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Physical plant or mechanical plant engineers can be found in almost every business sector and industry and are responsible for maintaining large facilities. These individuals usually monitor their facility's heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Additionally, physical plant engineers must also service and repair their facility's plumbing and lighting. According to 2010 data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national annual mean salary for a stationary engineer was $52,620. These individuals earned a national mean hourly wage of $25. Physical plant engineers, stationary engineers and boiler operators have a strong background in mechanics. Individuals working in this field often receive formal apprenticeship training with the International Union of Operating Engineers or formal education through vocational or trade schools. Certain states may require licensing for positions in this field. Generally, employers prefer to hire people with at least a high school diploma or GED who have experience in the field.

"Physical plant or mechanical plant engineers can be found in almost every business sector and industry and are responsible for maintaining large facilities. These individuals usually monitor their facility's heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Additionally, physical plant engineers must also service and repair their facility's plumbing and lighting. Physical plant engineers are paid an average salary of at least $50,000 to make sure a plant's systems run safely. "

This website and company will provide Hotel owners who are working on a limited budget and can not afford HR personnel. Everything is done online or over the telephone. They also specialize in risk management, employee motivation, Insurance practices,payroll, etc. You are pretty much outsourcing your HR dept to a thrid party. This reduces the expense of the hotel having to pay for entire HR staff, all correspondences can be done either over the internet, telephone, mail ins, or however the employee chooses. The downside of this, is that the employee is never dealing with the same person on a continusis basis so they will be stuck with having to explain everything over and over again. It's like dealing with an insurance company you never get the same person on the phone. This program is meant to benefit the employeer more than the employee which kind of defeats the purpose of HR.

This website is for a company that offers Human Resource consulting in Hotels, Cruise Lines, Restaurants & Casinos. They offer assistance for companies too small to take on an HR coordinator as well as large companies looking to expand and need consulting services. This is something for us to consider as future managers as these services might be needed.

This article discussed the need for the IT department to be involved whenever an employee is terminated. This practice should be in place because there can be security threats if former employees still have access to company records and data. The article gave three principles that companies should strictly adhere to when terminating employees: Prompt notification of termination, prudent revocation of access (both on-site and remote) and preemptive preservation of data. This article makes some very interesting points, because we don't often think of termination from an IT standpoint. But it is crucial that former employees no longer have access to company data, and that the company preserves certain data that will be useful if the employee seeks a lawsuit. I have a somewhat relevant example in that a former apartment complex I lived in never requested the barcode scanner for my vehicle when I moved. Just for fun one day, I tried to drive through the gate to see if my scanner still worked. It did! Good for me, but not so good for the complex, as hundreds of former tenants could still access the property with ease. This example reinforces the fact that IT must be involved even in employee terminations.

Terminating an employee is not thought to include the IT department. However, this article points out the relevance the IT department has in the process. The HRIS is efficient for the HR department to collect data on all employees. And the IT department is responsible for taking the employee off the HRIS and stop data collection. They are also responsible for ceasing access from the terminated employee to any company related information. The author suggests that the company dismiss any online access to the employee to prevent theft, hacking or any other harm to the company. The IT department must also make sure the employees private information stored in the system must be preserved. If not taken care of considerately, there is a possibility for a legal issue to arise. This is why the IT department, amongst the HR department and executive staff, should be included in the termination of employees.

This article talks about the importance of having happy employees and having the technology available to them to make their lives a little easier so that they are better equipped to make sure the guests are happy too!

The power of partnerships The tourism industry is partnering with other organizations to solve problems on how to bring a more sustainable tourism. Global impact is an international multi-stakeholders consensus to bring together companies, UN agencies, government and communities to support environment. The project need not only for NGOs to facilitate contracts but also for governments to have the right legislations dealing with sustainable tourism. Tourism can affect three key areas: * Communities: Tourism creates economic opportunity but should not affect negatively traditions and local cultures. * Individuals: Tourism should be creating the right safe working environment. * Environment: Tourism should not damage the environment. Any waste should be disposed of properly. Tourism can achieve positive impacts on the region such as funding wild life conservations. There are se several partnerships that develop to better control the tourism industry and its impacts on the region. To be successful a partnership must have appropriate stakeholders, mutually agreed goal and process, and sensitivity to the power members among other characteristics.

This article contains the belief that the "green initiatives" of the hotels are more for saving the company money than saving our planet. The article continues to tell how some hotels give their customers rewards for not requiring housekeeping assistance. This leaves the question of whether this initiative is actually saving the company money or harming the employment of the housekeeping staff. I believe that going green is a proper step to take, especially looking at today's economy. Going green could improve our environment. However, this is not what I am seeing in today's companies. The companies are too reliant on profit. So, they use the green initiative as a way to actually cut costs, without actually going green. Companies should focus more on how the green initiative will affect the world as a whole in the future instead of completely focusing on profiting for now. Focusing on profit and covering it with the supposed green initiative will only drive up unemployment and create more problems with today's economy.

This is a multi-part series by AP News on how the fast pace of technology is wiping out millions of jobs globally. Technology use is in every economical sector and nobody is immune from job losses. It is terrify to think that our world has become so automated and reliant on technological use. While there are many pros on technology use such as being more efficient, accurate, cost savings, speed and others, it has no doubt taking a toll on the economy as a whole. In the hospitality industry, a few quick examples that come to mind include online travel reservations, IPads taking over the jobs of waiters and waitress or our favorite machine the Smart Bar. These advances are unique but we are slowly moving away from human interaction. The point is while we are taking advantage of technology to improve business operations we must keep in mind that in the hospitality field we are about proving as service to others that should be as individual as possible. It will be interesting to see if this series leads to suggestions on possible future applications of technology that would revitalize the job economy or create new possibilities.

Event planning is one of the vital areas in hospitality. Many guests travel for various reasons and one of them is entertainment or special events be it festivals or weddings. These occasions have to be planned and well executed for repeat business. According to the article event planning such as festivals are great economic generators to local communities; for example the Anderson Arts Festival, an annual event in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. With eyes twinkling and listeners enthralled, Miller talks about the first economic impact study of the event, conducted in 2010, which revealed that the annual festival grossed $13 million in a town of 18,000 people. The multiplier effects of event planning such as festivals are the life blood for many families and businesses, and in many instances these events are supported by local government because of the economic impacts.

I feel that implementing technology in event planning can be of a great benefit to hotels. THe business of meeting and conventions can be a profitable one but the competition is tough. Hotels need to offer a wide variety of services to attract conferences to their properties. The use of technology now day is expected and hotels that do not offer these opportunities will stay behing the curve and miss on great opportunities.

This article discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of technology in the field of human resources. An advantage is that it speeds up the process of employee training and adds to the useful HRIS. It also adds to the organizational factor to play. As far as disadvantages since some of the technology is new to this area and has caused some questioning of these tools by employees who are use to doing their work a certain way.

This article talks about the new technology that helps to improve HR efficiency. Several strategies with technologies can make big changes. It also can save time and is a precious commodity for senior executives. However, there are also risks in these technologies. 

This article basically talks about a successful adoption of HRIS system for Wente Family Estates. This company is comprised of numerous business units including a vineyard and winery, a restaurant, and a world class golf course. Their HR team and managers are responsible for a wide range of people, jobs, and related to the company's workforce. So they needed a solution for better talent management, sustainability, and improved time management and selected the Ultimate Software's HRIS system. The HRIS system enables HR team to easily assess employee performance against measurable goals and job competencies, create employee development plans, identity high performing employees for key positions, and build an environment that maximizes talent and rewards their best performers. Besides, it enables their employees to go online to view relevant details about their hours worked and schedules. It also enables managers to log on to the system at any time to stay on top of hours and labor costs so that they can quickly make decisions such as modifying schedules or job responsibilities, if needed, to control costs.  This type of cloud based HRIS system will bring many benefits to companies comprised of diverse business units to manage their human capital.

For large corporations is indispensable to count with the right HRIS that will assist the companies to organize in a logical order all the such as employment activities and job analysis.

Great article on the rise of mobile payment systems and how businesses who in the past may have been cash only or otherwise are seeing increased sales as the ability to take credit card payments with little hardware and software infrastructure costs. Down the street from me is probably my favorite Rib joint in town, Uncle Rodney's House of Ribs is the name. I love that place, but rarely go because they are a cash only business due in large part to the fact that the owner does not wish to pay for wireless or otherwise internet related services to make his business able to accept credit cards. What are everyone's thought to the increased use of mobile payment systems for restaurants and other businesses?

This is an interesting article, and it is quite amazing to see how the way of payment is drastically shifting with new technological devices such as smartphones, card readers. Just a couple of years ago, if I wanted to buy something online, I had to start my computer then go on whatever website I bought something from which took some time. Now, however, I don't even have to turn on my computer to purchase something on the web because I can buy many things through my smartphone whenever and wherever I want. It is a lot easier and faster than what it used to be.

Spasibo bolshoe za interesting article! Ona mne ochen pomozhet v moem research!

Lawrence Cohen, an Executive Consultant and Hospitality Group Leader recently examined the conflicts of interest that hotel owners face when hiring third party management companies. According to Cohen, owing a hotel requires both strategic and operational decisions to be made in real time. The problem occurs when real estate owners go from owning commercial property to owning hotels and are not used to making decisions on a daily basis. As a result, the most critical daily decisions that determine the success of the hotel do not fall into the hands of ownership but rather to a third party management company. These third party relationships may result in hotel management staff being loyal only to the management company rather than the hotel itself. Hotel owners could benefit by building a team with experience in the hospitality industry and hiring individuals loyal to the owner. 

Source: Successful Meetings; Mar2005, Vol. 54 Issue 3, p28-34; Author: Ben Chapman bchapman@successfulmeetings.com I am posting this article because if points out another netiquette issue, which is having consideration for those outside your internet access zone, such as the public nearby, companions, and most importantly, your business supervisors and peers. This article discusses the pitfalls of technology when it comes to conducting meetings, whereas the attendees are not fully engaged due to their focus on their personal devices. While it was posted in 2005, and stating that establishment of etiquette rules are yet to be established, I still do not see indication seven years later that this trend of attentiveness towards one's device over the person next to you (or presenting to a group) has changed for the better. Not only that, but apparently meeting attendees have actually emailed the presenter to express their boredom with the meeting, and while it's good for coordinators to know how engaged the audience is, it still is very rude. The article does say that "awareness of etiquette is rising as technology matures" and "it's hip to have manners," but I don't see it in school nor in the workplace. Employers have all adopted guidelines regarding use of personal devices to limit use during work hours, and even to constrain employees online social activities to forbid use of their company name or to post disparaging comments. I find it sadly amusing that the very instruments which are meant to increase productivity and provide increased communication and professional interaction is becoming the very opposite in the workplace and during professional development venues.

In the wake of the recent fire that wreaked havoc on Chicago area airports this past weekend the FAA is planning to review its security measures. On Friday, an employee at a radar facility in Aurora Illinois set fire to a telecommunications room in an attempt to commit suicide. The fire caused thousands of departing and connecting flights bound for the Chicago area and around the country to be canceled and grounded. Not only were flights canceled on Friday but many continued to be canceled on Saturday and Sunday as well. Chicago's O'Hare Airport is the second busiest airport in the nation and an issue in security can disrupt not only the Chicago area but also flights around the country. It was noted that this incident was one of the most challenging situations air traffic controllers have had to work through since 9/11. Air travel is incredibly important to most Americans and a breach in security can be devastating. It is most important to keep travelers safety in mind especially when it comes to traveling by air. Although it is very important for travelers to make it to their final destination it is much more important that they get there safely and this is a topic the FAA is going to review as a result of this incident.

I think the question to be asked is "Can we do anything at all when a crazy person is in our midst?" If he was working at the center, he must have had some sort of vetting or clearance that he had to complete for employment. Did no other employees see any signs that he was suicidal (someone ALWAYS does)? What kind of measures were being employed to secure this clearly critical piece of infrastructure? How long did it take for anyone to respond? Clearly, lots of questions need to be posed. The effects of this one fore will ripple for months to come.

Increasing POS Security is a must when confronting employee theft within the hospitality industry. The following article highlights four effective ways in which hospitality companies can reduce internal loss and more effectively manage their staff. 

This article brings us the real version of how important to launch cyber security system, as there are actual cases in which hotel face loss because imperfect security net. Thus, the professor Mangal suggests that all hotel employees should keep an eye on the threats. At the same time when we protect our customer, we protect and branding our reputation as well. In the future, advanced technology such as biometric technology will be implemented to restrict access to data. Although hotels are unlikely to hire IT professionals directly, but they truly need cooperate with firms which specialized in cyber security, at the same time, help hotels strengthen the training of employees.

This article brings us main issues about PMS. When it comes to the operation efficiency, time is nevertheless valuable. Then on the top of the head, calling for new technology which can operates smoothly would be very important. The author brought out the detailed reasons why we need PMS tools. Firstly, high turnover needs PMS tools that make onboarding easy. Secondly, to support the team with ultimate ease-of-use would not only make hoteliers enable fast implementation, support ongoing adoption, but also allow staff enhance customer services to a large extent. At last, the author conclude few essential factors to choose PMS system: instinctual and easy to learn; speed; quick implementation and setup; mobile and cloud access; easy integrations; reliability without disruptions.

Great article! Training (and re-training) is such a large investment of labor. It is particular difficult for properties located in destinations that tend to have seasonal staff. Every year at least once a year, we have to go through a time-intensive on boarding process that is a big investment for a smaller property. It also keeps us from making some staffing choices because of the difficulty in getting a replacement shift ready. Thanks for sharing!

Summary of sustainability trends in the Hotel Industry

Over the few years, travel agents are using booking through Global distribution systems. Hotels however are having to pay a 20% booking fee when people book through GDS. Travel agents are also now using Airbnb, and alternative booking, because they aren't seeing any commissions on them. GDS is a large computer network that represents a single point of entry to travel agents and meta search sites. GDS are heavily used in the business and corporate travel accounts. GDS corporate business typically delivers more revenue for hotels because business travelers usually eat and drink in the hotel, rather than travel outside the hotel and spend money. Travel agents use commissionable and non-commissionable booking that, where commissionable bookings must add typically 8-10% agency commission on top of the GDS fees. GDS can be a good source of incremental bookings and increase margins.

Over the few years, travel agents are using booking through Global distribution systems. Hotels however are having to pay a 20% booking fee when people book through GDS. Travel agents are also now using Airbnb, and alternative booking, because they aren't seeing any commissions on them. GDS is a large computer network that represents a single point of entry to travel agents and meta search sites. GDS are heavily used in the business and corporate travel accounts. GDS corporate business typically delivers more revenue for hotels because business travelers usually eat and drink in the hotel, rather than travel outside the hotel and spend money. Travel agents use commissionable and non-commissionable booking that, where commissionable bookings must add typically 8-10% agency commission on top of the GDS fees. GDS can be a good source of incremental bookings and increase margins.