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The International Air Transport Association introduced a new security system at the 67th Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Singapore in 2011. This new system would divide travelers in three different categories: known travelers, normal travelers and enhanced security travelers. Each level would have different security procedures and then passengers would pass through different tunnels, one for each category of traveler. For example, if you are a known traveler you would need to pass a iris recognition system which would confirm your identity and you would pass through a tunnel with minimal scanning technology. The scanning procedures get more invasive for normal passengers and even worse for enhanced security travelers.

In the article "Would Your Crew Wear Mobile Apps?" it talks about a new way of advertising through uniforms. On the back of a crew members uniform there is a QR code and the customer just has to scan the code it shows them coupons and deals the restaurant is promoting. I feel that this way of advertising is easy and fun; people love using technology and what better way to incorporate it then by using your Smartphone! In the article they asked different fast food restaurants if they would use this product and although they thought it was a good idea they felt that it would be taking away from a fast paced environment. In the article it states that traditional media is not what it use to be, ""There are billions of dollars being spent on it, and [traditional ads] are driving consumers to the stores, but at that point consumers still don't know what they're going to buy." Overall, I feel that this product would bring in a lot of customers and it's a great way to advertise things on the menu, I'm all for this idea!

This article offers a telling account of how Disney developed and implemented the MyMagic+ initiative, providing important insights into how major corporations approach massive tech-related capital investments. Among the most salient takeaways: 1) how Disney recognized that the parks' pain points could be addressed through the public's growing predilection for personal, always-connected; 2) how these massive internal projects can pit different departments against each other, and how sometimes that antagonism can lead to beneficial results; and 3) how a project like MyMagic+ can have a profound positive impact on the company and still be considered by many to have not fulfilled its potential.

Changes are coming for New York City hotel workers. A proposal between the Hotel Association of New York and the New York Hotel Trades Council would equip hotel staffers with personal panic alarms. Employees like house keepers are calling for the extra safety measures for fear of being assaulted in a guest room. Concern is also circulating outside New York in places like Sacramento, California. The personal security devices were tested on students at California State University at San Marcos last year. I believe hotels will begin to implement more measures like this in large cities like New York. Similar to airports and large department stores, safety is a major concern. I believe the personal panic button is a great idea for any hospitality space that accommodates a large number of people.

I think this new proposal may draw people's attention to employees' safety issues within the hospitality industry. It is also important for hotels and restaurants to make sure that their employees work in an environment that is danger free and threats free. The panic button can provide the instant location of the staff and once if something goes wrong, the time for rescue will be shorten. It is really a beneficial proposal for the entire hospitality industry.

Pending approval, personal panic alarms would be carried by staff members in all New York City hotels. These panic buttons would be carried by the staff member during their shift so that they are easily and quickly accessible should something happen. Fox News in Sacramento, CA reported that house keepers voiced their desire for more saftey measures to be put in place. Assaults on house keepers may be more common than people think. House keepers tend more often to be women and they tend to work alone or with only one other person. Hotels host many events in which guests may be drinking which in turn creates the potential for violent or inappropriate actions. Not only is the safety of guests important to the hospitality industry but safety of employees is paramount as well. Having personal panic buttons would give house keepers and workers alike more peace of mind should they encounter any uncomfortable or unsafe situation.

"The first role on the internet in the hospitality industry is online booking." With the increase in use of online booking sales of travel related goods and services in the hospitality industry has soared. "In the past, travel agents were the most common source of booking hotel rooms and travel components." The use of the internet has changed this as more and more travellers are booking online. "Another role of the internet is the use of it as a marketing tool." Hotels are able to market themselves; when the internet is used they will be able to set up their own websites where they will be able to showcase the aesthetics of the property and the services offered. This could attract a lot of online users. The customers would be able to see virtually what they are about to purchase. This type of technology also allows the business to reach customers globally. This in turn allows the business to have an idea about the kind of customers they are catering to. Since businesses would be using less of travel agents, there would be some savings and so they would be able to offer customers more competitive rates, there an increase in sales.

Great article on the rise of mobile payment systems and how businesses who in the past may have been cash only or otherwise are seeing increased sales as the ability to take credit card payments with little hardware and software infrastructure costs. Down the street from me is probably my favorite Rib joint in town, Uncle Rodney's House of Ribs is the name. I love that place, but rarely go because they are a cash only business due in large part to the fact that the owner does not wish to pay for wireless or otherwise internet related services to make his business able to accept credit cards. What are everyone's thought to the increased use of mobile payment systems for restaurants and other businesses?

This is an interesting article, and it is quite amazing to see how the way of payment is drastically shifting with new technological devices such as smartphones, card readers. Just a couple of years ago, if I wanted to buy something online, I had to start my computer then go on whatever website I bought something from which took some time. Now, however, I don't even have to turn on my computer to purchase something on the web because I can buy many things through my smartphone whenever and wherever I want. It is a lot easier and faster than what it used to be.

Spasibo bolshoe za interesting article! Ona mne ochen pomozhet v moem research!

In the recent event of the shooting happening in Las Vegas in a hotel it has made the issue of hotel security on everyones mind as everyone is trying to figure out how to make sure this never happens again. The idea of implementing a TSA- like approach to security in a hotel would not be advantageous for a hotel as the cost to implement this would be very high which would lead to higher prices for the guests and also guests definitely would not appreciate this type of security. One thing that hotels should look at, is the car access to the property. Most hotels do have drive up drive ways where guests can conveniently valet their car and check in, but this style leads the hotels open to car bombings and hotels will not recognize this vulnerability until an intelligence agency declares this as a target by terrorists. Instead of making radical changes in hotel security and the actual property we should focus more on fact-based risk assessment to figure out the best solution.

This article is about a new application: Monscierge that launched in December for the iOS (apple) and Connect for the Android in January. The software allows all of the amenities of a hotel to be available to guests via smartphones. The app is completely customizable for each of a brand's specific hotels. This is an excellent idea for both hotels and guests with the recent rise in smartphone and tablet technology. Guests who may not be as comfortable requesting things in person or over the phone would now have the option to do so digitally. Research of 1,000+ hotels and resorts worldwide was conducted over 3 years and found that the majority of questions to the front desk, bellmen, etc. were related to: services, local information, and recommendations. This app seeks to improve that by making those inquiries easily searchable on a smartphone or tablet, also allowing guests to input their own comments. With this finding it should be expected this kind of technology would be very well accepted, which it was. In respect to benefits for the hotel the app is completely customizable down to specific hotels to suit their image needs. With the use of this application it would also allow staff to be more effective, negating redundant questions. By allowing guests the ability to send digital postcards bearing the hotels brand it gives the company more exposure. These benefits are significant for a company looking for new technologies to give them an edge The benefits of this application are numerous for both the customer and hotel. Hotels may also see benefits moving into future years with easier training due to familiarity with this type of technology and customers with easy-to-use technology. For hotels and consumers attempting to plan completely customized experiences, trip-planning functionality is built into the app providing many possible uses. This app to me seemed to be very logical in the current progression of technology. The majority of people today

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.

This article was very enlightening on the recent advances of POS technology in the hospitality industry and the new developments that keep evolving. The article presents areas were recent advances have helped to improve the "effectiveness of a business and relationship with their customers". As stated in the article with the use of "cloud-based systems, the latest i-trends and the growth of Near Field Communications", the hospitality industry POS technology will move very far. Three key areas were discussed; "Point of Sale on the move" which referred to using a browser on any mobile device to obtain necessary information while you are on the move or away from the business. The second area was using a POS system on a tablet or smartphone that would be able to provide more useful information than tradition POS systems in a lightweight manner with more flexibility. I can attest to the real need for this advancement because working in an establishment that has the traditional POS systems has proven when there is a problem trouble shooting can be very difficult. A process as simple as getting your technical support team to make changes in your POS system can be a nightmare, when your system does not have updated software. We experienced that issue this week, when technical support attempted to access the system and could not locate the license agreement after hours of searching for a key we found a device that was attached to the printer cable in the back of the CPU. All of the unnecessary time spent on that one event could have been eliminated if some of this new technology was in place. The last area the article referred to is "Marrying POS and NFC". This new development is hoping to eliminate the need for carrying money or credit/debit cards and enable consumers to use mobile devices to process all transactions. I believe this would be very beneficial in the hospitality industry not only from the point credit card fraud but also it eliminate

This article gave me a different perspective as to how the GDS system has affected the airline industry.  According to The Economist, the airlines chronic unprofitability is due to two strategic errors of their own doing. One was to stop paying direct commission to travel agents and the other was to set the reservations systems free. Despite their best efforts airlines are now having very hard time getting travelers to bypass GDS agents and come to their websites. A majority of the profit margins in the travel business are seen by the GDS systems and airlines are left footing the bill. In hopes of resolving this problem, the airlines international association is working what is called "new distribution capability." Through use of this service it would become easier for travel agents to utilize computer systems that would deal directly with the airlines. However, ambitious IT projects have failed hundreds of different times across hundred of different industries and getting the airlines to agree to make such a dramatic change in IT would be a daunting task. Both the airlines and GDSs argue they hold the true consumer advantage.  On one hand, airlines are able to provide flyers with personally tailored service, while on the other, the GDSs allow customers to compare flights for the best value. Whether it be the airlines or the GDSs that prevail, the future of travel is now online. 

This is a great article highlighting the cons of of cloud-based PMS. In India, the infrastructure is not developed enough for hotels to rely on a cloud-based PMS. While the hotel industry is slowly adopting things such as mobile check-in, there is great hesitation to adopt the cloud-based PMS. The Internet in India is not reliable therefore it would not be efficient for hotels to send all their data to the cloud. In the event of an outage, the hotels would not be able to operate. There are also many concerns over data security; Indian hotels are worried about transferring secure information to an "unknown" place. Yet, individualized properties are looking forward to centralizing PMS and perhaps embracing cloud-based PMS in the near future. Only time will tell how long it will take the Indian hotel industry to become more technology oriented. 

Chad Kaydo in his article '7 Things Event Planners Want From Technology Now," highlights the results of a recent survey where industry officials noted what tech changes and adaptations they would like to see as it relates to the Event Planning and Management area of the Hospitality Industry. He noted the following items as the urgent needs of event planners: **Lower Prices - many planners steer clear of the technology due to costs and thus would like to see adjustments in costs relating to new technology. **Integration of Planning Tools - Planners want to be able to connect the different tech offerings used instead of using them in isolation. **Next Generation Apps - Event Apps should be of the same sophistication and simple to use as those of popular consumer apps such as Instagram. **Seamless Social Media Integration - Social Media has become and important tool for event planners. Rene Mark stated that they would like to see "any form of technology that creates a more engaging experience for our clients so that they can interact from the audience, share their experiences online and engage actively with other participants." ** Improved Internet Access - one of the major complaints of planners and something they would like to see improvements on is WiFi access at event venues. Mr. Kaydo noted that planners and tech developers said that the lack of robust, reliable, reasonably priced bandwidth and network services at hotels is slowing the pace of technological advancements across meetings and events. ** Attendee Data Tracking -Improved Technology to keep track of attendee participation. **Help to figure it all out - Planners find it difficult to keep up with technology and to constantly learn how a new device or program works. However this attitude is affecting the results gained from the adoption or lack of as it relates to technological advancements in the Event planning field.

I recall as a kid joking about the future when robots would be taking over the jobs. Well that time has come as hospitality industries are hiring robots. Robots are taking the time to complete the monotonous tasks and allowing more time for the humans to focus on guest experience. The robots are beneficial in that they can store and recall information more efficiently than the human employee. They can interact with the guests when asked questions and can provide much of the same information a human employee would. The factor to consider when hiring a robot is the initial expense, how long would it take to recuperate your investment. But on a positive note, turnover would decline because you are less likely to terminate a robot.

This article talks about the future of event planning. The efforts hotels will have to make to be competitive in the industry. It also talks about the technology that will have to be offered such as VR (virtual reality).

This article is very interesting because it lists all the ways that event planning will be in the future because of technological advances. It talks about autonomous staff, 3D shopping, made-to-order venues, personalized longevity health spas, pop-up hotels, supersonic air travel, sustainable hotels, personal travel avatars, and DNA authorization. The article describes the benefits and downfalls to each one and puts emphasis on the fact that these advances are closer than we can imagine.

This blog article relates to the merger between Mariott and Starwood Hotels. For decades Starwood hotels had been investing in a technology transformation program to move Starwood properties from their old mainframe technology to a more modern reservation system called Valhalla. Valhalla is an all in one system and manages reservations, call center, eCommerce Web, Property management and Rev mgmt systems. One would expect Mariott to migrate their current properties to Starwoods PMS however this was not the case. After the merger Mariott announced that they would be migrating the 1200 acquired Starwood properties to their reservation system. I don't understand why Mariott would do this as this would be a backward move. It's a bit strange because their purchase price for Starwood factored in a $500 million Starwood IP technology value which was not owned by Mariott.

Compared to large hotel chains and airlines, the GDS can play a different role for businesses of smaller sizes. For small hotels, it may be beneficial to make use of a channel manager instead of depending on sales from a GDS. The article suggests to smaller hotels that channel managers, who work directly with travel agents, can mean more profit for your business. Using the GDS and a travel agency, you are technically paying 2 commissions. With a channel manager, you would only be paying one. Having this business relationship will cut out a middle man, and hotels with smaller budget will find this strategy more efficient.

I find this article a little misleading. The GDS are channels, can be managed by a channel manager, or in conjunction with, or separately but usually for smaller hotels require an intermediary. Accessing the GDS(s) are used less by smaller hotels for two main factors: 1. Costs and Fees 2. Scope of demand (driving the right customers). 3. Program Fees The article cites figures which have changed substantially since 2015, as of Q4 North American GDS growth was up 6.4% and ADR was up 4.2% YOY with 18.4% of all bookings coming through GDS. TravelClick, Inc. (2019, March 4) What isn't highlighted in the article was the fact that margin agreements with OTAs for smaller independent hotel range anywhere from 20-35% . If the article had done an actual cost comparison (access through intermediary to GDS instead of OTA) the 10% commission + access and delivery fee may have proven more profitable. It would have been better if they had done a little more comparative cost analysis. TravelClick, Inc. (2019, March 4). GDS Booking and ADR Growth Drive Strong Q4 2018 RevPAR Performance in Hospitality. Retrieved from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/performance/4092226.html

This article from the Little Hotelier talks about what exactly is GDS and the Channel Manager and which on is better for Small Hotels. Small Hotels should opt for the system that gives them what they need, but in their price range and for the size of their business.

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.

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

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

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

This is an article about how 1/3 of all consumers would subscribe to receive mobile messages from their favorite suppliers, retailers, etc. It is interesting to note that 70% of respondents to the survey would not use mobile messaging with their work colleagues, but they will with financial institutions, healthcare (even to using mobile messaging with their Dr.) and travel instances/ie confirmations. Further, nearly half of consumers would subscribe if the message was personalized to them based on their specific choices or preferences.