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This article discuss Sabre which is one of the biggest GDS systems in use ad their decision to integrate with Bedsonline, TravelBound and the Expedia® Affiliate Network (EAN). The reason they decided to do this was to increase their inventory and in turn better serve the customer. What I found interesting is that Bedsonline and Travelbound are both travel agent exclusive companies, this shows that despite availability that OTA's have travel agents still play a crucial role. I would also like to use the side by side comparison tool.

This article brings us into a deep insight of whether pricing technology offered by OTA is reliable or not. Firstly, two views should be considered before answering this question: one, there is a conflict of interest between an OTA and a hotel property; two, what data goes into their formulas, where it comes from and is it sufficient to make reasonable pricing recommendations. The author provided deep analyses for these two main point and came to the conclusion that: being sure that you know the game rules before utilizing those free pricing intelligent tools.

The author introduced a recent study, which uncovered that information technology (IT) spending in the hospitality industry was expected to increase in 2011. Even though the article and survey were conducted in 2011, we can tell that the hospitality industry paid attention to the importance of IT investment and made good use of IT to improve customer service. In the article, the survey revealed that 56 percent of hospitality organizations planned to raise new technology investments to better equip their workforces, improve operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.

This article summarizes the three different online distribution channels used in the hospitality industry. "Investing marketing dollars in these online distribution channels is becoming essential if hoteliers want to retain customers, improve hotel positioning, and gain a competitive advantage in markets that are sometimes saturated with hotel supply" states the author about expressing how important it is to get this marketing decision right for today's hoteliers.

In this article, the writer informs us on how two system solution based companies are joining forces to give hotels the most accurate and up-to-date data on their companies transactions. These transactions includes the control of inventories, pricing of inventory, and forecasting in order to increase hotel revenue. This allows for hotel managers to better strategize their brand's revenue in order to create more informed decisions. The article highlights what both IDeaS Revenue Solutions and Springer Miller Systems do to support hotels. Many resorts already use both systems. The companies working together allows their solutions to become more streamlined for hotel establishments. Hoteliers largely focus on the guest experience, but are restricted in how they manage inventory and forecast. These tools will allow them to do both at the same time with less manual labor. It sounds like an expensive investment. It's important for managers to decide whether it's worth the investment and predict whether they will see a return on this investment. Thoughts?

"With a cloud-based system, merchants are able to run numerous reports from your computer by simply pressing a button. Data that highlights top selling items and customer favorites will help business owners, like Larry, to make smarter decisions. Reliable POS software will decrease the time customers spend at the register and will eliminate human error by employees. Merchants are now able to organize menu items on the iPad based on category and can make colored-coated "hot keys". Retailers that have large amounts of inventory no longer have to worry about slow transactions or inventory errors. Many POS software providers now offer integrated barcode scanning, which will increase speed and efficiency. This foolproof method eliminates the process of manual entry. Speedier transactions will keep customers smiling while generating more business. Quality POS software can help business owners acknowledge loyal customers by allowing for quick pre-programmed discounts at the register. Additionally, customers now have the option to receive an email receipt, which can help merchants to not only recall their customers' name at the time of checkout, but also build targeted email campaigns informing their customers of current promotions and recommending new product based on previous purchases. " https://diigo.com/0befg9

I enjoyed reading this post as it came from the perspective of a customer. Companies, such as the local wine store mentioned in this article, can truly take advantage of POS to improve customer satisfaction. With a reliable POS software, the transaction does not have to be time consuming and consumers can use additional payment methods such as Apple Pay. I also think that POS helps with the replenishment of inventory. Customers can be very loyal, but if they feel that their needs are not taken into consideration, such as the case of the Malbec wine, then they will start to drift to other wine stores that can offer this. I believe POS has numerous benefits and this article has a very straightforward and clear way of presenting this.

Security has always been an issue for financial services which led to avoidance of some new technology systems. Due to advancements in cloud systems, I think it is time for financial services arms of hospitality organizations to reap the increasing number of benefits of cloud computing. Also, cloud-based financial Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps companies enter new markets, explore new opportunities, and strengthen their business processes. Cloud-based financial ERP has certainly helped Tetherow Resort by reducing costs and allowing their finance department to concentrate on their strategic business matters rather than dealing with IT and infrastructure issues. By switching to a cloud-based system, Tetherow Resort was able to reduce the amount of infrastructure stored onsite, reduce costs of the process and develop new strategic plans. In my view, there is a huge potential in cloud-based financial ERP in for financial and even non-financial companies, because through this system companies' finance departments are able to increase the efficiency of their operations.

I found this article very useful because it focus on the common complaint of hoteliers when it comes to paying commissions to OTA's. In order for hotels to attain direct bookings, they need to have a deep understanding of ecommerce and digital marketing. While online travel agencies (OTAs) have continued to flourish due to their understanding of conversion optimization and user experience, many hotels still have not adapted to this mindset. Therefore, if hotels want to compete and succeed in the digital economy, it is important to acknowledge key principles of e-commerce and apply them effectively to the websites. First, mastering user experience includes creating simple yet intuitive design including a clear navigation, easy to find information and a strong call to action. Next, constant A/B testing, which is a process that compares different versions of the same page to measure with converts best, helps hotels understand how to maximize the user experience. Personalization is another useful tool to elevate user experience, since 86% of consumers reported that personalization impacts their purchases. OTA's have been efficient in this area as they have been able to amass booking data and convert this to improve the shopping experience thanks to embedded cookies and marketing automation systems. Also, employing conversion triggers are powerful tools used at pivotal points in the booking process. Just as OTA's have been able to master these conversion triggers, hotels should learn from them to increase direct bookings. For example, creating a sense of urgency on the website, such as "only 4 rooms left", will appeal to customers. Social proof, which entails social persuasion, is a decision making tool, where customers can book their stay thanks to quick access to reviews. Best rate guarantees help boost bookings as well, since customers have the peace of mind that they do not have to sure elsewhere. Lastly, understanding the travelers' booking journey, such

This article researched the efficient strategies that OTA's use when getting customers to book through their site. The purpose is to give tips for improvement to hotel websites so that they can use their site appropriately to drive more bookings directly. My opinion is that the strategies used by OTA's outlined in this article are a perfect direction for a hotels' website to configure itself in the most efficient manner.

This article states the differences in job description of both digital marketing manager and revenue manager, but LaRose focuses on the importance of having them work closely to best reach their goals. Basically you cant have one without the other and each position has something unique to offer to the hotels growth and popularity. Every hotel must sell a story and meet the demands of their guests, consistently adapting and changing, adding and subtracting when needed in order to maximize revenue and continue to be attractive to its consumer.

Hotels are taking advantage of new technology as it betters customer relations and sales. A cloud based PMS allows you to communicate across platforms in real time. Hotels can now make better decisions for their business by having a system that collects data. Guests also have access to data such as check in and check out times. All due to the rise of IT in hotels.

This article speaks to importance of consumers to have seamless experiences with Hotels through their entire journey. It speaks to the need for data driven management that integrates multiple sources to afford the tools to the front line to contextualize recovery, offer solutions and to communicate with guests by their preferred channel of communication. It cites the example of Marriott and Salesforce partnership and how the implementation is approaching the guest experience through multiple touch points through the deployment of guest management solutions that leverage AI, CRM and analytics to make interactions meaningful, relevant and human.

This article emphasizes the positive and negative aspects of the hospitality industry adopting to sustainable practices. It recognizes that this industry is in the business of making money, while appoints the importance of doing so conscientiously, respecting the environment. It shows the steps that the organizations should take on its journey to action. I believe that sustainability should be a business imperative and not a lifestyle choice, as the sustained interest among consumers in tourism products and services are continuously increasing. That should be beneficial for the organization, positively affecting the operating revenue.

The article discusses the many ways the IT world is finding new ways to be sustainable in the hospitality industry. Changing the way a hotel runs by introducing e-mails to guest and other companies to reduce the paper flow or allowing guest to do mobile check-ins can reduce a lot of paper waste. Also, having guest use their phones as key cards for their rooms can aid in avoiding wasting and needing to create key cards. By hotels having an energy saving system, they reduce electrical waste by having computers on low power consumption mode. One main thing the article mentioned that I personally see a lot of hotels doing is digital advertising. Instead of relying on paper advertisement, hotels rely heavily on ads on social medias, facebook, google, and third party vendors.

This article discusses the IT green movement that has been in action since the rise of technology and ways on how IT can go green. Some opportunities in the green IT movement include the following: - Using IT responsibly and effectively to reduce water, energy, and paper consumption. This gives IT teams to take advantage of a few technical enhancements within their hotels to provide key cards available on smart phones, email to reduce paper, and digital signage. - Deploying effective technology practices such as Energy Star compliance to shut down computers automatically after periods of inactivity and server virtualization. This would mean for everything to be on one common server, and companies can save money on computer hardware and power consumption. - Tackling e-waste and deploying recycling technologies to reduce environmental waste and impacts. This could be implementing by introducing a safe recycling system for used hardware. - Digital marketing practices. This could be like using digital media to save money or using social media to encourage guests about the green practices that the hotel is implementing. - Marketing strategies to report and promote green practices. This could be having the business properly use marketing strategies to target these environmentally conscious market and find ways to promote green practices to this market segment. These are all very effective ways for IT teams to go green within their hospitality businesses. These green IT projects will need approval from top management and investment in time and resources.

The article basically discusses six different ways how PMS's help shape and make the lives of hotel owners much simpler because they take a way most of the behind the scenes thinking action that is needed to run a fully operational hotel. Which ultimately gives the hotel owner more time to consider ways to satisfy their guests to persuade them to keep coming due to the exceptional customer service that may be given.

The articles focuses on the idea of web authors posting free articles and compensating it with ads. But users have ways of either blocking the ads or not really getting ads they care for. Does this defeat the purpose of having free web pages, or are user just beating the system.

There is a new trend of diners opting to pre-order food through their mobile app and go themselves to pick up the food. This allows them to lower the cost by not having to pay delivery fee, and service charge. It also allows for the food to be more consistent and give them the flexibility to eat wherever the customer prefers either in the restaurant or out. About 20% of diners are using the pre-order option (32% millennials), however only 26% of establishments have the mobile POS technology but 59% of restaurants surveyed plan to add in the next year. About 18% of restaurants have technology allowing customers to order at the table, however 52% said they will add this in the next 2 years. Restaurants are starting to react to the trend from consumers where 53% of millennials mention that the restaurant they choose will base on the digital technology they have including online menu, read reviews, look at Instagram pics, and post their own.

This article highlighted how I.T has impacted the guests' experience in a positive way by providing modern technology to gain a competitive advantage among its competitors. This article indicated how they are staying ahead of the curve with modern technology to stay competitive with other hotels