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With Apple came a new era to the contemporary technological world in which some people and businesses can not operate with PC, because Mac interface and overall features seem to be more user-friendly, but however most of those people and businesses want to operate Mac, using PC features. So, this article suggests how to keep both systems working and what are the means, advantages and disadvantages to that

This article talks about the full integration between Hotel Concepts' Integrated Distribution Property Management System (IDPMS), the Brilliant PMPRO property management platform and the 3CX Hotel Module, a comprehensive PBX telephony system designed specifically for the global hotel industry. The 3CX is an add on that turns the 3CX phone system into a full featured hotel PBX, and with this new integration, it can directly interface with hotel concepts 'IDPMS or Brilliant PMPRO. this is one of the inexpensive ways/means to carry out property operations when compared to other PBX providers who charge high premiums, making it very affordable along with the VoIP technology. since the hotel and travel market is on an upward trend , integrated technology solutions like these can make those operations cost-efficient, as making calls all over the world is so expensive, and along with this, also streamline the operations by combining the extensive telephony experience with the knowledge of the global hotel industry, which will also set new standards in hotel management and communication.

This is a new technology for hospitality employees to be able to communicate between each other. THis new handset is durable and substitutes multiple other devices including alarms. It also cents text messages and alarm notifications, so everyone is up to date.  This device color codes different departments so people do not get confused and deliver services promptly. 

I really like this new technology. Especially the color-coded function. It's like sending an order by colors to the staff. It avoids the misunderstanding from vague oral communications.The new handset's high quality audio system means that conversations can be heard more easily, even against a noisy background, while the built-in vibration feature means users can always tell when they are wanted, even if they can't hear the ring. This is really cool too. Communication is so important in hospitality industry. The daily function mostly depends on how well that each department communicate. This new device save people a lot of time and energy to worry about whether they receive the right order or not.

This is a very comprehensive article that talks about the web-based, Software as a Service systems (SaaS). It is different from the traditional PMS and it has advantages over the traditional one. The author gave us five advantages of SaaS. All of the five advantages are so good that after read this article, I think there will be a trend that it will be the SaaS world in the future and this trend will continue.  However, the author didn't write any disadvantages. Usually for a company to make a decision before the company knows not only the pros and but also the cons.

The advantages offered by SaaS systems are very similar to that of which property managers have to solve. It controls property's operations such as processing reservations, check-ins and check-outs. Saas stands for Software as a Service which drives the attention of new technology for property management which includes moving tenant services online, offering web site creation and integration, eliminating the need for extensive software training and maintenance, enhancing communication between the owners and managers and it helps improve record keeping and security.

With technology evolving the property management  software.  Most  vendors are now offering  web-based, Software as a Service  is being  adopted by most property managers are adopting it because  they the advantages of the SaaS model help them accomplished most of their goals.which are to move tenants services online,  offering website creation and integration, eliminate the need for software training and maintenance ,improve  record keeping and security as well as better record keeping.  Furthermore this service can be accessed on smartphone as well as tablets. And also one of the primary characteristics of SaaS property management vendors is that they've designed their systems specifically to be easy-to-use and to appeal to those who aren't especially tech savvy. This results in a faster learning curve for property managers who are not technically proficient. And also it offers  better record  keeping since it  back up the data.

this article basically talks about the relationship between travelers who are active on social network and their favorite brands. Also, it shows how social networks, smartphones, and other mobile devices is a critical for travel companies.

This article discusses a war between American Airlines and Orbits, and how they cannot come into an agreement in regards to using the GDS. American Airlines is mainly the provider for most of the fares and traveling but orbitz is there other marketing strategy that is used to sale the tickets online. Nonetheless, American wants and pushes for travel agents to use their direct system to book flights rather then using Orbitz or another chain of coming to book travelers flights. America does offer a variety of prices depending on different categories, as well as frequent flyers miles/points if they book with American website and sources. In essence, American Airlines still wants to have control of their flights and prices as they are the main sources from the beginning of time.

More and more retail stores are converting to iPad tablets as their POS software. Some stores are using them only for customer internet searches and product display capabilities but many are starting to use them for bigger tasks such as checking inventory and entering product orders. This takes away the need to run back and forth between the stock room and sales floor with pen and paper. As a result, customer service is increased because sales floor presence is greater. Some benefits of order management using the tablets as their POS software are increased employee productivity, reduced out-of-stocks, and more payment flexibility. Now you can use tablets as payment devices with credit cards.  DecisionPoint Systems, a leading provider of mobile and wireless systems for retailers, is now offering an application to help retailers personalize their customers' shopping experience. Aruba Networks has recently presented a new tablet-based software that allows customers to check out from anywhere in the store. Having worked in the retail industry for many years, I think this technology for back-office purposes is very useful. One of my employers had started using tablet technology during my time there and I can attest that it does increase employee productivity. It makes doing inventories, size checks, and ordering management so much easier and faster. Employees are able to stay on the sales floor longer which is especially beneficial in the case of being short-staffed or during shift changes. However, I am a bit skeptical about using these tablets as a form of check out from anywhere in the store. Unless the store has security measures in place for this, it does not seem very theft resistant. Especially in a clothing retailer in which sensors need to be removed. The cashier would have to be carrying around a sensor remover at the time of check-out to make this system really time-saving. 

This article addresses the differences between how CIOs in mid-sized companies and those in large companies behave towards IT investing in times of economic hardship. Specifically, it points out the mid-sized companies are quicker to jump on board with IT investments in hard economic times based on the premise that the cost benefits will be greater if they invest sooner. They were more likely to overspend in IT to try and get a step ahead. The larger companies were more likely to take a wait and see approach and to cut back on their IT budget in hard economic times. These larger companies tend to wait longer to make sure that the IT investment will pay off. When the economy is more stable, the spending between the two becomes more closely aligned. It appears that the mid-sized companies scramble to find any IT tech angle available in hard times to try and get ahead. In slower times, the mid-sized companies behave more like the large companies.

Travelers who checked in to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles between April and December last year are being advised to review their credit card statements and credit reports this week after hotel officials warned of yet another security breach.

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles had a security breach where their point of sale system for processing debit and  credit card transactions have been hacked. Data such as guests name, cedit and debit numbers and expiration date were jeopardized. Hackers had not been able to access information from the Hotel's computer system and neither did they affect guest room charges. The Director, Michael Czarcinski apologized and offered free credit monitoring services for those who used their cards during that nine month period.

This article informs us on the different levels of integration to accounting, ecommerce, rental, shop management and other software modules. There is a slight difference between integrated and interfaced. Interface is when the system is linked to another accounting system like quick books or Peachtree in order to transfer data between them in order to communicate with third party programs. Integrated modules use the same file and information, data is consistent in order to avoid double entry. Most accounting systems are built in and tightly integrated into the software so there is an instant update of inventory quantity, customer history, account receivables etc. There are some advantages of a separate accounting package which include saving money, no retraining, and better overall design with stand alone accounting systems. Some disadvantages of a separate accounting package will be out of date information, updates and maintenance can cause problems, difficult configuration. The built in (integrated) accounting includes updates, quick reference, and easy configuration. Disadvantages are poor design. According to this article it seems that accounting systems which are integrated are far more efficient then interfaced accounting systems. Although it clearly states that both words are used interchangeably and both can give plenty of problems with the software. But with integrated individuals are just working with one program while with interface individuals have to learn two programs and user interfaces.

This article basically talks about an outsourcing accounting company, Indevia Accounting and how its accounting program works for small businesses.  The list of services Indevia offers is long, from recording and reporting daily and weekly sales, to offering accurate bank and credit card reconciliations, and everything in between. Indevia reports in real time, offers consistent reporting. Operators can see their food and labor costs and they can vary those based on where they find inefficiencies.  The owner of Indevia accounting was an accountant and he even designed himself a 20-point review checklist to catch mistakes in any of their reports so that they could learn what they need from the clients.  This article seems a little bit advertising but I could think that it is important to have a personalized accounting program that will best fit our specific needs.

That's a good sign that he took the initiative to implement essentially a system of checks and balances with the 20-point review checklist. Just knowing that he accepts that there may be some flaws but he is being preemptive would make me more confident in investing in his program.

Netiquette is network etiquette on the internet through emails, websites, etc. Some core rules would be to always use spell check, never use all caps, tell the truth, be yourself, do not flame or spam, be conservative, do not send email at night, shop on secure sites and use discretion. The common conventions of online communication between users are the rules of netiquette. Netiqutte takes into account the context of how information is shared. Internet etiquette is centered around data and its use. The type of data are; text, audio, graphic and video. Netiquette is social code for network communicatin. The internet is the most popular digital network in the world, therefore it is centered around internet use because its the culture of digital networks and the internet if the most popular in the world.

I think this article represents a good balance between the 'wait and see' approach and the 'ahead of the curve'. Biometric technology has been around for a while now and it has been proven to be very effective. This hotel is creating a competitive advantage without compromising service and guest satisfaction.

This article introduced base information about property management system. At first, the author introduced the basic functions of PMS. Then the author introduced the benefits of PMS. Finally, the author told the importance and what hotels need consider to install PMS. The article points out that many hotels use PMS no matter the size or shape as the system can be a means of controlling hotel's performance. Also, as some PMS system is so expensive that many hotels choose to install the system by their needs to save money. Then the author some systems are must be used for hotels like hotel management software, hotel reservation or billing software and hotel accounting software. No matter what kind of PMS the hotel uses, the main reason to run the system is for higher performance. The system can make hotels operation in higher efficiency like accounting software can automatically takes all transactions and places it into account. The software can save a lot of time to manage data and operate hotels. Also, the interaction between members and system will be very easy. In addition, the author pointed out that the most important apartment needs to install PMS is front office as the front office has so many of duties and the system can cover all of the duties and help the staff to take care if there are some problems. Then the PMS is very important for hotels.

This is an interview between and head of hospitality practice and a technical specialist. They talk about the benefits the telecommunication skill brings to the industry, including to the hotels and  the customers.They also discussed some of the problems, such as the respetive practices overlap. The TMT team provide some legal support in this area.

This article is about a brand new partnership between Expedia reservation interface and Maestro property management that will not only reduce costs but also provide more features and rooms availability. The hotels can greatly benefit of this new tool because it will allow them to have a better control of their inventory, maximize revenue while paying attention to the costs associated from Expedia's reservations 

Reference customers vs Advocate customer extends on topic posed when organizations consider customer reference program (CRP), and/or customer relationship management (CRM) including those evaluating social media efficiency by way of reference customers. While CRP is classically found used in b2b channel trend is to utilize same concept across market channels. Post includes discussion based on semantic difference/benefit between the two and the concept benefit of customers as brand champions, influencers, and evangelists.

This is an interesting article about the benefits of SMS marketing for hotels and spas. While SMS marketing have been adopted by other industries, the hospitality and tourism sectors have not taken full advantage of this fastest e-marketing tool. SMS marketing is considered non evasive faster, cheaper and increase the relationship between you and the guests. Moreover, SMS marketing help to promote your special events, offers and the customers have them readily available in their smartphones. In conclusion, SMS marketing can increase the hotels or spas revenues as more people have access to SMS message and will take advantage of the promotions that the hotels or spas are offering.

Through a partnership between a tech company and a hotel association, a new HRIS specific to the needs of hospitality has been born. The system is cloud-based, providing full accessibility in a 24/7 industry. Not only does the system house compliance, training and employment files but it also provides templates for letters, contracts and policies. The system promises to enhance efficiency and streamline processes.

Avero, one of the top analytic tools in the industry, has partnered with BinWise, the leading beverage inventory management system. Together, they provide great value to restaurants in that they ensure the most current inventory levels and accurate sales information at all times. The streamlining of these processes saves the property time, money and space while controlling inventory and beverage costs. It is clear that, while many companies use one or the other (or both), they will now benefit even more from the partnership between these two systems that have both been proven to save money and improve efficiency.