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With the ecological environment changes, the general trend of hotel is going to green, which included hotel sewage treatment, boiler dust emission, waste heat emission, the kitchen for the discharge of atmospheric pollutants. Not only the hoteliers require themselves pursuing green but also hope their guests could see that. Most of hotels have already taken action. Such as, Marriott International stop delivering newspapers to guests' rooms, Starwood has eliminated thin shampoo bottles, instead installing dispensers in showers at its Element and Aloft hotels. We are glad to see the hoteliers dedicated to protecting the natural environment.

European green movement is the fastest in the world. Through some green certifications and people's awareness, green hotel market is increasing. Hence, the green hotel can not only save utility cost but also extend the market by reputation.  LEED, GSTC or blue flag are the trends for hospitality. Sustainable tourism can be the only future direction for this industry. 

This article highlights how several large chain hotels have taken on the initiative to reduce/eliminate their resource and energy consumption to sustain their communities for tourism. The four main steps taken include: saving the coral reefs, energy and water conservation, preserving food and repurposing waste, and creating eco- minded communities. Hotels have taken on a number a projects such as creating underwater structures to preserve and enhance the coral reefs for guests experience, filtering water from the local river, starting a food waste program to turn left over food items into reusable water, and hosting seminars to discuss sustainability and clean ups to name a few.

Consumers are significantly more eco-concious in their daily lives which translates significantly to their hotel experience. They want to ensure that they and the hotels they stay at are doing their best efforts to be green. Hotels that create green initiatives see more return from those guests. Cloud computing is also one of those initiatives.

19% of travelers said they would pay more to vacation with a green resort. Sustainable hotels are shaving 8% off expenses in their first year. Biomimicry is the future of because they will not only be energy efficient but coexist peacefully with the natural habitat.

Hotel Indigo in Dubai runs entirely on solar power. With a digital building management system, the hotel can monitor, control and track energy use to become more efficient. Biophilic Design Biophilic design in hotels can achieve a sense of serenity, mixing natural with artificial. Plus, guests will stick around longer, with a 36% higher dwell rate compared to hotel lobbies without biophilic features. Repurposed Materials At RIMBA Jimbaran Hotel in Bali, Indonesia, the lobby is built from driftwood and the remnants of old fishing boats. Sustainable Architecture The wave coursing, while not eco-friendly, accurately matches the original 1920s architecture. Biomimicry Solutions Biomimicry in hotel design can enhance the guest experience for the modern, eco-conscious traveler. A hotel could generate power using wind, absorb sunlight and collect and recycle rainwater. Cloud Computing Combined with automation, which won't bog down internal operations, a hotel can monitor performance, manage energy use, detect felt and diagnostics and much more.

This article discusses the benefits to using new technologies to manage kitchens in hotels and/or restaurants. By using digital softwares, processes can be streamlined as information is shared more quickly across different departments and staff versus paper reports being misfiled or lost. This also ties into food sensors to better determine and manage food output and ensure not only a better quality being served to the public but less waste overall. Especially in the current climate, less food waste would not only help the bottom line but would be an added marketing tool to more eco-conscious patrons.

There are so many systems for revenue management and labor control for the F&B industry, but certainly based on my personal experience, the use technology for food temperature and cost control is an area that is still lagging behind. In most the hotels I have worked at, we still rely on monitoring the temperature of the fridges from the sensors and alarms installed in the fridges and although we use the Birchstreet system to order food and cost the recipes, the inventory and quality assurance of food once received is still done visually and with the "clipboard and paper" method which takes a lot of labor and inaccuracies. Very interesting article and reminder of where technology can come in handy. Thanks for sharing!

This article from Trip Advisor is a simple research about green hotel alternatives available for travelers. The very interesting part is that there is a great percentage of travelers who questions the hotels green practives. Another important part of the article is the difficulty that hotels face due to travelers resisiting to shift paradigms. Many travelers believe that vacation is time to indulge instead of worring about green practices and initiatives. For that reason, they will do things that they wouldnt do at home. For example, not use the linen reuse program, leave the ac on when not in the room, TV and etc. The article also mentions the three least green cities.

In regards to Module 2: Post a hospitality/tourism network, telecommunications, or green related article, I chose to post about a green related article and found an awesome article of "Eight Ways Hotels Are Helping To Protect The Environment." In honor of the past April 22's Earth Day, the article displayed the examples for some of the hotels in the United States that were committed to aid in preserving the environment for the hoteliers and guests alike to keep sustainability strong for the respective hospitality companies as well as travelers who are striving to travel with eco-friendly options. Located in Oahu, Hawaii, the Turtle Bay Resort is home to an on-property horse stable, tennis and golf courses, a 15 mile hiking/mountain biking trails, many health conscious classes such as fitness, wellness, and even a surf school. With its advantageous beach location, water adventures such as eco-kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming enable guests to view many of the natural resources, mammals, and endangered species that visit along the shores of the resort. With all of the above activities, it is crucial for this resort to take especially good care of the natural resources that benefit the resort by attracting guests. With that being said, the resort team members initiate beach cleanups every month for about 5 miles of the beach's shoreline. As well, back in 2009, the resort developed a Green Committee to plan and map out methods to reduce the resort's carbon footprint. Some examples of this was adding solar roof panels, convert 70% of the resort's lighting to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, initiated recycling for the entire resort, and changed cups utilized at the F&B outlets to environmental friendly options. Located in Leesburg, Virginia, The National Conference Center's food and beverage program partnered with local Virginia Farms to source their food from local farmers to enhance the consumer's yearning for the farm-to-table cuisine. For Earth Day, the company i

AirBnb and City Relay discuss how they are implementing sustainability in the short term vacation rentals that host travellers in their business platforms. Sustainability has become a very important trend in tourism which travellers highly consider and these businesses see sustainability as a way of increasing operational efficiency.

This article is based on how we can improved e-wastes on doing little changes that will benefit on our future. Most of the e-waste is not recycle properly, we buy things after things and more after more, every time a new technology comes up there is the motivation on buying what is the lasted cool technology, and what about what we have , where does it go ? to the trash or recycle, but we do not know where that recycling goes, I believe learning more about it will help on our routine of how to recycle better and help with this process to proceed right.

We quickly move to 'next' as far as technology goes and rarely think about how to get rid of it when obsolete. In the Caribbean for example, there are not may recycling plants for e-waste, in fact, many rarely do recycling on a whole. In the Turks and Caicos, disposing of a television or a phone is as simple as throwing it in the trash among everything else. What happens next? It goes into the landfills and there they lie. Imagine the toxic waste from over 40,000 inhabitants on a small island. While moving with the crowd seems to be the way of the world, I believe government entities must act swiftly in ensuring e-waste is disposed of correctly to preserve this island and its inhabitants for generations to come. The technology should not outpace the disposal thereof.

The hospitality industry is recognizing how imperative it is to run your hotel in a way where it will not only benefit you and your business but for the environment as well. Many hotels are making an effort to making an effort to become certified by means of having a going green business. In addition to certification, businesses in the hospitality industry are contributing to this go green effort by seeking specific goals and priorities. Hotels for example are focusing on how to save energy and water conservation, solid waste management, land use and indoor air quality. Changing basic hotel equipment such as toilets, solar heating, washing machines/dryers, refrigerators to "green products" can create a big difference in hotel energy costs and help save the environment as well. When a hotel owner applies for certification they are carefully inspected to verify compliance on how well the hotel manages their business efficiently by saving energy, water and disposing wastes properly for example. Even something so small as using the right cleaning supplies can have a positive impact on the environment. Not only does going green lower hotel costs but they also receive tax rebates, zoning permits and other incentives to persuade hotels to go green.

In todays world, where ecoturism is the fastest growing market in the hospitality industry, hotel managers and owners realize the importance of running their properties in an environmentally responsible way. These initiatives usually translate in to greater customer recognition and loyalty. Some of the ways they achieve this is thru certifications, such as LEED which focuses on improvements to buildings and structures in order to maximize operations such as energy performance, conservation of water and other resources.

In an effort to become more environmentally conscious, many hotels and resorts have taken major steps, from pre construction to customer requests, to reduce their "carbon footprint". These establishments understand the value of "going green" not just to increase their long term profits but also to cater to a growing demand for more environmentally friendly recreational outlets. Going green is more than just a fad. Therefore, it is imperative, to stakeholders, within the hospitality and tourism industry to make the necessary changes to maintain a competitive edge.

Hotel guests are now more interested in connectivity than they used to. With this technology age guests would like to have access "to all things digital that can enhance their experience." Hotels now are spending more time and resources on network technology as they do for other services. For hotels to gain competitive advantage they need to build rooms where everything is on a network.

This brings up a topic that we discussed in one of the earlier weeks in class. Being PCI compliant is a very critical role in guest satisfaction. It makes the guest feel secure and confident that their information is safe and not being shared through other channels.

Another topic that is mention, previously discussed in class, is how paper menus will be replaced and guests will now have access to order via touch screen devices. This does not eliminate servers, but increases efficiency of staff, and increases turnover of tables.

Through this article we can understand how the trends in event management industry taking shape. By having the knowledge of such trends in the event industry ,hotels can modify their strategies accordingly. Increasingly tech-savvy and eco-conscious clients will drive continued change in meetings and events management in the year ahead, according to meetings management, logistics and event company, Publicis Meetings USA (PMUSA). Technological advances are expected to be at the core of several trends in the meeting industry in 2011. Customizable mobile apps One trend is the use of mobile devices and customized applications to promote audience engagement, interactivity and networking. Mobile apps are now being developed for individual events and programs, allowing organizers to communicate with attendees before and during the meeting, especially regarding time-sensitive subjects like changes of itinerary, maps and other announcements. Hybrid meetings In today's cost-conscious business environment, PMUSA forecasts that new technologies will also drive continued growth in hybrid meetings. By incorporating hybrid components into their meetings, clients are saving money, achieving higher attendance rates and promoting sustainability. Incorporating technology, such as live broadcasts and video streaming, allows clients to conduct and attend meetings from a remote location. PMUSA believes that the cost savings is a major factor in this trend, along with the importance of a meeting's environmental responsibility." Comprehensive "green" meetings Meeting clients have increasingly been requesting "green" events, but it's the comprehensive nature of these requests that PMUSA sees as the most important trend for the coming year. Increasingly, clients are expecting every aspect of a meeting to include an environmental component, from biodiesel vehicles and biodegradable materials to the use of locally sourced food and reusable plants for centre pieces in lieu of cut flo

Yes, what you mention is the trend of technology using in event planning. I used to search information about the green concept of meeting. Now more and more planners consider this trend when plan meeting. It's a comprehensive one when implement.

This article is very interesting because it does not focus solely on one type of technology, but rather summarizes several technologies and discusses the importance of their uses. Green technologies in hotels can vary from anything affecting the water heating system to air ventilation and even plumbing systems in hotels. As stated in the article, it is extremely important for hoteliers to be aware of these changes that are occurring. Hoteliers may not have to immediately alter their current systems but they should definitely be aware and in tuned to the ever-changing "green" technologies - for if they don't they may be putting their hotels at risk.

This article is basically talking about the different green ways that a hotel can operate. For instance in Denmark they have stations set up where a guest can pedal stationary bikes to produce energy which in exchange they receive a free meal from the restaurant. To make hotels more green the hotels are using higher technological systems like changing the ventilation systems that provide fresh air indoors and have timers on the exhaust in the bathrooms. These technological advances to the properties will be more pricey than normal systems but in the long run they will save these hotels money and help them be more earth friendly.

Having worked in the meetings industry for 5 years now, we have also seen the increase of the more eco friendly traveler/meeting planner/attendee. Our accommodations have taken an active stance to incorporate more of the green friendly features to meet the needs of this traveler, but also to cut costs and increase operations efficiency.

As people say over and over again, technology has changed the way we live our lives. While these technologies have affected each and every individual, certain professions and hobbies have been altered in very major ways. Among others, event planners have had to adapt the way in which they work and live. This is not to say that social media has had a negative influence on event planning, merely that it has had a significant effect on it. One of the major changes in the fields of meetings and events this year is the introduction of Smartphone technology to business. There has been a rapid development in Smartphone mobile app for event management. By using such platforms businesses are turning themselves into tech savvy, eco-conscious enterprises. Today the trend of using mobile applications for event management has led the Smartphones to increase the technological and interactive aspects of a meeting or an event. There are various audience response and networking apps that helps in accomplishing tasks like customizing program agendas, and messaging.

Green information technology(IT), referred to as green computing, is a term used to describe the application of automated resources in an efficient manner. Green IT originates with system manufacturers producing environmentally friendly products and encouraging users to adopt eco-friendly practices such as reducing paper usage through minimal printing, operating more efficiently with power management,and exercising proper recycling habits.As global information technology environmental standards continue to expand, it is highly likely that guidelines governing product life span, power consumption and recyclable resources will be in the forefront.

I highlighted in blue the sections I was most interested in, I found the passage about reducing faxing and photocopying to be most interesting. There is no reason to be so reliant upon these when you can send attachments through your smart phone. Hotels and other properties can unplug these machines to save money on the electric bill. There are otherways to be paperless, for example.The article I spoke of was about how hotels can limit the need to priint itemized bills and reciepts, all charges can be posted right to the mobile app on the smart phone. The mobile app on the smart phone will even unlock and lock your room doors and allow enterance to the spa and fitness center. There won't be a need for plastic room keys anymore either.

In hospitality industry, IT technology brings many benefits to us, but it is also a source of pollution when disposing of broken technology. There are many advantages of green IT movement such as reducing energy, water, paper, environmental waste and impacts, etc. Although it has many benefits, green IT projects need support from company's top leaders in both time and resources. The ROI of green IT is a little bit longer than other types of projects, but it has upside potential and intangible benefits. Green IT practices are not contrary with making money, so hoteliers should take measures to lead the organization on its journey to green action.

The hospitality industry is implementing more sustainable practices in order to promote a green image that appeals to consumers- which is impacting sales. As the article quotes "companies that lead their competitors in terms of environmental performance also tend to enjoy a median Return-on-Equity that is 3% higher than that of their counterparts." By going green, industry's can can not only attract today's environmentally conscious travelers- but also can help the environment. The hospitality industry is practicing approaches of how to manage operations in an eco-friendly way to help the planet. 2020 will be the year for companies to operate their environmental policies, and marketing messaging around ecological themes.

This article talks about the development of sustainable technology and how it relates to tourism in Barbados. It mainly discusses new technologies and how the country plans to create more business opportunities that promote tourism but also help the economy to thrive. The main takeaway is that the country hopes to become a fully renewable economy by 2030. It has many different natural resources and business opportunities that will allow for the skilled labor that is necessary to do so.