Group items tagged

1. IT The hot-button issue within the realm of hotel-information technology is mobile and cloud technology.A company could have tens of thousands of smartphones or laptops in the field at any given point-each a potential gateway to hackers and other criminals. To the problem the core principle is to provide end-to-end data protection with looking at cost and benefit and how it's supports the business. 2. Terrorism Ironically, one of the main reasons terrorism tops the list is because it has become less of an issue in recent years.Hoteliers need to keep their staffs and travelers mindful of possible threats, but they don't want to scare them. 3. Skimmers A related threat is that of "skimmers," or devices that catch credit card numbers when consumers use them for payment.The best prevention measure is to have an investigative team or third party on hand and making that known to employees. 4. Liability and insurance fraud These two related issues can double, triple, quadruple and quintuple corporate insurance premiums in the blink of an eye. The advisement is hoteliers to educate themselves on the issue, consulting with an attorney, if necessary. 5. Security as taboo "Security" still is something of a taboo in the global hotel industry.Hoteliers need to do a better job of "turning on the light" by talking about security openly and regularly at staff and association meetings, and hotel executives should insist their GMs make security a priority

1. ITAccording to the article, most mobile devices that are used for business are unprotected. Meaning that the devices if the device even have a password and if it does the password is not very complex. There could be thousands of employees accessing company information via the cloud through unprotected smart phones or other mobile devices. This could organizations at risk to hackers and other criminals  2.  TerrorismAlthough terrorist threats are less of a concern nowadays, that does not mean hotel managers should discontinue stressing the importance of security within their establishments. Keeping employees aware and diligent can prove to be a delicate assignment but it is a necessary of part of maintaining a safe work environment in the twenty-first century. 3.  SkimmersSkimmers are devices that steal credit card numbers when consumers use them for payment. Unfortunately, it is most commonly an employee on the inside who is committing the crime.  A third party investigation team will be needed to prove who is stealing from the establishment.  4. Liability and Insurance FraudCombined, these two issues could sky rocket a company's insurance costs through the roof. It is crucial that hoteliers be aware of the legal system and educates themselves on issues concerning liability. Both patrons and employees alike could potentially file claims against an establishment and entitlements can quickly get out of hand.    5.  SecurityDespite the best security measures, there is always the possibility of unforeseen danger. This fear of the unknown is a concern for hotel workers. To confront this fear of the unknown managers must regularly and openly discuss security with employees.  Security should be held as a top priority. 

This article discusses five main concerns brought on by the current state of hotel security. I must say that some of this information surprised me. Something that especially surprised me was learning that mobile devices that are used for business hardly use passwords. The article states, "Amplifying the problem is the sheer number of devices, he added. A company could have tens of thousands of smartphones or laptops in the field at any given point-each a potential gateway to hackers and other criminals." This piece of information is very unsettling to me. How could such valuable information not be protected? The article suggests the solution to this problem is PCI DSS. Terrorism as number two on this list also surprised me because that is not something that would first come to mind for me. The article states that it is ironically on the list for becoming less of an issue. I suppose this reminds hoteliers to never let their guard down when it comes to issues of safety and security within the hotel. However, "skimmers" and liability on this list does not really surprise me. The article suggests that hoteliers be educated about these issues to protect the hotel against them.

This article is on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and what the future of the work environment could be. Based on the information published, employers would have the ability to leverage brain activities to effect greater productivity in the workplace. However, since BCIs are capable of detecting the mental state and thoughts of employees, there are many privacy and ethical issues that will certainly be derived from the use of these types of technologies.

This article talks about 3 stages for the telecommunication development in hotel. Hotel could absolutely use the phone 2 decades ago which is much more convenient to keep in touch with each others because of the lack of the mobile phones. But after the cellphone came out, hotel couldn't make more benefit from the phone calls which were just used for internal communications, morning calls, housekeeping and so on. After 2000, another technology was created which is call VolP( voice over the internet or IP phone) which could do more than a phone, such as Ads on the IP PHone. but it could not be widely used because of the complexity and cost. There is a new technology coming out called cloud which combines all the stuffs-- Telephones, PMS, Internet, and cable plant together and make employees or customers easier to learn. For example,a hosted provider of not only voice, but PMS, Internet access, premises infrastructure. Several hybrid IP systems now support a gateway mode - where the on-premises solution is effectively a gateway controlling all the analog rooms. Centrally managed and controlled - integrated into a multi-tenant web based PMS - backed by a 24-hour help desk and NOC, could be the ticket to get hospitality VoIP.

This is a full-service hotel internet marketing firm. The workers in this firm are responsible for hoteliers to take full advantage of the direct online channel. Customers could connect the hotel's main distribution channel by HeBS' websites. They could provide crucial advice, recommendations and solution for the hotel or travel company. The hotel Internet marketing experts could increase Internet presence and online business while capturing new valuable online markets by using all kinds of methodology and tools. The Internet-based business models and techonologies are achieved. The marketers could be the guests' speakers and presenters. Guests could preferably gain more distributions and informations about hotel events, conferences or tourism events. The hotel internet marketing firm is able to build the better joint.

Week 4 Article Summary 15 Benefits of Having Digital Menu Boards in Your Restaurant. This article discusses the positive ways in having a digital menus and explains the benefit it has on the restaurant. The focus of the restaurant should be more on the quality of food being served. Even though there are a lot of restaurant that give you an experience like no other but if the food is not top quality it will be hard to bring customers back. Having this type of digital menus could enhance the guest experience while helping the restaurant increase revenues. Here are ten of the top fifteen positives reasons of having a digital menu boards. 1) Digital menu displays will make communication easier. This starts form the customer directly to the kitchen. It will also allow the establishment to display videos and animations that will catch the eyes of the customers and could highlight specific menu items. 2) Saves time by easy updates on display. The software will allow the restaurant to update the menu very easy. You could add and take away dishes without having to print all new menus. It will also allow you 86 items that are sold out at any time during the shift. 3) Sound Investment of saving money. With the system allowing you to change menus, it will save money because you won't have to pay to print new menus every time you want revise it. 4) Digital displays create a more memorable experience. With having a digital screen, it will allow the customer to stay entertained by having a right mix of graphic videos and allowing them to keep them occupied during down times. 5) Better Visibility of menu. The display on the tablet will allow the guest to see a nice HD screen with colors that will make it easy to see and read. 6) 24/7 support. No matter what time of day, there will be support for mangers to trouble shoot any issues that might be happing at time. 7) Boost sales up to 21-23%. It has been said that having an emenu will increase revenues by allowing the establ

This article highlights the importance of event registration stage. According to the survey, registration produces up to 48% of total event revenue. Thus, it is crucial for the event planners to make this stage easy and effective. As internet gives an opportunity to easily submit registration information online the event planners need to make sure that they make the whole process simple and convenient. First, mobile integration is very important. Since more and more people access internet from their smartphones and tablets rather than from their desktops, a great attention should be paid to the mobile compatibility of the service. The prefilled fields could be automatically offered to save registrants' time. Mobile integration could also imply automatic check-in with RFID badges at a conference or surveys that are pushed to the attendees' phones after they are checked in. To increase registration numbers some easy steps could be undertaken. The form could contain easy links to share the event on social media. The "no" registrants may be offered "regret surveys" and asked to reference those who might be interested to attend. Electronic event registration provides the event planners with plenty of structured personal information. It could be used for personalization and customization of services and further engagement of the attendees. So in my opinion, event registration software gives the event planners a powerful tool to engage the people coming to the event and make their experience unique by the means of customization and personalization. It also helps to keep the track of all registrants for further marketing.

This article talks about the future of event planning. The efforts hotels will have to make to be competitive in the industry. It also talks about the technology that will have to be offered such as VR (virtual reality).

This article is very interesting because it lists all the ways that event planning will be in the future because of technological advances. It talks about autonomous staff, 3D shopping, made-to-order venues, personalized longevity health spas, pop-up hotels, supersonic air travel, sustainable hotels, personal travel avatars, and DNA authorization. The article describes the benefits and downfalls to each one and puts emphasis on the fact that these advances are closer than we can imagine.

An effective HRIS could benefit a company a lot. First of all, all the numbers, payrolls, employee information is easy to track and very clarified. It could bring a better administration function like enrollment, status change and some company's document. Especially some of the HRIS could let employees enable themselves to update their information and free HR people for more strategic works. And the most important thing is employees could use data for their knowledge development, job growth and development. From my personal experience when I was doing internship in hotel, for the day they hired me they already got me a lot of information, and later offer me an website, saying that I can see some rules documents in the intranet. That was impressive, I saw some of training information on it and downloaded it. Those materials are very useful that I still keep it in my drive. I believe a lot of people may have the same situation with me.

This article describes a new tool to measure and aid in guest satisfaction. Through a strategic partnership, Infor (a business application software company) enlists TrustYou (a market leader in online reputation management) to help create a system used to provide real-time access to positive and negative feedback from guest. There are three widgets designed to search through data and streamline them into summaries that hotels can use to enhance their customers experience. All information reported is current information, that way hotels can quickly respond to their guests. This technology is key in creating the best guest experience possible and it allows hotels to do so within a matter of minutes. The real time access feature would allow hotels an opportunity to turn a would be negative experience into a positive one. Hotels rely on "word of mouth" Marketing, especially with social networks, blogs and message boards becoming such a huge part of the daily exchange of information. We must admit, a lot of us value the opinions of our Twitter followers. It is vital for hotels to keep up with these different areas of communication so they can strategically position themselves in an ever growing and competitive market. They can address concerns immediately while at the same creating opportunities to build their brand. Hotels must utilize this advanced approach if they want to survive in this industry.

This article describes the infor company（a leading provider of business application software） and trust you（a market leader in online reputation management） built online reputation management software for hospitality industry. Hoteliers could access to the social senciment on a real time. From the customer's perspective, there are many factors related to choose a hotel form more than hundreds choices. Not only the hotel's facilities and services, but also the reputation on the internet will influnce customer's slection. Nowadays, with the rapid development of social networks, the senciment plays a great role in people's life. For example, in China, there is a web-site, named as "Quna". On that web-site, people share the travel information, rate the restaurants and hotes. The new travelers could get some ideas about the hotel choosing. Therefore, the hotel manager must pay attention to the public reputation management in time. Now, the hoteliers could access to the social senciment in real-time via a series of dashboard, embedded widgets. What's more, by this tool, the hotel employees could correction error, redeem hotel's reputation, improve customer satisfaction, and improve hotel's occupancy rate.

Hotels are going way beyond in meeting guests' expectations with the modern day's technologies. One example would be the SLS Hotel, a subsidiary of LA based sbe Entertainment, introducing In-room iPads featuring their internal application, which could be used to change TV stations, place wake-up calls, and order room service. Aside from the above mentioned, guests could surely utilize the internet browsing websites, and other features on the iPad which brings up the next question - Invasion of Guest Privacy. SLS Hotel has partnered with AirWatch in developing a comprehensive securing device in order to deliver a customized brand experience to each guests. Securing measures include restricting guests from using the iPad's camera to prevent guests from seeing previously uploaded content by former guests, removal of the native web browser to prevent guests from viewing previous web activity, etc… SLS Hotel is also planning to implement a cross-platform BYOD program for hotel staff which would also create another security concern on managing confidential and sensitive information within the company. Afterall, a comprehensive security plan and measures have to be in place before any forms of technology could be implemented in this industry. One mistake or negligence could cost the downfall of a company.

This web is about a group named Sothertons  Chartered Accountants. Its major meaning is researching the new hospitality accounting management. They provide experienced accounting services to those in this industry.     It is not like the traditional accounting practices. In this company, everyone in every area, must understand their operation very much. They have some specialist services such as Industry benchmarking and KPI management, working capital management and so on.     They could analyze their competitors when you see clearly relationship between decisions and performance. They could help you to solve the accounting problem and satisfy your business needs. For example, their accounting services could cover many areas like hotel, restaurant, catering and food and wine businesses.     The Sothertons Chartered Accountants have influence for the accounting process and could improve your hospitality business profitability. They have the professional ability to cover clients' profits.

The Passkey's GroupMAX ME is a big progress during the housing management service area. It major effect is promoting the efficiency of management in meeting, convention or event. It makes the meeting management become more professional. LA Tourism managers can organize the conventions and meetings that were more safe, consistent and portable by using GroupMAX ME on their hand. The technology could make participants easily and efficiently find hotel reservations in office. And meeting professionals could be easy to track inventory online. GroupMAX ME could help meeting professionals to avoid an excess of reservation fee because it could directly connect hotel property management system or central reservation system.

The Passkey's GroupMAX ME is a big progress during the housing management service area. It major effect is promoting the efficiency of management in meeting, convention or event. It makes the meeting management become more professional. LA Tourism managers can organize the conventions and meetings that were more safe, consistent and portable by using GroupMAX ME on their hand. The technology could make participants easily and efficiently find hotel reservations in office. And meeting professionals could be easy to track inventory online. GroupMAX ME could help meeting professionals to avoid an excess of reservation fee because it could directly connect hotel property management system or central reservation system.

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa stated "the biggest challenge that comes with technological advancement is the probability of replacing existing staff with a technological device, since the device can do the same job just as well." This statement holds true for every single country in this world. The more technologically advanced we become, jobs will start to be replaced by technology that could do it just as well if not better than a human. For instance, the new check-in kiosks are becoming more and more a hit, and as they do you'll see hotels switch to them quicker to cut labor cost. Investing into I.T. in the hospitality industry is an everyday gamble because today they could come out with something that could be better of us at the front desk but tomorrow they could release something 10x better than this.

SensyTouch's newest technology may be a solution to eliminating traffic at the front desk as well as a tool managers could utilize to improve their guest services ratings. As we know, the front desk experience could be very frustrating at times, especially when encountering overcrowdedness and facing long periods of waiting time upon arrival. SensyTouch's multi-touch software application provides guests with the ability of fully managing their hotel stay experience at their own convenience - including a speedy check in and express check out process. In addition, the application includes features such as hotel amenities, local attractions, entertainment as well as other information that guests would normally obtain from the front desk agents. In all honesty, I believe this tool could be a great addition to any large hotel's guest services department. Guests tend to bombard the front desk with miniscule matters and this multi-touch application could be the perfect solution to reducing the number of those inquiries as well as allowing agents to concentrate on escalated issues and matters that demand greater attention.

Israel and the United States are developing new security systems ti inspect airline passengers. This joint effort its creating a system that could detect substances used in explosives, or chemical weapons without having to open the passengers luggage. And it could be integrated into scanners, magnetometers and hand-held devices. Its purpose is to inspect both passengers and luggage, without the use of full body scan.

This article describes one of the worst situations that could occur when operating a hotel. According to the text, Wyndham Hotel Group failed to implement a strong enough security system, resulting in hackers breaching the network and stealing over 600,000 credit card numbers and over 10 million dollars in fraudulent charges. The FTC is suing Wyndham Corporation for failing to take the proper security measures to guarantee the security of the most important customer information. The FTC also states that Wyndham used improper software configurations that presented credit card information in a manner that was clear and easy to read. Michael Valentino, spokesman for Wyndham Worldwide, the company made prompt efforts to notify those whose information had been compromised and according to Valentino, no hotel customer had experienced a financial loss as a result of the attacks.  Despite Valentino's claims, the FTC is suing Wyndham for unfair and deceptive practices in failing to protect the privacy and personally identifiable information about guests. The FTC claims that Wyndham failed to address the security failures that occurred after the first breach in 2008 and did not implement technology that could have detected unauthorized access to networks. In 2009, hackers used similar techniques to break into the network again as steal as much personal information as they could. 

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly  demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But  it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications.  If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel.  It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications. If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel. It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Creative and a bit scary application of existing technologies. Much like Facebook Messenger, when do we cross the line between convenience and forfeiture of privacy? As part of the industry, the responsibility falls to us to manage the line in favor of our guests. They will know when it has become too much, and we will know very soon after when business evaporates. Provide friendly, targeted service without being too invasive. Remembering orders and having them ready on time is fine. Sending a pop-up message every time the guest passes by in a cab may be a bit much. Consider how many Starbucks messages you could receive in any major metropolitan area. Without proper care, we could be giving a whole new meaning to the word Spam.

The right property management system plays a key roles in the success of any hotel. Property management systems store guests' information which helps make for a pleasurable stay at the hotel. On the back end having the proper property management system can be key tool in making a successful stay at the hotel. The front end has software that handles the point of sale, account receivable, banquets, conferences, restaurant, housekeeping, inventory, payroll, among other apps and modules that connect to make the hotel run successful smooth. The information that is stored in these systems generate reports that the hotel can review for decision making. Much like other software, technology can be exhausting at times when it doesn't do what we want it to do. The hotel software market is full of many different option management can choose do off with. A few things a hotel should consider when choosing software should be: How many modules will your new hotel software offer? Does your new property management system have third party products merged into it? Is your hotel software compatible with third party software? Does your property management system help you enhance revenue? Considering all these questions while choosing a new property management system can help management choose the best system that will be most beneficial for the hotel. As someone who has been part of choosing a PMS it is very important to consider everything. Every vendor tells you why theirs is the best. It takes a lot of time to review everything and determine what system will work best for the company. I think where companies go wrong when getting a new system is training. The companies I've worked for often do very little training. I think lack of training for employees contributes to employees not using systems correctly and to full capacity which causes errors in reports. As a sales director, I often read reports and knew the information wasn't correct and it was due to input error. This

This article was very interesting and it gives advice to any person thinking about opening a hotel in what software you can use. A hotel software is extremely important because that has all the guest information and store there experience that they had at the hotel. You have to see what software you want to implement when changing the hotel management system or property management system you need to know who is selling it to you and what is included in the software. If you are just getting a new system, you have to make sure that everything you already have is included and more. You also have to make sure that the software you get is compatible with a third party hardware. A hotel software system can make you or break you in a hotel. You really have to know the vendor that is selling you the software and make sure that they have experience with the software. The better the software that you have in the hotel, the smoother the hotel will run.

The article talks about the importance of using a PMS or Property Management System. The use of a property management system is very important to the success of a property. The article is also able to aid those who looking to implement a property management system by helping them narrow down what they will need. The article poses questions toward the reader to see what they are looking for in a PMS.

The Hotel Industry has not kept up with the state of the art technology to the degree other industries have. It's at a point where a great investment is needed to upgrade technology they use both in communications as well as the unseen hardware that make hotels function on a day to day basis. The cost of replacement and and expansion of business data centers and security is very large. But who bears the cost?, since guests have come to expect ammenities such as high speed internet, but aren't necessarily willing to pay for it. This is an inevitable cost hotel corporations are going to have work in to their budgets in order to stay relevant and competitive