Skip to main content

Home/ Hospitality Technology/ Group items tagged usability

Rss Feed Group items tagged

marble_bird

ContentServer.pdf - 0 views

shared by marble_bird on 07 Jul 20 - No Cached
  • The development of technology has made it easier for the traveller to book hotel rooms by the website. The number of online websites that provide services for the hospitality industry is on the rise.
  • According to Quinby and Jain (2012) (which research the OTA market in Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand), the Asia Pacific’s online travel booking on 2011 is estimated to be US$ 1,6 billion/year and predicted to rise 30% to 40% on the next periods
  • In the hotel industry, the internet has had a big impact on the evaluation of the distribution channel, which pushed the industry from a traditional operation (offline) to an online operation system
  • ...22 more annotations...
  • The use of the internet has changed the hospitality industry by helping organize, promote and market tourism products and services, as well as helping communication, online transaction, and distribution systems for hoteliers and consumers
  • With the growing number of hotels in Indonesia, the number of online websites which offer hotel rooms also increases.
  • this study examines the process of online hotel decision making by focusing on the effect of website quality on the customers’ e-Trust.
  • The two key issues we wish to examine are: (1) whether customer’s perception of the website’s usability influenced e-Trust; and (2) whether customer’s perception of the website’s ease of use influenced their e-Trust.
  • Nowadays there are more travellers than ever that search the internet medium for information of the tourist destination and the process of booking the trip, as evidenced by the increase of information access through the search engine and social media and also online hotel booking
  • A hotel’s website is not only an information channel but also a trading form, where it not only provides news and data, creates a brand image but also works
  • as a sale tool. But this ease does not come without a weakness. Communication by the internet creates uncertainty and risks have become an intrinsic attribute of e-commerce from them complexity and anonymity of online purchase.
  • A good website must be easy to use, understandable, and navigate well (Aziz, 2014). The easiness of using the website’s features can influence the customer’s interest in using the online service and push their booking intention
  • Because OTAs are such an important channel for hotel distribution, the industry should pay close attention to the way hotels are presented on OTA web pages.
  • The level of usability of a website will determine whether a user will stay or leave to find another website
  • website quality becomes the main factor in e-commerce because the perception of the website quality will trigger the customers’ purchase intention directly.
  • The ZEN Rooms website effectively delivers information and adopted a good interaction design to make sure consumers can easily navigate the website and find useful information.
  • Usability refers to whether a hotel’ s website can provide sufficient information about the product and the service, while ease of use showed the level of which a hotel’s website is easy to navigate and customer-friendly.
  • e-Trust is the consumer’s trust or confidence that the seller will not abuse the consumer’s vulnerability .
  • Sparks and Browning (2011) found that consumers depended on the easiness of information processing while evaluating a hotel based on online reviews.
  • risk-taking behaviour based on consumer’s positive expectations of a hotel’s website was called e-Trust. E-Trust plays an important role in online booking because of the risk that comes with online service
  • A hotel’s website that has good usability has a significant result on the consumer’s e-Trust. This finding is in line with previous study from Bai et al. (2008) and Wang et al. (2015) which also stated the significant impact between the usability variable towards online booking intention, where the higher a website’s usability was, it automatically affected customer’s e-Trust and willingness to make an online hotel booking.
  • The effect of usability of the website and ease of use of the website on e-Trust among participants of this research is elaborated upon in Table 1. The data in this table display the outcomes of a multiple linear regression analysis.
  • The other variable in this study, which is the ease of use, did not have any significant result on consumer’s e-Trust. This finding is different from previous studies conducted by Shen and Chiou (2010) and Venkatesh and Agarwal (2006) which stated that a website’s ease of use could help consumer’s online booking intention.
  • There is no significant impact between genders and e-Trust. The findings of this research propose that gender does not play a significant role in the attention of guests toward e-Trust and both genders are highly confident of having online booking purchase of hotel rooms.
  • The current study is not without limitation, such as the scope of the research. Future studies could conduct similar research but through a mobile application instead of the website. The internet keeps developing and there are changing platforms from website to mobile application so the use of mobile in the hotel industry is unsurprising and expected
  • The importance of having information towards the relationship between a website’s usability and consumer’s e-Trust is essential to help maintain the attributes of a website’s quality to keep consumer’s e-Trust of the hotel.
  •  
    This article covers an Indonesian study performed to study factors that influence online bookings of consumers. The main factors considered in the study were the perceived usability of the website and the ease of use. The study found that perceived usability influenced the decisions of the consumer, while the actual ease of use did not.
Hanlu Hu

E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry | The Moscow Times - 6 views

  • E-commerce has been defined as "the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the Internet."
  • Accelerating Internet usage worldwide The Internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel Most travelers research hotel reservations on the Internet Social media and online hotel reviews are an increasingly important decision factor The web is the preferred media source for travel information, favored 17:1 over television and 6:1 over newspapers and magazines.
  • Adding real time search functionality to your site, capability to generate user reviews, launching contests helps to build fresh content and quality links
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Heavy graphics, animation and flash demos cause your site to perform slowly. Sites that are built keeping these guidelines in mind will deliver better user experiences, will perform better on search engines, and ultimately drive higher ROI.
  • As things stand now, mobile queries represent about 10% of all queries made on Google. People are using mobile devices to conduct searches, as well as share content, connect with friends and browse the web
  • Embracing social media. 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence. 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites. A well-planned social initiative can turn fans into brand evangelists.
  • The Internet has consolidated itself as a very powerful platform that has changed the way we communicate, and the way we do business.
  • The growing importance of e-commerce in the modern hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple solutions to manage companies' online presence. Now that each hotel is involved in e-commerce, why is hotel e-commerce so important today?
  • We forget that the human brain can only consume limited information. It is important to take a holistic approach and prioritize information. Good web site architecture and organized content improves site usability and its efficiency when used with search engines.
    • yan xie
       
      It is true that we always forge how many information the human brain will take at once. Although the e-commerce is the good way for customers to know the new products and new service from the hotels, sometimes the hotels provide so much information to customers. It lets customers confused and does not know what the specifice products can meet their requirements. And sometimes, they feel some hard to understand your service so that they give up hotels service or new products to choose the one they are familiar. So how to make e-commerce usability and efficiency is a new point, which the hospitality industry company need to consider.
  • make sure your ad groups are made up of tightly knit keyword themes and that those keywords are reflected in your ad copy; ensure that your landing pages clearly reflect the offer promoted in the ad copy and includes clear calls to action and conversion factors.
    • yan xie
       
      As the point two mentioned, the customers cannot get so many information at once, and they also cannot search lots of information at once. So the keyword themes is also another important thing for company to do the promotion and ads. This ads need to have the keywords to clearly reflect the offer promoted for customers. In this way, the customers will catch the information as possible as they can.
  • Top e-commerce sites are continually testing new things. It's the only way to achieve continual improvement.
    • yan xie
       
      To do the continually testing new things is always a best development way for the developing company. If the company cannot test the new things in their e-commerce sites and e-commerce process, the e-commerce of this company will be far away from other companies. Company need to have the innovation to make some new things for their e-commerce and do the test all the time to select the best way for the business and customers' expericence.
  • hospitality industry has always been among the first to capitalize on new technologies
  •  
    The hospitality industry along with the resourcefulness of the Internet has allowed the Russian hospitality industry to benefit and grow with the technology of e-commerce. E-commerce is defined as "the buying and selling of products and service by businesses and consumers over the Internet". This technology is significant due to its beneficial factors of lowering costs, accessibility, decision-making, and media exposure. As well, the article provides for methods and advice regards effective strategies to utilize the Internet. Primarily, the speed of the website's functionality is essential, along with providing compatibility of browsers, thus, allowing for a better experience for users. The information in the website should be efficient, allowing for real time search whether using a mobile phone or a computer. It was informative to read the multiple functionality, that social media is playing in the hospitality industry regards the exposure and marketability. E-commerce has change the market of goods and services, from a tangible experience to digital experience, through the use of online shopping estimated at $228 Billion in 2010, a third derived from the purchase of travel and flight websites, thus, demonstrating the importance of the Internet in relation to consumerism.
  • ...7 more comments...
  •  
    This article talks about why hotel E-commerce is essential today and how to go about having E-commerce work for your business/hotel. The article says, "The internet has consolidated itself as a very powerful platform that has changed he way we communicate, and the way we do business." This is the reason why businesses need to utilize the internet. According to the article these are the reasons that hotel e-commerce is important today: the internet is being used worldwide, the internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking medium, the internet is used, by travelers, to research hotels and their reservations, the internet is the home of social media and hotel reviews and the internet is preferred 17:1 over television and 6:1 over newspapers and magazines for travel information. It would be at a hotel's detriment if they do not utilize the internet and e-commerce. It isn't enough to use e-commerce for business but there must be an upkeep. It is extremely beneficial to research or monitor how customers and potential consumers are seeking information and what attracts them to a site. According to the article, e-commerce strategies that would 'help get the best from the internet world' are: 1. Search-friendly website design 2. Improving Conversion and Usability 3. Paid Search 4. Real time Search 5. Mobile Device Market 6. Social Media 7. Testing
  •  
    This article mentioned why the ecommerce important for the hospitality industry. And also there are more things they hospitality industry companies need to know. Although the e-commerce is the good way for customers to know the new products and new service from the hotels, sometimes the hotels provide so much information to customers. It lets customers confused and does not know what the specific products can meet their requirements. And sometimes, they feel some hard to understand your service so that they give up hotels service or new products to choose the one they are familiar. So how to make e-commerce usability and efficiency is a new point, which the hospitality industry company need to consider. As the point two mentioned, the customers cannot get so many information at once, and they cannot search lots of information at once. So the keyword themes is also another important thing for company to do the promotion and ads. This ads need to have the keywords to clearly reflect the offer promoted for customers. In this way, the customers will catch the information as possible as they can. It is true that we always forge how many information the human brain will take at once. To do the continually testing new things is always a best development way for the developing company. If the company cannot test the new things in their e-commerce sites and e-commerce process, the e-commerce of this company will be far away from other companies. Company need to have the innovation to make some new things for their e-commerce and do the test all the time to select the best way for the business and customers' experience.
  •  
    This article discusses about the application of e-commerce in hospitality industry. Internet has become a very powerful tool for customers when they are planing their travels. As the same time, it has become an important media for hotelierss to improve their businesses. Internet can provider a lot of online sources to customers when they make any dicisions. And how to make your web site become more competitive and attract more customers is the topic of this article. First of all, a good design for the web site is the most important thing for hotelierss. And the download speed is the basic factor. Quick download speed brings a good experience to users, and improves the ranking in organic search. Secondly, improving usability needs to be focused on by hotelierss. Large imformation may not be took in by users. You need to make your customers seethe most important information first. In other word, you need to prioritize your web site and make the imformation more understood. Paid search and real time search are also focused on by the author. Sometimes, paid search can make your hotel more compelling on the search engine. And some tips have been given in this articel to help the hotelierss to maximize conversions. Real time search is similar with paid search, and it needs compelling fresh content and quality incoming links on the web site. Maps, photo galleries, videos and press releases are creative ways to distrivute content on different channels. With more mobiles customers using, mobile represent about 10% of all queries make on Google. Hotels can exand the mobile market and improve the download speed of their site by avoid heavy graphics and flash, making their site is mobile compatible. Social media is in the same condition with mobile. Customers need more connections on social sites, so they want companies to interact with them through the social media. The last point is testing. Every new thing needs a lot of tests. It can provides changes and improvement for
  •  
    The article discusses power of internet and how different it is from magazine and television ads. "In terms of time your travel websites are available for are accessible for a longer period of time, the flexibility that the content can be changed without asking someone,if you have a content management system." Also travel websites will help your business potentially reach a wider audience. Another big advantage of having a travel website is it's availability even when your business is closed or no one is available to answer your phone. Everyone knows that there are so many time zones, and the visitors can come from any part of the world. So having a travel websites gives your travel business visibility for all 365 days of year 24x7.
  •  
    In hospitality industry, customers are constantly seeking new sources of information to help them make decisions before purchasing services. E-commerce in hospitality industry is about the online buying and selling services. And it's become such an important source for the company and customer. Hospitality businesses are all involved in the trend. Smart hoteliers need to keep a sharp focus on the fundamental shift in ways customers are seeking information and channels that drive maximum return on investment. This article listed several basic e-commerce strategies that will help hoteliers to get the best from the Internet world.
  •  
    As new technological advances are being made, the hospitality industry has always been among the first to capitalize on new technologies. The term e-commerce has been defined as the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the internet. Now that hotels are involved directly with e-commerce it becomes even more important today because of the accelerating internet usage worldwide,the internet is still the lowest cost channel for booking, many travelers make their travel decisions via the internet. Embracing social media, 93% of social media users expect companies to have a social presence and 85% of social media users want comoanies to interact with them on social sites. A well-planned social iniative can turn fans into brand evangelists. This article dealt mainly with a brief introduction of what e-commerce is in terms of its defining and what it means to the hospitality industry. With more and more people utilizing the internet each day, the potential to have a person book a hotel room greatly increases. Several search engines have advertisements relating to many hotel companies offering specials and customers will see these ads and book. With more technological advances bound to come into play, its only a matter of time before the practice of e-commerce is taken to another level.
  •  
    Over the last decade the population of Internet users has increased rapidly. The hospitality industry has always been among the first to capitalize on new technologies. E-commerce has been defined as "the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the Internet." With hotel e-commerce, the landscape of the hospitality industry is forever changed. Online sales are an important part of the business. The growing importance of e-commerce in the modern hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple solutions to manage companies' online presence. Now that each hotel is involved in e-commerce, reasons why is hotel e-commerce so important today may because the accelerating internet usage worldwide, the Internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel, and social media and online hotel reviews are an increasingly important decision factor.
  •  
    E-commerce has become more and more important in our daily life, because many customers today prefer to use internet to help them make decisions. In hospitality industry, e-commerce also plays an important role, as internet is a very cheap and convenient booking channel and many people use the internet intensively. There are many e-commerce strategies for hoteliers, such as making friendly web site design, embracing social media, etc. As e-commerce has so many advantages, I think e-commerce is an opportunity for hoteliers to grasp. It is important for hoteliers to use different strategies to get the best from the internet world.
  •  
        This article introduced the function of ecommerce and the ecommerce effect for the hospitality industry. The author listed some important reasons about why hotel ecommerce is so important:1)Accelerating Internet usage worldwide.2)The Internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel. 3) Most travelers research hotel reservations on the Internet. 4)Social media and online hotel reviews are an increasingly important decision factor. 5) The web is the preferred media source for travel information, favored 17:1 over television and 6:1 over newspapers and magazines. This article also listed some basic e-commerce strategies that will help hoteliers to take advantage of ecommerce from the Internet world. 1) Search-friendly web site design.2) Improve conversion and usability 3) Paid search. 4) Real time search - natural ranking.5) Mobile.6) Embracing social media. 7) Test, test, test. Top e-commerce sites are continually testing new things.      In a summary, the author suggest smart hoteliers need to keep a sharp focus on the fundamental shift in ways customers are seeking information and channels that drive maximum return on investment. Moreover, hoteliers have to constantly learn and look for ways to harness the power of new developments and trends.
ravicka

E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry | News | The Moscow Times - 0 views

  • a list of the basic e-commerce strategies that will help to get the best from the Internet world.
  • Site download speed is one of the most important ranking factors in organic search.
  • We forget that the human brain can only consume limited information.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • ensure that your landing pages clearly reflect the offer promoted in the ad copy and includes clear calls to action and conversion factors.
  • Maps, photo galleries, videos and press releases are creative ways to distribute content on different channels.
  • 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence. 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites.
  • changing one word in a headline increased sales over 3 times
  • Search-friendly web site design
  • Improve conversion and usability. With the increasing volume of information that hoteliers are trying to provide travelers, it is key for hotels to focus on usability and conversion.
  • Paid search. This instantly drives targeted, qualified traffic to the web site and increases conversions.
  • Real time search — natural ranking. Building strong sites with compelling fresh content, and quality incoming links will always be essential for any site.
  • Hotels can leverage the mobile market by optimizing their site for mobile phones, improving the download speed of their site by avoiding heavy graphics and flash, making sure their site is mobile compatible, and promoting mobile sites across all platforms including paid, social and local.
  • Embracing social media.
  • A well-planned social initiative can turn fans into brand evangelists.
  • Hoteliers need to ensure that they are using the full potential of the Internet.
  •  
    With the rapid growth and increased use of the Internet over the past 2 decades, industry professional Andrey Smirnov gives 7 tips to other industry leaders on maximizing their presence in e-commerce and in consumer minds: (1) make your website quick to download and easy to find; (2) organize content by prioritizing information; (3) when offering promotions, clearly reflect it with a call to action; (4) distribute 'fresh' content on different channels (i.e., photo galleries, press releases, etc.); (5) maximize on mobile marketing; (6) embrace social media; and (7) continually improve by testing new things.
  •  
    The internet is constantly changing, the way we communicate and they way we do business. The hospitality industry is always quick to capitalize on new technologies. However, the e-commerce growth in the hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple changes to companies' presence online. So when every hotel is involved in e-commerce, why is it so important today? It is simple. Today, the internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel. As well as now, most travelers are searching and making hotel reservations online. Lastly, social media and online hotel reviews are increasing and have made an important decision factor. Now, hoteliers need to keep focus on what information customers are seeking and what they are looking for online. There are a few basic strategies that will help drive usage from the internet world. Some of those are: vave a search-friendly website, focus on usability and conversation taking a holistic approach and prioritize information, and lastly make websites compatible for mobile phones. If hoteliers can use the full potential of the internet, they will maximize their return on investment in e-commerce. The hospitality industry needs to constantly learn and look for ways to use the new developments and trends.
  •  
    Andrey Smirnov in his article "E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry highlights how the internet has changed the way business is done not only in the hospitality industry but as a whole. He stresses the importance of e-commerce in the hospitatlity industry and why hoteliers must utilise strategies to ensure they make the most of the marketing and sales opportunties the internet provides. There are a few things that hoteliers must do to make the most of what the internet provides. They include: (1) Search Friendly Website Design - "site download speed is one of the most important ranking factors in organic search" says Smirnov therfore hoteliers must ensure that their site is properly designed and compatible across any browser, any items that causes the site to perform poorly shoud be eliminated as internet users similar to hotel guests tend to only visit sites where they can receive the best experience yet. (2) Improve conversion and Usability - content on website must be properly organised and users must not be bombaded by information. (3)Search - Hoteliers must focus on Paid searches as well as Real time search to increase traffic. Paid searches ensure that your targeted traffic are directed right to you. Whereas with a great web design with strong content that is also timely the natural ranking of the oranisation website can be increased thus increasing tracffic to it. (4)Mobile - Mobile devices have become a popular means of conducting e-business related activities for consumers therefore the hotel that ensures that their online services are accessible from mobile devices will be putting themselves ahead of the game. (5) Embracing Social Media - According to Smirnov 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence and 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites. With this being said one can see why a social media presence is one that cannot be overlooked. It is important that co
Minghui Zheng

Top 10 eCommerce Initiatives For Hoteliers in 2011 - 1 views

  • Good website architecture and organized content improves site usability and crawlability for search engines. Conversion optimization includes eye tracking studies, analyzing SEO and SEM strategy and finding out top queries, top site pages and top sites producing traffic. All these data points help in developing a step-by-step strategy to improve conversion and usability. Developing a strong architecture helps keep your site organized.
  • It is also important to optimize all aspects of your campaign to maximize conversion. Here are some tips: Ad Copy – make sure your ad has a call to action and offers value to customers Ad Groups – make sure your ad groups are made up of tightly knit keyword themes, and that those keywords are reflected in your ad copy Landing Pages – ensure your landing pages clearly reflect the offer which is promoted in the ad copy and includes clear calls to action and conversion factors
  • Online Video – People are spending more time watching online videos. According to recent studies by Nielson (August 2010), approximately 70% of global online consumers watch online videos. (http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/report-how-we-watch-the-global-state-of-video-consumption/) In June of 2010, more than 10 billion videos were streamed in the US alone. YouTube continues to be one of the main players in the market along with Google Video and several others. Videos draw more visitors to your site and gain greater visibility as search engines move towards displaying universal search results. Video search is still less competitive in nature and can be super effective.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Google has recently announced that the mobile market is their priority. We are seeing a steady growth in traffic coming to our client sites from mobile phones and smart phones. Hoteliers can leverage the mobile market by optimizing their site for mobile phones, improving the download speed of their site by avoiding heavy graphics and flash, making sure their site is mobile compatible, and promoting mobile sites across all platforms including paid, social, and local.
  • As a hotelier, it is important to decide where to focus your energies given the increasing opportunities and channels where you can market your hotels. It is key to evaluate ROI across all traditional online and offline channels and to capitalize on the immense advantages that new emerging media offers. These tips can help you market smarter and help you embrace innovative tools and technologies to stay ahead of the game and improve your returns! We wish all the readers the very best with their eCommerce strategies in 2011.
  •  
    Internet marketing is an essential part of the overall marketing portfolio of hotels. These top ten ecommerce promotion ideas, channels, and strategies can drive maximum Return on Investment. 1. Search friendly website design has new meaning - fast and integrated. Hoteliers should consider which channels their target customers are utilizing, and develop integrated promotion plans across all channels. 2. Hoteliers should focus on improve conversion and usability when they provide an increasing volume of information. 3. Search is becoming more local in nature. 4. Expand paid search beyond traditional channel. 5. Real time search - Natural Ranking (SEO) becomes more real, local and social. 6. Image and Video search is an effective way to capitalize on different search traffic. 7. Mobile search continues to be local in nature. 8. Embracing social media - it's here to stay! 9. Hyperlocal is really an extension of your local social search marketing. 10. Utilizing Blogs to connect and promote time sensitive information.
denisedantas

Software as a Service? Better Focus on the Service! | By Jos Schaap - Hospitality Net - 3 views

  • Software as a Service is just that - a service. It is a distribution model whereby a software development company can license and deliver its product to clients via the Internet.
  • In the hotel industry, the introduction of a SaaS solutions combined with mobile usability is creating a new world of customer interaction and relationship building.
  • In concert with the management of a SaaS solution is the support of the software.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • This would never have been possible just five years ago. Software as a Service is gaining momentum month to month, year to year and it will continue to do so.
  •  
    This article emphasizes the importance of SaaS (Software as a Service) to the hospitality industry. This model allows companies to deliver services via the internet, thus decreasing the costs and the failure rate in the software services and the product distribution. This application is creating a new model of customer interaction and relationship building as the mobile usability is constantly increasing into the hotel and travel industry. The SaaS solution distributed via the internet eliminates the physical need for indirect distribution because it is not physically distributed and can be delivered almost instantaneously. This article talks about the impact that this system causes to the hotel's operation. This system can anticipate problems and proactively addresses and fixes the issues via the support and monitoring team that is immediately available investigating and rectifying the issues promptly. Among the many benefits that SaaS brings to the hotel's operations, one very important benefit is that the executive team can keep an eye on the operations and even make changes when they are off-property through cloud-based access. The SaaS implementations would give hoteliers more control on the relationship with their technology provider and SaaS gives this to them. I feel this program is really valuable for people in the hotel industry.
mknig011

E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry - 0 views

  • The Internet has consolidated itself as a very powerful platform that has changed the way we communicate, and the way we do business.
  • The hospitality industry has always been among the first to capitalize on new technologies.
  • E-commerce has been defined as "the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the Internet.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • With hotel e-commerce, the landscape of the hospitality industry is forever changed.
  • The growing importance of e-commerce in the modern hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple solutions to manage companies' online presence.
  • Accelerating Internet usage worldwide The Internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel Most travelers research hotel reservations on the Internet Social media and online hotel reviews are an increasingly important decision factor The web is the preferred media source for travel information, favored 17:1 over television and 6:1 over newspapers and magazines.
  • Smart hoteliers need to keep a sharp focus on the fundamental shift in ways customers are seeking information and channels that drive maximum return on investment. Here is a list of the basic e-commerce strategies that will help to get the best from the Internet world.
  • Search-friendly web site design.
  • Improve conversion and usability.
  • Hoteliers need to ensure that they are using the full potential of the Internet.
  •  
    E-commerce is currently one of the most important buying and selling platforms. As a result of conducting business via the internet there's plenty of competition in terms of online presence. In order to make it a smooth process for customers and a company to conduct business with one another there are a few e-commerce strategies that will assist in doing so. For starters it is most definitely important for hoteliers to maintain a search-friendly web site design, improve conversion and usability, and ensure that the website is mobile device friendly. As online bookings continue to rise, word of mouth via the internet steadily increases, and internet advertisements takes precedence over T.V, it is now most important for hoteliers to use the internet to conduct business. However, it is even more important for them to do so in the most influential manner.
JIACHEN LI

HRIS | HR Software for Hotels | Hospitality IT | Software for Hospitality| Immerauf - 1 views

  • HRIS has emerged as among the most crucial aspects of hospitality IT. No hos
  • . No hospitality management system can be considered complete without an effective HRIS system.
  • Greytip Software is a focused HR & Payroll software solutions company.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • An efficient HRIS system manages the recruitment, staff-shifts, time & attendance, and many other aspects of your hospitality HR requirements. It should be able to drill down to history files and provide e-leave application & training management.
  • Developing a product that caters to small and big customers, across industry verticals, needs a lot more experience, mature processes, and superior engineering.
  • Folklore HCM
  • Folklore Payroll
  • Folklore Attendance Software
  • Folklore Training
  • Benefits
  • Benefits
  •  
        This website is a homepage of the company called Immerauf. This company is to provide network service and sell the technology products that are related to the hotels. Human Resources Information System is also a product of theirs.     As everybody know, without an effective HRIS, the hospitality management system could not be considered completely. The functions of the HRIS are managing the recruitment, shift, attendance, requirement and so on. They highly recommend their HRIS technology product. And they mentioned their partner Greytip Software. The partner is a focused HR & Payroll software solutions company.     They introduced a few basic own and partner's history and stated they had groups of customers, more experience, and superior engineering.     They list some products overview, such as Folklore HCM, Payroll, Attendance Software and Training. All of the products could help hotels to reduce the transaction costs, improve employee morale, communicate better, eliminate the fussy processing, increase productivity, save time and effort.
  • ...3 more comments...
  •  
    HRIS has emerged as among the most crucial aspects of hospitality IT. No hospitality management system can be considered complete without an effective HRIS system.An efficient HRIS system manages the recruitment, staff-shifts, time & attendance, and many other aspects of your hospitality HR requirements. It should be able to drill down to history files and provide e-leave application & training management. And this article introduce us a HRIS product that is a software solutions for HR and Payroll departments that that span the entire spectrum of HR & payroll functions covering employee information management, training management, compensation, benefits, attendance management, etc.
  •  
    The Hospitality industry is known to have very high attrition rates. This makes it all the more critical to have a robust HR information system (HRIS) in place. HRIS has emerged as among the most crucial aspects of hospitality IT. No hospitality management system can be considered complete without an effective HRIS system. The products are backed up with high quality customer support and service. Our support is timely and relevant, ensuring a high degree of usability for our products. It can track record which is caters to small and big customers, across industry verticals, needs a lot more experience, mature processes, and superior engineering. The benefit are: * Lets you focus on strategic HR instead of routine admin tasks * Reduce transaction costs * Improve employee morale * Communicate better * Get business intelligence with MIS reports * Modular design that lets you pick and choose
  •  
    As hospitality industry has a high attrition rates, a HRIS software is important for hospitality management system. A good HRIS system usually has the functions of recruitment, staff-shifts, time & attendance, etc. Folklore HCM is a web-based software with the employee self service. It is usually used with other products such as Folklore Payroll, Folklore Training, and Folklore Attendance. Folklore HCM lets the HR manager pay attention to strategic issue instead of routine tasks. It also decrease costs and increase employee morale. Folklore Payroll software makes the payroll accurate, increases the productivity and reduce transaction costs. It can also motivates employees and examines different aspects of income tax. Besides, Folklore Attendance Software Folklore Training are all web based software and have many benefits.
  •  
    HRIS technology plays a very important role in hospitality industry. There is no hospitality management system can be considered complete without an effective HRIS system. This technology manages the recruitment, staff-shifts, time&attendance, and many other aspects of the HR requirements in hotel. It is very useful especially for Human Resources. This tech is also backed up with high quality customer support and service. Some of the support is timely and relevant, ensuring a high degree of usability for our products. It can help us do track record, products overview, folklore attendance software and so on. It can not only drill down to history files, but also provide e-leave application& training management.
  •  
    this article is talking about the Greytip Software. this software has many solutions. it can help the manager monitor the HR activities and payroll activity. using this system, the managers can analyse their hotel attrition rate and make measures in time.managers can easily promote the employee information management, develop training management, create compensation,share benefits, supervise attendance management. this way can save money and time. managers do not need to set up sheets of attendance, employee behavior, punishment or rewards,etc. depended on the computer, the process of management goes more smoothly.
anonymous

Power outages play havoc with Netflix, Instagram and Pinterest - Hartford Pop Culture |... - 0 views

  • The big storms that caused power outages in a line across the country played havoc with the modern day technology that people depend on daily. Netflix, Pinterest and Instagram were all down Friday due to the storms. These websites were not working, leaving millions at a loss with their favorite pass times unavailable. According to CNet News, an “outage in Amazon’s cloud means that some of the world’s greatest and most frivolous entertainments are suddenly not available.”
  • The problem comes from the outage in Amazon’s Compute Cloud in North Virginia, where a deadly batch of summer storms left millions without electricity, according to Mashable.
  •  
    This is a great example of something we continually talk about in class: what happens when the power goes out. I was unaware that Netflix, Instragram and pinterest were out due to power outages recently, but can certainly imagine how much damage it caused to these businesses. An interesting piece of the article was the bit about the use of Amazon Cloud, the server that makes these programs run. Here it wasn't a security issue but a reliance on power that provides a great example of where cloud computing is lacking in usability.
jmore044

PMS Software Evaluation Scorecard Ensures Hotels Can Find Their Ideal Property Manageme... - 1 views

  • Knowing that not all hotel PMS solutions are created equal, StayNTouch® has released a comprehensive PMS Evaluation Scorecard designed to help hotel operators select the right PMS for their needs and budget.
  • The criteria-based approach is created on a quantitative assessment of the PMS in terms of functionality, flexibility, maintainability, and usability.
  • Hoteliers can use the step-by-step scorecard to determine the total score for each PMS vendor and then consider only the technology providers with the highest grades.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The downloadable scorecard and template address the most critical areas that require consideration during the evaluation process including: Defining goals Creating a list of potential vendors/solutions Annual Costs Implementation Mobility Integration Reporting/Insights Ease of use/User Interface Automation Security and Scalability Service and Support
  •  
    StayNTouch has released a PMS Evaluation Scorecard designed to help brands to decide the right PMS for their needs and budget. The scorecard takes into account functionality, flexibility, maintainability, and usability. Making well-informed decisions when it comes to PMS is especially important, as the PMS represents the backbone of an operation. Moreover, with the multitude of options now available, choosing the right PMS can be quite the ordeal. The market is filled with a variety of products that suit a diversity of needs. From "traditional" PMS to web-based and cloud-based formats, such a choice can be daunting for a hotelier. StayNTouch's PMS Evaluation Scorecard is designed to simplify the process by weeding out the worst options, leaving the prospective consumer with only the highest rated matches.
sanchezgema_

Enhancing the passenger's digital experience through better airline e-commerc... - 0 views

  •  
    -E-commerce options and features continue to evolve. -The first airline ticket was sold online in 1995. Soon after web check-in was introduced. -The airline industry is about selling tickets online and providing a digital experience. -Expectations of travelers and airlines constantly grow. -An important challenge is the airline keeping its online presence appealing. What is appealing to one person(s) may not be appealing to others. -Booking sites have to be simple and streamlined, but never boring or distracting. It should also have a modern look and be updated every 1-2 years. -User testing, focus groups, advanced software-engineering experiments, market segmentation and analytics investments are vital to determine if the website is fresh and appealing. -Choose usability over aesthetics. -An airline's technology partner needs to be able to customize the website to be unique and be able to refresh the site when needed. -When customers enjoy online services they create an emotional bond and are more likely to come back. -No one is anonymous in the online environment. -If a specific traveler is offered the right product at the right time, then it will increase revenue. -Airlines need to provide relevant services that fit each customer's situation. -Responsive sites are essential to adapt to different devices used. -Consider costs of maintaining a response site, the impact of having too many choices, and providing value in options rather than specifics of each item. -Increased relevancy is when it touches upon what it offers and when it offers it. -Setting trends in e-commerce will bring value to airlines around the world as well as the airline industry.
mtedd003

Bringing on content and the network effect for GDS hotel platforms | PhocusWire - 1 views

  • It’s an understatement to say that the global distribution companies have evolved away from their traditional airline focus to bring accommodation into the mix.
  • reveals that the GDS “had lost share in lodging distribution” 
  • Sabre had developed the platform in response to demand for more content and functionality from both the supply and demand side.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • deal boosted its accommodation offering by 30%.
  • interesting theory of whether GDSs can create their own network effect.
  • “We have increased our beach, resort and leisure content which allows us to be a much more attractive content sourcing partner to retail agencies and other online channels so it has expanded our customer base enormously.”
  • GDSs are investing in their lodging content but with travel distribution it’s rarely a case of just integrating content.
  • Waters says Amadeus has five million representations of hotels on its system but over a million unique hotels.
  • normalizes the data so it is only displayed once and travel sellers can see the same room, hotel and date and then compare prices and see what margin or commission they might make from a booking.
  • the standardization is driven by artificial intelligence
  • Sabre, which cites a similar figure for properties available via its new lodging distribution technology, has also worked on normalizing the data
  • The GDSs continue to see opportunity and growth in their hospitality divisions
  • Waters says the ambition is to continue growth and “become the default hotel platform for B2B channels.”
  • biggest, professional metasearch with bookability platform in the industry.” AmadeusBooking.comSabre
  •  
    GDSs continue to lose market share so they need to step up their game to pick it back up again. With airlines and hotels constantly trying to get bookings direct they are losing out. They need to try and get their networks in sync. Companies like Sabre are trying to improve their platform to make it more user friendly and better content. The GDSs are trying to get on board as many accommodations as possible to increase the customers choosing their networks to use to book. The more bookings they get the more attractive they look to providers.
  •  
    Sabre Travel Network, a large GDS company is responding to loss in lodging distribution. Sabre is accomplishing this by competing with rival GDS platforms who have made deals with booking.com. The deals have afforded rival companies such as Amadeus 30% more in accommodation traffic. Amadeus increased their market visibility by expanding their customer base for those looking for beach, resort, and leisure content. Sabre is looking to stretch their lodging distribution by normalizing data with usability studies which is help agents make faster booking decisions. The belief is that the decision will eventually expand Sabre as the default GDS platform.
marble_bird

The Concept of Comprehensive Tracking Software to Support Sustainable Tourism in Protec... - 0 views

shared by marble_bird on 25 May 20 - No Cached
  • Visitor management of protected areas [1–3] is supposed to keep the tourism intensity below the area limits while respecting the needs of the local economy and community as a multi-faceted goal of participative management [4]. It requires reliable, comprehensive, and detailed data about tourism intensity, including its impacts and practical methods and tools to exploit the data for the purpose of visitor management
  • Visitor management of protected areas [1–3] is supposed to keep the tourism intensity below the area limits while respecting the needs of the local economy and community as a multi-faceted goal of participative management [4]. It requires reliable, comprehensive, and detailed data about tourism intensity, including its impacts and practical methods and tools to exploit the data for the purpose of visitor management
  • At first, a literature review (Section 2) is conducted in the areas of tourism impacts, tourism sustainability , visitor management, tourism modelling and simulations, visitor monitoring and tracking, and the utilization of data about visitors. Specific attention is paid to the promising method of individual tracking, its variants, and the challenges related to its deployment.
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • The LAC method [12,13], the carrying capacity [2,4,8,10,14–18], tourism sustainability indicators [8,10,19], or visitor management models [2,4,11] are some of the theoretical concepts and methods which the protected area visitor management may use to assess the effects of tourism and tourism infrastructure construction and maintenance.
  • isitor counts can be used to form a model reflecting the dynamics of the destination system, allowing visitor flow simulations
  • However, the quality of such models is critically dependent on the extent, quality, and readiness of the entry data [21]. The use of real-time data in models of destination systems is not common
  • Individual tracking methods are based on satellite positioning (e.g., The Global Positioning System known as GPS, or Galileo), active mobile positioning, Bluetooth positioning, Wi-Fi positioning, or indirect monitoring based on geocoded social media, or photo databases
  • Thus, attention should be paid to the categorization of visitors, including their needs, motivations, limitations, and the resulting patterns of behavior. Such analysis may help to reveal which categories of visitors are desired, e.g., because of their positive impact on the local economy, and which should rather be discouraged from coming
  • The use of visitor monitoring methods is a common part of visitor management practice, however, monitoring is often not implemented
  • systematically enough and data is often available with a significant delay (for example, from oine people counters installed in the terrain or when using data from mobile operators), making the assessment of the destination system state in real-time impossible
  • Correct and ecient data integration requires a systematic and consistent approach. However, a relevant methodology for the utilization of heterogeneous data is not available, which may be one of the reasons why comprehensive visitor monitoring is so rare.
  • the universally applicable concept of an intelligent tour guide for visitor tracking and for visitor characteristics acquisition are introduced in the results section of the manuscript. The ongoing experimental implementation of the proposed concept is mentioned, and relevant challenges are discussed at the end.
  • Gradually, five representatives and experts from protected area management, six destination organization experts, and four geopark experts were involved. None of the protected area experts involved in the research had any previous experience with systematic visitor data integration or with using the concept of the intelligent software tour guide.
  • The brainstorming and focus group were used to raise new ideas, and the Delphi method was used to reach a consensus when needed.
  • The knowledge gathered from experts served as an input for systems analysis, leading to the design of a computer program—an intelligent tour guide for each involved protected area. Namely, use cases, functional requirements, and other characteristics of the software were identified and discussed.
  • Because meaningful visitor flow and visitor impact modelling require suciently comprehensive and accurate data [21], systematic exploitation of all available relevant heterogeneous data about visitors (collected by a variety of methods, each with its specific limitations, e.g., visitor profiles, numbers of sold tickets, counts from sensors, space-time curves of individual visitors) is a recommended [36] and cost-e ective approach.
  • Visitor management of a protected area requires tourism impact estimates depending on its intensity (step 1). Estimates of proportions of various visitor categories depending on days of the week, holidays, weather, or season, or other factors together with expert estimates of specific impacts of these categories of visitors are available
  • The concept is meant to be generic enough to fit a variety of geographic areas (size, protected features of the local nature, local community , tourism intensity , division of roles in participative management between organizations, etc.)
  • The intelligent tour guide has to be:
  • Reliable, accessible, compatible.
  • Personalized.
  • Location-sensitive.
  • Destination-system-aware.
  • Interactive and collaborative.
  • Dialogue-wise.
  • Decently gamified.
  • Regarding human factors, the potential of individual visitor tracking to provide rich and valuable data may be hindered by the low motivation to participate [21,50,51]. Low participation may limit the usability of the resulting data and negatively a ect the e ects of possible attempts to influence the flow of visitors.
  • From the technical side, active mobile positioning provides spatially accurate data collected with a sucient sampling rate, for example, compared to passive localization data automatically recorded by mobile operators. However, still, the low satellite signal in rocks or under the canopy of a dense forest in combination with less-sensitive mobile devices may a ect the quality of the data and even the function of the tour guide.
  • Regarding the interpretation of the resulting data, the bias caused by the selection of participants and the willingness and fitness of members of di erent visitor groups has to be considered. Also, individual tracking may have an unintended influence on visitors’ movement and behavior [49], though the impact and resulting bias is usually acceptably low
  • Ethically and legally acceptable data collection may require the acquisition of informed consent from each participant.
  • An inadequate budget can lead to compromises, e.g., in the project management, analysis, or implementation, a ecting the compatibility, reliability, or usability of the program, or the quality and extent of the underlying model and the set of descriptive data.
  • Experimental verification of the individual tracking method, supplemented by visitors’ feelings and experiences by means of an intelligent tour guide operated in the context of a complex destination application, currently takes place in all involved areas. The application is being carefully designed in harmony with all recommended principles. Namely, a clear distinction is being made between the universal part of the application and area-specific models, configurations, deployment choices, or custom pieces of code.
  • The research team is looking for other possibilities of verifying the concept presented elsewhere in the Czech Republic and the world. Further research will reveal if the concept is truly generally applicable, as hypothesized, or not.
  •  
    This article covers the research behind and design of software implemented in the Czech Republic to monitor visitor activity in protected areas. The software is designed to act as a "tour guide" and keeps track of visitors through satellite positioning. The article discusses the process by which this software would be developed, rationale for its implementation, and consumer data that may be collected through this process that would benefit National Parks and other protected areas. Theoretical questions in regard to human interaction, privacy concerns, and effectiveness of the application in low-service areas are discussed. Though the application requires more research and strict attention to variables, its implementation worldwide could change how sustainable tourism is managed and would provide important information on consumer habits in protected areas.
jordanskj

A GDS Primer: What is the GDS and Which Travel Agents Need It? - 0 views

  • The advantage to travel agents is that the GDS not only can show you many fares from multiple airlines, but it also offers a great depth of information about each flight in one place. The carrier, the times, the costs, the class of the seat, aircraft type and so much more. It’s a smorgasbord of options. So if you’re booking a high volume of tickets, it’s great to have access to every minutiae of information from multiple carriers in one go.
  • In today’s world, the GDSs have a bit of a split personality. There is the old school, traditional GDS commonly called “the green screen.” Then there’s the hip side of the GDSs, which people will call “point and click” or “GUI” (Graphical User Interface). Essentially, it’s a more intuitive and prettier looking version of the GDS.
  • To learn the GDS green screen takes intense training, and to become proficient takes tons of practice and constant use. That means daily use with a mentor (for at least 6 months to a year), not just booking a ticket for a client every few weeks.
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • While new agents can partially navigate the GDS with the GUI interface, the code that comes back still has important information like fare types and rules that the agents really needs to understand. So many agents, in the end, need to learn the green screen (and find it faster) regardless.
  • One of the reasons that most leisure agents don’t need the GDS is because the air will be included in a vacation package by the tour operator, or you can book it with the cruise line and you don’t need to use the GDS.
  • Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent’s motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car)
  • It can be easy to confuse the GDS with a Central Reservation System or Computerized Reservation System (CRS). CRSs are automated inventory-tracking systems that were (originally) owned and run by individual vendors (like airlines, car companies and hotels).
  • GDSs function as an umbrella for many many CRS systems. It’s like a CRS motherboard. (In fact, many vendors outsource their CRS systems to a GDS.)
  • an show you many fares from multiple airlines, but it also offers a great depth of information about each flight in one place. The carrier, the times, the costs, the class of the seat, aircraft type and so much more. It’s a smorgasbord of options. So if you’re bookin
  • If you are a leisure travel agent, there’s a huge whopping huge chance that you don’t need to use a GDS
  • American Airlines created the first CRS system in 1946. And while this helped automate inventory for vendors, travel agents did not have direct access to that inventory. Travel agents would need to call the airline’s booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket. Travelers booking their own ticket? Forget about it! 
  • There are many GDS options, and each GDS system will has access to their own pool of carriers. The four largest GDSs are: Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport (which is the parent company of Apollo/Galileo and Worldspan).
  • Let me be blunt: unless you’re some kind of prodigy, the GDS green screens are not user friendly. Be afraid, be very afraid.
  • he GUI is the point-and-click version of the GDS. You may have heard of options such as Sabre Red Workspace and TravelPort Smartpoint. So why doesn’t everyone use it? Here’s the problem: At its current stage of development, even GUI users need to understand the language of the green screen.
  • Essentially, the GUI interface isn’t quite there yet . . . and developing this technology is reeeeeally expensive and comes with a lot of growing pain
  • To book in the GDS, you must have an IATA/IATAN accreditation number, in addition to an ARC accreditation number if you’re located in the United States.
  • As a new agent, you can’t get these accreditation numbers because they require a lot of experience. So you come into the industry under a host agency (more on what a host agency is) and use their accreditation number instead.
  • Corporate travel agents book a whole lot of air, so the GDS is pretty much a must for them.
  • If your specialty is around the world tickets or you have a steady stream of clients with multi-stop itineraries, the GDS will be a necessity. 
  •  
    This article looks at GDS and GUI systems and gives a holistic viewpoint of performance, positives and negatives, and what type of agencies can utilize each system. I felt that the more complicated system and its requirements for agency users to have and understanding of coding, made the GUI system more likely to have a higher utilization in the future.
  •  
    The article delves into the importance of GDSs and travel agents along with the controversy surrounding their evolution as airlines are trying to encourage more direct bookings to make more profits and avoid paying commission to travel agents.
  •  
    This article goes into detail about GDS's, the history of GDS's, and if travel agents actually need to use them. The article first explains what a GDS system is, a brief description stating "Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent's motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car)". The article then quickly goes into a brief history of the GDS. GDS was created by America Airlines in 1946, making it easier to check inventory for vendors, though it would still take some time for this technology to reach the travel agents. "Travel agents would need to call the airline's booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket". We then take a turn, and learn about the usability of a GDS, and that it's quite low. GDS's are not user-friendly, but sadly sometimes a necessity for certain types of travel agents. These types mostly being the ones who book lots of corporate travel arrangements. Lastly, the article discusses if a GDS is right for your business, and if you decide it's not, how to go about booking things without it.
Qianlin Wang

Introduction to Property Management Systems | Information Vine - 0 views

  • The ideal property management system can help consolidate everything from task lists to accounting ledgers to communication records.
  • No matter what your industry, there are two important factors for deciding on the best software: capabilities and usability.
  • The best-selling property management systems are those with streamlined designs and intuitive interfaces.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Costs are important, and they vary depending on whether you go for physical software or a web-based system, how long you intend to use the product, and how many units you’re operating.
  • And cloud technology is making this process more efficient than ever, ultimately improving the properties where we live, work and play.
  •  
    A property management system is software used to automate the operations of a hotel. It is the hub of a property's operations processing reservations, check-ins and check-outs. It keeps track of how many rooms you have left to sell and at what rate. It handles front office accounting, marketing as well as interfacing to other systems such as phone, reservations, restaurant and pay-per-view movies. Web PMS offers all the features of a traditional PMS-including integrated accounting, GDS connectivity and multiple interfaces-as well as advantages unique to Cloud-based systems, such as remote accessibility, integrated Web and mobile reservations and automatic data back-up. It will be a better choice in the future.
marylauren1717

MELODIKA.net - Players Network signs Ascent Solutions to develop its "NextGenTV" Broadb... - 0 views

  • Players Network (OTCQB: PNTV), a Global New Media and Entertainment Company, announced today it has entered into an agreement with software engineering firm Ascent Solutions to develop the company's next generation proprietary broadband-based content distribution and social media platform.
  • The Platform is based on a cutting edge business model that incorporates forecasted online consumer trends and usability.  This new generation software design allows for content to be monetized through a variety of methods including subscription, merchandising, micro-transactions, services and targeted advertising.
  • This innovative upgrade of our proprietary platform software will establish the worldwide standard for how large and small media companies can begin to monetize content over broadband and any interconnected, digital device.
  •  
    Players Network will be entering into an agreement with Ascent Solutions, a software engineering firm, to up their social media game and develop their "company's next generation proprietary broadband-based content distribution." To enhance their Branded Lifestyle Video Channels which can be viewed simultaneously by users on all digital devices, Ascent Solutions will be implementing an Enterprise Web Platform meant for large scale global distribution.  By analyzing online consumer trends, Ascent Solutions will assist in monetizing their content through methods such as subscription, merchandising, etc. Ascent Solutions helps the gaming and hospitality industry find the right technology for their businesses.  I believe today's modern-day companies emphasis and reliance on social media and telecommunications can all benefits from the services offered by Ascent Solutions. With a nationwide footprint and local services, Ascent can help large and small media companies alike monetize content over any interconnected, digital device. With expertise in the gaming and hospitality industry, with major clients such as Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Speedway Casino. Ascent keeps up with technology trends and can further any business model.
Kamini Ramsaran

Revel Systems Releases New Version Of Point-Of-Sale System That Transforms iPad Into Ca... - 0 views

  • Atlas features software innovations that include unprecedented levels of analytics that allow users to see trends in sales to increase or decrease staff at certain times of the day and an enhanced kiosk mode that increases usability for customer ordering
  • This version also allows the ability to create icons or descriptive images for items for purchase by taking photographs using the iPad to allow a more personalized user interface for brands to position themselves to customers.
  • Revel Systems now charges just 2 percent per swipe for all major credit cards, versus almost three percent of other payment options.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Revel Systems' POS solution eliminates the need for back-office servers, combining the power of the cloud and the security of a local iPad application.
  • It's easily customizable for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering, email receipts and more, and manages everything from menu and ingredients to order-taking, secure payment processing and real-time reporting.
  • now being deployed by Geek Squad®, the leading national tech support service owned by Best Buy, i
  • Multi-location support delivers location-specific support for pricing and taxes
  • does not store credit card information in the iPad, and customer data is encrypted
  •  
    With the new version of Revel Systems POS, Atlas, vendors are only charged 2 % for credit card charges while other systems charge almost 3 %, giving Atlas an advantage to their users.  Atlas replaces all back office work, with the power of the cloud and security of the iPad app, vendors can see all their information in real time.  The system manages, time scheduling, inventory, kitchen checks, allows customers to sign for their cc receipts right on the iPad.  This technology also helps reduce the cost of paper and ink for the vendors.  
jennifer amador

Modern Independent Hotel Websites Drive Results... and Awards - 0 views

  • VIZERGY, a leader in hotel Internet marketing, recently won two Interactive Media Awards (IMA) for website designs, including the highest honor of Best in Class.
  • The awards are a testament to the company's evolving and leading website design principles that factor into all of their clients' websites.
  • VIZERGY's design team adheres to the latest industry design and usability standards, as well as best practices determined by the team's years of award-winning experience. Along with professional images and search engine optimized copy, VIZERGY's client websites include bold calls to action, prominent booking engines, social media integration, layered imagery, shadows and more.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • "Our design team is constantly researching and implementing the latest website design and standards. More awards are a testament to their diligence," says Philip Faircloth, VIZERGY's Director of Operations
  •  
    This article is recognizing the performance of a great innovative website model developer Vizergy's; which captures the wonderful images and writings and place them into corporate websites. VIZERGY's is being acknowledge for being the leader in hotel internet marketing and interactive media awards. Nevertheless, VIZERGY received one of the highest acheivements for excellence in website design and development; I personally believe that companies should recognize such accomplishment and let it be know to the hospitality industry that it is very important to dedicate time and perhaps money into website development. A website not only represents the company as a whole but it can be seen worldwide over the internet and therefore should be up to standards and complice with all hospitality industry marketing related.
Nicole Dudley

MVI Launches Industry-first Mobile Device Management Solution for Hospitality :: Hotel ... - 2 views

  • “Our aim was to take full advantage of today’s travelers’ increasing affinity with mobile devices, so implementing a device management system to cater to our specific requirements was of paramount importance,” said Sylvia Chung, General Manager of the L’Hotel élan. “With MVI’s MDM Solution we can ensure the security and manageability of the devices as well as guests’ privacy while using them without compromising flexibility and usability.”  
  • MVI has launched an industry-first Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that provides effective management of smart mobile devices to support interactive, live and on-demand video services in hotels.
  •  
    This article introduces the hospitality industry's first Mobile Management device solution. MVI, an Asia-focused hotel technology provider, partnered with IBM to develop the new enterprise class MDM solution. The MDM solution provides effective management of smart mobile devices to support interactive, live and on-demand video services in hotels. The usage of this new device was recently incorporated at the L'Hotel`elan in Hong Kong. An iPad is provided for guest use in all the hotel's rooms, and it serves as an entertainment device, offering eGuest services such as TV channels and interactive guest services including in-room dining. The MDM solution is fully integrated with hotel PMS and POS systems, which allows the device to become a part of a hotel's overall management ecosystem. This device not only provides the features of an entertainment device for guests, but it also offers hotels unique management features. A few of the features include customized workflow to streamline the installation of hotels' managed apps on mobile device, comprehensive push-based notification management, availability for all Apple mobile devices, and effective protection of guests' own data and personal information for apps that required login. I recently went on a site visit at Turnberry Isles Resort with one of my classes. While on the tour, the lady conducting the tour mentioned that with the rate technology is advancing in the near future many of the hotel procedures will be completed via Ipad (such as checking in and out of the hotel). After reading this article, it seems as if the near future has already arrived!!!
  •  
    I really liked this article. Personally, I do not have a good experience dealing with people at the front desk. Many people do not want to deal with employees and would find this method a lot easier and stress free. Now you can check in and out from both your TV in your room and also the iPad device. Great article Nicole!
Yudika Claude

Using Spa Management Systems to Enhance Profitability | By Bill Healey - 1 views

  • The spa industry, like all business sectors, is continually monitoring performance to ensure they"re meeting revenue and profit targets. Software tools have been available for more than a decade to assist directors in managing and enhancing the way they do business.
  • Utilizing software tools, the spa is able to enhance the ways in which they interact with their guests
  • Build and maintain an extensive database of information on the spa"s guests.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • data into usable, accessible management and marketing information. Ensure the data is up-to-date, allowing you to analyze historical data to identify trends.
  • Share data across with proper management and marketing personnel to provide staff with a 360-degree view of the guest.
  • enhancing your guest relationships further though the use of social media.
  • Knowing more about the historical sales pattern at the spa"s retail shop, and keeping track of minimum stock levels will assist in lowering the cost of both retail and professional stock.
  • lower levels of inventory can be stored in both the boutique and treatment rooms. Each item is given a value that alerts management when these low-inventory levels are met. Further, the system provides re-stock levels to ensure spa management places an appropriate order with suppliers.
  • Attaching spa reservations to a guest"s profile in the PMS is important, as it helps reduced missed revenues from no-shows. Without a fully integrated spa and PMS solution, it is common for a guest to cancel or change a hotel reservation without notification ever making it to the Spa. When the guest is a no-show at the spa, they lose the guest"s revenue and have a therapist not being utilized.
  • working with a single system will help reduce the amount of time and effort required to collate and analyze data from spa sites around the world. A single interface and a single method to collect data should make it easier for the corporate office to review vital sales and revenue data.
  • also facilitate the vendor-client relationship,
  •  
    I found this article to be really interesting as it explains the use of technology in spas. There are many benefits to using such systems in the spa industry. The link between PMS and the spa booking system improves relations with clients, and increases the likelihood of clients returning to a spa where they have previously felt welcomed and valued. I must admit that I am not a big fan of the 360 view of guests' profile that this technology promotes, I feel like it is an invasion of privacy of some sort. However, I understand that some guests appreciate when their preferences are met each time they visit a spa. At the end of the day, the use of spa management systems is a great way for spas to drive up the revenue and maximize their profits.
1 - 20 of 42 Next › Last »
Showing 20 items per page