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This article explained the benefits of AR, VR, and AI in the hospitality and tourism industry in order to enhance guest experiences and create smoother work operations. The implementation of this technology seems to be happening more due to the pandemic and hospitality companies are learning the best ways to use them to match the new needs of guests.

Even though using beacon technology for proximity marketing is still in its infancy in the restaurant industry, this technology has already demonstrated some of its potential by virtue of increasing labor and overall operational efficiency while boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. Beacons can help increase restaurant and bar sales, improve customer service, and provide more value for their customers, which should lead to customer loyalty. The possibility of applying beacon technology in the restaurants and bars opens a window of opportunity to engage diners and also enables restaurants to create more tailored experiences for them. Restaurants can use beacons to send alerts to people nearby about many table/seat availability and encourage them to make reservations or walk in. Or if the restaurant is very busy, restaurants can send the menu to their phones, so they can browse it while waiting for their tables. Restaurants and bars can build profiles of returning customers and provide offers based on past preferences. Thus, returning customers can benefit from improved and personalized customer service. During quiet hours or days, restaurants and bars can efficiently manage their staff and service, because of the data they have been collecting using beacons. Diners can even pay for their meal or drinks using their mobile device without having to wait for the waiter to come over and accept their method of payment.

This articles talks about what beacon-based proximity marketing is and its usefulness in restaurants.

Beacon technology has been around for a long time - prior to 2013 - but cost kept it unpopular. Initially only real big hospitality players had this tech. Now cost is no longer a limiting factor, but companies are limited to customers/potential customers who have a compatible app or the companies own app already on their phone, so they can push the proximity messages.

The hospitality industry is beginning to employ robots to perform many of the tasks we'd typically expect human employees to perform. They are programmed to perform tasks such as fulfilling guest requests and responding to guest inquiries. Some hotels, however, have taken it a step further by replacing half their staff with robots and attempting to program them to perform other tasks such as assisting guests with their luggage. This turned out to be more of an issue than it was helpful as guests found that these robots could not climb stairs or go outside. Guests staying in hotels where robots' tasks were simpler tasks such as vacuuming, and room delivery had better reviews than those tasked with more complex tasks such as customer service interactions.

As the need for a one-stop-shopping experience increase does the demand from the lodging industry for a system that can simplify the process for marketing, reservations, check in, check out and just follow up. The Property Management System (PMS) is designed to do just that, simply the management, administration, reservation and booking. This article speaks about a cloud-based system called Cloudbeds that provides, among other things, Property Management Software for the lodging industry.This PMS is advertised as a way to simplify the reservation process as well as maintaining correct room inventory, rates and availability, housekeeping room status, and ease of retaining guest preferences. The PMS system also sends real-time availability to all online channels. Cloudbeds promise is to "Reduce errors and save time by automatically updating room inventory across all distribution channels with a click". According their website, "Cloudbeds PMS helps you deliver an exceptional guest experience while avoiding costly errors by automating repetitive, manual tasks." The PMS offers: -A Calendar - Reservations tool for direct bookings - Rates and availability Matrix - Reports

There are several pros and cons to self-service POS systems. Technology innovations will result in an increase in the amount of service businesses that will utilise self-service kiosks for contactless payments. Every business must evaluate which type of system would work best for the specific type of product or service offering. Retailers, restaurants, ticketing businesses and businesses with appointment checkins are likely to benefit from these systems. There are many solutions that can enhance customer service and business efficiency. Each business must carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages prior to investing in order to identify a system that fits.

Facial recognition and the use of biometrics are going to be essential in the future. This article outlines several ways it can impact the hospitality industry in a positive way. The most interesting has to do with F&B capabilities. This system linked with AI will be able to streamline restaurant ordering and payment.

The article highlights major points of the next one hundred years for disruptors and innovators in the hospitality industry during a keynote webinar among female leaders at Cornell Nolan School of Business. According to one of the keynote speakers, Professor Kim, there is a difference between innovator and disruptor. Innovators create "new products, processes, or business models to create value for customers or employees," while disruptors "significantly change how the industry works". We are all aware of the major disruptor to the hotel industry which is Airbnb; however, according to the article, there are other disruptors such as CitizenM, a modular hotel company and Sonder, a short-term rental company. However, these disruptors should not be seen as competition because most start-ups actually fail. Hotels should rather make space for the disruptors and focus on enhancing on their companies' strengths. It is recommended that hotels formalize specialized teams that can create new products to build on the hotel's strengths. Personally, I believe that it is possible for smaller hotels to work in partnership with local Airbnbs. To do this, they can offer a specialized program with reputable Airbnb owners to offer their place as a recommendation with the same hotel perks if the hotel is fully booked. In this way, the hotel can take a percentage of profits rather than losing all profits to another hotel. Nonetheless, the implementation of cell phones is a driving force for innovation and disruption in the hospitality industry creating more convenience for guests. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic is still driving innovation such as contactless technology, work from home arrangements, Virtual reality and Metaverse. In conclusion, the panelists commented that future disruptions are unpredictable, and companies must look at both smaller and larger companies for changes.