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There are many difficulties with technology implementation in the hospitality industry. Often, as a result of these difficulties hotels, in particular, are left behind the curve. According to the article, "many companies have made it a philosophy not to be the leader on the tech side" and "large hotel chains tend to conduct major [technology overhauls] just once every seven years." The hope is that by adopting technology later, companies will avoid having to deal with the bugs and flaws that come along with brand new technology. However, as it turns out, due to the constant evolving state of technology bumps and flaws in design become apparent at all stages of the life of various technologies. For example, when the room keycard was introduced, it quickly replaced the traditional key-and-lock set of traditional homes. However, after some time hotels figured out that these keycards can become demagnetized-something the industry still faces today. The quick evolution of the television is another example. Consumers typically have a better TV at home than they experience within a hotel room. This is due to the fact that hotel televisions are still largely the same as the ones implemented in 2007. In conclusion, technology can be part of the getaway experience guests have at hotels, but due to the widely accepted "wait and see" approach the industry is currently pursuing, consumers are often left feeling as if they have to bring their own technology and put up with the minimal technology provided in hotel rooms and suites.

This article focuses on the technology innovation regarding electricity in hotels. The article states that the total energy consumption costs for hotels will continue to rise. Luckily, there is an energy saving technology that is worth investing in. Cogeneration, which the article states is known as "combined heat and power (CHP), helps minimize the heat and power from a single fuel source". It takes natural gas and converts it to electricity. This helps the hotel use heat for areas of their operation. This technology supplies 95% of the electricity needed for a standard hotel. Besides helping the hotel's electricity, heat, and power system be more efficient, the CHP helps with financial costs. According to the article, investing in a CHP will bring a payback in about 3 years and this time expected to decrease. This means hotels will receive a return on their investment in a shorter period of time. In my opinion, this is great technology to invest in. It not only helps with financial savings but it is also better for the environment. The business will benefit from it because it helps with operations. Also, consumers will be more likely to want to stay in a hotel with an energy efficient system. It goes hand in hand with the Go Green initiative that has proved to be successful and consumer driven. In all, investing in technology is a risky business. For this specific energy saving technology, I believe it is worth investing in. The cogeneration would be ideal for "hotels with 100 or more rooms, high electric rates, hot water heating system, and high use needs".

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

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

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

Hotel owners need to keep up with the pace of changes in technology. Not only costumers expect to have access to the latest technology related facilities  in their hotel room but also hoteliers can make fundamental changes in their property management with help of technology. since the hospitality market is very competitive, the hotel property owners needs to invest in technology related amenities. Three basic reason to invest in hotel technology are mentioned here which are revenue, operation and costumer service related issues.

This article discusses the reason hotels are shifting their focus on energy management. Hotels are adopting green practices that not only saves money but benefits the environment. One method is by controlling energy output. New technology allows the hotel management to have wireless control of the heating and cooling systems. If rooms are unoccupied they can turn off the cooling system to save energy which in-turn reduces cost. The invention of the "Internet of Things" (IoT), management can control, diagnose and operate AC and other systems from their tablets or computers. This advantage gives the hotels the need for less service calls and disruptions to guests. Also, the trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) gives the guest the option to control their room settings from their own phone. Lastly, hotels are building towards LEED certifications from the U.S. Green Building council. The certification is internationally known. It saves the company money and aligns to a lot of guests eco-traveling preferences.

As hotels make every attempt to come up with new and innovative techniques to conduct business, technology companies are looking for ways to being the first on scene with new technological tools. Many hotels now have instead of swiping ones card through the lock and waiting for the green light to enter, the guest can simply approach the door with a card in their hands and walk right into their rooms. This is possible through radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID are also being used to track customer loyalty to ones brand. RFID Technology also allows the hotel to maintain better security by knowing more clearly who's coming in and going throughout the hotel, since each RFID card be detected by multiple sensors in the lobby, elevators and rooms. There is even the possibility to access ones room by simply utilizing their cell phones and having the phone unlock the door. This is done by simply dialing a phone number and when prompted placing the cell phone next to the door lock. An audio key will play and the door will be unlocked. The audio is unique to each and every reservation.

This article helps us to better understand the information systems being utilized, why they are important and what difficulties they bring about. In the Hospitality Industry, customer service is put at the top of the list of must haves. With customer service comes knowing information about your customer and without Information Technology services put in place, these expectations will never be met. Having a computer based IT is crucial because it allows the employees to work more proficiently which in turn creates a better experience for the guest. Multiple hospitality leaders have been applying fully Internet based technological systems within their organizations. IHG group has implemented an easy to use system so it is simple for every position within the hotel. For a company like IHG with over 500 hotels, it was imperative they eliminated the manual system to provide better quality control. Because of this system they can get better quality products at lower costs. Although this new system is much more user friendly, the overall cost involved is still not confirmed but this system is still predicted to have positive impacts long term. For example at Marriott Hotels, they use a company website, POS Micros, Property Management System and Central reservation system just to name a few. On top of stellar service and quick/ easy information submissions, guests are looking to have the best technology at their disposal to use. Things like computers with full internet access, printers and fax machines to make sure they can still be functional while displaced. An advanced system called MARSHA is being used as a reservation system and stores the rewards system information for Marriot guests. Micros-Opera is a popular property based system provider and has become common within the hotel industry. Vendors usually use this since it gives them the ability to connect to other vendor's applications. MICROS 9700 HMS is the most popularly used point of sale system. There are some

This article highlights the necessity of investing in technologies for the Hospitality Industry. Guests are demanding technology that makes their stay more independent rather than having to deal with present employees. They want to be able to contact virtually rather than go down to talk to the concierge. They also want more in-room technology available for them. This article in my opinion is very important for hotels to take note of just how much guests want hotels to provide them with new technologies, because the percentages are becoming high. People are bored of the same hotel stay they have been receiving for so many years, and investments in technology is a must.

This article spotlights this new virtual concierge system that is used in the hotel sector. The Petit Denit virtual concierge service is located in the hotel reception and was initially an application used for the home and now was adapted to the hotel sector for the first time in Barcelona. The Petit Denit "allows the hotel reception to create a small tourist guide tailored to each guest." This a fast system that allows the hotel to print instantly a customized guide for each guest on all the tourist attractions in the city. I think this saves time and money for the hotel because you have a small machine doing the work of an individual. When the staff is busy, this allows the Petit Denit to do all the work and satisfy guests staying at the hotel. In addition, it's practical because the design can be adapted to mobile devices and tablets since we live in a world that is very technologically advanced and everyone is always on their smart devices. Finally, it's important that the hotel sector stays on top of every technological advance because there is a lot of competition.

The hospitality industry is a major target for cyberattacks, resulting in sensitive guest information being compromised. When these attacks happen it leaves guests restless, because they know or believe their information is not safe. This article discusses this issue and how security can be improved to avoid these attacks.

The article titled, "Improving data security in the hotel industry lets guests sleep peacefully" shows how the breach of data security can be anywhere. As technologies improve, so do ways in which cyber security can become at stake. According to this article, "Hotels are obligated to maintain the physical security of guests and their belongings during their stay-if guests don't feel safe staying in their room or leaving their belongings there, they won't continue to patronize that hotel brand. The same thinking applies to data security: If guests aren't convinced that the hotel is keeping their personal and financial data secure, they will take their business elsewhere". Thus, hotels need to make sure they are safeguarding information such as their payment information as well as other confidential information. Hackers are becoming even more sophisticated, where they can target specific industries, such as hotel industries since guests speak with hotel representatives over the phone to provide payment information. In the even that a hotel's data has been compromised, what is its responsibility? First, they should send the client a letter of apology, and then handle the complete process efficiently, so the client can at least feel they re supported. The avoidance and handling of data breach is becoming even more common nowadays with the rise of technology.

The first products distributed by GDS was hotel lodging reservation system, such as different types of rooms, description and price categories with the airline system. GDS has been increased on the travel market, such as number of flights. Travel Agencies (TA) also use GDS to offer complimentary products, such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation tickets, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne,That means, GDS has become more important distribution channel for nay product through TA. Also TA had more opportunity of more products their own system and GDS system from increase number of booking volume with lower operating costs. It was the first and major goals of GDS being used in the hospitality industry. Even though hopitality ingustry use GDS system, there are few problems, such as show only simple structure. For example, there are 4 different kinds od room and 3 categories od comfort, it means they have 12 different kinds of combination. Because of the GDS database structure, only there 12 combination could be displayed. It took a while to fit all the multiple types of comport rates, rooms and services in GDS standard database structure. Instead of choosing GDS system, they cans choose other alternative system with develop several computerized system to make a database structure closer to product specification. Nowadays, GDS using all of the hospitality industry from reservation hotel rooms to car rentals and Travel Agencies. Through GDS as globally, people are able to to book different kinds of hotel rooms in different destination all around the world, tours, airline seats, cruises and eeve limousines.

Looking at these numbers it becomes very clear how important GDS are to the hospitality industry, more rooms booked means increased revenues and more jobs for hospitality professionals. I am sure that this technology will evolve and transform so it is important to stay current and understand how to get the most out of it.

What's global distribution system? This question is kind of cliché in our group, but this article gives a very good introduction about GDS and it's quite easy to understand comparing to many other articles introducing GDS. This article tells us: How GDS develops from being used only in airline industry to being generally adopted in hospitality industry; What is the working idea behind the GDS; Four major GDS including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan; Advantages provided by GDS.

This article points out that hotels are still a huge target for hackers. Hotels need to make sure they reduce the temptation on standalone point solutions. Hotels should focus on having a security framework that stops data from moving outside of he country. To limit hacking as well, hotels should not store information locally. It was surprising to read that 74% of hotels lacked breach protection.

We believe accounting serves a purpose beyond presenting the historical financial position of a hotel. Timely accounting information, properly presented, is information that management can use to improve future performance and compare income and expenses to past performance and future goals. Accounting data is processed using an offsite Application Service Provide (ASP) over the internet. This enables our hotels to input daily revenue and statistical data while accounts payable is processed regularly. The end result is that managers, owners and corporate staff can review financial data on line at any time over the internet using a web browser.

The accounting could be manual or computerized accounting methods, procedures, and controls. It could be used to collect, record and analyze operational data. The hotel managers also could interpret the information in the accounting system to make management decision. It's a good method to gain more benefits with an accountings' help. With an good quality accounting system, the manager of restaurant could make a decision on the percherse amount and find out the peak season. Also, it will be easy for a manager to make decision on how many employees should be hired. The information in the accounting system is not only make a record. It refelect the performance of restaurant. As this artical metioned, the things need to be considered when choosing an accounting including staff traing, accounting software and forecasting.

Hotel accounting is not simply about managing revenue and expenses. Independent hotels and hotel franchises have unique financial needs that demand competent staff and an accounting system that will ...

This article lists of some common security breaches that hoteliers need to be aware of and prepare the hotel system for.

This article talks about how cybersecurity can critically affect hospitality businesses if they are not careful about what ways could attack their business.

As the article states, "Protecting the identity and information of a customer is paramount to the success of any business and hotels are no exceptions." Quite unfortunately, cybersecurity issues are some of the biggest obstacles that hotels are experiencing nowadays. With hacking attacks such as phishing and ransomware, hotels need to invest in increasing their cybersecurity as any breach can lead to a downfall in business loyalty and brand.

Consumers and hoteliers are focusing more on green technology since global warming, water shortage and other environmental problems are becoming serious. Some surveys revealed that more consumers would like to choose sustainable hotels even they have to pay more for that. Additionally, some hoteliers would budget more on green technologies, such as wireless controllers, new lightening and air conditioning system, etc. Although some eco-friendly technologies may cost more, hoteliers have to think about their social responsibility and long-term development. Considering the above factors, hoteliers should introduce green technology as a foreseeable choice.

More and more people are deciding their hotel accomodations based on how eco-friendly they are. This is forcing hoteliers to make changes to their hotels so they can be competitive with the other green hotels.

Going back to the 70's when internet connections did not rule our minds and travelers would make hotel booking directly with the hotel or use travel agents. When there were no email confirmations, TripAdvisor reviews and when we had to use maps to find the locations. This article talk about five ways hotels are starting to use more technology to connect with the guest. 1) Mobile bookings. 2) Quick check-in with tablets. 3) Self check out. 4) Live chats to help turn lookers into bookers. 5) Door opening with Technology. I choose this article because all these new technology need to work on storage and software and there is no better way than to use cloud computing to run these programs safely.

Things have certainly since the 70s, I am glad to have self checking rather than waiting in line. I cannot wait to get my cell phone to give me a key to access my room. With self checking, and room access, I will be glad to bypass all the waiting and processing and get to my room. I'm usually tired from traveling and so it would eliminate any aggression. Get article and great use of technology for hotels.

Before the pandemic hotels were using apps to allow guests to view hotels in their area and book hotels from the comfort of their phone. These apps also had incentives to make customers want to book through the app, now that the pandemic has caused individuals to not be able to be in contact as much, the hotels have taken advantage of these apps to allow guest to do more. Guests are now able to check in through these apps, open the door to their room without needing a key, ordering room service and towels and other toiletries through the app as well. The pandemic forced a lot of companies within the hospitality and tourism sector to become more technology friendly in the sense that they wanted less person-to-person contact, for the safety of external guests and internal guests. Like mentioned in the article smart devices have more of an influence on the guests experience overall, the article mentioned how hotels are using robots to clean rooms, deliver room service and toiletries to guest to increase social distancing standards within the properties. Hospitality was once known as an experience only able to be best delivered by humans but now it is an experience through technology that brings comfort to guests.

To provide safer environments to guests and avoid going out of business, hotels had to quickly adopt changes and innovations. Although the industry has heavily relied on human interaction for all customer service aspects, smart technology and automation has been crucial for hotels. In many hotels, all guests need is their smartphone to check-in and get in to their rooms. Marketing has changed and many hotels rooms now feature workstations and gym equipment to ease guests travel concerns.

This posts summarized 10 trends in the hospitality technology. Most of them are benefiting the guests directly, such as the wifi access and the self check-in services. However, as more and more hotel in the industry adopting these technology, the competition has been brought on, and every company is working harder to invest more technology in hotel management, development as well as operation. These 10 trends are the most basic ones which have changed the industry greatly, but there are mot to expect in the near future. 

This article talks about where the internet has brought us in the business world and where it is taking us. There are other articles included to support the idea that hospitality businesses need the internet inorder to successfully reach out to and market toward customers. Along with the idea that if a business does not have an online presence,that, is an untapped stream of revenue. As well as the combined business efforts that go into delivering a flawless product to its customers via the web. There were two case studies that took place in order to understand the role e-commerce has played and will potentially play in the hospitality industry.