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As technology advances so does the way consumers buy products and services. In order to keep consumers happy the hospitality industry has adapted itself to be more mobile and convenient. Mobility and convenience are two very important factors when making a website or app for E-Commerce. Many hotels and restaurants have created apps for cell phones and tablets so that guest can have convenience and mobility when booking a reservation or ordering a meal. E-Commerce profitability is maximized by using digital marketing. Two major sources for digital marketing are search engines and social media ads. Through digital marketing companies can constantly advertise to consumers anywhere at anytime in a cost efficient manor. Search engine marketing allows companies to increase the number of visitors to their website by putting them at the top of search engine results.

To summarize this article, it mainly discussed how the layout of digital marketing within the hospitality industry is constantly changing and highly important. This is something that is a challenging task for most hospitality businesses, especially hotels. It was said that there are many factors/questions to consider when approaching digital marketing such as " How much does it cost to acquire a new guest and how do we encourage this new guest to book directly through a brand's website?" Websites are plays a vital role in digital marketing are one of the main starting points. Hotels and other hospitality businesses should be frequently updating websites with useful information that compliments more visuals such as images and videos. In addition to that, it was even mentioned how making sure that the website is easy to navigate and readily accessible to customers is essential. After carefully reading more into article, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) was mentioned. This is more like an assessment in a way and a method to show where a hotel or business stands as a brand. For example, if your were to simply google the word hotel, brands such as Marriott and Hilton would most likely be at the top of the list. That is actually good and will benefit those brands greatly in the aspect that there reputation, which possibly stems from online review sites and social media platforms, is well known. These online review sites are capable of monitoring and responding to customer inquiries/comments. The article also touched basis on how the demand of social media presence is vital and should not be overlooked. Social media proves to be cost effective and efficient. Simply using hashtags with either the brand name or keywords can attract prospective customers which in return will generate more revenue. Overall, the article was clear that as far as the hospitality industry goes, digital marketing is something that has evolved in so many ways and can generate good revenue if the plan

Digital marketers in the hotel industry are adapting to the changing climate for OTA's guest expectations, advertising, and competition. Hotel Websites must be clean, low text, and image based with opportunities for guest to comment or ask questions. How to guests find you online? How can we create strategic links from the website to a brand's social channels for increased retention? Business owners will need to learn search engine marketing (SEM) to ensure that sites appear high on listed results of search engines. Paid advertising and Geo-targeting advertisement will be essential in offering the right products to the right markets. Markets must set measurement goals to monitor performance at different stages of ad campaigns and decided if ads should be adjusted. Lastly, the social media craze is still going strong, and being aware of current trend such as Instagram and hashtaging will be crucial in for current success.

This article tells about the perspectives of Hotspot 2.0, the new standard for public WiFi, in the hotel industry. The WiFi Alliance has been working on designing this new standard which is supposed to be much friendlier to the users while making Wi-Fi usage more akin to cellular. It allows automatic WiFi network detection and eliminates the public Wi-Fi log-ins, providing automatic access to secure Wi-Fi networks using a Passpoint profile stored on a device. For hotel guests, this means they would be able to go from using their mobile devices on their personal mobile networks to the hotel's Wi-Fi without having to re-enter their authentication credentials every time. This feature, in my point of view, would be very useful, especially for the business travelers who value every second of their time. Another major benefit of Hotspot 2.0 is improved security by means of enterprise-grade WPA2 encryption, which makes it safer than open public networks. This also will be appreciated by the travelers who often use hotel's WiFi networks for booking different travel services and insert security sensitive data. However, the cost of implementation of this new standard in the hotels is rather high. Thus, hoteliers do not wish to force its realization until they are sure that there is demand from the customers. The polls show that the guests are still unaware of the benefits of Hotspot 2.0 and don't consider it as a key point while choosing a hotel. Yet some hotels try to be before the competition and become early adopters of this technology. They believe that quality of internet connection, as well as additional options, will be a differentiating point for hotels in the future. However, in my opinion, it would be wise to conduct appropriate research and wait until this technology will be close to becoming the industry standard before making significant investments. There is always a chance that the trend will go another way.

This article dives into the ways that technological innovation is disrupting the hotel industry. Hoteliers are struggling to keep up with guest needs and demands. Technological innovations, while a necessity, can never replace human touch. This rapid change represents a challenge and opportunity for the industry to overcome.

This article explains the technological advances in the hospitality industry and how this has been attributed to being a crutch for the industry and/or a burden. With the utilization of technological software such as kiosks, automated checks in's, and mobile ordering, the hospitality industry has had a disruption in the product that they are offering. The article also undergoes the understanding of taking the implementation of technology and the human interaction and combining them to work cohesively in the hospitality industry. Understanding that it is a balance that both must intertwine in order to find success in hospitality.

In this article, all the incredible sides of innovative technology within the hospitality and tourism industry are highlighted and discussed. Along with the discussion of what some of the newest technology is, it touches on how it positively and negatively affects the industry. For example, the article talks about how the average person is so much more willing to go about self-service check-ins and hotels and airports, as well as ordering from a kiosk at a restaurant. From this, while it can be super convenient for the customer, it can also cause extreme damage to the business. Because so much of the industry has transformed to just being at the will of your fingertips, it leaves customers forgetting that not everything comes with instant gratification. "Long queues to check in at the hotel become unacceptable; unresponsive or slow room service lead to negative hotel comments on TripAdvisor; and some expect 24 hours' housekeeping even in a budget hotel", a quote from the article reads. The article also talks about how while there can be many negatives, there are equally as many rewarding positives. For example, "Due to the large numbers of internet users, including mobile, online review platforms, attract lots of traffic which, in turn, means plenty of business potential for the online travel agencies (OTAs) in particular". One of the main points in the article talks about how even though many hospitality jobs are being taken over by computers and AI, the one thing a robot will never be able to grasp and give is human interaction. "A machine can cook dishes exactly to order, but it cannot experience how the guest feels; a robot might be able to deliver a pot of hot water to a hotel room, but it is unable to tell whether the guest is feeling unwell; an advanced voice control system could make it easier to order room service, but it cannot tell whether the guest enjoys the meal". In conclusion, while there are indeed many disruptive changes that have bee

They can work together. Based on this article, this can be beneficial for all industries.

Robotics, virtual reality, and augmented reality can work together to create cutting-edge solutions for diverse businesses. Businesses use robots to increase efficiency while also ensuring employee safety in potentially dangerous situations. Virtual reality and augmented reality, two contemporary technologies, have provided an immersive platform for media and gaming. People can explore strange environments both indoors and outdoors with the aid of AR and VR. The "Three Amigos" can be augmented reality, robotics, and virtual reality when they work together. Robot control using immersive technologies like VR and AR is possible. Business executives need to be aware of the potential benefits of combining virtual reality, robots, and augmented reality. Robots can be programmed to do a variety of jobs using virtual reality and augmented reality. There are two different kinds of neural networks: imitation networks, which attempt to comprehend demonstrations and examine how actions are executed, and visual networks, which use images taken by the robot's camera to understand the current state of an object. Dual neural networks can be used by organizations to enable robots to learn new tasks by monitoring and dissecting several behaviors. Robots that use artificial intelligence (AI) are exposed to a wide variety of data, which helps them learn how to distinguish between distinct objects, group related objects together, and recognize new objects that resemble what they have already seen. The expense and effort needed to gather data and real-world items can be reduced by trainers and developers. Robots can also be taught to recognize certain biological structures in the human body using 3D models. Virtual reality can be utilized to construct teleoperating robots that can function with the help of many sensor displays by employing hand controllers. The homunculus concept of the human brain, which postulates that there is a miniature human inside the brain that controls movement

Augmented reality is flooding the hospitality industry with its many features. As stated in the article, "AR is an interactive experience or enhanced version of the real world to be presented in a more understandable way". Anyone is the hospitality industry knows and are aware of the convenience and satisfaction AR/AI/VI brings to both the guests and businesses. A great example mentioned is the article is how AR can aid travelers from out of the country where there is a language barrier. This provides an untroubled trip, and not to mention a safer trip for someone in a new country. A feature we are seeing a lot now-a-days and many hotels using is 3D models of their rooms and amenities. This allows the guest to tour and experience the hotel without even stepping foot in the hotel yet. AR/AI/VR provides a realistic experience as well as aids in collecting data for businesses and creating better and even personalized experiences.

This article delves into numerous different uses augmented reality (AR) could have in hotel properties. AR is an interactive experience and/or enhanced version of the real world. AR has the abiliy to mobile with internet connection and cell phones. This article suggests interactive hotel rooms, maps, or even guest recognition. They even mentioned how Holiday Inn will allow for cameras on phones to show celebrities in the hotel or even Starwood Hotels utilizing beacon technology to send keys to guests smartphones.

Almost everyone has recently heard of Cody Brocious and his gadget that was implemented and utilized to unlock guest room doors in Onity locking systems. This issue has been recently broadcasted all over the news and has gained the awareness of millions of people, making travelers panic when staying in hotels, and questioning their safety and security. The truth is, behind the issue at hand, travelers have been utilizing hotels and other establishments without being concerned or conscious of their safety, and with some negligence, and lack of attention, they put themselves at risk in numerous different ways. Although Brocious' invention gained the attention of the public, and although he went out of his way to be sure that other hackers out there knew how to replicate the system and how to utilize it to their advantage, enabling hackers to enter guest rooms and steal their personal belongings without their permission, or potentially cause physical harm to a traveler as well. Stated in this article, according to Forbes, the gadget that Brocious invented has proven inconsistent in its effectiveness. That is not to say that it could not eventually be improved, but with the changing in technology, and now the gained awareness, hotels are focusing more intently on ensuring guest security through their technological outlets. Technology affects many aspects of a hotel guest's security - from internet access to credit card information, along with guest room locks and personal identity. The article also suggests numerous ideas for how guests can avoid a lot of problems with their safety in mind, including using secondary security systems on their door, ensuring closure of the room door when leaving he room, as well as never keeping your room number written down with your key. The article also focuses on how utilizing your energy to ensure that your belongings are safe in your room as you would in your own home, is energy more well spent than being concerned about someone

Changes are coming for New York City hotel workers. A proposal between the Hotel Association of New York and the New York Hotel Trades Council would equip hotel staffers with personal panic alarms. Employees like house keepers are calling for the extra safety measures for fear of being assaulted in a guest room. Concern is also circulating outside New York in places like Sacramento, California. The personal security devices were tested on students at California State University at San Marcos last year. I believe hotels will begin to implement more measures like this in large cities like New York. Similar to airports and large department stores, safety is a major concern. I believe the personal panic button is a great idea for any hospitality space that accommodates a large number of people.

I think this new proposal may draw people's attention to employees' safety issues within the hospitality industry. It is also important for hotels and restaurants to make sure that their employees work in an environment that is danger free and threats free. The panic button can provide the instant location of the staff and once if something goes wrong, the time for rescue will be shorten. It is really a beneficial proposal for the entire hospitality industry.

Pending approval, personal panic alarms would be carried by staff members in all New York City hotels. These panic buttons would be carried by the staff member during their shift so that they are easily and quickly accessible should something happen. Fox News in Sacramento, CA reported that house keepers voiced their desire for more saftey measures to be put in place. Assaults on house keepers may be more common than people think. House keepers tend more often to be women and they tend to work alone or with only one other person. Hotels host many events in which guests may be drinking which in turn creates the potential for violent or inappropriate actions. Not only is the safety of guests important to the hospitality industry but safety of employees is paramount as well. Having personal panic buttons would give house keepers and workers alike more peace of mind should they encounter any uncomfortable or unsafe situation.

I found this article to be extremely interesting. It is from 1999, and is discussing the Genting hospitality management system. Having worked at hotels I know and understand the importance of having a property management system. The article states, "Genting is the first company to have developed a hospitality software in the country." The property management system can be incorporated into many different aspects of the hospitality industry: resorts, gaming, theme parks etc. Genting's managing director described the system explaining that that the software "customized to meet the needs of modern travelers". By using this PMS, hotels would be able to improve their customer service, meet the needs of modern travelers, and schedule maintenance more effectively. Not only will this PMS assist with better catering to the guests, but it will also provide a new source of revenue for Genting as they can sell the system worldwide. The article continues to discuss the amount of internet users being able to surpass the one million mark. It is difficult for me to remember a time when there was no internet as almost everything can be done online now. PMS play a very important role in the hospitality industry, especially when it comes to hotels. They assist with keeping track of how many guests are in the property, the names of the guests, their arrival and departure dates, special requests and much more. Genting paved the way for all the PMS in the industry today.

SUMMARY OPERA Property Management System is fully integrated with all the OPERA modules and offers the most extensive list of certified interfaces in the industry. FEATURES: Reservation, rate management, profiles, front desk management, back office interface, room management, cashiering, account receivables, commissions, reporting, fully configurable, global perspective, hospitality system interface, opera express, tailored to fit hotel's operational business needs, scalable to suit the size of the hotel, helps operators to become more productive, profitable and professional, and delivers fast, accurate and online information on property

A lot of hotels use OPERA as their property management system. I have never personally worked in a hotel so I am not familiar with PMS's but from everything that I have read and heard from people is that OPERA is very efficient with everything. This system seems as though it can do everything for your property just the way that you would like it to. OPERA is customizable to your company's needs which seems great. This is a great website that you posted as it informs all of us exactly what this PMS is capable of.

This article talks about the capabilities of a PMS in the coming generation since being implemented thirty years ago. Tina Stehle that PMS will no longer be about seamless communication and integrated services. PMS will be used to 'capture all guest events, information, systems will be able to predict patterns such as spending and preferences as well as evolve the property's loyalty programs and VIP management.' Advancements in Hospitality today are exhibiting these qualities already. For instance, The Intelligent Room, which keeps track of a guest's uses and preferences. Once every business in the hospitality industry gets linked into this all inclusive, ease of access PMS, there will truly be a seamless integration that makes a guest's travel and accommodations easy and incredibly comfortable. However, Stehle says that 'the web will continue to be a major influence' on the changes made to the way PMS works and what it is able to do. The emergence of Cloud-Based PMS proves her point. The issue here is that what if the internet crashes? This question should be addressed now, rather than business relishing the cut in costs, the advancements with the web brings. 

Many hotels may want to chance their accounting systems but at the same time are trying to avoid all of the new costs and possible disruptions that come with a new system. By staying with their old systems though it could end up costing them more money in the long run if the system decides to just stop working and then you lose all of your data.

This article describes what basic capabilities an accounting software for a hotel who is trying to expand globally should have. As well know, it is very important for a company to be able to adapt to changing times. Hotels are an industry that is constantly facing challenges, especially when trying to expand globally. This article gives some very important tips on what hotels should looks for when putting their financial management system in place. For example, expanding globally means a hotel would have to handle different currencies at one time. This is somewhat of a complex task for a company who is new to the global arena. Hotels should make sure to have a system that would make following different sets of accounting and business rules easier for the company. Another example is hotels should have a system that is able to utilize multiple accounting standards. "GAAP, IFRS and local accounting standards require different accounting treatments", therefore, software for hotels should be able to accommodate these variations.

I found this article very interesting as it discusses various aspects that a financial system should have in order to provide the most accurate and timely financial reports and analysis to help hotels to be more efficient and increase profit. According to the article, as all the hotels are evolving and changing at all times and the financial system has to be able to keep up with all the changes. One of the few things a financial management system should be able to do is to handle currency complexity and make sure that the hotel's accounting system can handle multiple currencies. A good financial system should also be able to handle multiple different languages for employees with different language backgrounds and also units of measurements and formats. The system also needs to be able to support multiple charts of accounts. According to Ventana Research 2011, "maintaining multiple charts of accounts may prove to be both simpler in the long run and more productive." Another important aspect of a good financial system it to handle tax complexities for hotels operating in various countries. The accounting software should be able to "handle complexities associated with different tax regulations and help defending tax audits." The last important fact it that the software should web based therefore accessible from anywhere and anytime. I find the last one the most important one as our technology and our PMS are moving into cloud based systems, it is curial that we are moving in the right direction with all of our systems and have them synchronized.

Like any industry, the field of tourism and hospitality must be competitive and technologically advanced. The article addresses six technological trends within the hospitality industry. 1. Virtual reservations - A significant number of patrons reserve their hotels via a computer or mobile device. Thus travel booking websites have become more popular. 2. Virtual check-in and ordering - Check-in kiosks cut down on customer wait time (long lines, short staff, etc.). More hotels and restaurants will be making use of these technologies. As technology advances, consumers shouldn't be surprised to see more futuristic options such as voice recognition, fingerprint and retina ID. 3. Travelers with multiple devices - Hotels have to be conscientious of this fact in terms of room design, public (hotel) space and structure. Customers want to feel secure that they (and their devices) can be properly accommodated. 4. Hospitality staff with multiple devices - This trend is a win-win for employees and customers. Employees can better meet the needs of their customers no matter their location (poolside, bar, lobby, etc.). Also, by collecting data, businesses have a better understanding of customer needs and preferences. Customers have the freedom to be more mobile (in any area of the hotel) without feeling disconnected or not being able to have their needs met. 5. High tech meeting and public space - Hotel meeting rooms and lobbies are receiving technological make-overs to accommodate users who rely on multiple devices. This is great for business as it creates an environment that is conducive to conducting technologically advanced meetings and conferences in a comfortable setting. 6. Online reviews - These reviews are crucial to businesses as well as consumers. On the business end, companies will be able to gauge their effectiveness in all areas via honest customer feedback. Consumers have the opportunity to make better choices after reading reviews based on ot

Today we will discuss the 6 ways that a cloud based system could change the impact of retail forever. This update will make specific information available in real time, and make the experience better for the guests and the staff members. 1. The system will be able to track the live data from the actual floor of the store. For example, it would be able to tell the items that are actually being tried on, and the ones that are bought. This will be a great advancement in marketing, because it helps the business to figure out what it is that their demographic is attracted to. Second, the employees will have access to this data while they are working. This will make it easier to market items to guests, instead of wasting time trying to figure out what it is that they might be looking for. Third, have a track record of their inventory. Employees will have in depth information of their inventory and the inventory of other stores, all real time. This will allow for custom orders and greater guest satisfaction. Four, the system will be able to track the sales associates who are creating the best sales. The store can use this to create contests and provide rewards to the winners. This increases employee motivation and will to work. Five, mobile point of sales system. We had discussed the convenience of a mobile system with the cloud PMS, and now we can see it with a POS. This will have associates engaging more with guests on the floor, and the guests might not even have to wait a line to receive their products anymore. Lastly, it works for any sized company or store. Pricing and accessibility adapt to the size of the location, and is indeed less expensive than bulky software and hardware.

This article discusses the integration of an HRIS system and its potential challenges. When getting the system, employees and management should really dedicate themselves in training with the new system. It is not something that can be learned so easily. In addition, there should be someone familiar assisting with the process, and this process includes the reason for the change. You will need to give the employees the reason why this is being implemented, and all of the new possibilities that can be accomplished. Some possibilities involve the maximization of the ROI. Another challenge includes the formulas within the system, it might be very difficult for users to understand or manage. The last few challenges include legal obligations, and the fact that legal rights are not impeded. The line must be clearly defined. Moreover, you want to ensure that all of the data placed on this system is secure. As long as these challenges are monitored, then the user will be fine.

This article is strongly opinion based by an event manager's perspective on the "new" technology that is being presented for event management. Though the opinion seems negative at times, the author mentions that many of the mobile and web based technologies are helpful in simplifying the event management process. She mentions technologies like Eventasaurus. "which gives the event manager one single tool from which to run all event related event listings across multiple platforms". Nevertheless, the author still believes that the technology being used for event management can be improved. The mobile apps are better for event management because there is not a separate technology that the event manager has to use. The mobile app must work well with the purpose of the event. In all, the author states that event management is a time-consuming hands on profession, however, technology can help a few aspects of the process. In my opinion, I believe that all technology needs to be tested. When it comes to event management technology, it needs to be fast and efficient. It must be able to make the planning process easier. It must also make the collecting of information effective. The author talks about the mobile apps as being better and innovative for the event manager, which is the overall purpose of technology.

the article highlights how companies can benefit from sustainable design and gives tips on preventive maintenance

This article covers the methodology and findings of a study conducted to examine the factors contributing to fraud risk in publicly traded restaurants. The article discusses factors in the fraud triangle, macroeconomic factors, and internal company factors that may contribute to fraud despite protections implemented per Sarbanes-Oxley. The study ultimately finds that internal company factors are insignificant when considering the impact on fraud risk, while macroeconomic factors, such as inflation or unemployment, drastically impact the level of fraud risk that a company may face.

The article outlines the importance of the management information systems. The significances, functions, types, considerations and misconceptions are discussed. The first sentence of the article which is highlighted in yellow is the most crucial part of the article. MIS does not function as one entity, MIS works to service the entire set of business processes and resources within an organization. As MIS combines information from multiple system it gathers an array of information. The more suitable information, the more data that is available to be retrieved in order to assist with positive decision making. The data gathered by MIS is critical for managers. As MIS offers a full circle approach the manager has all the tools available to make a final decision. As noted in the article the primary function of MIS is to help managers take action and answer questions. The article notes MIS is created based on business needs. As no two businesses are 100 percent alike there would be differences in MIS depending on the needs of your organization. MIS should only be used and put into action if it makes business sense for the organization. If the costs will not return positive numbers MIS may not be the option for our organization. If MIS is suitable and has the ability to assist with your daily activities it may be a positive solution for your business. The article ends its overview with misconceptions. One misconception revolving around MIS is that for success to be driven all data must to be used. While it is positive to have an array of information it should always be the manager's role to take in the information and use it as necessary.

This article is about the top emerging technology trends within the hospitality industry. It was actually pretty interesting to read about certain trends that I had never heard of before, such as augmented reality. My main takeaway from this article is that hotels are focusing more and more on incorporating bigger and better technology as we delve deeper into the technological era.

This article went into depth about the recent technological innovations being seen within the hospitality industry and how these pieces of disruptive innovation are changing the way hotels operate forever. One of the main catalysts for an increase in the speed of change has been the COVID 19 pandemic. A move to touchless and more hygenic aspects of operations was essential to get businesses back up and running while investments in these innovations lead the way for more and more advancement. These changes are forcing the whole industry to evolve as the pressure to keep up with changes to food and beverage, guest services, and amenities are all being shaken by technological advancement.

This article talks about the different types of technology created based on the trends in the world of the hospitality industry. Hotels are not trying to continue to be a competitive with technology that appears to clientele. Not only it will entertain guests, but also assist with improving operations and accuracy.