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This article discusses proximity marketing within the hospitality industry. Proximity marketing is a growing useful tool. Hotels are among those utilizing proximity marketing. As noted in the article and highlighted in yellow, proximity marketing allows the hotel to reach there guest after they check in. Following check in your phone can be used as increased access to the hotel. Proximity marketing is an enhancement which leads to increased innovation. Per the article proximity marketing is one of the most effective advertising tools to become available for hotels. Through proximity marketing messages are transferred to the guest cell phone. The cell phone access has the ability to lead to increased revenue. The hotel and guest can interact in new ways. This form of marketing caters to guest engagement, provides a new method of communication and allows for guests to receive information. Proximity Marketing is an innovative tool that I believe will continue and grow as the years continue.

Mobile proximity marketing in my opinion will continue more vigorously in the future . This is a captive audience for the hotel to connect with its guests to upsell , inform , drive business to the brand and its affiliates as well as a great tool for guest retention . Undoubtedly , the cell phone has replaced Ipads and computers in the movement for vacation guests for example . A guest would usually not take their laptops to the pool area but will more often than not , take their cell phone. A popup Ad while walking by the boutique or an outlet can stir emotions to visit or purchase that was never planned.

This article discusses how, using proximity marketing and hotels can deliver relevant content to guests' mobile devices at moments of maximum influence, in a contextually relevant environment. With proximity marketing, hotels can advertise to a captive audience without leaving their property or hotel rooms. Messages can be tailored according to the hotel or advertising partner's needs in real-time.

In the article, "Online-first event planning: Leave the bagels, keep the connectivity," it talked about global conversations facilitated by online engagement that have an in-person conversation or presentation at its core. When the company decided to live stream their events, their attendance nearly doubled just by using the ICCM's webcast. "International organizations that focus on issues such as open governance and transparency often fail to lead by example on these issues, holding conferences that are limited to small audiences, and comprised only of individuals who can afford the time and airfare necessary to be in attendance." Overall they believe that this tool is a great way for social change. This is an effective way to share information with others at a low cost way.

This article introduce that the world's largest hotel company by numbers of rooms, IHG has installed a new system. Green Engage. This system is used to help hotel operators manage energy more effectively. It is estimated that the new system can save around 25% energy and $200 million for the company. According to the introduction, the system is developed by IHG and it will be used for all of the IHG brands' hotels. It works by hotels directly inputting data on side. It can reduce the waste and the use of energy and water. Green Engage is designed for the guest who is looking for better environment. More and more guests are willing to book sustainable hotels and after using the new system, hotel can respond the guest request. Also, the chairman of the IAHI Owners' Association though the green system is very good for business as it can save much more money in energy cost.

Kronos Inc. announced new enhancements to Workforce Dimensions which will combine advanced labor volume forecasting, predictive scheduling, and task management for a complete enhancement to the workforce. The end goal of these enhancements is to attract, retain, and develop a highly engaged workforce with an employee-first environment.

This very interesting article explains the top 5 trends currently with the hotel property management systems. The obvious top trend is the cloud-based systems because the cost is so much less and the efficiency is so high, that many don't have more con's than pro's so there is almost little to no reason for hotel companies to jump right into this trend, if they haven't already done so. The other trends mentioned were mobility, guests engagement, endless ietegration, and sleek design, which all in a way tie in with the new cloud-based systems. The one I found most interesting was the guest engagement because with the cloud systems, employees are able to connect with a guest and other employees at any time and essentially anywhere because the cloud PMS is able to be used on mobile devices. The systems are also more integrated with other software that understanding the true nature of the guests is easier and therefore the best service can be provided to accommodate that guest to his/her specific needs, without him or her needed to ask for it.

Week 6 Diigo - This article was all about how the use of mobile devices can grow a restaurant's business. The four tactics that were discussed were engaging with customers on their level, offer mobile ordering,stay connected with customers, and offer loyalty programs. Engaging with customers includes posting and responding to customers on social media websites, creating a personal connection with customers. Offering mobile ordering allows for customers to have quick and convenient access to your food. This gives them the ability to still choose your restaurant even if they are on a time crunch. Staying connected with customers involves sending out reminders to customers about specials, coupons, etc to encourage them to remember your restaurant and choose to go to it. Lastly, offering loyalty programs will encourage customers to visit your restaurant more than usual just to receive the free perks that come with the loyalty program.

This article relates the future shape of Event Management Software that is set to define the future of events management. No longer is it just about just planning seating and defining attendee and rooming lists. Technology has enabled event planners to reach deeper into the behavior, desires and participation needs of attendees defining preferences and engaging rather than just making things happen. Key fundamentals include the capability to reach out to attending audiences, monitor their engagement and illicit responses as well as interact directly or indirectly, through chat bot or polling. While this article focuses on the planner to attendee experience, this holds similar opportunity for Hotel and Event spaces to engage simultaneously and seamlessly through the same platforms. These are incredible and exciting opportunities that 10 years ago were a bucket wish list for event planners and Conference service professionals alike.

This article was able to summarize all the different event registration softwares that are available currently and their pros and cons. It gives you a good idea on what software you would prefer for your company depending on what they have to offer.

The article discuss Ritz Carlton experience with their own CRM system called Mystique, it also argues that a CRM system and technology are not enough to gain customer loyalty but also needs a different level of customer engagement.

The article discuss how did Ritz Carlton introduced a new CRM system named mystique to develop a more personalized service for the clients focusing mainly on data collected through the hotel employees by observing guests behavior or by asking the guest directly. However, the article also discusses the importance of human interaction regardless to the system it self.

The airline industry has implemented beacon technology for a more personalized and easy travel experience. The article discusses how Beacons are collecting real time information and creating a single touch point experience to get information regarding airports or flights. It goes into detail about the ability of communication with travelers while they are traveling.

The chosen article provides an overview of proximity marketing and its benefits for improved consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Particularly, the article suggests that proximity marketing helps to personalize the consumer experience and provide a sense of connectedness with the brand they are purchasing from. Businesses that manage from a specific location may issue coupons or offer discounts applicable to the consumers within a store to enhance purchasing experiences. Proximity marketing is commonly implemented by hospitality organizations, where various on-site events are arranged or individual purchase-based rewards are offered to consumers. Similarly, restaurants engage their consumers in fun activities and games as well as introduce new discounts and promotions while they wait for food. Real-estate businesses also use proximity marketing to create high-value where need and preference-based homes, office spaces, and rentals are offered. However, advertisers need to be aware of consumer preferences to offer useful and effective personalized services. Geo-targeting is an impactful proximity advertising technique where location data is used to tailor offerings as per the identified local trends and behaviors.

Social Media Marketing in Hospitality is especially useful to engage existing guests and attract new guests. The hotel can use this form of marketing for advertising, getting customer reviews, and promoting hospitality industry events. One thing that is trending now is using Social Media influencers with followers to boost business.

Social media marketing is impacting the hospitality industry and if you don't already have a strategy you need to start one. You can do this by reviewing your goals which might include increasing engagement, brand awareness, analytics, acquisition, content marketing or customer service. Next you will want to pick a social channel to implement your strategy on and be creative with it. Whatever you decide strategy wise start small and build on it to reach new customers and build loyal ones.

Even though using beacon technology for proximity marketing is still in its infancy in the restaurant industry, this technology has already demonstrated some of its potential by virtue of increasing labor and overall operational efficiency while boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. Beacons can help increase restaurant and bar sales, improve customer service, and provide more value for their customers, which should lead to customer loyalty. The possibility of applying beacon technology in the restaurants and bars opens a window of opportunity to engage diners and also enables restaurants to create more tailored experiences for them. Restaurants can use beacons to send alerts to people nearby about many table/seat availability and encourage them to make reservations or walk in. Or if the restaurant is very busy, restaurants can send the menu to their phones, so they can browse it while waiting for their tables. Restaurants and bars can build profiles of returning customers and provide offers based on past preferences. Thus, returning customers can benefit from improved and personalized customer service. During quiet hours or days, restaurants and bars can efficiently manage their staff and service, because of the data they have been collecting using beacons. Diners can even pay for their meal or drinks using their mobile device without having to wait for the waiter to come over and accept their method of payment.

This articles talks about what beacon-based proximity marketing is and its usefulness in restaurants.

Beacon technology has been around for a long time - prior to 2013 - but cost kept it unpopular. Initially only real big hospitality players had this tech. Now cost is no longer a limiting factor, but companies are limited to customers/potential customers who have a compatible app or the companies own app already on their phone, so they can push the proximity messages.

As technology advances, major shifts are happening within the event industry. Gone are the days of paper and pen registration as RFID chips or tags are issued to attendees for sign in. Event specific apps are loaded right onto the attendees phone enabling them to communicate and be notified of event-related information. Augmented and virtual reality allow attendees to see a product or experience in a whole new way, taking engagement to a whole new level from the pop-up banner stand that used to line trade show booths. All of this technology also allows event organizers to have more access to analytics due to the amount of data that is able to be gathered. As technology grows, so will the engagement of attendees through these new systems.

Six technologies that can be used for your exhibits, events, trade shows, conferences; we want to make a better experience with our clients and having the event be more interactive is the way to go. Who wants to go to a boring event where you only walk from booth to booth? Interaction is what a lot a in search of and this article helps give you pointers on how to do just that.

Proximity Marketing is the trend of the marketing sector of the hospitality industry. Based on the statistics, there is a great increase in using proximity marketing recent years. And there are some reasons why hotels choose to use this technology. First, it enables the hotel to reach potential customers and providing electronic forms of advertising. By notifying guests of exclusive promotions hotels have to offer through their mobile phones, hotels and advertisers have a greater chance of customers responding to their advertisements, and therefore a greater ROI on their marketing spend. Second, from the perspective of the hotel, it decrease the advertising cost in terms of decreasing labor cost. It is said that proximity marketing has a tremendous revenue-production potential, and more hotels are engaging in using proximity marketing.

Proximity marketing is the localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. It is now becoming one of the most popular marketing tools in any industry especially in hospitality. Marketing people from hotel industry were looking for new marketing tools past few years. Instead of sending out promotion mails or emails, they need to have better ideas. What they realized is that wish an increase in the use of mobile devices, hotels can communicate and provide better service with guest cell phone. They also realized guests usually watch TV, while they are waiting to be C/I. So hotel is now providing offers while guests are in line. It is a Win-Win situation. The way to find communication is now the key of marketing. Proximity Marketing is a type of eMarketing that will help to communicate with guests with low cost.

According to this article, it said that by the end of 2011, 91% of Americans  owned mobile phones, and Smartphone penetration have been doubled. Obviously, it becomes a trend in hospitality industry nowadays that more and more people use smart phones and tablets. Based on wireless such as bluetooth, it allows hoteliers to interact with customers much easier and more convenient. Proximity marketing is one kind of eMarketing which is very popular in daily life. It is well known that better marketing brings better sales which of course increases revenues of companies. By sending guests nearby informations about promotions and discounts, hotels attract more guests than before. However, too much informations sent to guests will make them sucks and they have no choice to select what they really want. So in my opinion, I think it should be improved.

This article focuses on attendees using a modern day technology- mobile phones, tables and laptops at events and how event planners should engage more in incorporating them in to events and NiceMeeting, has done just that for event coordinators. NiceMeeting has introduced a presentation tool developed to enhance event engagements and maximize the value of knowledge exchange through live events.  Some cool features NiceMeeting also offers even planners is an AV application that turns attendees mobile device, such as iPad, iPhone, Tablet, laptop into a full-featured personal conference display.  

This article suggests that the use of handheld technology, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops at events has become so widespread, that event planners need to incorporate them into daily use if they want an edge on business. Nicemeeting is just one of many new hospitality applications that enhances the event managing process for event planners. According to the article, it has the capability to turn technology, such as an Ipad or mobile device, into "a full-featured personal conference display." It creates an entirely interactive space. I think that this idea was brilliant, because regardless of whether people like it or not, cell phones are going to be present in the meeting space. This application makes the most of that occurrence and turns it into a positive thing.

New technology brings new capability. Within the retail POS hardware industry, new technology is driving change in retail hardware platforms. Cloud-based software, coupled with the emergence of powerful and feature-rich mobile devices, offers new possibilities for retailers to better serve and engage their shoppers at the Point of Purchase. Typical construction of a Point of Sale cash register is centered on a PC workstation. These cash register systems are often positioned in one or more fixed locations in the retail store. They might be served by an array of peripheral devices: a touch display, a customer pole display, a handheld scanner, a receipt printer, and a cash drawer. These peripheral devices are typically configured with serial or USB interfaces and connect to a port on the PC workstation dedicated to each device. Software developers engage each device through OPOS or native DLLs drivers created by the hardware manufacturer. In this setting, a shopper is compelled to queue up at the cash register and stage their goods for itemized sale. By contrast, software functionality and mobile device technology allow a retailer to bring the Point of Sale transaction to the shopper at their Point of Purchase. In this way, a retailer can increase shopper loyalty by providing a more convenient, more personalized, and more interactive transaction experience. A purpose-built Point of Sale solution can be developed from the ground up for the mobile transaction faster than ever. Hardware manufacturers are creating new solutions to support this trend. By selecting hardware that maximizes the benefits of a mobile transaction, a retailer can significantly improve system performance and significantly reduce the total cost of the system. However, the current PC-centric workstation architecture presents several technical challenges as a retailer chooses to deploy a mobile POS solution. Consider this example: A mobile credit transaction performed on a smart phone

Increasingly, consumers expect their travel experiences to include the latest and greatest technologies that they experience in their daily lives. This is driving increased investment from hospitality (esp. hotelier) CIO's in digital customer engagement. Top technologies include virtual/augmented reality for consumers as training of employees; voice activation in hotel rooms and common areas as well as for coaching staff; mobile apps for booking, check-ins/check-outs, IRD orders, and front-desk communications, as well as back-end management of labor, inventory, and customer relations; RFID asset tracking; interactive displays; and robotics. All of these trends culminate in Innovation Incubator hotels like M Beta at Charlotte Marriott City Center where technologies are rapidly prototyped and guest feedback is provided in real-time to help drive decisions about which technologies represent the greatest value to cutting-edge hoteliers through guest engagement.