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This article is about the current rise in the use of the GDS system again. This rise has been seen primarily with corporate travelers, but has also been used by the leisure traveler. While GDS usage percents dropped from 98% in 1999 to 79% in 2009, it has slightly started to increase again. Sabre one of the larger GDS companies has seen a 7% increase in use of the system in 2012. Hotels have tried to give companies better rates to their consumers, for example as more corporate travelers are extending their stays from a business trip and then turning it into a leisure trip for a few more days. This gives the traveler a lower rate a night at the hotel, as they are staying for more nights. Overall, while there was a decline in the use of GDS because of the OTA, there is now a slight increase, bringing life back to the GDS system.

This article gives an in depth explanation of the importance of GDS's in the hotel industry and the increased usage of the GDS due to the rising travel demand. The American Society of Travel Agents conducted a study in 2009 and found the percentage of member travel agencies that used the GDS declined from 98% in 1999 to 79% in 2009. A significant portion of the decrease was due to the economic downturn, but regardless hoteliers and travels still found value is the GDS channel. According to Sabre Travel Network, there was an increase of more than 7% in GDS bookings during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year. The demand for corporate travel is the main reason for the increase. Many people that are traveling for business want to extend their trips for leisure. This allows hotels the opportunity to adjust their pricing strategies by putting travel promotions for leisure for the business travels as well. Many people utilize the GDS to find the most affordable prices, but it is also beneficial to hoteliers as well. Elaine Kennedy, one of the two interviewed in the article, stated the pricing model provides corporations with a lower rate when demand decreases but also gives hoteliers the opportunity to achieve higher rates when demand increases, which ultimately is a win-win for both sides. The GDS also provides many opportunities for hotels to cut costs. Robert Cole, the other person interviewed in this article, stated "The GDS also provides enhanced marketing support….immediately when you use the GDS to put your product, your service, your room, your rate, you're getting it in front of an audience without using your own marketing budget." According to Robert Cole, the GDS is not going away any time soon because of the unique solutions it provides for hotels and travelers alike. I believe this article was very informative on how the GDS is currently being utilized and where it is going in the future. It basically helped answer question 3

In 2009 the GDS usage declined from 98% to 79%. ALthough there has not been a demand to use this technology, there has been a demand in the first quarter in 2012. There has been an increase because of corporate business demand. GDS is being used to transfer room inventory to global distribution partners as well as travel agents and OTA's. Hotels using the GDS technology offer a percentage to a client instead of a fixed rate. This happens as long as companies have access to the hotel's system everyday. According to Robert Cole, The GDS system is notgoing anywhere because of its unique solutitons to hotels and travelers. It makes it easier for everyone.

This article is about how global distribution systems are still in demand even though they were said to be dying out. Industry leaders thought that with the development of online travel agencies, GDS's would soon be out of business. This isn't the case though. Well it is proven that member travel agencies have been using GDS's less this could be linked to the economy. The people who are purchasing travel through online travel agencies are still using the GDS every day. Business travel is also up in the past 10 years and also an increase in business travelers extending their stays for leisure. With that leisure and corporate traveler are help keeping GDS's alive. But GDS's would be even more profitable if they lowered their transaction fees.

The GDS has decreased steadily over the past decade, but recent studies have shown that there has been a small increase. The increase is thought to be due to corporate travel.  Many hotels are trying to increase the use of the GDS through dynamic pricing models. This model offers a percentage off the hotels best available rate depending on what the demand is. The GDS provides many benefits like facilitating the online search process, offering immediate access to information without using a marketing budget, and high sense of security. The only downfall is that the distribution costs are too high, because transaction fees usually are around $5. 

This article is very interesting because it breaks down everything about investing in the hospitality industry. Hospitality is one of the few properties that shift in supple and demand can be felt immediately. The article explains that hotels have no lease agreement so they are able to market on a daily basis. This is why they are able to raise the prices on the rooms. I really like how the article describes the key metrics used to evaluate hotel performance. The article also explains recent changes in the hospitality industry that have brought to the market new types of hotels. It is important to note that the two core customer groups that fuel demand are tourism and business travelers.

This new report is forecasting cloud-based wellness software to be a good financial investment. It is predicted to grow at a solid pace thru 2030. This research is based on the diverse market and detailed analysis from 2017-2021. Some of the top companies covered in this report offer services from in-home massage to health beauty services on-demand. Cloud-based services such as these offer digital technology access at a low start-up cost.

The article talks about worldwide hotel bookings through global distribution systems. In the year 2012, only three months remained flat compared to the prior year and did not lose ground in GDS bookings. This impact may have been caused "after intensified political uncertainty bred hesitancy in November." According to the article, in the beginning of 2013 business are starting to act upon travel demand from hesitant periods from the prior year so companies can reengage to capture market share. The demand for travel is out there but numbers will only do it justice. North America was the only continent that GDS bookings in December were positive because elsewhere in the world, GDS bookings decreased by 0.4 percent.

"The Motorola Solutions 2011 Hospitality Market Barometer reveals that 91 percent of hospitality decision makers realize the increasing importance of mobile and wireless technology, while 78 percent recognize the role mobility plays in ensuring a competitive advantage for their business. As a result, hospitality venues are investing in new technology, as well as powerful wireless networks to handle greater data volumes and increasing demands for high-speed access from the customer and mobile workforce. "

The article analyzed why hotels do investment to It in 2011. It concluded three main reasons, which are elevating the guest experience, empowering the mobile worker, and enabling operational efficiency. It's already 2013 now and things can become different. Hotels should invent carefully according to its specific necessary and customers' necessary.

Dear team! I found an article, very old but to me, very actual and interesting about how the Internet Technology is improving and progressing, and the investment bring benefits only. In 2011 , only 4 years ago, we can see that the companies were having a clear plan to improve the communication system. By introducing wireless, tablets, WLANs , to improve network reliability... Today we have it all on hands. We are using all the devices online , wireless and with no problem to access. No cords on the floor, no telegrams ... Internet technologies is a big progress in our century and is developing and growing, by leaving some of us behind. :)

this article is about the increasing demands of cloud computing, and is also leading to a rise in dollar spending. Remote working has been the drive for the increasing demands of cloud computing but as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the slow down of large business advising led project. The concern is that while the demands are going up, the actual growth of cloud computing is not.

This particular article on hospitality and tourism accounting states that the global travel industry is expanding at an accelerated rate. Although there are high demands in corporate travel and high level of satisfaction in the economy, the ever growing industry is vulnerable to many risks given by its consumers. Just as much as the guests utilizing these hospitality services are becoming more pressing towards great prices and expressing concern in the quality of service they receive, hotel businesses are adamant about increasing awareness in cost and profit. To balance all these exclusive challenges, hotels are insisting on being educated and equipped with the most up-to-date technological advances to keep up with the ever demanding industry. With this in mind, the article states three methods to conquer the challenges faced today. The first method is to utilize a cloud based system to keep track of all the innumerous activities present to keep the business running. Due to the fact that a hotel is run by an overflowing amount of employees, all with different jobs and tasks, all using different systems respective to their departments, and require several types of pay (part-time, full-time, tipped employees) methods, it is a challenge to keep things efficient without a proper system. This is the reason why the article recommends using a cloud based system to keep track of the daily labor costs, overtime management, daily payroll transactions, and incorporate easy accessibility to reporting functions. The cloud based system will be beneficial in keeping everything in record beginning from the moment an employees clocks in to the end where they receive their paycheck, as well as, the ability to manage transactions. The second method is to centralize all the various sources of data. Hotels have a countless amount of data being stored. That can range from guest satisfaction satisfaction survey and comment reports, PMS data, to financial reports. With all these busy ac

The article discusses how hotels can overcome accounting obstacles. Firstly managing payroll is cumbersome, so a cloud-based reporting system can provide an easy way to monitor labour and manage overtime, and daily payroll transactions. Secondly, hotels have a difficult time to read data as data can come from a huge variety of sources: STR reports, PMS data, satisfaction surveys, comments. Hotels need a centralized dashboard which combines all critical accounting and performance data to assist hotels in making better decisions. Lastly, the article talks about hotels needing a back-up accounting team in case of disasters. In-house accounting teams may not be able to tackle on one-time event disasters and there must be a back-up team in place in times of urgency. The author, Scott Watson, executive vice president of sales and marketing at a cloud-based financial platform, sees that hotels are becoming more "cost and profit conscious" and I agree with him. Technology solutions are what hotels are craving right now to increase revenue, minimize costs, and maximize profits without sacrificing service quality.

This article helps guides hotels in how to overcome challenges when it comes to the accounting department in any situation that deals with staff tracking, how to decipher intricate data, and what to do in emergencies. The article details the usefulness of the Cloud and keeping track of staff members that are FOH and BOH that are both hourly and salary. That the accounting department could simply look them up in the cloud rather than searching through paperwork to understand exactly what their role is in the hotel and pay them accordingly. The article also goes over how having multiple centralized data sources can help accountants understand information from reports, guest satisfaction questionnaires, and other forms of reporting to pinpoint exactly what needs to be changed to become more efficient in the company. Lastly, the article covers how having back up accounting teams could be a definite positive just in case of emergencies (i.e. weather) so accounting can still be in progress no matter what situation occurs and the hotel can run smoothly.

In the article, "Travel Agents Increase Use of GDS to Book Hotel Rooms," it talked about how the leading global provider of revenue is generating solutions for hotels, it shows how important GDS platforms are to travel agents. "84 percent of respondents indicated that they were using their GDS platform the same amount or more often than in the past, with 35 percent stating that they are using GDS more." Back in 2009, when the last study was conducted, about 26 percents of travel agents said that they used their GDS platform more often than in the past. This study also states that the annual GDS shopping displays will be over $50 million in 2011, which will increase more than a million bookings compared to 2010. There was another survey that was done and they surveyed different travel agents from across the world that were subscribed to a major GDS system. In the survey the travel agents indicated that promotional messages are effective and often prompt bookings. Out of the travel agents they surveyed, 66% said that they were aware of the "promotional messages requested addition information by looking at the screen attached to he promotional message." From this survey it showed that promotional messages are an excellent way to reach travel agents and from reaching the agent, they also reaching the customer, it's a win-win reaction.

I enjoyed the part about brand and promotional messaging, that is always a lure for me. When I see an attractive offer, evern If I'm not interested in booking or going to the destination, I often click on it anyway just to see the offer. It is a very effective marketing tool.

This article focuses on six trends that are redefining the hospitality industry. These trends are; gamification of travel planning, virtual reality tours, going contactless, chatbot as digital concierge, IoT for room control, and location-based services. Companies must evolve in the world of technology in order to meet customer demands. In effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers now prefer self-service such as contactless check in. The incorporation of this technology, minimizes huma error and maximizes efficiency. Gamification of travel planning: By using game like templates in their websites, travel companies are able to capitalize on human motivation. When customers able to get rewards, brand awareness, customer loyalty, and revenue are improved. Virtual Reality Tours: Virtual reality tours help travelers to enjoy their future destination before they arrive. They also help with brand experience as they create mental imagery and presence. Going Contactless: Contactless check in, mobile keys, and digital payments all increased by 66 percent due to the pandemic. This however, is here to stay as this decreases staff dependency. Chatbot as a Digital Concierge: Chatbot is a simple way to meet guest demands 24/7. With FAQ, guests can get an answer to their question in a matter of seconds at any time of the day without needing to leave their room. IoT for Room Control and Customization: IoT allows guests to have a home away from home by personalizing their rooms by changing the color of the lights, temperature, etc. Location-Based Services: With location based services, travelers are able to find activities and amenities wherever they are staying. This can offer more intuitive local recommendations without needing staff assistance.

Hello Alejandra. I really enjoyed reading this article, thank you for sharing! Although I am a germaphobe, and number three (Going contactless) appealed to me on a certain level, the points that stood out to me the most were; number two (Virtual reality tours) and number four (Chatbot as a digital concierge). I am one of the individuals who check reviews of places before I make a reservation but taking the virtual reality tour would give me more assurance of the property because individuals have different expectations and standards so what may be appropriate for them, may not be for me. The Chatbot as a digital concierge is quite convenient for both guests and hotels, hence it will ensure a more comfortable and relaxing stay.

One of the hottest negotiation issues now a dyas is to stay green in whatever field of industry you're working at. That includes the Hospitality Management as well. In the hotel business one of the very basic, at the same time very important need is providing Hot Water. With the help of new sustainable hot water technology, the hotel properties can provide hot water without any trouble even during the peak hours while saving money!  These Solar Thermal heating Systems figured out to be very cost effective and practical that quickly began to rise interest between hoteliers.  In this way , they not only save energy and help our planet to stay green but also help them to save their budgets to be spent on some other parts. 

POS Restaurant Management systems market are expected to generate a $30 bn revenue by 2026. The cause of the demand for mobile POS systems is driven by the increasing demand and the rapidly growing popularity of wireless technology. Overall POS systems are essential in registrations of payments, sales operations, and icreases work effiency by reducing time and cost.

This article discusses the push that is happening for hotels to "go green" and "tech-friendly". Travelers have more of a preference for eco-friendly/tech friendly hotels when booking. For example, guests now prefer wifi more than complimentary breakfast. Another example that guests are searching for sustainability usage was important to them. In a survey done one in five woule stay in a boutique hotel if it used renewable energy sources. The article examines the desires for guests and their preferences for hotels and how hotels can adjust to this change. To meet these demands, hotels can address what are easy fixes such minimizing wasted heat or light. Another way hotels can hop on in this movement is by investing in systems that are eco-friendly such as waste heat-recovery systems. Investing in energy solutions will meet customer demands and help save the environment.

For recent years, the operators in the hospitality industry are looking for the suitable solutions that allow them to break down the tableside ordering barriers, such as the mobile phone-based POS. In the annual report analysis for the POS Software Trends, the hospitality industry takes a look at industry-wide innovation priorities for this system. Among the talking with the developers for the enhancements for POS software in 2011, many developers focus on launching new options for mobilize operators.In this year, social media, cloud computing and mobile solutions are the three top and will continually growing in 2012. A trend for 2012 POS purchasing plan is, more investment in the year ahead. It is a full reversal of the results of this survey. Greatest number of operators plans to add new functionality and features to their current POS software in the year ahead. A third of operators plan to expand the installation base of the POS software they currently use. Researching and testing new POS solutions for possible future deployment will be the focus for 20.5% of hospitality industry.

This article introduces the trends of POS in hospitality industry. It lists some data to show the hospitality operators consider mobile phone-based POS instead of tableside ordering devices. It also list the information about the hospitality operators plans to add new functionality and features to their current POS software.

The points of sale have changed over the years. The hard wires, all in one unit are being replaced by mobile devices. As the article mentions, hospitality operators have been looking for solutions to break tableside ordering barriers. After motorola released a tablet, the software community has been working in developing applications for both consumers and employees. The POS software developers are been asked about the improvement happening in the technology. Social media, cloud computing and mobile solutions are growing trends. Hospitality operators were asked which POS platform innovation are they looking for. The POS features in demand are: Online POS Mobile phone based POS ordering Enterprise wide centralized POS Table side POS ordering Cloud computing Software as a service Open source There is an increase in investment for POS development. The POS features purchasing plans: Add new functionality features and modules to POS Test and research new POS solution for possible implementation after 2011 Install POS on a wireless network.

The article titled Mobile Key: It's the new reality for hotels by Esther Hertzfeld, discusses the various aspects of the implementation and utilization of the mobile key technology in hotels. The mobile key technology is a Bluetooth enabled lock that a user can open with their mobile devices. The popularity and demand for mobile key entry in hotels is skyrocketing. However, hotels can't implement them as fast as the guests demand and desire them. It will be easier for hotels that are being built from scratch to integrate the feature than established hotels switching over to this new technology, but I believe they will eventually. In the article it states that guests rate the hotel 7 points higher with mobile key cards. Higher reviewed hotels will bring in more guests thus increasing hotel revenue. The utilization of the mobile room key allows the guest to check in on their phone remotely. Once the guest arrives to the hotel they can go straight up to their room without having to stop at a front desk. This gives the guest a more personalized and efficient experience, which I agree with. In my opinion being able to walk into a hotel and go up immediately to my room is ideal. I have not stayed at a hotel yet that has used the mobile key feature but I imagine it is great. I think all hotels in the future will run on mobile key entry. The article states there will be a learning curve for the guests and staff initially. It will be important to educate guests who don't travel often and guests in general. It stated that some people might feel embarrassed if they don't use the mobile key correctly and need to return to the front desk. That could be very frustrating to some guests who come to their room and then have to go back downstairs to talk to the front desk if something goes wrong. It is also stated that there will be awareness and comfort challenges with the front desk staff. I believe that mobile key entry is the future of hotel technology. It will take

The article reveals how tablet devices offer many advantages to hotels, because many business processes become more and more independent of location. Allowing your employees to work more effective is the main objective for the hospitality and tourism business. A few examples: Hotels can use iPads as "floating front desks", offering guests mobile services like check-in or check-out. iPads could even be employed as support work stations to reduce demand peaks. The ability to having a floating front desk and being able to accomodate guest is beneficial." The app offers access to guest relevant functions of the property management system like booking services. It also offers access to location based services, advertising local events and facilities, and to the hotel's social networking sites" Having the application to allow guest to have 24 hour service is a convenience comparable to none.

         This article introduce us a new hotel software technology, the iPad property management system. Nowadays the table devices offer many advantages to hotel. Ipad is a good example for the table device use in hospitality industry. A German company design a PMS on iPad for hotel, its name is protel Air. Use this device, hotel can provide the mobile service like check-in and check-out to support the employee's job. Protel Air is a full-service solution and a true "Software-as-a-Service" application, that is hosted in a secure data centre environment. The only requirement of this device is the Internet; it can update and maintain the date through Internet. It also protects the data by its security system. They also design an application called protel Voyager for guests. It offers access to location based services, advertising local events and facilities, and to the hotel's social networking sites. The protel Voyager will encourage guests to report positive feedback.          I think to use new technology to help the operation of hotel is a good idea. Even it will cost some money to purchase the equipment and training the employee. It will save time for the employee especially in the peak season. My only concern is the app for guests. Guests may not use to this kind of new technology. They prefer the human service more. But it is worth to try.  

German protel hotelsoftware presented the world's first property management system for the iPad. The tablet devices give hotel a lot of benefits.  It helps the hotel reduce demand peaks, and offer guests more convenience. Protel doesn't need the support of additional hardware and installation. it can run in the internet browser. One of Protel's product is Protel Voyager, which is designed as a web app, the customers do not need to install this app, because it can runs in the mobile browser. It offers access to guest relevant unctions of the property management system like booking services. It also offers access to location based services, advertising local events and facilities, and to the hotel's social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook or You Tube.  

Hotel facility managers challenged by demand for wireless communications

This article introduced POS which is the tool to increase sales rate. The author pointed out that the POS management software can help the hotel analyze consumer demand and increase the rate of sales based on analyze. The author thought it is very easy to manage multiple activities when the hotel is small. However, if the business is big, then it is very hard to manage. The POS software can help for those businesses and it is very efficient in calculations. Also the hotel can make use of this software to get daily periodic reports. These reports can assist them to assess properly whether the customers are satisfied with their service or not. Based on the analyze, the hotel can make specific strategy to increase the sales rate and the system can enhances the customer service.

In the article "Investing in Hotel Technology- Guest Needs Versus Franchise Demands" it talks about how hotel owners follow brand standards while managing potential conflict with guests and are making sure they are getting their moneys worth on this investment. Technology is a huge part of hotels today, everything is done from the Internet and it even helps employees organize all of their information in an easy, user friendly way. Over the past years many hotel owners have opted to become franchisees of big name industries. "By joining a major hotel chain, these individual owners benefit from the brand association they get from being under such a well-known corporate umbrella, broader consumer recognition, plus access to well-established centralized reservation and booking systems." When hotel owners opt to become franchises of these bigger hotels they also give up their right to make certain decisions for their own hotel. Although this could be a downfall for the owner, "these investments have a negligible impact on the ability of the hotelier to bring in additional revenue," which is something that the hotel needs help with. Overall, when small hotels opt out and decide to become franchisees of big name hotels like the Hilton, it has both its advantages and disadvantages.