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Typically, the guest room energy costs will take up 40% to 80% of total energy costs of a hotel property, which depend on hotel size, location, and occupancy. There are 80% guest room costs related to the air conditioning and heating (HAVC). Another 20% of guest room energy costs are tied to electrical. Hotel HVAC systems are designed to maintain a guestroom at a fixed temperature both day and night. In many hotels - whether the guests are business or leisure travelers - the rooms are frequently unoccupied for much of the day. During those times, it will save hotels money to setback the thermostat or completely turn off the heating and cooling. Occupancy control system accomplishes just that. There are two major occupancy control system: cardkey system and occupancy sensor system. The primary benefit of occupancy control systems is that they reduce energy use for the hotel. Orchard Garden hotel installed the cardkey system to control their HVAC system and lights in guest room. According to calculate, there are average 26% reduction in HAVC energy costs. A second benefit is that occupancy controls reduce peak demand. However, both of cardkey system and occupancy sensor system have some weakness. They still need to enhance their technology and design to fix the problems

This article talk about the PMS system in Middle east recent years. It is an important time of year for the hospitality industry in the Middle East. The region's industry has witnessed a strong recovery of 78.6% occupancy rates over last year and the holiday season continues to hold tremendous promise of high tourist traffic and increased occupancy. With the highlight of the year- Dubai Shopping Festival 2012 fast approaching, hoteliers need to brace themselves for round-the-clock services as they run at nearly 100% occupancy. Here will be integral for them to relook at existing business procedures to ensure efficient use of resources and enhanced guest experience. Technology is a key driver of business growth for the hospitality sector across segments. While hotels leverage technology, hoteliers need to remember that mere adoption of innovation does not suffice. Effective implementation of required hardware and software proves beneficial only if the hotel ERP is adequately aligned with the hotel's business needs. In 2010, tourist arrivals to theMiddle East increased by 14%, registering a total of 56.6 million tourists. The positive outlook of the year ahead will place an impetus on the adoption and implementation of CRM tools as well. Luxury hotel chains in theMiddle Eastalready offer rewards and loyalty programs for customers, however, with the advent of social media, CRM tools have been revised to track discussions and reviews on hotel properties. One of the key challenges for large hotel chains is to stay connected with their managers on-the-go. Hand held devices like PDAs enable hoteliers to stay connected with ongoing activities at their property and an integrated PMS system sends out automated updates to improve communications.

Summary: This article is about a study done at Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne on the investment of PMS training and its relationship to a hotels performance. The study resulted in positive correlations between PMS training and revenues. Opinion: Training employees on the PMS seems like common sense but most hotels do not believe it is necessary. This study and its results make perfect sense but I am also a little surprised by the significant increase in revenues that is created from properly training employees on PMS. 

This article is about a current study, in which about 150 mid-scale and up-scale hotels around the world answer the questionnaire. This study analyzes the relationship between PMS training and business performance, and the investment in training in PMS. Although every hotel manager knows the PMS is the key factor for hotels development, not only for getting customer data but also for decision making. The result shows that most of PMS system in hotel have not been made full used, there are many potential abilities can't be exploited. According to the study, most hotels don't have budget on PMS training. And also 32% of hotels don't provide training to all employees on the PMS. Plus, even they have training, it is very short and just in internal, no using the PMS providers. This study also shows us the hotels have a higher level of occupancy when they allocate more budgets on PMS training and have PMS suppliers training. There is also a relationship between PMS training budget and hotel revenues, the more budget on training bring a higher revenues. And the revenues are much higher than budgets. Hotels also need efficient management of PMS training, which means more revenues and full use of PMS.

The property management system is a tool not only is customer data but it can also help strategic and operational decision making. The study undertaken investigates the investments in training in PMS and the relationship between training and business performance. A big majority has no training or offer a very little training. There is a support that underutilization of the PMS is due to the lack of training. There is a higher occupancy level when hotels allocate higher budgets to PMS trainings. There is a significant positive correlation that shows a relationship between PMS budget and the gross operating revenues of hotels.

Grand Hyatt San Francisco has selected a package of VingCard Elsafe solutions for installation during renovation of its 659 guestrooms. The renovation features the addition of VingCard's Orion energy management system and Signature RFID locks powered by the VISIONLINE wireless online access management system.

Article discusses the recent large scale IT investment in green friendly security for the Grand Hyatt San Francisco. The hotel recently upgraded 659 of its hotel guestrooms to feature energy management software as well as RFID enable security features for guests. This represents a significant investment in green technology for the use of energy conservation which in the long run will lower energy costs for the hotel in addition to making the hotel a more secure atmosphere for the guests. Hotel staff can monitor all forms of these upgrades which all communicate and work together with each other one a room has been reserved.

This article overall talks about the the different entities within a property management system. First, it goes over the details of what a property management system is which is described as a software that facilitates a hotel's reservation management and administrative task. In more detail these functions include front-desk operations, reservations, channel management, housekeeping, rate and occupancy management, and payment processing.Most PMS nowadays are able to combine multiple work environments into one software. Depending on the type of software the company is using, they are able to combine modules and functions, and the functionality of one module can be slightly different. The reservations side of the PMS is essential because online booking is the main way people book their reservations nowadays. The key modules of reservations consist of room bookings, collections of e-payments, management of room inventory and allocations, reservation emails, and activities bookings. I believe the most crucial operation of the PMS is the front office module which allows for front-desk manager to view and update room reservation status, check guests in and out, and process payments. I do work in a hotel as a guest service agent and we closely work with the PMS in every aspect. When our system went down it seemed almost impossible to check in/check out guests. It was extremely difficult to allocate rooms because we weren't able to use our system to see if housekeeping had punched rooms clean or to see if the room was vacant or occupied. The PMS makes the whole process of a hotel run smoothly. Another important aspect of the PMS is room management which allows us to see up to date reservations and which rooms they are allocated to, also allows us to move around those reservations and modify them.

Property Management systems has been the backbone for many hotel for numerous year. Due to its length of service we are constantly seeing major updates that helps to secure the business sensitive information while assessing the administrative tasks of daily functions to ensure smooth process of operations. PMS functions for all departments of the hotel from front desk to housekeeping to accommodate the guests request.

Hotel Property Management Systems: Products and Features

This article discusses the security issues with room keys. These hotel locks will not open with cards that are read as duplicates or duplicatable. The locking mechanism has been specifically designed to alert the front desk and secuirty departments in the event these locks are tampered with. I'm sure at one point or another we have all experimented with our room key and tried to open other doors. A system like this will prevent activity like that.

This article talk about the issue that hotel are having with their security system lock for guest room. These cards are easy to duplicate. The new system will alert front desk or security if the lock has been tampered with. Other alarms include detecting that a door is forced open 'mule tool' instruction when a door is open from the inside handle without an occupant in the room.

This article discusses the current state of hotel lock safety. Monitoring safety has changed as these locks become more automated. The article states that, "Hotel Management corresponded with Tim Shea, president of ASSA ABLOY Hospitality, for ways in which vendors are keeping hotel locks secure." Through VingCard Elsafe's locks, hotel security and safety has increased. VingCard says, "Our Classic magstripe locks do not store critical security information within individual locks, such as master key information, and any service device must authenticate itself through diversified encryption methods to gain access to the lock software." This is just one of the ways the locks increase security. The article also states that the system is cost-effective for hoteliers.

Coastal Hotel Group implemented the IDeaS Revenue Management System (RMS) to maintain speed and accuracy across revenue strategies. The new system allows the director of revenue management more time for analyzing trends and making more strategic revenue decisions because the revenue management process is simplified and expedited, providing market information quickly and easily. Although the system doesn't replace human insight, its complex algorithms and ability to pull data multiple times a day provides Coastal Hotel Group with a clear vision of hotel data, making it easier to book the right guest at the right time for the right rate. In addition, the IDeaS RMS automatically uploads rate shopping reports from vendors and uses competitors' data to create the best available rate decisions. In today's fast-paced, interconnected business environment, the new automated revenue management system can provide a quick and intelligent reaction to various market conditions in order to capitalize on consumer behavior. That can be a strong competitive edge of the Coastal Hotel Group properties. 

Article speaks about hotel automation systems by vendors, that allow hotels to reduce energy and utility costs that impact the bottom line. The EPA estimated that in 2004 the hotel industry spent more than $5 billion on energy and that the number was likely to increase. Items such as occupancy based thermostats communicate over wireless networks and allow hotel staff to perform maintenance tasks such as detect issues with in-room HVAC systems before guests call in to report the items. Other systems use energy monitoring systems that allow for the hotel to detect room temperatures. This is significant as those rooms temperature and lighting systems can know whether the occupant is in the room and adjust lighting and temperature settings accordingly. Energy waste in hotels is an issue that affects the bottom line so the potential for ROI is great. Implementation of many of these systems is flexible as many are built on wireless networks that do not require heavy physical installation of wiring. Interested in the groups thoughts on this?

This article talk about the IT in hospitality industry. They give a example of the India. The number of the India's travel and tourism industry is grow 8.4% in 2008 and will be 8% more increase between now and 2016 according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The hospitality industry should know the customers needs and the goal of the meeting them should be figured out in such a way that the cost of offering the service(s) does not pinch the company balance sheet i.e. variable costs should not show fluctuations northwards. Marketing gurus would always adhere to one statement for advice: cost need to be justifiable through high probability of ROI. The selection of technology in itself is a vital step. Another global feature that is extremely important is a detailed guest, group and company records. Used with a variety of customized reports, these detailed records allow precise targeting of various marketing efforts to improve occupancy rates, increase yield and enhance strategic planning. Each module should have a customizable report selection menu. The reports should have provision for sorting and filtering of data to enable viewing of the exact information might be required at a moment's notice. A good PMS enables a hospitality enterprise to increase revenue and occupancy, improve guest loyalty and reduce costs by centralizing and streamlining your operations. Forward-thinking properties have already begun building a network infrastructure that offers the flexibility and scalability to adapt to the ever-evolving guest, staff, and property management needs. Ajay Goel, Senior VP - Industry Business, Strategy, Operations, Cisco Systems India & SAARC opined, "These next-generation infrastructures are based on a converged network. They integrate with today's solutions-such as reservation, surveillance, and billing systems-and support the newest applications and technologies. The goal is to take advantage of tomorrow's opportunities while protecting e

This article discusses the various ways that AI is being integrated into the hospitality industry and the positive effects it has had in the industry.

This article analyzes how user-generated ratings have a positive impact on hotels revenue growth. It looks at this through three different methods: one, ratings that the uses provide, two at how those ratings are "distributed over the scale," and three, the number of reviews that hotel receives. The article observes 240 small to mid scale hotels in Italy. Some issues we see come up revolve around the subjectivity of user-generated reviews and how that can positively and negatively affect hotel occupancy and interest. Ultimately, it appears that hotels that already have a high star rating will benefit most from these user-generated ratings because they have a stronger bargaining tool. The other benefactor are small, niche hotels whose increase viability and unique qualities help it in encouraging new tourism and high level experiences.

This article goes into great detail about how Covid-19 is affecting hotel security. With budget cuts, security personnel are being limited, but the need for security is more important than ever. The article talks about how suicides in hotels are higher than ever as well, making it all the more important to have a solid security presence.

In this article, it discusses the decline of the hotel industry following the COVID-19 pandemic, and how things have only slowly begun picking up again. However, the security burden is as great as it has ever been, and in many ways, it is even harder. Despite hotels closing their doors amid the pandemic, occupancy levels have only recently recovered to a consistently high 40%, with many still closed for months.

According to this article, Shearings Holidays has deployed SoftBrands Classic Starlight Property Management System(PMS) to standardize and streamline operations across its 48 properties. The ultimate goal of the implementation is to drive growth by enabling independent and third party bookings. Starlight will help open the market by integrating Shearings' systems with third party websites, as well as enhancing online, telephone and face to face bookings direct from holidaymakers. SoftBrands Classic Starlight will also provide a centralized view of occupancy rates, facilitating cross selling opportunities across the organization to maximize revenue.

    This article is a kind of blog, written by a traveler who formed by years of working in the facility management field. She described her ritual when she checked in a hotel room. She mentioned the National Facilities Management & Technology Vegas Conference & Expo and discussed just how hospitality facilities can demonstrate best practices for all buildings in sustainability, energy efficiency, occupant safety and ADA compliance.       Nowadays, more and more hotels try to address the energy efficiency initiatives. And they also know the importance of controlling the operational costs.     The technological facilities can highlight some key innovations and solutions for the entire facility management marketplace.

"have knocked $5 million in operational costs off the annual budget"

This article shows us some advanced facility and technology in hotels in Las Vegas. People have Many people would like pay attention to the physical plant. The author works in the facility management, he habit to check the floor, bed, energy-efficient equipment, and so on. The NFMT Vegas Conference & Expo, with best practices for all buildings in sustainability, energy efficiency, occupant safety and ADA compliance, which impresses the author a lot. The vice president of HEI Hotels and Resorts addressed "Energy Efficiency Initiatives for Hotels" as important goal. In the past three years, they have made 5 million in costs off, and also, there is a must-attend presentation on bedbugs. They won the 2012 U.S. EPA's Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award. The president discussed the impact of the ADA Final Regs on the hospitality industry. Some information about requirements, hospitality-specific concerns. The author desired to see the latest development in hospitality. He impressed the effects of key innovations and solutions for the facility management marketplace.

This article focuses on sustainability and methods in which technology is utilized to conserve energy and waste, while also not hindering the guest experience. Hotels, similar to the Salvatore Grand Hotel, have began implementing systems such as the Verve Living System, by Zeno Controls, LLC, that provide wireless connections to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, as well as the lighting in the guest room. It utilizes sensors to activate such amenities, and enables the guest to enter the room, place their key card into a slot, and it will begin to adjust to the preferred temperature and the preferred lighting levels. Once the key card is removed, such as when the guest is leaving the room, after a very short delay, it sends a signal that verifies the room is unoccupied, and turns off these energy-consuming items in the room. Many guests, when staying in hotels, do not consider turning off their lights or air conditioning when they leave the room, and simply leave everything running. They do not realize the impact this has not only on costs for the hotel itself, but also the impact that it has on energy consumption and sustainability. With the growing awareness of being "green", guests are focusing more and more on conservation, however, they may still be slacking in these areas, leaving things on, being absent minded. This system will allow guests to not have to worry about such tasks, and controls the system of turning these items off for them, adding convenience for the guest who is environmentally conscious. I have personally seen a similar system being used in a hotel room, and thought it was a great idea, and an amazing way to control costs and eliminate waste of resources. It is also very surprising to read that the Verve Living System detects low battery levels, constant occupancy, problems with room connectivity, and rooms that are not communicating with the hotel PMS or other systems. This enables the maintenance team of a hotel to fun

There is a 'debate over which revenue management metrics to use in the pricing strategy'. Most professionals use occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR). However, PevPar GURU proposing that neither of these metrics truly evaluates the amount of future deposits. According to this article, 'if you are only calculating ADR based on the rooms thta are sold, then you are not getting a real indication of your average daily rate. 'True' ADR divides total revenue by total number of rooms, not the number of occupied rooms. The occupancy is an important element, if two hotels have same ADR, but different occupancy percentage, the revenues are not the same. True ADR also allows to get reports on industry standards.

This article discusses how many hotels are not utilizing the PMS to its full potential due to lack of training being provided. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, a hospitality school in Switzerland, conducted a study to investigate the investment in training in the PMS and the relationship between training and business performance at property level. The survey was given to about 150 mid and up-scale hotels around the world. The fact that the PMS is so crucial for a hotel to maintain efficient and effective operations, I found the results of the research a little shocking. A majority of the hotels (65%) said that in 2011 they had no budget for training on the PMS and 32% did not offer training at all to their employees. The hotels in the sample showed higher occupancy levels when hotels have a higher budget for PMS training .The results also showed that there is still a lack of the optimal use of the PMS in hotels because there is not enough training for its use provided to the employees. This study is an ongoing research project and early indications show that effective management of the PMS training resources may result in increased revenues for the hotels.

In today's society, online booking is definitely a major form of reservation in the hospitality industry. Thus I think it will be profitable for the companies to understand why some customers booked and others just visited their website and left without booking. These kinds of information can be achieved with the aid of software, as shown in the article. This article is related to software utilization in monitoring the user journey on websites. Hotel chain Villa Plus decided to increase its properties by 40%, and because of this, Villa Plus began to implement IBM's sophisticated analytics software, instead of Google Analytics they had used. With the IBM's software, Villa Plus can track and understand customer needs and behavior across its website. These understandings help the company to advertise the right properties to the right people on the websites. Villa Plus is expecting this to result in high occupancy rates as well as a great return on investment.

I like this Villa Plus, I think it can help customers as much as possible to get what they want and filter what they don't want, it can save time for valuable customers because they can get what they want at one time instead of searching from different websites or even leave without reservation. I also use online booking every time, I think this Villa Plus also can help me a lot next time when I book online again.

Nowadays, online booking is very popular. But hotels still face with low occupancy rate. I think this IBM software is good. It can help solve this kind of problem. Advertising the right properties to the right people on the websites and result in high occupancy rates as well as a great return on investment.

This is an interesting article that teaches us eleven useful methods to be energy efficient in running hotels. According to authors' experience, it is not unusual for hotels to save $10,000 to above $30,000 per year, per property, by employing the right measures. For me, I like the lights saving part which can be simple and effective. For instance if we install a motion sensor in the bathroom per suit, it can help to keep the lights off when no one uses it and this can save at least $50 per room per year. For the decorative using lights, like the night pool lights, if we turn it off, we can save at least $250 per year. We can also install motion or occupancy sensors to light hallways and stairwells. Besides we can control the parking lot lights to a saving of $250 per year.  Energy saving methods can be everywhere and if we pay much attention to details of energy usage, it puts money in hotels' pockets.

This is an awesome article. I think that if people would just think a little more when they are using electricity it can save money but when people are staying in hotels the mind set is that they are not the ones paying for the electricity so who cares -- leave lights on all day and leave the TV on all day. There are so many ways to help save money in hotels by putting up lights with sensors in so many locations that really will help the planet as well as help the property save money. Great article!!