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sbarr011

Expedia Leads $26 Million Alice Investment in Hotel Tech Push - Skift - 0 views

  • Alice, a startup that sells operations software to hotels, has raised $26 million in a Series B funding round led by online travel giant Expedia.
  • Expedia’s interest in Alice suggests that the online travel company is curious about possibly providing more back-end software services for the hotels that use it to market and distribute their inventory globally.
  • The company “is now at a completely different level,” when it comes to putting into place a set of tools that are broad and comprehensive and that are responsive to what hotels have said their needs are, he claimed.
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  • A key part of Alice’s system is its ability to let guests, front-of-house workers, and back-of-house staff communicate and track requests. For instance, a guest request via a text message for, say, more linens, can be conveyed to the right worker using Alice, the company said.
  • It now processes more than 50,000 requests a week, up from the 10,000-a-week pace it had a year ago. The company anticipates hotels will handle more than two million requests on its platform over the next year.
  • Alice has more than doubled its count of hotel clients this year.
  • It has since evolved into software that aims to provide the first unified platform for a hotel to run its entire back-end operations, such as housekeeping and customer service communication.
  • Expedia officially began to market a series of new tools for hoteliers that it has been adding to its extranet for suppliers since 2015 under the name Expedia Powered Technology. Tools include help with revenue management and messaging with guests.
  • There are other hotel tech brands that offer software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that overlap with what Alice’s platform provides, such as the housekeeping-focused services of Amadeus Hospitality’s HotSOS. Other potential players in the market include Sabre Hospitality Solutions and Oracle Hospitality.
  • Expedia’s suite of data analytics tools includes a free service that aims to help hotels set their rates to command the most revenue and Expedia’s first meetings-and-events booking tool to help hotels automate requests for proposals — which today is still, largely, a manual process.
  • Priceline Group has, since 2015, been investing in business services for its hotel partners under the BookingSuite brand. The tools include revenue management software and digital marketing help for a property’s own branded website.
  • Trivago, the hotel metasearch brand that is backed by Expedia (but operates independently), is also offering hotel services, such as for revenue management and hotel management (like Base7booking).
  •  
    Alice, a relatively new start-up which sells operations software to hotels, had a significant investment from Expedia in the previous round of funding. Alice has become a software that provides "the first unified platform for a hotel to run its entire back end operations, such as housekeeping and customer service communication". The system allows guests to send a text message with a request for more pillows or towels, for example, which will be directed to the proper the hotel employee department. Customers can track their requests and both the front and back of house staff can receive communications from guest requests. This IT platform has seen 5 times the amount of requests being generated. Also, the platform has partnered with double the number of hotels and they project more than two million requests will be communicated through this software in a year. Expedia is the largest shareholder in Alice currently. Alice suggests that this is because Expedia could be more interested in "more back-end software services for the hotels that use it to market and distribute their inventory globally." Expedia currently markets tools such as revenue management under the name Expedia Powered Technology to hoteliers. Expedia also offers meetings and events booking tools for hotels. Priceline, which is a competitor to Expedia, also has invested in tools and services that include revenue management software for their hotel partners. Trivago is also offering these services. Alice believes that the size of the market will allow for many other companies to work in this space, and is even open to partnering with other firms to expand. Alice also plans to expand their own business and add personnel with the new funds.
sliu043

The Most Popular Event Planning & Hospitality Blog Posts of the Year - 0 views

  • 1. Attracting Sponsors in Innovative WaysOne of the first questions of any event planning process is how to get the funds to make it happen. Because chances are, unless your company has a generous marketing budget, you’re going to have to look elsewhere for financing.
  • 2. Speeding Up Registration With the Right Check-In AppThe world is getting used to getting the things they want faster, and the same goes for attendees. That means you need to find ways to cut down on wait time when you’re planning events.
  • 3. Defining Event Goals and ObjectivesMany planners dive right into planning without giving enough consideration to goals and objectives
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  • 4. Perfecting Your Product Launch EventA launch event is a proven way to showcase your latest product, build hype around it, and — dare we say it — maybe even acquire some sales during the event itself. And the more you can get people talking about the product, both at the event and via social media, the better it’s going to do.
  •  5. Tracking Social Media PerformanceIf you’re not tracking the performance of your social media campaigns, you’re ignoring valuable information that could help you optimize your marketing and get your event in front of more attendees. 
  • 6. Overcoming the Top Challenges Facing Event Planners
  • 7. Saving Time with Event Planning AppsTo be profitable in today’s hospitality industry, it’s crucial to stay on top of the latest tech.
  • 8. Engaging Attendees with Interactive Presentation IdeasAs event planners, we’re always on the hunt for new ways to engage attendees. But to deliver a truly memorable experience, you can’t just engage attendees, you need to make them a part of the story.
  • 9. Wowing Attendees on a Tight Event Planning BudgetEvents are important. They help establish a brand, market products, gain clientele, raise funds… the list goes on. But as important as they are, your events don’t have to break the bank.
  • 10. Boosting Audience Participation at Your EventsInteracting with your audience is the best way to make sure you get your message to really resonate. In fact, research shows that an engaged audience remembers more, comprehends better, and has more positive associations with the presentation as a whole.
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    Nowadays, hotels are make good use of the social media to carry out event planning and attract more potential customers to know about them. Over the past year, thousands of hotels have posted blogs about their event planning on the Internet to get attention and do marketing. In this article, the author introduced ten most interesting and popular event planning topics in 2017. 1. Attracting Sponsors in Innovative Ways 2. Speeding Up Registration With the Right Check-In App 3. Defining Event Goals and Objectives 4. Perfecting Your Product Launch Event 5. Tracking Social Media Performance 6. Overcoming the Top Challenges Facing Event Planners 7. Saving Time with Event Planning Apps 8. Engaging Attendees with Interactive Presentation Ideas 9. Wowing Attendees on a Tight Event Planning Budget 10. Boosting Audience Participation at Your Events
mtedd003

Event Technology: The 2019 Guide - 0 views

  • Event technology is any digital tool that helps planners complete tasks pertaining to their work as event organizers. Types of event technology include but are not limited to event marketing software, event management software and mobile event apps.
  • Before event technology, hosting an event was a very manual process. Attendee lists needed to be drafted contact by contact in Excel or on-paper.
  • Today, event marketers have a complex array of technologies to choose from. Everything from marketing to ticket sales to data collection can easily be added to an organized event tech stack.
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  • Things like building websites, increasing event registrations, and email promotion are all made possible thanks to event technology.
  • While some event tools require manual data entry, others might automatically capture information for you. Some tools might perform competing tasks while other might actually work better together.
  • consider your business goals
  • Venue sourcing tools are any event technology program that allows event planners to search, browse, and filter through venue options
  • There are many tools for finding event venues and spaces but here are some options to consider:
  • EventUP allows organizers to directly message venue owners. They have a wide selection ranging from corporate event venues to private dinner party spaces.
  • Your event website is an important digital portal for prospects and attendees to get acquainted with your upcoming affair. Important details, registration and ticketing options, and additional marketing materials are all located here. These tools help you create this important piece of your event puzzle.
  • Tools for event registration offer users different ways to increase and facilitate attendee conversions. Some event registration tools specialize specifically in event registration but can integrate with other event technologies.
  • Event agenda tools help attendees learn about, select, customize and navigate their activities during your event.
  • If you want to drive people to your event, you will need a strong event promotion strategy. It also helps to have the help of event technology that was built just for this purpose.
  • email list segmentation and social media leveraging that turns attendees into brand ambassadors.
  • Getting feedback from event stakeholders is made possible with the help of live event surveys and polls.
  • Software integrations are what ultimately create a seamless workflow for your event planning process. There are three main types: open API integrations, native integrations, and third-party integrations.
  • s the competition within the event technology industry has grown, so too has the importance of providing easy to use tools for event marketers.
  • event ROI (51% according to the 2018 Event Marketing Benchmarks and Trends Report). This means that working towards event ROI clarity is a high priority task for many planners.
  • In addition to increasing labor productivity by 40%, organizers will be able to use artificial intelligence to efficiently allocate and spend their time.
  • Choose wisely.
  • Consider market trends
  • Sort through the noise.
  •  
    Event Technology is constantly being innovated in order to keep up with current market trends. AI is now becoming a future trend in event management software but with so many new technologies for events out there it becomes critical to keep up with also considering ROI. User-friendliness for example reflects both the consumer and the event company. When deciding a new product it is important to consider all the strengths and weaknesses of the product.
waldjustin13

How Location Based Marketing Impacts Online and Offline Retail - Absolutdata - 1 views

  •  Geo-targeting allows marketers to detect a user’s location and serve them offers based on you guessed it: their location!
  • This high level of relevancy is a huge benefit to brands and consumers.
  • Locally Relevant Ad Campaigns
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  • Strategic Brand Awareness
  • Better Mobile Coupons
  • More Relevant Communication, Including for Events
  • Knowledge of Change in Shopping Patterns
  • More Accurate Market Research
  • How to Enable Geo-Targeting Technology and Activate Personalized Marketing
  • Investing in geolocation, geo-fencing, and geo-targeting is becoming more and more of a necessity for brands that want to deliver a fully personalized customer experience.
  • A retailer can track nearby consumers through geo-tracking and accordingly give them directions to its closest stores.
  • can also use location marketing for creating brand awareness by claiming a place with broad reach and using display units or SMS,
  • can use geolocation technology to send targeted coupons to a specific shopper at a specific location, which is the equivalent to one-to-one personalized marketing.
  • great opportunity for consumer products brands to connect with their consumers wherever their products are sold,
  • Geolocation can help businesses assess when customers stop going to a particular store and start going elsewhere
  • companies can use location to better understand where, how and when their customers shop offline to market more smartly to these audiences
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    Location-based marketing allows organizations to target customers at a personal level with online or offline messaging based on their physical location. LBM use a smartphone's GPS technology to track a person's location. Geo-fencing marketing uses real time geo-location data to target users within a geographic area and deliver content based on where they are or what locations they've previously visited.
claudecole

Sustainable Hotel Waste Management | RTSSustainable hotel waste management - How hospit... - 0 views

  • What impact will PPE waste streams have on waste management within hotels, and can the industry find better ways to deal with them?
  • Convenience and service have always been at the core of hotels, and a focus on hygiene is an integral part of that.
  • this means large quantities of waste – from single-use shampoos and plastic-wrapped bathrobes to breakfast buffets that encourage indulgence.
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  • The pandemic has had a major impact on hotels and there is an entirely new stream of hotel waste – PPE.
  • , often with single-use plastics, it could mean a huge step back.
  • items such as reusable masks for staff can help reduce PPE waste, with multiple options now available and the WHO still approving the use of properly manufactured fabric masks.
  • microplastics in the food chain or the estimated $2.5 trillion in damage and lost resources it causes to fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities, and global wellbeing.
  • uch as plastic hotel key cards. While reusable, they will end up in the trash eventually, and many end up broken or lost after a few uses.
  • Food is the single largest component of US landfills with roughly 80 billion pounds being thrown away each year in America.
  • Even the most stringent company policies on plastic and food could still leave a hotel having to deal with more waste than expected.
  • over half of global travelers are now looking to travel more sustainably, and more than 60% of Americans are willing to spend more on sustainable products.
  • Rotana, for example, announced that it would remove all single-use plastic toiletries from its hotel rooms, saving an estimated 17 million plastic bottles and 100 tons of plastic every year.
  • replacing plastic key cards with mobile apps.
  • implement more robust recycling programs that help deal with waste in a sustainable way.
  • Beyond this, some hospitality establishments are now offering outreach to teach guests and staff more about sustainable waste management. This can extend beyond physical waste, to inform people about reducing hotel power and water waste as well.
  •  
    This article discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic caused an influx in plastic waste due to an increased need for PPE. This article also talked about how hotels are trying to combat the effects of microplastics by limiting their implementation in their operation by finding other alternatives such as mobile apps and QR codes. One thing I found to be extremely interesting that was mentioned within the article was the fact that companies are investing in educating both their guests and staff on waste management.
galca008

Improving data security in the hotel industry lets guests sleep peacefully | Hotel Mana... - 1 views

  • The hospitality industry is quickly growing as a favored target of hackers and cybercriminals. In fact, according to the 2016 Trustwave Global Security Report, hospitality is the vertical industry with the second-highest number of data breaches, behind only the retail industry.
  • Hotels are high-value targets for cybercriminals because they not only hold payment card information on guests, but also a wealth of other sensitive personal data that can be used to steal their identity.
  • The fallout from a widespread data breach that compromises guests’ payment card data or personally identifiable information can be disastrous for a hotel chain. The average cost of a data breach in 2016 was $4 million. This figure encompasses everything from breach mitigation to crisis team management costs, business losses and even the more intangible consequences: damages to brand reputation.
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  • However, with more countries migrating to chip cards and EMV-compliant POS systems, attackers have shifted their focus to card-not-present fraud and are targeting industries where consumers are making their payments and reservations over the phone—such as hotel contact centers.
  • If guests aren’t convinced that the hotel is keeping their personal and financial data secure, they will take their business elsewhere. In order to protect their brand reputation and their business, hotels need to create a culture of security throughout their entire organization that focuses on protecting guests’ digital property in addition to their physical property. One of the best places to start is their contact center.
  • In an era of increasing cyberattacks, hotels can make themselves less of a target by adopting technology to ensure that payment card data and other personally identifiable information is kept secure and segregated from the contact center.
  • With such an approach, customers calling to make a reservation or order additional services discreetly type their card numbers into the telephone keypad, rather than reading them out loud to the agent on the phone line. The data is securely routed to the payment gateway or a more secure server so it is never shared with the agent and is not held in the contact center infrastructure. This ensures that there is no possible spillover of the data to the unsecured or unmonitored areas of the business. It also reduces the number of individuals with access to the sensitive data, and makes the hotel contact center a less attractive target for cybercriminals. As an added benefit, this approach makes it easier for the hotel to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards by reducing the scope of compliance. By keeping payment card data out of the contact center, hotels can significantly reduce the high costs and extensive time associated with maintaining PCI DSS compliance.  
  • With stronger security practices for handling guests’ sensitive data, the hotel industry as a whole can transform itself from being one of the most likely targets for data breaches to becoming a model for data security, thereby ensuring that fewer customers ever have to go through the experience
  • Guests can sleep peacefully knowing that their data is secure, and the hotel can rest assured that its name won’t be making headlines as victim of a costly data breach.
  •  
    The hospitality industry is a major target for cyberattacks, resulting in sensitive guest information being compromised. When these attacks happen it leaves guests restless, because they know or believe their information is not safe. This article discusses this issue and how security can be improved to avoid these attacks.
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    The article titled, "Improving data security in the hotel industry lets guests sleep peacefully" shows how the breach of data security can be anywhere. As technologies improve, so do ways in which cyber security can become at stake. According to this article, "Hotels are obligated to maintain the physical security of guests and their belongings during their stay-if guests don't feel safe staying in their room or leaving their belongings there, they won't continue to patronize that hotel brand. The same thinking applies to data security: If guests aren't convinced that the hotel is keeping their personal and financial data secure, they will take their business elsewhere". Thus, hotels need to make sure they are safeguarding information such as their payment information as well as other confidential information. Hackers are becoming even more sophisticated, where they can target specific industries, such as hotel industries since guests speak with hotel representatives over the phone to provide payment information. In the even that a hotel's data has been compromised, what is its responsibility? First, they should send the client a letter of apology, and then handle the complete process efficiently, so the client can at least feel they re supported. The avoidance and handling of data breach is becoming even more common nowadays with the rise of technology.
salmanalabiooani

Hospitality Sector Teams Up Online to Help During the Crisis - Skift - 0 views

  • A new tech platform launched earlier this week can make the matchmaking process easier between lodging operators and local emergency efforts. Owners of a property can make beds or buildings available by using an online form to specify how they’re willing to help. Cloudbeds has worked with Sabre, Marriott, and RateGain and others on the effort.
  • A new reservations portal provides accommodation to healthcare workers at no cost in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. It’s called Rooms Against Covid, and GuestCentric Systems and HiJiffy created it.
  • For other examples, see our recent story, “Some Asia Hotels Roll Out Quarantine Packages for Travelers Looking to Self-Isolate.”
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  • Travel tech company RateGain has put together a “Better Tomorrow” resource page to help hoteliers with insights into lessons to learn from Asia.
  • The page draws partly on resources from the trade group Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), which has its own online resources, too.
  • Tech company Beekeeper has announced a webinar to help employers understand how to connect and communicate with their employees at a distance
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    This article explains the way the hospitality industry is responding to the Corona virus crisis using digital and online capabilities. One obvious support that the industry is giving to the response efforts is by providing beds to respond to the emergency cases in the crisis like in the examples of Cloudbeds working with Sabre, Marriott, and RateGain and Hotels for Helpers, in the Netherlands which is offering discounted hotel rooms for those in need. The hospitality industry are also adapting to the crisis by finding online solutions for their employees to work from home and also providing wide range of resources on the crisis for users.
sbaut010

GDS, OTA and Meta: What's the difference? | HotelMinder - 2 views

  • GDS, OTA and Meta: What’s the difference?
    • ansonj55
       
      The article covers the topics discussed in this week's topics related to Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and Online Travel Agency (OTA). It goes in detail regarding the difference and benefits of each. The landscape of the traveling industry changed in the late 1900s with the introduction of the GDS from the airline industry. Although costly, hotels are able to provide unsold rooms at a cheaper rate in order to secure bookings. Similarly, OTAs have gained popularity with the rise of use and reliance of the internet. Most beneficial of a OTA is more visibility for the hotel, since they invest a significant amount of capital in advertising. Whether a hotel is deciding whether or not to invest in a GDS or OTA, it is important to do a cost benefit analysis in order to determine which may be more beneficial to the property.
  • how can they help your hotel gain more online visibility and sell more rooms?
  • Hotels usually sell their rooms for 30% cheaper on GDS
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  • GDS is a rather costly selling channel that mainly allows the sale of rooms in larger quantities to bigger companies (for corporate guests) or travel agencies (leisure travellers). Thus, small independent hotels usually do not need GDS.
    • ansonj55
       
      GDS is costly so it is not really beneficial for smaller, independent hotels.
  • With the rise of the internet, many websites began selling rooms without the need for human interaction. These sites very quickly gained important market share,
  • Metasearch engines are becoming important in the travel industry
  • We do encourage hotels to use OTA to be more visible online
  • OTA’s invest a lot in online marketing
  • Rather than trying to compete with them, it would be better to see them as another selling distribution channel instead.
  • many different accommodation options at one glance
  • developed metasearch engine tools.
  • With travellers using the internet more than ever to search and book hotels
  • Increasing your online hotel visibility can be done in many ways.
  • hey usually do many different searches and visit several websites.
  • GDS: Global Distribution Systems
  • OTAs: Online Travel Agencies
  • GDS stands for “Global Distribution System”
  • Travel agencies use GDS to get real-time availability, and preferred rates on flight tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals all over the world as it allows them to be very reactive when asked for a quote.
  • OTA stands for "Online Travel Agency"
  • They were first created by airline companies during the 1950’s to broaden hotel and car rental businesses by enabling automated transactions between travel service providers and travel agencies (traditional and online).
  • The three biggest GDS systems are: Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo (now owned by Travelport)
  • real-time availability
  • Central Reservation Services (CRS), such as Sabre, allow hotels to sell their rooms to all GDS simultaneously. However, it is up to the hotel whether to connect with only one or two GDS directly, without the need for a CRS. The good news is that some channel managers are also able to connect with GDS systems.
  • The most popular example is Booking.com, although Expedia (for corporate guests) and Hostelworld (for more economical accommodation options) are also well-known.
    • sbaut010
       
      GDS has become an industry of its own with its own markets.
  • Your hotel can usually be listed on an OTA free of charge by adding your hotel photos, descriptions, rooms, rates, etc. You can then choose how many rooms you’d like to sell through the OTA. The availability you’d like to sell as well as the room rate is your decision, and although appearing on the OTA is free, you will have to pay a commission of approximately 15% to 20% every time you get a booking.
    • sbaut010
       
      Through this system OTA, the middleman, will always take a form of commission.
  • Although they produce rather time-consuming work as you need to log into each of their extranets to update daily availability and rates, you can very easily connect an OTA to a channel manager to automate, or at least greatly facilitate these tasks.
  • They were created shortly after OTAs and display the current rates of many different hotels in a given destination.
  • Today, OTA’s are a must, and although metasearch engines are slightly more technical to manage, they can also be an attractive selling channel to consider.
  • For small independent hotels, GDS is usually too costly to be considered.
  •  
    This article introduces GDS, OTA and Meta in a short space. GDS stands for Global Distribution System, GDS is a rather costly selling channel that mainly allows the sale of rooms in larger quantities to bigger companies. Small independent hotels usually do not need GDS. OTA stands for Online Travel Agency. meta stands for Metasearch Engines. For small hotels, the cost of GDS is high and it is generally difficult to adopt. OTA and meta are two methods worth considering.
natashacastro

Digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry in 2017 - 0 views

  • Digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry in 2017
  • However sooner or later we’ll be looking at an industry where these 2017 digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry are likely to be the new industry standards.
  • 83% of adults in the USA use smartphones or tablets to search for restaurant locations, directions, and hours. They use these devices in the following manner:
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  • Such a large consumer segment preferring to go online has created a vast market for digital marketing in this industry sector.
  • Advertising through digital platforms is often more cost effective than traditional marketing methods.
  •  which can be used to run targeting email campaigns.
  • 80% of restaurant operators agree that investing in technology helps in increasing sales, making restaurants more productive, and giving them a competitive edge. As a result, owners have increased mainstream technology use by 14% in their restaurants since 2016.
  • Mobile pay transactions are projected to reach the trillion dollar mark within the next few years, meaning it will be something the hospitality industry cannot ignore.
  • Visual content is more than 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than other types of content. 37% of marketers believe that visual marketing is the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging (38%).
  •  
    Expect the hospitality industry to capitalize on these trends in 2017. Get ready to pay for your stay with a mobile app. Also, we will see more and more digital marketing.
  •  
    With the new year upon us, this article describes the biggest trends of 2017. The biggest trend is the most obvious, more people are using their mobile device/ smartphones to search for restaurants locations or make reservations. The other trend, is how advertising through digital platforms is more cost effective than traditional marketing methods such as email campaigns. Projections show that 80% of restaurant operators agree that investing in technology helps the increasing of sales and gives them a competitive edge. Another statistic shows that mobile pay transactions will be the future.
Ling Xiang

Recent technology trends in Event Management " Event Registration and Management Softwa... - 2 views

  • attendees can ask questions to the speaker via tweets or Facebook comments real time during an event.
  • FIFA World Cup
  • cool application that had been created especially for the World Cup that highlighted the real time schedule of the games and results as they took place. This event alerted us to the huge potential that has hardly been scratched.
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  • The drastic improvements in the Audio-Video equipments, staging and lighting instruments have made sure that you need to make your event stand out.
  • Recently – online registration for events has taken the center stage with a lot of small players like Eventzilla. 
  • Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have completely altered the way we think about event promotion.
  • Technology has made sure that geographical impediments no more stop you from attending an event half way round the world. The webinars and live meetings are the newest venues for events the world over.
  • Now the event attendees can ask questions to the speaker via tweets or Facebook comments real time during an event. With the world tweeting away night and day, there is no doubt that technology has changed our life completely
  • The drastic improvements in the Audio-Video equipments, staging and lighting instruments have made sure that you need to make your event stand out. No more can you pass off an event with just a great speaker. Even with the best of the content and ingredients, you need to upgrade the stage show to make sure that the attendees are left wonder struck.
  • The barriers have been stomped down and the walls have fallen.   Technology has made sure that geographical impediments no more stop you from attending an event half way round the world. The webinars and live meetings are the newest venues for events the world over.
  • The FIFA World Cup this year was a lot of fun for us. And we are not talking about football. Our excitement was because of this cool application that had been created especially for the World Cup that highlighted the real time schedule of the games and results as they took place. This event alerted us to the huge potential that has hardly been scratched.
  • has made sure that geographical impediments no more stop you from attending an event half way round the world. The webinars and live meetings are the newest venues for events the world over. Planners and
  • No more can you pass off an event with just a great speaker. Even with the best of the content and ingredients, you need to upgrade the
  • stage show to make sure that the attendees are left wonder struck.
  • The barriers have been stomped down and the walls have fallen.  Technology
  • Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have completely altered the way we think about event promotion.   Letters are antiquated and emails outdated. Nowadays, you ‘tweet’ and ‘poke’ your way around the events
  • Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have completely altered the way we think about event promotion.   Letters are antiquated and emails outdated. Nowadays, you ‘tweet’ and ‘poke’ your way around the events
  • With the advent of the iPhones, Androids and Blackberrys, smart phone applications have become the next-gen platform for event management. From charting an event to locating it on the map, you can do it all on your mobile. 
  • With the advent of the iPhones, Androids and Blackberrys, smart phone applications have become the next-gen platform for event management. From charting an event to locating it on the map, you can do it all on your mobile.
  •  
    The event today is not only between planner and organization; it's more like the communication and interaction among attendees. The technology assists the needs and expectation of attendees, which allows them to engage more during meetings and events. Besides, App or other online software facilitates attendees to get full knowledge of location, content and activity in one event. In addition, Audio-Video equipment mentioned in article also emphasized that lighting plays an important role to make one event stand out. In another words, creating great experience is definitely what technology is for.
  •  
    This article talks about how technology has changed the world completely, especially Event Management. For example, the FiFa world cup puts out cool application so people could know the highlight, real time schedule of the games and result. Some other example are the stage show, this drastic change improved in the Audio - video equipment, stage and lighting. Technology has change in Live Meeting. Live Meeting webinar and live meeting are use halfway around the world. Also, the Social Explosion like facebook and Twitter is the big thing around the world. Even the Mobile Application are used now in iPhones, Androids, and Blackberrys has become the next -gem platform for Event Management
  •  
    Now the event attendees can ask questions to the speaker via tweets or Facebook comments real time during an event. With the world tweeting away night and day, there is no doubt that technology has changed our life completely.
patrick021

E-Commerce Innovations With Applications for Hospitality - 0 views

  • With a variety of online visitor tracking tools out there, hotels and similar businesses can monitor individual customers when they visit their site, and tailor their offers and recommendations based on their behavior.
  • Almost every industry has their buyer personas, and the hospitality industry is no different. You’ve got your once-a-year family travelers, your regular businesspeople, and so on. Once these buyer personas are created, hotels and casinos can tailor their marketing efforts to reach one
  • the traveler’s journey is complicated, and can very from person to person. It means that there is much more competition online, and hospitality industries have to compete to get shoppers’ attention
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  • One such avenue is through retargeting. This is the process whereby shoppers who have visited a website are displayed adverts for that site even after navigating away from it. It can also be employed when a shopper adds a product or service to their cart, but then abandons it before paying.
  • With recent advances in 360-degree photography, hotel websites can now offer virtual tours of their rooms and venues. This lets any potential customers to see first-hand (almost) where they will be staying before booking.
  • one of the most simple tactics is to use ticker counters to denote how many rooms are available for certain dates, with the number steadily decreasing as they get snapped up. Urgency is a powerful motivator of action, and a countdown is perfect for conveying that.
  • As ecommerce grows ever more popular, online businesses are given more and more options to capitalize on psychological triggers to turn potential customers into sales. There are a number of these available out there, from storytelling, to building a sense of community.
  • Ecommerce is also a great medium for utilizing social proof. This is the leveraging of user-generated reviews and testimonials to convince dithering customers to commit to a purchase. By sharing customer sentiment in emails or on websites at the point of sale, brands can head off any concerns that shoppers might have with authentic testimonials.
  • The arrival of ecommerce has transformed the way thousands of industries do business
  • From retail and finance to construction and agriculture, more and more businesses are embracing the ecommerce boom
  • Ecommerce is opening up new avenues for businesses all over the world across a variety of industries. Hospitality has a lot to gain from adopting new technology and ecommerce innovations. Use smart tech to help you market experiences. And don’t forget to invest in data and personalization to drive up conversion rates
  • Ecommerce is opening up new avenues for businesses all over the world across a variety of industries. Hospitality has a lot to gain from adopting new technology and ecommerce innovations. Use smart tech to help you market experiences. And don’t forget to invest in data and personalization to drive up conversion rates.
  • Improved customer experience, targeted advertising, streamlined marketing processes — the benefits for brands are almost endless.
  • commerce is opening up new avenues for businesses all over the world across a variety of industries. Hospitality has a lot to gain from adopting new technology and ecommerce innovations. Use smart tech to help you market experiences. And don’t forget to invest in data and personalization to drive up conversion rates
  • Today’s consumers are increasingly demanding a more personalized service in their ecommerce experience.
  • London’s Strand Palace Hotel offers their guests such an experience, with the option of navigating through their restaurant, cafe, lounge, gym and more, all without ever even setting foot in the hotel.
  • VR is already being experimented with by a number of big-name brands.
  • Another innovation offered by ecommerce is selling to segmented buyer personas. These are imagined creations of your most common types of customer, built on consumer data that takes into account how and why they shop with you.
  • This is a useful technique employed by a number of online stores.
  • allowing them to target anyone who abandoned their cart before paying by displaying relevant ads and sending emails with special offers and discounts. By ‘chasing’ consumers as they browse the web, online businesses can ensure that they follow up on any missed sales.
  •  
    This article provides a detailed account of the variety of ways that E-Commerce can be used within the hospitality industry. With the advent of the Internet and new and improved technology, it has become much more imperative for companies to remain competitive in this space. From VR to targeting, as well as online tracking, there are a variety of tools that hospitality firms can employ to attract customers via the Internet. As the Internet is the primary resource that people utilize to shop for hospitality products such as hotel rooms, airfare, etc... it is incredibly important for companies to remain on the cutting edge in regards to their marketing online and attracting and retaining customers.
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  •  
    This article talks about how e commerce is opening up new roads for organizations everywhere throughout the world for many different industries. The hospitality industry has a ton to pick up from embracing new technology and web based innovations such as e commerce. By utilizing such technology, this has helped hotels offer virtual tours, generate more reviews, and create more online businesses by marketing experiences. As applications such as TripAdvisor, Amazon, Expedia and many many more, these have created a more personalized hotel shopping experience and has aided in tracking a traveler's booking journey.
  •  
    E-commerce as a standalone concept is one that has revolutionized all business done throughout the world. However, when it comes to hospitality, it becomes more and more intricate. Innovations within the scope of the hospitality industry have made it very easy to track a potential guest and lead them to our resort/hotel/theme park/restaurant, etc. If a guest is looking for a romantic getaway repeatedly on our site, then we can better tailor a search for them so they can enjoy quality time with each other. This is done through the use of what are called cookies. Cookies are small files that are saved on your browser when you first start searching on any given site. These files allow companies to use target marketing and aim at you, knowing what you like. Another great way that e-commerce has evolved for us here in the hospitality industry is that we can now offer our guests virtual reality tours of our rooms and commodities from the comfort of home. This allows us to show off our properties while the guests decide without having to make the trip beforehand.
  •  
    Applications today has made the hospotality industry florish. It has given the industry several opportunities such as a better hotel shopping experience, selling to buyer personas, tracking buyer history, and virtual reality tour of the hotel.
  •  
    The hospitality industry is faced with numerous responsibilities when it come to the satisfaction of guest. with the tremendous acts of growth within trends it is often difficult for vendors to keep up with the trends. some of the new trends that are being introduced include personalized features which is playing a major role today. Another major trend is now called virtual reality. I think this trend is a great addition to the industry because it allows customers to virtually place the item in their home to see if it fits their style. Also with the pandemic situations with can help with the idea of social distancing .
  •  
    The innovations of e-commerce with application in hospitality is becoming a growth trend for this industry. Many more guests are interested in the experience of personalized attractions and the creativity of what brands has to offer. Many merchants are creating a tool that allows the software to remind shopper/guest about what left in the carts to reduce the number of missed sales.
ldeur001

What is Network Redundancy and Why Does It Matter? - 0 views

  • The underlying concept of redundant networks is simple. Without any backup systems in place, all it takes is one point of failure in a network to disrupt or bring down an entire system. Network redundancy is the process of adding additional instances of network devices and lines of communication to help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure along the critical data path.
  • All valuable data should be backed up regularly, preferably in another location. A good data center location strategy maps out the best places to replicate and store data so it can be easily accessed in the event that other redundant systems fail and the main network goes down. By using more than one data center, companies can ensure that even if some disaster occurs, they will be able to carry on with minimal disruption.
  • Colocation data centers regularly conduct tests to assess the integrity of their backup systems and redundant networks. They can test different connections by physically disconnecting hardware to make sure failover occurs as anticipated. If things do not go as planned during testing, data center managers then create an after-action report that lists the items they need to fix as a result of the testing. They also create a procedure to follow for both automatic and manual flip over. 
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  • For many companies, their networks are the primary point of contact for delivering products and services to their customers.
  • A network outage, then, whether it's caused by equipment failure, an unexpected cyberattack, or some form of human error, can be devastating for a business. Every moment of system downtime translates into very real financial losses in the form of lost revenue, diminished brand reputation, and missed opportunities.
  • Network redundancy is the process of adding additional instances of network devices and lines of communication to help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure along the critical data path.
  • Without any backup systems in place, all it takes is one point of failure in a network to disrupt or bring down an entire system. Redundancy in networks helps to eliminate single points of failure to ensure better network stability and uptime in the face of events that would otherwise take the network offline.
  • fault-tolerant redundant system provides full hardware redundancy, mirroring applications across two or more identical systems that run in tandem.
  • Ideal for any operations in which any amount of downtime is unacceptable
  • A software-based redundant system, high availability uses clusters of servers that monitor one another and have failover protocols in place.
  • there is a brief loss of service while the backup servers boot up applications.
  •  
    Network redundancy is the process of adding network devices and other instances of communication lines to help ensure network availability and reduce the risk of failures on critical data paths. One of the first steps in the network redundancy plan is to create a network strategy that reviews the existing infrastructure. A high-quality hosted data center should have an extensive backup system to ensure that it is always available. All valuable data should be backed up regularly, preferably in another location. By using multiple data centers, companies can ensure that even if certain disasters occur, they will be able to proceed with minimal losses. In addition, a well-maintained UPS system ensures that the server can be switched from power to backup generator power without losing any data or applications.
  •  
    A network outage whether it is due to a cyber attack or simple human error can be devastating to a company. It makes them look very bad, damaging their reputation, and can cost the business millions of dollars. Network Redundancy can help ensure network availability and decrease the risk of failure. There are 2 forms of redundancy. Fault Tolerance where there is a mirrored backup system that takes over with no loss of service, and High Availability where the backup servers take over and restart applications that were running on the failed server.
aquin206

What is Proximity Marketing? How Does it Work? - 0 views

  • Proximity marketing is a marketing technique whereby recipients are targeted with marketing messages based on their vicinity. Simply put, it’s when you send ads to people who are close by your venue
  • WiFi-equipped smartphone these days and logs into public hotspots, meaning that you only need the right software to collect customer data and advertise to them using your guest WiFi.
  • The way it works is that when a customer logs into your guest WiFi network, you collect data about their device (specifically the MAC number of the device), based on which you can “follow” the customer around the venue and later identify them when they return
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  • QR codes
  • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
  • NFC stands for “near field communication
  • pay at the store with your phone
  • QR codes are scannable barcodes
  • 5 proximity marketing technologies you need to know
  • An example would be when you enter a store and get a push notification on your phone with a discount for your shopping, or when you scan a QR code at an event to download promotional materials.
  • How to best use proximity marketing?
  • How does it work?
  • One of the easiest, yet most versatile ways to implement proximity marketing in your venue is to use WiFi.
  • This platform should have indoor positioning features, so that you can easily locate your customers, and WiFi marketing features, so that you can effectively communicate with them when they are nearby.
  • This is a somewhat antiquated method compared to the other ones we’re discussing in this article, but it has its benefits.
  • This solution has been making waves at various conferences and events.
  • it requires extreme proximity (we’re talking millimeter to centimeter range), so it’s less versatile than the other technologies discussed.
  • even though most people can turn on Bluetooth on their devices, they don’t necessarily do that. And even if they do, that’s only half your road to successful marketing with BLE.
  • Similarly to BLE, geofencing with GPS requires the user to turn on the location services on their phone, as well as have a medium of communication with you
  • What is proximity marketing?
  • sales
  • if you notice that someone visited your store several times
  • but never made a purchase, it’s time to act! Pop in their mailbox, offer a discount,
  • loyalty
  • behavior analysis
  • indoor navigation
  • gamification
  •  
    wifi, QR codes, NFC, BLE, GPS
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  •  
    This article discusses how marketing technology is utilized for proximity marketing. By targeting recipients with marketing communications based on their proximity, proximity marketing is a marketing strategy. It uses many technologies, like WiFi, BLE, NFC, or GPS, and can be done for a variety of reasons, including advertising, feedback, and customer service, to deliver advertisements to individuals who are nearby your location. An illustration would be if you scanned a QR code at an event to download promotional materials, or if you entered a business and received a push notification on your phone with a discount for your purchases. One of the simplest and most adaptable methods to use proximity marketing in your venue is through WiFi. You gather information about a customer's device when they sign into your guest WiFi network. Although a fairly outdated technique, QR codes have several advantages. It is incredibly simple, affordable, and quick to install. This compromises its effectiveness, although, for some applications, it will be adequate. The user is directed to a certain website by these scannable barcodes. At numerous conferences and events, the QR code solution has generated a lot of buzzes. Exhibitors utilize it to provide background information about their brand that cannot otherwise be given in the booth because it is so subtle and affordable. You can use your phone or smartwatch to make a purchase at the store using near-field communication (NFC) technology. NFC is less adaptable than the other technologies since it demands close contact and is not as widely used as WiFi or QR code readers. Although it's a less well-known technology, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) access points perform similarly to WiFi access points. Although the majority of individuals can enable Bluetooth on their devices, they don't always do so. However, you need a medium, such as an app that they have downloaded, and you need to put BLE beacons at your location to communicate with g
  •  
    This article discusses how marketing technology is utilized for proximity marketing. By targeting recipients with marketing communications based on their proximity, proximity marketing is a marketing strategy. It uses many technologies, like WiFi, BLE, NFC, or GPS, and can be done for a variety of reasons, including advertising, feedback, and customer service, to deliver advertisements to individuals who are nearby your location. An illustration would be if you scanned a QR code at an event to download promotional materials, or if you entered a business and received a push notification on your phone with a discount for your purchases. One of the simplest and most adaptable methods to use proximity marketing in your venue is through WiFi. You gather information about a customer's device when they sign into your guest WiFi network. Although a fairly outdated technique, QR codes have several advantages. It is incredibly simple, affordable, and quick to install. This compromises its effectiveness, although, for some applications, it will be adequate. The user is directed to a certain website by these scannable barcodes. At numerous conferences and events, the QR code solution has generated a lot of buzzes. Exhibitors utilize it to provide background information about their brand that cannot otherwise be given in the booth because it is so subtle and affordable. You can use your phone or smartwatch to make a purchase at the store using near-field communication (NFC) technology. NFC is less adaptable than the other technologies since it demands close contact and is not as widely used as WiFi or QR code readers. Although it's a less well-known technology, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) access points perform similarly to WiFi access points. Although the majority of individuals can enable Bluetooth on their devices, they don't always do so. However, you need a medium, such as an app that they have downloaded, and you need to put BLE beacons at your location to communicate with g
  •  
    This article explains what proximity marketing is and five different ways it is used through. Proximity marketing is used through WIFI, QR Codes, NFC (near field communication), BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Beacons, and GPS. In addition to going in detail about all those, this article also explains how proximity marketing helps the company. It can help by boosting sales, retargeting, building loyalty, behavior analysis, indoor navigation and gamification.
mayr0604

10 Event Apps Every Event Planner Needs - 0 views

  • We’ve put together a list of 10 apps that every event planner needs to stay afloat.
  • . Evernote 
  • Think of this Evernote as your mobile filing event app; organize your venue research notes, coordinate travel itineraries, and quickly share notes with members of your team
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  • Boomset
  • Easily check attendees in with their QR scanner. Event organizers can also use this event app to print badges, or create wristbands. It also has integrations with other event management platforms so that event registration is as painless for organizers as possible. (click to tweet)
  • Bizzabo 
  • Use the Bizzabo platform to manage all aspects of your event.
  • Heytell -
  • Blend old school cool with new school tech with Heytell, an app that turns your smartphone into a walkie-talkie. When you need something even snappier than texting or email, get the app, choose a contact and start talking. Over! (click to tweet)
  • ScannerPro 
  • This system allows you to scan documents with a snapshot, convert them to PDFs and email them right away. (click to tweet)
  • Dropbox -
  • Store all your paperless goodies with Dropbox to access it from any device and even edit on the spot. (click to tweet)
  • Hootsuite 
  • o easily manage all your social channels, use Hootsuite to create streams and stay up to speed with the buzz surrounding the event content.
  • - Managing real life and conference life can be overwhelming. An app like 24me can help you manage your day-to-day responsibilities outside of the workplace with a smart calendar and automated to-do list. Reminders to pay your bills and wish your Aunt Martha a Happy Birthday can be real lifesavers, especially when you’re super stressed with an event around the corner. (
  • 8. 24me 
  • . Asana -
  • Keep track of all the details and orchestrate teamwork directly from your phone while creating a good workflow amongst those assisting you.
  • 10.Super Planner 
  • Super Planner offers calculators for venue capacity, staffing, and catering to avoid these kinds of issues. Use this app to stay on budget and execute all the details to perfection. (click to tweet)
  •  
    The following article details the top 10 apps for Event Planners in 2015. These apps incorporate social media, financial planning and event success rates all in one. 
avila031

3 Reasons Why Payment Security Should be the #1 Concern at Your Hotel - 1 views

  • the hospitality industry is the number 1 target for cyber criminals.
  • Most breaches in hospitality target the POS (91%), but other targets can include reservations procedures and unsecure integrations between software applications.
  • you are a potential target for hackers.
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  • Experiencing a data breach could cost your hotel an excess of $5 million dollars.
  • These are three simple reasons why payment security should be a top concern at your hotel. There are ways to minimize, or even eliminate, the risk of data breaches. First, make payment security a priority for every department of your hotel, not just the IT department. Ensure that all employees understand the risks involved with improper handling of credit cards through training and education.
  •  
    Although the article title says three reasons why payment security should be the number one concern at your hotel it goes into much more detail than three reasons. It truly explains all of the reasons to take PCI seriously. The hospitality industry is the number one target, it can cost you millions of dollars, most breaches occur in the pos system one of the most common systems in the hospitality industry. It also provides suggested solutions such as making sure not just IT is in charge of security, properly training staff, use encryption software, and staying educated on the subject.
anonymous

HITEC Wrapup - Guestroom Energy Management Innovations Grab Most Attention :: Hospitali... - 0 views

  • The following is a summary of the HITEC announcements having some type of “green” connection:
  • INNcontrol 5 energy management and guestroom automation control system.
  • INNcontrol 5 gives hotel operators better insight on how to optimize energy use by generating historical trend reports on room usage, seasonal fluctuations and other factors.
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  • The INNcontrol 5 system provides the open data exchange platform for Internet of Things (IoT) integration with centralized electronic locks, property management systems, in-room entertainment and other systems. INNcontrol 5 is also an entry point for consolidated Alexa voice control of compatible HVAC lighting, drapery and, amenity controls.
  • Honeywell also debuted and demonstrated its new Spectre guestroom solution that merges smart thermostat technology with guestroom lighting controls. Spectre combines Honeywell’s e7 occupancy-detection wireless thermostat with intelligent, programmable wall outlets and lights to extend energy savings to guestroom lighting. The thermostat senses when guests enter the room and instantly communicates with lighting controls via a 2.4GHz RF to activate a “welcome” environment. When the room is unoccupied, the lights and outlets are turned off within a 30-minute time period to save energy.
  • For hotel owners, the data and analytics supported by Honeywell Sentience and displayed in INNcontrol 5 helps make properties more energy efficient. For operators, artificial intelligence enabled by Honeywell Sentience can predict heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning problems before they occur.
  • Telkonet, Inc., creator of the EcoSmart platform of intelligent automation solutions, announced the release of its Symphony commercial IoT platform. Some of the key highlights of Symphony’s capabilities include the ability to see all room devices, including door locks, lighting, mini bars, shades, etc.
  • Just prior to HITEC, SONIFI Solutions announced a collaboration with Telkonet, Inc. to make hotel rooms smarter and more connected, by combining energy management solutions with in-room guest entertainment systems. Guests have the ability to change in-room environmental settings via SONIFI’s STAY Interactive Television interface.
  • Evolve’s New Evolve Guest Interface
  • a simple, yet powerful device that enables guests to control in-room climate, lighting, shading and drapery, as well as other functions to increase efficiencies for both guests and staff.
  • The eGI consolidates devices such as the guest-controlled thermostat, special devices for lighting and shading control, IoT gateway, USB charger, alarm clock, and platform for Guest Services applications—all within the device.
  • CIRQ+ & Its ‘Smart Room for Smart Guests
  • Mode:Green, a company focused on hospitality, specializing in technologies, including: HVAC, lighting, video surveillance systems, television, audio and voice on demand, motorized shading, Wi-Fi and networking, door locks, and more.
  • Verdant EI Energy Management
  • The system continuously analyzes changing conditions in each room—occupancy, temperature, humidity, weather, etc. and adapts in real time.
  • When hoteliers subscribe to Verdant EI, a dedicated energy management expert is assigned to the property with a simple goal in mind: monitor the Verdant system 24/7 and maximize energy savings.
  • Amana expanded on its guestroom energy management system with its new DigiWatt system that can control virtually any electrical circuit in a hotel room. Using a DigiSmart occupancy sensor to determine if a room is unoccupied, the system can shut off power to virtually any 115 volt non-critical electrical circuit(s) that are predetermined during design and construction.
  • INTEREL’S Guest Room Management Solutions
  • The Water Management System delivers precise digital water controls and enables the property or brand to set water flow and temperature policies. Guests can control multiple water outlets through one touch panel.
  • Site 1001 can monitor a building’s water supply system and warn when it detects a leak or conditions favorable to bacterial, viral or parasitic agents.
  • wireless control of temperature; smart LED light; instant-on alarm clock; Wi-Fi (ZigBee, Zwave); thermal occupancy sensor; Bluetooth speaker and Hi-Fi audio; 120 V AC and USB 2.1A charging plugs with optional (Qi) wireless charging; hotel services; and more.
  • AspirEnergy, an energy solutions company, was on hand to help commercial properties increase long-term value by reducing operating costs through sustainable solutions. AspirEnergy offers many services—ranging from lighting retrofits to energy management systems to assistance with renewable energy systems and energy procurement.
  • Coway USA, Inc. its Airmega and Aquamega air and water filtration systems. The Airmega includes a pollution sensor to show the air quality in real time.
  • When the air quality in the room remains good for 10 minutes or more in Smart Mode, Airmega conserves energy by shutting down the fan.
kakaboshi

Those Tiny Hotel Toiletry Bottles Are on Their Way Out - The New York Times - 1 views

  • In what might become the first such state law of its kind, a bill, A.B. 1162, is making its way through the California Legislature that aims to scrap the tiny single-use plastic bottles at hotels and other hospitality establishments. It was passed in the Assembly last week, and has moved to the Senate for committee examination.
  • “The goal is really to start to phase out single-use plastics in our state in general,”
  • “This is really low-hanging fruit because the industry is already moving in that direction.”
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  • The city council of Orlando, Fla., on Monday approved a partial ban on straws and bags, and last month, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, banned plastic bags starting from next year.
  • In March, lawmakers in New York agreed on a statewide ban on most types of single-use plastic bags from retail sales, making it the second state to do so after California, which has been at the national forefront of legislative action to ban plastics clogging shorelines.
  • In 2016, the world generated 242 million tons of plastic waste, according to the World Bank. North America, which it defines as Bermuda, Canada and the United States, is the third largest producer of plastic waste, totaling more than 35 million tons.
  • The California bill says that from the start of 2023, lodging establishments with more than 50 rooms would be prohibited from providing a small plastic bottle containing a personal care product in a bathroom or sleeping room. Establishments with 50 rooms or fewer would have until Jan. 1, 2024.
  • The California Hotel & Lodging Association had pushed for an extension of the deadline to make it easier for hotels to comply.
  • He estimated it could cost about $70 for each of the 500,000 hotel rooms in California to be transformed to accommodate multi-use dispensers.
  • Generally, hotels and hospitality organizations assume guests will nick toiletries. But if they don’t disappear from rooms, bottles left behind are often repurposed.
  • Some donate extras to homeless shelters or other organizations helping people in need.
  • “In one month alone, this can amount to over 380 pounds of toiletries diverted from the landfill and sent to those in need,” the hotel says.
  • InterContinental Hotels Group said last year that it would remove plastic straws from more than 5,400 hotels in nearly 100 countries by the end of 2019 and introduce bulk bathroom amenities at some of its brands.
  • Some hotels work with Clean the World, an organization in Orlando, Fla., that recycles soaps and leftover plastic bottles collected through its partnerships with 8,000 establishments.
  • Like grocery bags and straws, the miniature bottles of toiletries and cosmetics that many guests swipe from hotels are in the sights of legislators and hotel establishments who are trying to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste.
  •  
    This is a smart move, both from a environmental and a cost cutting perspective as refillable containers will likely reduce costs over the long run. Marriott has been looking at replacing this process for years (Marriott Banning Little Shampoo Bottles By 2020 Associated Press - https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/marriott-banning-little-shampoo-bottles-2020-n1047116) However, even Marriott admits that it doesn't have the process right yet. There will be a significant impact to smaller operators whom 1) Will be challenged with an additional increase in cost for new dispensary options 2) Have less access to big brand economy of scale purchasing which specialized dispensary products will require. Though this is as a policy almost a foregone conclusion, there seems little doubt that extensive thought has to be put into the impact on operators as a whole, and the customer made cognizant of the fact that costs will rise due to this change.
mfont039

The 29 Best Event Management Tools for Event Planners - 1 views

  • increases attendance by 20%, productivity by 27%, and profit margin by 20-30% on average.
  • Capterra,
  • Event management tools are a topic we love talking about. Mainly because experiential marketing stats show that the use of event management software
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  • top event planning tools based on reviews from real users
  • Case studies and peer reviews are your best friend during this process.
  • Look for prices that are clearly stated or easy to obtain.
  • The tool is easy to use.
  • here are some online event management systems with reliable rave reviews, free or defined pricing structures, and user-friendly features to kick start your event planning process.
  • Cvent
  • Cvent’s event management platform automates and simplifies the entire planning process. Start with sourcing your venue and end with custom dashboards and reports after your event.
  • Social Tables
  • Social Tables brings you the best of venue sourcing, event diagramming, guest management, and check-in. The free event planning tools let you create to-scale diagrams in minutes. You can map out all the smallest details and share them with venues, clients, and collaborators. In addition, Social Tables helps you manage guests — from VIPs to special meal requests — and visually seat them in diagrams.Social Tables also creates award-winning platforms for hotels and venues, including CRM Software, Event Sales, and Event Services platforms.
  • Tripleseat
  • Tripleseat is the best event planning software for unique event venues. It’s a web app for sales and event management built mainly for restaurants, hotels, and venues.
  • You’re able to capture event leads, convert leads to bookings, create contracts and BEOs, and more. For event pros who are crazy about data, Tripleseat also gives you many reporting options to measure ROI.
  • Regpack
  • Use Regpack to customize registration forms and create unlimited attendee types. You can check in guests with a mobile device or let them check themselves in. You can even embed the software on your website’s sign-up page.
  • Event Mobi
  • Well-known enterprises like Intel, Motorola, IBM, and Johnson Johnson use Event Mobi. This event management tool lets you engage with guests before, during, and after the event.
  • Member Solutions
  • Member Solutions was originally created to process membership registrations, so it’s popular among fitness studios. Since it was founded in 1991, it has expanded to include various tools for planning events.
  • Caterease
  • Caterease simplified the catering portion of event planning. With Caterease, you can create visual menus for guests.
  • Fonteva
  • Fonteva lets you manage an unlimited number of events with a single annual fee. This service is especially popular in the hospitality industry. Westin Hotel, in fact, is one of its regular users.
  • . Hubb
  • If you’re a corporate conference manager, it might feel like you’re always chasing down programming info for your event.
  • Momice
  • Momice is an all-in-one event software that handles everything from registration to website building to event statistics.
  • DoubleDutch
  • DoubleDutch is all about community building. Their four-pronged strategy consists of designing delightful attendee experiences, future-proofing events themselves, facilitating high-volume event planning, and leveraging a network of partners.
  •  
    As a full time event planner I have learned that softwares are the best tool to have when working on this industry. The reason why I wanted to share this article is because I learned about so many software that I didnñt knew before and feel that they work great or at least look amazingly well equipt.
  •  
    This article provides a list of the best event software systems that are used by companies such as Hilton, Marriott, Westin, Johnson & Johnson for event planning. In the case of hotels, some of these event planning tools such as Cvent & Tripleseat can also be used to receive leads that can be turned into bookings should the client accept the rate at which the RFP has been submitted by the venue.
danakissane01

Robotic Technology and AI Revitalize the Hotel Experience | TravelPulse - 0 views

  • Research by Gartner shows that customer experience drives over two-thirds of customer loyalty. Investing in the right technologies now can ensure guests feel safe and comfortable while staying at a hotel this year.
  • Hotels, such as Hotel Sky in Johannesburg, are using automated attendants to serve guests, from checking in to porting luggage to their rooms. Aside from assisting guests with tasks, these robots can also scan facial expressions to measure the sentiment of guests’ experiences.Self-service kiosks, similar to those available in airports, can also give guests control over their interactions, recognize their loyalty preferences and offer them an efficient and easy way to check-in.
  • Hotels like Hilton use a robot concierge service to offer recommendations, directions and hotel information. Mobile apps can also allow guests to skip the lines, offering an efficient but still personalized experience.
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  • When a returning loyalty member checks in, the room can automatically be set to their preferred temperature, play their favorite music and have the curtains wide open to enjoy the top-floor view, just as they like. Using AI and voice technology via in-room assistants further enhances the experience, enabling guests to manage their environments completely hands-free and avoid various touchpoints like the thermostat, light switches and the remote.
  • AI can also provide guests with the option to make requests for towels, pillows or food to be delivered to their rooms, outside the door without human contact. The Mercantile New Orleans uses a robot butler to deliver snacks, coffee or the morning newspaper to guests.
  • A recent AHLA survey found that 62 percent of guests consider cleanliness and safety protocols as their number two priority when choosing a hotel, compared to 38 percent of guests pre-COVID. Because of this, it is inherent upon hotels to implement new health and safety measures.
  • Verified Market Research, the market for UV disinfecting bots will grow to more than $5.5 billion by 2027.
  •  
    This article explain how different hotels are using robotic technology to help serve the hotels guests and help hotel staff.
anonymous

Hotels Remain a Prime Target for Hackers - Security Boulevard - 0 views

  • Two years ago, in its “Hotels Outlook Report 2018-2022,” PWC found that hotels are a favorite target for hackers, with the hospitality industry having the second-highest breach numbers after the retail sector
  • . The same report found that 74% of hotels lacked breach protection
  • In 2018, hackers attempted to access Marriott International’s Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide guest reservation database. In the same year, the Radisson Hotel Group identified a breach affecting Radisson Rewards members
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  • These breaches can also be costly, with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fining Marriott $23.8 million for the Starwood breach.
  • Today, close to 50% of all bookings happen through online travel agencies or online channels, with the share of offline bookings dropping every year.
  • For hotels, the information is exchanged between the payment gateway, the OTA, the intermediary and its central reservations system (CRS
  • These multiple data exchanges among partners leave the data that much more susceptible to breaches
  • , as not all providers have the same security standards.
  • First, they should reduce the temptation to focus on standalone point solutions
  • Instead, they should look at technology providers that help in securing the entire data value chain by focusing on having a security framework that stops data from moving outside of the country (which is where it is typically misused
  • Second, hotels should know the storage practices and policies of all providers, insisting on a zero percent storage rate to reduce the chance of personal data getting expos
  • Similarly, hotels should make sure that partners do not store any credit card information locally, which will reduce the risk of exposure
  • lso, with most companies using some form of cloud infrastructure, hotels should know the structure used by any partner (private, hybrid, public) as well as what protections are in place
  • They will also be taking an important step in protecting their brand identity, as brand will be essential as the recovery from the COVID-19 fallout continues
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    This article points out that hotels are still a huge target for hackers. Hotels need to make sure they reduce the temptation on standalone point solutions. Hotels should focus on having a security framework that stops data from moving outside of he country. To limit hacking as well, hotels should not store information locally. It was surprising to read that 74% of hotels lacked breach protection.
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