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Hotel's next new generation will incorporate innovative standards, in which hotels can communicate or share guest's data via a new system. Their main goal is to create a standardized system that will make it easier for not only guests but also hoteliers; they can retrieve information that will only benefit both parties when searching for personal information and profile history. The specific versions of this new system will include Customer Profile Specification, Folio Detail Exchange Specification, Hosted Payment Capture Systems Specification, and finally Product Distributions. Nevertheless, there are different components that need to be looked into before bringing this system live; particular being careful with sharing of personal credit card information of guests and fraud alert system should also be incorporated with these versions.

The arising topic of biometrics in the class in combination with Disney Amusements Parks has lead me to further explore details regards the topic. Disney is the first theme park using biometrics for their operations, prior to entrance in the Disney Parks; a digital fingertip is copied of the pointer finger of their customers. The justification for Disney implementation of the biometrics is in order to reduce or eliminate fraudulent and ticketing crimes. The Department of Defense (DOD) is working in cohesion with Disney in a focus to collect information, through the Freedom of Information Act, after Disney provides the excessive quality and quality of information to the DOD, which is after property of the United States' government able to use the information in their discretion. As well, Disney has implemented facial recognition technology in their cruise lines and private island, Casteway Cay, which is tied to a digital voucher card in the event that the customer would like to purchase photographs of their vacation, with or without permission the pictures are property of Disney.

This article introduce a very nice, brand new 3D application that can help many tourists when they arrive, in Baltimore. As useful as the app may be to tourists, it's pretty sad that they have all these lovely features for one city and nowhere else.We can see that from google map to this 3D map, seems like it is a trend that the companies are developing theapplication of navigating tourists. However, I'm glad that they haven't revealed this app to the App Store or Play Store yet for the public because they need to expand their horizons before they even think to release it to the market. But as long as they improve this app and release to the public, it will be great convenience for the tourists.

I highlighted the two passages I found to be most interesting in blue. I read that the system will update it's self every 24 hours but I'm wondering if that would include the forecast and traffic conditions. Does this also offer some type of naviagation device weather it be by car or foot? Baltimore, can be a rather rough city at time. I know that it will high light tourist attractions, convention centers, etc. But will it highlight street names and areas that travelers should stay away from?

Today's travelers expect a strong network security. The challenge is that many hotels lack the IT resources because of budget. As a result, IT functions are limited to making sure security patches are up to date and services are running rather than proactively identifying security threats and preventing. This article introduces cloud-based security system as a solution. With the network security system, IT headquarters can monitor and manage the entire network. Also, hotels can save the cost for on-site IT resources and security appliances. It was interesting that cloud-based security is a solution for network security when there are many opinions that cloud computing is not safe. 

This article talks about the limitation of hotel network security issue, then introduce one solution to it. First of all, it mentions since the usage of Internet is growing big more than ever, customers has more attention and requirement on Network Security. Actually, staff of IT department spend most of their time on updating system and other mid-level support, while they should spend more time on proactively identifying security threats and preventing attacks. This happens due to finance and human source constraints. Lucky for us, there is already one effective solution, keyword, cloud computing. Buy applying cloud computing, IT staff only need set up firewall, configure security system on headquarter. After then configuration is done, they send out these IPS device to branch companies. The security system will automatically update through these devices, no more traveling between properties.

While many hotels right now are keeping and tracking down their valued customers' information, lots of those hotels are facing security problems also. Customers expect ironclad security that protects their entire "online" experience in the hotel, from online booking and iPad-enabled check-in to the wireless connectivity in their rooms. In today's cyber threat environment, that makes the hospitality industry a desirable and lucrative target for attacks. This article mainly talked about how to strength hotel network security.It suggested that a strong network security solution should combine cloud-based security configuration with plug and play installation of a firewall and IPS appliances. Which can be described as Taking Network Security to the Cloud.The IPS device will automatically contact and authenticate to the installation cloud, retrieve its configuration, and then reboot into the hotel's network ready to protect.

This article particularly caught my attention because it points out the major advantages of web-based PMS, but it does not mention the risk of transfering such sensitive guest information over the unsecure and unregulated Internet. Surely there are great cost-related and operational advantages to web-based PMS and that alone often motivates hotels to upgrade in that general direction. Afterall, the reason why the hotel is operated is to generate revenues. However, is risking the identity of thousands of your guests worth the money you will save? That is what this article does not cover. As the title points out, web-based PMS is the future of the industry, but securing the identity of the biggest drivers behind all revenue for your hotel is arguably more important. Is the risk worth the reward? I believe the Internet needs to become a more secure highway of information before the industry can fully embrace this new technological advancement. My thoughts on considering an upgrade to web based PMS: Research and proceed with caution.

This article indicated the importance of Internet for hotel industry and also assumed that web based property management systems will widely used in future. The author listed some advantages of web based property management system:1) Central Reservation System: One of the greatest advantages of using an online hotel software is that you do not have any more headaches about reservations.2)   Numerous Point of Sale: Keeping a check on the add-on services your hotel provides can easily be done with the help of the numerous points of sales.3) Sales and Marketing Console. With the help of this console, you can access the database of your customers get in touch with them notifying them of special offers and discounts. 4)Travel Agents and Corporate Clients:It is important that you properly deal with travel agents and corporate clients as they play a very important role in bringing in more guests to the hotel.5)   Connected to 1000s of Travel Portals: Web based PMS help you get connected to many travel portals like Travelocity, Tripadvisor and Expedia helping you reach more people. 

t is the age of the Internet, the age when many businesses solely run on the Internet. From marketing to reaching new people, there is a lot that can be done with the help of this medium. The hotel industry too is not insulated from its effect. Almost all kinds of hotels, from inns to bed and breakfasts to resorts, everyone is trying to tap the energies of the Internet and make optimum use of the medium. The Internet plays a major role in improving the sales and customer relationship.

This article discusses some current trends in property management systems and how Maestro by NORTHWIND is ready to deliver. Maestro by NORTHWIND is a PMS used by many independent hotels and resorts and offers 20 integrated modules. One of the top trends for 2012 is mobile optimization for management and guests. More and more people are turning to mobile apps for personalized services, and express check-in and check-outs. Maestro Xpress Check-In App allows properties to use iPads and other tablets to do this anywhere there is WIFI. Maestro's App will also allow managers access to reports, and real-time activity from anywhere allowing managers more control over their business. Another growing trend is cloud PMS. Maestro has a cloud based system that claims it can increase productivity at the same time reducing costs. Managers can manage multiple hotels from a single location and reduce costs because they won't have to maintain an in-house PMS. There is also a steady increase in direct online booking from mobile apps and social media sites. Maestro Web Connection reduces the commissions paid to online travel agencies and 3rd parties by allowing guests to book reservations directly. Another way Maestro helps independent hotel chains is by offering them a guest loyalty system to help them offer some of the same incentive and reward programs offered by larger hotel chains.

Northwind Maestro leads the innovations of industry. Cloud system platforms are not just for the large chains. Small, independent operators also can use web-enabled platform with lower cost. Mobile is another trend of PMS innovations. Customers can check in and checkout on iPad by using Maestro Mobile Apps. In addition, direct-booking online from Mobile is the third top trend in 2012 PMS technology. Maestro's Guest Loyalty System with online capabilities is the first application to offer independents the same benefits as major chains to recognize, reward, and retain guests.

Seeing the rapid development of mobile devices and social media, hoteliers are connecting PMS with mobile devices and social media. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is a kind of software which satisfies hoteliers' current requirement. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is an Internet-based PMS. It brings plenty of benefits to hotels. To illustrate, Maestro can reduce cost, create operating efficiencies, secure cardholder information, and to have instant remote access to their property or hotel group's data. Furthermore, since more and more people are using mobile devices to book rooms, make dining reservations or some other services, Maestro also develops mobile apps. "The Maestro Mobile App enables operators to wirelessly connect to their Maestro centralized system and provides access to management reports, real-time activity and other features found in Maestro." Maestro also thinks of customer loyalty by tracking customers and establish database.

Electronic commerce is a booming business during these years. For example, the United States attributed $300 billion in transactions in 2002. There are two types of E-commerce through Internet, one is Intranet and the other is Extranet. Also, according to the former data, E-commerce is becoming more and more importance. Among e-commerce transactions, individual transactions donate a lot. There are lots of benefits about the E-commerce. Through selling on the Internet, they often have lower transactions costs. Also, E-commerce is faster and more convenient so that shoppers are able to take a lot of time to buy. Although there are lots of benefits, there are still drawbacks like searching better prices. Organizations usually go through four phases, including Web Presence, Web Service, Web Transactions and Integrated Web. The purpose of the first one is marketing enhancing. The second one is setting for responding to product and services inquires. The third one make company get their Web Sites ready for transactions. The last one creates the value chain among the customers. In the future, there will be greater integration of Web Sites with backend customer databases and other business information systems. The organizations are developing micromarketing decisions at individual level. At the end, the article also listed a lot of questions about the issues about the e-commerce in the future.

Did you know that by the year 2016 e-Commerce buying and selling online would have made over 8.6 billion dollars! This article discusses the e-commerce currently and its future trends in the hospitality arena, which is one of the fastest growing industries to date.

This article pretty much outlines the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computers in general, but it speaks of how hoteliers don't fully understand what a cloud is, much less trust to use one. It goes on to explain how cost effective the start up for a cloud network is in terms of hardware, software and time. But, in long term, the monthly payments for web hosting, software hosting, storage, etc are never ending. Although at least these costs are such that you can plan ahead for. There is also a greater vulnerability to hacker attacks in the cloud. Redundancy is an issue as well, since clouds are hosted in a single data center. The article ends with a warning on service providers and the importance of finding the right one for you and your needs.

This is a very informative article and a good source that gives me basic understanding of cloud computing. Some of the aspects of the cloud are same as I expected and some are not. As companies or people using cloud computing don't have to purchase software and equipment to store or manage data, and to upgrade servers frequently, the cloud is a cost effective and efficient alternative. However, it will increase companies operating expenses as it requires monthly bills which might be costly depending on usage.

This article is talking about Bookt, the leader in cloud-based solutions for lodging industry, announced to launch mobile websites for all InsraManager FLEX clients. Nowadays, more and more people would prefer to use mobile devices to check emails, search information and visit websites. The mobile web will be the top two travel touchpoints in 2013. That means mobile websites will be a large platform to search and share information. And that is also the reason to launch mobile websites for InsraManager FLEX to make it convenient for client's booking success. Mobile web would help customers search, check availability, book, and get confirmation via their Smartphone. People could check their room status anywhere and get any room confirmation number whenever. The mobile web is designed to be faster load and built exactly for the smaller screens.

Social media nowadays becomes a very important role in hospitality industry, and most travelers will search a third party's property reviews like Tripadviser before making their decisions to choose a hotel. You can find either good or bad comments for the hotels around the world from it, and people believe that it has some influence on the travelers' decisions. However, most great hotel groups do not have a website for that use, and Daniel Craig thinks it is because hotel groups not only take care of the customers but also the owners, and as we know hotel group also has franchisers, so if just one unit not operated well, all the other properties will also suffer the reputation issue. But there are also some hotel groups try to do that but with some tricks. Starwood allows the guest to post reviews for some of its brands and list by ratings with the best first, and Marriot set up a new website for its members to post reviews and list by time with oldest first. In my opinion, most hotel groups focus so much on the influence of their brand loyalty, which is also very important, but comparing with the increasing influence of words of mouth that I list below, I strongly agree that those hotel groups need to have a trustful review website for their own ASAP: 1. 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust opinions of unknown users (Econsultancy, July 2009) 2. 83% of all holiday shoppers are influenced by customer reviews. (ChannelAdvisor "Consumer Shopping Habits Survey", August 2010)

Offering the latest evidence that Microsoft is moving toward an Apple-like integrated product strategy, on Monday Redmond announced a new collection of keyboards and mice that cater not just to Windows 8's spare aesthetic, but also to the design of Microsoft's upcoming Surface tablets.

At the company I work for we, are getting ready to implement the Kronos Time and Attendance and HRIS system. Having worked with Kronos time clocks for a while, I can attest to the reliability of this product. Although Kronos targets small to midsize companies, it also provides enterprise solution to larger companies. Some of the applications within the HRIS system include strong HR and payroll interface, time and attendance management, employee data management, employees benefits administration, training and career development. The benefits of Kronois HRIS system includes reduction in labor cost in HR, proper maintenance and tracking of employees activities and the ability to get reports that can greatly assist with company and government compliance. Kronos comes with very practical user friendly training and set up application. The support offered by Kronos implementation team from my experience is great. Two of the major products offered by Kronos include the workforce central offering all the application mentioned above and the Kronos Iseries offing analytical capabilities. Kronos time clocks are used by many companies, but many other time clocks also interfaces the Kronos payroll system. For example the hand punch 4000 clock which uses 3D imagery verification eliminating the need for time cards.

This article is about the discussion of HOSPACE expansion. HOSPA(Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT) and its partner HFTP(Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals) decided to make another big development for HOSPACE. I think the alliance of this two organization will create better resuts and improvement for the financial technology in the future.

They advertise the cloud to businesses as the solution to all IT data storage needs with significant savings to the bottom line. Although IT departments are concerned with the security and reliability issues that the cloud brings, business executives are adopting the cloud without necessarily understanding the risks involved in cloud computing.The cloud still has reliability issues to overcome before companies adopt it.

I was listening to the news over the week end and was intrigued about a story on a new smart card that would one day take the place of all of our credit cards. My mind started reeling and could not grasp the concept especially with technology and hackers in the forefront of any credit card online usage. I read this article several times and it helped me understand the simplicity of this card and also the fact that your credit/debit account numbers are not stored on the card just a chip then the consumer either uses a PIN number or signature as authorization for payment. Fingerprint technology will be added in the future, which will bring about an evolution into the use of the Smart Card.

Don't sleep on the GDS systems. The are making their mark and proving to be an important asset in the process of making a booking. Whether it is a hotel, car, cruise, or airline reservation, the GDS systems got you covered. Being that nowadays, travel agent would use this system for their non-tech savvy clients, bookings are expected to be at a record high this year. In a report generated by TravelClick, out of the $12 billion dollars generated in the second quarter alone, GDS systems accounted for a little over 16% of that total; the highest percentage came from direct bookings, of course. So at least we can count on the use of these GDSes to help turn a profit within our industry. 

Hoteliers are expecting a lot more out of their PMS's such as data acquisition, integration with other systems, mobile capabilities, and social media. This article describes some of the different directions hoteliers are taking based on their specific focus and desired results. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of cloud based PMS's are discussed such as mobility, internet connection redundancy for rural vs. urban areas, and multiple system integration. The increasing role of social media is also explored and the degree to which it should be utilized by the hospitality industry. There are many possibilities including using social media posts to mine guest reviews, as well as the ability to book your hotel on Facebook and receive a confirmation via text. I apologize for the diminishing hi-lighting towards the end, my tool bar is having some issues!

This article talks about the difficulties surrounding information security in the hospitality industry. Many hotels are increasing their spending on this security but they are falling short of what hackers can accomplish. A survey of 9,600 hospitality executives revealed that security incidents increased by 25% in one year. It is essential for companies to renew their security policies and increase their security budgets if they want to get a handle on the threats that are out there with cloud computing and more smart phone and tablet use the technology is just waiting for hackers to have fun.

I liked this article because of how clear it discussed the possible issues that can and have occurred in the hospitality industry with security. It discussed strategies and plans that must be taken, along with discussing how to be prepared for new technologies.

Security is something that must be worked on all the time. It must have funding and support of management. The threat has grown because of smart phones, tablets and cloud technology. Hackers will always try to find a way to circumvent the security so it must be updated and reviewed.