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Jouvens Jean

POS System:PAR TECH INC - 5 views

This POS system is essential to our industry. Given the fact that we are attached to our mobile phone nowadays especially in the hospitality industry I believe this technology will be a great asset...

software technology hospitality

Jouvens Jean

While You Are There - The Responsible Traveler Guide - 0 views

  • ou have arrived and now the fun starts. It is in the destination where the traveler has the most impact on the environment and local community. Therefore, keeping a few things in mind while enjoying your vacation will go a long way to make your visit green. Consider what you can do while: Staying at your hotel Sightseeing and taking excursions Eating Shopping Taking photographs The overall tourism impact can also be measured by: How your environmental impact in the area you are visiting can be minimized. How you can support and encourage the destination to preserve its socio-cultural authenticity. How your expenditure can benefit the local economy.
Thomas Sharpe

Global Green - 1 views

Working with Wyndham Worldwide we have achieved the Global Green Initiative Certification. You can follow this link to read more of how Wyndham respects our environment and the people and communiti...

started by Thomas Sharpe on 07 Sep 13 no follow-up yet
duyt tran

2014 - The Year That The Importance of Event Tech Will Finally Click - 0 views

  • In the events industry the key focus for event and marketing teams will continue to be return on investment,
  • Taking what we do at Eventsforce as an example, effectively utilizing the broad range of data that comes out of events is a fantastic way of extending the value and ultimately demonstrating a tangible ROI to the powers that be. I can’t deny that some time needs to be invested initially, but making the most of cross event reporting will go a long way to helping extract maximum value.
  • With all the technological advancements that are being made on a daily basis, this should be an exciting time for the industry.
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    2014 is a great year since the recession has shown side of getting away by the unemployment figures are down and people and companies begin to spend again. We believe that the organizer will now realize how important that technology can help them reduce cost and maximize Return on investment for a organization. Technology also not just help the planner to enhance the experience for attendee but also make their life easier, even many planner did not agree on this aspect. Even the event planning industry is mostly about face to face basic, many planner begin to understand how technology has helped them to cut down cost and hassle to create one-stop shop; and the 2014 will be predicted a year that many strategic partnerships between tech suppliers and complementary technologies will be formed.
Ruoxi Wang

Hospitality Biz India :: Importance of e-marketing - Sudhanshu Kumar Singh, Group Gener... - 0 views

  • E-Marketing, also called Online Marketing, Internet marketing, I-marketing, web marketing, etc., plays an important role in maintaining hotel revenue as well as occupancy. Several aspects like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Optimisation (SMO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Email Marketing , Portal Marketing, Mobile App, Mobile Website, Website Maintenance, Future E-Marketing v/s Offline Marketing have been touched upon in this article in order to give an insight into the strategic importance and role E-marketing can play.  
  • Future of Online Marketing v/s Offline MarketingGrowth of online marketing was low in the initial years due to inhibitions, but it is now growing with extraordinary pace as the confidence of Indian buyers is increasing gradually. Seeing the current behaviour of Indian buyers, online experts estimated that the trend of online marketing will become a basic phenomenon among buyers in coming years. The present and future e-marketers are keeping their eyes on the Indian market trends and studying the consumer behaviour for creating best and attractive deals potential clients.
  • Portal Marketing: Another form of online revenue sharing consists in people working together and registering online in a way similar to that of a corporation and sharing the proceeds. A third form of revenue sharing on the Internet consists of enticing Internet users to sign up and create content by offering a share of advertising revenue.
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  • Mobile App: It is mobile application software designed to run on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices. It is usually available through application distribution platforms, which are typically operated by the owner of the mobile operating system, such as the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and Blackberry App World. Some apps are free, while others must be purchased.
  • Mobile Website: It helps access the world wide web, i.e. the use of browser-based Internet services, from a hand held mobile device, such as a smartphone, a feature phone or a tablet computer, connected to a mobile network or other wireless network.
  • Website Monitoring: This is often used by businesses to ensure that their sites are live and responding. Website monitoring companies that offer website performance monitoring allow businesses to simulate the actions of thousands of visitors to a website and observe how it responds. They also simulate visitors across multiple geographies and servers Internet connections, some monitoring companies can test and display performance data globally in a single view. Performance monitoring tools send out alerts when pages or parts of a website malfunction, which allows the webmaster to correct issues faster.
  • Channel Manager: It helps hoteliers practise a sophisticated pricing strategy with relative ease. It will ensure appropriate responses to the changing market conditions and improve revenue through early identification of sales and promotional needs. In simple words, you will be able to sell rooms to the right guests at the right time at a right price. This will significantly increase the revenue generation capability of a hotel and increase efficiency. Stop overbooking with automatic update rates and inventory across all your multiple channels/travel websites.
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    This article introduced the importance of e-marketing in today's internet time and in the future. This kind of marketing is growing rapidly. Including the use of portal marketing, mobile app, mobile websites, and so on. The author was from India. He said online marketing will grow dynamically in India, especially in hospitality industry. I think it's not only for India, for the developed countries, a media plan for any service industry product has online e-marketing as the first channel to reach the target audience.
yessica henriquez

Green Lodging News - 0 views

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    Lodging's Leading Environmental News Source
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    The American Hotel & Lodging Association and TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, have joined forces on their sustainability initiatives to encourage the hospitality industry to adopt more eco-friendly practices. this partnership will effectively educate consumers about green practices incorporated by the lodging industry in their operations, and it aligns these two important industry programs.
Le Chai

ZDirect and Sabre Hospitality Solutions Perfecting eMarketing, Communications for Vanta... - 0 views

  • The 8th largest hotel company in the world with more than 1,000 locations has relied on ZDirect and its ZMail® electronic communication platform since 2007 to deliver dynamic, real-time profiles of hotel guests and streamline and centralize each property's eMarketing initiative by tracking guest behaviors and preferences.
  • Together, these two companies are giving our brands superior online and mobile communication tools that are proving to increase bookings and improve two-way communications.
  • ZDirect's patented dynamic content engine uses guest behavior and preference data to create individualized confirmations, pre-arrival emails, customer satisfaction surveys and more to up-sell a hotel's profitable amenities.
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    Vantage Hospitality Group utilizes ZDirect's Zmail to market to guests behaviors and preferences. The company has teamed up with Sabre Hospitality Solutions to simplify reservations. ZDirects data collection has created a personalized communication that seems less automated, while Sabre Hospitality Solutions has expanded their audience. They work together to achieve "maximum profit from unsold perishable room inventory."
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    This article is about the success eMarketing of ZDirect and Sabre Hospitality Solutions. The emarketing provides the hotels online and mobile communication tools which is a good improving of two-way communications. It is an efficient and dependable process that help guests to receive email confirmation immediately. 
Alyssa Westmeyer

Hotel technology trends that are changing how hotels do business - 1 views

  • Choice created the software in 2003 as an inexpensive solution for franchisees of its economy brands.
  • The PMS had a lot of growing pains at first, but eventually it became more and more cloud enabled and was adopted across the company.
  • “A lot of companies had outsourced their IT and now they’re bringing it back in house because they can do almost everything they need on the cloud or through software as a service.
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  • Switching to the cloud from a client server platform pays off with a big drop in both the initial capital outlay and the ongoing operating costs for the property management and other systems.
  • pects of a franchisee’s business, from guest check-ins and housekeeping services to billing and finances. Over time new features have been rolled into the software platform making it more robust and useful for hotel owners—it’s currently distributed in eight countries and available in four languages. And while plenty of cloud-based PMS packages are now available from third-party vendors like Micros, Maestro, and RoomKey, Choice’s internal solution has garnered its fair share of attention. “We had been getting knocks on the door from IT vendors at other hotel companies and individual Choice franchisees that own other brands, saying they were interested in our product,” says Pacious, “So we set up a new division so we could take a look at other opportunities we could develop.” This led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system. Pages: 1 2 3 4 2013-06-18 Sean Downey !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); inShare0 Related Articles attachment-3
  • his led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system. Pages: 1 2 3 4 2013-06-18 Sean Downey !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); inShare0 Related Articles Hotel Market Insight: Cleveland a
  • This led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system.
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    Choice Hotels has been a industry leader in the cloud PMS movement. They identified the opportunity to create their own platform 10 years ago when cloud was barely on the radar and have now successfully distributed it to 5,500 of their properties. Unique functionality built into the system is internet redundancy via cellular data plan, company-wide campaign pop-up messages to staff, interface to Pegasus and revenue management through predictive analytics. The platform has been so successful that, in response to inquiries from other companies who wanted to use Choice's proprietary system themselves, they created an additional revenue stream by establishing a separate company that sells and creates custom cloud PMS systems. One advantage pointed out is that managers no longer need to be on property to access and make changes to their PMS. While this is hugely beneficial to the majority of the industry (who already work long hours and visit the property on their day off), there may be some who take advantage of the situation. If this becomes the case, less oversight at the property means that operations has the potential to slip. It doesn't seem that this is a concern for Choice Hotels but it should be considered.
Le Chai

HOSPA and HFTP in Initial Discussions to Expand Association's Showpiece 'HOSPACE' Hospi... - 0 views

  • We believe that HOSPACE is ready for the next stage in its evolution; and there is a fantastic opportunity here for both HOSPA and HFTP – with our shared synergies, resources and objectives – to work even closer together to make HOSPACE one of the world's leading hospitality conference, exhibition and networking events."
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    This article is about the discussion of HOSPACE expansion. HOSPA(Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT) and its partner HFTP(Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals) decided to make another big development for HOSPACE. I think the alliance of this two organization will create better resuts and improvement for the financial technology in the future.
pattyjoe10

Report Reveals Majority of IT Execs Still Cautious about Data Consolidation and Cloud M... - 1 views

  • Security concerns are preventing businesses from unlocking the potential benefits of data center consolidation and cloud services
  • while nearly three-quarters of IT professionals view data center consolidation as important
  • more than half
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  • have no consolidation plans in plac
  • and only a quarter have completed consolidation projects.
  • as encryption and managing cryptographic keys being technically challenging for IT professionals, these survey results also suggest that businesses do not have the required staffing levels in place to support a consolidation project.
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    More than half of IT professionals believe that data consolidations and storing is very important for a business. Although almost all agree with it, the vast majority have no plans to consolidate at all. Meanwhile only "a quarter" have completed with consolidation projects. As we have stated previously in past class discussions, the cloud technology/computing/storing is a software that has revolutionized the technology industry. Cloud technology has allowed companies to access and store information, and even share it, in a much quicker and cost-efficient way. Seemingly, still many believe it may be too soon to trust 100% on cloud technology, since security is a big issue. Yes, they are monitored periodically; but hackers nowadays can accomplish a lot. Thus, resulting in a security challenge for many IT professionals. Among many other reasons, companies seem to lack the required staff to implement these methods. Although IT professionals believe in it, at this moment it is too hard to achieve.
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    It's interesting that they think that consolidation is important yet do little about it. Keeping data safe is critical. To get to my e-mail for work when not at the facility, it requires the 8-digit pin that's in my head, plus a 6-digit key from the secure ID that I carry. That 6-digit code changes every thirty seconds, and the device contains enough codes for five years. If someone is logging in to look at my mail, they can be reasonably confident that it's me, Staff is definitely critical, which explains why so many IT jobs are available these days. If you have all of the IT initials (MCSE,CompTIA, etc) after your name, it's a good time to be in the industry.
kathy_douglas

Florida tourism jobs, training to increase - Sun Sentinel - 0 views

  • Tourism projections show visitation is expected to climb to 127 million tourists in 2020, according to Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing organization.lRelated BusinessSwanky Villas at Crane's BeachHouse to debut on Nov. 1See all related8 To accommodate that growth, Florida will need 315,000 new hospitality jobs, forecast data show.
  • new training and certification program for hospitality employees
  • Visit Florida also is rolling out several other programs to keep the destination top-of-mind with domestic and international travelers.
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  • Visit Florida unveiled the training program and its other new initiatives Tuesday during the 47th Annual Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Boca Raton Resort & Club
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    Visit Florida has announced they are coming out with a new, free certificate and training for hospitality employees. Due to the increase in Florida tourism, they will launch this new program to hopefully keep more tourists coming back because of the remarkable hospitality they received. Tourism is up from 2012 and they feel 2014 will surpass 2013, which the state welcomed 93.7 million visitors. That being said, this is a great opportunity for our industry. This will open so many doors for event planners and other hotel positions to help with the increasing tourism and being able to cater to their needs.
Ruoxi Wang

Unlocking the future: Hotels to see new security technology - Hospitality Portal - Hote... - 1 views

  • Your mobile can now literally be the key to your future and open many doors, thanks to a new technology that can have your cellphone talking to your locks.
  • Frequent travellers can now skip the check-in and check-out process into hotels, collecting keys at reception counters and spending time in lounges paying bills, thanks to Near Field Communication technology that makes mobiles do your work, says Sanjeev Anand, sales and key accounts manager, India, of VingCard Elsafe, supplier of hospitality security solutions worldwide.
  • His entry is automatically recorded on the front desk.
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  • The technology enables a user with an NFC-enabled mobile and a booking in an NFC-enabled hotel to breeze in and out, sans all hassles. After initial booking on arrival by flight, train or bus, the traveller's mobile is automatically loaded with an electronic wallet and encrypted code and hotel room number.
  • It can also be used to pay bills in his room or at the lobby kiosk without wasting time at the counter or stepping out of a room early to complete all formalities and hurrying to catch a flight or train.
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    This is an amazing technology. A customer can use his cellphone to do the reservation, check-in, enter the room and pay the bill. If  this technology can be widely used in this industry. It really can bring a lot of convenience to both the hotels and the customers. It is also very safe, because only your cellphone can open your room and the cellphone is also a identification of a customer. But there are two concerns. First is the cost of this technology and the hardware. It can be too much to afford for the hotels. Second, is it really that safety. What if someone lose his mobile?
Alexander Suarez

Internet Security: Whom Should You Trust? - Forbes - 0 views

  • Comment Now Follow Com
  • Internet security is all about trust at a distance
  • Even with secure connections, encryption, and the various other authentication schemes there is always a way to spoof identity, provide forged documents or credentials, hold computers and servers hostage to “ransomware” or allow cyber-criminals to be whoever they want to be.
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  • he Online Trust Alliance and its Mission
  • Privacy: Especially in the European Union, there is a greater focus on the control, collection, use and sharing of consumer data. The Online Trust Alliance is working to protect consumers in this regard;
  • The organization is deeply involved in seven areas that are highly relevant to business and how companies can safely interact with customers, clients and anyone that uses the Internet, while protecting internal confidential information.
  • Anti-Malvertising: to help protect consumers and sites from malicious advertising;
  • No organization is immune to the loss or compromise of confidential and sensitive data. Consumer information, employee records, proprietary and trade secret information, and intellectual property are all available for the taking if infrastructures are not properly protected and contingency plans developed should a breach occur.
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    This article divulges into the world of internet security. It explains how with even the most secure connections there is always a possibility to spoof an identity, provide forged documents and/or allow cyber-criminals to be someone they're not.  The Online Trust Alliance or OLA, is an organization deeply involved in several areas that are highly business-relevant and in how companies should safety interact with customers, clients, and/or anyone who uses the internet while at the same time protecting their personal information.  In conclusion,  no organization is immune to a loss of personal information. Consumer information, employee records, etc are all available for the taking if not properly protected and/or a contingency plans developed in the event of. However, with the help and knowledge of the OLA,  preventing such instances from occurring can be drastically reduced .
Omar Shalaby

Hospitality Net - Morgans Hotel Group Selects Cloud-based MICROS OPERA for Entire Hotel... - 0 views

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    MICROS Systems, a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce that Morgans Hotel Group has chosen to implement cloud-based MICROS OPERA across its hotel portfolio, which includes 13 locations. The solution will be hosted in the MICROS US Datacenter. MICROS OPERA Property Management Solution (PMS) will be implemented initially at Hudson in New York, and is planned to be deployed at all Morgans Hotel Group properties by the end of 2013.
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    Morgans Hotel Group recently made a decision to use Micros Opera for their PMS system at all 13, and growing, locations. They made their decision based on the needs of their company and what the future has in store for them. Based on the article, I would say they probably did a lot of research before officially deciding what program to use. When comparing options, I can honestly say that no PMS system or similar is perfect. There will always be something that can be improved and there will always be different pros and cons with each one, it's a matter of determining what is important for your company and what will be beneficial for the future. As frustrated as I may get with some of these systems, I would say Opera is one of the most widely functional systems to use. I have noticed that Micros is good at listening to feedback and seeing where they can improve. If it's feasible, you can usually expect an update somewhere that will help increase their functionality.
mayr0604

Arguments Against the Cloud - What Is Cloud Computing? | PCMag.com - 1 views

  • n part, that comes from the potential for crashes. When there are problems at a company like Amazon, which provides cloud storage services to big name companies like Netflix and Pinterest, it can take out all those services (as happened in the summer of 2012). Last year in 2014, outages afflicted Dropbox, Gmail, Basecamp, Adobe, Evernote, iCloud, and Microsoft. Usually for just hours.
  • After all, there's no central body governing use of the cloud for storage and services. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is trying. It created an IEEE Cloud Computing Initiative in 2011 to establish standards for use, especially for the business sector. Last year's Supreme Court ruling against Aereo could have told us a lot about copyright of files in the cloud... but the court side-stepped the issue to keep cloud computing status quo. Cloud computing—like so much about the Internet—is a little bit like the Wild West, where the rules are made up as you go, and you hope for the best.
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    This article explains the basics of Cloud Computing and how more companies are converting to the "Cloud." The article will also detail the pros and cons of Cloud Computing and highlight current issues concerning this growing technology.
jazminesnyder

Guest Column: How Distribution Systems Are Like Seat Belts - Business Travel News - 0 views

  • global distribution systems use old technology
  • their interfaces aren’t quite as attractive as airline websites
  • they still do what they’re designed to do efficiently and affordably.
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  • agency portals
  • Are not designed to manage high transaction volumes generated by large TMCs.Do not offer comparison shopping on competing airlines.
  • Its strategy seems to rest in shifting distribution costs to corporate buyers.
  • Building out airline websites, keeping website content updated, investing in agent portals and investing in direct connect technology all come with significant capital expenditures or resource costs.
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    My article this week is about how GDS (Global Distribution Systems) can be compared to a seatbelt. The author opens the article discussing the main reasons we still continue to use seatbelts; even though they aren't the most comfortable or fashionable items to use, they still do their jobs in saving our lives when it comes to a collision of some sort. The author is in favor of GDS and makes the claim that like seatbelts, the GDS may not be the most up-to-date or may not appear to be as nice as other local systems to each individual airline, but they get the job done and there are no other systems out there like it that we know of (no other systems that do everything he GDS system does that is). The main topic of discussion that the article is concerned with is the recent decision made by the company Lufthansa to start charging its customers an additional surcharge for using GDS systems instead of going through its own system. The author clearly makes it know that she doesn't believe Lufthansa when they say they are charging this additional surcharge because GDS is the most expensive channel to go through. "Because there's no reason to think that an airline should expect to distribute its products without any cost, Lufthansa's recent gambit seems more of a tactic for increasing lagging direct distribution... Its strategy seems to rest in shifting distribution costs to corporate buyers" claims Rose, the author of the article. The author also points out some of the draw backs of using agency portals, the main reason being that a customer cannot compare rates of other competitors and that agency portals cannot handle high volume transactions like the GDS can. It is also made known that there are costs that come with other channels as well, like the prices you pay for building airline websites and keeping them updated. The author concludes that "Given the history of negotiations between airlines and GDSs, it's impossible to know whether Lufthansa is using DCC as
anonymous

Our E-Waste Problem Is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren't Helping | WIRED - 1 views

  • Oh sure, many companies have green initiatives. Apple in particular has made notable, documented efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, powering a majority of its retail stores and data centers with renewable energy, developing more efficient packaging design, and designing products that use less power than their predecessors. But if your products are going to be tossed out in a year, none of that is particularly brag-worthy. That’s a tremendous amount of wasted resources.
  • In the past, computers were designed to be relatively easy to disassemble, like HP’s towers and older versions of the Mac Mini. You could swap out dead parts and batteries, add more memory if it got sluggish, even replace a motherboard. But in the mid-2000s, things started to change. Apple introduced the ultra-thin, ultra-light MacBook Air and the industry enthusiastically followed with heaping helpings of devices that, while slim, were very difficult to repair due to the construction compromises required to achieve that svelte profile. Smartphones and tablets followed with an even faster purchasing and chucking cycle.
  • Therefore, the easier it is to disassemble something, the more likely it is to be worth someone’s time to recycle it. And that’s where issues arise
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  • “The big problem the electronics industry is facing as a whole is products are getting lighter and lighter,” iFixit’s Kyle Wiens said. “This is great for consumers but a nightmare for recyclers.” Smaller, lighter products can be tricky to take apart, and yield a lower volume of raw materials.
  • Glue and adhesives are a common hurdle. Products like the iPad and Microsoft Surface achieve a slim form factor by using “a metric duckload of adhesive,” as Wiens once put it, particularly to keep the battery in place. All that glue must be removed before any recyclable material can be melted down. And battery recycling is risky endeavorin the best of circumstances—under the right conditions, a damaged battery can cause a fiery explosion. Tack onto that the need to painstakingly pry a battery from its glue-smeared lodging and you’ve got a delicate task indeed. For items with a lot of glue, like a tablet display, Sims Recycling Solutions heats the glue, then uses suction cups to apply pressure across the glass so it can be removed without cracking. Other things that can make a product more challenging to recycle include the number of screws (particularly non-standard screws), the inclusion of hazardous materials like mercury (which is declining, due to the rising popularity of LEDs instead of bulbs), large amounts of glass, and plastics. Waterproof and tightly sealed products also are more arduous to deal with.
  • As we rush headlong into a world in which we’re disposing of more and more gadgets each year, making them easily recyclable should be a growing priority of device makers. Just as display size, processor speed and energy efficiency are marketing points, so too should recyclability.
  • David Thompson, Panasonic’s head of environmental affairs, says the standardization of screws and plastic resin materials, not thermally setting screws in plastic, and minimizing the use of glue will boost recycling efforts, as will designing products for easier disassembly. Would consumers really decry, or even notice, these changes? Probably not. But such changes could require concessions to slim dimensions and light weight. And for manufacturers, increased standardization may mean fewer distinctions between competing products. Take a plastic smartphone housing: Currently there are hundreds of variations (soft touch, textures, and metallic colors, to name a few). Standardization could limit that very marketable variety. Even so, some products are embracing such ideals. Dell won The Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries 2014 Design for Recycling award for the Latitude 10 and XPS 10 tablets and Latitude E7240 notebook. Aside making its products cheap and easy to recycle, Dell has used nearly 8 million pounds of recycled plastic in its desktop and display production. And it is not alone.
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    I found an interesting article about how the big computer companies can recycle the computers. This can solve some of the main problem about the recycling. The article is referring to idea that computers may become bigger size but easier to recycle. In other words we might wanna make a step back in the past, when we was able to just replace one detail from the computer instead of throwing it away.
natalieemmanuel

Alibaba has solved the one problem Amazon can't: B2B e-commerce - Fortune - 2 views

  • Incredibly, many businesses today still buy and sell supplies and materials with paper invoices, faxes, and checks. It’s a huge opportunity on which the two largest e-commerce companies in the U.S., eBay and Amazon, have not focused. Both companies run marketplaces, but they specialize in consumer-facing goods, not wholesale items and business supplies. Amazon has been running AmazonSupply, a wholesale site, in beta for two years, as CEO Jeff Bezos promotes increasingly flashier schemes around drone delivery, TV shows, mobile phones, and publishing.
  • But there is one true giant in the category: Alibaba, the Chinese retail darling that last week revealed plans for a $21.12 billion initial public offering, which has dominated in B2B e-commerce. I was reminded of this over the weekend while listening to Planet Money’s entertaining explainer of the Alibaba wholesale market. Through Alibaba.com and 1688.com, the company provides to people everywhere access to the Chinese supply chain. This means tinkerers, builders, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can order custom motors and parts from Chinese factories without having to travel there, find a scout, and forge a relationship with a manufacturer before doing business.
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    In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.
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    In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.
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    For an individual shopper, Alibaba has also created Ali Express, which gives an individual access to the same staggering number of products at near wholesale prices. They do indeed appear to have broken the code on B2B sales while still providing availability to the consumer. Win-win.
anonymous

Choices for Going Green in the Hospitality Industry: How is the Hospitality Industry Go... - 2 views

  • The hospitality industry recognizes the importance of managing its properties in an environmentally responsible way.
  • The hospitality industry whose services span the management of large areas of land, real estate, energy and other resources, is no exception.
  • The industry is realizing that green practices contribute significantly to their bottom lines
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  • ecotourism as the fastest growing market in the hospitality industry. Adopting environmentally responsible practices has become imperative to promote properties as destinations for such clients. Another positive outcome is the healthier environments they generate
  • Certification: Managers of hotel properties, from bed and breakfast inns to large facilities are turning to certification as a means toward going green.
  • LEED focuses on improvements to buildings and structures to improve operations.
  • Their commitment to environmental conservation is viewed favorably by customers and the communities they operate in.
  • they incorporate many environmentally sustainable practices in their operations. The use of land, materials such as paint and carpets, furniture, fixtures and equipment, cleaning supplies and food, lend themselves to eco-friendly practices.
  • In addition to certification, some members of the hospitality industry are contributing to the greening effort by setting their own goals and priorities.
  • As customers become increasingly concerned with environmental conservation, technologies and practices will adapt to cater to such need. Environmental sustainability will be a key focus of these efforts.
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    The hospitality industry is recognizing how imperative it is to run your hotel in a way where it will not only benefit you and your business but for the environment as well. Many hotels are making an effort to making an effort to become certified by means of having a going green business. In addition to certification, businesses in the hospitality industry are contributing to this go green effort by seeking specific goals and priorities. Hotels for example are focusing on how to save energy and water conservation, solid waste management, land use and indoor air quality. Changing basic hotel equipment such as toilets, solar heating, washing machines/dryers, refrigerators to "green products" can create a big difference in hotel energy costs and help save the environment as well. When a hotel owner applies for certification they are carefully inspected to verify compliance on how well the hotel manages their business efficiently by saving energy, water and disposing wastes properly for example. Even something so small as using the right cleaning supplies can have a positive impact on the environment. Not only does going green lower hotel costs but they also receive tax rebates, zoning permits and other incentives to persuade hotels to go green.
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    In todays world, where ecoturism is the fastest growing market in the hospitality industry, hotel managers and owners realize the importance of running their properties in an environmentally responsible way. These initiatives usually translate in to greater customer recognition and loyalty. Some of the ways they achieve this is thru certifications, such as LEED which focuses on improvements to buildings and structures in order to maximize operations such as energy performance, conservation of water and other resources.
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    In an effort to become more environmentally conscious, many hotels and resorts have taken major steps, from pre construction to customer requests, to reduce their "carbon footprint". These establishments understand the value of "going green" not just to increase their long term profits but also to cater to a growing demand for more environmentally friendly recreational outlets. Going green is more than just a fad. Therefore, it is imperative, to stakeholders, within the hospitality and tourism industry to make the necessary changes to maintain a competitive edge.
ravicka

E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry | News | The Moscow Times - 0 views

  • a list of the basic e-commerce strategies that will help to get the best from the Internet world.
  • Site download speed is one of the most important ranking factors in organic search.
  • We forget that the human brain can only consume limited information.
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  • ensure that your landing pages clearly reflect the offer promoted in the ad copy and includes clear calls to action and conversion factors.
  • Maps, photo galleries, videos and press releases are creative ways to distribute content on different channels.
  • 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence. 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites.
  • changing one word in a headline increased sales over 3 times
  • Search-friendly web site design
  • Improve conversion and usability. With the increasing volume of information that hoteliers are trying to provide travelers, it is key for hotels to focus on usability and conversion.
  • Paid search. This instantly drives targeted, qualified traffic to the web site and increases conversions.
  • Real time search — natural ranking. Building strong sites with compelling fresh content, and quality incoming links will always be essential for any site.
  • Hotels can leverage the mobile market by optimizing their site for mobile phones, improving the download speed of their site by avoiding heavy graphics and flash, making sure their site is mobile compatible, and promoting mobile sites across all platforms including paid, social and local.
  • Embracing social media.
  • A well-planned social initiative can turn fans into brand evangelists.
  • Hoteliers need to ensure that they are using the full potential of the Internet.
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    With the rapid growth and increased use of the Internet over the past 2 decades, industry professional Andrey Smirnov gives 7 tips to other industry leaders on maximizing their presence in e-commerce and in consumer minds: (1) make your website quick to download and easy to find; (2) organize content by prioritizing information; (3) when offering promotions, clearly reflect it with a call to action; (4) distribute 'fresh' content on different channels (i.e., photo galleries, press releases, etc.); (5) maximize on mobile marketing; (6) embrace social media; and (7) continually improve by testing new things.
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    The internet is constantly changing, the way we communicate and they way we do business. The hospitality industry is always quick to capitalize on new technologies. However, the e-commerce growth in the hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple changes to companies' presence online. So when every hotel is involved in e-commerce, why is it so important today? It is simple. Today, the internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel. As well as now, most travelers are searching and making hotel reservations online. Lastly, social media and online hotel reviews are increasing and have made an important decision factor. Now, hoteliers need to keep focus on what information customers are seeking and what they are looking for online. There are a few basic strategies that will help drive usage from the internet world. Some of those are: vave a search-friendly website, focus on usability and conversation taking a holistic approach and prioritize information, and lastly make websites compatible for mobile phones. If hoteliers can use the full potential of the internet, they will maximize their return on investment in e-commerce. The hospitality industry needs to constantly learn and look for ways to use the new developments and trends.
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    Andrey Smirnov in his article "E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry highlights how the internet has changed the way business is done not only in the hospitality industry but as a whole. He stresses the importance of e-commerce in the hospitatlity industry and why hoteliers must utilise strategies to ensure they make the most of the marketing and sales opportunties the internet provides. There are a few things that hoteliers must do to make the most of what the internet provides. They include: (1) Search Friendly Website Design - "site download speed is one of the most important ranking factors in organic search" says Smirnov therfore hoteliers must ensure that their site is properly designed and compatible across any browser, any items that causes the site to perform poorly shoud be eliminated as internet users similar to hotel guests tend to only visit sites where they can receive the best experience yet. (2) Improve conversion and Usability - content on website must be properly organised and users must not be bombaded by information. (3)Search - Hoteliers must focus on Paid searches as well as Real time search to increase traffic. Paid searches ensure that your targeted traffic are directed right to you. Whereas with a great web design with strong content that is also timely the natural ranking of the oranisation website can be increased thus increasing tracffic to it. (4)Mobile - Mobile devices have become a popular means of conducting e-business related activities for consumers therefore the hotel that ensures that their online services are accessible from mobile devices will be putting themselves ahead of the game. (5) Embracing Social Media - According to Smirnov 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence and 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites. With this being said one can see why a social media presence is one that cannot be overlooked. It is important that co
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