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The hospitality industry is experiencing a technological transformation. Current technology is improving and being put to better or new uses. According to this article in Hospitality Magazine, there are seven technologies that are taking the industry by storm. 1. Online Booking Systems I agree with the many industry insiders that now consider an online booking system essential. Penetrating the online marketplace is an absolutely mandatory part of the formula for success. However, opinions differ when it comes to how to accomplish this aspiration. As expressed in the article "Taking back control of the direct channel for hotels" posted on the class ScoopIt!, using online travel agents as a properties online booking system has easy setup and maintenance but lacks true customization and can put a sizable dent in profit margins, but building and utilizing a 100 percent customized system does not necessarily grant instant access to hundreds of travels sites on the web. Over all, I am of the opinion that online travel agents are still the best option-for now-because the pros out way the cons. 2. Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) Primarily used for mobile or self-ordering, EPOS systems can replace waitresses' use of paper orders and remote/hidden POS systems. In my opinion, this streamlines the look of the restaurant floor and provides better and more instantaneous service. Panera Bread uses self-order tablets as some of their locations that allow customers who know what they want to order traditional menu items quickly and independently. Having used this system, I find it more of a novelty than a convenience because the system isn't exactly self-explanatory. Currently, the technology is much more enjoyable as an aid to waitresses where the restaurant can experience increased efficiency and a higher standard of service while guests can experience the "that's cool" factor without the frustration of having to navigate the service themselves.

3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) CRM technology provides efficient electronic storage and management of contracts and customer information and many versions also feature cloud-based applications that provide easy access to frontline employees. Electronic storage and online back-up are not totally new ideas (i.e. the floppy disc) and despite the long way these technologies have come is, in my opinion, not enough to do away completely with paper back ups. Even with electronic files, my previous property kept basic papers for 1 year and more sensitive files for much longer. Basically, CRM technology is something we should utilize more, but I doubt many will do away with a paperback up system anytime soon. 4. Marketing Automation Automatic email and text communications have been made possible by the development and improvement of marketing automation technology. Having worked with this type of technology, there is not an overabundance of companies/technologies from which to chose; however, the technology available various greatly in effectiveness and quality. In my opinion, Constant Contact is the best marriage of quality and ease of use for marketing automation technology available. This type of marketing can really step us a properties game, but beware of poor performing products. 5. Social Media According to the article, photos are the most popular posts by social media users, but the arena has become a bonafide space for reviews. While sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia provide a niche arena for travel/tourism/hospitality related communication, general social media sites also invite open, unfiltered discussion. Whole social media is BIG, it is important for companies to assess and utilize only the social media outlets that their demographic are actively using.

6. Smartphones Smartphones are already super convenient. They are constantly being integrated and synced with our daily lives. Applications such as Apple Pay, in combination with CapitalOne, have provided another level of integration. Currently, there is talk and work on guests being able to use their cell phones as hotel room keys but I wouldn't be surprised if in the future we will have QR Code or RFID storage for our driver licenses, insurance policies and other important information. 7. Smart Appliances A part of American households for sometime, smart appliances are beginning to make their way into the hospitality industry. Luxuries such as electronically controlled blinds, thermostats, lights and more are something we can expect to see in hotels sometime in the future. My biggest concern is the time between now and implementation because while these products are available for purchase by consumers directly, they have not taken off nor seemed to gain any ground in the typical household. Could the hospitality industry be just as slow to adopt these technologies? I believe that it is likely so-mainly due to the high cost of implementation. In conclusion, technology is still advancing and most industries are feeling the pressure to update existing technology and adopt new technology. In the hospitality industry this is especially true.

Week 4 Article Summary 15 Benefits of Having Digital Menu Boards in Your Restaurant. This article discusses the positive ways in having a digital menus and explains the benefit it has on the restaurant. The focus of the restaurant should be more on the quality of food being served. Even though there are a lot of restaurant that give you an experience like no other but if the food is not top quality it will be hard to bring customers back. Having this type of digital menus could enhance the guest experience while helping the restaurant increase revenues. Here are ten of the top fifteen positives reasons of having a digital menu boards. 1) Digital menu displays will make communication easier. This starts form the customer directly to the kitchen. It will also allow the establishment to display videos and animations that will catch the eyes of the customers and could highlight specific menu items. 2) Saves time by easy updates on display. The software will allow the restaurant to update the menu very easy. You could add and take away dishes without having to print all new menus. It will also allow you 86 items that are sold out at any time during the shift. 3) Sound Investment of saving money. With the system allowing you to change menus, it will save money because you won't have to pay to print new menus every time you want revise it. 4) Digital displays create a more memorable experience. With having a digital screen, it will allow the customer to stay entertained by having a right mix of graphic videos and allowing them to keep them occupied during down times. 5) Better Visibility of menu. The display on the tablet will allow the guest to see a nice HD screen with colors that will make it easy to see and read. 6) 24/7 support. No matter what time of day, there will be support for mangers to trouble shoot any issues that might be happing at time. 7) Boost sales up to 21-23%. It has been said that having an emenu will increase revenues by allowing the establ

The article tells us 7 ways to make hotel smarter. 1. Enhanced Connectivity to Guest Services and Staff Members. Hotel should pay attention to online visitor reviews on websites. Many smart hotel systems have adopted bespoke technology to provide faster and more targeted guest selection capabilities without sacrificing quality. 2. Intelligent Environmental and Entertainment Controls. Guests will often rate their experiences in direct relation to the amenities that they are provided with. It therefore makes a great deal of sense that many hotels have adopted the same smart systems that can be found within homes. 3. The Inclusion of Voice-Ready Technology. Voice-controlled technology provides guests with a convenient means to control basic aspects within their rooms. Voice commands can control options. Voice-ready technology has made great progress in recent years. 4. Smart and Interactive Maps. The real-time interactive mapping not only can these items be used to orientate the guests themselves, but such maps are just as capable of displaying important information, like nearby attractions and places of interest to visit. 5. Personalised Forms of Entertainment. Many hotels are now beginning to provide guests with even more intuitive ways to access personal entertainment accounts, like voice control, access to audio books and customized music playlists. 6. The Concept of Sustainability. Guests are now appreciating their relationship with the natural environment. And a smart hotel room is known for its energy-saving qualities. Therefore, smart hotel systems also can improve sustainability. 7. Adopting Smart and Targeted Forms of Data Collection. In smart hotel, data can be collected without violating the privacy of patrons to make important policy changes as well as to cater to the needs of a certain demographic.

We believe accounting serves a purpose beyond presenting the historical financial position of a hotel. Timely accounting information, properly presented, is information that management can use to improve future performance and compare income and expenses to past performance and future goals. Accounting data is processed using an offsite Application Service Provide (ASP) over the internet. This enables our hotels to input daily revenue and statistical data while accounts payable is processed regularly. The end result is that managers, owners and corporate staff can review financial data on line at any time over the internet using a web browser.

The accounting could be manual or computerized accounting methods, procedures, and controls. It could be used to collect, record and analyze operational data. The hotel managers also could interpret the information in the accounting system to make management decision. It's a good method to gain more benefits with an accountings' help. With an good quality accounting system, the manager of restaurant could make a decision on the percherse amount and find out the peak season. Also, it will be easy for a manager to make decision on how many employees should be hired. The information in the accounting system is not only make a record. It refelect the performance of restaurant. As this artical metioned, the things need to be considered when choosing an accounting including staff traing, accounting software and forecasting.

Hotel accounting is not simply about managing revenue and expenses. Independent hotels and hotel franchises have unique financial needs that demand competent staff and an accounting system that will ...

This article covers an Indonesian study performed to study factors that influence online bookings of consumers. The main factors considered in the study were the perceived usability of the website and the ease of use. The study found that perceived usability influenced the decisions of the consumer, while the actual ease of use did not.

This article is about The Albion Hotel in Miami Beach. It talks about how they were losing business due to their outdated PBX (Private Branch Exchange) phone system. It was not reliable. They switched to a cloud based system called TCN (Total Connect Now). They are now, not only saving money, but they are able to work from anywhere at any time. This shows the benefits of cloud computing!

In the hotel world, as technology is ever evolving and change it is most times necessary to keep up with change. This hotel was at least 20 years old in the business what worked back then to five years ago even one year ago may not work today. Granted not all hotels need to be tech savvy but if that's the majority of their clientele due to their location they may want to keep up to date to ensure that they are meeting their customers needs.

This article covers the research behind and design of software implemented in the Czech Republic to monitor visitor activity in protected areas. The software is designed to act as a "tour guide" and keeps track of visitors through satellite positioning. The article discusses the process by which this software would be developed, rationale for its implementation, and consumer data that may be collected through this process that would benefit National Parks and other protected areas. Theoretical questions in regard to human interaction, privacy concerns, and effectiveness of the application in low-service areas are discussed. Though the application requires more research and strict attention to variables, its implementation worldwide could change how sustainable tourism is managed and would provide important information on consumer habits in protected areas.

This article is about Virtual Restaurants, Ghost Kitchens, and the differences between the two. To be honest, I was not really familiar with either of these concepts before today, though I can see the appeal of both and why they are increasing in popularity. It's obvious that the pandemic played a large role in accelerating the popularity and significance of these kinds of services but I do not think things will slow down. It is evident that people like the ability to order a wide variety of food and get it in a timely manner while still retaining its quality. I think that ghost kitchens are a great opportunity for people to test out their restaurant concepts without committing to a long term lease, a large investment in equipment, etc. I think that it will lend to more diversity in delivery food and potentially even higher quality.

Ghost kitchens is such an interesting concept and the name just grabs you! I skimmed through this article and will definitely go back to properly read it once I have the brain capacity to do so haha. Judging from your review on it these are becoming popular and significant in our day in age.

Cloud PBX is a great communication tool that is becoming more relevant after the pandemic hit. Cloud PBX is now the go-to platform for different industries including hospitality is able to offer high-quality voice and call recording to an intelligent call routing.

Statistically speaking, CIOs don't become CEOs. But it's not because they don't want it. Research shows that nearly half of CIOs aspire to become chief executive, but only four percent actually get there. Much more frequently, CEOs for the world's top companies - about half in fact - come up through C-level financial or operating roles (Vanson Bourne, 2012). Chris Laping, CIO of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (www.redrobin.com), strongly believes this is because technology executives are too often focused on engineering and IT solutions to embrace their most valuable leadership quality: the ability to manage change. Technology leaders, he believes, possess powerful project management skills that can and should be leveraged across the business for even the most non-IT initiatives, with the particular role of being agents for change. Laping's official role at Red Robin is indicative of that practice: he's the company's senior vice president of business transformation and CIO. In that role, he oversees the company's technology, learning and development, enterprise project management and operations services teams. In this exclusive interview with Hospitality Technology, Laping shares how the technology team has taken on a business transformation role at Red Robin, and describes his overall vision for IT leaders. But it's not something CIOs are handed; they have to drive it, says Laping. Driving this change, perhaps, will also help more CIOs chase down their chief-executive dreams. HT: Let's start with some definitions: "business transformation" and "change agents" are pretty heady buzzwords that get tossed around executive boardrooms. What does business transformation really mean? LAPING: If you look at a classic Wikipedia definition of business transformation, it talks about people, process and technology. So when you push change through people, you usually do that through training. If you want to change business performan

The Kana Hotel Group operates over 30 properties from Hilton, IHG, and Marriott. The Kana group is updating security at its 30 properties to ILCO 790 RFID locks. The 790 RFID locks are going to be more reliable for guests to use because the new system eliminates the problem of guests having to return to the front desk to have their keys recoded, due to deactivating the back of the strip. This new system will eliminate the key card from losing its information from other magnetic objects and cell phones. I think upgrading their locks to the ILCO 790 RFID units is a great move. Not only will this bring better security to properties but also this makes a guests experience so much better. More often lately I've had keys deactivate themselves for no reason at all or they were next to something magnetic. It is a hassle sometimes to go all the way back to the front desk after a long day to deal with a key that no longer works. This is a great move since ILCO locks are high quality and this brings additional security to a hotel property.

From lodging to foodservice, the point of service is the premiere place for customers to get their first - and hopefully not last - impression of an establishment. Streamlining and fine-tuning the service that occurs at the POS is of utmost important and operators are always seeking out the latest technologies to make this possible. The move to mobile payment is always top-of-mind as well, but lingering confusion and trepidation still remains for many customers. Owners and operators must seek out ways to implement the technology without intimidating customers. Last month's POS headlines proved this as stories ranged from a study tracking the public perception of mobile payment to improving drive-thru functionality and reducing maintenance costs with cloud-based systems. Study Shows Interest and Confusion Over Mobile Payments At Mobile World Congress, MasterCard in partnership with Prime Research, has released the first global Mobile Payments Social Media Study tracking 85,000 related social media comments across Twitter, Facebook, Online Blogs and Forums from around the world. The study shows a high volume of conversation and consumer interest in adopting mobile payments but cites security, customer support and confusion over the array of options available today as barriers to entry. Taco Bell Streamlines Drive-Thru Experience Across Franchises Desert de Oro Foods' Taco Bell locations had a range of drive-thru communications systems that were deployed over the last five years. However, restaurants were experiencing poor sound quality due to a limited range of wireless capabilities with the current systems. Poor audio quality led to increased wait times for customers as a result of miscommunications and mistakes. In addition, Desert de Oro Foods knew it needed to move to a digital system as the analog bandwidth of its current systems would be ruled out by the FCC at the end of 2012. Panasonic's Attune® drive-thru communications system offered the o

This article introduces aeroseal technology, which could bring a lot of benifits to hotels. By using this technology, hotels can save money and time, as well as improve indoor comfort and air quality. I think all hotels should pay more attention to save energy and be more envionmental friendly. This kind of technology should be heavily promoted and implement in order to build a green hospitality industry.

Nowadays, cloud computing is widely applied in the hotel industry. Cloud(s) are made up from computers, always linked or networked together as computer farms. There are many pros and cons associated with cloud computing and solutions. The Pros: Cloud computing has lower start-up costs and not much equipment to purchase. Hotels do not need to hire many IT staffs to maintain the equipment, and not need to pay for future hardware upgrades. The Cons and solutions: Security and cost are the major concern for hotel management. Paying attention to your usage and manage usage routinely can keep your bill in a reasonable price. Cloud computing service companies provide different levels of quality and services. Thus, finding a reliable service provider is a tiring and time-consuming job.

The basis of this article is to show the advanced and applications that proper networking can have on the hospitality industry. Cisco systems, a very well known networking company, along with hotel 1000 have begun taking leaps towards the future of the hospitality industry. Cisco's new Connected Hotel idea is being implemented at Hotel 1000 and consists of a system which stores client information and can also be customized to each guest. Other applications and features include group calling, improved voice quality, one touch valet service,  and many more. This article is just one look at how networking can help hotels to expand and grow into the coming age.

By using of Nano Ionic technology, The new interior paint will remove odors that caused be smoking, pets, bacterial proliferation. However, some natural matrix materials ground into a fine powder the mixed with paint to be applied to the interior walls of homes and businesses. Moreover, this new product is non-toxic, not harmful to pets, children or planet earth and no consumption of electricity is necessary.

This article is about customers' satisfaction related with quality of internet service during the hotel staying. Internet usage during a hotel stay continues to steadily increas, it remains a top problem. Among guests who report complaints, 31% had an issue with their Internet serivce in terms of connection and speed. However, despite all these complaints about Internet issues, hotel guests are satisfied with their hotels than last year. According to 2013 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index study, overall guests satisfaction arose 20 points from 2012, it averages 777 on a 1,000-point scale.

Hotels are jumping on board the hypo allergenic train. Many hotels are transforming some of their rooms to allergy free rooms. Redesigning the rooms from the ground up is difficult, and quite expensive, but many hotels think it will pay off. The air filtration systems are the first to be replaced. The carpet is removed and mattress casings are put on the beds to remove any chance of bed bugs, dust mites, or any other allergy causing agents. At the Hilton in Chicago, one room renovation is about $12,000, and they charge an extra $25 a night. The cost of being healthy may be worth it. The recycled air and dust affect many people daily especially at hotels. If the pillows can be altered and little steps to increase the air quality, then I believe the payoffs will greatly surpass the initial costs.

Google glass has provided the opportunity to explore more efficient ways to process air travelers. SITA, the air transport's IT provider, has quickly produced the first app to do so with wearable technology. The glasses are worn by the security agent and used to compare and legitimize the security documents used for travel. While the technology is not yet fast enough to be put to practical use and remains quite expensive, it is certain that price and quality will improve in the future and provide value to the air transport industry.