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Choice created the software in 2003 as an inexpensive solution for franchisees of its economy brands.

The PMS had a lot of growing pains at first, but eventually it became more and more cloud enabled and was adopted across the company.

“A lot of companies had outsourced their IT and now they’re bringing it back in house because they can do almost everything they need on the cloud or through software as a service.

Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced a global collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a hotel franchising company, to upgrade its technology infrastructure and develop and deliver new guest services across its 21 hotel brands — including Days Inn, La Quinta, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8, and Wyndham.

Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced a global collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a hotel franchising company, to upgrade its technology infrastructure and develop and deliver new guest services across its 21 hotel brands — including Days Inn, La Quinta, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8, and Wyndham.

putting it on track to achieve its goal of running 90% of its infrastructure in the cloud.

The Federal Trade Commission Tuesday announced that it had filed a suit against global hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, as well as three of its subsidiaries

failing to institute a robust information security program, even in the wake of a major exploit.

exposure of over 600,000 credit card accounts and $10.6 million in fraudulent credit card charges, the FTC alleged.

The FTC alleges that these failures led to fraudulent charges on consumers’ accounts, millions of dollars in fraud loss, and the export of hundreds of thousands of consumers’ payment card account information to an Internet domain address registered in Russia.

According to the FTC, in the first breach in April 2008, intruders gained access to a Phoenix, Arizona Wyndham-branded hotel's local computer network that was connected to the Internet and the corporate network of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Wyndham is tapping Oracle Hospitality for its full-service brands and Sabre for its select-service

Wyndham is the first hotel chain to adopt Oracle’s next-generation cloud-based version of its Opera property management system.

Four and a half years ago, Wyndham moved to its first-generation hosted systems — meaning, moved away from having computers sitting under the desk or in the hotel closet.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries, today announced the roll out of the next-gen Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud Property Management (PMS) to its full-service hotels, making it the first major hotel company to adopt the system globally.

The Company anticipates approximately 20 percent of its full-service portfolio will adopt the new PMS in the next 12 months with the majority migrating to the system over the next several years.

a fully reimagined mobile app, making it the first to bring mobile check-in and checkout to more than 6,000 economy and midscale hotels.

 authorities in the US filed a lawsuit against Wyndham Worldwide, claiming the company and three subsidiaries failed to protect sensitive customer credit card data.

almost 600,000 credit card numbers including expiry and security codes, were stolen over a three year period in three separate data breaches, resulting in over $10 million in fraudulent losses to cardholders, banks, and credit card companies.

Weak passwords and a laissez faire attitude towards property management system usernames and passwords should never be an excuse for a compromise.

Mobile-enabled platform allows for quicker innovation while helping hotels enhance guest personalization, lower costs and boost operational efficiencies

Wyndham's selection of OPERA Cloud for its full-service hotels represents the latest in a growing list of newly launched technology initiatives by the Company, all of which center on giving franchisees tools to help provide a competitive advantage amid the ongoing pandemic

"Having OPERA Cloud in place allows franchisees to quickly and remotely enhance features for guests as the industry continues to evolve, which is going to be critical in maintaining a competitive edge."

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WHR) issued an open letter to its customers in February informing guests that certain Wyndham brand-franchised and managed hotel computer systems had been compromised by a hacker, resulting in the unauthorized acquisition of customer names and credit card information. According to the letter, the hacker was able to infiltrate central network connections to move information to an off-site URL before the hotel company discovered the intrusion in late January 2010. The breach is believed to have occurred between late October 2009 and January 2010. The incident did not affect other branded hotels in the Wyndham Hotel Group system.

Hotel cyber-security is facing increasing scrutiny from federal regulators.

last June the Federal Trade Commission sued Wyndham Worldwide hotels after apparently unsophisticated hackers allegedly stole the credit card information of more than 600,000 customers leading to a more than $10.6 million fraud loss

The FTC has claimed that Wyndham did not maintain appropriate firewalls, did not configure security software to protect credit card information, did not remedy known security vulnerabilities, and failed to use complex passwords allowing hackers to infiltrate through “brute force” – essentially by guessing the password of the administrator.

Hotel cyber-security is facing increasing scrutiny from federal regulators. Case in point, last June the Federal Trade Commission sued Wyndham Worldwide hotels after apparently unsophisticated hackers allegedly stole the credit card information of more than 600,000 customers leading to a more than $10.6 million fraud loss.

So what are reasonable data security measures? The FTC itself has stated that the data security measures it considers reasonable “will depend on the size and complexity of the business, the nature and scope of its activities, and the sensitivity of the information at issue.” In other words, it is nearly impossible to know if your data security is adequate until the FTC tells you it is inadequate. While data security has been a hallmark of compliance for healthcare providers and banks for more than a decade, the hospitality industry has not been subjected to the same regulatory framework.

Review your privacy policy immediately

commerce should be a compliment to every part of a hotel's operations. All staff members need to be briefed on the advantages of taking a collaborative approach to e-commerce

needs to understand the correlation of stellar customer service on online guest reviews and the ability of a hotel to sell its products online.

sales departments

Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers?

Investment in Hotel Technology Pays Off with Increased Group Revenue Tuesday, July 10, 2012 by Sarah Vining Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers? Virtual concierge service on guest room TVs At Hyatt Hotels with in-room HD TVs by Roomlinx Inc., guests are able make service requests, check email/weather, use the Business Center, print documents, and receive customized messages from meeting planners. Service requests like housekeeping and in-room dining are instantly sent through the system, improving the venue’s departmental efficiency. All of these virtual functions are hoped to appeal to new markets and drive group business. More efficient billing In the article, “Insert IACC blog post title URL” we learn that in 2012, meeting and group planners are prioritizing finance as very important during in their planning process (which made the top 10 list for the first time). Hotels making large investments in revenue management systems are taking advantage of new features that automate and process data to improve efficiency and increase revenue for properties. Virtual business centers Socialization through technology and food and beverage outlets is increasing revenue for TRYP by Wyndham in the NYC Times Square South property. Google TVs and access to Google Chrome laptops near the Gastro Bar in the hotel’s lobby offers guests an opportunity to enjoy a dining experience with the comfort of complimentary technology use. On-staff IT team When planners were surveyed, reliability was listed as a top concern of IT services in the white paper “What Do Planners and Trainers Really Want in Their Meeting Service?” All IACC-certified conference centers are required to have an on-site IT team to ensure technology functions properly. Now, the need for a knowledgeable IT team that really understands technology and can cater to individuals and group business is spreading to other hotel markets.   These impressive technology tools improve the guest experience and lead to a quick return on investment, especially in F&B. As we move beyond the discussion of required hotel Wi-Fi services, there will be a focus on technology amenities that provide the same comforts of home or the office. To increase group business, hoteliers are comfortable with this investment knowing there’s a return on investment with generated buzz/venue marketing and satisfied guests. Want to learn about other ways hotels are using technology to build relationships? Check out Enhancing Your Social Networking Site with a Social Concierge! to maximize social media and connect with guests, attendees and planners!

A thousand points of social data With guest feedback rapidly shifting from traditional, solicited surveys to spontaneous web dialogue, HHM began researching different methodologies for understanding its own social presence.

HHM runs a diverse profile of widespread properties, including independent boutiques plus brands such as Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood, Intercontinental Hotels, Choice, Wyndham and Carlson. Starting out in the 1980s in the select-service business, HHM has steadily scaled the organization to include 20 hotels in a full-service division as well. Despite this diversity, HHM prides itself on maintaining open lines of communication between properties and brands in order to allow owners to choose the solutions and strategies that make the most sense for their unique needs, while investing capital dollars intelligently across its network. In addition to guest feedback, three other areas drive HHM’s IT effort: identifying must-have technology, investing in multi-purpose when possible, and ensuring rock-solid execution.

NEW YORK - Wyndham's first, Euro-style Tryp hotel in the USA wants to make sure you feel connected - whether to other guests in your group, helpful hotel staffers or other guests you've never met.

LobbyFriend - an app designed specifically for registered hotel guests - creates a network that you can tap into on your smartphone. You can also see it in action on prominently displayed, lobby TV screens.

Some of the screens play live TV news, but two of them show content that looked vaguely familiar in a Facebook-sort of way. They contained the Tryp logo and a logo for "LobbyFriend," with the headline, "Join the conversation."