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RFID, event applications, wearable technology, virtual reality, and social media are upcoming popular uses for event planners. With RFID event planners are able to keep better track of the guests attending the event as well as keeping them more involved. I first heard of this a few months ago when attending an event and it described that a chip with RFID was placed inside the wristband-type ticket. For me, the most interesting thing is the wearable technology! Imagine an event where you can have directions given to you or a layout of the event right on your wrist! Also, the watch can notify you of events happening within an event or you can see order your food or see the menu. To know that soon enough it will be a norm for everyone to have some type of wearable technology and that event planners can truly get the guests involved through this use is exciting.

This article introduces four new advances to technology that help ease the process of event planning. Projection mapping, 5G, Branded multi-use apps, and event diagramming.

This article shares the technology innovation with meeting/convention operations and how these technology help offer better guest satisfaction.

On January 2012, President Obama announced an executive order that would allow travelers from Brazil and China to receive travel VISA faster than before. A study from Huffington Post.com showed that on 2010 Brazilians spent $5,400 per visit, more than any other tourist. This executive order will help increase tourism travel across the nation that will help the economy. The order will help the travel industry, retail and housing. The property that I work at Walt Disney World hosts the majority of Brazilians that visit Walt Disney World. You can spend eight hours in our lobby in the afternoon, and you can experience the amount of money Brazilian guests spend on shopping inside and outside Walt Disney World. Stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart are the most popular; online shopping has also become very favorable for guests. During the summer season, the hotel processed over 6,000 packages received from Amazon.com and other online stores that were purchased prior to arrival. It is amazing to see the items received and how much luggage guests take with them. With this economic boost, more job creations will occur. The most popular US cities visited by Brazilians are New York City, Las Vegas and Orlando (http://www.traveltobrazil.org/post/20-most-visited-places-by-brazilians-in-brazil-and-abroad.html).

Visit Florida has announced they are coming out with a new, free certificate and training for hospitality employees. Due to the increase in Florida tourism, they will launch this new program to hopefully keep more tourists coming back because of the remarkable hospitality they received. Tourism is up from 2012 and they feel 2014 will surpass 2013, which the state welcomed 93.7 million visitors. That being said, this is a great opportunity for our industry. This will open so many doors for event planners and other hotel positions to help with the increasing tourism and being able to cater to their needs.

If you are looking to expand your horizons on eco-tourism, visiting a Dude Ranch may be a good idea for vacation. According to this article, Dude Ranches are the leader in eco-friendly tourism. Visiting the ranch is a great way to get close to the environment and learn about sustainability first hand. The article suggest that while visiting on vacation the most obvious eco-friendly item will be the food. Dude Ranch communities live off the land around them. They are very aware not to put chemicals into their land; it may "contaminate the water table" as well as their livestock. Separation of waste and recycling is part of the sustainability in a Dude Ranch. They want to reuse their natural resources, food waste is used as fertilizer. If visiting on vacation, you will see sustainability at its finest. Ranches supply the local community as well. Many Ranches try to be "as self-sufficient as possible", only using what they need keep the ranch running. This allows them to supply the community as well as local retailers with free-ranged beef as well as free-ranged eggs. Some ranches even make and sell their own specialty items, bread or wine. A few Dude Ranches have allowed Universities to use their land to expose students to re-life sustainability issues. The ranch shows them what sustainability looks like in practice and how it benefits the environment around them. This allows them to educate students visiting the ranch, and it allows for the eco-tourist to stay to learn more about sustainability and the environment.

This article is interesting because it discusses how Bed Bath and Beyond placed an internet advertisement marketing their offline shopping experience which is what drove the customer to actually visit the store in order to purchase the item that they have been searching for on the internet. Which made me rethink how I viewed in person retailers because I thought it would be a matter of time before they ceased to exist but in reality it just depends on how they market themselves to consumers on the internet, just by marketing their "offline experience" on the internet as an ad persuaded someone to actually visit the store to gain the experience and the product they were originally looking to purchase online.

This article discusses the importance of ecommerce becoming a more personalized experience for customers. It talks about how Amazon and Netflix do a great job in finding items their customers may be interested on based on their past purchases and recent searches. I found it interesting how social networks such as Facebook are being targeted to assist with ecommerce. Companies want to take what Facebook members put on their page and use it as data for when they visit their website. That way they already have some information on the customer before they even visit. Companies are being challenged in the way they maintain this data. Many companies are having issues figuring out how to store the data they receive from their customers. I think it's a great idea and absolutely love when online shopping sites show me items similar to what I was looking at. A majority of the time I click on what was suggested and purchase it or at least like it. I agree that ecommerce needs to become more personalized because it is the future of shopping. Many people are lazy and find it easier to just purchase items via the Internet than actually visit a store. The internet needs to find a way to provide that customer service feeling that customers are provided when they visit a physical store.

This article is about GDS and cruise industry. What this article talks about is that UK's cruise market leader P&O Cruises, Cunard and Princess Cruises, will end its distribution through Amadeus, which is one of the largest GDSs in the world, in November 2011. The reason behind this is because these cruise lines figured out that almost 95 percent of its cruises are sold via its own website so they think GDS is no longer necessary for them. However, other major cruise lines such as Carnival Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Norweigian Cruises will still continue to feature on the GDS. According to a spokesman of Amadeus, the company keeps investing in distribution solutions, easier and more secure cruise booking application for cruise lines. This article shows how cruise distribution in the UK is shifting. This change would probably affect not only cruise lines but other sectors such as hotels, airlines, etc. Yet, it is still uncertain if the impact of the change on cruise industry worldwide will be significant. Still, most of cruise lines including the three major cruise operators which have large market share in the cruise industry use GDS; as well as, it is doubtful if cruisers are willing to go on a same cruise ship over and over. Cruisers look for various cruise options while booking online so they will be more likely to visit GDS-based website where they can search for various cruise ships throughout the world; rather than to visit website where there are much less cruise options. Everything will be clear after we see if the UK's cruise operator is successful.

The Thai government is considering adding technology as an addition to security for visiting tourists, As an addition to a potential curfew, use of the buddy system, and a restriction on where parties can be held, wristbands containing resort information can easily be issued to travelers. The Thai government is also considering an electronic tracking device, but they haven't worked out the details of its implementation. After the recent murders of two British tourists, the Thai government is anxious to show the world that people can still visit Thailand safely.

This is actually an article touting the benefits of "unplugging" from our 24/7 wired world. The National Park System is notorious for its horrible cell and WiFi coverage. However, with the exception of its use as a safety net, I concur with the author's points. We visit wide open spaces as an escape from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Our smartphones still function quite well as cameras even without a signal. At the end of a day of hiking, when we return to our hotels or homes, our phones automatically upload and archive our adventures. In contrast to the rental car, airline and hotel end of our industry, the escapist mindset that we go into vacations with, may actually benefit from a lack of networks in some cases. A visit to a high-end resort (a la Club Med) many times comes with the "benefit" of no phone or TV in the room. If you're going on vacation, then BE on vacation. Use the technology to archive and share the fun, but don't let it interrupt an unforgettable experience.

This article greatly described the importance and significance event management has for the tourism industry. Special events definitely draws individuals in to multiple destinations, which delivers a huge boost for the tourism industry.

This article talks about how different types of events are important for tourism. Events such as mega, hallmark, major and local events attract more tourists such as the olympic games or the Superbowl. Some destinations are visited only for special events, driving more tourism to that destination. As tourism has become very dependent on effective event management, small events such as arranging tours in a destination have led to an increase in tourism. The development of tourism and the introduction of new destinations reveals the huge perspectives for the growth of event management. The majority of most social activities, such as festivals, and other recreational events have become possible due to the successful event management and the travelers that they attract.

Event Management can be both local and global, it is the management of various activities including conventions, meeting and other major activities. Tourism is not considered a part of event management; it is classified as a set of tourism related activities. Tourism is thus divided into various niche activities. No matter what tourism type you choose, event management will always be a part of the activity. There are various types of classifications. Events may be condsidered Mega, Hallmark, Major or local. It is necessary to recognize the importance of events to the tourism product, and as such, you should never take for granted the need for proper and effective coordination. It is also important to note that events such as cultural activities also aid in destination development. A key factor in having these events is to promote the destination and attract more visitors, particularly at times in the season when things are slow. The introduction of events can serve to stimulate local economies and draw attention to unseen parts of the destination, as well as aid in the building of infrastructure in those communities. It is also important to note any event requires significant planning, the who, what, where and how allows a better understanding of how a proposed event may impact a destination's image and can help with building a stronger global brand. The significance of tourism in event management is centered around possible offshoot activities such as tours and entertainment or any other economic benefits that maybe be derived beyond the event itself. By creating such signature activities, it is likely that you broker relationships with visitors, which could likely create loyalty to your brand.

This article discusses the controversial self-checkout model in major chain stores such as Target and Walmart and the cause and effect of labor issues and how other scenarios appear to be encouraging a time when this model replaces human checkout entirely. It was reported that Walmart loses 3 billion every year to customer and employee theft. For the most part, retailers have been thinking about self-checkout through a financial-savings and customer-experience perspective. But inherently, that means there's going to be less eyes on a transaction, less human interaction and more opportunity for shrink.

Opt-In Requirements When learning about location based marketing, I immediately thought about the opt-in requirements that many shoppers would not agree to. Because our phones are sued for everything, allowing such access can pose concern for privacy threats.

This program insures the safety and well keeping of the patients. I know it's not the latest in-room safe technology. But having just been in a hospital and having a dreadful experience I can honestly say that this technology would have helped.  During my hospital stay I was lost, mistaken for a man, not given an IV, and almost given the wrong prescription. Now I know it was 3 am, but if this program would have been installed I don't think I would have the same story to tell. The fact that the software tracks both the patients and the staff is what I find amazing. That was the biggest problem with my visit. No-one knew who was supposed to take care of me. This would have changed all of that.

Almost everyone has a smart phone now and days. Apps are used for almost anything and this article gives evidence to how much you can do with an app. The article focuses on Las Vegas and how many hotels have different apps for every occasion. Vegas Mate caught my attention from how it has things such as "a listing of resort fees, top suites, information for travelers on getting around, conventions, gambling and more" that other Vegas apps don't have. I believe it takes great time and money for these companies to keep up with the ever changing schedules for each hotel. I'm a planner and I was really intrigued on how this certain app pulls up the latest update and weather from around the city and even "keep all those show tickets, dinner reservations and hotel bookings in order." I mean who can beat that? There's no excuse to why hotels and many other tourism spots don't have an app for all the amenities that are offered. It'll surprise guests and make them really pleased with their stay.

The Courtyard Marriott in Midtown Manhattan installs a software that can insert some ads or cut off some articles on a website that a hotel guest is visiting. And this was found out by Justin Watt, a Web engineer. After he post it on his blog, it came to a big discussion. Is it legal for a hotel to get into a personal's visit on a website? But this kind of technique also has some potential use in the future, such as hotel can deliever the newspaper to each room with all some ads or some articles being cut off by using that technique, or adding hotel's daily special menu or event on an online newspaper and also pint it delievering to each room.

I believe the security issues is what we will be getting everywhere, because what is made online, always can be tracked and checked by some smart ITs. Another aspect - is anyone exept us is interested in our security? More often we can hardly guess what is really secure ...

The Nation 2010 report mentioned that 41% of UK hospitality business do not have capability to trade online, but the chance of internet cannot be overlooked in the future. Website: a website can provide your customers a good place to visit ,they can see the plenty of food quality and high resolution images of your hotel Google: google is a well known tools which can help your business cannot be overlooked. If you put your hospitality address on google map ,customers will find you when they use google maps. That is an effective way to do your online marketing business. Social networking: company can use twitter ,facebook of youtube as social networking tools to maximize marketing. Youtube： when put a simple video clip about the location of your company, or you use the video show your products to customers, the method can attract a lot of potential guests . Offer vouchers online: online voucher sites are a good way to enhance your presence online and reach new customers. Broadening your reach: over 60% of UK dinner go online to research restaurants and more and more customers choose to search hotels through internet ,it is convenient for them to visit these information at home or abroad. Online orders: software form companies like supercontrol can be integrated on to our site to provide real time booking information. Some tools may not be so appropriate to some age groups but do not rule anything out. You can conduct a survey to figure out which one is your customers most often visit.

Too many companies do not realize how important it is for them to have a representable website. A company that has a webiste shows people it is more likely a legitimate company. A company with a nice website tells people its employees take whatever they do seriously, in which make it easier for potential customers to consider using its service. How many times have people nevigate away from a website only because how pathetic it looks not even caring how good the company is? All the money a company spends on advertisement and marketing can go to waste after just one click.

Hotels chains as well as independent hotels are using retargeting as a way of making internet advertising campaigns more effective. According to the article one hotel brand said that the average returns of investing in retargeting are between 5-1 and 10-1. Retargeting helps companies to keep advertising to prospective clients even if they have already leaved the page. Advertisements are displayed to users as they visit other sites. According to John Hach, VP of e-marketing solutions for TravelClick, hotels are looking for ways of making advertisement more efficient and what better way of doing this by already knowing who is interested in your product. One of the main advantages of retargeting is that with a small investment and specific information hotels can give the impression that they are advertising through the entire internet. Although there are different media companies that offer retargeting, Google is the leader. Trough Google AdWords a code can be built in a website and when a customer leaves the page a cookie is installed showing they visited the page. After that the user is shown ads that are part of Google Display Network.

I'm trying to understand the re-targeting method explained here. So once the user leaves a webpage Google's 'AdWords' sends them an ad based on key words from the page they just left?

QR codes usually contain the information of its items. Before the customers purchase the items, they can simply scan the code to find out the details of it. The city of Costa del Sol in Spain used this technology to their benefit for their tourism industry. These QR codes are placed in different locations around the region and tourists  can simply use their smartphone to scan them. The positive side of this technology is that it is inexpensive and easy to generate compared to the traditional sign. On the other hand, there is a possibility that tourists might not have smartphone or internet access. If that is the case, each location needs to provide both QR codes and the traditional sign which makes generating QR codes meaningless. I believe that this technology will become very popular especially in certain countries that already provide wide internet connection.  

This article is an interview with Leigh Tymms from Green Edge Environmental on the marketing benefits of going green. The most beneficial is generating a positive reputation with customers looking to go green. These customers are increasing everyday. According to the article, a report by Travelocity stated that 80% of travelers are willing to pay extra to visit an eco-friendly destination. Basically, more and more guests are taking into consideration the size of a hotels carbon footprint. Although it may be costly originally, in the long run it is also economically beneficial for hotels to go green. Tymms warns that hotels ignoring the green trend in hospitality risk losing customers. And he also suggest that hoteliers make sure they are actually taking steps to go green and not just marketing false claims for revenue gain. 

This article, though dated back a couple years ago, I found really interesting because the author made certain predictions about what he believed would happen in the future with travelers and what channels they use to search for/book their room nights at hotels. The article touched on how important social media marketing "will be" (in real time, it is!). He also pointed out how "travelers visit 38 websites on average before purchasing their online travel package" and how the real challenge here is to get customers to use direct bookings to cut out or lower some of those expensive channel costs. Lastly, he also included mobile marketing, meta-search, and the growing importance of Google+. As I stated before, the article caught my attention because the digital marketing trends predictions made in the article have all came true!