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Commentary - Corporate meetings and events are on the rebound after the recession, but many organizations are also rethinking how technology can help them plan a more budget-friendly and productive business meeting.

Since corporate meetings and events have been suffered recession for quit a while, new they are facing a revolution of high-tech event planing to be more cost saving and more productive. This article mainly introduces those tochnology tools like database tools, attendee registration tools, video/web conferencing tools and even room diagramming tools for event and meeting planing oever the Internet.

This article explains the company, Ruskus Wireless, which has introduced a powerful Wi-Fi Wall switch, called ZoneFlex 7025, with elevated speeds of 802.11n, available for the United States' and European market. This product can offer hotels with the feature of multiple IP service over a single wireless at a minimal cost per room. According to Douglas Rice, Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Hotel Technology Next Generation: "the hospitality market sees enormous benefits that an IP-based network brings in delivering a better guest experience, new services that will lead to drive customer loyalty". This type of technology will allow for hotels to integrate their Internet enabled devices to connect to a single wireless network. Eliminating the limitations of Ethernet cables will improve the areas of guest services, and conference rooms enhancing the experience for guests. Multiple hotels do not have the infrastructure to provide the feature of wireless access throughout their facility, considering the current technological revolution; it has become more of a necessity for hotels to provide this option for their guests. This type of Wi-Fi wall switch will help reduce the cost and complications associated with implementing network services. Fundamentally, Wi-Fi is a common amenity that multiple guests request in every level of travel purpose, which many hotels should implement if their benefit will outweigh the cost.

This article is about a new revolution software in the Quick service industry especially in the Drive-thru area to increase speed of service and customer satisfaction. The new technology called Emprise allows the digital menu board to become a one-on-one sales tool for the quick service provider. Also Emprise has the ability to recognize guests' preferences, personal information and based on that, recommend menu items for customers.

Summary: The variety of gifting options has grown from a simple plastic gift card to virtual cards delivered by email, text, debit/credit cards and more. The prediction for 2013 will exceed a billion dollars of digital gifting for the holiday season and continue to grow. Digital gift cards have made giving easy due to the convenience of redemption. Paper coupons have proven to be successful to draw in consumer activity, but the digital revolution in virtual gifting is expected to explode as people are so connected to their mobile devices. Even with the convenience and growing popularity of digital gifting comes barriers and security issues. Such issues include personal banking security and privacy. Some small to midsize businesses may not be able to participate in digital gifting due to cost barriers or lack of technology. Due to electronic process, paper receipts will be obsolete. Computers aren't perfect so how does one resolve dollar discrepancies. One benefit of virtual giving is the bar codes/QR codes. Companies are able to collect and retain additional information of givers and receivers by scanning the bar code/QR Code. Often people are reluctant to provide contact information, but in this case they aren't being asked, they have no choice. This is a benefit to the companies because they can make other promotional offers to engage and possibly retain both parties, thereby increasing sales. There are a variety of methods of virtual gifting and redemption. One example is Giftly. Giftly adds the value of the gift to the recipient's credit or debit card which can be used anywhere. This is super convenient for many people and they are able to choose whatever they wish rather than receive a gift chosen for them. This is certainly the digital age version of sending a check via mail to a loved one. Other corporate examples that have impacted the transition from plastic gift cards to virtual gifting are Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Applebee's and Starbu

This article is a classic example of companies moving their accounting systems to the cloud as well. Many hotels are following suit since it enables them to have flexibility in managing accounting data for multiple properties. As Todd Asmundson mentions in this article Airline Hotels, a large hotel chain in Canada, migrated all its financial operation and chain data to cloud for easier access and better business decisions. Many features of PVNG's new cloud based software are highlighted in this article. The hospitality industry is marching towards to cloud revolution as well.

More and more, hotels are using IoT (the Internet of Things) strategies. Just like we can use our phones to lock/unlock our house's front door, hotels can use different devices in their properties to boost a guest's satisfaction. Currently, some of the top IoT trends are: Guest-room automation, where a guest's room can change the temperature, switch on/off the lights, and do a few more personalizations around the room depending on whether or not a guest is currently in there; Predictive maintenance, where sensor data is used to prevent issues by recognizing dangerous trends and notifying maintenance before it gets worse; Mobile engagement, where guests can use their phones as room keys among other things; and Hyper-personalization, where rooms could remember a guest's room preferences (temp, lighting, tv channels, etc.) and then set up the room the same way the next time they stayed. However, the fact that all of this is internet-enabled means that there is also a significant risk of information being hacked into and stolen.

This article is about upgrading and renovation for upcoming evolution. It uses some industry example to point out people pursue the personalization, mobile-first experience. More and more companies need to use digital tool or upgrade their distribution systems to cater to people needs. Local distribution, global distribution, technology innovation are the sensitive topic related to the business development.

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 highlights the major shifts in the way hotels conducted business as a result of a technological advance. The first was the rise of Property Management Systems, followed after by the use of Web and OTAs. More recently, hotels have also had to pay attention to their "E-Reputation", and a result, the article predicts that customer relationship management tools will be used to enhance the client experience.

I chose this article because I believe it is a perfect example of how to make the most out of the technology revolution! Blockbuster did not see the opportunity fast enough and so Netflix put them completely out of business. There are advantages and disadvantages to the "wait and see" approach but I think in this case, Blockbuster missed out on a huge opportunity and they didn't look into the future as they should have. As technology is constantly evolving, the only way to keep up is to stay current.

This article goes into depth explaining how technology affects the world that surrounds us. Although technology brings so many good things to our lives, and allows the world to constantly evolve, there are of course harmful things that come along with it. It can affect air quality, the quality of water, land, etc. Over all affecting the quality of life for those affected by this issue. As we evolve with technology, it becomes more of a issue to maintain and to properly dispose of systems no longer being used. This article describes different advancements that are being made in to help resolve this issue.

This article highlights the reality that online reviews can ultimately directly affect the hospitality industry because practically 90% of the population in North America is online. Online reviews can define whether a hotel or airline is the best option for travel, and influence others whether they'd be willing to travel depending on these reviews. The idea is that the Hospitality Industry has to adapt and continue to change as new ideas begin to develop and become the new norm.

This article mentions about the SnapShot Marketplace which is a system that allows hotels to pick and choose the applications they need to run their business. Hotels can customize their entire software and integrate all their data in one place.

Top 10 Technology Trends

This article is about Hostelworld, which is the global hostel-focused online booking platform and its $3 million investment in a company called Tipi Pty LTD. Tipi provides technology solutions exclusively to the hostel market, enabling guests to check-in and download their keys prior to arrival. Hostelworld is a go-to platform for hostel travellers and have a key focus on investing in the best technology for the hostel market. In my opinion, this article brings out two key points about a couple topics that have been brought out and one that is to come. One being the video about technology revolution and staying ahead of the curve. The other being Proximity Marketing, which is a future topic. By Hostelworld investing in Tipi, it positions them as a market leader in the hostel sector. This will generate a huge revenue growth in the company. In regards to Proximity Marketing, giving customers access to their brand centered platform during their stay, it will increase ancillary revenue and improve guest satisfaction scores.

The initial focus of this article is on the cruise line industry's multi-billion undertaking in developing new energy efficient technology. The technology that will be deployed will be integrated with the cruise system in order to assist in reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. BioHiTech Global, Inc has taken a leading role with the development of their new system - Revolution Series Digesters. This system provides both supplies and continuous cloud-based analytics that will help its inaugural client, Carnival Corporation, to reduce their environmental footprint.

In this article you will be able to see the different types of technologies that restaurants have incorporated post-covid.

As you read and examine the article, you will find that there have been many technological developments in AI and robotics. It has intrigued many on how applying intelligence to robotics will further innovations. Additionally, the article mentions how robotic dates back to 1898 and Nikola Tesla/s story and how fifty years later, Alan Turing, a mathematician explored the potential of AI. Moreover, as the two were combined together to create an AI robot currently many top companies have adapted the use of AI or AI robot technology to help in different industries with different services and duties.

This paper is designed to give human resource professionals a blueprint to follow for any type of human resource software selection, from stand alone applicant tracking systems to fully integrated HRIS and Payroll solutions. Software selection is invariably a more complex process than we originally estimate and one with long term consequences for an organization. It requires a careful and thoughtful approach to fully address the issues and impacts related to your decisions. Some steps may be combined or performed concurrently, but the authors strongly believe that human resource professionals will optimize their selections by following the process as presented Step 1: Teamwork Step 2: Goals Step 3: Big Picture Step 4: Future Needs Step 5: Technical Environment Step 6: Budget Step 7: Specs Step 8: Build vs. Buy Step 9: Research Step 10: Literature Step 11: RFP Step 12: Evaluate Step 13: Demos Step 14: Evaluate Again Step 15: Decision Points Step 16: Check References Step 17: Demo Again Step 18: Evaluate Again and Select.