The Savoy Hotel Goes Green! Patterson is the Sustainability Manager at the Savoy and she states "environmental responsibility is a core value of the Savoy and it factors into all of our business decision making." Their goals are toe become socially, economically, and environmentally responsible. Some of the initiatives that they have started on the property include reclaiming heat from the kitchen refrigerator to preheat water, as well as combined heat and power plant (CHP). The CHP chip uses heat generated from a gas engine which is used to heat the building and promote hot water. This CHP chip produces 90% of our summer cooling and 50% of winter heating. Guest rooms on property have Inncom AC and heat systems which help control the temperatures in the room. The property has LED lighting and they use metering and water bottling plant systems, food waste recycling.
Emarketing is useful for all hotels. It is a powerful tool to help advertise and gain revenue in the hospitality industry. There are different kinds of marketing such as internet, web, online, and digital marketing. Social media marketing is currently one of the highest marketing strategies that companies are using. Not only pictures, but hashtags and such are capturing more attention to different properties. Email marketing is also very successful for companies with large loyalty based programs. For instance, Hilton can make up to $10,000 per email campaign.
When an event planner is picking a location for their event, they take technology into consideration. It is the biggest factor in choosing where to host their event or meeting. According to this link, 96% of event or meeting planners find value in using technology to manage their meetings and events. Event and meeting planners say that this is the number one feature that they would have on their wish list for creating their own event and meeting planning product. Whether it's at a hotel or restaurant, this is the number one aspect that is important for the planners to conduct their event or meeting.
Due to terrorism threats all over the world, security in hotels and airlines has increased however it's still not enough. Almost half of all the tourists that travel worldwide are changing their travel plans. Terrorism threats are effecting the way people travel especially during this upcoming holiday. Turkey and Egypt were popular tourist destinations however in the past year, there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of people that want to travel to those countries. More people are choosing to stay home for the holidays or travel to destinations which are considered safe such as Canada and Australia.
With the new innovations in technology, there are many security risks. Hotels have now started to execute a process in which these security breaches can be minimized. A security survey conducted in 2014 revealed that there are many security improvements but some companies are still not taking the proper measures. This poses a threat to hotels, especially when it comes to their loyalty programs and their PMS systems. Any hacker can have access to a guest's information, whether it be their home addresses or their credit cards. There has been a recent increase in these cases due. Due to these threats, all companies should have strategic plans in place if this is to occur.
There will be an increase in IT spending within the hospitality industry. More and more companies have realized to be more efficient and to better cater their guests, new technological innovations need to be in place at their property. With more and more consumer behavior based on new inventions with a background related to technology, it helps drive the hospitality industry to success.
The hospitality industry is facing changes that are due to the consumer's new trending interests. They are looking for more experiences and the hospitality industry has to make changes to attract these customers. When these changes are made, regardless of the type of change, the accounting sector of any business is affected. This article shows the importance of managing accounting systems because they are so crucial to every process of point of scale.
The point of sale is the time at which a transaction between a consumer and the producer occurs. During this time, the consumer pays and the point of sale prepares a receipt for the guest. Currently, receipts are being electronically sent as well. The point of sale software has to include bar codes, electronic or manual cash registers, terminals, as well as have features for inventory management, CRM, financials, and or warehousing. Businesses are adopting POS systems because there is no need for price tags; the barcodes on all the items can be simply scanned and the sale can be processed. Then, the system configures all the data needed to give the guest a receipt.
Property Management Systems were first implemented a few decades ago however in the past few years, they have been transformed due to new technological advances. With these new innovations, the check in process has become a much quicker process. Due to the already available information on the property management systems, we have less questions to ask the guests. These new property management systems enable us to address guests needs proactively by helping us predict their patterns. For example, if a guest's birthday is in the system, we can provide birthday amenities or if a guest is traveling with children, we can prepare fun toys for them to play with. Based on the information stored on these new systems, we are able to anticipate and exceed guests needs.
All over Italy, Melia hotel properties have gone green by using 100% renewable energy. They want to reduce their carbon footprint in the air and want to become more sustainable to help fight climate change. In their efforts to become more eco-friendly, they have partnered up with the Italian company A2A, which is a producer of renewable energy and is leading in providing more environmental energy.
GDS (Global distribution system) is a very helpful reservation tool that was originally used for travel agents to book flights, but it has now expanded to hotels. GDS is an important tool for those that are traveling because they can search through millions of different available options and find the best and most feasible choice. Travel agents using GDS can make bookings for their clients within minutes, which will include flights and hotels, all at a reasonable price. Some say that GDS may disappear. However, with all the new technology advances and updates to program systems, GDS will most likely evolve and become more user friendly. It will open up to more markets than just travel agents and companies.