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A security researcher discovered that he could unlock certain electronic key card entry devices used at millions of hotels by inserting a plug into the small port in the bottom of the key card device and unlocking the door. When he inserts the plug and turns on his device it triggers the mechanism inside that key card device and opens the door in seconds. Granted when he tested this at a conference he was only able to open 1 of 3 doors but it was still enough to show the flaw in the system. It doesn't sound likely after reading the article that there is an easy or cost effective fix to this problem because so many hotels across the world use these devices supplied by Onity. I think the lesson here is to always be vigilant in securing your valuables in any hotel room. Any time new technology is installed there is going to be someone right behind trying to hack it or find the security breaches.

Nelson, I went back and read your article, very interesting to see the follow up but I am surprised that it has taken this long to come out. I wonder if this would have been more publicised if it would have put more pressure on Onnity to fix the problem without putting financial burden on the hotel owners? I am curious now to see if my own company has been effected by this issue.

That is scary that you can think you are secure and anyone can hack the system and open your hotel room door. Now paranoid people that think they may be robbed by hotel staff, also have to think of outsiders, not even staying at the hotel. Anyone can enter hotels now a days and start opening doors like a lottery system, until they strike gold. The moral, be vigilant while on vacation, because there may also be someone eyeing your stuff. Also, if you have an in room safe use it.

This article talked about Top 10 e-commerce websites in China. The first of all is Tmall.com, which had the largest market share of China (about 40%). As the market leader, it sells much anything, which following on its Taobao.com with a separate site for retailers and brands to reach out across the country. The second is 360Buy.com, it got about 15% market share of china and cover mainly electronics and home appliances. The next one is the high street electronics retailer-Sunning.com. The fourth one is Amazon.cn. It focuses on selling western products. The ranked 5th is Dangdang.com, which mainly sells gadgets and books. The following one is Vancel.com. It sells its own-brand clothing. In addition, 51Buy.com, Coo8.com,Newegg.com.cn and YiHaoDian.com is ranked from 7th to 10th.

Telecommunication is an area in the industry that has driven the productivity of all employees and the efficiency of processed information and future growth. One of the examples of telecommunication would be the PBX voice switch which can be used to facilitate data and video communication, enhancing security. Offering a competitive advantage the PBX has become more then just a voice switch, since its improvement housekeeping is able to moderate the room status directly from the room and guest can choose to checkout by dialing out in the room. Inclusively, systems can be interfaced with videophones which allow the user to see and decide on the visitors they would allow entering their room using VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP provides cost efficiency, productivity, customer capabilities and enhancing access to information. Another useful form of telecommunication is wireless paging systems where it keeps employees from different departments accessible incase of any emergency. In my opinion, telecommunication has been a great advantage in the industry. It has improved in various ways through out the years and it continues to grow and allowing the customer experience to become a one of a kind with the efficiency that it offers. Guest is able to become more independent during their stay even when checking out of their rooms. Telecommunication has even provided employees with more ease at work by creating a system where housekeeping department is able to press a button on the phone of the room, which changes the status of the rooms immediately instead of having to inspect the room and then change status on the computer system. I still believe this new technology is great, but I stand firm that the older crowd (baby boomers) and those that do not speak the language (English) still prefer the human interaction for instance, at checkout time. The Y generation is more prone to be excited about all these new gadgets and independent ways of getting things done.

Telecommunication provides many benefits for hotel. It makes the housekeepers' work easier by change the room status in room rather than on computer system. And each user have separate number, so the outside call will directly received without go through the operator. Hotel does not need to hire a telephone operator.

This article by Brian Woodrick, Director of Product Management for an event management software company, talks of 3 ways technology can add to an event manager's job. 1.Help an event go smoother 2. Encourage communication at an event 3. Technology is expected Woodrick specifically mentions social media and mobile devices which can enhance networking for an event planner. Today everyone wants their information faster and convenient. Utilizing the technology outlets that are already being used to reach customers and have them interact with each other would definitely help make an event planner's job easier. Event Planning comes with trends and a technology forward customer base is the trend right now. Taking event planning into technology be it social media or a event management system would take away a lot of the day to day traveling just to network and get contracts signed for an event.

I guess not everything has to do with the bottom line. Best Western Hotel chain is trying to become the cleanest hotel on the market. I say " good for them and better for the customer who stays at Best Western Hotels". This attention to detail is where the energy should be focused in the housekeeping department and not just how many rooms a room attendant can clean in a 8 hour shift.Hopefully this attitude towards cleanness becomes a standard in the industry. Technology sometimes is a blessing.

This article talk about the IT in hospitality industry. They give a example of the India. The number of the India's travel and tourism industry is grow 8.4% in 2008 and will be 8% more increase between now and 2016 according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The hospitality industry should know the customers needs and the goal of the meeting them should be figured out in such a way that the cost of offering the service(s) does not pinch the company balance sheet i.e. variable costs should not show fluctuations northwards. Marketing gurus would always adhere to one statement for advice: cost need to be justifiable through high probability of ROI. The selection of technology in itself is a vital step. Another global feature that is extremely important is a detailed guest, group and company records. Used with a variety of customized reports, these detailed records allow precise targeting of various marketing efforts to improve occupancy rates, increase yield and enhance strategic planning. Each module should have a customizable report selection menu. The reports should have provision for sorting and filtering of data to enable viewing of the exact information might be required at a moment's notice. A good PMS enables a hospitality enterprise to increase revenue and occupancy, improve guest loyalty and reduce costs by centralizing and streamlining your operations. Forward-thinking properties have already begun building a network infrastructure that offers the flexibility and scalability to adapt to the ever-evolving guest, staff, and property management needs. Ajay Goel, Senior VP - Industry Business, Strategy, Operations, Cisco Systems India & SAARC opined, "These next-generation infrastructures are based on a converged network. They integrate with today's solutions-such as reservation, surveillance, and billing systems-and support the newest applications and technologies. The goal is to take advantage of tomorrow's opportunities while protecting e

This article talks about how social media helps hotels not only to promote their public image but also provide customers a two-way road of comments and suggestions about their stay. The three websites that are best suited for hotels are Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Using these resources a hotel can give its clients and potential guests the freedom to freely interact with the company itself. Facebook serves greatly to allow people to comment on their recent stay and provide feedback. Twitter enables the marketing department to promote deals and upcoming special events. Foursquare is a tool similar to reward accounts. People can check-in to Foursquare at the actual location and depending on a set amount of check-ins, a guest can be awarded with a discount or special arrangement, for example, a complimentary bottle of champagne can be offered for five check-ins. Social media is an always evolving tool that goes hand-in-hand with marketing advancements and the growing use of gadgets. Iphones, blackberries and tablets are present in almost every home of travelers and are heavily used to interact, find deals and leave reviews. Hotels that use this media weapon and its technology to the fullest are on the upper hand compared to their competitors that rely on traditional advertisements.

That is a good way for hotels and restaurants to invest more in social media. Almost all people have their facebook pages they can a lot of information from facebook. People talk about everything on the facebook and share their experiences with friends. If somebody is sharing his great hotel experience with friends, that would be like a great advertisement that does not requires much money and all friends would believe this advertisement more than others.

The social media is a good way to promote itself from word of month. It is an easy way to get the feedback from their customers, and improve itself. The hotel can become more competitive base on the social media because it contains the real evaluations from the previous customers rather than the unconvincing advertisement.

With the pass of time technology keeps improving, allowing entrepreneurs to find loop-holes or ways of creating/using new systems to improve service and productivity. For years restaurants have been doing business the same way. It's time to improve this, by allowing certain "gadgets" and systems to facilitate both, your job (as owner) and employees. The previous article mentions POS integration as a "must-have" in restaurants. Although it helps the operating side and the customer-facing side, it takes time and money to allow the integration between systems. The new issue is that before an integration was merely impossible, since the API's didn't communicate well or at all with other systems, thus restaurant owners had to stay with the same vendor because the system only worked with them. It was less the hazzle than trying to find/have different vendors for each aspect. Nowadays, API's are commonly known to synchronize well with others, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google, among others. Having said that, large POS companies believe this change, of public API's, will make them change their business to allow what newer companies are already doing. Lastly, cloud technology has allowed for this integration to be successful, since it's "making the prospect of integration easier for operators as more owners are looking to above-property hosting systems", because of its "one-point contact" with other systems (all in one, with less than half the time and work than before).

This article is introducing the Homeboy Electronics Recycling. This business is provide the job opportunities for people who overcoming life setbacks that include drug addiction, homelessness and incarceration. And they do the jobs with recycling of electronics.

This short article from Harvard University discusses ways in which conservation and recycling of old products can help minimize wasteful practices of corporations' extraction of precious minerals in the production of technological hardware.

The issue of illegal electronic dumping has been a real severity, and mostly because people are unaware of what happens to the products that they used to own. Luckily, our world is advancing to a point where appropriate disposal is being greatly developed. There are different mainstream companies that will take your old products to refurbish them, or handle them accordingly. Most importantly, there are companies like GreenCitizen, who are responsibly recycling products. They gather all of the old technology, and attempt to refurbish it. If not possible, then they use the parts, or just dispose of it in the right way. Certified monitors of the recycling process look over the practices of GreenCitizen to make sure that they are doing their jobs correctly. Actions are being dealt more responsibly, as the EPA and these certified monitors have gotten involved. Recycling used to be claimed, but done wrongly. Now, these groups closely overlook the process, and ensure that things are being done appropriately.

This article explains how devices like Disney's MagicBand technology might become a tracking device during your vacation.

How e-waste is being manage in some countries and what people are doing to reduce their impact on e-waste.

This article mainly introduces the problems caused by e-waste and related solutions. E-waste not only affects environmental issues such as rare earth elements when it is landfilled or incinerated, but also the mining of its equipment manufacturing also affects the social environment, because a certain amount of emissions may be released in the process. Toxins are a great harm to the environment and the human body. Therefore, with the continuous emergence of e-waste disposal problems, some companies such as Apple and Sony have begun to extend the life of their equipment in recent years, and encourage customers to trade-in for recycling, making a certain effective contribution to the growing e-waste.

This article discusses "Hotel Computer Networks". The author keeps information brief but informative.Highlights include, explaining the point of a computer network and how such communication is made possible. "Hotel Computer Networks are used to: Facilitate communique via electronic mail, video conferencing, immediate messaging, etc." The article concludes by highlighting the various varieties of computer network's used in hotels i.e. Local Area Networks, Personal Area Networks and Campus Networks.

The future of the hotel industry is in voice,keyless and robots are a great buzz for hotels to leverage in PR. The concept of "all in one PMS" is a thing of the past as more companies lean towards mobile cloud PMS that is user friendly. Second Generation cloud PMS could be implemented in a day with no training needed and free integrations to dozen of apps.

The article discusses how music is becoming a bigger source of in-room entertainment in hotel rooms second only to video. The number of people listening to music daily is constantly growing and while most people listen with headphones, at a home setting people are used to using their TVs or speakers, these gadgets and habits have become expectations for their lodging accommodations. Companies have traditionally responded to this with Bluetooth speakers in the rooms, while companies like Hilton and SBE have decided to reduce the investment in hardware that would inevitably be outdated and replaced, as it happened with radios, VCR, and DVD players; and instead have recently opted to strike partnership with streaming services, such as, IHeartRadio and Tidal respectively to satisfy their guest desire for their music preferences. While a company like Hard Rock hotels has done the opposite and invested more in hardware and added soundbars to the rooms and the optional offering of turntables and guitars for guest use. Music streaming and casting isn't going anywhere any time soon, so hotels have to find the best balance between hardware and software to stand out and be competitive.

This article talks about the new up and coming form of in-room hotel entertainment. According to Statista, 68% of Americans between the ages of 18-34 listen to music on a daily basis. A senior project manager at Hilton said, "residential trends become hospitality expectations." I think that is so true because you want your guests to feel at home and comfortable when they are away from home and choosing to stay at your hotel during their time away. It was also very interesting to learn that hotels shy away from putting hardware in their rooms. For instance, DVD players. It's so much more practical to have a steaming service connected to the television.

This article talks about new technology advancements that will greatly help the event management industry elevate the guest experience and efficiency. Sensory experiences are a big trend and with some of these technological advancements, it will allow for event planners to create unique offerings such as video mapping, virtual reality, augmented technology, etc. Facial recognition and drone technology will aide in improving security measures. Mobile Apps can create customized apps for events with all the information in one place. The planning and execution of large scale events will become more effective with the aid of these and other new technology, which will benefit the planners and attendees alike.

In the event industry, new apps and software are popping up daily and some of them really change the way that we deal with events management. This is an interesting and useful article in which the author introduces 15 app and tech tools for event and meetings. Some of the apps attract my eyes and I think they will be applied widely with a further development. For instance, if planners who want an app for a conference or meeting, now they have a do-it-yourself option.  Yapp launched in April and allows users to create custom mobile apps. Users can customize their theme, event invitation, the agenda and so on. They can also show their guests the final products via YappBox app for IOS. It is easy for them to update  the app and allow guests to chat or upload group photos. This app sounds great and it will leave more flexibility to its users in event planning. Great tools like this are listed in this article, and some of them may become popular in the near future.