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The article "The Software Algorithm That Turns Hotel 'Lookers' Into 'Bookers'" poses questions about the pricing algorithms in the airline and hotel industry. It then introduces and explains the software developed by Bruno Perez and Jean Francois Mourier called REVPAR GURU. In essence, the software is a revenue management system that analyzes data points online and internal factors within the company to provide suggested price-points to maximize profit. I believe that this software simplifies the job of the revenue manager because with the software they no longer have to agonize over data about reaching capacity at the highest room rate, they now focus on the data given by the software and its suggested prices. The idea for the software stemmed from the fact that we are going through a shift from offline to online in our society and more and more people are now doing their bookings online. I believe that this software has the right idea and is available at the right time during the shift to online. As more and more companies adapt, adjust, and use the online world, this program will continue to succeed. 

This article provides an interesting idea regarding technology and staying ahead of the curve. Since technology is evolving at such a rapid pace it is impossible to keep up while staying within a reasonable budget and pleasing the guests. Instead this article introduces the idea that instead hotels should be a platform for the users of technology instead of being the one with the latest technology.

Accounting within a hotel is very important because it helps to generate reports to determine the cash flow within a hotel. The article that I choose summarizes the changes that have occured that have affected the way accounting is done within a hotel. It touches briefly of how old school vs new school accounting is done. The way accounting was done a few years back was by being done manually with spreadsheets and needed more time to create invoices. As far as the new way accounting is done, there are accounting softwares that allow us to track real time numbers within seconds to determine budgets, statements and other reports. The idea of using the software is to create a more accurate and faster routine to have data represented correctly. It also mentions the integration of PMS and the hotel accounting management software to work together to make it easier for hotels to use. After reading the article, the idea of having these softwares put into place to make it "easier", also comes with the fear of having this technology backfire. With so many benefits being mentioned throughout the article, we would also have to analyze the negatives being hacking, malfunctions and other issues within having technology. Within a hotel, accountants have a lot of individual and group accounts that requires personal information and also deadlines. The use of accounting systems would help to facilitate the amount of data that is being processed and also ensure that its accurate to prevent any mistakes.

Hotel guests are now more interested in connectivity than they used to. With this technology age guests would like to have access "to all things digital that can enhance their experience." Hotels now are spending more time and resources on network technology as they do for other services. For hotels to gain competitive advantage they need to build rooms where everything is on a network.

This brings up a topic that we discussed in one of the earlier weeks in class. Being PCI compliant is a very critical role in guest satisfaction. It makes the guest feel secure and confident that their information is safe and not being shared through other channels.

Another topic that is mention, previously discussed in class, is how paper menus will be replaced and guests will now have access to order via touch screen devices. This does not eliminate servers, but increases efficiency of staff, and increases turnover of tables.

And check out this 5 sustainable design ideas for hotels.

This article overviews the three major technological trends of 2019. Those trends are as follows: Mircro-Intergration of Software Solutions which enable a seamless cohesion of third-party vendor's into the hotel's existing PMS sofware through programming. Frictionless Guest stay, the idea is to make guest stays more efficient by creating apps that are personal mobile concierge. Thus allowing guests to make the most of their time vacationing or "workationing" Employee Focused Technology, for the full service hotels, this idea will help with locating employees by installing panic buttons. Beacon Geolocators will provide the exact location of an employee once they press that panic button.

This is a great read discussing the technological advancements in the hospitality industry over the past few years. The article points out that the use of such technologies is inevitable in the future because "the hotel technology space is growing rapidly and software services are becoming increasingly targeted." The three top hospitality technology trends that the author provides for 2019 include micro-integration of software solutions, employee-focused technology, and the frictionless guest stay. Together with other existing and new inventions, these technologies will continue to shape the hospitality in the next few years.

This article highlights the reality that online reviews can ultimately directly affect the hospitality industry because practically 90% of the population in North America is online. Online reviews can define whether a hotel or airline is the best option for travel, and influence others whether they'd be willing to travel depending on these reviews. The idea is that the Hospitality Industry has to adapt and continue to change as new ideas begin to develop and become the new norm.

Rwanda is seeking to engage the technology industry in a conversation to generate ways that e-commerce can be used to help the Tourism and Hospitality sector recover in the wake of COVID-19. This will be an online conversation on June 4 to find ways the technology already has or could create to help tourism. It notes how digitization has been important to other sectors of the economy during the pandemic including sectors such as education and Healthcare. By leveraging technology it is hoped that ways can be found to stimulate the tourism industry

I found this article interesting because it is based on a concept that is spearheaded by a local Chicago design firm where I live. The Gettys Group hosted their second "Hotels of Tomorrow" think tank. Over 300 participants from all aspects of hospitality and tourism participant to generate unique and innovative ideas for the industry's future. This past year's think tank was particularly focused on incorporating technology in a post COVID world. Some ideas include: a customized sleep platform that has special engineered fabrics that can control the bed's temperature and clean the room's air, robots being used to serve guests wherever the choose to dine inside or outside the hotel (no longer confined to your room or restaurant), and a self driving adventure vehicle that is intended to target and compete against the latest RV getaway craze.

The article revolves around new technological concepts that the main cruise lines are adding to the cruising experience. While they have heavily focused on the ships hardware, they want to implement new software that will make the experience more enjoyable and simpler for guests to enjoy. Carnival, would like to implement a "medallion" called the Ocean Compass, that is crossover between the Disney Magic Band, and the band seen at the Universal Volcano Bay water park. It fits the Disney aspect, because it holds information,can open doors, and links guest pictures to the technology. It is similar to Universal, because it informs guests of when to attend something, so that they do not have to wait in a line. Royal Caribbean, likes the band idea that Disney presented, and wants to make bands of their own, that have similar functions that the Ocean Compass from Carnival has. In addition, Royal Caribbean wants to expose their guests to Virtual Reality. They hope to create an immersive experience for their guests, from the comfort of their rooms. Norwegian and MSC are mostly developing smart phone applications, that allow guests to check-in, book excursions, and open rooms. It is obvious that Disney developed a great idea with combining a "magical" band and phone application. The concept is so successful, that other players want to utilize the same formula. Let us see how well it works in the cruising industry.

ARTICLE SUMMARY Introduction and evolution of Internet has revolutionized the way hotel operators and business in general approach daily activities and strategic planning. Internet is to modern business what electricity was to the industrial revolution. Internet has become a very important tool in generating revenues, lowering costs, increasing productivity, and increasing online visibility and therefore hotel and tourism operators need to utilize this tool to compete and be successful. The future of eMarketing in hospitality and tourism industries is bright and will serve the industry well for many years to come.

This article talks about e-marketing and how it is going to take over the industry. It mentions that the number of people on the interent is increasing and rapidly. E-marketing need to "create interesst, excitement and buy-ins at their hotels". Now with social media, e-marketing is becoming more accessible. "The level of emphasis and extent of experimentation varies greatly by hotel group and location, but growing importance, both for generating revenues, lower costs adn online visibility, is indisputable".

Are you a hotel eMarketer looking for ways to better communicate, educate and develop the role at your property/ies? This article explores some of the issues surrounding these efforts, complemented by a dose of perspective and a generous helping of best practices, all garnished, hopefully, by your own ideas and experiences. By Jitendra Jain

Earlier his week I learned about Proximity Marketing and I am not certain if I like the idea.  According to this article written by Romanov, Proximity Marketing "combines the digital and physical worlds in a new way, offers many advantages to both consumers and retailers. It's an agile ad strategy that allows merchants to make changes on the fly to improve message effectiveness and reach sales targets on specific items. It provides amazing consumer insights." Sounds like a great concept; it uses mobile devices, which most people have, to send an alert once shoppers are within range advising that bargains are available.  The consumer then has the choice to accept (or not) the message, which could be a simple discount or even an interactive game.  The consumer's privacy is protected as it is at no cost to them.  This can potentially increase retailer sales, at a lower costs, and produces data on consumer buying habits.  Win-Win. The issue I have with this is the overall multitude of alerts received from various retails.  I am not concerned about privacy issues; it is more of an annoyance issue. 

I actually like this idea because I shop aimlessly. When I'm in the radius of a sale I get excited!!. It makes it easy to choose which store I will go into. It will be great if you can turn the alert on and off. On days I'm not shopping I don't want the alerts to go off. That can be distracting and annoying.

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.

This article gives us a glance at six different technological trends being used and "revolutionizing" the hospitality industry. The six trends are cloud/software services, mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization. The trends are all seen across the board in hospitality nowadays and are making huge changes in the industry. We have been talking about cloud computing and the pros and cons of using a cloud to store information and even with all the controversy, companies are investing and using the cloud. The use of tablets and smartphones has changed the way we interact with technology and the hospitality field is not staying behind. They are developing mobile sites and apps to help customers look at pictures and reviews about a place, check in and check out or make other arrangements. Social media is also revolutionizing hospitality by creating a reputation for businesses whether they be positive or negative. People can freely post about whether they enjoyed their stay at a certain hotel and helps build the online reputation of the company. In addition, more and more companies are looking to become more personalized experience. When I think about this part, I think mostly of the new systems rolling out at Disney World that scream personalization, guests can select their Fastpasses ahead of time, can use MagicBands to purchase things, get into their hotel, get into the park as well as to utilize the Fastpass system and every time a MagicBand is scanned at a touchpoint, the cast members know the person's name and whether they are celebrating something. With integration, customers and staff can access information from different departments all on one system and with globalization companies are trying to use systems that are global and used worldwide. 

Technological developments continue to have a great effect on all aspects of our lives, the hospitality industry not being an exception. Calum McIndoe in his article "Six Technology Trends Revolutionising the hospitality industry" outlines areas of technology that managers within the industry need to take advantage of. Cloud technology, though this concept is fairly new it can provide great financial benefits to companies as it cuts cost greatly due to the fact that it eliminates the heavy hardware requirements traditional technology offered. Mobility, the fact that portable devices can add a competitive edge to the service offered. Think traditional services being provided on the go away from a fixed station. Social; the popularity of social networking sites have changed the face of hospitality and tourism marketing completely. Properties are now forced to monitor social networking sites to learn about customer demands and to also learn about the image their company has out there and how they can improve it. According to Mr. "for any hotel to not at least monitor social medis is tantamount to willingly flying blind." Personalized systems; value for customers within this industry has to do greatly with the personal touch added to the service delivered. These merged systems allows properites to use data to ensure that guest needs are met. Integration; the joining of isolated systems used in all areas of operations on the property. The use of integrated systems allows for the pulling of data from the different departments thus ensuring proper management of services delivered and revenue management. Globalisation; It is important that hospitality companies adapt to changes and trends brought about by globalisation. Whether the current global outlook is taken into consideration when considering how a company operates can greatly impact the final product.

((NOTE: The author already highlighted the article in yellow when I found it, my personal highlighting is in PINK. Sections 5 and 6 are not highlighted in pink because I agree with the parts that the author highlighted yellow in those sections; Diigo toolbar will not let you highlight over something that has already been highlighted.)) This article mainly focuses on the technological changes in the hotel industry in pertinence with storing hotel information versus the traditional method(s) used by hotels that involved little to no technology at all. The article lists six different points or examples and states that businesses, especially small or upcoming businesses, need to follow by these six trends. The part of the article that stood out to me the most when reflecting on the lectures and power points for this week is the first trend. The first trend speaks about a "cloud" software (which I am not really familiar with so excuse me if my explanation is not 100% sound) and announces that "around 85% of the queries we see from hospitality companies and hotels include a serious look at cloud computing". The author lists a few reasons why such a high percentage of hotels are doing it this way. He basically says that you do not need special staff or special training to maintain the system; the system maintains itself so you can have more time to focus on your guests and trends in their patterns. Also, as far as the cost is concerned, "upfront investment is lower with the cloud as there are no initial hardware costs or associated expense…". Even though I am not very familiar with this service just yet, I like the idea of freeing up employee time to go and interact more with the customers; attending to the customers' needs is the most important thing in my eyes. The article goes on to list mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization as all equally important parts to this revolution of technology pertaining to the hospitality industr

The article talks about a integrated cloud computing system developed by HP for the travel and hospitality industry. It will allow a user to book a flight, hotel and car rental all using one system which will then generate a electronic receipt, thus also rendering the operation paperless. Articles like this shows us that we are in a ever changing industry, our adaptation needs  to be immediate if we want to keep our customer happy. Programs like this let us know that our customer can also come from the most unexpected places in the world, because we are not just providing a service like hotel or restaurant, we are serving a much larger  objective for our customer which is 'the need travel" 

This article speaks about combining all aspects of travel and hospitality that guests utilize. For instance, hotel, car rental and flight. This is a really good idea because it makes it easier for the guest to pay for and make travel arrangements.  It also allows for collaboration between the industries which would, as the article says, change the travel and hospitality industry. Creating the system in the cloud makes it easily accessible to all those who would be collaborating. There would be no need to host the server because that would be an extra expense. For this idea to be implemented, serious considerations and development have to be looked at for an internet back up. Should companies accept the Agilaire Passenger Service Solution cloud network, then their success and functionality depends on the constant functioning of the internet.

This article talks about how does the tourism industry had develop in the past years and how connected are all the branches that form part of it. Hotels, Airlines, Car rental, are the basics of this industry. With all the technologies growing faster, these business still complain about a miss conection between them. This is what HP is trying to fix, developing a Agilaire Passenger Service solution to create a foundation on top of which the company is bulduing a new scalable cross-company reservation and billing system that will reside in the cloud. the basic idea is to allow companies in the travel industry to leverage a common transaction processing system built using modern Linux, Java J2EE and service oriented architecture (SOA) technologies wrapped around an easy-to-use interface. Where this gets interesting from a business perspective is that if you can break down the transaction barriers between companies in the travel and hospitality industry. We can see how the cloud is growing and helping industries to be integrate all together

This article is about technology of combining the room key with the iphones. Holiday Inn will test this technology next month. Though this is a creative idea, some people may feel skeptical to try the new room keys. As this technology is new, some guests may not accept that use the cell phone as their room keys and there are many questions come into being with this new technology. For hotels, they must think about the using guests' iphones as the room keys is optional or required. The article also illustrates how the iphone works and what will happen if the iphone is lost or stolen. Besides, more hotels will test this new technology and the technology will work with regular cell phones. In my opinion, combining the cell phones with the room keys is a good idea, because many customers today use iphones today, and almost everyone takes a cell phone when live in the hotel. It is convenient for the guests to use their cell phones as the room keys. This technology can give guests fast check-in because before the guests arrive, they will receive a text massage containing their room number and a unique and encrypted sound code that they'll use to unlock their hotel-room door. When they arrive at the hotel, they can directly go to their rooms. It also can reduce front desk's work. . However, security is still the main factor that the guests will concern and there are some risks if the cell phones lost or stolen. Besides, some guests may prefer to use traditional room key and may not accept the change. It relies on the Open Ways (the secured network) and can work with more brands of cell phones. I consider hotels can provide this technology for the guests as an option because some guests prefer the traditional room keys while some like the new technology.

This article is about the use of I-Phone of Blackberry as your room key. It explains that Holiday Inn will be trying this new technology and many guests are not sure about trying it out. Many guests are not sure about trying it and question how safe it can be. The article explains that this new technology is not required and is rather an opinion. The article explained how it works and is simply a code sent to the customer to their phone and this is used to open the door and the code is only used once and resets every time. The article goes on to explain that there is no issues if the phone is lost or stolen because the codes aren't saved to the phone but rather the server the app runs on. I feel that this is a new cool way to technology. However, I don't see where it is anymore secure than a room key and really it doesn't make the process any easier. I feel its new and innovative but its not the best idea.

This article describes how a new company, HotelTonight, is attacking the market of spontaneous travelers. The company made an app for iPhone an Android users that sends "Impulse Rates" to users who have the app. Impulse Rates are heavily discounted rates on hotel rooms offered by hotels through HotelTonight for rooms that have been unsold that day. If users like the offer, they can book the room through the app in eight seconds with only three clicks.  There is also a little interview with HotelTonight CEO, Sam Shank in which he answers questions about how the company runs.  I think this is a great idea for company. It helps everyone involved - hotels increase revenue by selling rooms that otherwise would have been empty, consumers get great deals on rooms, and HotelTonight profits off of a nominal fee for processing the transactions. This is similar to the Ding! app from Southwest airlines but designed solely for mobile devices. 

Here is a link to the company's website. I don't have the app but it looks like it would be pretty easy to use. http://www.hoteltonight.com/

A great idea. Truly a win-win for all. I'm glad that they are finding the impulse rates are not affecting the amount of regular booking guests. I would like to try this myself and live life to the fullest.

After 9/11, hospitality-related businesses, especially airlines, cruise lines, and hotels started putting huge efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, but it has never been easy to do so because of financial matters and guests' privacy. Hotels have been exposed to terrorist attacks since, unlike airlines and cruise lines, it is relatively easy for terrorists to access hotel properties without strict security check. This article suggests hoteliers to invest in the latest technology, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for guests' safety. Within the hospitality industry, non-contact RFID is one of the latest innovations in the customer security market. This new technology allows guests to easily access the hotel and their rooms by putting their room card on a sensor. However, guests can access to only the floors that they are entitled. So this could help hotels increase the level of security. Currently, RFID technology is at the forefront of hotel security throughout the world; and, more and more hoteliers have been interested in this technology for not only cutting down labor expenses but protecting their guests from terrorism. Mostly, this RFID technology still has room for improvement and advancements.

What types of improvements do you see in the future of RFID technology?

As i know, RFID has been used in some high class buildings or latest built building in residential areas, residents can only access the floors that they are entitled. This is a great idea that i hope the hotels could widely used it in the future to protect their guests' safety.