HFTP, stands for Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, the global association wants to create hospitality financial and technology supports to stakeholders and help to compile accounts, compare regional differences and define the value of daily operations. Also HFTP is working with lots of organization includes associations universities and volunteers to collect information to participate and assist the sponsor.

This article points out that there is a big growing of mobile bookings in the hotel property management system market. Leading the way, mobile apps play a major role of making the successful business. So integration with major social media channels and customized marketing strategies will be more focused and improved. As the top two ranking in the vendor landscape report, Infor and MICROS both are doing such a great job for this. Other hotel property management vendors keep on an eye in this report as well and try to evaluate this to share the markets.

This article talks about third-party professional who checks the effectiveness of sustainable practices applied and these properties have been audited by a qualified to help to build a Green Hotel Directory.

This article talks about a new brand campaign which was launched by Expedia, an online travel site that helps users plan and book travel. This campaign, called FIND YOURS, is about content photos and videos and stories from everyday consumers include Personal Storytelling, Travel Blogger Integration, Social Media and NFFTY which are all about travelers' daily travels to give an image to show travelers' personalities and get personal touch back to business. As we know, information technology steps big forward to the future quickly. Nowadays travel agents turn its most businesses into online due to the less cost and more convenience. By doing the huge business and getting large numbers of information from expanding to the internet, travel agents get a big profit over the last 3 decades. But the personal touch is getting less and less due to this radical change on the internet; humanity is becoming mechanized and electronized and far away from actual contacts. So in my opinion, I am strongly agreed with this campaign and I think Expedia did a good job to make the electrical business to be personalized and more humanity which should be the nature of the business initially

This article talks about a successful online training program belongs to STARWOOD HOTELS&RESORTS which is called ProLearing module. This specific online training program is quite beneficial to travel professionals to have a full version of starwood's brands and get familiar with the room rates for agents. Online training systems are commonly used by most internal employees but fewer for externals in hospitality industry. Most of the hotels have their own online training systems for employees to familiar with company concepts, hotel operations, service manuals and even a sales system like StarHot. As a part of training program for externals, ProLearing module does a good job for its company band expansion for agents and finds new market segments which is not just includes regular guests and potential employees. I believe that more and more travel professionals will join this program and make it to succeed.

This article talks about one kind of spa reservation system which connects travel agents and spa. This specific reservation system helps travel agents to get easy to find a particular spa treatment for their clients within a navigate system instead of searching thousands hotel, spa websites or other publications. It shows the convenience and efficacy for time management. Also, this spa reservations system clearly shows the commission details which travel agents should get it back from the hotel or spa by booking spa treatments for their clients. For the agents themselves, they can also track and monitory the commissions via a personal account any time.

Summary Personally, I think this kind of spa reservation system is a very good idea both for travel agents and spa. Fierce competitions and commissions reduce are both potential hazard to a travel agent and even makes it down. It helps travel agent to open up a new field of business and earn money under the competitions. Also by monitoring the commissions the agents can make sure that once they get clients to the spa treatment, they will get a certain commissions back. It's like kind of visible incentives for doing business for a long time. Making longtime relationships. For the spa, this system keeps the revenue and occupancy even in the low period by offering spa treatment to customers. It may works better by adhere with spa package, promotion or activities. It avoids making the spa therapists nothing to do just wait and bring customers back. But it may not works in the peak seasons due to the capacities in spa always limited.