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This article gives a brife introduciton of the using of the softwares whithin the hospitality industry, especially in FO, HSKP and ACC department.

Hospitality Technology

NEW YORK, NY, Jun 26, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced the availability of Infor10 HMS Hotel Check-In, an innovative hospitality management application for the Apple(TM) iPad.

The Infor10 HMS Hotel Check-In enables check-in to run much more smoothly with staff now having the ability to provide room assignments, registration cards with online signature options, credit card swipes and hotel room key generation straight from the iPad. Our society is based now based around the use of technology in our everyday lives. Almost everyone has a smartphone these days and everyone uses it like their own personal assistant. The hospitality industry has to keep up with this growing trend and this is a step in the right direction. . "Enabling many hotel functions on mobile devices will help hotels better communicate, allowing them to respond to guest questions and needs in real-time giving them a leg up on the competition. Providing a more personalized experience to guests will help increase overall satisfaction, encouraging more repeat visits." This innovative technology is not just to increase customer arrival experience but also to increase operational efficiency. This device is equipped with the lastest technology that can connect the front of the house to the back of the house and basically throughout the hotel to ease communication. This tool is just one of many that I believe will be seen in the coming years in the hotel/lodging industry. It will increase the customer arrival experience and contribute to the increase of repeating guests.

This Hilton is taking on a very ambitious project to help save a lot of money in power costs. They are installing wind turbines on the rooftop of the hotel. The good thing about these turbines is that they seem to be sort of "stylish" and not the typical field turbines. The turbines, a total of six to start, will assist in creating more sources of electricity as opposed to the conventional methods. Electricity is probably one of the most expensive costs a hotel has to deal with. Using turbines will definitely help cut costs. Additionally, Hilton is not new to using green initiatives. They are planning to install solar panels in 2013. Both the turbines and the solar panels are expected to supply about 5 to 10 percent of the needed electricity. Also, the windows are built to block out the heat from the sun and to withstand the forces of a hurricane. Of note: this particularly Hilton was the very first hotel in Broward County, FL to receive the Florida Green Lodging designation. Erica

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

Hotels are becoming more green world wide. MGM hotels is on board with a green initiative. Hotels electricity and water add up because they have to cool a building , clean and maintain the hotel. IT costs about 800 per room annually in electricity and water costs. MGM hotels reduced the electrivity they use which can help power 12, 000 houses. HOtels are also trying to reduce its carbon emissions. Although as the article states " its very difficult fot hotels to be trully green by their nature" every little bit helps.

This article claims that the hotels are trying to apply and adopt cloud-based hardware and software as the developing of computers and smartphones. The article uses the Delta Hotel as a example, explaining how the software apply to the management and how it be updated. In the Delta Hotel, Micro Opera 9 hotel management software is applied to many supportable devices. Also, the software contains the original product, mixing with new functions and fashion designs. Some company now is developing the software and application based on the Cloud system. Hotel Concepts-Brilliant a company providing such kind of service to hotels by collecting just only monthly subscription fee. The software-as-a-service has some advantages such as cost less, upgrade in time, no extra up-front investment and no property software or hardware to maintain. iTesso，which includes the booking engine, interface hardware and mobile applications is available as a front-end service. Call charging, POS system, accounting and keycard system are also included. The client who uses this software is able to use functions such as dashboard, check-in, check-out and housekeeping.

Now that cloud computing systems have become more widely used, hotels are also turning to this emerging technology. Cloud computing is far more convenient than traditional methods and this article states: "Delta Hotels and Resorts is piloting Micros Opera 9 hotel management software, which works with popular browsers and tablet devices, including the iPad. Through the transition, Micros will release Opera 9 modules that complement, and add value to the current Opera V5 application." "Using the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, the iTesso Enterprise Lodging System eliminates the perpetual licensing fees that are standard with traditional, premise-based software. Instead, hoteliers pay a monthly fee per room for full use of the web-based system. The company claims that the SaaS model is more cost-efficient and offers perks like quick deployment, continuous upgrades, no up-front investment in either software or server hardware, and no property software or hardware to maintain."

This articles is a wake up call to many hotels that are looking for ways to increase profit. The concept of upsale has been around for a very long time. It is time for hoteliers to go back to basic marketing concepts but utilizing the latest technologies. Property management systems contain so much valuable information about the guests. Hotels need to utilize this information to offer unique experiences.

The hospitality industry can be extremely overwhelming if all departments are not in sink because one department depends on the other. In order to increase efficiency and service delivery various hardware and software systems have to be implemented. For example: an application for making hotel reservations which is used to check availability of rates and rooms could be NovaPlus from multi system incorporation. This program provides access for the guest and allows hotel management to modification accessibility to discounts on base rates. Another software needed in the hotel industry is the point of sale which the PlacePoint program can be used from multi system incorporation. In this program employee/guest can place orders in the menu and it is known to be structured as user friendly. One of the most important applications in the industry would be the Property management application which is where all the guest contact information, preferences, revenue management and room sales strategy are located. Overall there are a numerous of software and hardware necessary in order to run a hotel efficiently. From my own experience I have worked with 3 different PMS systems, Brilliant, Epitome and Opera, it just seems that after learning one system I find that it was better then the last one. As technology advances I have found that the more updated PMS systems like Opera , work much better and have facilitated my working environment and user friendly. Whatever the previous systems lacked in efficiency for the employee, the new system definitely gained.

The hospitality industry consists of a service industry that includes lodging restaurants event planning transportation and so on. It relies heavily on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. It all requires the aid of facility maintenance, direct operations, housekeepers, kitchen workers, etc in which they all serve the industry in different ways. So this program helps runs a hotel business for example a lot smoother for the guests and hotel management. These PMS programs although not always reliable if there were a power outage, are all well structured and efficient. Epitome for example is backed by highly effective training, may offer considerable value for money and is continued by ongoing support and assistance.

This article discusses the types of information Technology that is used in the Hospitality industry. These systems are needed, to make sure the business runs seamlessly without problem. Most of the systems rely on each other to run properly, and different departments need these systems in order to make the whole business work together efficiently. The essential Technology needed is Computer Software and hardware. Reservation Technology for booking guests. Property management application, POS Systems, and applications for Food and beverage and conference management.

This article is talking about the Green Key Global which is a company providing eco-rating program for hotels to keep sustainable development announced that this program has established in all 50 United States. The Green Key Eco-rating Program is a rating system intends to recognize lodging industries that are committed to improving their environmental performance. Hoteliers would be awarded a 1-5 Green Key rating based on the results of a comprehensive environmental self assessment and they could learn guidance on how to reduce environmental impacts and operating costs by reducing utility consumption, employee training, and supply chain management. This program is a win-win situation for both hotels and Green Key Global. Hotels are helping Green Key penetrate the U.S market and the Green Key is helping hotels win the business of environmentally conscious consumers because more and more consumers are treating the green part as a decision-making factor in where they stay. In my opinion, I love this program and I hope more hotels would participate in this program to reduce the increasing environmental impacts created by human and our business activities. And I believe green hotel would a trend for the future and one day it may be a regulation issued by government.

I was not aware that travel services/sites were recognizing rankings on green initiatives. Many consumers today are basing their choice in hotels on their environmental programs, it is great to hear that Green Key is now present in all 50 states!

Yes I also love this eco-rating program, which will improve environmental performance. It's a win-win situation as you mentioned in your summarize that both Green Key Global and hotels would get benefits. I did some research of the hospitality trend, and go green is definitely a big trend.

This article includes standards and suggestions to operate green hotels. The 40 ways include electricity saving, water saving, recycling systems and other environmental friendly usage method. For example, it mentioned to use digital control to HVAC systems, key card to control lights in guest rooms, using CFL bulbs to save electricity. It mentioned as possible as you can to paperless or recycle paper. Use ozone laundry system to reduce cost, water energy and chemicals use. Give leftover food and amenities to charities. An interesting thing, it also mentioned plant a garden and harvest organically-grown vegetables for your restaurant, a best way to save cost and treat food debris. The highlight ways are what interesting in my mind.

This article provides clarified information about what the hotel should do to be green. This is a valuable guideline for hotel to be a greener hotel. Nowadays more and more hotels bring in new technology to save energy, I know this action can bring many benefits to hotel, but some not mature technology may bring trouble for hotel. I read a story talk about the solar powered energy management system. With this system's control the air conditioner will turn down automatically when there is no person in the room. But sometimes it can turn down the air conditioner when the guests fall asleep. How to deal with this kind of problem is also a big challenge for hospitality industry.

If your hotel is interested in being certified for Florida Green Lodging or just want tips visit http://diigo.com/0mwfk

Reservation Nexus is a reservation system for bed and breakfasts and inns. It has quickly become the system to beat in the hotel software arena with a fresh approach to online reservations, guest management and automated marketing, bed and breakfasts, inns, hotels and lodges will have many advantages such as increasing reservation, more time, freedom and profit. It helps hotels to offer customers a better service when feedback, such like sending a blessing email for customer's birthday, a thank letter after customer check out, and offering the travel map before customer come to hotel. All of these are automatic. In other words, this is Automated Marketing, which revolves around capturing and utilizing guest information. Reservation nexus holds a spirit of Red Carpet Service, a popular service spirit in US, they treat hotel just like hotel treat customers, kindly, patient, and professional. Besides, it can save money for hotels, it updates itself instead paying to update. It is providing on-line non-downloadable software to store, manage, track, analyze, and report reservation data. By some settings, Reservation Nexus can eliminate time consuming tasks for hotels to manage business and customers. Making it easy for guests to book online means more reservations, Reservation nexus did this.

Ipads changing our life is absolute. In fact, if there is no ipad, something electronic products can also bring revolution in hotel Wi-Fi networks. To tell the truth, free hotel Wi-Fi is too slow.....last year, I had a internship in Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing. There had two kinds of Wi-Fi networks. Free network was cover the whole hotel but the speed was slow. The other that must be paid was faster. Some people had video session prefered the faster one. In addtion, hotels should upload their Wi-Fi networks. It can be an attraction of the hotels.

For a hotel the WiFi system is really important because guests prefer the hotel with WiFi system. The guests even willing to pay a small premium to stay at a WiFi equipped lodgings. As the rise of smart phones and ultra-lightweight laptops case the bandwidth problems. I think the hotel can deal with this problems by create various account levels for guests, stuff and visitors. The hotel can allow the visitors to use free WiFi and provide high level account to overnight guests.

I personally prefer to use WIFI in my own room when I visit a hotel because I have more privacy. Some hotels they may offer free/complimentary WIFI in the public area, for example, the lobby, the lounge, etc. At the same time, to limit the overuse of public WIFI, the WIFI in the guests' room are charged by different time period and the length of using the WIFI. It seems to be not fair to those business people who require internet all day long. However, it lowers the expense of the WIFI service and improves the guests' satisfaction of the internet service.

Labor costs are likely one of the largest expenses for almost all business. Although each business have different situation, reducing labor expenses is one of the fastest ways to realize more profit. After reading this article, I realize hospitality industry have some difficulties to control labor cost, such as peak hours, high season, part-time workers and a variety of job positions to schedule and multiple shifts to cover. So I think great labor schedule software could make creating work schedules and controlling labor budgets more efficient. Great labor schedule software should have below features, 1. Easily. This software could easily create rolling schedule for unlimited number of workers, define schedule and operational constraints. Easily publish schedules, calendars and any reports to staffs and managers. Manage labor costs and avoid over/under staffing with ease. 2. Flexible. Adjusting individual shift assignment start time, end time and payable hours when necessary. Quickly and efficiently find a substitute worker to fill a cancellation. 3. Comprehensive. Tracking all training, vacation, sick leave, and other off-work requests. Could visually assign tasks of any length from 1 minute to several hours. 4. Analytic. Numerous available reports can provide different kinds of detailed and summary information, such as labor cost data, payroll, employee position and etc. In a word, an efficient labor scheduling software will alert staffs when to work, and will reduce the amount of time that managers spend performing scheduling.

From PMS to POS-the 20 year evolution of hotel computers : This article talks about how the computer applications such as PMS or POS has evolved and changed the way hotels / restaurants operate. Twenty years ago, the value of a PMS was in its computerized capabilities as properties began to switch over from manual systems. Ten years ago, the more valid comparison was between a DOS and a Windows-based system. Today, the frontier is on-site vs. online systems. The article is very detailed one explaining more about PMS & POS. A must read for better understanding of its use in hotel and tourism industry

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an advanced technology. It is the use of a wireless non-contact radio system to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Tags do not need battery and they used radio waves to read them. The tag has electronically stored information, so it can use far distance. Unlike a bar code, the tag is not as same as bar code. Line of sight of the reader is not necessary. Radio frequency identification is used in different area. A lot of entertainment use tags as tickets. Some theme parks used tags for gaming, eating and lodging. I think in the future the hospitality industry really needs this technology. More and more new program join in hotel such as rock climbing, spa, casino and so on. These different programs need convenient tickets for guests. Because of this technology used in hotel, the ID card will not just for opening the door. It will include many functions. And the guests do not need any other card or cash in hotel.

This is an informative article on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. I found an article talks about RFID in cruise ship last week and got impressed with the advancement of technology in hospitality industry. Hopefully, we will see many hospitality properties equipped with RFID soon. This technology just reminds me of Korean style sauna called "Jjimjil bang" and many of the saunas in Korea are equipped with RFID. A wristband with a sensor inside is given to people when they chenk in and people just need to wear the wristband to pay in the sauna.

A very interesting website that allows users to post an existing hotel reservation and then receive "bids" from other hotels in the area to give the user better offers and deals. It essentially allows the hotels to pursue customers, allowing them to take advantage of offers such as upgrades and amenities. As mentioned in the article, the website is very user friendly and transparent - allowing users to get a good feel for the hotels that are "bidding" on them. I believe this website is a very interesting and creative application. The company has put an innovative twist on e-marketing that allows for the user to feel "wanted" by the hotels. By giving a customer so many options, they are able to create a competitive lodging market and hopefully, in turn increase profits in the industry.

Choice hotels have deployed their cloud based hotel property management system choiceADVANTAGE, to its 5000th hotel, which is the Comfort Hotel De L'Europe of Saint -Nazaire, France, and is one of the lodging industry's most widely distributed web-based proprietary systems. This is a very user-friendly system and according to the chief technology officer of the Choice Hotels, the software also has an integrated solution to manage guest interaction at every stage. some of its features are efficient guest servicing, sophisticated revenue management, groups functionality, remote access and integration with company's programs. one of their main reasons to do this was to reduce their cost of purchasing, storing, and maintaining the costly infrastructure and hardware associated with the previous management systems. The hotel group also installed the Rate Center management tool, which will allow them to manage their pricing and inventory.

Good to see a strong working example of mass implementation like this. Proves that the web based model can work, so it will be interesting to see if more properties, and large chains in particular will adopt this model.

Choice made a wise choice! The cloud-based hotel property management system, choiceAdvantage, allows Choice Hotel to become more competitive in the hospitality industry by mastering efficient guest service, sophisticated revenue management, remote access, and so on. Since it is cloud-based, the system can be accessible to any computer that have Internet connection. The reason why Choice has made a wise choice is that It benefits a lot from this system by using less money. Usually hotel needs to spend more for installing and maintaing infrastructure and hardware. Since ChoiceAdvantage system is web based solution, it needs a minimal initial investment and save hotel a large sum of money. Choice hotel now starts to combine other management tools with its choiceAdvantage system to become more powerful in management level, which taught us that high-technology can help hotels improve and develop faster if it is applied in the right way.    

This articles talks about the nature of the hotel industry, which is inherently wasteful. when we see from energy and water use to waste generation, the guests in the hotel consume more resources than they do at home. Unless and until the hotels don't take steps to reduce waste and over-consumption of resources, this industry will have a large environmental impact on the world. the hotels which have green lodging standards reduce the impact of their operations and the bad part is that majority of the hotels have not even adopted these standards. the reasons could be either the management doesn't know the impact on the environment, or they believe the process is costly and time consuming, or the person who holds the responsibility is not doing his/her job right. Just like the law of science says "every action has equal and opposite reaction". similarly we can say, that managers and their managing practices can make a big difference in climate changes of the environment. Most of the hotel rooms say to recycle our towels, is it to recycle or to save their costs ? There could also be a possibility of having a wrong manager at the wrong position, who is not willing to widen his/her scope and learn about green initiatives, because in the end, these investments will generate benefits, financial, social and environmental.

This article was particularly intersting to me because it highlights the active "green movement" in the industry, but it also points out that many hotels that claim to be "going green" are actually employing practices that are anything but sustainable. The "green" notice you see when you enter the property, is nothing more than a marketing ploy in case they may encounter a customer who actually values sustainability. As much as eco-friendly organizations may inspect, certify, and supervise the industry, it is still very easy for companies to take the cheaper, more traditional road of ignoring the very principles of sustainability they claim to operate by. As much as we may try to regulate this movement, our efforts are never enough. Becoming environmentally sustainable has had a global impact already, but the level of awareness is not high enough to reach a globally effective level yet. Sustainability is our obligation to the earth that lets us live rent free. It is our responsibility and we must all take the initiative to ensure our global destinations are still around for future generations to enjoy. The problem, as this article points out, is that you can still polute and waste energy and hide behind the sign on your property that says you are eco-friendly just in case you come across that customer out there who actually values sustainability. It is sad that with all the sustainable technology available today, we still don't appreciate its importance. We have the technology to manage HVAC systems, waste processing, and renewable energy to name a few, but it is cheaper and more convenient to employ the traditional methods that are not sustainable. Many travel industry organizations have figured out that all they have to do is post signs saying they have sustainable technology and what it does without actually having to practice what they preach. I believe government agencies need to move in the general direction of coercing sustainable practices under s

Websites are becoming more and more interactive as technology develops, and this is no different for the hospitality industry. Customers are now looking for easy to access information from lodging locations. They are looking for 360 degree tours of the rooms and guest suites. Lists of all amenities and easy to find customer reviews, opinions, and ratings. This article explains the rapid growth of information technology in the hospitality industry with a main focus on an operations web presence. Consumers are constantly browsing the web to compare locations and can most definitely lean towards staying at a hotel where the website features an extensive amount of photos, videos, and virtual tours.

As most customers are supporting the green movement hoteliers had the need of applying green practices in their properties to attract potential clients. That is the case of Hilton Hotels such as the Strater and The Double Tree. "The Doubletree has been listed at the silver level by Green Seal, a nonprofit, third-party certifier in Washington, D.C. The Strater has been designated as meeting Energy Star standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency." Nielsen the Director of Marketing and Sales and green team leader at the Double Tree explains how the hotel had worked rigorously to become Green Seal certificated. Among the green practices that take place in the Double Tree as well as in The Strater are " recycling, energy efficiency, elimination of chemicals and the hotel had word volatile organic compounds, low-flow showers, toilets and sinks, and contracting with suppliers whose business practices are shades of green." The hotel also takes left over food and amenities to different organizations. With the implementation of the green practices the hotel has saved 26 percent on its energy costs by having lights with timers in low occupancy areas, low energy bulbs in offices and halls, and energy efficient lighting in guest rooms and restaurants.

Good article about the Doubletree receiving the silver level. They don't use chemical on their pools anymore and they also collect the leftovers from the restaurant and take it to a local ranch. Indeed, this shows that investing a great amount of money at first to become more and more green will lead them to save a lot of money in the long run!

As good an example as you will ever find about the benefits of the implementation of green technologies from top to bottom. I think this will begin to become common practice in the industry as more states adopt green certified practices in the lodging and hospitality industry in general.