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The first products distributed by GDS was hotel lodging reservation system, such as different types of rooms, description and price categories with the airline system. GDS has been increased on the travel market, such as number of flights. Travel Agencies (TA) also use GDS to offer complimentary products, such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation tickets, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne,That means, GDS has become more important distribution channel for nay product through TA. Also TA had more opportunity of more products their own system and GDS system from increase number of booking volume with lower operating costs. It was the first and major goals of GDS being used in the hospitality industry. Even though hopitality ingustry use GDS system, there are few problems, such as show only simple structure. For example, there are 4 different kinds od room and 3 categories od comfort, it means they have 12 different kinds of combination. Because of the GDS database structure, only there 12 combination could be displayed. It took a while to fit all the multiple types of comport rates, rooms and services in GDS standard database structure. Instead of choosing GDS system, they cans choose other alternative system with develop several computerized system to make a database structure closer to product specification. Nowadays, GDS using all of the hospitality industry from reservation hotel rooms to car rentals and Travel Agencies. Through GDS as globally, people are able to to book different kinds of hotel rooms in different destination all around the world, tours, airline seats, cruises and eeve limousines.

Looking at these numbers it becomes very clear how important GDS are to the hospitality industry, more rooms booked means increased revenues and more jobs for hospitality professionals. I am sure that this technology will evolve and transform so it is important to stay current and understand how to get the most out of it.

What's global distribution system? This question is kind of cliché in our group, but this article gives a very good introduction about GDS and it's quite easy to understand comparing to many other articles introducing GDS. This article tells us: How GDS develops from being used only in airline industry to being generally adopted in hospitality industry; What is the working idea behind the GDS; Four major GDS including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan; Advantages provided by GDS.

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.

This article is about what can be LEED certified and how to go about getting certified. I just learned about this topic in my Hosp. Fac. Enviro. Sys. class, when I learned about it, I didn't realize that you have to be reevaluate.

With privacy being a concern in the hospitality industry, hotels are incentivizing a customer sharing information with a heightened personalized experience. Customers are willing to share personal data to earn loyalty program benefits, receive special discounts and offers, and will shop more often with those brands that personalize their communications.

Even though we are aware that generally, individuals are more inclined to do things when there are benefits to them, this new exchange of data for access to certain benefits has now placed that transaction at the forefront of my mind. This is because schemes are not being applied to secretly obtain customers' personal data, but rather the customers are willing to share them. This exchange is beneficial to guests since they earn travelers' consent, unlock richer experiences, better service, and high long-term loyalty. In my opinion, this is a fair trade. Thanks for sharing this article on "How Hotels Can Drive Increased Revenue and Loyalty By Offering a Reciprocal Value Exchange with Guests."

In the article, "Green and Eco-Friendly Hotel Amenities" it talks about how many different hotels are doing their part and keeping the planet green. The first place that the article talks about is the Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, it uses no motorized vehicles instead the guests can use electric golf carts or electric boats to ride around on the nine miles of canal. "Each resort also has an onsite biologist to lead educational boat tours through the lagoons." At the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago they built a rooftop garden to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for the hotel's restaurant, they are also considering making space to put several beehives, this will lead to a natural approach of producing honey. One of the most interesting and easy ways to stay green was at the Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley; they have sheep that eat the grass replacing all lawnmowers and on top on that, their manure helps fertilize the soil. It's a win, win solution! In New York they have a restaurant called Habana Outpost and you really have to work for your food, literally. At this restaurant you have ride a bike that powers the eatery blender and if they generate up to 100 watts of energy, they will earn a free meal, such an amazing and creative idea! This "is part of the hotel's larger commitment to eco-friendliness, which includes a CO2-neutral building, solar panels, and groundwater-based heating and cooling systems." At Jicaro Island lodge in Nicaragua, they used all of they wood from trees that were knocked down in Hurricane Felix and they also use a good majority of their wastewater that is recycled to irrigate the trees and plants. Before reading this article, I never knew that so many hotels were doing their part at staying green and I'm surprised by all the new and unique ways that they have come up with, it gives me hope for the future!

In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,

This article, posted on seekingalpha.com discusses the success behind Kayak. Kayak is an OTA that "gives consumers a one-stop research solution to best fares along with other value-added services like flight status updates and pricing alerts." However Kayak's revenues stem primarily from advertising and referrals. The article futher breaks down the percentiles of the profits with ads at 55% and referrals at 38%. Kayak's stock is at a premium and only seems destined to improve. A very interesting graph portrays estimates of its improvements for both ads and referrals.

Ebookers.com has a new rewards program being introduced called Bonus+, with a focus on mobile use. They have done research and developed a program that allows travelers to earn rewards on hotel bookings, packaged trips and flight bookings. Bonus+ offers a membership which has three tiers to their program. If customers reach gold or platinum status, they offer a 24-hr support for hotel bookings and free upgrades at participating hotels. If customers are to book through their mobile app, they receive more discounts on bookings. This concept is very interesting and I'd like to see how much it will effect the status of travel agents. It will be interesting to see how many more companies will try to come out with rewards programs like Bonus+.

This is an interesting article that describes some of the new technology being implemented to improve how employees are getting paid based on the current workforce's spending habits. These include the ability to be paid by debit cards, ability to be paid daily and have the flexibility to move the money around, AI intelligence to keep track of the employees' work hours on their own devices, and integration of many payroll functions into one platform. With so much technological advancement, it seems that payroll management is one that is still behind with many companies still working with the old clock in and out method which is time consuming.

This article covers the methodology and findings of a study conducted to examine the factors contributing to fraud risk in publicly traded restaurants. The article discusses factors in the fraud triangle, macroeconomic factors, and internal company factors that may contribute to fraud despite protections implemented per Sarbanes-Oxley. The study ultimately finds that internal company factors are insignificant when considering the impact on fraud risk, while macroeconomic factors, such as inflation or unemployment, drastically impact the level of fraud risk that a company may face.

Cloud computing offers a more efficient way for hotels to keep up with data and programs for their company. When a hotel uses cloud computing, they are able to create more of a positive experience for their guests. It also is extremely helpful to use a cloud-based system because hotels could access their cloud-based application on any device. Cloud-based software also gets better with age because the updates can be made at any time so this will get rid of negative depreciation.

The article discusses the hotel industry's adoption of cloud computing. By using cloud computing, you can use programs, upload files, and access data over the internet instead of storing them locally. Cloud computing and local storage are used together in some applications. In addition to hardware, software, training, and maintenance, IBM offered an extensive range of services. Due to Cloudbeds' ability to integrate with other tools, they have experienced rapid growth. Integrations can offer upgrades and analyze reviews, among other things, so you can provide better service and increase revenue. By implementing cloud-based software, hotels can stay ahead of the competition, save time for employees, and give their guests a better experience.

This article describes what cloud computing is, and what it isn't, so people understand how it can be seen in the industry. The storing of data on the internet has been a huge innovation as it expanded storage beyond the typical storage offered on a device. By switching to this new technology, businesses may minimize future investments as the technology tends to work for many years and only requires quick updates. By researching what your business and customers need, you can make the right choices on whether this investment is worth it or not for your property.

This article is about the new technology trends in restaurants around the US. The article shows how large cities like Chicago and New York are not only using tablets to have customers place orders, but are also using APPS. 

Technology has never been more intuitive than it is today, and it's only getting better. It allows restaurant patrons to find restaurants, rate them, and decide where they want to spend their hard-earned money when they go out to eat. It allows restaurant owners to be more efficient and effective in the areas they feel can be streamlined by hardware and software. But if used in the wrong place and at the wrong time, it can do a restaurant great harm - as it can with any industry.

This article discuss about the new approach selling digital products. By this approach the seller will rapidly maximize revenue and earn high customers satisfaction. The digital products, such as software and game, are different from the physical goods e-commerce for the intangible trait. Therefore, the seller don't need to use the traditional sales approach, such as item-based. Instead, in order to increase the revenue and build perpetual relationship with customers, the seller can sell the digital products by various ways or steps, for instance, one article of a e-book at a time, the right to make copies of a game, and time-based rentals of a magazine. When visitors are looking for their products, instead of recommend a specific product, seller should provide a set of related products according to options that visitors choose. This sales approach might need a new technology to manage the website and a platform that support flexible operation. Overall, digital goods seller can take advantage of the special traits of digital content and change the sales way develop loyalty and maximize the revenue.

Rate Tiger is a premium rate shopping and channel management solutions provider. Nowadays, the increasing website necessary directly affect the cost of e-business for the hoteliers. Thanks to the Rate Tiger, it helps hotels to identify the best producing websites, and allow hoteliers manage their inventory allotment to bring more reservation from the e-business. This article use Time Hotels as an example to prove that Rate Tiger's channel management tools really can help hotel to increase the effective of e-business.

This article talks about a group of small, independent hotel called Time hotel in France. They use the third party reseller which name is Rate Tiger's channel management tools to increase its productivity. They use this channel to have a better control of sales, price and production. Time hotel hopes to further increase their revenue from online sales. Rate Tiger allow hotels to identify the best producing websites, while also improve the relationship with channels that have a lower commission. Rate Tiger also can update all cannels in one go. This help Time Hotels earn more reservation and better to work with other website. 

This article focuses on the benefits that Maestro (a property management system) offers to hotels and how it has been benefitting hotels that currently use their system, more specifically, smaller, independent hotels. Most chain hotels and large facilities are required to utilize a flag-mandated property management system. However, independent operators are not linked with these mandated systems, and have a choice as to which system to utilize. Maestro claims to offer Northwind, a service that allows Maestro to be utilized in a cloud-based system, enabling it to host multiple properties and save the establishment money by not requiring them to purchase servers and security, whereas a traditional PMS would have done so. The president of Northwind also states that they strive for their clients to succeed and that it is more of a partnership with those who utilize their service, and their goal is to make a hotel's operations more profitable and efficient. The article continues on to explain the uses and functions of the Maestro system, including being fully-integrates and offering operators loyalty program benefits and the functionality to compete with programs that were solely available to chains. It also tracks points earned and redemption stays as well for those loyalty programs, and claims to minimize errors and save operators money. It also allows integrations that provides social media outlets through the property management system, allowing the user to operate their business simultaneously through different systems. Maestro also boasts that the utilization of their property management system allows hotels to increase their direct bookings through the property for a lower cost than if they were to utilize a different system in which it was not flawlessly and seamlessly integrated with a global distribution system. It seems to be a property management system that enables users to complete many tasks at once, from one location, without having the hassle of

"The way travelers communicate on the road has changed dramatically over the years, and these changes become evident when analyzing the revenue earned by U.S. hotels from their guests for use of telecommunication devices and services. In lodging industry parlance, "telecommunications revenue" includes monies received from the guest use of hotel room phones, fax machines, and internet connections."

This year, travelers are on track to pay U.S. hotels an estimated $1.95 billion in fees and surcharges - an amount that includes unpopular Internet charges. With this in mind, Hotel Check-In asked Robert Mandelbaum, the Atlanta-based director of information services for PKF Hospitality Research, to tell us about the state of the industry's telecommunications revenue stream - a stream that includes Internet fees.

Over the years, with technological and telecommunication advances the way we communication while on the road or on vacation has changed. I remember going on vacation as a child and being able to call my grandma from our hotel room once a day because we didn't want to spend too much money on calling back home or getting a voicemail from family members calling while we weren't in the hotel room. Over the years, this has changed dramatically. Now I can go on vacation and call, text, send emails, pictures, and videos to all my contacts with the use of my cell phone or with the use of my laptop in a WiFi area. This article gives insight on the revenue provided by telecommunications as told by Robert Mandelbaum a director of information services. He tells us that internet fees help with the growth of telecom revenue, as use of in room phones has decreased. This is just one way that the changes in technology have affected the industry. In this case, telecommunication advances have had a negative effect on the revenue in telecommunications but its only a matter of time until something new comes around and attempts to restore profit production. 

Hotel Concepts- Brilliant, a leading global provider of advanced PMS, recently announced its integration of Flip.to into RezExchange. For a small monthly subscription, Flip.to acts as marketing platform for hotels, restaurants, and airports. Customers can use it to comment, post feedback, and recommend the establishment to friends who in turn can get discounts. It also allows loyal guests and customers incentives to spread the word. RezExchange allows customers to manage their sales channels directly from the hotel management system and will receive all reservations from these channels directly into their own database. With this integration customers don't have to present printed coupons and any earned incentives are automatically credited to their hotel profiles. Hotels, restaurants, and airports that already use RezExchange and integrate Flip.to into their system will become more streamlined making it that much easier for customers and guests to build up and use their incentives.   L'Auberge Carmel hotel in California is the first property to go live with this integration and thus far, this integration has proved successful. Approximately 15 to 25 percent of guests who book rooms at participating hotels engage with Flip.to, and for every 100 engaged guests, an average of 10 to 20 additional room nights are booked within six months. 

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts brand has been recognized by L2 Think Tan's Digital IQ Index: Hotels for the use of plenty digital platforms. By analyzing the needs and wants of guest and potential customers Four Seasons decided to invest in technology obtaining great results. "We are thrilled to be recognized by L2 for our commitment to transforming our guest experience through digital and social media platforms," said Susan Helstab, executive vice president, marketing, Four Seasons. Four Seasons saw the great influence technology has in the way we conduct business and communicate therefore the brand applied the newest technology to create a competitive advantage among its competitive set. "The L2 study reflects just how meaningful this is to the guest experience, and solidifies the importance of Four Seasons continual advancement in the digital realm." Some of the recent innovations Four Season applied to the properties are the new website FourSeasons.com that includes real-time search and videos. It also includes maps, Facebook, and blogs among others. Creating a powerful and global social presence in YouTube, Facebook and Twitter that gives them more publicity, Innovating with Emerging Platforms and Mobile Access "The brand has seen 110% growth year over year of business booked through iPhones and 200% increase via iPads." Four Seasons is attracting more groups, leisure and commercial demand thanks to its technology.

Google, a well-known online search engine has a recent history of taking services that people pay money for and making it available for free to its users. One service in particular that has been recently launched is Google Flights, allowing users to select a travel plan and then go directly airlines' reservation system. The problem here is it has left online travel agency OTA's industries such as Expedia and Priceline.com out of the picture. Such OTA industries earn revenue by either taking a commission from hotel or charging a markup to consumers. This should be a great concern to this industry . Although there are some hurdles for Google-Google users search results are limited for flights as of its competitors; Google's competitors still have established customer relations and brand. Google can overcome these hurdles in a matter of time and OTA's should keep a close eye or find solutions to adapt.

Great article! I recently read that Google is taking over the travel market when searching for events using the Google search engine. Pay per click, allows companies to tie into hyperlinks when web surfers an event in the area of their business. Highlighting hotels, car rentals and restaurant conveniently located within the search engine user area.

This is a very interesting article. As a Chinese teenager, I can experience all the changes and development of Taobao and how it won Chinese market that the author mentioned in this article. eBay can be successful in an international market, while failed rapidly in Chinese market. Firstly we can see how competitive the online market is. After this we also want to ask why eBay was beaten in China? The author of this article listed four reasons: 1) Compared with eBay, Taobao has better marketing strategies in dealing with local market. At the beginning, Taobao promoted itself through TV ads and later used short messages, which were more popular than Internet in China. 2) Taobao has less limitations on buyers and sellers through the whole process. For instance Taobao charges no listing and transaction fees on its sellers and it's free to register as a user in Taobao 3) Products made in China gives Taobao more chances to sell goods in competitive price. 3)Taobao has better terms for its customers, which helps it o to earn a good reputation and also makes Taobao more flexible in customer service. 4) The way that Taobao lists its items are more customer centric and adaptable to Chinese customers' tastes. E-commerce can bring unlimited chances and is full of adventures. As for me, marketing skills, excellent customer service and high-tech are the same important for a company if it wants to increase the share of market and makes profit. Taobao can be set as a good example in e-commerce history.