Group items tagged

growth of the urban population

121 million in 2016 to 151 million in 2019

$22 billion of travel is bought online in Latin America today

Smartphone penetration is driving mobile shopping and engagement

impact of social media in travel

TripAdvisor

the key is to personalize the traveler’s journey

traditional travel agents

Travel sellers who register by contacting their Business Development Manager receive an On-Board Value Booklet that contains coupons valued at more than $200 in savings off shipboard services and can take advantage of reduced deposits for their clients.

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners fly 44 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations, with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica.

Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre's software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more than US$120 billion of global travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world.

can be attributed to unfavorable comparisons caused by Japan's March 2011 earthquake and tsunami

Monthly bookings likely will continue to trail 2011 levels for the next few months but might begin to pick up later in the year.

The Global Hospitality Accounting System Users Guide will provide for a wider community of information users, and demonstrate approaches to the production of alternative analysis of data for hotel performance measurement.

the AquaRecycle system maintains its temperature at 120 F, achieving significant energy savings by eliminating the need to heat cold water

ability for event planners to create their own Personalized Group Web Page

Complete control placed in the hands of the event planner without depending on hotel

A means for event planners to promote their events and display important event details for attendees/guests

A booking mechanism that directly links to the group block

Based on Sociometric Solutions’ finding that people who ate in larger lunch groups were more productive,

Human resources consultant and writer Susan Heathfield of Williamston, Mich., agreed that creativity and productivity are better when employees work together on site.

“We have found that when we put together teams of seven to 12 people and give them an assignment,” they do phenomenally and socialize more than people sitting in cubicles,

Michael Arena, a former Bank of America executive, believes that more companies will adopt sensor technology to assess and improve performance.

"I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well.

Yet more card-free security systems are on the way.

Many industry watchers are keeping an eye on Houston's largest hotel, the vast 1,200-room Hilton Americas–Houston. The hotel has a facial recognition system that can identify and track guests, employees, and even suitcases. With 700 employees and an annual $16 million payroll, the system offers benefits such as employee time-theft monitoring and prevention for the hotel. But travelers aren't that concerned about employees taking an extra cigarette break. What it means for you is that the system includes alerts if unwanted people are on the property and a response time of mere seconds if there's an incident. Customer service is heightened as well: Returning guests will be recognized and greeted by name. And with 1,200 rooms worth of luggage in transit, the system makes it a lot easier to find lost or misdirected bags.

not everyone wants to be on-camera, all the time. With concerns about "snooping" and a Truman Show-like lack of privacy, might guests feel that systems such as this are too intrusive in our hotels? "

Technology is opening new doors to hotel safety, and the way we navigate hotels is set to change in the blink of an eye. Or the swipe of a cellphone. Or the print of a finger. With futuristic systems like scent and iris scanners and digital facial-recognition, hotel security is being taken to the next level. #plain_module { width: 590px; height:170px; border: none; float:left; margin:0px; font-size:12px;} #plain_module img {border:none; width: 13px; height:14; border: 0px; margin:0px; } #plain_module .mini_main { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:585px; height:220px; repeat scroll 0 0} #plain_module .mini_item_header {padding:10px 0px; margin: 0px 0px; font-size:16px; color: #555555; border-bottom:1px dotted #CCCCCC;} #plain_module .mini_item {padding:5px 0px; margin: 0px 0px;} #plain_module a { color: #49A3CA; text-decoration:none; } #plain_module a:hover { color: #F98419; text-decoration:underline;} span.gray {color:#949494;} .mini_main li{list-style-type: none;background-image: url(http://www.aolcdn.com/travel/bullet);background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: 0 1px;padding-left: 10px;} Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact-less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access. Much like the cruise world's one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York's Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties. But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether. "In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone," says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. "When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message." You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well. Movement-activated video-capture systems were showcased in New Zealand in September 2010. Researchers are at work on devices capable of recognizing an individual's gait or walk and even their DNA. Frank Wolfe says, "If you want to go 'way out there', there are some systems being explored that can allegedly sniff someone, and also systems that can recognize the pattern of blood veins on a human being which are apparently unique to the individual," says Wolfe. Quite common in Japan, vascular-recognition systems such as this are still "several years off," according to Wolfe. "I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."

The OTA will also profit from the speed of results the Sabre GDS delivers across the distribution system’s vast breadth of content.

they reliably deliver technologies that are easy for us to adopt and easy for our customers to value.

Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry.

software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew management.

It is estimated around 69% of online people will use social media when considering booking a trip, with 44% of customers acknowledging they would only book a hotel after reading an online review. Studies have also shown that 74% of travelers will now write some form of online assessment of their trip.2 

52% of Facebook users indicated that the photographs on their friends Facebook page had a direct impact upon their decisions when booking future holidays.4

Research has shown that up to 98% of people believe TripAdvisor reviews are trustworthy.8

The site holds one of the largest collections of photographs in the online world and has a resource of well over 200 million reviews.6 Every month, these reviews are accessed by over 260 million unique users.7

Each year, it is estimated TripAdvisor is responsible for over $10 billion in online travel purchases in the US alone.5 It lists over 890,000 establishments, covering more than 45 countries

Consumers are willing to believe social media reviews because they think they are written by people like themselves.

There have been several instances where positive reviews have been shown to be written by members of staff.

The assumption is, the person reviewing is like ‘me’ and the problem is, they aren’t. The reviewer may come from a very different background, have very difference experiences of the types of hotel they are staying in. From this perspective, it is clear to see their review will be biased, either positively or negatively. In either instance, the value of the review is diminished.

They can no longer afford to use the same systems that worked effectively 20-30 years ago.

Technology has moved on and the hotel sector must adapt to utilize it.10

This can be through positive reviews on TripAdvisor or the sharing of unique content on social media.11 The days of ignoring negative comments are gone, the hospitality sector must be prepared to use social media to its advantage and be ready to respond to negative observations in an appropriate way.

The event management software market study discusses the key trends within countries contributing to growth of the market, as well as analyses degree at which drivers are influencing the market in each region. The key regions and countries assessed in the event management software market report include North America (U.S., Canada), Latin America (Mexico, Brazil and Rest of Latin America), Western Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, , Nordic, Benelux and Rest of Western Europe) Eastern Europe (Russia, Poland and Eastern Europe) APEJ (China, India, ASEAN, A & NZ, and Rest of APAC), Japan and MEA (North Africa, South Africa, GCC, and Rest of MEA) in the  global event management software market report.

The key competitors covered are Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd., Cvent, Inc., Bizzabo Inc., Eventbrite, Inc., Eventzilla, etouches Inc., Zerista, Certain Inc., Ungerboeck Software International, Social Tables, Gather Technologies, Inc. and Xing Events.

However, factors such as high initial cost of deployment and lack of technically skilled professionals are hindering the smart hospitality market growth.

The software helps in facility & emergency management response systems, building energy management, water management, security management, and parking management which will further reduce cost and save time on these services. This, in turn, will increase the demand for smart hospitality services, thereby positively impacting the overall market growth.

Global hotel chains are increasingly investing heavily in smart hospitality solutions including in order to improve customers' impressions and satisfaction. Moreover, hotel companies are also adopting smart hospitality solutions as they help to save operational costs and generate more revenue while enhancing their hospitality services to customers.

The increasing number of contractors are teaming up with different tech firms to build smarter hotels with low cost and less time which, in turn, is positively impacting the smart hospitality market growth.