Delphi, by Newmarket Inc., is a Property Management System that continuously improves its ability and popularity year after year. As of November of 2014, Delphi has released its latest version, Delphi 2015. Globally speaking, there are over 100,000 Newmarket technology users that access these systems in over 150 countries daily. Delphi is a PMS system that can collect, distribute and manage RFP distribution within any set of properties. Recently, they adapted StarCite RFP integration and are announcing a partnership with MeetingBroker, another reporting engine. Both StarCite and MeetingBroker allow proposal requests to automatically populate in selected Delphi accounts, bridging the gap between consumer and seller much more quickly and accurately. I have personally used Delphi on a daily basis over the past year at work and I can honestly see the huge benefit these types of systems can have. It's ability to interface with Synxis, Opera and other room reservation systems is crucial in successfully reaching perfect occupancy numbers. On an event management level, it can merge legal-binding documents specific to that event. At the same time, it can hold a certain amount of guestrooms or certain event space for certain prices at certain times. These room holds interface with reservations and front office departments while the space holds interface with catering, banquet, accounting, and convention services departments. Delphi is an incredible tool that is the true foundation to property-wide events. It's ability to manage rooms, space, menus and revenues is a lifeline to the success of many properties.

Malaysia and Southeast Asia is slowly but surely adapting strategic social media and e-marketing into their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article focuses on the opposing views on how these tools are being utilized and adapted to help these small businesses. Scicom Education Group's head of Creative Services Vernon Adrian Emuang is confident that Malaysia is ahead of the games in terms of social media and "widespread public engagement". This may sound like a far cry considering that 64 percent of the SMEs in Mayalsia were not engaging in social media in 2012. Emuang emphasizes the impact that social media can have, considering that SMEs account for 99 percent of the 5 million registered Malaysian businesses. Zeno Group Malaysia's CEO told The Establishment Post that "lack of knowledge is holding back many of the SMEs. They feel they need not use social media for marketing purposes." Emuang also says that many of these companies are not implementing the proper technological infrastructure to support their ecommerce, should they receive an influx of traffic on their servers, etc. He even shamed the customer service that lacks the manpower to follow-up with the volume of customers. Many hotel and lodging businesses are adapting global initiatives, such as registering with Booking.com or Tripadvisor.com. These outlets allow ecommerce to flow to a much wider, international audience, boosting bookings and revenues at venues that wouldn't have otherwise. Julian Matthews, a famous Digital Media Trainer and Consultant, says companies are operating social media on a tactical rather than strategic level. The Trinetizen Media Sdn Bdn tells The Establishment Post that many companies aren't utilizing Social Media for crisis communication-something many companies we are familiar with fully rely on. In conclusion, social media adds accountability and reliability for the companies and their stakeholders.

The term known as a Point of Sale (POS) has evolved greatly in the past couple decades. From an actual human being in a ticket window, to instant mobile ticket sales, we've come quite a long way. Technology has given us the ability to purchase things on both a leisure and business level instantly. From a business standpoint, POS helps optimize inventory, cash flow, expenses, and revenue. And from a leisure standpoint, it just gets consumers what they want faster. This article focuses on the importance of today's POS in small businesses. Stripe, Venmo, and Square are just a few POS applications that help small businesses. This allows the company user-friendly access to invoices, billing, taxes, inventory, payroll, purchase history, etc, etc. Venmo, for example, allows instant payments to either individuals or companies with a few touches of a mobile device, without the presence of the actual card. This third-party POS system verifies and then stores your account information. Prior to these tools, many companies had to resort to only taking cash, or incurring overwhelming credit-card transaction fees. Although evolving POS systems are an asset to small business, there is still a risk of compromising confidential information. For example, WingStop had four locations' POS systems compromised. This results in a lot of bad press and a lot of upset customers.

Mark Starkov, President & CEO at HEBS Global provides advice as to how to understand and optimize several tools hotels use for bookings. We live in a world where mobile connectivity is on the rise with no fall in sight. More and more people are spending more time and money on and through these devices, and it is something that our travel and hospitality industries are booming from. In 2014, nearly 40% of web visitors and page views were credited to non-desktop computers. In terms of hotels, these devices can also account for over 20% of bookings and 17% of sleeping room nights. Between 2013 and 2014, hotel revenue generated via tablets more than doubled and booked over 77% more room nights than non-"pure" devices. These stats alone should have all hoteliers seeing opportunity. The world of e-commerce is allowing hoteliers and other travel companies to open up many revenue streams. Between DGS, OTAs, and CRM, we are able to reach a much wider audience and bring in an exponentially larger amount of business. These tools do not work for free, as there are often commissions or subscription fees these companies are compensated for. As valuable as these third-party tools are, it is equally important to invest in your direct-booking outlet. Booking direct business keeps the most money in your pocket. Not only will you get optimum rates, you will also save on commissions, referral fees, etc. Just imagine not having to pay a third-party commission of 10% of a $100,000 dollar piece of business. That's 10 thousand saved. Sometimes, when large corporate events are booked, there can be two referral services involved, resulting in 15% commission payout. In terms of direct vs. third-party business, a hotel could not survive on only one.

The "Going Green" trend has been a true blessing since it's marketability took birth several years ago. Many industries are taking advantage of this technological and ecological trend. There has never been a better time than now to turn our business ethics into the direction of a better world. Basic utility expenses at any hotel or business can sometimes make or break their existence. Technology today has given us the tools to give back to both our beautiful Earth and our bottom dollar. Luxury brands and all the like are implementing new green policies and technologies that will cut costs and even beautiful their environments. By the end of 2015 The Intercontinental Hotels Group plans on equipping over 4,000 of their hotels with a system that monitors and assists in energy use and conservation. They have a goal of reducing their overall water use by 12% in California in part due to the severe ongoing drought. The Loews in Santa Monica Beach is investing $96,000 in a laundry-water recycling system. It will recycle nearly 70% of water use and pay for itself in less than 2 years. Apart from it's ability to cut-costs and truly give back to the environment, "going green" is highly marketable. One of the Intercontinental's General Managers was quoted saying "It's not a huge savings. I think it's about sending the right message." I have personally seen many RFPs from large corporate companies that request green-initiatives from hotels. Improving sustainability is important to the customer and the establishment. Around 60% of travelers consider green initiatives when selecting a destination and activity. Of those 60%, over half said they would even pay more to stay at an establishment that respected and helped improve the environment. In a world where we are fortunate enough to live in excess should we choose to, it's a shame it took this long for a global movement to "go green". Sustainability alone has built such a giant indu

Smart phones and mobile devices are nearly an extension of our technological anatomy. Their overall convenience has made many of us rely on our mobile devices more now than ever. It is this growing symbiotic relationship that is allowing this industry to optimize across all levels. In Saudi Arabia, the hospitality sector grows at nearly 9 percent annually with over 150 hotels expected to open by the end of 2015. Also noted in this article is the impressive market-share of the handset device industry throughout The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, which exceed 75 percent. With the rapidly growing hotel and mobile-device industries, it's a match made in marketing and revenue heaven. A large portion of the hospitality industry is fueled by business-travel. Improved devices and wireless-internet capabilities give us the ability to be productive from anywhere at anytime. Nearly two-thirds of travelers tote three or more devices and over 90 percent of them claim WiFi is a necessity when lodging. Between guests traveling on leisure or business, hotels in particular are optimizing revenue opportunities with the help of WiFi. Whether it be using location-based software to alert guests of a nearby offer; turning their device into a point-of-sale; or being able to provide affordable WiFi services to a large corporate event at budget; WiFi can affect business on so many different levels. Affordability in high quality wireless services allows us to connect to both the leisure and business guest and optimize our relationships. Newer 802.11ac networks are more affordable then it's predecessor and provide speeds over twice as fast at a wider range. Being able to provide affordable and reliable wireless networks to customers give them freedom and comfort in being able to use their tools at-a-distance. Each and every relationship is crucial--nearly one-third of all travelers reconsider rebooking after being inconvenienced by their internet experience.