Group items tagged

Hospitality e Business Strategies (HeBS), the leading marketing consulting firm for the hospitality industry, today announced the firm will present during EyeforTravle;s mobile Strategies for travel USA conference to be held in Chicago September 16-17. This conference presents about event of the year aiming to educate and inform the travel industry for integration of :mobile" into a comprehensive marketing strategy. According to the HeBS, one of the dominant in mobile strategies in the hospitality industry is the mobile eCommerce recently. It creates and implements mobile-ready websites and mobile internet marketing strategies for the customers. During the conference, Max Starkov will discuss how hoteliers can take advantage mobile channel, how they may implement mobile marketing formats that make the most sense for their hotels, and hoe to apply the latest trends and best practices in their mobile internet marketing efforts so that can realize respectable ROI and incremental revenues growth.

This article identifies the importance of green initiatives within operations and how to link them to available BI solutions. By specifically looking at analytics organizations can assess how they are meeting targets and monitor their performance in relation to their "green" goals. This article also discusses considerations related to expanding BI use to include green initiatives.

Company priorities are shifting towards cost savings and becoming more environmentally aware and business intelligence can help to achieve these goals. BI's ability to monitor performance and alert decision makers about changes in behavior makes it a complementary approach to organizations wanting to become more eco-friendly. Although BI applications are well poised to fill this need, businesses still require a roadmap to successfully tie-in their BI use with their green initiatives. Outside of technology adoption and lowering energy consumption, organizations also support social action initiatives and invest in R&D efforts that work towards more environmentally friendly products and internal processes. This in turn has a broader effect on the environment at large. The benefits that expand beyond the organization include what occurs within the company as well. Whether managing recycling programs, reusing raw materials, lowering consumption, etc. businesses require a way to monitor these initiatives and to identify ways of becoming more efficient over time. This is where the use of BI and analytics comes in.

The article shows how a unified computing and communication system helps a company implement a new technology. While the new technology system is worth a multimillion-dollar investment; the benefits have provided the company excellent financial results. It allowed the company to consolidate 18 room reservation and telephone operations into a single location. Another advantage from the update is the capability for Station Casinos to connect 15,000 different devices which include some of the newer slot machines that have been installed. The new technology reduces downtime; this is an advantage as downtime could lead to potential monetary loss. Finally, the update while costing millions of dollars, the financial return on the investment is tremendously impactful to the company.

This article speaks about a seemingly successful turn around for a struggling casino group in Las Vegas after making multimillion-dollar investments for I.T. over a period of time. While it has not completely eradicated all their problems, Stations Casinos Inc., which operates 18 hotels, and casinos off the Vegas Strip has saved tremendously by providing a cohesive communication computer system that has allowed greater efficiency ultimately saving money. An example of efficiency is cutting down data center server racks from 12 to one. More advantages showed with reduced cost due to less power and energy being used to maintain more infrastructures. An upgrade in network allowed for their slot machines and security cameras to connect across the board. This is important because, " about 80% of revenue comes from slot machines," said Baltz. These are just a few advantages the Stations Casinos Inc., has experienced since their investment. After reading this article, it just goes to show how important the I.T. department can be to the profitability of a hotel, casino or other hospitality entity. Usually we think of the product or service as the revenue generators of a business, but this type of article shows that, by saving money, the trickle down effect of increasing profits will occur when you cut expenses.

If there was ever any question that IT investment could drastically benefit companies, this scenario is the proof. A group of struggling Las Vegas Casinos really turned there negative situation around with the use of new interactive technology. This interactive technology is not only beneficial in the hotel world, but apparently casinos as well. The possibilities for this technology are endless, as long as it continues to advance. Guests and costumers who continue to be satisfied with their enhanced technological experience, will give companies and businesses large profits. Just as the casinos had a drastic turnaround by utilizing technology, other groups will do the same.

Although a POS system is a big investment. You need to purchase the new system, train the employee and maintain the system. But the system indeed can provide a lot of benefits.It can not only calculate payment and process customer payments, but also track the invenyory and labor costs. They still can manage the information and save cost.

This is a company that is leading the way in IT related event planning technology.

Diamond Foods was one of the largest snack foods corporations that were involved in an accounting fraud. This was an investigation that was going on for two years that is finally being settled. The former CEO was accused of falsifying costs in order to boost numbers on the stock market. The costs of walnuts had increased, however, former CFO was hiding that fact and misleading the market to let them believe Diamond Foods was beating earning estimates each time. Diamond Foods was acquiring Pringles but fell apart due to the scandal; this would have been a $2.5 billion deal. Talk of bankruptcy, stocks taking a nose dive, and a breach in loans made the banks take a step back, however, the company persuaded them to continue holding out for them. Diamond now has a new CEO and things are slowly starting to turn back around for the company. It's unfortunate that companies feel they have to lie, cheat and steal just to come out ahead. Some companies are getting away with it, but eventually it all goes back around.

Great article! I might biased but I love Hilton Chain. In the article they go on to say how they are taking the mobile frenzy to the hotels! They will be implementing not only apps but allowing guests to checkin/out with their phones, and use their phone to open the door. 

The article talking maining about the issues that companies have in investing into technology without having a set plan. Mr. Estis-Green, among others, stated that they see an industry that is very innovative but lacking direction in its approach to investing in the correct technology. The main issue is seems to follow throughout the article is that these companies are following trends instead of figuring out if said technology would mix well with the brand vision. A first, the implementation of technology within a business was used more as a tactic but it has become more popular that is has changed the way the guest experiences service at a hotel, from POS systems to a front desk check in. It's driving the way hotels run their business. I think that the biggest issue with investing in technology is controlling the way its used within a hotel. With technology becoming bigger and being implemented within larger hotel brands, it is changing the service experience which affects the loyalty of a guests. Taking that into consideration, I think that it causes internal competition within the vision that a hotel original sets out to provide and what other hoteliers are doing to gain that loyalty. As mentioned in the article, i think that the best way to have a vision and trend coincide is to find a way to personalize it to its convenience and effectiveness.

Eventcore is seeking to implement new technologies for event registration. The company is interested in doing fingerprint and face recognition as an entry to an event, instead of a normally accepted ticket. The company spoke about growing security concerns in the event industry and how there needs to be more effort to safeguard attendees information. Biometric entry seeks to keep customer information safe while ensuring speedy entry into events.

In the future, jobs will look different, allowing more and more people to work as digital nomads from anywhere in the world, including onboard planes thanks to the high-speed in-flight Internet. They will want to have a platform to be able to book any kind of transport, be it air, ground or sea on an on-demand basis. And this is exactly what kiwi.com is building with the Virtual Global Supercarrier.

This article speaks about physical plant systems and how the new trend in hospitality is to create unique spaces and bring the outside in. MGM Resorts has partnered with Delos which is a group that has done extensive research in collaboration with Mayo Clinic to study biophilia or the idea that humans have an innate connection to the natural world. MGM Hotels have found that post-conference survey results show that attendees felt more connected and engaged in meetings where there was biophilic elements incorporated such as meeting rooms with patterned carpets and active green walls constructed from plants or moss. The Delos group also works with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Marriot Resorts International to add live plants and other innovative biophilic elements in their spaces. Science shows that biophilic design does add satisfaction to occupants and keeps us happier, focused and engaged.

"Cisco Systems Inc., is the biggest maker of equipment that runs the internet". This article highlights the disappointing revenue that Cisco Systems is facing currently. However, the CEO is pushing to have Cisco's networking services to be more cloud based than hardware based. Because their company is known for its hardware, they are taking a hit revenue wise in their transition to a cloud based system. Companies are buying less hardware and are relying on other alternatives to keep their business running efficiently. I believe that Cisco is identifying with the current trends that are apparent in the IT world. As stated in our discussions, a cloud-based software eliminates the use of bulky hardware, eliminates costs, and allows companies to scale up or down depending on their size. So Cisco can use this information to help develop their cloud system. The businesses see value in switching systems and Cisco is in the business of providing them with what they need. Cisco is being recasted as a networking system so it is taking time for companies to switch their view on Cisco. I believe that Cisco should not deter from this transition and be able to reinvent themselves as a cloud based network. Though their revenue is taking a hit, they should continue for now until they are able to establish themselves.

Expedia has announced new technology and software for hotel partners that will help hotel partners drive knowledge and efficiencies. "Expedia Powered Technology was born from rethinking how we work with our hotel partners - through listening to their needs, and leveraging our technology as a driver for industry solutions," said Cyril Ranque, president, Lodging Partner Services. It is vital for Expedia, the world's largest online travel company to listen to their hotel partners and to follow the growing technology advancements. Omni Hotels & Resorts has been the latest partner to join the Expedia's package solution.

This article discusses how AR has been around for a while but has now had a boost thanks to the pandemic. The article mentions how companies such as Lenovo, Panasonic, and Apple are going about the implementation of AR through their product offerings as they are sensing and responding to demand created by the pandemic in order to adapt to changing consumer preferences.

This is an article discussing how AI is being used in business negotiations. With examples from how it's being used by Walmart and BP it is becoming more widespread. In certain circumstances the assistance from an AI negotiation tool has reduced negotiations from 90 days to 8 days.

This article references the hidden costs of cloud computing. It advises how retail companies such as Home Depot have been successful in their transition to cloud computing however the hospitality industry falls behind. Businesses such as Expedia try to educate their engineers of the cost of cloud services and advises them to use it wisely. It appears to be that the hospitality industry still lags on the technology wave, as it continues to "remain a hybrid of newer and older technology".

This was an interesting read! I didn't realize that the data from servers had to be moved in shifts. So maybe it's not as cost effective as thought to be. Hopefully the travel industry makes progress in becoming more "cloud friendly" as it can be very beneficial.