This article gives pros and cons of mobile apps compared to mobile websites for event planners. Of course each have their positives and negatives. I think the decision of going mobile app or website depends on the people who are attending your event. If it's more of an older business crowd, I think a mobile website would be most appropriate. You can email the web address to all attendees and then they can click into it straight from the email on their smartphone. This can work with any phone that supports a web browser so you don't have to worry about developing an app for iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries. If the attendees are younger and more tech savvy, an app is probably the way to go since that can incorporate parts of their phone like the camera. Younger people are more apt to take pictures and post them to twitter or facebook. With the app they could do that right in the app and connect to more of their peers that way. Younger attendees are more likely to go through the trouble of downloading the app and using all of its features whereas older, more business oriented attendees are more likely to appreciate the ease of use of just clicking on a web link. At any rate it's an interesting choice to make if you are unable to afford both options. 

This article discusses a new trend in hotels - women-only floors. Some hotels are starting to dedicate entire floors for women. I think this is an interesting concept. I would have thought this would only exist in places like hostels where there may be public bathrooms. However, this seems to be a growing trend in hotels that cater to business travelers. The floors are accessible only with the room cards and they are only given to women.  The article mentions a couple of times, that it makes women feel more secure but it didn't really explain why. One woman said she was new to the area and that's why it made he feel more secure. Seeing as how I am a man, I don't really see how being on a same sex floor of a hotel room could make you feel safer. Ladies could you help me out with this?

This article is a must read for any company looking at a new software implementation. At my last job I was part of the implementation team and we had to set up, test, and install our new software system. We had an implementation team in place but we didn't have a great plan in place before we started and it showed. We were all rarely on the same page and we each had our task list and did it without really communicating with one another. I ended up leaving the company before we were done but I know the actual "go live" date ended up being about four months later than the original target date.  If we had had more of a plan in place at the start I'm sure the implementation would have gone more smoothly. From personal experience, I can attest to the validity of this article. Researching and mapping out a plan is as important as researching and choosing the best software for your company.  

This article focuses on the cost savings a biometric fingerprint scanning POS can have on a restaurant. It eliminates employees from clocking in early and holds everyone accountable for what they do. It makes life easier for management since they can look at all the transaction data and know exactly who to talk to if something doesn't add up.  I think this is pretty cool software. It was less expensive than I would have guessed. The article said the average price for one of these systems is about $2,000. Depending on the restaurant, that can be a small or large amount but I think in the long run that is a small price to pay from a management point of view. 

This article describes how a new company, HotelTonight, is attacking the market of spontaneous travelers. The company made an app for iPhone an Android users that sends "Impulse Rates" to users who have the app. Impulse Rates are heavily discounted rates on hotel rooms offered by hotels through HotelTonight for rooms that have been unsold that day. If users like the offer, they can book the room through the app in eight seconds with only three clicks.  There is also a little interview with HotelTonight CEO, Sam Shank in which he answers questions about how the company runs.  I think this is a great idea for company. It helps everyone involved - hotels increase revenue by selling rooms that otherwise would have been empty, consumers get great deals on rooms, and HotelTonight profits off of a nominal fee for processing the transactions. This is similar to the Ding! app from Southwest airlines but designed solely for mobile devices. 

Here is a link to the company's website. I don't have the app but it looks like it would be pretty easy to use. http://www.hoteltonight.com/

This article briefly summarizes how the The Serai resort in the coffee country of the Indian state Karnataka has been harvesting rain water to use for watering their gardens. This article doesn't go into too much detail itself but I did some other research and found that this region of India only gets 8% of their annual rainfall in the months of January-May. This really puts a strain on the region and being able to harvest and store rainwater from the wet season helps especially with superfluous water usage like watering and maintaining hotel gardens. The state made it mandatory to reduce water waste and The Serai has created a surplus. (http://www.karnataka.com/profile/rainfall.html) The Serai resort also uses other green techniques like using waste wood to make furniture for the resort. (http://theserai.in/en/responsible-citizenry.html) I think it's great that the government there has made laws requiring the saving and re-using of rain water. It is especially important for them due to the drastic differences of the dry and rainy seasons but this could be applied almost anywhere. Part of the draw of some hotels is their scenery and gardens but watering these can get expensive and become a waste, especially if there are people in the area who go without a reliable source of drinking water. I think policies like this should be instituted everywhere. I have to give the Serai resort a lot of credit too. Yes, they were forced to start capturing and storing rain water but it seems like they have taken their green initiatives a step further and do more than the bare minimum.

This article describes how a Hyatt hotel in New Orleans has increased hotel and guest security while making it easier for guests to get where they need to go. The increased security is vital for this hotel as it provides meeting and event space to guests. A lot of people make business deals in the hotel and it's important to them to know there are no unwanted attendees at their meetings and events. This is great for guests as they only need to know what their hotel/conference room number is. The hotel basically leads them directly where they need to go. This saves hotel personnel time they might have to spend giving people directions to their room. This hotel is very large so helping guests get where they need to go saves lots of time and frustration. This can also be a great cost saving move for the hotel. They may be able to eliminate some security personnel knowing the RFID cards and elevator security system will do some of the work for them. A surveillance staff is still needed but they should already have those positions on staff anyway. They could perhaps also see some energy savings as the Schindler system should be calling the most efficient elevator car. One thing I'm wondering about that is not addressed in the article is the security of the stairwells. They surely have to have stairwells for emergency situations. Can someone go into the stairwell from their floor and access other floors?