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"To me, the most important problem we are trying to address is that it takes too long to deploy new capabilities to the field," Peddicord said. "So if we accept the idea that we can't predict the future and that we need to be agile, we need to be able to adapt our systems to a changing environment, then we need to build them differently. We need to do something different so we can drop in new capabilities rapidly."" -https://diigo.com/09ojb4

In this article, the writer informs us on how two system solution based companies are joining forces to give hotels the most accurate and up-to-date data on their companies transactions. These transactions includes the control of inventories, pricing of inventory, and forecasting in order to increase hotel revenue. This allows for hotel managers to better strategize their brand's revenue in order to create more informed decisions. The article highlights what both IDeaS Revenue Solutions and Springer Miller Systems do to support hotels. Many resorts already use both systems. The companies working together allows their solutions to become more streamlined for hotel establishments. Hoteliers largely focus on the guest experience, but are restricted in how they manage inventory and forecast. These tools will allow them to do both at the same time with less manual labor. It sounds like an expensive investment. It's important for managers to decide whether it's worth the investment and predict whether they will see a return on this investment. Thoughts?

The topic of the article is about the use of Chatbot within the industry and how it could be valuable to e business. Chatbot is a messenger tool that allows for customers to communicate with someone to provide a more personalized and better customer experience when booking online. The article mentions that Chatbot is used on a variety of hotels, airlines and even booking agents to provide a different way of booking trips and experiences. It focuses on providing images, prices and descriptions to enhance the "online shopping experience." (Knight, 2018) The way Chatbot seems to operate through different partners by providing the guest with requests, transportation, last minute reservations and up to date information regarding hotels, airlines, etc. Knight takes into account the potential that Chatbot has in the future to help the hospitality industry grow earnings while positive service. Although, Chatbot seems like the newest way to appeal to those guests that are within the technology wave, i feel like apps like these are already implemented. It is convenient to have the information coming from one source, but hotels brands like Marriott have the mobile app and GXI where you can communicate with someone in assist with creating reservations, add requests and also create a profile that gives the hotel an idea of what someone expects at the hotel. The same goes for those airline apps such as American and Delta, providing similar services. What i do take into consideration is that bots like these where it be a direct bot or Chatbot are being used more and more daily to enhance the experience a customer receives which helps to increase sales for the industry.

In the era of green travelers, the demand for eco-friendly hotels is on the rise. Since the interest is increasing, a lot of hotels have changed their routine practices and policies to become eco-friendly. Hotels have found ways to implement greener alternatives and have abandoned practices that create waste. Eco-friendly hotels have adopted practices that prove to be less harmful to the environment. For example, hotels can install energy saving thermostats, air conditioners and use solar water heating systems to conserve energy. Green travelers will appreciate these changes and it will also make a positive contribution to the hotel's bottom line. Eco-friendly hotels ultimately look at every facet of the guest experience to implement green changes. Some hotels offer programs where guests, that stay multiple nights, receive additional benefits for not having their linens washed. Some hotels have even replaced there chemical cleaning products for bio-based cleaning products. This is a great start toward a better tomorrow and within time more hotels will become more environmentally friendly.

Great article, the majority of hotels are currently implementing the paper straw and remove all plastics. Our hotel as well have changed the lights throughout the hotel. Not sure if that helps with the electrical cost but a lot of change is being made to be Eco-friendly.

This article shared the technological advances that are being made in the event industry to create better experiences for attendees. Through the use of AI, Virtual reality, and RFID, companies are utilizing these tools to collect data at events. The information collected allows companies to improve their events, narrow down their target markets, and get a feel for what their attendees are actually interested in.

Marketing and Networking capabilities and issues between companies throughout organizations.

Very interesting read! I am doing my research paper on electronic bands. It is really cool to see how the industry is integrating this technology to make the guests experience more enjoyable.

This article discusses how to stay ahead in the hospitality industry. During a hospitality conference in Las Vegas, leaders in the industry discussed where the industry is going and the power of foresight. Being great at your job is not good enough anymore. Hotels needs to stay ahead of trends and find ways to innovated before guests do. Here are a few ways hotels and hospitality companies could be proactive to stay ahead of the curve. 1) Embrace Innovation: Using Marriott International as an example, they are always thinking outside the box. At their headquarters, they have an innovation lab that constantly manufactures new ideas. Some of their designs features are looking to implement communal rooms. Where guest will share a kitchen, dining room, and lounge areas. 2) Make Technology Your Friend: Whey a company embraces technology, it has the power to take a company to the next level. The issue is that most people don't normally like change and have trouble adapting to new ways. To be ahead of the curve, it is important for hotels to use technology to their advantage. 3) Personalize Employee Communication: Communication is the key to success in any company and in hospitality, it is very important to personalize employee communication. The staff is the backbone to all hotels and communications between management and staff need to stay constant. In today's society, the guests expect to communicate anywhere, anytime and employees are now expecting the same.

Here are 8 common questions and concerns among hotel executives wanting to know more about the use of cloud computing at their property.

The first products distributed by GDS was hotel lodging reservation system, such as different types of rooms, description and price categories with the airline system. GDS has been increased on the travel market, such as number of flights. Travel Agencies (TA) also use GDS to offer complimentary products, such as car rental, hotel and other related forms of accommodation, bus tickets, vacation tickets, yacht rides and even flowers and champagne,That means, GDS has become more important distribution channel for nay product through TA. Also TA had more opportunity of more products their own system and GDS system from increase number of booking volume with lower operating costs. It was the first and major goals of GDS being used in the hospitality industry. Even though hopitality ingustry use GDS system, there are few problems, such as show only simple structure. For example, there are 4 different kinds od room and 3 categories od comfort, it means they have 12 different kinds of combination. Because of the GDS database structure, only there 12 combination could be displayed. It took a while to fit all the multiple types of comport rates, rooms and services in GDS standard database structure. Instead of choosing GDS system, they cans choose other alternative system with develop several computerized system to make a database structure closer to product specification. Nowadays, GDS using all of the hospitality industry from reservation hotel rooms to car rentals and Travel Agencies. Through GDS as globally, people are able to to book different kinds of hotel rooms in different destination all around the world, tours, airline seats, cruises and eeve limousines.

Looking at these numbers it becomes very clear how important GDS are to the hospitality industry, more rooms booked means increased revenues and more jobs for hospitality professionals. I am sure that this technology will evolve and transform so it is important to stay current and understand how to get the most out of it.

What's global distribution system? This question is kind of cliché in our group, but this article gives a very good introduction about GDS and it's quite easy to understand comparing to many other articles introducing GDS. This article tells us: How GDS develops from being used only in airline industry to being generally adopted in hospitality industry; What is the working idea behind the GDS; Four major GDS including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan; Advantages provided by GDS.

(1 of 3) POSUSA had originally published an article in 2017 about the definition of Point-of-Sale (POS) and a guide to understanding POS more in depth. This article was updated in May of 2021 to represent the ongoing challenges in the hospitality industry due to COVID-19. The article begins by defining a POS transaction as "what takes place between a merchant and a customer when a product or service is purchased, commonly using a point of sale system to complete the transaction." The original idea of a POS system was that of a cash register, but what is in the system make up today is far more complex. A POS system and a POS terminal are one in the same, as the terminal is the physical piece of equipment that processes the information for the POS. The system is composed of many different components as with any piece of technology. "The hardware components bundle will typically include a POS terminal, receipt printer, credit card reader, cash drawer, barcode scanner, kitchen or bar printer (for restaurants), and possibly even an on-site computer server for older legacy systems." These systems continue to make advancements that evolve with the times and can keep up efficiently with the business they are working with.

(2 of 3) The article continues on to discuss the many different types of POS systems and how they can be used for different types of businesses. The restaurant POS system, for example, is the most complex POS system and is the most commonly seen system in the industry. Through the restaurant POS, a business can have a restaurant management system, which helps them run the business efficiently through features such as recipe costing, customer management, reporting, and many other features discussed. Bar, nightclub, retail, small business, salon, and spa POS systems all have very similar features, but are catered to each businesses specific operational need. Cloud-based and mobile POS systems are also discussed in the article as a way to store all POS information in the cloud. The advantages of mPOS were discussed in depth as this can be accessed through an application, making mobility much easier in our ever-advancing technological world.

(3 of 3) The article also provided an introduction of how POS systems work, as a basic understanding is necessary when considering purchasing a system. Through understanding how the POS system works, we see that a POS transaction is "simply any transaction that occurs within a business." POS payment is "when a customer and merchant exchange products or services completing a POS transaction aka point of sale purchase," which can sometimes be referred to as point of purchase, or POP. Finally, the article discusses how POS systems have played a role during the pandemic. While online POS systems have been used for many years to keep businesses on their feet, during the current state of the world this has become even more necessary. The article discusses how important it is to keep the payment process simple, yet secure so that the business may rely on this as a way to make income and customers can enjoy a seamless experience. This article does a very good job of explaining in-depth what a POS system is and how it is relevant to every line of business in the hospitality industry. As online sales continue to grow and as the state of the world remains uncertain, POS system popularity will only continue to rise and advance to create the best possible experience for both the businesses and consumers involved.

The launch of a mobile check-in app is one of the most innovative developments in recent hospitality history. This is what consumers have been asking for for years and it eliminates the need for expensive and maintenance-laden kiosks. This is clearly a result of Marriott's recent commitment to innovation through its Innovation Lab - a subterranean space that functions as a technology design board. On the website listed in the article, www.travelbrilliantly.com, you will find so many more intriguing ideas and unlikely but brilliant partnerships. Contributors are even encouraged to submit their own ideas so that the public can vote on them, engaging users. Marriott, once considered a but stuffy and cookie-cutter has once again transformed itself and taken a leading role in the industry.

When well-intentioned plans go awry, you must be able to rebound and redirect your plans and goals in a new way.

We see that this article shares with us three ways in which we can stay ahead of the curve. they broke it down by saying we need to 1. Anticipate- not only whats coming next, but also the play. 2.Capture-Taking action, understanding the new thing, idea or concept. 3. Lead- with decisive leadership you are not going to succeed in moving your team forward,

It is a smart article that linked baseball with business moves. It mentioned 3 things needed to stay ahead of the curve of business. The things were 1. Anticipate: know the transitions ahead and try to respond to them. 2. Capture: realize what needed to do and try to fulfill the needs. In business, customers are barometers. Businessmen need to capture the needs of customers and satisfy them. 3. Lead: to be a leader and make bold decisions to move the team forward in the business. Leaders also need to find out the best path. It sounds like "no guts, no glory."

There are many ways to utilize proximity marketing for restaurants. You can reach potential customers letting them know about special promotions that they might only know about since they are near the restaurant. Targeting the local community is a great way to get them into your restaurant and make them feel special so they return. Another great idea is to partner with another complimentary establishment to yours and both places benefit. Loyalty programs are a great way to get repeat customers and proximity marketing can target them. Targeting an exact location is another great way to use proximity marketing...let customers know you are coming to them.

Yum Brands, which runs restaurants KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger, is integrating technology-centric solutions across its four brands around the world, which could result in an acceleration of disruptive technologies on a large scale. This Digital Innovation Lab then adds information from thousands of Yum Brand restaurants into a cloud facility. The information includes closed-circuit tv from a restaurant's drive-thru and point-of-sale or drive-thru audio. Hundreds of startups then get access to the data to compare their technologies in the lab. They're able to use that information to create more automated services like artificial intelligence, computer vision and the Internet of Things. Yum's idea is by improving automation back of house, employees can focus more time on customer-facing tasks, resulting in more speed and accuracy.

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.

In the article, "Green and Eco-Friendly Hotel Amenities" it talks about how many different hotels are doing their part and keeping the planet green. The first place that the article talks about is the Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, it uses no motorized vehicles instead the guests can use electric golf carts or electric boats to ride around on the nine miles of canal. "Each resort also has an onsite biologist to lead educational boat tours through the lagoons." At the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago they built a rooftop garden to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for the hotel's restaurant, they are also considering making space to put several beehives, this will lead to a natural approach of producing honey. One of the most interesting and easy ways to stay green was at the Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley; they have sheep that eat the grass replacing all lawnmowers and on top on that, their manure helps fertilize the soil. It's a win, win solution! In New York they have a restaurant called Habana Outpost and you really have to work for your food, literally. At this restaurant you have ride a bike that powers the eatery blender and if they generate up to 100 watts of energy, they will earn a free meal, such an amazing and creative idea! This "is part of the hotel's larger commitment to eco-friendliness, which includes a CO2-neutral building, solar panels, and groundwater-based heating and cooling systems." At Jicaro Island lodge in Nicaragua, they used all of they wood from trees that were knocked down in Hurricane Felix and they also use a good majority of their wastewater that is recycled to irrigate the trees and plants. Before reading this article, I never knew that so many hotels were doing their part at staying green and I'm surprised by all the new and unique ways that they have come up with, it gives me hope for the future!

This article is how to be successful in entering the event planning industry. It has tips from insiders on things they did to become successful. It states that networking is key. Volunteer and get to know people in all types of events from school functions to jazz festivals. People interested in the event planning field should join one or more associations in this field. Research should be done, for example read books, articles and learn what you can. If you want to be an event planner in the hotel industry then you should also learn the terminology, sales concepts, and gain a basic understanding into the the hotel/convention business. Last be realistic, this is not a 9 - 5, it is hectic and your schedule will fluctuate from event to event.

The following article is from the ALFA Update, its a case study from Senior Living Executive, and audio files from ALFA's conference sessions. Building and Technology articles focus on  ideas, best practices and solutions to problems related to green living, physical plant, space planning, and security. For instance in this particular article 

The following articles are from the ALFA Update, case studies from Senior Living Executive, and audio files from ALFA's conference sessions. Building and Technology articles focus on  ideas, best practices and solutions to problems related to green living, physical plant, space planning, and security.

As a frequent visitor of Las Vegas, this article caught my attention. The article discusses the collaboration between MGM Resorts International and Cisco Systems and the development of a "high-density WI-FI system designed to enhance the guest experience". According to the article, MGM Resorts and Cisco have developed the highest-performing wireless LAN in the industry. Since Las Vegas is a top destination for tourists and business travelers, this technology will enhance the overall experience for a guest who is in town for either business or pleasure (or both!). Not only is the connectivity within this system is 30 percent faster, but it offers new programs and apps. There is a "state-of-the art wayfinding resort map" which offers point-by-point directions to various locations within the resort such as, restrooms, restaurants, and retail stores. I think this is a great idea. Las Vegas hotel/casino resorts can be quite overwhelming, especially for first-time guests.

. For example, it can be difficult to locate the "all mighty" restroom among the bright lights of the slot machines and crowds of anxious gamblers. With this new WI-FI system in place, any MGM Resorts' guest with a wireless device has access to a quick reference guide right in the palm of their hand. Another interesting feature of this system is the assortment of restaurant wine, beer, cocktail, and dessert apps. These apps are designed to cater to food and wine enthusiasts. For example, wine lovers can "discover new wines, read reviews, rate the wine themselves, and even email wine labels". As a wine lover myself, I think this is a fantastic idea! On numerous occasions, I have found myself desperately searching for a pen and paper to write down the wine information or taking pictures of wine labels for future reference.

Las Vegas is host to numerous conventions year-round. MGM Resorts' new WI-FI system also caters to convention attendees. Previously, their WI-FI system was only able to support roughly 4,000 concurrent users. Today, with the new and improved WI-FI, MGM Resorts now has the capability to support up to 120,000 concurrent users in Las Vegas. In addition, convention groups will find that the system is user-friendly and allows for network customization. It also includes location-based services and fast download/streaming speeds (for video presentations). MGM Resorts is clearly an industry leader. Most of their resorts, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and The Mirage already have this enhanced WI-FI in place. Final installations to additional resorts will be complete in 2013.

This article is about a new application: Monscierge that launched in December for the iOS (apple) and Connect for the Android in January. The software allows all of the amenities of a hotel to be available to guests via smartphones. The app is completely customizable for each of a brand's specific hotels. This is an excellent idea for both hotels and guests with the recent rise in smartphone and tablet technology. Guests who may not be as comfortable requesting things in person or over the phone would now have the option to do so digitally. Research of 1,000+ hotels and resorts worldwide was conducted over 3 years and found that the majority of questions to the front desk, bellmen, etc. were related to: services, local information, and recommendations. This app seeks to improve that by making those inquiries easily searchable on a smartphone or tablet, also allowing guests to input their own comments. With this finding it should be expected this kind of technology would be very well accepted, which it was. In respect to benefits for the hotel the app is completely customizable down to specific hotels to suit their image needs. With the use of this application it would also allow staff to be more effective, negating redundant questions. By allowing guests the ability to send digital postcards bearing the hotels brand it gives the company more exposure. These benefits are significant for a company looking for new technologies to give them an edge The benefits of this application are numerous for both the customer and hotel. Hotels may also see benefits moving into future years with easier training due to familiarity with this type of technology and customers with easy-to-use technology. For hotels and consumers attempting to plan completely customized experiences, trip-planning functionality is built into the app providing many possible uses. This app to me seemed to be very logical in the current progression of technology. The majority of people today