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Rwanda is seeking to engage the technology industry in a conversation to generate ways that e-commerce can be used to help the Tourism and Hospitality sector recover in the wake of COVID-19. This will be an online conversation on June 4 to find ways the technology already has or could create to help tourism. It notes how digitization has been important to other sectors of the economy during the pandemic including sectors such as education and Healthcare. By leveraging technology it is hoped that ways can be found to stimulate the tourism industry

The article discusses Microsoft's cloud-first computing strategy and roadmap. The concepts were presented during the keynote address of Kirill Tatrinov at the Microsoft's Converge 2013 event. Microsoft is using a humanized approach in their marketing and messaging as they embrace a cloud computing, devices, and services strategy. The company is offering Windows Dynamics and Azure as part of their cloud-first strategy. Microsoft Azure is the foundational element of the company's devices and services strategy. Microsoft is committed to becoming a leader in the field. They will need their partners and resellers to believe in the strategy in order to be successful. During the Converge 2013 event, Microsoft presented four customer success stories from the Microsoft Customer Excellence Award. The four companies highlighted were Chobani, Shock Doctor, Revlon, and Weight Watchers. They each outlined how Microsoft Dynamics allowed them to better connect with customers and run more efficient businesses. Microsoft's cloud-first strategy has infused a sense of hope and anticipation in many partners and resellers and this could serve to transform the company's vision into a profitable reality.

An unssuspecting person check into a hotel like any normal person would. The ever so common exchange, credit card for room key took place. The only difference was that the person that checked had done so with other intentions. The "guest" utilized an IP Telephone that was in this hotel room to hack into the hotel credit card database and steal credit cards, transmit them to a foreign country and then have money transferred to his offshore bank account. This happened but at the hands of Jason Ostrom, aa Vigilar senior security consultant. Ostrom was able to unplug teh telephone in his room, plug in the phone's ethernet canle into his laptop and hack away. Of course, he did this as part of his job in testing a company's security agaisnt viral hackers. His company offers free security testing using a downloadable software called VolP Hopper This article was extremely interesting because as a frequrnt traveler as well as a perosn in the hospitlaity industry I was very shocked at the ease that the credit card information could be stolen. When it comes to credit card security it is of the utmost importance for companies to be PCI compliant and spend whatever it is necessary to safeguard the information of their customers. The detrimental damage that a security breach can have on a person can be debilitating as leaders in the hospitality industry we must do everything possible to prevent attacks like this from happening. made me become extra cautious about using my credit cards.

This article discusses how many hotels are not utilizing the PMS to its full potential due to lack of training being provided. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, a hospitality school in Switzerland, conducted a study to investigate the investment in training in the PMS and the relationship between training and business performance at property level. The survey was given to about 150 mid and up-scale hotels around the world. The fact that the PMS is so crucial for a hotel to maintain efficient and effective operations, I found the results of the research a little shocking. A majority of the hotels (65%) said that in 2011 they had no budget for training on the PMS and 32% did not offer training at all to their employees. The hotels in the sample showed higher occupancy levels when hotels have a higher budget for PMS training .The results also showed that there is still a lack of the optimal use of the PMS in hotels because there is not enough training for its use provided to the employees. This study is an ongoing research project and early indications show that effective management of the PMS training resources may result in increased revenues for the hotels.

RAK Airways of the United Arab Emirates Travelport, service provider has just announced their GDS partnership. RAK Airways inventory and fares will now be available to Galileo and Worldspan connected users. I personally am shocked by the fact there are still some air lines that are not part of a GDS. I think that this new agreement will increase RAKS presence in the rest of the world and help them expand to other regions. 

All of the big three global distribution systems were still expanding as well as increasing productivity and revenue as of June 2014. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport have each made significant moves in the hospitality industry, although primarily for airlines. Amadeus is by far the largest and currently most successful GDS with the highest profit, booking volume, and market share (air travel). As of 2014 Southwest Airlines was their biggest client, but they provide GDS services and access to over 100 other airlines as well. Sabre is second best to Amadeus. The company elected to go public in 2014 and since then their billable bookings, booking share and growth have all increased modestly. During the same year they gained American Airlines, newly reformed at the time, as a client. Presently, the company expects continued improvement in revenue. Travelport has made the decision not to compete directly with Amadeus or Sabre in that they have chosen not to provide "full passenger services systems to airline on a multi-host basis." However the company is still working closely with Delta Airlines and researching "add-on" features with their main focus being the continued growth of "beyond air" activities. Honestly, I was shocked that Amadeus is the largest and most successful GDS. I truly expected it to be Sabre. This belief was based on what I have personally experienced: every OTA I have used required a link to the Sabre GDS, but I can only recall one that required one to the Amadeus GDS. After reading the chapter 8 of D.V. Tesone's "Hospitality Information Systems and E-Commerce, along with the research report from our discussion forum I have changed my paradigm. Regardless, GDSs are still used widely in the hospitality industry. Different segments of the market prefer to book in different ways: via offline Travel Agents, OTAs, hotel websites or on the phone. Those that use either form of TA are using a GDS.

Leisure guests tend to book for themselves with rare exceptions including some forms of international travel and cruise travel. These guests use OTAs or intermediaries such as Travelocity (Owned by a GDS company) or TravelZoo. In the case of TravelZoo, a guest uses the TravelZoo website to access information such as availability and pricing that TravelZoo pulls from a GDS before making a selection and processing a transaction. On the other hand, business and corporate travelers are more likely to use an offline TA. An offline TA is better equipped to meet the needs of a customer whom is travelling for business. Offline TAs require less information when booking a hotel room then an OTA does, making it simple for a secretary to book the travel arrangements for the guest. In addition, offline TAs can work easily with a hotel to make special accommodations. The hotel receives contact information for the travel agency that booked the stay in case clarifications on requests are needed. In conclusion, as long as either form of TA is in the market, a GDS will be necessary to streamline bookings and ensure that each TA has the correct pertinent information when making a booking or completing a transaction. As a result, as new OTA options or hospitality enterprises enter the market GDSs are continuing to morph, merge and grow.

Ok so this article is lengthy but comprehensive. And the general consensus is the GDSs are never going away. They will likely change with new technologies, but they won't be replaced completely by something new. Heck, even though air travel is dominant among travel options, we still have trains, right? Overall this article takes the reader through the birth of the GDSs, their evolution to today and thoughts about what to expect in the future. One part of the article of particular interest is the talk about New Distribution Capability for airlines that uses XML coding language to allow airlines to sell ancillary products like seat upgrades. This layers directly into revenue increases through revenue management of seats on flights. There are already price differences between cabin classes. But instead of all seats being one price in the main cabin, seats closer to the front of the plane could be sold for a slight premium. There could be a different fare for window or aisle or exit row. There are 3 levels of this certification for an airline and although some airlines like American Airlines has been certified as level 3, full capability, most airlines have not gone beyond level 1. None of the GDS companies offer level 3 for New Distribution Capability which means you need to go a company's site directly to be able to purchase the specific desired attributes of your seat. By not having that capability, the GDSs disadvantage themselves as a distribution channel.

The Hotel Industry has not kept up with the state of the art technology to the degree other industries have. It's at a point where a great investment is needed to upgrade technology they use both in communications as well as the unseen hardware that make hotels function on a day to day basis. The cost of replacement and and expansion of business data centers and security is very large. But who bears the cost?, since guests have come to expect ammenities such as high speed internet, but aren't necessarily willing to pay for it. This is an inevitable cost hotel corporations are going to have work in to their budgets in order to stay relevant and competitive

This article addresses the future of AI in hospitality. It starts by addressing COVID 19 and how this affected AI in the hotel industry. They then go on to talk about all the benefits that AI can bring. One thing I learned form this article that i didn't know was that housekeeping has the highest rate of injury in the hospitality industry. I was shocked to learn this.

This article discusses about the importance and benefit of adopting social media to your business. At the beginning of this article, the author trying to help us understanding the growing trend of social media by throwing some shocking numbers. Then he brings out the idea that more and more businesses included social media in their marketing tools. The he reminds us while the size of fans is important, that the interaction with customers is the true value of social media. At the last part of this article, the author gave out some suggestion on make the best use of social media. He mentioned that besides using social media as a channel to connect with customers, companies can also discover new employers via this medium, and get to know your customers' inside thoughts by responding to them. At last, the author reminds us the importance of social media once again.

The 5 future internet marketing is true. It perfectly explain the 5 trends for the future marketing strategies.

Technology investment seems a necessity for the upper level hotels. Nowadyas, people are not only want to stay confort, but also want to feel the high technology which can bring them comfort. The expense on the intelligence technology has become one of the most main expence among the expences. The more data can be collected from customer can gain more loyal customers and has a big impact on the revenue.

Yes, technology has a great impact in our industry and it gives a competitive advantage for those that decide to invest in the newest technology.

This article speaks about the technology in the hotel industry and what it takes to have the hotel equipped and up to date. The hotel gives examples of what owners have invested or will need to invest. What surprised me was the fact that TIVO should be one of the amenities included into the hotel room now and days. I found it interesting when the article asked who is paying for these upgrades? is the rate changing? or is it part of the experience as the article states?

This weekend my mom told me about how my brother's high school is moving towards a digital yearbook. I was shocked at first and then amazed! She easily sent me a barcode via email and then I downloaded the "shopper" app and watched my brother's yearbook on my phone. I thought it was very cool and a smart way to save money on yearbooks. Not only could it reduce the amount of pages in the yearbook but it can also enhance the amount of pictures to remember memories. While I was watching the "homecoming clip" of pictures there was probably 300 or more photos on the video for one barcode! Adding QR codes (QR stands for Quick Response) to school or college yearbooks, or annuals, to enhance or expand content just makes sense. The printed page by its very nature is very limiting. QR codes, a type of 2- D barcode, can be included by yearbook ad...

Hotels around the world are looking for way to cut unnecessary expenses and costs, and are increasingly turning to technology to find a solution to this problem. InvoTech Systems, Inc. has introduced RFID to the JW Marriott Hotel Santo Domingo (in the Dominican Republic) in order to keep track of linens and staff uniforms. RFID (radio-frequency identification) is a growing method in the hospitality industry to collect, store and manage data. All losses will now be accounted for and that will reduce the purchase of replacement uniforms and linens. It is a great way to increase revenue as the hotel will be able to allocate more funds to other pressing matters such as making guests' stay more enjoyable; funds that previously would have had to be disbursed to replace missing linens and uniforms. Also, thanks to handheld readers, this technology is portable and the software seems to be fairly user-friendly.

The use of RFID to track employee uniforms is a phenomenal idea! When people hear RFID they usually think of the ability to fill a shopping cart and walk out while having funds automatically withdrawn from an account or applied to a credit card, but this use is innovative and a sure-fire way to reduce costs associated with inventory loss. At my previous property, the uniform department found that uniforms not being returned was so rampant that they eventually just accepted it as a cost of doing business. The department didn't even attempt to have items returned and employees of the department were always shocked when someone returned an item, especially after leaving the company. Needless to say, this practice probably cost the department a very pretty penny.

This article is talking about having POS with solid state drives. They do not have moving parts so they are not as delicate as the HHD hardware. Retailers not only want to be efficient in how they run their business by having a reliable POS system but they also want to boost customer service by having a system that works faster. As technology moves at a faster pace, customers are also looking for quicker service. The SSD hardware is self-encrypting, protecting customer data, it boots up faster, energy efficient using less power from the POS and are now widely accessible.

This is a great article that looks at the positives of the SSD hardware. I think that the main positives to our industry would be, as you noted, the encryption of consumer data, and the speed of the transactions. Customers are very aware that their information can be hacked if the POS doesn't provide an extra layer of protection and this hardware looks to give customers a sense of security. As for speed of the transaction, the data is absolutely accurate regarding whether a person will wait for something to process, or move on to another option. One example is the unattended POS system we spoke of earlier speeding up transactions at restaurants and hotels, whereas having this option in your POS wil just increase efficiency and speed. Thanks for the article!

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.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the roll out of the Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud Property Management (PMS), which will reduce the need for onsite hardware with special installation and provide operational enhancements that will be beneficial for guests, such as higher performance, security and reliability. One of the key features described is the mobile computing aspect of it, which gives operators the ability to run the hotel from anywhere, meaning team members do not need to be stationed at a desk to serve guests. The cloud-based system is designed to operate in more than 200 countries and can integrate with thousands of partners to create personalized opportunities for guests. This follows a series of shifts to other cloud-based systems which started in 2016 in an effort to demonstrate a progressive approach to digital transformation to give their hotel owners a strategic advantage over the competition.

I was shocked to read this article. I have worked with Wyndham and with Opera for many years and I was not expecting them to change to a different PMS system. I believe this might be a good move from Wyndham because private owners could reduce expenses by not having to pay royalties to Opera but at the same time, this is a new system that is somewhat new to the franchise. Great post I really enjoyed this article.

The article discusses how a service-based approach to e-commerce has tremendous value. The article focus on how Rakuten choose to infuse hospitality services, normally reserved for brick & mortar establishments on internet based business. Affording them the opportunity to generate profits by having access to this type of infrastructure at a fraction of the cost than if delivered in a traditional format.

I enjoyed reading this article and learning more about Rakuten. Their business approach seems valuable particularly for the culture it serves. Being that he is familiar with Japanese culture and their preference for an interpersonal approach, Hiroshi Mikitani the CEO of Rakuten was able to veer from the norm of a standardized and process-oriented approach and build a successful business. Rakuten platform allows allows hotels to set up so they can edit their pages themselves and tell their own stories, which allows the hotels to make a connection with customers.

Various technologies make it easier for event managers to organize great conferences and meetings. For some time now, event planners have been using technology to some extent; however, the use of event management technology is increasing with more applications that can be used. The introduction of event management tools has made it easier for event managers to do their work. There are so many event management apps that you can use to simplify how you plan for any type of event. These apps can help you better plan events so that everything goes as planned. Event management technologies can help to enhance the experience of attendees. Technology makes the work of an event manager easier and allows them to focus on the main parts of an event. It helps in all aspects ranging from attendee satisfaction to project management.