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"It’s now commonplace for professional property managers to automate certain operations, distribution, marketing, revenue management, guest communication and other tasks.”

property management systems are the most widely-adopted software solution in this sector, with 81% of respondents using a PMS to manage day-to-day operations. Most of those (66%) are using a third-party PMS, while 15% have built the tech in-house.

The demand for tech innovation in the short-term rental industry continues,”

“This report does underline our understanding that the winning models of the future technology providers will work similarly to SaaS platforms by providing enterprise-level, open-source platforms allowing developers to contribute to the code which will in turn increase the investment and the growth of the industry.”

the short-term rental industry is still under-penetrated

short-term rental software.

With smart thermostats, "it will save property managers money, but ultimately it creates a better guest experience

City Relay says, as part of its sustainability initiatives, it primarily uses technology to streamline communication channels. "That way, people don't have to congregate in a central space or drive across London to have a face-to-face meeting to get things done," says Helen Skeen, senior brand and content manager.

Having those digital lines of communication [through programs like Slack and Trello] is essential to being able to do the job, but also making sure that in doing that job, we're not wasting resources and increasing pollution

According to Airbnb, 88% of its hosts incorporate some form of green practice into their hosting, with 59% providing recycling, 39% providing information about public transportation, 47% providing bulk toiletries and 40% using green cleaning products.The company says it has seen an “overwhelming desire” from both hosts and guests to take steps to support sustainable travel, and Airbnb provides a toolkit for hosts with environmentally friendly tips.

being aware of the fact that - at least in the short-term - it's going to cost your business more.”

City Relay aims to educate guests and hosts about sustainability efforts with information in house manuals and through marketing materials and in the booking channel

, Airbnb is creating a new program that will offer $100 million to local initiatives around the world over the next 10 years. The grants will “focus on projects that promote cultural heritage, economic vitality and sustainable communities and demonstrate clear local impact

49% of property managers feel that property care and operations software will be the most helpful technology over the next year to invest in

Digital solutions such as voice technology, he says, make the experience "about as contactless as you can get."

for property owners to invest in voice solutions, there needs to be a clear ROI to justify the expense.

there's also the question about security and privacy of guests."

contactless solutions such as voice technology will play a bigger role in host and guest communication, as well as in the integration of smart-home technology.

The growing concern over sustainability in the business sector led to developments in innovative environment friendly processes and tools collectively called green technology

Green technology enables the eco-friendly practices of business firms.

The concept of sustainability emerged in the field of natural sciences in recognition of the scarcity of natural resources and the need to rationalize usage to secure sufficient resources for future generations (Kirk, 1995).

The concern of sustainability is ensuring the continuation of the well-being of people and protection of the environment from wasteful use or destructive activities.

The implementation of sustainability plans involves innovative methods and tools accessible to hotels and responsive to the multi-dimensional issues including impact of operations on the environment experienced by hotels. Green technology understood as eco-friendly tools and processes or environment friendly products support the successful implementation of sustainability plans in the hospitality industry.

1.      Minimized pollution and rational energy and water consumption. 2.      Respect for culture and tradition. 3.      Community involvement in the hospitality economy. 4.     Consideration of quality instead of quantity in terms of the visitors to tourist destinations. 5.      Economic benefits redound to the community. (Robertson, 2007)

In relation to environmental sustainability, there are also considerations for inclusion into the sustainability plan of hotels to ensure that they meet environmental compliance (Butler, 2008)

However, even if sustainability planning is a tedious task, the expected outcomes are long-term and compelling because this determines the continuity or viability of hotels, firms whose future survival depends on sustainability (Butler, 2008).

1.      Scale and distribution of operations in a given area. 2.      Hotel demand and means of alleviating the negative effects. 3.      Protection of key assets historic buildings, townscape or coastline. 4.     Contribution to other related areas such as economic development and cultural preservation. (Sharma, 2004)

Since the sustainability of hotels spans multidimensional aspects, the contribution of hotels to other areas such as employment or job creation also supports its sustainability.

Green technology received recognition as an aspect of human society and therefore part of sustainability. In a sustainability panel of representatives from the hospitality industry, sustainability as a strategy meant addressing today’s needs without adversely affecting tomorrow’s needs (Knowles, 2008).

Examples of product enhancement are energy saving appliances and fixtures such as fluorescent instead of incandescent lights or intelligent air conditioning systems that regulate room temperature depending on the presence of its occupant

The extent of reduction of waste varies since this could range from minimal to significant decrease in the volume of waste generated, capacity of landfills, and transportation needs. By benefiting the environment, economic benefits also accrue. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

dopting waste management processes and tools accrues financial, economic, and environmental benefits for hotels.

Key to these activities is the ability to harness the full functional value of materials and product components at the least possible additional processing cost for recovery and reuse. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

First is design of recycling or the cost-effective manner of recovering and reusing materials. The design provides support during the disposal stage to ensure low added cost for recovery. Second is design for disassembly encompassing the methods enabling the minimization of cost in segregating reusable materials. This leads to savings that accumulate when design interventions are made during the stages of material selection and assembly that already separates reusable materials

Third is toxics management comprised of the activities of controlling and eliminating toxic materials that are innate components of products such as cadmium or lead. Excessive levels of these toxic materials are hazards to health and the environment. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

Environmental benefits include reduced accumulation of waste and lesser risk of soil, water and air contamination of toxic production. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

Pollution prevention involves the elimination of processes in manufacturing that cause pollution. This requires change by redesigning the production process in a manner that prevents the accumulation of harmful by-products or the redesign of the finished products so there would be no use for processes that result in hazardous by-products. The prevention of pollution in production design exacts capital investments but the cost of redesign is deemed less when compared to the cumulative cost of controlling pollution, which would likely increase with new regulations imposing more active methods of pollution control. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

Green technology as a process and a collection of tools addresses four objectives, which are a) waste reduction, b) materials management, c) pollution prevention, and d) product enhancement (Billatos & Basaly, 1997). There are processes and tools specifically targeting any one, some or all of these objectives so that the appropriate choice depends on the priority of hotels.

The technological development of product enhancement innovations is escalating and promise greater functions for business establishments. (Billatos & Basaly, 1997)

Utilizing product enhancement technologies influence the sustainability of hotels in terms of savings on operating cost, lesser pollution and waste in the built environment, and value creation for environmental conscious customers (Yaw, 2005).

Overall, green technology supports the sustainability of hotels by decreasing a wide range of economic and non-economic costs to support the financial viability of hotels in the long-term and conserving the natural environment on which the hospitality industry depends for the continuity of business. By adopting green technology, hotels gain processes and tools it can use to secure its sustainability.

A range of energy saving technologies is available to the hotel industry. These technologies could make hotels green buildings by targeting various areas for energy saving.

One is electric heating pumps as alternatives to conventional electric boilers or condensing/non-condensing boilers requiring gas to run. The use of this green technology by a hotel in Hong Kong with a rooftop swimming pool showed a reduction in energy consumption by 26.5-32.5 MWh and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 12,000 kg. When computed over a ten-year period, using this technology would save the hotel HK$226,400 in energy cost savings. The hotel can earn back the cost of adopting this technology in two years. (Chan & Lam, 2003)

Building designs able to harness alternative sources of energy comprise green technologies that support the sustainability of hotels. Solar panels continue to gain function in energy saving for hotels (“Building in a green edge,” 2008) although the payback period is longer than expected, the energy saving potential extends to the long-term. The use of building designs that harness natural light such as skylight atriums that do not use artificial lighting during the day are also green alternatives for hotels (Kirby, 2009).

Another direction of green technology for the kitchen is the reuse of exhaust heat from the kitchen by harnessing the heat from the exhaust or condensing hot air to produce steam for use in cooking. This is a means of recycling energy. However, this involves the integration of the design in the structure of the kitchen or the building itself, which means greater investment. (Higgins, 2008) Nevertheless, further innovations in this technology could enhance practical value for hotels.

In other areas of hotels such as rooms and bathrooms, e-sensor systems and LED lights comprise green technology options. E-sensor systems apply to different systems such as lighting and air conditioning. The e-sensors have the capability to change automatically the lighting or air conditioning settings depending on the area of the room where there are people or temperature changes in the room. LED lights offer greater energy savings than fluorescent lights so this represents the third generation in lighting technology. (Kirby, 2008) Systems thinking in energy management comprise a promising green technology in saving on energy costs (Sobieski, 2008).These technologies are widely available and accessible to different hotels. The energy saving is experienced in the short term and the payback period is shorted. The problem with this is hotel guests tampering with the system leading to added cost for repairs. This means that awareness and information dissemination are important for the effectiveness of these technologies.

Another green technology for rooms is the biodegradable key cards. These have the same life span as the conventional key cards except that these are biodegradable or recyclable. (Gale, 2009) These require little cost with high environmental impact.

This involves the placement of water treatment plants that recycle water used in baths for flushing in toilets. (Edwards, 2004) These comprise viable and accessible water conservation practices that would contribute savings on the cost of water to rationalize the consumption of water as a scarce resource.

One is the conscious involvement of hotels in the protection of the environment since the nature of the business of the hospitality industry and the closely connected industries such as tourism heavily rely on the soundness of the natural and socio-cultural environment for business

The other is the investment in environment protection in a manner that secures economic and financial as well as a range of non-monetary benefits for hotels in the long-term (Vermillion, 2008).

Energy consumption is also a benchmark of the eco-friendliness of hotels

The water conserving technologies provide the process and tools for hotels to achieve this benchmark.

Waste and pollution management are also benchmarks of the ecological involvement of hotels.

Green technology takes the role as an enabling process and tool for hotels to become sustainable.

With hotels competing to maintain its customer base and pull customers to shift to the hotel’s services, green technology could become an enabler for hotels to become competitive.

Investing in green technology enables hotels to significantly cutback on operating cost. This enables hotels a wider profitability margin and room to offer promotional prices to attract more customers (Jones, 2002).

Green technology has taken a central role in the sustainability of hotels. The concept of sustainability of hotels involves the aspects of environmental protection and business viability.

The use of green technology also contributes to the viability of business firms in terms of financial standing and non-financial competencies in the long-term. Going green attracts the niche market of environment enthusiasts that contribute to sales. Using the range of green technologies available would also result in savings from operating costs in the long-term, which increases the profit of hotels and gives them flexibility to invest in marketing activities.

It is a sound strategy for hotels to consider green technology as a process and a collection of tools in support of sustainability goals.

Mobile - Ensure the property has a strong mobile strategy. Many Asian countries have a huge (and ever-increasing) mobile shopping base. Make searching for your hotel on mobile devices easy for these travelers and they’ll be more likely to stay with you.

PPC on OTAs - Take advantage of pay-per-click listings on OTA sites. Expedia’s TravelAds program gives your hotel top listings on result pages, which is great for both branding your hotel and encouraging guests to choose your property over others.

Short Term Strategies:

LOS Packages - Ensure your hotel has LOS packages live and bookable on your site. These guests will want to stay to explore the area and LOS packages will keep them at your hotel as long as possible.

Multilingual Website Options - Make sure your hotel website auto-translates to various languages, especially to accommodate your top international feeder markets. Your hotel fact sheet, or a one sheet document that gives the basics of your hotel, should auto-translate as well.

Long Term Reservation Features Long term reservations can be created for guests staying between 30 days - 4 years. The long term reservations can calculate monthly rent with the ability to override and pro-rate rent. Each property can define rules for which reservations constitute as long term based on the length of stay or tax status.

The system can calculate various additional charges, such as a booking fee, resort fee, gratuity, pet charge, housekeeping fee, etc.  Many customers have used this ability to increase the total revenue.  These charges can be calculated as a flat fee, a percentage of total room charges, or based on the room type or room number.  A sample screen is below:

Up to 52 unique seasonal rates are possible for each room type or room number.

up to 99 unique components

A reservationist only enters the arrival date, departure date, and number of guests.  The system calculates the correct package charge for all possible seasons, unit types, and components

Rate plan patterns can be used to offer a free night periodically during the stay, or a discounted rate after a number of days.

several customers in the Myrtle Beach area have reservation packages that include golf at over 100 golf courses in the area.  The package includes one round per person per day at any medium quality golf course in the area

Most hotel customers assign a room type during the reservation process, and then assign the room number closer to or at check-in, based on which rooms are clean and available.  However, customers using the owner accounting system often assign the room number during the reservation process.  You can assign room numbers during the reservation process, anytime prior to arrival, or upon arrival.  Guests can also switch rooms after arrival, and the owner accounting module will pay the owner of each unit the correct amount.

The RDP system guarantees availability of adjoining rooms.  For example, assume there are two rooms with an adjoining door.  The system allows one reservation to hold these two specific rooms.

Sort Rooms by Guest Requests and Best Fit

Internet Reservation Module (IRM

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

Internet Reservation Module (IRM

Internet Reservation Module (IRM)

a deposit is required to hold the room, the reservationist enters the guest's credit card number, and the system obtains an authorization immediately and automatically.

Internet Reservation Module (IRM

50 different reservation reports included with the core system

which allows reservationists to determine why a guest did not book a room.  Perhaps the rate was too high or there was not enough conference space.  Proper analysis of denied reservations can lead to changing rates or policies to increase future bookings

The first step in getting your organization to wrap their heads around an agile distribution framework is getting buy in from leadership and owners. For any agile strategy to be successful, the organization must require patience and execution across all levels of the organization.

Your goal is to build distribution and channel strategies for profitability. Hoteliers should look at net revenue per available room (Net RevPAR) or gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) instead of RevPAR when making this analysis.

hoteliers should analyze the total cost of a direct booking by including costs of loyalty programs, website development and maintenance, marketing and social media campaigns, and call centers.

the who, where and when, but to truly optimize channels for profitability, you must get the “why”. The “why” offers insights on path-to-purchase behavioral data and conversion metrics, which allow customer segmentations for a profitable and deliberate distribution strategy.

hoteliers should look at the full contribution from each channel and prioritize channels that bring guests with the highest ancillary spend – think Total Revenue Management.

Hoteliers that stay agile and attentive on pulling the inventory levers within their distribution and channel strategies will lead the way (and lead with rate) to recovery.

A modern property management solution must evolve alongside guest expectations.

Modern, cloud-based PMS are capable of automating certain back-office tasks (such as reporting, which we discussed earlier).

The right PMS is the one that plays well with your existing tech stack. Without the necessary integrations, a PMS cannot perform its functions correctly

Streamlined reporting allows management to spend time on more pressing priorities.

When a vendor manages an attractive price, but without reliable support, it’s usually not worth the small savings. Inevitably, systems go down -- and often, the outage occurs during peak usage.

The trade-off of short-term savings is rarely worth the long-term reputational damage, staff stress, and missed revenue opportunities related to poor customer service and downtime.

When a vendor manages an attractive price, but without reliable support, it’s usually not worth the small savings. Inevitably, systems go down -- and often, the outage occurs during peak usage. The trade-off of short-term savings is rarely worth the long-term reputational damage, staff stress, and missed revenue opportunities related to poor customer service and downtime.

Additionally, when assessing PMS software solutions, it's important to consider the cloud-based functionality, real-time occupancy, automation, and revenue management capabilities that can improve your hotel business operations and guest services.

Europe’s new privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, imposes massive fines on companies if they don’t notify privacy regulators about a data breach within 72 hours. The rule took effect in May and applies to any company with E.U. customers. U.S. lawmakers have proposed similar a 72-hour rule to replace the patchwork of state data breach laws that exist here

The company said Friday it had notified European data privacy regulators of the breach, in accordance with GDPR. Shortly after doing so, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the watchdog that monitors Facebook’s GDPR compliance, said Facebook’s disclosure “lacks detail” and criticized the company for being “unable to clarify the nature of the breach and the risk for users at this point.”

 Equifax waited six weeks to reveal that the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information on 143 million Americans had been exposed in a data breach. Uber waited a year to reveal a hack affecting tens of millions of drivers — and just last week paid a $148 million settlement in connection with the incident. Yahoo also paid a fine earlier this year for waiting two years to tell investors that Russian hackers stole information on 500 million users. 

Wray stressed that cyberattacks and theft of intellectual property can inflict long-term damage on American companies,

No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China.

The Energy Department on Monday announced awards of up to $28 million to help fund 11 cybersecurity research projects to strengthen the defenses of America's critical energy infrastructure,

Karen Evans, the assistant secretary for the department's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, said “energy cybersecurity and resilience” is one of the “most important security challenges” that the United States faces.

“The frequency, scale, and sophistication of cyber threats have increased and attacks can be much easier to launch,”

“Cyber incidents have the potential to interrupt energy services, damage highly specialized equipment and threaten human health and safety.”

The Senate Commerce Committee should hear from consumer privacy experts as lawmakers consider whether to develop data privacy legislation, a coalition of consumer and privacy groups said Monday

And while civilian agencies generally face the most lopsided age disparities, the importance departments place on building a long-term talent pipeline varies greatly

That means federal technologists at or approaching retirement age outnumbered their 20-something counterparts roughly 4.6 to 1.”

A new Web site named Taobao—meaning “digging for treasure”

Knowing that most small business people would rather watch TV than log on to the Internet, Ma secured advertisements for Taobao on major TV channels.

Unlike eBay EachNet, which charged its sellers for listing and transaction fees, Taobao was free to use.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, Taobao was more customer focused and user friendly than eBay EachNet.

Taobao had also better terms for its customers: it offered longer listing periods (fourteen days) and let customers extend for one more period automatically. EBay EachNet did not have this flexibility.

An AI-powered phone system can intelligently route calls. Chatbots can answer basic questions online. AI-connected remote check-in systems can allow guests to check into their rooms remotely via a smartphone app and never need to stop at the front desk to begin with.

Without AI, it would be impossible for your team to deliver the level and quality of service that you expect and your guests deserve.

AI is enabling personalization on a much deeper level – one that affects the very core of the guest experience.

Chances are good that you use a property management system (PMS), as well as a point of sale (POS) system. Both of these are powered by artificial intelligence, which is how they can help you manage bookings, sell add-ons, add them to guests’ bills, and more.

Room rate optimization Dynamic room pricing based on occupancy Updating your rates across multiple channels and OTAs in real-time Comparing your performance and rating to other hotels in the surrounding area

AI is vital to being able to maximize your revenue while automating mundane tasks and reducing the amount of human effort required (and the number of errors caused by humans, as well).

Artificial intelligence embedded in the software you use every day, such as your PMS and POS, enables better efficiency, a deeper connection with your guests, and, ultimately, more success for your hotel.

For instance, an AI chatbot added to your Facebook Messenger can answer guests’ questions and take basic information and add it to your database. That can then be used to personalize further interactions with the guest. You might make special offers that speak to their unique needs, such as child-friendly rooms, all-inclusive stays, or experiences that include a room at the hotel, but also tickets to events or shows in the surrounding area.

AI allows you to personalize every aspect of a guest’s stay.

offer unique amenities and services

to live up to today’s guest expectations, such as less human interaction and more automation (both of which are important for health and safety protocols).

n fact, data is considered more valuable than any other business asset, including cash.

To put the information you have in hand to use on your hotel’s behalf, you must sort, organize, cleanse, parse, and then transform it into something usable by human beings.

automating all these processes and ensuring that you’re able to surface key insights that speak directly to your ability to reach and engage with guests while staying abreast of current trends in the industry.

make informed suggestions from the travel/concierge desk

A data centre is a facility used to house computer systems and their components, and it can be far and away the biggest contributor to an organisation’s carbon footprint. A data centre’s life expectancy is relatively long so it is imperative it is built to the highest standards in terms of efficiency as any excess energy use will lead to significant cost implications over the years.

1. Build the most energy-efficient data centre possible. This will save energy and costs over its lifespan. 2. Only get the data storage capacity that is currently required and forecast for the lifespan. Many data centres have excess capacity that burns energy (and therefore costs) unnecessarily. Don’t have servers or equipment that will not be used. 3. Cooling data centres. Traditionally cooling has been done by air circulation, which is very inefficient. Larger data centres already use other technologies to cool more efficiently, such as water cooling. 4. Virtualisation technology. Improve your system’s resource utilisation through virtualisation technology. Virtualisation is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, server, network, etc. and allows a single user to access several physical devices on one terminal. A computing device dedicated to an individual member of staff or allocated for one software application is highly inefficient and expensive. Virtualisation consolidates resources, requiring less power and cooling. 5. Consider cloud computing. This is a location-independent IT service, typically available over the internet, where shared servers provide resources, software and data to computers and other devices on demand, increasing IT capacity and capabilities without an organisation having to invest in new infrastructure. Keeping data virtually, or “in the clouds”, means less information stored on IT systems and therefore less energy being used to run the systems. Systems such as BT’s Virtual Data Centre, a hosted data centre that enables businesses to create, deploy, monitor and manage their own service through a self-service portal, claim to offer savings of up to 40% of the total cost of running one’s own data centre as well as reducing the space required, the level of emissions produced and the power consumed.

6. Measure and monitor power usage. Once you know what’s using the power, focus on why and whether it’s possible to reduce consumption.

1. Upgrade. Before buying new, investigate options to upgrade with the latest energy-efficient components to extend appliances’ working life and efficiency. 2. Green labels. Look out for the certification labels denoting more energy-efficient equipment, from Blue Angel in Germany to TCO in Sweden and Energy Star in the US (see below). 3. Screens. Opt for flat screen monitors, which reduce energy use by over two-thirds. 4. Get the right equipment. Consider your information technology needs against the tasks required. For example, laptops may be a better option in some circumstances because they have been developed to be energy-efficient and generally match the computer to the task required. Remember: not all staff have the same needs. 5. Consider running costs. Look at the life cycle costs, not just the purchase cost. Take note of running and standby costs of equipment. These can vary enormously.

Top 10 Tips to reduce running costs of office equipment (source: Carbon Trust) 1. Computers. Activate energy-saving features. In fact, most office equipment will have these features, so make sure they’re activated. 2. Standby features. Introduce a policy to activate standby features, don’t assume employees will do it. 3. Turn it off. Buy seven-day timers. These can save up to 70% on energy costs. 4. Monitor and manage the equipment that is peripheral to computers, such as speakers, printers, etc. and consider installing intelligent switch-off solutions. Printers can consume 30%-40% of their peak power demand when idling between printing and standby modes, so minimising this can produce cost savings, reduce heat output and increase its operating life. 5. Educate your staff. Consider a screen saver with an energy-saving message. 6. Rationalise your equipment via networking to reduce the number of printers (for example) in any office area. 7. Printers Use only black and white for internal documents and colour only when absolutely necessary. Consider the benefits of inkjet printers v laser printers. Inkjet energy use is much lower than that of a laser printer. Encourage staff to use print preview functions. Set default printing mode to double-sided. Use lower-specification printers, such as inkjets, for internal documents and encourage staff to use these for day-to-day use.

8. Photocopiers High volume copiers use more energy so should be used sparingly. Use low melting point inks (available from stationery suppliers). Encourage staff to copy in batches to increase standby time. Stick to black and white copiers and only use colour when absolutely necessary. Set default copying to double-sided. 9. Invest to save and purchase only what you need. 10. Don’t forget to motivate staff. Keep repeating the message of the importance of energy saving in ways that they can understand (for example, a computer monitor switched off overnight saves enough energy to microwave six dinners).

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), or e-waste, is the term used for old or disposed electronic equipment. It covers both the toxic and valuable materials found in appliances. The most important lesson is to reuse, not recycle. With so much e-waste, and electrical devices such as computers and flat screens often being replaced well before the end of their shelf life and ending up in landfill, it’s imperative that the most is made of these materials by reusing them productively.

Options to investigate when trying to reduce e-waste are: 1. Can you upgrade your equipment with new energy efficient components? 2. Can it be used by someone else in the company? 3. Can it be given to a charity? (Note: charities must be registered to take WEEE.) 4. Will the manufacturer take back the old equipment and reuse parts in new products?

Developments on the horizon include: 1. Smaller, more efficient processors. The continuing development of microprocessors means a mobile phone can have around the same computational power as the average desktop computer back in 2000. 2. Memristors. Electronics giant HP is in the process of developing “memristors” (see photo above), which have greater memory storage capacity while requiring less energy and space. They are due to be on the shelf in about three years. 3. Specialist data centre design. Siemens recently launched its transformational Data Centre Solution, a groundbreaking strategy in data centre energy-efficient design and operation. It claims the system, which uses virtualization and efficient power and cooling, offers many benefits for businesses, including up to 50% energy savings through ground water cooling and IT costs reduced by 30%. 4. Outsourcing. Hotels of all sizes are starting to view IT outsourcing as a viable option to gain flexibility and reduce short-term costs and increase transparency of cost structures and processes. 5. Optimisation of resources. This will become a necessity either through virtualisation, networking or cloud computing. 6. Water cooling. IBM is currently working on a supercomputer that is cooled by water (a given volume of water can hold 4,000 times more waste than air), which claims to be 50% more energy efficient than the world’s leading systems. The Aquasar stacks many computer processors on top of each other with cooling water flowing between each one. IBM’s Dr Bruno Michel told the BBC in November 2010: “We plan that 10 to 15 years from now, we can collapse such a system into one sugar cube — we’re going to have a supercomputer in a sugar cube.”

as much as 67 percent of guests in fact now hold a preference for digital key check-in and room access over more traditional methods such as plastic keycards.

collecting and storing guest data and preferences, which can then be used by integrated loyalty services to better target guests with rewards and promotions.

incentivize downloads and encourage loyalty by allowing hoteliers to better target users with promotions and special offers.

ntegrating mobile access solutions with food ordering and contactless payment service vendors has helped hoteliers create convenient, engaging mobile app solutions that also boost their property's bottom-line

control in-room amenities.

This can include guests being able to use personal devices to effortlessly manage guestroom thermostats, lights, drapes, televisions and more.

Digital key service providers have evolved to easily integrate with other hotel services and provide guests with greater convenience and personalization throughout their stay.

This is rapidly proving to be a successful method to swift services and meet new demands, as many consumers are increasingly using digital wallet services in their everyday lives: in 2019, nearly 1.5 billion travelers downloaded mobile boarding passes that were stored in their digital wallets, and mobile wallet payments increased by 29 percent in 2020.

preventing guests from being locked out of guestrooms due to low battery status on their device, mobile wallet-based digital keys also serve to further provide a more seamless and hassle-free travel experience from start to finish.

offers guests increased security and reduces the risk of a lost or stolen room key

it meets short-term challenges because it reduces risk

it has incredible potential and long-term benefits for the future

mobile access solutions will continue to adapt and provide properties with digital convenience, reduced costs, sustainability and efficiency over the next decade and beyond.

ude conferences, conventions, concerts, trade shows, festivals, and ceremonies.

Skills to Succeed As with most event planning functions, event management requires excellent organizational skills to succeed. The ability to multitask and juggle many moving parts is essential and, along with that top-notch organization comes the need for efficient time management skills.

project management is a key element and involves managing not only functions but teams of people, interpersonal skills are also important.