This article discusses different approaches to tourism marketing through social media outlets. The author points to excessive advertising costs especially with printing brochures and guides that are usually tossed in the trash. E-Marketing strategies need to involve the users interactively by having them join, register, or enter and engage in activities. This way you are collecting user information, gauging trends, and possibly making more customers out of viewers.

This article looks at the rising use of Smartphones and smartphone apps for the event planning industry, and more specifically at industry meetings. The use of the technology makes it easier to connect the audience on points like engagement, interactivity, and business-to-customer- networking. As the importance of social media interaction in business, so does the need for interaction between business leaders increase as well, and helps to create a successful marketing event.

Information technology spending is on the rise in the hospitality industry in attempts to enhance the guest experience in the highly competitive market. According to Motorola hotels are looking to increasing mobile investments in the hopes that their staff will be better equipped and that with their new hardware will improve operational efficiency. The article states that 91% of hospitality decision-makers see mobile and wireless technology as the wave of the future, as well as the need for mobility to stay competitive. A few large challenges are: keeping up with cost, ever-changing technology, the need for more bandwidth, and data storage.

This article discusses the accounting application needs for restaurants. Restaurant accounting systems need to "address two categories: kitchen operations and POS. These programs can map the costs of "kitchen operations, inventory control, recipe and menu costing". The accounting software is usually integrated with POS for a seamless solution. There seem to be many options for businesses to have detailed, comprehensive, and complete accounting overview of their operations. Utilizing integrated accounting software would allow managers to quickly analyze ways to save money, what needs improvement, and to understand their basic financial reports.

The author attributes a growth in 'hotel complexity' that is driving the need for a change with traditional PMS systems and the limits of their capabilities. According to the article, the current PMS system is unsustainable and will need to evolve to meet client's demands- such as cloud computing, which is highlighted as being beneficial to hotels especially with regards to flexibility, better security, speed of implementation, etc. The pros and cons of cloud computing are clearly described, the cons mainly being loss of connectivity and security breaching. Although traditional PMS are essential for most hotels, cloud computing could put them at a competitive edge.

The limits of GDS's are discussed in this article, as well as the lack of initiative of the big 4 GDS's to adopt and develop newer and more updated systems because of their prevalence in travel. According to the article, the face of the GDS systems look nearly the same as they did in the 1970s, and the airlines systems are not up-to-date enough to meet consumer demands. The author points to consumer trends in the demand for personalization, package variety, and simply the desire for more packages.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

The partnership of AutoClerk, Inc., Technology At Work, and PhoneSuite is changing the approach to technology packages for hotels. This technology addresses the issues of solely-based cloud based solutions by additionally offering "premise-based property management solutions". Its application for property management and phone systems is most compelling. The software extends its use to smaller boutique hotels, B&Bs, and larger corporate hotels with its variety in package solutions. For international guests, the use of Interactive Voice Response allows for the use of their own native language, tailoring the hotel experience to the individual and group needs.

The article, Urbanspoon Unveils Rezbook "Right Now", highlights a new chapter in online reservation resources available to customers on their home computers or their smart phones. Urbanspoon's new application rivals Open Table. The "Right Now" feature allows guests to view what restaurants in their area have open tables, make reservations 'right now', view current wait times, and amount of guests in front of them. This allows restaurants to reach a market they might not have before and can provide them with new business. The goal of restaurants is to turn first-time guests into regulars, and Rezbooks is a great way to introduce new guests to your establishment. Not only can they reserve or find a table online, guests can also directly rate the restaurant and post details on their dining experience. This enables restaurants to get immediate feedback (positive or negative), especially since the application is readily available from smart phones. The new Urbanspoon application can work to provide new business while streamlining the seating process. For instance, even if a restaurant offers a 15-minute grace period for seating, to the diner they have conveniently jumped ahead of the wait in an otherwise busy setting. In our world of instant gratification, Urbanspoon's "Right Now" seems to fit in just right.