It is clear that a ton of work goes into planning a successful and smooth event. Many companies use event planners to coordinate an important meeting or event. This involves setting a budget, choosing a location and vendors, obtaining necessary permits or insurance, coordinate with speakers, and are onsite at all times to ensure the meeting or event runs as planned. The job market for event managers is growing and the need for event managers can increase by one-third in the next decade. In order to be a great event planner, you should be a people person, organization skills, interpersonal skills, and multitasking skills.

This article emphasizes the importance of security in any hotel. "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it." This quote stuck to me as you can spend all your life working on a brand, for it to be destroyed due to a lack of safety measures. When going to a hotel, or traveling in general, a guests main concern is their safety. However, too many safety measures can actually have an adverse effect on guests, making them wonder why there are so many safety measures and if they are actually safe in this hotel. For example, going through a metal detector in an airport is accepted to be normal, however, if a hotel had such, I am sure this would have most of the guests feeling unsure about staying in the hotel. Too much security and you are deemed as unsafe, and too little security can ruin your brand if something were to happen, therefore, a good balance of security is necessary. Some security measures in this article are: key card access, evergreen background screening, after-hours access, assessing local crime statistics, security officers must be properly trained to welcome and protect, and emergency response plans must be practiced.

Revenue Management is a practice that all hotels should have adopted by now, even small independent hotels. Revenue management used to be practiced by only high-end hotels who could afford to have a single job position titled "revenue manager" however, technology has allowed us to see the benefit of having a dedicated revenue manager. Revenue management has allowed hotels to have higher profits than ever, by simply adjusting their prices based on demand. Smaller, independent hotels will typically give the general or front office manager this title, which is where they are making their mistake. Living in this era of online sales, we have to be aware that there can be a lot of missed revenue if we are not educated and practice proper revenue management. Other factors contribute to revenue management as well such as: distribution channels, social media, and technology.

It seems that stores have just begun to jump on the self-checkout process. However, the self-checkouts are old news, the technology that is coming out now, known as "Grab and Go" is creating an even more automated process. This technology can allow you to take an item off the shelf (update inventory immediately) and simply walk out of the store, without ever having to take out your wallet. Spending money is becoming easier and easier, allowing consumers to consume more than ever. Some pros of this technology include, customer loyalty (personalizing the customers experience), lower overhead (saving money on labor costs and extending hours), and reduces shrinkage (real-time inventory tracking). Technology is improving so quickly that it is hard for companies to keep up and stay up-to-date. For example, the self-checkouts have just become a norm; how long until they are fully replaced by "Grab and Go?"

Southwest has always been on the outskirts when it comes to the top airlines. The "big three" are known as American, Delta and United. In order for Southwest to stay in the game, they are providing full content in Amadeus and Travelport systems. Amadeus is known for its European market and Travelport is known for its US market. Southwest already belongs to Sabre, which is also a US market. However, "those offerings will both complement and exceed Southwest's current limited-content availability on Sabre" (Silk). Henry Hartveldt states that "given Sabre's leading presence in the U.S. market, Southwest will elevate its participation in the Sabre GDS as well" (Silk). Of course, by only belonging to one GDS presence, Southwest was not able to compete with the big three, however, now Southwest is back in the game. In order to sell your tickets, you must be available in the channels that customers prefer to use. Southwest realized that "they had to go down that path or be left behind" (Silk). Vlitas believes that "Southwest's broader entry into the GDSs will result in the legacy carriers boosting the incentives they offer corporate and leisure agencies" (Silk). Other airlines may fear more GDS entries from other airlines, however, it is clear that GDS is here to stay.

This article describes 7 technology trends that we will see soon. 1. Recognition technology - This technology can be used in hotels to scan one's face for room access, or to check-in or out. This technology is already being used in China where they walk up to a stand, scan their face, and they are instantly checked in. 2 . Robots - If you are not aware, Hilton has had a Robot that is named "Connie." Connie can respond to any questions and intelligently learns from human interaction. There is also the first hotel to have a robot-staff. This hotel is located in Japan which the robots act as "front desk, customer information tools and even luggage porters"(Revfine). 3. Chatbots &Artificial Intelligence - Chatbots are a bit like the previous robots I mentioned. They are known from providing answers quickly and effectively. 4. Internet of Things (IoT) - Similar idea to the previous chatbots and robots, the IoT extends internet connectivity to everyday objects and turns them into smart devices. An example of this is internet-enabled thermostats, which adjust room temperature based on check-in or out times, windows being opened, etc.The same concept is being used for lights. 5. Big Data - Big data recognizes trends and can allow travel agents to make recommendations based on the customers age, gender, etc.Big data can also predict hotel occupancy, so they rates can be adjusted accordingly. It can also take into account weather, holidays, etc. 6. Virtual Reality - Virtual Reality can allow one view and book (all in 3D) their next vacation. Starting from the seat on your flight, the exact car you will rent, etc. 7. Augmented Reality - This technology has limitless potential. The video demonstrates a female checking into a hotel where she is changing the environment around her with just a simple click. Her room transforms from a beach to a city within seconds.

Providing the best customer service is the goal of any hotel. It is what attracts your guests to return and suggest your hotel to others. Imagine a software that eliminates the need for hoteliers to be physically present to check on daily management operations or even automate mundane daily tasks, allowing staff to spend more time attending to guests and improving the customer service experience. This software is known as cloud-based hotel software. This software is not sold as a product; it is sold as a service that allows hoteliers to add on as many or few features as needed, making it completely customizable. Cloud-based software is hosted by a vendor's server and gives hoteliers a scalable system that is flexible and easily updated across multiple properties simultaneously. A great key feature to this software is that the system is able to adapt, grow, and integrate with future trends. Flexibility is so important in this generation because new technologies are constantly being innovated and staying up with trends is a great way to satisfy your guests. Cloud-based software has shown to boost productivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. What more could you ask for?