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Going green not only helps the environment, but it invests in communities and the environment.  Many guests are looking for places to stay that offer more green trends.  

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 caught my attention because it was not just the Waste Management service offering a new sustainable option for hotels, but an actual electronics provider as well, LG. It appears that since 2009, LG has been partnering with Waste Management, and helping hotels dispose of their old electronics, such as older LG tv models, in a much safer and environment friendly way. This gives hotels no excuse to not dispose, or recycle, electronics in a safer manner. I believe a partnership like this is a perfect demonstration of a social responsible company, who is aware and active of the damages their products can make toward the world. I hope more electronic companies start partnering up like this; as it brings awareness, and convenience to not just hotels, but many industries that use, and frequently update, electronic devices. 

In regards to Module 2: Post a hospitality/tourism network, telecommunications, or green related article, I chose to post about a green related article and found an awesome article of "Eight Ways Hotels Are Helping To Protect The Environment." In honor of the past April 22's Earth Day, the article displayed the examples for some of the hotels in the United States that were committed to aid in preserving the environment for the hoteliers and guests alike to keep sustainability strong for the respective hospitality companies as well as travelers who are striving to travel with eco-friendly options. Located in Oahu, Hawaii, the Turtle Bay Resort is home to an on-property horse stable, tennis and golf courses, a 15 mile hiking/mountain biking trails, many health conscious classes such as fitness, wellness, and even a surf school. With its advantageous beach location, water adventures such as eco-kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming enable guests to view many of the natural resources, mammals, and endangered species that visit along the shores of the resort. With all of the above activities, it is crucial for this resort to take especially good care of the natural resources that benefit the resort by attracting guests. With that being said, the resort team members initiate beach cleanups every month for about 5 miles of the beach's shoreline. As well, back in 2009, the resort developed a Green Committee to plan and map out methods to reduce the resort's carbon footprint. Some examples of this was adding solar roof panels, convert 70% of the resort's lighting to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, initiated recycling for the entire resort, and changed cups utilized at the F&B outlets to environmental friendly options. Located in Leesburg, Virginia, The National Conference Center's food and beverage program partnered with local Virginia Farms to source their food from local farmers to enhance the consumer's yearning for the farm-to-table cuisine. For Earth Day, the company i

This article outlines how hotels are trying to become eco-friendly sustainable and still able to paramount guest needs. With this initiative, modern consumers are showing a definitive preference for experiential purchasing over material goods.

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.

According to Erik Stuebe, Auguste 13, 2013, the hospitality and tourism are being pressured to go green in order to protect the environment. Thus, certain standard criteria were established and should be taken into consideration the type of door, ventilation, motion senor lights installation of solar panels, electric car charge spots, biomass, and renewable energies programs. Society need to be educated on the important of positively protecting the environment especially in the schools. Many resorts/ hotels are now using the reuse towel program and smoking policies. Recently, I stayed at Country Inn hotel in Miami who has enforced the towel program. In addition, Sandals International Resorts my current employer also encourage the guest to reuse their towels by placing conservation energy card in all rooms. Furthermore some establishments are recycling their use water to else where such as the irrigation system. This is a practice that I have seen a lot of the time.

This article discusses the push that is happening for hotels to "go green" and "tech-friendly". Travelers have more of a preference for eco-friendly/tech friendly hotels when booking. For example, guests now prefer wifi more than complimentary breakfast. Another example that guests are searching for sustainability usage was important to them. In a survey done one in five woule stay in a boutique hotel if it used renewable energy sources. The article examines the desires for guests and their preferences for hotels and how hotels can adjust to this change. To meet these demands, hotels can address what are easy fixes such minimizing wasted heat or light. Another way hotels can hop on in this movement is by investing in systems that are eco-friendly such as waste heat-recovery systems. Investing in energy solutions will meet customer demands and help save the environment.

This article talks about the 5 ways can make the technologies will go green in 2015. We all know solar panels, electric cars, high-efficiency washing machines. Those technologies can negative effects the human activity on the earth but there are so much lesser known tech devices out there designed to help human to save the energy of the earth. Firstly, smart homes, it's hard to see the smart homes, being green is not that hart just makes your electric things to connect the internet. For example, connect your refrigerator to your smartphone, this way can allow the people adjust the temperatures all the time instead of walk to the refrigerator. Thus, being green only need to move your finger. It can help people to track that how much energy they use in their home, office or school. Therefore, they can reduce their bills in order to save the energy in the world. The article mentioned the most popular one is smart thermostats. Smart thermostats can "remember" the temperatures you prefer and can sense when you are not in the home. Thus, they can turn off the AC which's can save an of electric because that connect to the Wi-Fi and you can control it use tablet or smartphones. Second, the most important thing is smarter homeowners. The smart owner will maximize the energy efficiency of your home with smart technologies, using the website such as BuildingOS. This app gives the users the tools they need to analyze the efficiency of the office. The data that they provide all of from the central hub building's systems include water, electric, gas and so on.

"The pandemic challenged the hospitality industry like no event before. All elements of business and leisure travel, from lodging and ground travel to food and beverage, were immediately shuttered. Though slow, recovery has returned for some"The article talks about how Covid has impacted the hospitality industry and how they are using technology to change the new normal. For the business that do not adapt and use technology to help them through these tough times they may never recover.

The article focuses on how artificial intelligence will shape the casino and hotel industry in Las Vegas and beyond. AI currently used at all but one Caesars Entertainment Inc. properties in Las Vegas is called IVY. This virtual concierge is able to answer a multitude of questions that front desk would be called for which reduces call volume and lines at the front desk. On the casino floor Konami and Scientific games have AI technology with facial recognition for slot machines that provide personalized service, user login, and gambling recommendations. The article also discusses how crowd tracking technology and in security helps with the floor layout and what guests are on the floor. As stated many of the security features may be in place now.

This article highlights how the way we need to look at E waste needs to change overall. As discussed in E wasteland and here as a topic wee TVs and monitors based on CRT technology which has basically disappeared at this point from the waste stream. Since regulations in the past have been based largely on the overall mass of the waste and now that newer technologies have less mass than older ones regulations and recycling requirements need to be rethought. It also focuses on the newer challenges with new technology being based on rare earth metals and the need to recover them more efficiently and reuse them instead of mining new virgin materials.

Many event organizers are using or considering the use of mobile devices to enhance meetings and events. Many are already using devices such as the iPhone and Android to developed Apps specially design for the event. This new way of delivering information is environmentally friendly and an excellent marketing tool. But when developing an app it is important to know if it is cost effective. Normally only big associations and corporations are able to afford them, but know this is changing. A Dutch company called Twoopy has created a free online mobile event guide service that allows event planners to create affordable apps. This new way of creating apps will make them more widely used in all different types of events and meetings. Making apps through Twoopy is as easy as creating an account and submitting the necessary information. Basic functionality is free but if event planners want to upgrade it they can buy advanced features. When it is finish the app is published and attendees can download it freely through an URL.

Consumers are significantly more eco-concious in their daily lives which translates significantly to their hotel experience. They want to ensure that they and the hotels they stay at are doing their best efforts to be green. Hotels that create green initiatives see more return from those guests. Cloud computing is also one of those initiatives.

19% of travelers said they would pay more to vacation with a green resort. Sustainable hotels are shaving 8% off expenses in their first year. Biomimicry is the future of because they will not only be energy efficient but coexist peacefully with the natural habitat.

Hotel Indigo in Dubai runs entirely on solar power. With a digital building management system, the hotel can monitor, control and track energy use to become more efficient. Biophilic Design Biophilic design in hotels can achieve a sense of serenity, mixing natural with artificial. Plus, guests will stick around longer, with a 36% higher dwell rate compared to hotel lobbies without biophilic features. Repurposed Materials At RIMBA Jimbaran Hotel in Bali, Indonesia, the lobby is built from driftwood and the remnants of old fishing boats. Sustainable Architecture The wave coursing, while not eco-friendly, accurately matches the original 1920s architecture. Biomimicry Solutions Biomimicry in hotel design can enhance the guest experience for the modern, eco-conscious traveler. A hotel could generate power using wind, absorb sunlight and collect and recycle rainwater. Cloud Computing Combined with automation, which won't bog down internal operations, a hotel can monitor performance, manage energy use, detect felt and diagnostics and much more.

This article summarizes the findings taken from research done within the Expedia Group's global hotelier panel consisting of 1,215 hotelier participants that used a choice-based study to compare technology investments between defined hotel chains and small independent hotels. In summary, chain hotels were likely to invest twice as much in technology when compared to small independent hotels. Conversely, small independent hotels were likely to invest more in rooms reservations than chain hotels. The I.T investment strategy varied among the two hotel segments. Small independent hotels choose technology based on affordability, value, and complexity of technology, whereas chain hotels bought technology based on its ability to integrate into their existing systems, the price was not mentioned.

My opinion on this article surrounds my personal experience in the way I have been able to experience third party extranet portals and because of these enhancements that Expedia has developed for hotel partners, I have seen a tremendous amount of return on investment that goes into technology development. Many consumers have been influenced by these third party sites because they offer a type of experience that is different from traditional booking methods and often times consumers are able to snag cheaper rates than they would with booking hotel direct. I would like to see how this trend goes on in future years because I have seen more third party bookings in recent months and it should follow that trend for years to come.

The article focuses on applying technology in the hospitality industry, based on the study conducted by Expedia Group (Big Think). The article summarized the research study conducted on 1215 hoteliers worldwide, assessing the focus and prioritization of technology investments by these businesses. The study provides that Chain of hotels are twice as likely to invest in technology than SME in the hospitality industries, with these SMEs being 1.5 times more likely to invest in renovations. In the year 2019, approximately 54% of hotels focused on increasing their technology investments, with only 8% focusing on reducing the same. This provided that more hoteliers were willing to "stay ahead of the curve" than those that focused on adopting the "wait and see" approach. In this respect, hoteliers identified that their main technology investments were influenced by the value and affordability of the same and the capacity to integrate them with existing technologies. On the other hand, the main challenges associated with the technologies were complexity, affecting 25% of the respondents, and ease of use, affecting 33.33% of the respondents (Big Think). In focusing on technological advancement, the Expedia Group focused on technological elements such as Partner Central Mobile Application improvements, new "rooms and rate," page improvements, new "marketing" improved pages, new homepages adaptive, as well as multiple-property portfolio dashboards. With regard to the market perspective, digital marketing/website optimization, smart room, reputation management, revenue management, guest check-ins, and payment solutions were the main technological focuses for the hoteliers. Focusing on the reasons hoteliers were motivated to invest in technology, the study established that improving productivity, improving loyalty and repeat visits, improving guest experiences and reviews, reducing costs, and improving revenue generation topped the list.  

TVs are the largest contributors to electronic waste. Electronic waste recycling solution is urgent because the waste is toxic. LG partnered with Hilton Hotels for a recycling program to efficiently recycle their old TVs without sending them to a landfill or somewhere overseas. Through the program, recycled TVs were replaced with newer 43" Energy Star certified LG flat screen TVs.

The article describes the origins of green hotel and hospitality movement, provides the experts' opinions on green movement within the industry and predicts the possible future actions of the hotels in the after COVID-19 times. Financial aspects of the implementation of environment friendly actions are also discussed.

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.

Great tech and green practices for the hospitality industry. Innovation in hotel design, guests satisfaction, and technology are paving the way for the future of the hotel industry. The article draws on the new and current trends that easily work with the current climate as well as future tech that will be available in the future.

Absolutely. I feel like I shared something kind of basic but along the same lines. I really want to be on this bandwagon. Giving guests peace of mind in this way is so important now and we have to be above just the basics in this way.