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This article looks at hotel maintenance management from an engineering perspective, with some attention to I.T. It lays out and explains in detail requirements for successful operation and upkeep of a physical plant. For example, it discusses building maintenance, citing "roofing repair leakages, reproofing the entire building, taking care of building surfaces, pitting, & erosion of exterior surfaces," etc.

This article comments on the perceived effectiveness of daily "flash" deals distributed through the internet to provoke the usage of services of a hospitality enterprise. It also addresses current industry challenges hotels face with regards to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The first Cornell study surveyed approximately two hundred international hotels. The results showed half of the hotels have used the e-Marketing "flash" deals technique while the other half abstain siting concerns of brand reputation. However the issue of dissatisfaction from those hotels who use daily deals is also prevalent. The conductors of the study recommend those who use the deals to "start small," clearly define the reason for the deal and examine every aspect of the deal, including limitations, to increase ROI and satisfaction. If the deals are tailored to fit both the hotel and guests' needs they should attract and retain customers. The roundtable discussion then dives into an important branding issue of CSR. It highlights common misconceptions related to sustainability such as going "green" being being costly, guests not appreciating sustainable efforts, and the "wait and see" approach being smart for implementation. With education and communication the hospitality industry can inform their internal and external customers of their sustainable business practices and increase customer acquisition. Rather than being reactive, businesses should be proactive and concentrate on their "long-term brand focus."

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

Hotels are becoming more green world wide. MGM hotels is on board with a green initiative. Hotels electricity and water add up because they have to cool a building , clean and maintain the hotel. IT costs about 800 per room annually in electricity and water costs. MGM hotels reduced the electrivity they use which can help power 12, 000 houses. HOtels are also trying to reduce its carbon emissions. Although as the article states " its very difficult fot hotels to be trully green by their nature" every little bit helps.

This article briefly summarizes how the The Serai resort in the coffee country of the Indian state Karnataka has been harvesting rain water to use for watering their gardens. This article doesn't go into too much detail itself but I did some other research and found that this region of India only gets 8% of their annual rainfall in the months of January-May. This really puts a strain on the region and being able to harvest and store rainwater from the wet season helps especially with superfluous water usage like watering and maintaining hotel gardens. The state made it mandatory to reduce water waste and The Serai has created a surplus. (http://www.karnataka.com/profile/rainfall.html) The Serai resort also uses other green techniques like using waste wood to make furniture for the resort. (http://theserai.in/en/responsible-citizenry.html) I think it's great that the government there has made laws requiring the saving and re-using of rain water. It is especially important for them due to the drastic differences of the dry and rainy seasons but this could be applied almost anywhere. Part of the draw of some hotels is their scenery and gardens but watering these can get expensive and become a waste, especially if there are people in the area who go without a reliable source of drinking water. I think policies like this should be instituted everywhere. I have to give the Serai resort a lot of credit too. Yes, they were forced to start capturing and storing rain water but it seems like they have taken their green initiatives a step further and do more than the bare minimum.

This article is about a decision made by Texas Western, Hotel Management Company, to introduce Cloud-Based Business Intelligent system. According to the interviews with the company executives, this investment is really paying off. This system has taken system responsibility off their hands and allowed them to cut labor costs which were used to prepare daily revenue reports or spread sheets. Mobile access to all the information also appears to be a useful feature offered by Cloud-based system. 

Hey all, here is something interesting I found. It is an article that talks about E-waste and how it is being dealt with in the United States. Over the course of the last decade, many people have come to the realization that electronics, such as televisions and computers could be potentially harmful if not disposed of in the right way. States like Maine have implemented laws, where it is mandatory for people to recycle their products. The laws are intended to prevent a torrent of toxic waste and outdated electronic equipment. The article states, throughout the entire nation an average of 99.1 million televisions sit in people's closets and are unused. Places like Washington State have responded well to the problem. Over the course of a few years, Washington has dumped almost 15 million pounds of E-Waste. Other States Like New York and New Jersey, have banned throwing televisions in regular trash. It is mandatory to take them to a recycling station.

It's time to be green! LET'S RECYCLE!

Frank, I completely agree with your stance on recycling. It really is time for people to take responsibility and care about our planet. With the rapid rate at which technology is being updated, electronic waste will just continue to grow. I am glad that laws are being formed to cope with this tremendous issue. I agree with this statement from the article: '"We think it is unreasonable that an individual industry be designated as trash collector," Mr. Fannon said.' I agree with Fannon's view that local governments should help with recycling electronic waste. I agree because something definitely needs to be done, but the responsibility should not be placed on one group.

The main focus of my article is about the financial connection between India and the U.S. The article discusses a few key issues about India and their tech support in relation to the U.S. It tells us that "India's burgeoning tech sector is responsible for creating more than 400,000 American jobs, according to a report released Monday that prompted calls from leaders in both nations to reform business practices so the industry remains a bright spot in an often unreliable global economy". The article goes on to list some more interesting statistics. For example, "The new study from the National Association of Software and Service Companies, a trade group representing Indian technology firms, said business deals between firms in the two countries have generated $22.5 billion in tax revenue for the U.S. since 2011". I feel that these two statistics are important because in too many cases, Americans feel that "foreigners" are coming to the U.S. and "stealing" all of our jobs. That is clearly not the case with every situation, as the article points out. The article further explains that India is seeking to ease the process of coming into the U.S. to work. They feel that if they are providing their highly skilled techs to come work here and/or gain their American education here than the process of getting the visa should be much more lax than it is for other countries. I don't know if I agree with that one, but I understand their point.

As people continue to move towards a lifestyle that is sustainable and eco-friendly so to are their choices re travel. Llaria Bertini in her ariticle "TripAdvisor launches green initiative for sustainable travel" highlights how the popular travel site TripAdvisor has launched an initiative to assist European travelers in making hotel choices that suit their lifestyle. The initiative called "TripAdvisor Green Leaders" came about as a result of travelers need to stay at more eco-friendly accomodation. Despite that need they had difficulty in obtaining information about hotel practices. Jenny Rushmore, director of responsible travel at TripAdvisor said "We know a lot of travellers in Europe want to be savvy about eco-friendly choices they make on holiday but they don't alwyas know where to go to find that information, " thus the initiative was born. Trip Advisor came on board to provide information for travelers re hotel Green practices , to compare offerings of various hotels as well as to provide reviews not only based on what the hoteliers would provide but from the perspective of persons who would have had a first hand experience at the property. As going green becomes a more acceptable approach for many things in various areas of our lives the hospitality and tourism industry is no exception. As John Alker,director of policy and communication at UK Green Building Council said " For the hotel and leisure sector, going green is not only the right thing to do, its just good business. " TripAdvisor initiative allows us to know which properties are taking the steps towards sustatainability in one place.

The hospitality industry is recognizing how imperative it is to run your hotel in a way where it will not only benefit you and your business but for the environment as well. Many hotels are making an effort to making an effort to become certified by means of having a going green business. In addition to certification, businesses in the hospitality industry are contributing to this go green effort by seeking specific goals and priorities. Hotels for example are focusing on how to save energy and water conservation, solid waste management, land use and indoor air quality. Changing basic hotel equipment such as toilets, solar heating, washing machines/dryers, refrigerators to "green products" can create a big difference in hotel energy costs and help save the environment as well. When a hotel owner applies for certification they are carefully inspected to verify compliance on how well the hotel manages their business efficiently by saving energy, water and disposing wastes properly for example. Even something so small as using the right cleaning supplies can have a positive impact on the environment. Not only does going green lower hotel costs but they also receive tax rebates, zoning permits and other incentives to persuade hotels to go green.

In todays world, where ecoturism is the fastest growing market in the hospitality industry, hotel managers and owners realize the importance of running their properties in an environmentally responsible way. These initiatives usually translate in to greater customer recognition and loyalty. Some of the ways they achieve this is thru certifications, such as LEED which focuses on improvements to buildings and structures in order to maximize operations such as energy performance, conservation of water and other resources.

In an effort to become more environmentally conscious, many hotels and resorts have taken major steps, from pre construction to customer requests, to reduce their "carbon footprint". These establishments understand the value of "going green" not just to increase their long term profits but also to cater to a growing demand for more environmentally friendly recreational outlets. Going green is more than just a fad. Therefore, it is imperative, to stakeholders, within the hospitality and tourism industry to make the necessary changes to maintain a competitive edge.

This article describes the importance of investing in training between front of house personnel, and the IT department. While maintaining the efficiency of both of these departments is half the battle, it is also important to make sure they understand each others roles and needs in challenging situations. Cross training for both of these departments enhances the guest experience, and helps both teams understand the other more.

This article describes step-by-step details on how to properly plan and execute an event. Event planning is not an easy task, and it takes a great deal of coordination, planning, and organization to effectively pull off an effective event, program, gala, etc. Events come in all shapes and sizes and any number of them will have their own unique challenges, but this article lays out some very simple and very plain ways to plan an event that can be applicable to almost any event that can be planned. While not a wholistic list by any means, the article provides a good overview of the event planning process and the steps needed to take to ensure one's event is a huge success and doesn't become susceptible to the common pitfalls that befall so many event planners.

This article is talking about how the hotel cybersecurity keeps guest information data secure and why is very important. Most of the hotel has a really big database of the guest's personal information. Thus, it's easy to have security problems happen in the hotel. Hospitality organizations have to understand their vulnerabilities and always have to make a plan about how to protect hotel guest's data. This article also introduced 4 key areas cybersecurity teams need to focus on. First of all, instill security as a Cultural Norm. When the customer chooses the hotel to stay, which means they trust this hotel, they feel the environment is safe and they trust the digital assets as well. They will connect the Wi-Fi with their personal laptop or smartphone. Therefore, hotelier have to train their employee about provide the safety environment for their guests is necessary and everyone have to focus on it. Secondly, Think Beyond the Credit Card. Every billing system need to be protect customers personal and financial information, the hotel need to think about the multiple endpoints. Third, Be Smart About Responses. When the cybercrimes happen, they need to be reported responsibly and they have to know this thing at the first moment. Hotel have to keep training their security teams and be aware of some bad things happen. The last one, Don't sleep on Insider Threats. There is one thing that hotel have to focus on that the employee may steal data to sell it to other company.

This article mentioned how hotels do not have as many transactions as popular stores have but their transactions are typically more than grocery transactions. Hotels have a lot of personal information for many people and that information should not be leaked, never. It was mentioned that hotels need security as it is a cultural norm, you have to think beyond the credit card, be smart about responses, and don't sleep on insider threats. "Hotels are vulnerable to cybercrimes through a variety of avenues that break with the traditional physical security measures deployed across the hospitality industry. Keeping guests and their assets - both physical and digital - safe is paramount to preserving both the image and financial security of hotels."

This is article is about how many merchants either didn't like or liked their POS system. There are different options that allow many merchants to transition to the new cloud based POS. With the development of cloud-based POS systems, it allows the vendors to be more responsive to the merchants and their needs. Instead of paying for different hardwares, the cloud based POS help businesses save money by having a fixed monthly charge that they can later invest back into their business.

Maestro is an Diamond star hospitality software started in 1978. The software has kept up with all the growing trends in the industry and has finally introduced an integrated system support. Some of the features of this new upgrade include direct help on each screen of Maestro's property software and also the ability to perform screen captures. They have real-time help available with 24/7 tech support with chat feature and screen sharing options. The new upgrade also enables users to request support or training online. These features enable Maestro to optimize it's response times for incidents. These new features give users personalized support and makes them more productive since they don't lose time waiting for tech support to show up. This is a great step forward in PMS technology.

A new technology is being unveiled that can read certain biometric factors of participants and extract information about a customer's likes and dislikes. While wearing the provided headset and wristband, data is gathered based on apha and gamma brain waves, heart rate, and galvanic skin responses. These responses are used to determine a customer's likes and dislikes when in certain environments. This technology can be used to anticipate what guests truly want and need in a travel experience.

I found this article interesting for this week's topic, as it talks about the advantages to sustainable buildings. The article mentions the practice of sustainability has existed in some way for decades. However, now more than ever, there is a drive for responsible construction, for both homes and commercial buildings. Advantages to such buildings include lower costs, as sustainable designs offer energy efficiency. Which leads to the advantage of lower energy consumption, through the use of systems, such as solar panels, or wind energy generation features. Lastly, sustainable buildings can also require less maintenance, allowing for a longer lifespan, and less costly attention. 

This article contains an interview with the CEO of the payments technology company Affirm, Max Levchin. Affirm, established in 2012, is a payment technology firm that allows for travelers to pay for trips via a monthly payment plan. The company fully pays the travel provider and then is responsible for collecting the funds from the traveler. The payment does not need to be paid in full prior to travel. Levchin says that this product is attractive to companies because airline and hotels don't have to worry about interchange, processing fees and fraud. It benefits consumers because they are able to book early when prices are lower instead of "saving up" to book closer to the date of travel, when the trip is more expensive. They have seen an increase in advance bookings with Affirm for trips over $250. He suggests that this will disrupt traditional travel industry e-commerce and make travel more accessible.

This article gives information on the new trend of hospitality: sustainability. Being sustainable does not only save an organization financially by reducing the cost of water and energy but also can be used as a marketing tool to gain new guests via social responsibility. Sustainability has become the future of the industry.