Skip to main content

Home/ Hospitality Technology/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by akallison93

Contents contributed and discussions participated by akallison93

akallison93

Hospitality security adjusts to COVID-19 constraints | 2021-02-08 | Security Magazine - 0 views

  • While COVID-19 has slowed the hospitality industry, security plays a more pivotal role than ever and the ongoing pandemic is challenging security professionals to adjust and adapt to new rules and procedures.
  • “The things people do in hotel rooms are things they would never do at home: prostitution, drug abuse. Suicide is huge, people kill themselves in hotel rooms because they don’t want to do it at home,”
  • The hotel industry came to a halt in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and things are only slowly starting to pick back up. Yet the burden on security is no less than it was before, and in many ways, the job has gotten harder.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Occupancy levels dropped 90% for several months and have only recently returned to a consistent 40%, with many hotels still closed,
  • “Despite the low occupancy levels, we continue to have a significant number of incidents resulting in a much higher incident-to-occupied-room ratio than we have historically seen. We have seen a dramatic increase in heart attacks and suicides over the past few months, and continue to have increased numbers of fraud and guest-on-guest type incidents.”
  • Even as the need for security persists, many hospitality chains have pared back their security budgets.
  • Eventually COVID-19 will recede, but new risk categories will likely continue to unfold in hospitality. Security professionals can help to steer a course by reminding upper management that risk is more than just a monetary calculation.
  • Under these emerging policies, security is striving to put more active eyes on guest rooms — right at a time when COVID-related staff reductions are making it harder for security even to sustain normal operations.
  • Even if there’s only one person working the front desk, “they still need to be making the rounds,” Perman says. “They need to be knocking on doors and making contact, making conversation. You need them to keep up that level of human intervention.”
  • “A passive infrared detector can also be used to detect temperature in human beings, so a video camera that is infrared capable can detect fever in a human, and that is being done in a lot of places,”
  • Through COVID-19, though, technology can be a double-edged sword. For example, some hotels have turned to mobile-phone-based check-in to provide a touchless experience. “From a security perspective there are unintended consequences there,” Danson says. “Now you never have to go to the front desk, you never have to encounter a person.”
  • In some cases, entire corporate departments are being eliminated, so there is no centralized security department. There is no one providing corporate guidance, no one providing policies and procedures.”
  •  
    This article goes into great detail about how Covid-19 is affecting hotel security. With budget cuts, security personnel are being limited, but the need for security is more important than ever. The article talks about how suicides in hotels are higher than ever as well, making it all the more important to have a solid security presence.
akallison93

How social media marketing is helping in hospitality recovery, Hospitality News, ET Hos... - 0 views

  • Instagram started as a photo posting site and would have never imagined the impact it would have on driving travel inspiration and building a relationship between the guest and hotels.
  • BCV, one of the leaders in helping hotels leverage social media, started on this journey ten years ago to help hotels realize the value of social media and the role it can play in driving engagement and, eventually, revenue.
  • Before we entered 2020, in Asia, 55% of millennials were basing their booking decisions on social media
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • In 2019, 63% of social media marketers confirmed that social listening would be crucial in 2020 to continue to engage the traveler
  • over 40% of social media users are now asking questions on Property and Destination Opening instead of asking for cancellations, showing a highly engaged potential guest.
  • organizations that respond well to a crisis and continue communications see a 20% increase in brand value as opposed to those companies that respond poorly see a 30% decrease
  • she owes the success of the campaign on turning the focus from the brand to the guest and their needs during the quarantine.
  • BCV’s RoI focussed strategy that micro-targeted source markets and personas created tailored content for Cinnamon hotels to deliver more than 200 room nights worth of revenue and an RoI that exceeded 200.
  • mitigating negative reviews is critical for driving demand in the future.
  • encouraging guests to share photos and awarding a two-week stay voucher and promoting the health standards and safety measures taken by the brand.
  • Building trust is critical for a brand, however sustained engagement to drive bookings and revenue from social media is the key success metric for most marketing leaders.
  • Brands need to understand who their target audience is, what they care about, and how they manage their time to capture their attention.
  • Instagram now has a shopping feature, which allows users to check out new products from brands in a few swipes. This shows that visual content is more crucial than ever—you can literally put a price tag on your photos on Instagram now.
  • Every Digital Platform has its own metrics and today, Digital Marketers can track close to 50 metrics to show success such as followers, traffic, share of voice and many more however as hospitality marketers emerge from this pandemic
  •  
    An excellent article that discusses how companies have changed their social media approach during Covid. Instead of selling the destination or the experience itself, hotels are trying to sell the concept of safety and security. Also, the article goes into detail about flexible date plans and more, all being advertised through their social media accounts. Overall, social media is still as important as ever, but the way companies approach it has changed drastically.
akallison93

Biometrics, Digital Identity To Save Travel | PYMNTS.com - 0 views

  • “The World Travel & Tourism Council, a London-based trade group, recently issued new recommendations in its Global Guidelines for Safe & Seamless Traveller Journey report, underscoring requirements for the swift and coordinated implementation of biometrics and digital traveler identity services.”
  • outlined several key considerations for public and private sector entities striving to collaborate on biometric verification measures. It notes that governments must work together on solutions so that data collection and sharing can be based on official documentation. It also explains the importance of establishing an industrywide consensus on privacy standards, interoperability and functionality that would make any solutions easier and more secure for users.”
  • American Airlines recently adopted a biometric health wallet app designed that allows passengers to track and verify their COVID-19 test results and documents. The solution, VeriFLY, allows consumers to leverage facial biometrics and ensure that their data matches countries’ requirements, with the app displaying a pass or fail message on their devices once the information has been processed.”
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • That goes together with concepts like digital “immunity passports” that ride along with travelers carrying vaccination data and other encrypted personal health information.
  • but some hotel chains and management firms have looked to digital ID solutions to address consumers’ safety concerns.
  • MGM Resorts debuted a contactless check-in process that allows customers to use its mobile app to verify themselves, pay for their rooms and even receive digital keys.”
  • Biometrics are playing a huge role in new identity needs, and that function is widening.
  •  
    Informative article on the role of Biometrics in the travel industry during Covid-19.The article explains the concept of immunity passports and what you have to do now, and what you will have to do in the future, regarding air travel. The article also briefly explains how biometrics are affecting and changing the hotel industry.
akallison93

Cleaning robots are powering an automation revolution in hospitality - The Washington Post - 0 views

  • While Vi-YO-Let, the product of a partnership with Denmark-based UVD Robots, might play cute tunes and light up as she moves, she has a serious job: disinfecting the air and surfaces around her. And she does so remarkably well: Her array of UV lights, which look like a bundle of lightsabers, kill more than 99 percent of viruses and bacteria, including the coronavirus.
  • More and more guests are requesting the robo-cleaning package
  • But as the pandemic rages into its second year, major brands are increasingly turning to the world of high-tech disinfection to strengthen their cleaning protocols
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • It’s a trend that’s slowly transforming housekeeping — and accelerating the pace of automation in hospitality.
  • Until recently, only health-care workers would frequently interact with disinfecting bots, which cost upward of $125,000 each. It’s a steep investment, but if it boosts travelers’ confidence, it’s worth it,
  • The appeal to the hospitality sector of virus-slaying UV light is obvious. Hospitals have found Xenex’s patented machines kill “22 times more pathogens” when compared with a room cleaned to CDC standards alone, Miller said.
  • certain hospitality jobs, those where face-to-face customer service is a key part of the experience, were less vulnerable.
  • Today, travelers might stumble on UV bots anywhere from five-star hotels and convention centers to train stations and cruise ships.
  • Verified Market Research that projects the market for UV disinfecting bots will grow to more than $5.5 billion by 2027.
  • Some robot makers refer to these kinds of bots as “cobots,” a portmanteau of “collaboration” and “robots,” because they’re intended to work alongside people rather than replace them.
  • a report that predicted more than 60 percent of jobs in hospitality-dominated cities like Las Vegas could be automatable by 2035
  • Take the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The iconic hotel, famous for hosting the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony, boasts in one promotional video that its Xenex robot staff “zaps every inch before your arrival,” leaving you a “pathogen-free sanctuary” where you’ll “rest assured you’re sleeping in the safest room possible.”
  • the pandemic is likely to accelerate the automation of jobs in sectors like hospitality.
  • “If they can develop driverless cars, if they can develop the whole variety of different things I saw there, certainly the jobs in our industry are going to change.”
  • Unite Here negotiates “extensive technology language” into its labor contracts. This helps ensure that workers can retrain for new skills, transition to other roles or at least receive severance pay if their jobs are automated out of existence.
  • Even as new technologies create new roles, some types of jobs may go away for good.
  • For now, even a state-of-the-art robot sometimes requires the delicate human touch.
  •  
    This article explains how robotics in hospitality is becoming far more common because of Covid-19. They go into detail about how, right now, all robotics require the assistance of humans. But they also go into how that can change in the next few years. The better technology gets, the less need there is for human support.
akallison93

Hotel Distribution - Why you need to be "agile" as a hotelier « Sabre Hospita... - 1 views

  • The need for agile hotel distribution is more important now than ever, as the hotel industry continues to strategize and map out roads to recovery across every segment of the market amidst Covid.
  • We, as an industry, should look at this as an opportunity to better position ourselves, while thinking about both short- and long-term distribution strategies.  Hoteliers’ abilities to quickly move – and fail – then pivot, will help lead the way for our industry’s recovery.
  • Instead, what does come to mind is the brain power and wealth of tribal knowledge that hoteliers will need to leverage over the next few quarters and years to optimize revenue.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The first step in getting your organization to wrap their heads around an agile distribution framework is getting buy in from leadership and owners. For any agile strategy to be successful, the organization must require patience and execution across all levels of the organization.
  • Your goal is to build distribution and channel strategies for profitability. Hoteliers should look at net revenue per available room (Net RevPAR) or gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) instead of RevPAR when making this analysis.
  • hoteliers should analyze the total cost of a direct booking by including costs of loyalty programs, website development and maintenance, marketing and social media campaigns, and call centers.
  • the who, where and when, but to truly optimize channels for profitability, you must get the “why”. The “why” offers insights on path-to-purchase behavioral data and conversion metrics, which allow customer segmentations for a profitable and deliberate distribution strategy.
  • hoteliers should look at the full contribution from each channel and prioritize channels that bring guests with the highest ancillary spend – think Total Revenue Management.
  • Hoteliers that stay agile and attentive on pulling the inventory levers within their distribution and channel strategies will lead the way (and lead with rate) to recovery.
  •  
    This is an informative article, published by Sabre, on how to utilize certain technologies and stay agile during Covid-19 in the hotel business. It emphasizes how to keep and maintain a hotel during these trying times. Never stopping trying to improve and to keep an eye on all aspects of sale, occupancy, and position in the GDS. It's important to keep everything in the perspective of short and long term solutions.
akallison93

Benefits of cloud computing | Business Queensland - 0 views

  • Cloud computing offers your business many benefits. It allows you to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give you the flexibility of connecting to your business anywhere, any time. With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment (e.g. smartphones, tablets), access to your data is even easier.
  • Rather than purchasing expensive systems and equipment for your business, you can reduce your costs by using the resources of your cloud computing service provider. You may be able to reduce your operating costs because:the cost of system upgrades, new hardware and software may be included in your contractyou no longer need to pay wages for expert staffyour energy consumption costs may be reducedthere are fewer time delays.
  • Your business can scale up or scale down your operation and storage needs quickly to suit your situation, allowing flexibility as your needs change. Rather than purchasing and installing expensive upgrades yourself, your cloud computer service provider can handle this for you.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Protecting your data and systems is an important part of business continuity planning. Whether you experience a natural disaster, power failure or other crisis, having your data stored in the cloud ensures it is backed up and protected in a secure and safe location.
  • Collaboration in a cloud environment gives your business the ability to communicate and share more easily outside of the traditional methods.
  • Cloud computing allows employees to be more flexible in their work practices. For example, you have the ability to access data from home, on holiday, or via the commute to and from work (providing you have an internet connection).
  • Access to automatic updates for your IT requirements may be included in your service fee. Depending on your cloud computing service provider, your system will regularly be updated with the latest technology.
  •  
    Informative article with many of the advantages of cloud computing. Puts different cloud services into perspective. Keeps in mind, natural disasters, which I found unique and interesting.
akallison93

Panera tests ghost kitchens, mobile kitchens, virtual catering - 0 views

  • Coming off a year of innovation during the pandemic, Panera Bread is looking to go all-in on convenience technology in the future, with ghost kitchens, mobile kitchens, virtual catering, and redesigned drive-thru lanes already in the works
  • ted about
  • “We are excited about creating our vision of the next generation of Panera,” Chaudhary said. “This next generation [of Panera stores] will use 5-6 disruptive ideas to drive greater customer engagement.”
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • “These are the kinds of things we are thinking of recreating and redefining for the Panera of the future, which is going to be more off-premise-oriented, and led by technology and convenience,”
  • Besides smaller physical footprints, other aspects of Panera 2.0 will include delivery-centric ghost kitchens and mobile kitchens
  • An online version of catering will look like all of us sitting around a Zoom meeting with our food arriving at the same time
  • That is a disruptive way of serving the same needs consumers have in a different way that is more convenient and relevant in a world that looks different.
  • The pandemic has changed the way operators should approach convenience technology
  • Chaudhary said they’re looking at other forms of technology like touchless kiosks where instead of tapping a screen to place their order, customers might use hand gestures instead like giving a thumbs up, for example. This way, they can leverage consumer needs for contactless experiences without sacrificing engagement.
  • A disruptive model is a hybrid of both [third-party and in-house delivery],” Chaudhary said. “We might leverage our existing drivers for orders and every time we need some help, we can outsource it. These are examples in this new world of us being able to innovate, to improve and strengthen our business model
  •  
    The article explains how Covid-19 has affected the dining industry and how companies have to adapt. In this article, specifically, it talks about how Panera is implementing ghost kitchens, changing how they approach catering, and how they can keep their consumers safe in a post Covid-19 world. Many hospitality based businesses are changing the way they operate, permanently, because of the pandemic.
1 - 7 of 7
Showing 20 items per page