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This article touch bases on the special events industry and the how it grew enormously in the past decade. There are so many special events planning companies out there I never thought about how much money companies had to spend on the supplies for the event. According to recent research by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, (Certified Special Events Professional), the spending for special events worldwide is $500 billion annually. working in the hospitality industry for many years I always meet that one person who's interested starting their own event planning service. One of the biggest challenges for them is the money they will need to put events together. After reading this article Goldblatt makes it clear by saying "The marketplace is large enough to support and sustain your endeavor there are many directions you can expand.

This article is great! I love event planning and I think there is a huge market for it. Event planning is definitely the route Id like to take with this career so learning more about the different possibilities is a must. Thanks for sharing.

This article touches on events and the process Event Coordinators use to keep track of money. Things like dinners, galas, auctions and fundraisers are examples of events that involve a transfer of money. The "Direct benefit to donors" are the actual costs of the items and services given to guests for their attendance. There are 3 options given to report these benefits. Option 1 - Present the Costs of Direct Benefits to Donors as a line item. Option 2 - Present Special Event Gross Revenues in the revenue section of the Statement. Option 3 - Present the contribution portion as contribution revenue and the exchange portion (fair value received by donor) as special events revenue. To properly report activities each transaction needs to be recorded for revenue purposes. Tracking the number of attendees, ticket prices, and value of the event is important to make sure funds are being allocated correctly. If lump sum donations are made or sponsorships are involved, that revenue needs to be reported as well. On top of this, costs need to be calculated too, event space rental, food, table cloths… in order to come up with a final profit number. Sometimes donated auction items are used to incur a 100% profit for the organization.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

I agree with you. Hotels need to differentiate themselves among competitiors in order to attract more business. This online experience made by TravelClick could work as a competitive advantage for some hotels that need to make their name known in new markets.

This article talks about how hotels can use location based marking to drive business and create customer loyalty. Hotels and restaurants can use proximity marketing and geofencing to get the messages out to customers. Proximity marketing uses Bluetooth technology and WIFI to send messages to a customers mobile phone when they are within a specific proximity to your business. Geofencing creates a virtual "fence" that once the customer is within this area they can be reached on their mobile device. Hotels can use this technology to build customer loyalty by sending special messages to guests when they enter the hotel. These personalized messages can you give a competitive advantage by making the guest feel special and welcome. They can also send messages to guests encouraging them to visit the hotel's restaurant or spa instead of going somewhere else. According to a recent study, customers are willing to give up personal information and privacy in exchange for money saving deals. It is important for hotels and restaurants to take advantage of this new technology to reach the people who are willing and want to be contacted this way.

Hi Dawn This article is great and learning about proximity marketing made me understand it way more now. I think that it could be a good feature to reach out to people that signed up for your program when they get within a certain distance to your property to get them know about current specials. I know if I was part of a loyalty program at a hotel this would make me feel special for sure having them send me a personalized message to my phone upon returning to the property. With the economy where it is at people will willingly give up their personal information to get deals that can save them money for sure. Great post!

Just last year Shangri-La have launched a mobile application for its diverse guests to make reservation on their smart phone. The application is  available in Ipad and android phone. Guest can view special promotion and their membership points (Golden Circle). Guests can redeem their points to book complimentary nights for their next stay. In addition, the applications will have built in QR code scanner.  Shangri-La plans to add features in the first quarter of 2013, that include room text, voice message, special requests, local weathers and to set up wake up calls. User that download the application can also share stories about their stay in "Your Circle". 

This article is an introduction of a new business application software called Infor 10 EAM. It provides a brief overview of how this software is beneficial to both the hospitality and healthcare industries. The Infor 10 EAM Hospitality Edition enables companies to manage multiple tasks and departments from one integrated application, which gives hotels the ability to improve their performance and increase their savings. This application was designed to specialize in asset management to help companies not only focus on reducing costs, but also achieve Energy Star standards. I believe the Infor10 EAM Hospitality Edition will be up and running in most hotels within the next few years. The benefits provided from the utilization of this software seem to be worth the investment. A few of the benefits provided by the Infor10 EAM Hospitality Edition include: better tools for guest incident management and rapid response, increased equipment reliability, trusted information for fleet management, real-time preventive maintenance alerts, and enhanced risk management and regulatory compliance.

Infor a provider for application software has created a special edition of its software to help multiple departments within hotels operate from one application. With this specialized hospitality edition hotels now reduce costs with through this management system, streamline functions in multiple departments. and tools for timely customer service. In addition this system will help in tracking their use of natural resources and use that information to help better manage costs. This system will provide hotel management with the necessary and real time information to help operate on a more efficient basis such as issues with maintenance alerts, guests services, notices on equipment reliability. Although the use of this technology promises to help with efficiency and cut costs to help management the cost of maintaining and updating such an application could be costly. In addition with all of the functions being operated on through the use of one application what are the fail-safe tools in place if such an application were to be compromised or go down. The entire hotel's business can be affected.

The owners of a Culver's franchise decided to install a digital signage to provide more menu information quickly because the menu board couldn't communicate enough with customers for a short time to select menu in the fast food restaurant. The challenge was how the small business owners and franchisee would handle their budget for the investment and added cost.  The problem was solved by selecting EzSign TV from LG Electronics which displays branded messaging and shows broadcast television or input content at the same time. Furthermore, the software offers a choice of more than 50 templates that can be customized with images and text. Therefore, the business can highlight the items with pictures and deliver their daily specials more efficiently.  Installation is easy, and daily specials menus can be replaced by simply clicking. The digital signage looks cleaner than old fashioned menu board, and saves more time to change menus. By implementing a system that requires limited attention from staff, Culver's can focus on customer service and deliver value. That was a good decision adopting a new technology fits in the quick service restaurants.  

Hotels POS systems are at risk for customers. Hackers are using tactics like Phishing and ransomware. Hotels must take action and arm themselves with a "toolbelt" of security options to combat the hackers.

This article explores the issues with cyber security in the hotel industry. it is to be taken seriously because customer information is on the line and so is the company's reputation and revenue. Hotels must look into their POS systems because, according to the article, is a weak security point. However, it holds much of the consumer's information like credit card numbers, expiration dates, and etc. The POS system is vulnerable so the secuiry put in place to protect it must be updated. Personal details for hotel guests are stored in many different places in a hotel's many systems. This includes the restaurant, gift shops, billing, facilities, and etc. According to the article, hotels needs a "toolbelt" of various security technologies to prevent malicious attacks. The three mentioned in the article are File Integrity Monitoring, Unified Threat Management, and Security Information and Event Management. Please look into the article to read what each of these systems can do in regards to cyber secuity for the hospitality industry. A good way to implement these tools is to look into outsourcing a managing security firm that specializes in cyber security. This can help minimize and even diminish things that can cause breaches in systems. In my opinion, this article gives solutions to hotels in regards to cyber security. Sometimes installing a firewall or antivirus is simply not enough. A security firm that specializes in this area can be considered. It may be expensive depending on the business to do that, however, it will be even more expensive to have a tarnished reputation for not securing customer information and to deal with lawusuits.

In this article it begins to explain property management systems PMS going mobile in the hotel industry and how beneficial it is for hotel corporations and for customers. The author explained that the most in-demand PMS function for hotels is the ability to have a real time data of room availability, access to guest information such as comments and special request, room/ work order status, and up-to-date pricing. For customers facing mobile apps they would enjoy the guest self-service of booking, self check-in/out, service request, and messaging to staff. However even though mobile devices makes such functionality seem easier mobile-enabling a PMS is not easy at all in fact, making functions available via a browser would be a huge transition for a business.

More and more are properties interested in having a PMS device that they can be accessed at anytime and anywhere. The answer to this challenge is to have PMS functions accessible via mobile devices which can be challenging for some of the systems, especially those that do not reside in cloud. For some smaller properties, the goal is to have no front desk at all and some have been quite successful in making this a reality. As stated in the Property Management Goes Mobile article, the ski resort Tremblant Elysium has been successful with using the cloud-based FrontDesk Anywhere. The guests receive a letter a week prior to check in containing a door code and 30 minutes after their arrival concierge comes to their room to complete their check in and sign the registration card. The CEO of Tremblant Elysium stated: "Guests love it because it is simple and easy and we do not have staff waiting around for people to check in." As stated in the article, guest require for Mobile PMS to include access to room availability and full front desk access including guest profiles and preferences, room/work order status, up-to-date pricing and housekeeping access for rooms statutes. Mobile-enabling PMS can be quite challenging to design, as it can bring difficulties with screen size, performance or choosing which device to use as the code must be re-written for each one. Another major concern for this type of PMS is the synchronization with other system with which PMS is integrated. As hotelier consider implementing mobile-enabling PMS device for their property, there are concerns about security as far as data storage or mobile check-in or the issuing of keys for guests. In my opinion mobile-enabling PMS is the future for smaller properties. Why would a hotel need to have a stand-alone front desk when we can use mobile phones to do the work for us as we are on the go? Eventually, we can have our staff cross trained in smaller properties all equipped with phones, all available to ch

This article discusses the wish-list for hoteliers when they are considering cloud-based systems.Tthe most in-demand mobile PMS functions include GM access to KPIs, CRM and room availability, and front desk staff access to guest information such as comments and special requests, room/work order status and consolidated messaging among staff. It would seem that with all of these personal apps that are appearing on the market, that mobilizing a PMS would be easy, but that is not the case. The code is not universal; i.e. code must be re-written for each one, although there are tools like service-oriented architecture and html5 to help. There will naturally be concerns when considering adopting a mobile PMS across properties. Before investing in a roll-out of new technology, decision-makers must ask the right questions dealing with security, data storage, and functionality.

EVENT APPS!!!! 

An Event planner has an interesting, fun and time consuming Job. The main tasks of event planners are to coordinate and manage conferences, meetings and parties. Some planners work exclusively organizing a specific type of event, such as those who specialize in wedding planning. Others may work with large corporate clients or smaller private groups. Many planners run their own businesses, while others may work for event planning agencies. Due to the nature of the work, many planners work long and irregular hours. As far as for Education requirements, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there are no universal educational requirements needed to start a career as an event planner. Nevertheless, they need a certain set of skills, and one way they may be developed is by completing a bachelor's degree program in hospitality, communications or public relations. Common core classes in these programs include risk management, event coordination and professional ethics. Some programs allow students to specialize their education through courses specifically intended for wedding planning while other programs may feature courses for students interested in careers organizing sports and entertainment events. Furthermore, it is very important that event planners have phenomenal communication and organizational skills.

This article introduces the requirements to be an event planner. For the education requirement, although the BLS reported that an event planner does not need the universal education, event planner needs some skills from the bachelor's degree program. As a professional event planner, they should get many skills from the special program in the hospitality university. On the other hand, event planner should at good at communication. As they always communicate with clients that need good ability of oral and writing. And the event planner should have excellent organization skills to handle different clients simultaneously. In addition, more experiences the event planner have that will attract more clients or events.

MobileDemand and Peak-Ryzex have recently announced that they have partnered up to enable Peak-Ryzex to integrate MobileDemand tablet Pcs into their portfolio of supply chain and mobility solutions. MobileDemand is a worldwide provider of tablet PCs. They are better known for their ruggedized products. Peak-Ryzex is one of the top providers of supply chain and mobility solutions. This partnership allows for companies to make business decisions and complete business transactions in the mist of it all. With the tablet's special design, it has the potential to last longer than others with daily use. The tablet is built with the user in mind; specialized docks allowing for better productivity. Tools such as a tablet made to withstand harsh conditions is a particle and mush needed product in the hospitality industry, more so in the Food & Beverage industry. A ruggedized tablet would allow a chef to focus more on the meal they are creating rather than the tablet falling or breaking.

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly  demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But  it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications.  If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel.  It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications. If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel. It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Creative and a bit scary application of existing technologies. Much like Facebook Messenger, when do we cross the line between convenience and forfeiture of privacy? As part of the industry, the responsibility falls to us to manage the line in favor of our guests. They will know when it has become too much, and we will know very soon after when business evaporates. Provide friendly, targeted service without being too invasive. Remembering orders and having them ready on time is fine. Sending a pop-up message every time the guest passes by in a cab may be a bit much. Consider how many Starbucks messages you could receive in any major metropolitan area. Without proper care, we could be giving a whole new meaning to the word Spam.

In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.

In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.

For an individual shopper, Alibaba has also created Ali Express, which gives an individual access to the same staggering number of products at near wholesale prices. They do indeed appear to have broken the code on B2B sales while still providing availability to the consumer. Win-win.

" " H°eats pads-for-delivery by Lava Gel Technologies is a water-activated, flame-free, self-heating pad that is placed between two food pans, disposable foil or stainless steel. This product provides safe, reliable, flame free heat for up to two hours and integrates seamlessly with existing equipment and supplies and does not require accessories or special equipment to buy.

This article is talk about how the internet provide the best accounting programs for the industry, how the electronic accounting help the business reduce the error. Firstly, since the technology become more popular and a lot of people would like use technology to operate their business. The new software accesses the industry that make the accounting profession changed. Technology made accountant's job easier and faster. Second, accountants have tools that can reduce the error. Since the special accounting software become popular, we can see the technologies have dramatically improved the people job's accurate and reduce the error. Most company will invest the special software program that provide simplifies data entry for accounting department. Besides, it can lead the company have a better accounting reports. This especially can benefit business because the little error that can influence the whole company finance results. Therefore, if the company want use the special software program they have to training the employees and hire a professional I.T is very necessary. The data from the software program too much better than the regular data. Statistical analysis and forecast modeling more efficiently than traditional data on the paper.

This article provide us with 5 major trends of PMS in hospitlaity industry. As mentioned in the passage,innovative technology increasingly enables hoteliers to boost revenues and profitability and serve guests in unique and personalized ways. Which lead to PMS 's new development. First trend of PMS is Cloud Computing: lower operations costs and improved elasticity, which broads PMS utilization. Second trend is product specialization: more and more unique products offered by hospitality industry to meet customers' demands instead of traditionally selling sold as one  application to customers. Third trend is  more powerful guest history: more specifc data to record guest history vistings and so forth, which makes hospitality industry to deliver more valuable personal service. Forth trend is  mobile optimization: online booking through app for instrance, allows guest to check everything whenever and wherever. Last trend is tigher system integration: sensible systems integration enable to make exchanging process of data more fluently to gain more competitive advantage for hospitality industry. So far,we can clearly see that as more specific and unqiue service and product come out, the technology in hospitality industry come to be more details and channels for transferring infornation become the major issue of innovation.

Event planning is one of the vital areas in hospitality. Many guests travel for various reasons and one of them is entertainment or special events be it festivals or weddings. These occasions have to be planned and well executed for repeat business. According to the article event planning such as festivals are great economic generators to local communities; for example the Anderson Arts Festival, an annual event in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. With eyes twinkling and listeners enthralled, Miller talks about the first economic impact study of the event, conducted in 2010, which revealed that the annual festival grossed $13 million in a town of 18,000 people. The multiplier effects of event planning such as festivals are the life blood for many families and businesses, and in many instances these events are supported by local government because of the economic impacts.

It will be an interesting experience that you can place a drink or food order with your special requirements and to pay the bill if using a card by your own iphone, iPad, or Android smart phone? The product, dubbed 'the waiter in your pocket, made this become true. The app uses a cloud-based system, hosted by QikServe, to receive orders, connecting with the restaurant's own EPOS system, so the front and back of the house can view the order as soon as possible. It is time efficient and cost saving. Since it is cloud-based, there are no hardware or software requirements for the operators. Besides the staff costs can be reduced to a large degree because a lot of work can be done by the system. We can also expect improvements in service quality for most of the causal restaurants or chain restaurants. Staff spend more time taking care of  each table with less time spent on ordering and cash handling. The system can help to capture consumer behavior and send target offers to them. QikServe is linked to social networking sites, so we can view feedbacks posted by customers directly. It is a good choice for casual restaurants and chain restaurants to apply this system.