Group items tagged

Some restaurants are implementing kiosks in order to save money on other costs as the average cost of a fast-food meal increases, which is achieved by investing in automated services, and cutting back on employees

just because there is more technology usage in fast-food restaurants doesn’t mean it will fully take over. In fact, he says that technology and humans can work together to make a restaurant more profitable.

3. To Create an App

4. To Control a Presentation

5. To Connect Exhibitors and Buyers

6. To Organize Tweets

7. To Create a Webcast

8. To Streamline Attendee Access

we think that there's no better place than the NFMT Vegas Conference & Expo to discuss just how hospitality facilities can demonstrate best practices for all buildings in sustainability, energy efficiency, occupant safety and ADA compliance.

For the first time, this year's conference will feature a track dedicated to hospitality and provide perspectives from some of the market's most knowledgeable sources.

People should only be asked what security staff absolutely need to know and everything else should be voluntary. It’s worrying that this passenger was not told it was a voluntary question.”

The airport claims the question is to make sure they are meeting diversity requirements and that people are not obligated to answer

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Mobile retail sites have two considerations: smartphones and tablets. The biggest difference between using ecommerce sites on a mobile phone and on a computer is the reduced screen size and the limited capabilities of mobile device browsers.

? Industry experts, as well as operators who have taken the plunge, believe cloud-based POS is not only reliable and safe, but is also on its way to becoming the norm rather than the exception.

And since his café offers catering, he can accept payment on location with the iPad or iPhone, something not possible with a hardwired system, he notes.

“When you look at the concept itself, it is attractive to the guy that is just starting up,” explains Lee Holman, lead retail analyst at IHL Consulting. “A cloud-based solution allows him to get up and running from an IT standpoint without a lot of servers, hardware and infrastructure needed.”

However, as long as backup measures are taken, a cloud-based POS is no different than a hardwired system in this regard, according to Dolan.

Not only does it shift responsibility to the vendor, but more than likely they will have more money and resources to dedicate to it.

"I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well.

Yet more card-free security systems are on the way.

Many industry watchers are keeping an eye on Houston's largest hotel, the vast 1,200-room Hilton Americas–Houston. The hotel has a facial recognition system that can identify and track guests, employees, and even suitcases. With 700 employees and an annual $16 million payroll, the system offers benefits such as employee time-theft monitoring and prevention for the hotel. But travelers aren't that concerned about employees taking an extra cigarette break. What it means for you is that the system includes alerts if unwanted people are on the property and a response time of mere seconds if there's an incident. Customer service is heightened as well: Returning guests will be recognized and greeted by name. And with 1,200 rooms worth of luggage in transit, the system makes it a lot easier to find lost or misdirected bags.

not everyone wants to be on-camera, all the time. With concerns about "snooping" and a Truman Show-like lack of privacy, might guests feel that systems such as this are too intrusive in our hotels? "

Technology is opening new doors to hotel safety, and the way we navigate hotels is set to change in the blink of an eye. Or the swipe of a cellphone. Or the print of a finger. With futuristic systems like scent and iris scanners and digital facial-recognition, hotel security is being taken to the next level. #plain_module { width: 590px; height:170px; border: none; float:left; margin:0px; font-size:12px;} #plain_module img {border:none; width: 13px; height:14; border: 0px; margin:0px; } #plain_module .mini_main { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:585px; height:220px; repeat scroll 0 0} #plain_module .mini_item_header {padding:10px 0px; margin: 0px 0px; font-size:16px; color: #555555; border-bottom:1px dotted #CCCCCC;} #plain_module .mini_item {padding:5px 0px; margin: 0px 0px;} #plain_module a { color: #49A3CA; text-decoration:none; } #plain_module a:hover { color: #F98419; text-decoration:underline;} span.gray {color:#949494;} .mini_main li{list-style-type: none;background-image: url(http://www.aolcdn.com/travel/bullet);background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: 0 1px;padding-left: 10px;} Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact-less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access. Much like the cruise world's one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York's Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties. But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether. "In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone," says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. "When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message." You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.

Systems that track the other qualities that make each human unique are in development as well. Movement-activated video-capture systems were showcased in New Zealand in September 2010. Researchers are at work on devices capable of recognizing an individual's gait or walk and even their DNA. Frank Wolfe says, "If you want to go 'way out there', there are some systems being explored that can allegedly sniff someone, and also systems that can recognize the pattern of blood veins on a human being which are apparently unique to the individual," says Wolfe. Quite common in Japan, vascular-recognition systems such as this are still "several years off," according to Wolfe. "I think that you will begin to see more hotels going to RFID and smartphone entry before using biosystem recognition," says Wolfe. "These systems are expensive, and there are many consumers who just don't want this information stored somewhere -- for a variety of reasons."

Like Lufthansa, which introduced a 16-euro fee on GDS bookings in the fall of 2015, Ukrainian argues that the fee is in response to what it calls the “growing fees of GDSs.”  

Any new fee can generate a backlash, and particularly for price-sensitive leisure travelers, could lead to booking away from a particular carrier. 

Lufthansa German Airlines’ CEO recently raised eyebrows in the industry by predicting other airlines would match its controversial fee on all bookings made through Global Distribution Systems. But since then, the only news on this front has been from a relatively small carrier, Ukraine International Airlines, which said it will impose a new $9 surcharge on GDS bookings at the end of April.  

This technology is also ideal for self check-ins by guests at hotels as well as the next trend in this article: smart room keys.

Hotels will increasingly install smart room access systems that allow guests to unlock their doors by simply swiping their phones across a keyless pad on the door. Starwood (owner of the Sheraton, Weston and “W” hotel chains) has already upgraded 30,000 room locks across 150 hotels with this system and Hilton will be implementing a similar system at 10 of their US properties this year. In 2016, they will be deploying the smart room key technology globally. This technology will mean that guests don’t have to worry about picking up keys and front desk staff won’t have to issue new keys in the event that a guest loses their room key. Another innovative way to offer a keyless experience is through fingerprint-activated room entry systems and retina scanning devices. Retina scanning is even more accurate and secure than fingerprint scans and hotels like the Nine Zero Hotel in Boston have already installed an iris scan system in place of key cards to control access to the hotel’s presidential suite.

Some hotels are already offering more futuristic experiences, with robots delivering any items ordered through room service to a guest’s door. A boutique hotel that is nestled between Apple’s headquarters and other tech companies, called Aloft Cupertino, has a robot butler called Botlr that is able to move between the various floors of the hotel in order to take items such as toothbrushes, chargers and snacks to guests. These types of digital systems not only make it easy for hotel staff to deliver items to guests, but it also offers a forward-facing digital experience to people who stay at the hotel. Infrared scanners are now also used to minimise disruptions relating to housekeeping (which is a common complaint from customers). Instead of hanging a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on doors or having cleaning staff wake up traveling guests with knocks and phone calls, hotel staff can take a more innovative approach by using infrared scanners that will detect body heat within a room and tell cleaning staff that they should rather come back later if the room is currently occupied.

Digital conference facilities Besides being able to offer high density Wi-Fi for conferences and meetings, hotels also need to be able to offer access to audio-visual (AV) and digital facilities for conferences. While the amount of AV and digital equipment that goes into a typical conference room is fairly minimal, staging companies are often hired for various projects in order to equip the facility as required.

Mobile communication and automation In many airports, it’s no longer necessary to stand in a queue to check in and people are expecting the same kind of easy, technology-driven check-ins at hotels. Guests want to be able to do everything from checking in at a venue’s automated kiosk to ordering room service with a digital device instead of standing in queues and moving around the hotel premises to order food.

Cloud services Being able to provide entertainment on tap and mobile content has led to the trend of hotels investing in cloud services. While hotels want to be able to offer digital content, they don’t necessarily want to invest in IT infrastructure and IT staff, making cloud computing the ideal solution.

Feedback on social media Technology has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives and hotel developers need to realise that almost any person checking in at a hotel, resort, spa or lodge, will have a smartphone in their pockets.

Converged LANs to support multiple services Converged local area networks (LANs) will also help hotels to create more intelligent buildings. A variety of computer-based building services can be automated in order to control lighting, refrigeration, air-conditioning and heating. Besides reducing energy consumption, converged LANs can also be set up to provide a smarter, more personal experience. If a guest is known to prefer his or her room temperature at 18°C with the lights dimmed to 65%, for example, this can be programmed before the guest checks in at the hotel.

Integrated, seamless experiences Technology doesn’t mean that customer experience can only happen online and through devices, check-ins and online comments. All of these experiences need to be part of an integrated, dynamic system so that the guests’ experiences are at the forefront of the marketing and  operational team’s mind.

Marketing, management and hotel developers can no longer work in silos and these technology trends are giving them the opportunities, tools and solutions they need to create memorable experiences that can lead to positive change and growth in the industry.

Some believe that palm recognition is a less-risky biometric technology because our palm is not as easily observable as our face or ear print.

Technology-wise, palm recognition does not need to solve some of the unique challenges that facial or fingerprint recognition encounter. For instance, not all devices using facial recognition can tell the differences between identical twins.

Amazon One will store consumers' palm data in the cloud, and they can choose to remove the data later.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers cybersecurity guidelines for best practices to manage cyber risk. These include identify, protect, detect, respond and recover. Another resource is the NCSA’s national program, CyberSecure My Business.

Firewall Often referred to as a company's "first line of defense," a firewall is a security control that filters and screens network traffic entering and exiting your corporate network.

People can rely on the password manager to create and store dozens of passwords in an encrypted database without having to remember them.

Password managers are quite helpful, and some are even free.

store the first part of sensitive site passwords

but keep the last few digits memorized and fill them manually.

This way, if there is ever a compromise of the password database, hackers don't have those full passwords.

You should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA authentication uses more than one thing or "factor" to log you in

, biometrics is part of this last category

SPAM & Malware filters screen email for unwanted and dangerous elements, blocking them before they ever reach your users.

In the world of cybersecurity, there's a phrase, "humans are the weakest link." An employee who accidentally clicks on the wrong link or email attachment can put in motion a chain of events that results in a cyber breach. Security awareness training is an anti-phishing tactic all organizations should employ.

RDP access must be protected by a VPN connection.

reduce the risk of getting hacked is to ensure your systems and software are updated regularly, or "patched.

patching shouldn't end with the operating system. Your patch program should also look to patch all other applications running on your systems

regardless of the security tools implemented to prevent a data breach, you should plan for a compromise occurring.  

That's where 24/7/365 network and endpoint monitoring comes in

In addition, whilst this may well serve high volume and ‘business’ hotels,

consumers’ increasing desire for personalised experiences is expected to continue for years to come.

use of biometric technology such as the facial recognition technology to speed up guests’ check‐in time and thereby improve the customer experience, make processes more efficient and enhance security.

By eliminating the process of performing manual checks on travel documents, the amount of check‐in time is expected to be reduced by up to 70%.

its use in luxury hotels, where the personal touch matters, may well have to be adapted to ensure it is seamless and less impersonal.

use of hotel robots may yield operational and cost efficiencies to hotels, it is however critical that a balanced approach is adopted by hoteliers to ensure that automation does not supplant quality service hence alienating hotel guests as a consequence

Voice assistants ‐ such as Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant – are one of the fastest growing technological fields today, becoming commonplace as a feature of the internet of things

According to Hospitality Technology’s 2019 Lodging Technology Study, nearly eight in 10 respondents named voice‐enabled technology as the top choice when asked to identify technology that has the most potential in the near‐future, and 62% of the respondents listed voice technology as a transformative technology that makes an impact.

voice assistants could potentially be used by hotels to gather actionable insights and feedback

the data gathered can be analysed and utilised to enhance the hotel offerings

Separately, hotels could potentially streamline operations processes and thereby improve operational efficiency and achieve cost‐savings through automating some of the daily hotel operations via the voice assistant.

The use of robots within the hotel industry is a form of automation that is becoming more prevalent as hotel chains and individual hotels have become increasingly cognizant that the concept of automation and self‐service is playing an increasingly vital role in the customer experience

pop‐up hotels have the agility of providing on‐demand accommodation in locations that traditional hotels could not and/or travelers would not necessarily have access or ease of access to alongside customisable accommodation settings, thereby delivering an entire bespoke guest experience.

it is imperative that hotels recognise and make it a top priority to address these privacy concerns and adhere to the applicable regulations concurrent to ensuring the quality of the stored data and system

Other hotels are doing similar things (and even more). An example of a newly-developed energy efficient amenity:

And the conference also talked a lot about putting solar panels on hotel roofs with government subsidies.

Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference in New Orleans.

We're geeky enough to love new hotel technology, but we've got our green side too;

The system will remember how lights are set and if the fireplace is on and will shut down 20 minutes after the guest leaves and come back to the same setting when guest returns.

Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference in New Orleans.

Most of the new green tech developments are focused on reducing energy use, and it seems like there are some killer new innovations coming to hotels at the moment

For example, at Hotel 1000 in Seattle,  they control what gets switched on and off using the system that tells them when

a guest comes and goes.

Other hotels are doing similar things (and even more). An example of a newly-developed energy efficient amenity

The system will remember how lights are set and if the fireplace is on and will shut down 20 minutes after the guest leaves and come back to the same setting when guest returns.

And the conference also talked a lot about putting solar panels on hotel roofs with government subsidies.