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This article is talking about more and more hoteliers would like to invest technology to their property in order to attract more customers. According to a research of Samsung Electronics UK and hospitality, IT Support company Cardonet 82% hotelier said they agreeing that invest technology can keep their royalty customers and increase revenue. For every hotelier, the goal is to boost occupancy levels which means hotel can increase their revenue. Most of the hoteliers believe technology can help them to achieve this goal. Being closer to the IT resellers and suppliers and always focus on how to invest the new service that will gain more customers and increase hotel's revenue. For most of the hotel, there still have a challenge for them to investment new technology such as customer not accept the emerging technologies and dear of changing the new technologies. Some customer may won't use Wi-Fi or the old school people they won't like to use the smartphone as a room's key. On the other hand, it's not easy to invest the new technology for a hotel, the old system may not accept the new tech or the system won't allow the old data and the new tech stay together.

This is one of the astonishing software I have come across. The Chinese tourist town in Wuzhen, have started using this software in many of its hotels, even at the port of entry on the airport. The software senses the face of the individual and authenticates it with the proof identification shown by the individual. The software has huge amount of data stored inside it, this makes the check in procedure easier for the hotel. The software recognizes the faces of the individual accurately, research shows that the software so far has an accuracy of 99.8%. This software is about to substitute the finger print software, which was time consuming. The software is believed to be more secure and safe than the finger printing.

This article discusses the promising technological advances going on in the space of proximity marketing. It details the advantages that proximity marketing can offer companies over traditional marketing methods and even lays out several ways that companies can get started in the space. Give how many times the average person checks their phone a day and the growing number of companies that are expected to adopt beacons, the technology used to broadcast content to a specific physical location, it makes logical sense that the technology for proximity marketing will only increase. That is why systems like Coaster CMS, the Content Management System, listed in the article will continue to be more prevalent as the need to have a firmer grasp on the content being delivered to customers becomes increasingly more important and used in a more widespread fashion.

the article gives examples of retail stores and how they use proximity marketing to promote their products

This article is about the POS system at Hilton hotels and how it was breached by malware that put consumer data at risk. I found this article interesting because Hilton does not use unattended POS systems, which are what are most commonly targeted in information phishing attacks. This is definitely something that affects all aspects of the hospitality industry, and we know that consumer data is very sensitive. Hotels and other hospitality agencies are trusted to maintain high levels of confidentiality. It would be interesting to see how such a malware would have affected a smaller company with less counterattack resources.

this article is about why sustainability is key to our industry.

The article discusses 5 potential use cases of artificial intelligence with a focus on travel and hospitality. The first example is of driverless vehicles and airplanes and the second speaks of AI receptionists and robot concierges. Other examples include AI-powered travel agents that use deep learning and create customized holiday packages for guests in the future. Biometric recognition as a replacement for passports has also been discussed along with using AI for green tourism. In general, the article highlights the role of AI technologies in improving travel efficiency and sustainability while acknowledging that there are pitfalls and that these technologies still require years of development.

This article talks about companies transitioning to multifactor authentication as an added layer of protection of cybersecurity.

In the United Kingdom, the hospitality and leisure industry has become the third largest recipient of Funding for Lending Scheme loans. The only industries that lead the hospitality and leisure sector are agriculture and healthcare. This industry is a major lending market for NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland, which sees over £200m FLS loans to date. The current head of leisure for commercial banking at NatWest and RBS recently stated he was thrilled to help clients in this industry create cost effective funds. Additionally this team was created in September 2011 to focus on the hospitality industry. From 2011 to 2012 there was an increase in lending of eight percent. I find the concept of banking dedicated to the hospitality industry to be both beneficial and interesting. I feel this can help a business focus on creating the right types of investments in the hospitality field in order for a business to succeed. This can help small hospitality firms, hotels, restaurants, and other related businesses to seek financial help from someone who understands the field in the banking and investment industry. A dedicated system can focus on the needs of a hospitality business since it only focuses on this type of business for FLS loans.

This article is about the Hotel Security Management which including membership comprises of large, five-star hotels across the UK. This club is for the information exchanges for the hotel security establish. Hotel security managers in Glasgow, for example, have operated a 'Hotel Watch' scheme since 1992. Here, managers and security staff use e-mails and faxes to alert fellow scheme members about specific incidents that have happened or been prevented on their premises. And the hotel security grated level is different depends on the how develop and promotion for the country or area. Especially, "Provincial hotels generally have poor or average security precautions in place," according to Fairweather. "Usually, I'd only rate them at around four or five out of ten unless they employ a security professional." What is more, recommendations for basic hotel security would include the installation of bespoke CCTV systems, access control and perimeter security, electronic keys for bedrooms and storage areas designed to protect cash and valuables belonging to members of staff and residents.

This article is about a company, NoWait, that is quickly expanding throughout the U.S. and Canada.  They provide technology in the form of software or apps on an iPad that helps busy restaurants to maximize table turnover and minimize wait times for guests.

This article is talking about the comparison between the traditional retail model and the E-commerce model. People put more attention on the online business rather than the traditional system. From the data of Martec international, it says the spending in the IT has declined since 2003. In the helping of the computer and internet technology people understand the benefits in online. The internet is fast and convenient so that retailers can stay at home and manage their products. People do not be out of home and talk with customers face to face. In the past, the store system was the major part of the IT budge. But nowadays people are seeking another way to decrease the expense and focus on the mobile sales. With the demands of the retailers the CRM, mobile and cloud-based applications are designed, these application are working for implementing consumer solutions and then enable a Omni-channel experience for customers. Now even though the e-commerce does not have many users, the potential users is worth to be mentioned in the retailers. The e-commerce has a bright future prospect.

"Hilden, supplier of linen products and related services, has launched a solution for the hotel industry, fitting laundry with ultra-frequency Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, making it easier to track stock. "

In the United Kingdom, hotels are using ultra-frequency Radio Frequency Identification RFID Tags to help track linen demand and theft. Supplier of linen products and other related services have offered the hotel industry-fitting laundry with RFID technology. The idea here is for hotels to monitor and control linen demand and theft by allowing them to adjust and manage supplies accordingly. Keeping track of towels and linens has become for some hotels time consuming and costly. This technology gives full control of the rotation of stock removal and creates a platform that enables hoteliers to view stock on a real time basis. How is this done? Each tag is inserted into the product with a unique ID number, making it possible to monitor the number of washes and provide an accurate audit trail.

It will be an interesting experience that you can place a drink or food order with your special requirements and to pay the bill if using a card by your own iphone, iPad, or Android smart phone? The product, dubbed 'the waiter in your pocket, made this become true. The app uses a cloud-based system, hosted by QikServe, to receive orders, connecting with the restaurant's own EPOS system, so the front and back of the house can view the order as soon as possible. It is time efficient and cost saving. Since it is cloud-based, there are no hardware or software requirements for the operators. Besides the staff costs can be reduced to a large degree because a lot of work can be done by the system. We can also expect improvements in service quality for most of the causal restaurants or chain restaurants. Staff spend more time taking care of  each table with less time spent on ordering and cash handling. The system can help to capture consumer behavior and send target offers to them. QikServe is linked to social networking sites, so we can view feedbacks posted by customers directly. It is a good choice for casual restaurants and chain restaurants to apply this system.

According to the article, a survey sponsored by SAP suggests that businesses are looking to make investments in IT and effective use of technology is seen as a key priority in achieving growth. When it comes to technology, becoming more efficient and using IT more effectively over the next year is among the top three priorities of those surveyed, with 46 percent saying using technology more effectively was a top business priority. The survey indicated this was especially important in emerging countries, including India (72 percent), Brazil (75 percent), Russia (33 percent), China (44 percent) and Mexico (33 percent). In addition, 60 percent of respondents said they are automating more tasks and functions now than three years ago.

According to an Economist Intelligence Unit survey, the survey of more than 1,000 SMEs included businesses from the developed economies of France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the United States. 53 percent of those in developed markets said growth were a top business priority. Effective use of technology was seen as a key priority in achieving growth, and according to respondents, the three main internal obstacles to growth were finding and keeping new customers, hiring and retaining people with the right skills and operating the business efficiently. When it comes to technology, becoming more efficient and using IT more effectively over the next year is among the top three priorities of those surveyed, with 46 percent saying using technology more effectively was a top business priority. The hotel industry usually does not invest enough to grow compared to other industries. I believe it is because they consider being a technological leader in this industry does not bring more profit than they invest. Investing on technology might not bring instant profits but it can be one of ways to become a top business priority.

The Nation 2010 report mentioned that 41% of UK hospitality business do not have capability to trade online, but the chance of internet cannot be overlooked in the future. Website: a website can provide your customers a good place to visit ,they can see the plenty of food quality and high resolution images of your hotel Google: google is a well known tools which can help your business cannot be overlooked. If you put your hospitality address on google map ,customers will find you when they use google maps. That is an effective way to do your online marketing business. Social networking: company can use twitter ,facebook of youtube as social networking tools to maximize marketing. Youtube： when put a simple video clip about the location of your company, or you use the video show your products to customers, the method can attract a lot of potential guests . Offer vouchers online: online voucher sites are a good way to enhance your presence online and reach new customers. Broadening your reach: over 60% of UK dinner go online to research restaurants and more and more customers choose to search hotels through internet ,it is convenient for them to visit these information at home or abroad. Online orders: software form companies like supercontrol can be integrated on to our site to provide real time booking information. Some tools may not be so appropriate to some age groups but do not rule anything out. You can conduct a survey to figure out which one is your customers most often visit.

Too many companies do not realize how important it is for them to have a representable website. A company that has a webiste shows people it is more likely a legitimate company. A company with a nice website tells people its employees take whatever they do seriously, in which make it easier for potential customers to consider using its service. How many times have people nevigate away from a website only because how pathetic it looks not even caring how good the company is? All the money a company spends on advertisement and marketing can go to waste after just one click.

E-Marketing emerged because of the Internet, today, there has an app called 'Hotels with Me' lunched by Hotels.com as an affiliate program in Facebook. Owners of Facebook information pages in the UK, Italy, France, Sweden and Germany can now install this app and earn commission on bookings made through it. 'Hotels with Me' is a hotel search engine run entirely through Facebook. This app has been launched on UK Facebook page in 2010 and grows strongly across APAC and Europe. It enables people to browse, choose and book hotels from almost 140,000 properties worldwide. It is easily to install which just needs a few seconds. And Josie Shah, director of partner marketing at hotels.com regards the app as a unique innovation for them. He thinks the app will be interest to championing sports events, bands or concert tours. And this app is not only convenience for users but also a market expend for owners. Also a video explains how the integration works through a link. http://www.choosewithme.com/affiliate-marketing/

I read an article takes about a mobile app which can help customer makes reservation of same-day hotel room on their mobile rather than on the internet. I think these two apps have the same function which helps the customer browse and book properties much more convenient.

This article is focussed on the risk involved if the proper impact study is not undertaken prior to implementation of extensive IT projects. Several multinational companies were referenced in the article, highlighting failures with smooth implementation resulting in the loss of millions and sometimes billions. Below is a summary of some companies referenced in article and the impact of IT implementation gone wrong: 1. Levi Strauss: In 2003 Levi Strauss examined its technological capabilities and concluded that its systems were inadequate for its multi-national corporation operation within 110 countries. A budget of US$5 million was created for a system upgrade. Many challenges along the way resulted in the inability to sufficiently report financials resulted in three distribution canters in the USA closing for a week. As a result of this, the company lost US$200 million and the termination of the chief information officer in 2008. 2. Hong Kong Airport: IT problems resulting in glitches in flight information system and database for tracking cargo shipment resulted in a US$600 million loss between 1998 and 1999. 3. Hershey: About 10 years ago Hershey wanted to implement a new order taking system. Problems with implementation resulted in the inability of the company shipping US$100 million worth of candy in time for Halloween thus impacting the company's bottom-line of an 18.6% loss in earnings during the quarter. 4. Kmart: in 2000 Kmart embarked on aUS$1.4 billon IT modernization project. In the midst of the project Kmart discovered that the project had too many customized application which would result in an exorbitant maintenance costs. An additional US$600m was spent on integrating a supply chain management system. Failure of this project led to bankruptcy filing by Kmart in 2002. This resulted in the closure of 600 stores and the loss of over 60,000 jobs in the USA. 5. Auto windshield (UK): Auto windshield was considered to be the second largest auto glass c

As it happens, the restaurant industry is leading the way in IT innovation. A UK-based online reservation provider called Livebookings will soon be rolling out a software package that will allow restaurants to manage their bookings, promotions and customer feedback in real-time. This allows restaurateurs instant data analysis of customer trends and behaviors, and gives them the ability to develop timely strategies to draw in new customers.  Before cloud computing, the need for a significant investment in IT meant restaurants were hesitant to use computing to interact with their customers. Now all they need is access to the internet. Going hand in hand with this new infrastructure is the development of mobile apps, which ultimately put the power in the customer's hands, or pockets, as it were.

From this article,I think it is amazing to have such revolution of POS system. First of all, POS system itself is wonderful for the hoteliers all these years. The latest i-trends and NFC put it much further step to not only free the employees,but also bring efficiency to the customers. It is said that "the point of sale on the move" which free the employee to use the mobile device to control everything it matters of the business. It makes hoteliers more flexiable and at the meanwhile, it provides quantity information. The other innovation here is that there is one IPAD POS kiosk which allows self-service card swiping system so the customers can complete their own transaction. Though this technology is the only IPad enclosure, it help eliminate theft and tampering. Then ,when the growing trend of Near Field Communication comes, it free the customers another further step to eliminate the necessity to carry money/credit cards to pay their bills. This technology is also come with the smartphone by just swiping the mobile device across a special kiosk at the counter, and the payment is done quickly. This technology also developed another growing technology "RFID" card readers. Another name for the NFC is the digital wallet means that a customer's device can store all their bank account details and credit card information with no need for a real wallet. That's amazing for the people who are not good at financing. This technology can really impact the hotel market and bring the competitive advantages for the hotels. It's a new trend for the hotel to update themselves to level-up. This trend is also fit the market nowadays, the consumer is more and more younger, they curious about the high-tech things, the success of Apple proves this trend. In order to meet with the customer needs in current hotel industry, this technology is worth to have a try.

This article talks about the importance of POS systems in the hospitality industry and the new technological trends that are affecting it. POS systems are extremely important to hoteliers primarily to keep track of sales and bookings. With recent technological developments though, POS systems have revolutionized that hospitality industry by increase efficiency and production. The newest trend in these accounting and POS systems are cloud-based technologies. I believe this type of technology will allow for busy hotel managers to track all accounting information through either a smart phone, PC, or even tablet. This type of technology, as stated in the article, would allow for managers to keep track of sales data and profits even when they are away from the office. All in all, I believe this is a very helpful technology for hotel operations and will benefit the industry in the long run.

Allow the customers to to use smartphone across a special kiosk at the counter to pay may benefit restaurants a lot. It may reduce the stress of the servers in the peak time. Customers no longer waiting a long time for the servers to get their bill, they can pay by themselves through mobile devices. Moreover, the customers do not need to bring their wallets to the restaurants which may improve the security of the restaurant environment.