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Laguna Beach welcomes more than 6 million visitors annually to its sandy shores. Now visitors who stay in the beachside city's 22 hotels and lodging establishments will be inadvertent participants in a citywide effort to recycle all of the soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners, lotions and bath gels that are left over after a night's stay. Starting Monday, Laguna Beach becomes the first city in the nation to have all of its hotel properties with more than 20 rooms participate in Clean the World -- a Florida-based nonprofit that provides recycled hotel soaps and hygiene products to those in need. Montage Laguna Beach, Pacific Edge Hotel and Best Western Laguna Brisas are among the 18 participating hotels, along with four of the city's six bed and breakfasts, for a total of 1,229 rooms. In an average year, with an estimated 75% occupancy rate, Laguna Beach hotels generate 336,000 bars of soap and a slightly lesser number of shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion bottles, all of which were previously thrown in the trash. Working with Clean the World, those hygiene products will be reclaimed by the housekeeping staff and set aside in a separate receptacle to be shipped to a Las Vegas processing facility. The bars of soap are cleaned of hair and paper, sterilized, ground into pellets and pressed into new bars of soap that are distributed to non-governmental organizations in 45 countries that do not have ready access to soap. The bottled amenities are likewise reclaimed. If they're full, the bottles' exteriors are sterilized and redistributed to homeless shelters and soup kitchens inside the U.S. If the bottles are 25% empty, the plastic is recycled or potentially upcycled for use in other products. Founded in 2009, Clean the World has 1,200 partner hotels across the U.S. and Canada, 126 of which are in California, including the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Resort & Spa and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel in Anaheim. Since joining the Clean th

This article talks about the advantages that the implementation of MICRO'S OPERA ENTERPRISE to all of the MGM properties, will give to the company. By making this, MGM will be able to integrate all the information of their guests as well as the global distribution system. According to Aldo Manzini, EVP and chief administrative officer of MGM Resorts International this integration is an extremely important step in order to become more efficient, it will decrease the training time for employees and it will improve their reward program. This will also create a single image inventory from the main property management system to the different channels. This made it easier for the implementation at the two City Center properties were 1,500 employees were trained on the system. MICRO'S system is used by seven of the ten largest hotels in the U.S. This shows how they are solidifying their PMS market share not only in the U.S but all around the world.

Its really amazing to see how these systems such as Micros and Maestro have evolved. I remember when Micros was simply used as a POS system in the hotel I worked at. But according to your summary it is now fully integrated and used an overall PMS as well. I'm glad to see they are remaining competitive in the market. In the past I had predicted they would become outdated and not relevant in the future market. I was obviously wrong.

Technology is part of today's culture. It is almost impossible therefore, to imagine a hotel without some level of technology. If nothing else, even the smallest hotel is likely to have a property management system. Technology increases the efficiency of the staff and enhances the experience of the guest. Technology can be overdone. Cost plays a role in technology, as it does with every management decision. The relative price of technology has been in a downward spiral for many years, however, new products come come onto the market at high initial cost.

Great example of too much of a good thing can be bad. Technology can be a wonderful things, making our lives more effecient and accommodating, however as human we yearn for interaction. Specially in the hotels and restaurants, one the the greatest things I remember as kid was being checked it at a hotel. I felt grand; important that someone knew my name and welcomed me. With today's technology, that is a rare exisitance. I check myself in, swipe my phone to acess my room, order room service from my TV and check out withour ever interacting with a human, lets just say I would prefer the brass keys and red tassels.

Excellent Article...the growth of technological advances in the industry has become very important for the industry. The Food & Wine maganize reports that besides iPod stations, flat TVs and other commonly known electronics; hotels are adding moonpads that allow guest to set-up room privacy settings, book spa treatments, set-up lighting mood and many more...http://travelkit.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/07/11411992-high-tech-hotels-add-ease-and-luxury?lite

The Peninsula Hong Kong has launched a $58 million dollar renovation to get up to date with their in-room technology.  They have chosen to add touch screen tablets to each room.  These tablets will control all functions of the room.   They have also added a dvd library of 3D movies that you can watch on their new in-room HDTVs.  You can switch room modes at the click of a button.  They have added VOIP calling from the rooms as well.  This is a huge upgrade and they have become relevant in the tech world.

This incident implies how important safety and security in hospitality industry. This was so devastating that every must invest and modify the security in the hospitality industry.

The latest chain of events that we are all are aware of is shaping the security system all over the world. It have been happening in airports, clubs and now with the Vegas incident the hospitality industry have been expose as a vulnerable. Obviously the security system will change in the lodging industry now, which not only going to be a "must do" expense but as "vmorr026" may have an impact on the hotel rates as well.

"It's going to be a very large investment because we have to change all of our locks throughout the hotel, which makes the whole door look different," Behler says.

This article states a number of technology utilized in the hotel of Las Vegas for the convenience and comfort of their guests. Hotels in Las Vegas have come to realize that the plain phone near the nightstand in every room just does not suffice the every growing world of technology. Tablets placed individually in each rooms provide a convenient access for guests to control the lighting and temperature of their rooms. An example of the convenience of tablets is portrayed at the Aria and Vdara hotels where guests can not only control lighting and temperature with the tablets, but also place a specific time for breakfast delivery. Hotels such as the MGM Grand and The Mirage boasted special rooms which display different lighting based on the body's needs and enhances the the body's internal clock just with the lighting itself. They also have technology which infuses Vitamin C into their showers so they can reap health benefits by staying at the respective hotels. Several hotels launched a program called "Ivy" which is the world's first smart texting service for hotels. This is a big money and time saving software. Trained employees will answer any complex questions, but Ivy is programmed to answer common guest questions almost instantly. At the Mandarin Oriental, a robot named Pepper, holds a place in the lobby to answer a set or pre-programed questions for the convenience of the guest. Examples of such questions include the check out time, the location of the amenities of the hotel, and directions on connecting to Wi-Fi. Due to the ever growing advancement of technology, hospitality and tourism never ceases to keep up for the sake of the convenience of their guests.

This article speaks about physical plant systems and how the new trend in hospitality is to create unique spaces and bring the outside in. MGM Resorts has partnered with Delos which is a group that has done extensive research in collaboration with Mayo Clinic to study biophilia or the idea that humans have an innate connection to the natural world. MGM Hotels have found that post-conference survey results show that attendees felt more connected and engaged in meetings where there was biophilic elements incorporated such as meeting rooms with patterned carpets and active green walls constructed from plants or moss. The Delos group also works with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Marriot Resorts International to add live plants and other innovative biophilic elements in their spaces. Science shows that biophilic design does add satisfaction to occupants and keeps us happier, focused and engaged.

This article is about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its impact in the hospitality industry. Although innovations in voice recognition, biometrics, and AR (augmented reality) are not expected to replace human contact, AI technology will revolutionize the industry by taking over mundane, simple, and routine work. Since these ordinary tasks could be time consuming, AI will allow hospitality personnel to focus on more meaningful and complex transactions. AR, for instance, was already implemented by Holiday Inn during the 2012 Olympics to provide realistic thematic and virtual representations. Biometric technology allows customers to authenticate their purchase without a wallet or human interaction. Nevertheless, the article also touches on an interesting concept called 'tech detox.' Some hotels already have promotions for guests willing to stay disconnected in order to be aware of their surrounding environment. In my opinion, AR is the best innovation, especially in a hotel. From TV programming, internet access, interactive city maps, hotel information, restaurant menu, and room service, this technology has endless opportunities to make any hotel experience unique.

I believe the article glosses over many of the potential implications of AI in the industry. For one, to date, technology advances have actually increased the workload of the more highly skilled management personel. A General Manager in a hotel now has to have degrees of knowledge in pricing system logic and demand economics, knowledge of systems and system implementation and the skill sets of individuals required to implement and sustain these systems. As AI and AI logic does begin to invade the Hospitality Industry, it is going to require our leaders to become far more cognizant of the uses, and maintenance costs involved in these technologies. This is not to say that this is necessarily a negative, however the implications for the skills sets required in the industry are a necessary talking point when citing that this technology wont replace jobs. Those mundane tasks which the article refers to are deemed as simple processes, but when discussing the already complex process of an agent reserving a guest in a Forbes rated property (as an example), this is going to get even more complicated in how we leverage these technologies, how we approach to market with the consumer.

Technology is continuing to revolutionize daily. All industries are experiencing such change but the hospitality industry will not completely take away is human employees. In fact, tech revolution will simply take away from mundane tasks simultaneously assisting with efficiency and customer satisfaction. With the advent of augmented reality (AR) guests are now able to electronically visualize themselves at the location. Technology cannot outperformance the warmth of guest service reps. yet, the future of hospitality will integrate both the advances of electronics and human interactions.

This gift hunt utilized a mobile shopping assistant app, Nate, to engage customers with various brands. Using location based marketing through QR codes, players found brands and then received information or promotions about the brand.

A point of sale system is where a customer goes to pay for a product or service. A store's POS system is the "Grand Central Station" of your operation, everything goes through it. Every transaction, knowledge of inventory and customers goes through your POS. Many retailers havent made the jump because of how scary and expensive it can be.

This article uses research information from five star hotel in Jakarta to scope out the feasibility of IT investment in hospitality to determine the value and tangible/intangible benefits of IT implementation. These hotels include the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Ayana Midplaza Hotel Jakarta. It is agreed upon by industry professionals that technology can improve business effectiveness and efficiency. Implementation of IT is one of the strategies to improve hotel performance, and as the development of information technology in hospitality has an impact on improving service quality, reducing costs, increasing productivity, gaining competitive advantage, and improving bottom line profitability. Research on this subject determined that most companies do not have procedures to see how effective IT investment has been. This article uses research to see hoe effective spending on information technology has been by means of financial evaluation, and secondary research that evaluates investments in the system. As a result, the analysis determines that in five star hotels in Jakarta, IT investment is quite beneficial for the hotel business process.

This posts summarized 10 trends in the hospitality technology. Most of them are benefiting the guests directly, such as the wifi access and the self check-in services. However, as more and more hotel in the industry adopting these technology, the competition has been brought on, and every company is working harder to invest more technology in hotel management, development as well as operation. These 10 trends are the most basic ones which have changed the industry greatly, but there are mot to expect in the near future. 

Las Vegas casinos delayed their anticipated reopening by several days due to civil unrest and protesting. Digital marketing including a new ad campaign was ultimately pulled due to the heightened sensitivity surrounding recent events. Once the strip was eventually allowed to reopen, preliminary data was promising, but nowhere near pre-covid numbers, and capacity at resorts like MGM was being kept under 35% for the time being.

Baha Mar was recently built to compete with the long time staple in Nassau; Atlantis. In order to overcome the already popular destination, Baha Mar knew they needed to knock the marketing and advertising out of the park. This article talks about how the marketing campaign aimed to highlight all the perks of the 4.2 billion dollar destination. I have personally received a ton of social media ads for Baha Mar, and the sell is that they have 3 different properties for each type of person on vacation. Whether for kids, a romantic getaway, or adults only, they covered all bases with their ads.

Technology in the Fast Food Industry, McDonald's Big Mac ATM is free, short-term and Customers friendly. This new method of dispensing food to the public is convenient and it help improve guest experiences versus in store production