Group items tagged

Merchant ModelGuest makes the reservation via the OTA and pays the OTA up-front. The OTA remits cash, net of their commission to hotel. Currently, hotel recognizes revenue at the net amount of cash received (i.e. the total room rate less the OTA commission), hence revenue recognized through this model is typically recorded on a “net” basis, which means a lower amount of revenue is recognized than under the “gross” basis.

he new standard requires the party who is the principal in the sales transaction to record the revenue on a “gross” basis. How is the principal determined? An entity is the principal in a transaction if it controls the good or service before that good or service is transferred to the customer.

Since the hotel is primarily responsible for providing the stay, the OTA does not take any inventory risk, and the price of the hotel room is largely determined by the hotel, the new accounting standard would indicate that revenue recognized from the Retail Model and Merchant Model should be both recorded on a “gross” basis, whereas previously, the revenue from the Merchant Model was paid on a “net” basis.

significant to hotels, as this will increase the amount of costs which are calculated as a percentage of revenues (e.g., credit card fees, management and franchise fees, sales taxes).

The GDS world leaders are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Travelport and Worldspan.

Retail model This is the traditional model,

Whoever sells your room earns a standard commission. Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent.

This is the default model used upon connecting with a GDS.

Merchant model This model applies to third party service providers that connect you to retail travel agents (by integrating with a GDS) and online travel agents.

An OTA sells rooms on your behalf, allowing your guests to find and select your hotel, check your availability, and make a booking.

When you do create an agreement with them, the OTAs improve your listing, pay you directly (removing the hassle of credit card transactions), give you the guest’s contact information, and give you the option to run promotions with them.

Opaque model In this model, your guests don’t know they’re staying at your specific property until after they’ve made the booking.

Small accommodation providers can benefit greatly from using a GDS to connect to retail travel agents and corporate buyers.

The traditional vendor RFP process is not suited for evaluating and choosing a digital technology and marketing partner who will be entrusted to guide the hotel in maximizing revenues from the most important distribution and marketing channel in hospitality: the direct online channel (i.e. the property website). Such an RFP process is typically riddled with contradictions and self-selecting biases, and also represents an antiquated method unsuitable for a fast-paced digital world

The traditional vendor RFP process cannot provide answers to crucial questions concerning familiarity with industry's best practices, strategic approach to digital marketing technology and marketing, digital technology innovativeness, quality and depth of direct online channel consulting services, etc

Common observations on the RFP experience: It serves as a tool to fulfill administrative requirements or to simply "shop around" when in fact the digital marketing/technology firm has already been privately selected. On paper, every digital technology and marketing firm can present itself at its best and can creatively diminish any weaknesses or embellish any strength. The hotel does not know what questions to ask to get to the heart of what the hotel needs. Digital marketing and technology firms can easily make promises and fall short on delivery and meeting expectations. Over-promising and under-delivering has become modus operandi for a number of players in the industry. Properties can get carried away and request proprietary information like methodologies, access to code, and design work as part of the vendor RFP.

Some hotel companies never follow up and leave the evaluated vendors in limbo. Oftentimes hotel companies do not give the digital marketing firm adequate time for proposal development, which demands further use of resources or the delay of other key projects. When management changes, the hotel company is more likely to go into a vendor RFP without evaluating the results and contributions of their current vendor, which can disrupt existing relationships and potentially impede the successes to date. Given the arduous process of the vendor RFP process, there could be a sense of entitlement on both sides that could result in a mutually caustic relationship from the onset.

Digital agencies may propose lower costs to win the contract and introduce additional fees later only leading to resentment and regret. Hotels will often push needs beyond the original scope in the vendor RFP and use the proposal as leverage to get more services without paying. Not all digital agencies are the same but as mentioned, any agency can demonstrate on paper its superiority to solve any problem and deliver any service. Behind the scenes an agency can outsource and end up costing the hotel twice what is originally proposed in additional fees.

Not all digital agencies are the same but as mentioned, any agency can demonstrate on paper its superiority to solve any problem and deliver any service. Behind the scenes an agency can outsource and end up costing the hotel twice what is originally proposed in additional fees.

Oracle Airline Data Model makes this easier by delivering a comprehensive passenger data model with pre-built industry specific key performance indicators, OLAP cubes for multi dimensional analysis and data mining for predictive analytics. Built to work with Oracle data warehouses, airlines can quickly and easily realize the benefits."

Passenger data management provides the critical base platform for airlines to build and manage customer experience management solutions,"

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.

Retail model This is the traditional model, ie. how you would work with a retail or traditional travel agent.

Merchant model This model applies to third party service providers that connect you to retail travel agents (by integrating with a GDS) and online travel agents.

Opaque model In this model, your guests don’t know they’re staying at your specific property until after they’ve made the booking.

Small accommodation providers can benefit greatly from using a GDS to connect to retail travel agents and corporate buyers. However, we highly recommend that you steer clear of the merchant model, because you would be paying commission to both the third party service provider and the OTA.

Option 2: Channel Manager

On average, small hotels can cut the commissions they pay in half by using an all-in-one solution

In this kind of business relationship, it’s much better to retain full control of your rates and inventory

In the distribution landscape, Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are just one of the many players involved in selling your rooms to a world of travelers. They are one of the oldest kinds of distributors in the industry, so it’s important that you understand how you can work with them effectively.

A GDS doesn’t work exclusively for accommodation providers – it does the same for airlines, activities, and car rental companies.

Your rooms are sold through all channels connected through the GDS e.g. traditional travel agents. Whoever sells your room earns a standard commission. Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent. An easy way to understand this model is if you think about how you would work with your local brick and mortar travel agency, that caters to walk-in customers. This is the default model used upon connecting with a GDS.

In this model, you would work with online travel agents (OTAs) like Booking.com via the third party service provider. An OTA sells rooms on your behalf, allowing your guests to find and select your hotel, check your availability, and make a booking.

However, this is very costly. As they are a third party provider of GDS services, you would not only pay commission to the OTA (a percentage of each booking), but you would also be paying the third party service provider a commission for use of the system (usually $10-$12 per reservation).

The only difference is, they won’t guarantee it (there is less of an incentive to sell you because there is no additional commission for them), and they will de-emphasise your listing (by placing it at the end of the list, hiding images, hiding room rate, and other strategies).

You set up several rates (usually 25%-45% less than retail rate), selling your rooms based on bids that guests make based on location, star rating, and other attributes. For example, Priceline uses a bidding system, and Hotwire allows guests to make bookings based on discounted rates.

GDSes are great for tapping into the corporate travel market – however, it is being used more for other types of travel than for accommodation.

The best energy consumption figure we've returned is 118 mpg-e for a 212-mile run

With a base price of $58,570 (before a federal tax credit of $7500), the 40-kW-hr Model S is competitive with entry-level Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, and Audi A6.

In terms of active safety, the Tesla Model S is at the top of the class.

Tesla claims the Model S outperforms federal crash standards, having been impact-tested at 50 mph (the mandatory standard is 35 mph)

Tesla's plant in Fremont, California, using Panasonic cells with nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathodes.

That the 11 judges unanimously voted the first vehicle designed from the wheels up by a fledgling automaker the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year should be cause for celebration.

Tesla recently unveiled the first five of what it calls its Supercharger stations along routes connecting L.A. to Las Vegas and San Francisco, and S.F. to Reno

These Superchargers are veritable electron fire hoses, delivering DC energy directly into the battery at rates up to 80 kW, bypassing the on-board 10-kW (or optional 20-kW) inverter(s), and gaining 150 to 160 miles in range in 30 minutes.

and it's permanently free to Model S owners

Tesla predicts 100 stations nationwide by 2015.

Tesla predicts 100 stations nationwide by 2015.

Markus Roder 5pts Dec 10, 2012 @LarryC213 Yes Larry - I agree with you. Clearly, only crowning a Ford F-350 or a revived Hummer as car of the year would have demonstrated Motortrend's lack of bias. I asked myself, though: Why is it, that the other car magazines like this car, too? But no worries, I came up with the answer pretty quiclly: All of them are in the pocket of the evil leftist homo-muzleem tree-hugging conspiracy, eh?  ShareFlag1LikeReply

The 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year is one of the quickest American four-doors ever built. It drives like a sports car, eager and agile and instantly responsive. But it's also as smoothly effortless as a Rolls-Royce, can carry almost as much stuff as a Chevy Equinox, and is more efficient than a Toyota Prius.

To meet targets, it is typical for companies to put additional stresses on their internal control structures by reducing head counts, requiring employees to perform more than one job, and rearranging risk profiles

The deceptive and corrupt business practicesofthesecompaniesandothersresulted largely from a failure of corporate governance and lack of ethical business practices, in which internal control mechanisms were circumvented by conflicts of interest that enriched executives and damaged shareholders

Deficiencies are often observed through review of the main business cycles: revenue and receivables, purchasing and payables, treasury and stock, and financial reporting

Internal controls are often the first avenue of protection in safeguarding assets and thwarting and discovering errors and fraud

Some research has been conducted in this area, and findings suggest that companies in the telecommunications, technology, financial, and services industries experience the most difficulty with SarbanesOxley compliance efforts because of increased risk of fraud from industry and company risk factors

Therefore, pressure resulting from expectations of financial performance, opportunity to circumvent internal controls, and rationalization coupled with certain inherent industry factors may contribute to increased risk of fraud

opportunity to engage in unethical behavior may stem from the macro environment, the operational features, and the specific nature of the business cycles

Because of this potential for fraud on the company, shareholders, and the public, examining the conditions that may prompt fraud is necessary for the efficiency of the restaurant industry, and namely, for those passive and active investors that are relying on the financial statements to be true and accurate

the restaurant industry is often susceptible to deficiencies because of its inherent characteristics and high control risk

Corporate scandals, misappropriation of assets and financial statement misstatement are all very real threats to the restaurant industry.

the central focus of this study is to understand the factors that contribute to increased risk of fraud to determine why fraud may occur despite the imposed regulation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

numerous researchers have found indication that executive stock option compensation provides encouragements for behavior that is fraudulent or corrupt

the study seeks to identify the factors that may provide the optimal criteria to engage in fraudulent or opportunistic behavior, using the incidence of a reported control deficiency as the measurable dependent variable.

The fraud triangle is the model that explains the factors that may cause an individual or a company to commit occupational fraud.

The differing classifications and definitions of pressure provide evidence that the construct is not directly observable; therefore, researchers in this field have measured the construct of pressure through proxy variables

consists of three constructs: pressure/motivation, opportunity, and rationalization. The three constructs offer an explanation as to why management commits fraud, and the dynamic relationship that underlies the acts of occupational fraud.

pressure may best be classified into four general types that may lead to fraud: financial stability, external pressure, manager’s personal financial situations, and meeting financial targets (

when considering measurements of external pressures relating to debt financing, the financial leverage ratio is the most common measurement of the amount of debt.

Both pressures and opportunities are often determined by factors that occur at both the individual and company level (

ROA, or asset composition, is an appropriate proxy measurement for the pressure of meeting financial targets.

according to the fraud triangle, it can be said that opportunity does not exist unless a pressure exists.

nonshareable problems could also motivate groups of individuals, representative of a company’s culture, to commit fraud.

Opportunity is described as an atmosphere or temporary environment that enables fraud to be committed, usually with a small perceived probability of being caught or reprimanded

In a study of Swedish restaurant companies, it is noted that competition is very high, often resulting in price wars among different companies that reduce prices and then try to compensate through increased sales

Some risk factors include the susceptibility of the industry to market changes as well as the nature of the industry, coupled with the specific operations of the company such as whether there are significant or complex international operations; how effective management is at monitoring activities within the organization; and the level of complexity that exists in the organization

This environment is therefore dependent on the discretionary income of consumers, and this increased pressure may lead to earnings mismanagement through overstatement.

Public companies in the restaurant industry are susceptible to opportunities for fraud on the basis of the aforementioned opportunities

The ability to commit fraud in the restaurant industry results from inside knowledge of processes and procedures, and the ability to circumvent controls through weaknesses (

strong evidence has also linked the CEO position to fraud when the CEO is also the Chairman of the Board. In incidences like this, the CEO is the dominate decision maker for an organization that may provide an increased opportunity for fraud.

The underlying reason for these three categories of increased opportunities for fraud is the state of the internal controls structure, and management’s commitment to strong corporate governance

Rationalization is essentially an attitude, belief, or position of the mind or ethical personality that enables an employee or group of employees of a company to intentionally misappropriate assets and then defend their dishonest activities

Weak corporate governance structures are often presented through ineffective monitoring of management.

A quantifiable means of capturing this could be through review of executive stock compensation measures.

excessive use of discretionary accruals may lead to poor audit opinions, providing a rationalized thought for business activities.

the nature of the restaurant industry is often described as a periodic, seasonal, and cyclic trade

Defining parameters for financial reporting can also have an effect on reducing the rationalized behavior and the opportunity to commit fraud

Because these conditions have an obvious effect on earnings and measures of success, this seasonal variability and volatility should be considered when analyzing pressures in the restaurant industry

For restaurant companies, this means that rationalizations and attitudes can be managed by assessing the internal control environment and understanding the pressures and opportunities that exist for employees.

Some restaurant industry pressures that may impact profitable sales growth include a lack of understanding of the consumer’s perception, including the relevance of existing brands, and delays in opening new restaurants. Likewise, an inability to consider cost pressures, including increasing fees for supplies, utilities, and health care providers contracted by restaurants, as well as an incapability of obtaining economies of scale in procurement, could compress margins and negatively impact sales and operations profit margin.

The value in the application of the fraud triangle to the restaurant industry provides an opportunity to extend theoretical contributions that originated from mainstream accounting to hospitality literature, which is severely lacking in the current literature

Likewise, restaurant companies that are smaller (and therefore may not have strong internal controls) with increasingly complex transactions create additional opportunities for fraud to be committed

competitiveness is a condition that makes meeting financial targets difficult and provides opportunity for fraudulent behavior. External pressure from analysts and investors may create an incentive to misappropriate assets, which, in turn, distorts common financial measures of success such as return on assets.

when debt financing exists, in order to address past and future obligations, and remain competitive, restaurant companies are at an increased risk of fraud especially when disruptions in financial and credit markets exist.

Studies have revealed that restaurant company victory and demise is eventually correlated to restaurant leadership abilities and intentions; therefore, it can be stated that executives and managers’ intentions are of utmost concern in understanding risk of fraud

firms with increasingly complex operations coupled with changes in organizational structure have less resources to put into internal controls and are therefore at an increased risk for accounting errors.

.Internationalgrowthissubjecttorisks such as international political and economic conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, and divergent cultures and consumer inclinations

This study will focus on the variables most pertinent to the restaurant industry on the basis of the inherent characteristics of U.S. publicly traded restaurant companies, as previously described in this section.

a s a result of workforce diversity and the presence of many perceived low-skilled workers. In addition, as companies within the industry respond to declining performance, publicly traded restaurant companies may be subject to activist investors who wish to see a change in the executive management team. If a shake-up such as this would occur, the organizational structure of the company may become unstable, resulting in much greater opportunities for fraud to occur at all levels.

this study looks to assess the relation between the amount of debt a company has occurred and the incidence of reported internal control deficiencies.

Variables relating to rationalization are present in the restaurant industry when considering the motivations and attitudes of management. It is noted that in difficult times, such as the Recession, aggressive financial reporting tactics may be used

this study seeks to understand the effect of substantial stock compensation on increased fraud risk.

this study also hypothesizes that poor ROA could increase the risk of fraud, as the pressure provides executive management with the motivation to manipulate earnings.

this study suggests that the organizational structure of the company may provide opportunity for increased fraud risk through a unitary tone at the top.

this study analysed the disclosures of publicly traded restaurant companies to determine whether a company has a higher probability of increased fraud risk on the basis of the presented variables.

The results of the applied probit model reveal for the entire population set of publicly traded restaurant companies that the macroeconomic factors of the Recession, interest rate, inflation rate and unemployment rate all have a significant impact on the increased risk of fraud, as evidenced through a reported internal control deficiency.

As noted in the overall model, the results reveal that the model as a whole is a significant fit to the data. Although the company-level variables were not significant in the overall model, external factors were each significant.

Therefore, it can be said that the results of this study empirically support the intuition that changes in macroeconomic conditions may impact increased risk of fraud for companies in the restaurant industry.

It can be said that there is a significant relation between increased risk of fraud and the macroeconomic factors of interest, inflation, and unemployment rates.

from a managerial perspective, the study provides evidence that macroeconomic conditions that might affect consumer demand may increase the risk of fraud for publicly traded restaurant companies.

In addition to the high costs of compliance, it is also important to recognize additional managerial characteristics that may heighten the effects of the macroeconomic conditions on increased fraud risk.

As indicated by the results of the study, however, many times executive management does not recognize the problems associated with the macroeconomic conditions because of systematic perceptual filters that play the crucial role in the functioning of the company.

By focusing on the changing macroeconomic conditions that may have an empirical effect on demand, executive leadership will be able to streamline processes to avoid incidences of reporting internal control deficiencies when exposed to the macroeconomic conditions.

In the restaurant industry in particular, information is also not readily quantifiable, which makes it even more difficult to transform into meaningful and timely information for executive management. Particular examples include consumer insights and how well new promotions are received and moved throughout the market.

it should be noted that reported internal control deficiencies are indicative of increased fraud risk, but not necessarily conclusive that fraud has occurred. Therefore, just because a company has reported a deficiency, it does not indicate fraud, necessarily.

According to the model, the managerial factors are only exacerbated by the presence of macroeconomic factors.

the identified conditions could help managers to improve internal control when a high risk factor is realized. The contribution of this study may allow restaurant companies to deter activities that may result in increased risk of fraud.

Because the study revealed that the macroeconomic conditions were significant for the entire population of restaurant companies, an area of future research might explore the relevance of the co alignment model (Olsen &R o p e r , 1998) to strategic management decisions to reduce the risk of fraud.

for purposes of this study, privately traded companies are excluded. This is a limitation of the study because the results may indicate a problem that is more or less pervasive since the sample is representative of a small number of companies in the United States.

the model is limited in application because it does not take into account fluctuations among the variables over time.

The LAC method [12,13], the carrying capacity [2,4,8,10,14–18], tourism sustainability indicators [8,10,19], or visitor management models [2,4,11] are some of the theoretical concepts and methods which the protected area visitor management may use to assess the effects of tourism and tourism infrastructure construction and maintenance.

isitor counts can be used to form a model reflecting the dynamics of the destination system, allowing visitor flow simulations

However, the quality of such models is critically dependent on the extent, quality, and readiness of the entry data [21]. The use of real-time data in models of destination systems is not common

Individual tracking methods are based on satellite positioning (e.g., The Global Positioning System known as GPS, or Galileo), active mobile positioning, Bluetooth positioning, Wi-Fi positioning, or indirect monitoring based on geocoded social media, or photo databases

Visitor management of a protected area requires tourism impact estimates depending on its intensity (step 1). Estimates of proportions of various visitor categories depending on days of the week, holidays, weather, or season, or other factors together with expert estimates of specific impacts of these categories of visitors are available

The use of visitor monitoring methods is a common part of visitor management practice, however, monitoring is often not implemented

systematically enough and data is often available with a significant delay (for example, from oine people counters installed in the terrain or when using data from mobile operators), making the assessment of the destination system state in real-time impossible

Correct and ecient data integration requires a systematic and consistent approach. However, a relevant methodology for the utilization of heterogeneous data is not available, which may be one of the reasons why comprehensive visitor monitoring is so rare.

the universally applicable concept of an intelligent tour guide for visitor tracking and for visitor characteristics acquisition are introduced in the results section of the manuscript. The ongoing experimental implementation of the proposed concept is mentioned, and relevant challenges are discussed at the end.

Gradually, five representatives and experts from protected area management, six destination organization experts, and four geopark experts were involved. None of the protected area experts involved in the research had any previous experience with systematic visitor data integration or with using the concept of the intelligent software tour guide.

The brainstorming and focus group were used to raise new ideas, and the Delphi method was used to reach a consensus when needed.

The knowledge gathered from experts served as an input for systems analysis, leading to the design of a computer program—an intelligent tour guide for each involved protected area. Namely, use cases, functional requirements, and other characteristics of the software were identified and discussed.

Because meaningful visitor flow and visitor impact modelling require suciently comprehensive and accurate data [21], systematic exploitation of all available relevant heterogeneous data about visitors (collected by a variety of methods, each with its specific limitations, e.g., visitor profiles, numbers of sold tickets, counts from sensors, space-time curves of individual visitors) is a recommended [36] and cost-e ective approach.

Thus, attention should be paid to the categorization of visitors, including their needs, motivations, limitations, and the resulting patterns of behavior. Such analysis may help to reveal which categories of visitors are desired, e.g., because of their positive impact on the local economy, and which should rather be discouraged from coming

The concept is meant to be generic enough to fit a variety of geographic areas (size, protected features of the local nature, local community , tourism intensity , division of roles in participative management between organizations, etc.)

The intelligent tour guide has to be:

Reliable, accessible, compatible.

Personalized.

Location-sensitive.

Destination-system-aware.

Interactive and collaborative.

Dialogue-wise.

Decently gamified.

Regarding human factors, the potential of individual visitor tracking to provide rich and valuable data may be hindered by the low motivation to participate [21,50,51]. Low participation may limit the usability of the resulting data and negatively a ect the e ects of possible attempts to influence the flow of visitors.

From the technical side, active mobile positioning provides spatially accurate data collected with a sucient sampling rate, for example, compared to passive localization data automatically recorded by mobile operators. However, still, the low satellite signal in rocks or under the canopy of a dense forest in combination with less-sensitive mobile devices may a ect the quality of the data and even the function of the tour guide.

Regarding the interpretation of the resulting data, the bias caused by the selection of participants and the willingness and fitness of members of di erent visitor groups has to be considered. Also, individual tracking may have an unintended influence on visitors’ movement and behavior [49], though the impact and resulting bias is usually acceptably low

Ethically and legally acceptable data collection may require the acquisition of informed consent from each participant.

An inadequate budget can lead to compromises, e.g., in the project management, analysis, or implementation, a ecting the compatibility, reliability, or usability of the program, or the quality and extent of the underlying model and the set of descriptive data.

Experimental verification of the individual tracking method, supplemented by visitors’ feelings and experiences by means of an intelligent tour guide operated in the context of a complex destination application, currently takes place in all involved areas. The application is being carefully designed in harmony with all recommended principles. Namely, a clear distinction is being made between the universal part of the application and area-specific models, configurations, deployment choices, or custom pieces of code.

The research team is looking for other possibilities of verifying the concept presented elsewhere in the Czech Republic and the world. Further research will reveal if the concept is truly generally applicable, as hypothesized, or not.

Many hoteliers are attempting to leverage those increases in demand through dynamic pricing models, which offers clients a percentage off a hotel’s best available rate on each travel date as opposed to a fixed, negotiated rate for the year

GDS would provide additional value if distribution costs were lowered. “I think that what hotel companies don’t like about GDS is there’s a relatively high transaction fee.”

. Select the appropriate tools for analysis and prediction

Collect data to support the models.

Build segmentation and predictive models.

Match your IT priorities with a skilled provider

Over the next decade, an evolution is predicted such that more attention is paid to data mining, both the onsite experience and customers social media profiles in order to integrate them into CRM activity and better target marketing communications, offers and rewards.

Data mining involves a continuous cycle of inputs and outputs based on models that must be modified and refined as conditions change in the competitive environment.

The hospitality industry is known as a highly customer-centered business and accumulates large amounts of customer data from central reservation systems (CRS), property management system (PMS), point-of-sale (POS), and guest loyalty program databases. Therefore, data mining application can play a huge role in the hospitality industry by assisting managers formulate marketing strategies, enhance guest experiences, increase retention and loyalty and ultimately, maximize profits.

Deviation detection

Clustering

Classification

Once data-mining is properly managed, the tasks performed can be grouped into five categories

Without data mining, valuable marketing insights about customers’ characteristics and purchase patterns may remain largely untapped. Success or failure often depends not only on how well you are able to collect data but also on how well you are able to convert this data set into knowledge that will help you better manage your business.

Forecasting

Association

Association

, how it’s hosted, and who has access to it.

A completely on-premises cloud may be the preferred solution for businesses with very tight regulatory requirements,

The great advantage of a public cloud is its versatility and “pay as you go” structure that allows customers to provision more capacity on demand.

On the downside, the essential infrastructure and operating system of the public cloud remain under full control of the cloud provider

Public clouds typically have massive amounts of available space, which translates into easy scalability

The primary advantage of a hybrid cloud model is its ability to provide the scalable computing power of a public cloud with the security and control of a private cloud

less economical model than the public cloud

private clouds lack the versatility of public clouds

Simply put, hybrid clouds combine public clouds with private clouds

A cloudbursting model uses the public cloud’s computing resources to supplement the private cloud, allowing the company to handle increased traffic without having to purchase new servers or other infrastructure.

A misconception about both colocation and the cloud is that they’re an “either-or” investment. As mentioned, the two can be deployed together as part of a hybrid cloud model, enabling more streamlined application management

If controlling the environment is essential, as are tight security regulations because of your industry, private cloud solutions offer both security and control.

work with a service provider who has significant experience in the the hybrid cloud model as there are potential performance and security risk inherent to the need for the two different servers (public and private) to communicate and share data.

Although not as commonly used as the other three models, community clouds are a collaborative, multi-tenant platform used by several distinct organizations to share the same applications.

scalability is a benefit

system remains highly flexible,

The shared storage and bandwidth can create issues with prioritization and performance as servers adjust to demands

In some cases, a single public cloud isn’t enough to meet an organization’s computing needs. They turn instead to multi-clouds, a more complex hybrid cloud example that combines a private cloud with multiple public cloud services

IaaS is the most comprehensive and flexible type of cloud service available. Essentially, it provides a completely virtualized computing infrastructure that is provisioned and managed over the internet.

Situated a bit higher up the cloud computing pyramid is PaaS

PaaS provides the framework needed to build, test, deploy, manage, and update software products

SaaS is a fully-developed software solution ready for purchase and use over the internet on a subscription basis

it can be cost effective, though the initial expenditure for the private cloud should be considered

when looking for a cloud services provider, you want to choose a company that not only knows, but understands your business or industry

The bottom line is this: if you are in the market for a colocation partner, you want to make your research process as exhaustive as possible. Consider all possible scenarios, all possible needs, and how your provider can meet or exceed your service expectations while partnering with you for succes

A software provider will either host the application and related data using its own servers, databases, networking and computing resources, or it may be an ISV that contracts a cloud provider to host the application in the provider's data center.

As a result, companies using SaaS applications are not tasked with the setup and maintenance of the software. Users simply pay a subscription fee to gain access to the software, which is a ready-made solution.

SaaS removes the need for organizations to install and run applications on their own computers or in their own data centers. This eliminates the expense of hardware acquisition, provisioning and maintenance, as well as software licensing, installation and support. Other benefits of the SaaS model include:

Depending on the service-level agreement (SLA), the customer's data for each model may be stored locally, in the cloud or both locally and in the cloud.

SaaS applications and services typically use a multi-tenant approach, which means a single instance of the SaaS application will be running on the host servers, and that single instance will serve each subscribing customer or cloud tenant.

The typical multi-tenant architecture of SaaS applications means the cloud service provider can manage maintenance, updates and bug fixes faster, easier and more efficiently. Rather than having to implement changes in multiple instances, engineers can make necessary changes for all customers by maintaining the one, shared instance.

According to a recent McKinsey & Company report, technology industry analysts predict further growth in the software as a service market, and expect to see the market for SaaS products near $200 billion by 2024. 

SaaS also poses some potential risks and challenges, as businesses must rely on outside vendors to provide the software, keep that software up and running, track and report accurate billing and facilitate a secure environment for the business's data.

As a result, security is more the responsibility of the independent software vendor and third-party cloud provider.

SaaS is one of the three major cloud service models, along with IaaS and PaaS. All three models involve cloud providers that deliver their own hosted data center resources to customers over the internet.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is encouraging strong information technology (IT) partnerships to strengthen the air transport industry, but says the Global Distribution System (GDS) model is now holding the industry back.

“The GDSs and system providers have an important role to play in working with us to optimize this NDC and to take advantage of the opportunities it will offer the entire value chain,” Tyler said.

Tyler noted that IT continues to facilitate improvements in operational efficiency. “For example, e-ticketing, the flagship program of IATA’s Simplifying the Business (StB) initiative, was about far more than eliminating paper. It brought multiple benefits across the supply chain and greater convenience for passengers.

“By 2020, our vision is for 80% of passengers to be able to be offered a complete self-service suite,” said Tyler.

We found that engagement with technology at events and delegate knowledge satisfactorily coexists for and across a number of different experiential levels. However, relative to I4.0, event research and the events industry appear to be digitally immature.

Events are in the midst of rapid social and technological change. With a growing variety of technological means, the industry is fast-paced and increasingly delivered to a discerning consumer market while finding ways to connect with consumers through technology

Digital technology is the thread of the fabric of organisations (Li et al., 2018). It is an increasingly important part of how they engage with their customers.

Moreover, engagement with events as fans, spectators, delegates or organisers can be augmented with digital technology by improving access and sociability capabilities, refining the personalisation of events, and thereby creating enhanced experiences.

As we advance into what many in business and academia consider to be a fourth industrial revolution, the capacity to control and exchange data electronically has extended our ability to create, edit, maintain, transmit and retrieve information.

I4.0 can be described as the digitisation and automation of the manufacturing environment. It also creates digital value chains to enable the communication between products, their environment and business partners. Digital applications have impacted the tourism sector too giving rise to ‘Tourism 4.0’

The events industry is an ideal environment to benefit from the implementation of a widespread digitised approach with numerous organisations empowering managers and improving the overall event experience with the integration of extensive ICT practices and systems.

With the more widespread adoption of digitalization in event delivery and as the supply chains of all events become intertwined with technology, we can learn how the digital maturity of events in the 21st century is shaping event management and event control.

The team set out to answer the following research questions: RQ1. Can digital maturity in events be defined? If so, RQ2. How should the levels of digital maturity of events be classified with regard to the digital maturity of the events industry and the development of event management theory?

Successful events are no longer measured by simply achieving a respectable attendance, a great deal more engagement is manifest through digital technologies

Successful events require organisers to create something that is considered by those who attend as a valuable and memorable experience (Pizam, 2010; Tung, 2011). Creating memorable event experiences can be described as being dependent on a number of factors including creating regular attendee engagement, providing appropriate activities, relevant subject matter, topical and contemporary focus and targeted to a sizable receptive audience.

technological factors being one of the most important areas of demand for companies along with the implementation of I4.0. SMEs (Small to medium enterprises) are [lagging] behind in developing strategies to implement new solutions.

The development of digital maturity in events can be compared to smart tourism, which Gretzel et al. (2015) expressed as a logical progression from traditional activities. Smart tourism is characterised by an ability to transform large amounts of data into enhanced tourist experiences and increased destination competitiveness thanks to the interconnection of the different stakeholders through latest ICT advancements

As the components of I4.0 become more prevalent in the events industry, much value can be obtained from understanding how businesses are adopting new levels of digital engagement in order to engage their audiences

it is prudent to suggest that the survival, and future success of events can depend upon digital maturity and transformation

owever, dealing with digital maturity requires careful attention as Neuhofer (2016) urges caution advising that applied technology solutions have proven to have the ability to create or destruct the value of the experience.

I4.0 therefore acknowledges the impact of connected computers with the key constituents being cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and cognitive computing

highlighted that the use of communication networks globally has risen dramatically and become ubiquitous due to the rise of smartphone ownership. This has been fuelled by social media, apps and faster broadband speeds to create a networked society

By combining the Internet of Things data and big data (extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interactions), event managers are able to create a competitive advantage.

As event companies develop new and innovative ways to connect, the events themselves are absorbing aspects of I4.0 at every stage of the process; pushing the boundaries of event experiences far beyond the physical world

They are used to promote events before, during and after delivery and are used to gather data and inform decision-making. Generating responses from an event can be achieved using a number of methods and through both qualitative and quantitative data.

With the advent of big data and analytics, new sources of valuable data are available to guide decision-making processes in a more informed manner. Businesses were once looking at historical data, but advances in database technology and system processes have led to near real-time data collection and analytics

Failure to adopt aspects of digital technology does not necessarily suggest a poor experience or the end for those businesses less digitally mature; not every event business relies on this kind of data support to survive. Instead, this research provides an opportunity to better understand where event businesses do engage and more importantly, how communication between non-digital and fully integrated individuals/businesses can be improved.

Digital maturity and transformation today differs from previous periods as it not only provides the change in the main business processes but also reveals the concepts of smart and connected products through service-driven business models

Our analysis begins with an attempt to uncover the potential challenges, on-going developments and various strategies that will provide the events industry and academics with a forward-facing approach to the growth of technology within events. By including industry professionals and academics, the research contributes to bridging the gap between practise and academia.

Because the research and empirical data collection includes industry perspectives, we believe this research will provide value to event managers, marketers and practitioners around the world who wish to understand more about the digital maturity of events.

After conducting the social media analysis (1), it became evident that the discussions appeared to be around topics that utilise digital technology rather than the technology itself. Furthermore, and probably a reflection on the value of the group, a lot of the data included questions about understanding the topics rather than providing usable information to our research.

We did not have detailed information about the precise characteristics of the individuals who contributed to the dataset of posts. However, to an extent, their roles listed in LinkedIn were informative. These included events consultants, social media managers, marketing professionals, EventTech managers, CEOs at tech companies and events students.

Although this response rate of 52 academics may be considered low, this did allow for the creation of the initial insights into the E4.0 concept and crucially it provides a starting point to better understand the levels of the developing digital maturity model.

The most referenced themes were social media, marketing, apps, GDPR and mobile. The top 14 themes are shown in Figure 1 below.

The results of the thematic analysis reveal the most pertinent events and technology topics in this group in the time period specified. The most common topics were social media and marketing. Marketing appeared alongside other topics as a verb, a noun and an adjective. This certainly influenced its prominence.

This statement reinforces the knowledge and general use of social media during events. Mobile and event apps were recognised as presenting opportunities to enhance events and were considered to be a permanent part of events.

Carefully managed and fully integrated data and digital systems including social media, apps and CRM create digital value chains to enable the communication between events, their environment, and business partners.

Event organisers invest heavily on social media engagement and expect a great deal in return through social media retweets, tagging and sharing of images. However, it is just as important to understand if delegates consider technology at events that important.

Our expert respondents were asked if they considered the events industry to be at the cutting edge of technology. Responses were largely supportive of the suggestion that it is. 64% agree, 22% neither agree nor disagree and 14% disagree.

Online registration/digital booking was very familiar with 65% ‘extremely familiar’ with the technology.

The survey also collected a selection of qualitative data as respondents were asked to if there were any specific examples of connected/digital technology considered to be essential to the delivery of an event that had not been discussed in the survey. Significantly, 23% answered no to this question.

With regard to the digital maturity of the events industry affecting the development of event management theory, the literature review indicates that academics are making contributions to theory and a broad understanding of digital technology exists.

industry appears not to be digitally mature. Also, our findings suggest that relative to I4.0 not all events are digitally mature. Therefore, the ‘digital immaturity’ of the events industry may be having some effect on event management theory

It became evident from the survey that many respondents suggested they were not familiar with technology that they would all have experienced.

The results from the survey suggest that widespread academic understanding of technology at events is extensive. Some digital technology is considered routine, while other comprehensively used technology appears to be unfamiliar to the end user.

The growing digital maturity levels form the foundation for E4.0 and will contribute to what Gerbert (2015) described as greater efficiencies and changing traditional relationships among suppliers, producers, and customers.

Therefore, satisfaction from the event comes down to providing delegates with the right communication levels they need to complete their individual objectives. This can range from the most basic social engagement to the gathering or observation of big data. Events are evidently a melting pot of experiences and goals and not all of them demand the highest levels of technology to complete.

Artificial intelligence has the ability to provide events with endless systems that sense, learn and decide throughout the delivery process though many gaps exist.

The data also indicates that there is good knowledge across all types of digital technology. This is reassuring for the development of education as the events industry embraces digitalisation