customers.