Group items tagged

This article in Mobile Cuisine magazine warns food truck owners about the importance of having a grip on their financials. With all the other hats the owner must wear: buyer, manager, janitor, etc. it's important to have an easy to use resource for managing every penny that goes in or out of the business.  The author recommends QuickBooks because of its simplicity and reliability. 

On August 17th, 2012 Forbes Magazine wrote about Onity's security breach with hotels room doors that affected over 4 million hotel rooms across the globe. During a security conference, Cody Brocious, a program developer showed how simply he could insert a device into the data port to access hotel rooms. The cost of this device cost him $50 to build. The company responded to the security issues with a two part resolution. To avoid hackers from accessing the data so easily, Onity will be issuing the hotels new caps that will cover the data case on the doors. Onity is also protecting the equipment with obscure torx screws that will enable the hackers from accessing the panel. The second fix is more costly and challenging for Onity. The company has created a new circuit board and firmware that allegedly fix the security issue. However, Onity is asking hotel owners to pay a nominal fee to help with the fix. Onity could face many financial hurtle through the recall of the 4 million door locks that need to be replaced. The security and safety of many travelers are at risk if this issue is not resolved. Companies such as Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Hilton utilize Onity's key system across the globe (http://en.onity.com/companyprofile/Pages/Hotel-Resort-Worldwide-References.aspx). These companies won't be affected by the cost associated with the fix; however the small and independently owned and operated hotels will be affected. The question Brocious wrote on his blog and I also ask myself; how many hotels will refrain from properly fixing the issue? Are the major corporations such as Marriott and Starwood given each hotel a deadline to complete such project? Since neither company owns the properly, they simply operate the hotel, how much money and how quickly are owner willing to get this issue resolved?

The owners of a Culver's franchise decided to install a digital signage to provide more menu information quickly because the menu board couldn't communicate enough with customers for a short time to select menu in the fast food restaurant. The challenge was how the small business owners and franchisee would handle their budget for the investment and added cost.  The problem was solved by selecting EzSign TV from LG Electronics which displays branded messaging and shows broadcast television or input content at the same time. Furthermore, the software offers a choice of more than 50 templates that can be customized with images and text. Therefore, the business can highlight the items with pictures and deliver their daily specials more efficiently.  Installation is easy, and daily specials menus can be replaced by simply clicking. The digital signage looks cleaner than old fashioned menu board, and saves more time to change menus. By implementing a system that requires limited attention from staff, Culver's can focus on customer service and deliver value. That was a good decision adopting a new technology fits in the quick service restaurants.  

There are several ways for small business to track income and expences. At first checking with a business accountant is an important step of choosing right accounting software. Checking business forums also can be a good idea of finding best solutions for owners of small enterprises. If the business owner is into service business he needs accountung software which can track time and billing but if he is the owners skill level must also be considered. Some accounting applications in the internet offer trial runs, so trying them can be a good way of finding whats best for this particular business. Cloud applications can also be very helpful, avaliable and accessible anywhere, anytime and very mobile, because you can use them from phone, pc or a tablet. You don't need to buy servers to host the software hosted in icloud. For sure it has some disadvantages like privacy, security, and fees, if any problems in the system occur the owner will need to wait for vendor to resolve it. Choosing the best solution for accounting of small business enterprise owner will have to weigh all advantages and disadvantages in order to find what is the best solution for its business.

i agree!! choosing the proper accounting system can make operation goes smoothly.

Many hotels and restaurant have embraced the green movement, but many are still trying to sort it all out. Too often being good steward of the environment is perceived as a bleeding heart issue and the cost conflicts with the financial goals of the hotel property owner and operators. As author mentions that, he was former hotel operator over 14 years ago, he was looking for opportunities to increase GOP and cash flow. It only made sense to sort through innovative energy solution and operational changes to find the right solution that improved profitability as well as protect the environment. He came to the conclusion very early on the owner and operators could indeed build a viable business case for integrating sustainability into the operation of individual hotels. However, with countless options from energy management technology to green hotel certification, the process has become confusing more than ever.

This article talks of the advantages of having a PMS system for business owners. How the system can help to make the business owners or managers life easier through making real time reports and checks on the facility

This article describes the hotel owners using the technology manage the hotels remotely. It shows several advantages, for example, convenience and  flexible.  However, some challenges also brought by the mobility. It needs time to take actions when using the remote technology and more private time are taken away from the managers. 

This article gives a few examples of how POS systems can help to prevent theft from employees and even from customers. By implementing POS systems in restaurants owners are able to track orders, how much is paid, how much was comp'ed and so on. This helps owners to keep track of products and sales whereas with a paper system, receipts can be lost, written incorrectly and maybe all sales aren't logged.

Marketing and advertising trends are constantly changing due to evolving consumer expectations. These changing expectations are essential for business owners to notice and address in order to stay relevant in the market and industry. Businesses must understand their vision for the future in order to address those expectations. This is the foundation that business will be able to build off of as consumers value truth and consistency. Companies must also stray away from the safe and obvious choices by pushing the boundaries. It is important that business owners are always looking ahead to the future in order to stay ahead of the curve.

One of the most important technological trends within the hotel industry today is the rise of smart hotel technology. This technology has the capacity to benefit both hotel owners and guests alike, potentially improving financial results, as well as the customer experience itself.

In this article, it basic discussed some of the key points of business switching to a point of sale system and why it would be beneficial. One reason was to prevent shrinkage. With a POS system, sales are automatically recorded during every checkout which help to maintain inventory numbers. Another key point is that POS systems are beneficial to owners who may have more than one store. This allows for business owners to have accurate pricing across all locations and it improves customer service as well. For example, if your store is out of particular product, you can sue the POS system to check which nearby locations have the product that the customer may be looking for. Lastly, POS systems have also been proven to be a great asset for making sure your business is operating effectively and efficiently. While away, POS systems allow for owners to monitor activity such s store performance and sales activity, in addition monitor the performance levels of employees to ensure everyone is staying on task and being productive. So all in all, switching to a Point-Of-Sale system is beneficial and a great move for businesses.

The author of this article targets entrepreneurs and explains the need to implement point-of-sale systems in businesses. The author explains that POS systems help businesses to track promotions more successfully and improve customer service, and thus, enhancing customer satisfaction. Besides, the system improves employee management.

Luis, I like this read. It makes some great points of how the investment of a POS is profitable for the establishment. One thing I did not realize that it is great for is to better track sales and promotions. This is an area that could really assist on driving sales with an establishment. If they analyze the data collected, the owner can know if the promotion was worth their wild OR a waste of time. Did it drive business and bring in new and repeat guests? Did it attract loyal customers? Did it help make new customers loyal? This is all information that is collected and can be very useful when using the POS. Thank you for your share.

I found this article to be extremely interesting since I have been wanting to travel to Tulum for a while now. I was also aware that many of the hotels are focused on preserving their natural resources and maintaning their beautiful town, but I did not know to what extent. One thing I found to be so important was how many hotels are vegan or vegetarian. At first it doesnt seem like a huge deal, but when one realizes how the consumption of meat is bad for the environment, it really makes a huge difference. I think it is really cool that Tulum is trying to create menus that are better for the environment and healthy for their guests. Another thing that the article examines is how the new hotels in Tulum are staying true to their town and keeping things natural. For one example the hotel called Be Tulum is using materials that are 100% natural with wood that is 100% recycled. With having every detail of the hotel with purpose, it really changes the atmosphere of the hotel for the better. The idea here which the article explains is that hotel and shop owners are trying their best to keep Tulum safe and sustainable. The owner of Be Tulum said he was implementing sustainability intiatives and finding new and better ways to approach energy, water and food, which I think is what they are doing by being vegetarian. Overall there seems to be a movement of green initiatives in place for the future for Tulum.

This articles discussed a synergistic partnership for technology investment by New York City restaurant owners. This is intended to encourage investment in technology in ways attuned to the needs of avidly Actual restaurants in practical ways.

This article mentions ways in which an owner can detect if theft is taking place at his restaurant, ways in which this could be prevented and also what do in the case of an actual theft.

This article have mentioned the reality that restaurant theft and embezzlement are pretty common and are causing problems, yet the most owners and managers are not willing to deal with the issues with law enforcement. The reasons include unwilling to ruin the employees' lives and the threshold of establishing a theft case. However, the article suggested that seeking advice from accountants (preferably CPAs) and lawyers is a brilliant way of dealing with these issues. It can give the owner better understandings of the situation, and deal with the wrongdoers in a cleverer way.

This article is specifically related to the short-term rental industry (eg: Airbnb) and not to hotels. Property owners are increasingly using technology hardware and software to create a "contactless" experience that will foster a sense of safety and security with their guests but still allow them to personalize the experience. No dramatically new technology cited but interesting to read that property owners are planning to spend more on technology than on additional cleaning measures in terms of their anti-Covid measures.

This article discussed about the advantages the technology bring to hospitality industry and why it is important for hotelier to make investment in IT. Technology life cycle provides a model for companies to assess when to adopt new technology. The best balance between the investment costs and benefits are the leaders who invest less then pioneers and incur reduced risks. Hotel technology investment is critical today for the following areas, improve guest experience and improve operating efficiencies. Then the article continue to discuss the development of technology in the last and what the new technology investment brought to the hospitality industry. For example the client server technology brought the integration in the 1990s, more advanced and well-integrated system for on-stop guest services and database marketing. Technology advances have the potential to generate benefits critical to remaining competitive and ultimately driving expanded market share and profitability. The barriers to increase investment in technology by hotel owners and operators include general resistance to change, lack of available funds or manpower to invest in technology and perceived inability to quantify benefits. As a result, investments in technologies and effective application of these technologies in hotel operation and services will become one of the most decisive factors differentiating successful hotel organizations globally in the years ahead.

The new trend of ecommerce in 2012 is to move to mobile. Based on the research, customers who are doing online mobile businesses have increased fast during recent years, and it is anticipated that the number of customers doing mobile ecommerce will continue to increase in the future, therefore, many online retailors turn to move their businesses to mobiles. There are some reasons why online retailers need to move to mobile. First, there is a growing usage of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets. 30 percent of tablet owners have used their devices to shop online, and 25 of smart phone owners have used their phones to do the same. Second: Mobile is convenience. Mobile-users can do online shopping at anywhere without a heavy laptop or a computer. However, there are some challenges. Smartphone has a reduced screen size and the limited capability of mobile device browsers. Online retailers need to supply their websites in a smartphone-friendly version. And for the tablets, a technology called Flash is not supported by all tablets. These changes can arise some costs for the retailer. In a word, it is a time to go mobile, online retailors need to realize this"cultural shift" and take action or they will get left behind. In my own opinion, I still prefer to use computer to do online shopping, because it is more secure and reliable. However, if the mobile ecommerce become mature, I will not reject to try to use it to do online shopping.

Technology has opened a new door to the consumer's lifestyle, and a great opportunity for the restaurant owners to make a significant profit; people are using the PC via internet and the mobile devices (smart phones) to place food orders and right away make the payment of their order getting the receipt via email. Consumers can see the menu and pictures of the different dishes with the description of the ingredients of each one and nutritional value. Consumers can place the food orders while they are in their office, school, home, etc. Also, social networking sites are playing an important tool for these restaurant owners in their marketing strategy, it helps to create brand loyalty, inform the consumers for the new events, and also advertise the job opening.

This article talks about the changes happening in the restaurant and retail industry regarding POS systems. Since the appearance of the cheap tablet business owners have been asking why do we have to spend $600 on a POS station if a simple tablet cost $100 and has the same computing power. Imagine a restaurant where you come in sit down and order your food and drinks on a tablet that is on the table, a food runner brings you your order, and whenever you are ready you can swipe your credit card on the tablet and get a receipt send to your email. This reduces payroll for the business owner, and also makes the industry a less capital intensive one. All that is left is for a company to write the programs, sell the tablets, and give the same kind of support you would get with any other system.  

The Availpro organization is the hospitality industry leader in online distribution. Its mission is to provide hotel owners with the most effective online sales platform. Using the tagline, 'The World is your hotel Marketplace,' Availpro has helped thousands of hotels worldwide sell over ten million rooms by utilizing a highly developed extranet channel. Availpro's extranet channels provide two-way connectivity to over one hundred distribution websites. With a larger scope of distribution the hotels using Availpro increase their sales and become more efficient. In addition, Availpro's management of these extranet channels saves hotels valuable time. However the reason Availpro is the leader in online distribution is not just its booking capabilities but rather its recent developments that together provide their clients an online distribution extranet solution. The booking engines that made Availpro successful expanded to include mobile applications and social booking with Facebook. Availpro also introduced important decision-making tools such as the Smart Channel Manager, Rate Screener and Guest Satisfaction. I was curious about the 'Rate Screener' so I read Availpro's article "Availpro rate screener allows Hotel owners to sell their rooms at best rate," published on October 17th 2011 (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news//4053349.html). This tool was developed with user input and tested in real life rate decision scenarios. The all-in-one solution allows managers to see their rates, inventory and competitor rates on a central distribution schedule. By analyzing their competition in real time managers are able to optimize their rates. Long gone are the days when managers used to call the local competition and pretend to be walk-in guests to find out fire sale rates. This most recent article, published on the third of January 2012, discusses Availpro's growing partnership with Premier Hotels of the World™. By incorporating Availpro's ex