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"Being "green" is more than just complying with local municipal codes; it's about going above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference."

As Peter Greenberg reports, it's simply not enough anymore for hotels to "go green." It is a hotel's responsbility to go above and beyond to help maintain a sustainable environment and limit the polution they are putting out into the world. I found how the initiatives by the Ritz Carlton in Charlotte, NC as well as the efforts from the Palazzo In Las Vegas particularly interesting as both hotels are in markets that one might not assume to be on the cutting edge when it comes to going green and receiving high marks for LEEDS certification. The Ritz-Carlton, a brand known for luxury lodging, might be expected to offer the highest level of service when offering valet parking to their guests. A typical guest might expect to see expensive cars utilizing the valet, however the Ritz has created a bike valet which encourages eco-travel amongst their guests. Personally I find this added "green" feature impressive. I think it allows guests to see just the lengths the hotel is going to in order to go above and beyond the standard green codes. Las Vegas, a city built on the ideas of excess, would not be a location where I would think of many hotels utilizing Green practices. The city is known to run 24 hours 7 days a week non-stop. The Palazzo uses solar panels, water conservation, as well as energy conservation to operate as a Silver LEED certified hotel. This hotel is able to make an impression on it's guests as they are able to operate successfully while conserving resources that will supply Nevada residents additional resources for years to come. I think Greenberg points out perfect examples of who the hotel industry should take notice of in regards to "Going Green." If these hotels are using it to their advantage, shouldn't everyone else?

The top hotels aren't necessarily the most expensive or most luxury' they are the ones that's have the most in touch with their surroundings where locals and visitors hang out together. Mobile computing and emarketing is the future. the ffuture guest is going to expecct soemthing from the consumer electronicsside of things. eveerything that you use or nneed at the hhotel is going to be elecctronic, the concerige,room key, front desk, there i going to be no need for you to have physical key tocarry arround with you or desk to go up and talk to someone if you have an issue. There will also be no need to check inand oout,sensor lighting, smarter buildings that will be solar power. The hotel of the future is smarter, conectedand allows guests to formtheiir own communitty while their there so its better than a good bed, bath and breakfast, there is a 4th B nows, bandwiwidth, which lets you connect with your social, home and work worlds.

The article points to the fact that energy is a major issue for hotels, which can be solved by going green and by implementing 3 energy-saving factors. 1. Using low energy devices and replacing all incandescent bulbs with LED-based lightning. 2. Adopting renewable source of energy. 3. Using connected devices, which make it possible for managers to monitor the power consumption. So today going green it's the long-term option for companies who want to save their prosperity.

This article talks about the future trend of the hospitality security, which is technology is opening new doors to hotel safety.  The author introduces some different technologies such as Contact-less Smartcards and RFID that hotels like New York's Plaza Hotel are currently using. Finger print or cellphone wipe technology is also used instead of card, which should be more safe. Some hotels even use video-capture systems to make sure the security is perfect. After introducing these technologies, the author also talks about the privacy issues. Because some customers are not willing to be on cameras. However, though some of them are concerning about this issue, an expert predicts that new security measures will eventually become such a part of everyone's everyday lives that he or she will become the norm. All in all, this article gives us the trend that more and more technologies will be used for hotel security in the future.

this article talks about new technology that is being implemented throughout out US and the world. Old key cards are now going to be replaced with even older standard keys or the radio frequency identification card that can be waived in front of the door to gain access. Also, there is a technology that will sent an encrypted sound text to guest;s cell phone, which when played back will open the door.  It talks about technology that tracks all employees, guests and their luggage.  There are several concerned that travelers have about their privacy, but article stated that it all depends on the type of the traveler.  Also, the face recognition technology used in Houston's largest hotel remembers guests names and when they return, guests are greeted by name.  Article concludes that even with all this technology, the best security is provided through interdependence of travelers and employees.  

Technology in the hotel travel and tourism industry will be changing drastically in the near future, from the swipe of a cell phone, print of a finger, facial recognition, iris scanners, security is going to be taken to the next level. the plastic key cards will soon no longer exist. Radio frequency I'd cards are the new thing, where guest will use this for preferences for everything, from charging things to your room, preference of floor type to pillow choice, chick in and out etc. systems that track the other qualities of a person instead of using a key or card are in development as well. There are research going on how to open the door and. Lose wi just the persons walk and movements. Some people think these new security technologies are awesome, while some think they are not, people dont want to be watched 24/7while on vacation they just want to enjoy there stay. But in today's society all travelers are becoming interdependent on each other for safety and security.

This article is about how email marketing can help the local restaurants. Local restaurants generally do not have enough budget to advertise on local television, radio, or newspapers. Local restaurants would make most of the Email marketing that could overcome the advantages of chain restaurants' expensive advertisement. The Email marketing strategy is affordable for all sizes of restaurants and does not need IT specialist. So, there is no need to hire IT specialists. Anyone who has minimum experience of computer can deal with managing Email marketing. The Email marketing benefits the potential customers also. The potential customers are able to know the detail about the menu and promotional contents when they check their email. Even they are not going to go restaurant right away, they could remind the promotion and information on their mind and retrive the mail before planning to go restaurant. Email marketing is one of the savvy ways for the local restaurants, and mom and pop properties that want to target more potential customers with efficiency.

Juice it Up's new CEO started right before the corona virus hit. And while at first that seemed to be a daunting task, her goals ended up aligning with the needs of this new era: get better technology. For a mostly franchised brand, Taylor new that getting this tech up and running was going to be difficult, but also that it was going to be necessary to the success of the company. The "brand didn't need to change it's business model because most of their business came from to go order already," but Taylor found the company to be seriously lacking in technology. Her goal: a mobile POS system that would offer menu information, nutritional elements, the ability to order ahead, leave a tip, and schedule a pick-up. What is unique about this app and this system, is that it is not through a third-party system, which is what most restaurants are currently using. It opens up the potential for more companies, specifically large brands, to begin to do a similar thing. This will be an incredible save for profit margins if it proves to be successful, as the current crisis of third-party delivery and POS systems is wreaking havoc on our nation's restaurants.

The article titled Mobile Key: It's the new reality for hotels by Esther Hertzfeld, discusses the various aspects of the implementation and utilization of the mobile key technology in hotels. The mobile key technology is a Bluetooth enabled lock that a user can open with their mobile devices. The popularity and demand for mobile key entry in hotels is skyrocketing. However, hotels can't implement them as fast as the guests demand and desire them. It will be easier for hotels that are being built from scratch to integrate the feature than established hotels switching over to this new technology, but I believe they will eventually. In the article it states that guests rate the hotel 7 points higher with mobile key cards. Higher reviewed hotels will bring in more guests thus increasing hotel revenue. The utilization of the mobile room key allows the guest to check in on their phone remotely. Once the guest arrives to the hotel they can go straight up to their room without having to stop at a front desk. This gives the guest a more personalized and efficient experience, which I agree with. In my opinion being able to walk into a hotel and go up immediately to my room is ideal. I have not stayed at a hotel yet that has used the mobile key feature but I imagine it is great. I think all hotels in the future will run on mobile key entry. The article states there will be a learning curve for the guests and staff initially. It will be important to educate guests who don't travel often and guests in general. It stated that some people might feel embarrassed if they don't use the mobile key correctly and need to return to the front desk. That could be very frustrating to some guests who come to their room and then have to go back downstairs to talk to the front desk if something goes wrong. It is also stated that there will be awareness and comfort challenges with the front desk staff. I believe that mobile key entry is the future of hotel technology. It will take

Going green is one of the hottest trends in the hospitality industry, but why? General speaking, there are two reasons: Benefit hospitality industry. Through increased efficiency, hospitality facilities can reduce costs, achieve environmental results, gain recognition, win new business, and be more attractive to employees. Protect the environment. Help to conserve natural resources by preventing pollution in regions with a large concentration of hospitality facilities and high resource use. To be specific, there are below several benefits: 1. Cost savings. Going green can maximize energy efficiency and reduce waste. A hotel can reduce its energy consumption by 20-40%. Substantial cost savings can makes hotel more profitable. 2. Competitive advantage. Over time, green practices will be more treasured in the hospitality industry, particularly as the continually rise of non-renewable energy cost. Green programs can also provide a competitive advantage by being recognized for green efforts. 3. Employee retention Environmental programs have proved to be an effective ways of generating enthusiasm and motivating staff to work as a team to achieve a common purpose. The high level of staff enthusiasm and motivation reduces employee turnover rate, in this way, business could save money in training of new staff. 4. Customer loyalty Business which has green practices makes customers feel responsible and reliable. Customer loyalty will increase once they have experienced hotels which have show their environmental commitment. 5. Regulatory compliance Being aware of green and take green practice will avoid potentially higher future costs which may be associated with compliance. 6. Risk management Going green helps companies reduce their environmental risk and potential liabilities. It also can secure investment and reduce their financial and reputational market exposure

7.Cause it's the right thing to do! Business should pay more attention on protecting environment as business growth. Going green is a reflection of business take social responsibility. Larger businesses have been criticized as being the main culprit in releasing excess greenhouse emissions, climate change, environmental devastation, and unfair treatment of employees. The planet is unique, so lager businesses need to increase focus on protect environment.

Going green is definetely a smart move for the above reasons, but it is also a good idea because it is trendy. People want to stay in forward thinking hotels and feel like they are on the edge of technology. Green hotels will get more attention and ultimately more business simply because it is popular. Investors want to put their money towards the wave of the future. As an Oregonian (tree loving hippies, wink) I embrace the attention being given to a greener way of doing business. It is really the best move for all of us, business and society as a whole.

Go To Meeting is a new software system that allows small businesses and corporations to host meetings with up to 10 employees for $49 a month. Unlike its competitors, which cost on average $468 a month, Go To Meeting's software only requires one download and one registration on one PC, one time. From this all 10 employees can hold unlimited monthly meetings from any PC, anywhere. Go To Meeting also offers better security and chat functionality, as well as, desktop screen sharing that allows employees to view any application.

There are of course numerous ways a hotel property can go green. Depending on need and budget, one can choose from a range of options and technologies. There are tons of technologies right now designed for hotels to save energy.But, since energy-efficient equipment may be costlier both in terms of installation and capital costs; the hospitality industry is acknowledging the long term benefits to be reaped in terms of reduced maintenance and energy saving, especially when energy costs are escalating. With technology constantly improving and becoming cost effective, initiatives that seemed too expensive just a short while earlier are now within reach of most hotels. Going green using techonologies can be easy for big hotels , but for smaller scale hotels, the installation and maintence costs too much. But we believe that with the fast development of technology , go green will be acceptable for every hotel.

This article discusses a couple of ways in which hotels are extending themselves to go green. Specifically the article lists three ways in which these hotels are initiating themselves into going green, which are through low water consumption Power saving, and solid waste disposal. The article also discusses energy efficient lighting.  Along with discussing these processes, the article explains that its not easy to be green in this sector, but the hotel industry now has a new environmental conscience. This being great for hotels. its one step in opening a new way to help get our environment back to where it needs to be and with there being such a large scale of hotels why not get them in the best order that we can get them. 

As the article states"The hotel industry has long been associated with excessive waste: using powerful chemicals for cleaning and wasting energy for maintenance rather than being environmentally friendly. Moreover and as result of tourism industry growth, the demand for resources from the hospitality sector has exponentially increased. However, the new popularity of Eco Tourism has encouraged hotels to adopt new green practices that allow them to reduce their negative impact on the environment" The hospitality industry can help improve the environmental problems we are going through at the moment by simply adding: low water consumption, power saving, energy-efficient lighting and solid waste disposal. Furthermore, the guest are starting to become more aware and loyal to brands that are making changes to become green and there is where eco tourism starts and its getting bigger. In the future, all hotels will have to follow the LEED requirements which makes them follow certain rules to help reduce energy and go green. This will help the hotel managers and industry save money and at the same time help the environment.

This article was about the trend of the industry going green. It talks about the difference in having the LEED stamp of approval and just being a green certified property. It also goes through the different mechanisms that are in place that conserves energy. Lastly it touches on the draw-backs luxury properties have with going green and why some of them have not changed.

The introduction of Web TV service by Aereo is going to lead to another serious threat to the cable TV companies by offering lower-cost choices to customers with the same channels you may get thru cable TV. In addition to your television, it provides live TV on smartphones, computers and tablets, through a set-top box. Aereo is going to change the cable tv industry, no matter Aereo succeed or not in pursuing this idea, the revolution will keep going, and cable tv companies cannot ignore the fact.

Hotels going green! Why not care about the environment? This article discusses the benefits as well as the common sense to go green in our industry hotels. Not only does going green help to save hotels money, it also helps to make a more environmentally sound universe.

In Dallas, hotels are trying to bring in technology to make things easier while bringing in a CRS system has just made it more complicated. Since there are so many online requests for hotel rooms the Central Reservation System cannot necessarily keep up with that which could be problem because if it cannot keep up then it is not going to be in a search for a new guest. InterContinental Hotels Groups is updating their CRS with a newer one that can handle the large amount of requests at one time but there is still a problem of speed. We like to see things happen immediately when we want it done and if it does not happen like that we might decide to leave the page and go somewhere else to book causing the company to lose out business. Before the internet when people needed to book hotel rooms and they went to a travel agent the agent would have to call around to see which property had availability, then find out if they property they wanted had specific rooms and rates they are looking for and then finally book the room at the specified rate. As soon as the internet came along the process became easier because it was all right there except not that much easier because it still could not do everything that we wanted it to.

Central Reservation Systems via the internet are good when they want to be and bad when they want to be. If there is a huge meeting booked last minute in a popular city during peak time there is going to be a huge influx of people trying to book hotels online at the same time and the CRS might not work as people would like it to causing people to get angry and not want to go to that specific hotel.

Central Reservation System is really a very good system which can improve the efficiency and speed of the hotel reservation.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

I agree with you. Hotels need to differentiate themselves among competitiors in order to attract more business. This online experience made by TravelClick could work as a competitive advantage for some hotels that need to make their name known in new markets.

This article gives pros and cons of mobile apps compared to mobile websites for event planners. Of course each have their positives and negatives. I think the decision of going mobile app or website depends on the people who are attending your event. If it's more of an older business crowd, I think a mobile website would be most appropriate. You can email the web address to all attendees and then they can click into it straight from the email on their smartphone. This can work with any phone that supports a web browser so you don't have to worry about developing an app for iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries. If the attendees are younger and more tech savvy, an app is probably the way to go since that can incorporate parts of their phone like the camera. Younger people are more apt to take pictures and post them to twitter or facebook. With the app they could do that right in the app and connect to more of their peers that way. Younger attendees are more likely to go through the trouble of downloading the app and using all of its features whereas older, more business oriented attendees are more likely to appreciate the ease of use of just clicking on a web link. At any rate it's an interesting choice to make if you are unable to afford both options. 

The nation's largest Army Reserve training post is "going green" . A new

Focusing on new trends, POS systems are being brought out and introduced in the new addition of IPAD. This new system called Revel hopes to be the go-to Ipad powered comprehensive POS system for restaurants. Revel systems can be used for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering and email receipts. Lisa Falzone is the co founder and CEO of Revel System expressed how this new system is going after chains and restaurants that obtain at least $500,000 in yearly revenue. Launched in August 2011 Revel is seeing around $80 million in business processing with major brands and franchises ex: Freshberry frozen yogurt café, Rexs chicker, Dixie cream etc. This new trend with IPAD POS system is a great idea and a fantastic way to be more efficient. Usually POS systems are these screens that are not movable it mainly resides on one specific location while these ipads could be more convenient and mobile. This may help to bring out a better and faster customer satisfaction.

Revel Systems hopes to be the new POS platform for restaurants. This iPad works like a cash register, it can be customized for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering, email receipts and more.The Revel system is going after chains and restaurants that have at least $500,000 in yearly revenue.

I had a doctor visit this past week and the office could barely function because their servers were down. If down systems can cause this much turmoil in a doctor's office where people expect to wait, imagine the trouble in a busy restaurant. The system sounds great, but there would need to be a back-up system or procedure in place. There are risks of a system crash, so why not have a more traditional processing system available if it is needed? The benefits of cyber storage can be considerable and likely down the road more safeguards will be in place to hedge against the negative effects of a system crash. This is definetely a technology worth researching (if your business is big enough to sustain it).

This article is basically the rules and regulations of how to write an email. Netiquette is important because if you make yourself seem professional, the people whom you send these emails to will reply and treat you with respect. Especially if its a business email. The article teaches you about how to write a subject line and the difference between cc and bc. It also teaches you not to use lol and thesmiley face emoticon unless the email is personal. This article also teaches you on how to relax on the punctuations. Too many exclamation marks might seem like your going crazy screaming at someone. It also teaches you about how to properly send signatures. I think everyone should read this article to perfect their emails. Especially students because now and days , there is no need to go to your teachers office. You just shoot your teacher an email and it will make your life easier.

This article is about the basic rules of netiquette. It breaks down from everything from the subject to the signature. It shows you differences of writing a business email and a personal email.