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Contents contributed and discussions participated by dtrak002

dtrak002

New year and new hospitality trends for 2018 - 0 views

  • Italy is positioned above the world average for the number of pet-friendly accommodations, with 1 out of 2 structures that welcomes furry friends. Pet friendly services will attract a market very fruitful because pet owners are willing to spend more money to keep them on holiday.
  • guests expect to find on demand devices in room, free Wi-fi, technological systems to control all room functions with a remote control
  • livestreaming to get in direct contact with your customers
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    In regards to event planning in the hospitality industry, we see that there are a couple of trends in 2018. Firstly, guests are looking more for personalized stay. As in, guests are looking more for services that appeal to them such as baby sitting services or children entertainment so they can bring their small child along. Secondly, tourists are increasingly looking for experiential tourism, activities that make them feel part of that place. Thirdly, there are a trend in guests bringing their pets along while travelling. Pet friendly services may be quite fruitful as pet owners will certainly be wiling to spend more money to keep their pets with them on holiday. Lastly, guests now expect technology while travelling. For example technological systems that can control all room functions with a remote control. In addition some hotels now even provide livestreaming to get in direct contact with their customers.
dtrak002

Vegas hotel room checks raise concerns at Def Con, Black Hat | CSO Online - 0 views

  • The October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas involving a guest at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino led to new policies at Caesars Entertainment hotels, one of which includes disregarding guests' Do Not Disturb signs and checking the room once every 24 hours
  • “The checks involve only a visual review of the bedroom, bathroom and additional sitting area (if any) to ensure there are no issues which require further attention.
  • hotel security officers showed nothing to verify their identify
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  • went so far as to confiscate items, and some claim they even riffled through their bags
  • some folks said they aren’t going back to the conferences if they are held in Las Vegas.
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    This article illustrates the various changes in security protocols. Due to the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, hotels such as the Caesars are implementing new policies, including disregarding guests' "Do Not Disturb" signs and checking the rooms once every 24 hours. Despite the policy stating that the hotel will only check visually the bedroom and bathroom, guests have complained that hotel officials have photographed and filmed their rooms and came in when they are dressing. In addition, the most alarming news is the guests complain that the hotel officials that barge in won't provide any identification and the guests have no way to call the front desk to ensure the hotel officials are who they say they are. For men it's a concern for privacy, for women it's a concern for safety. Even more of a concern, Katie Moussouris, CEO of Luta Security, claimed that hotel officials said they will share the photos on their Snapchat. Many guests have stated they will no longer return to Las Vegas for conferences.
dtrak002

Three Ways to Overcome Hotel Accounting Challenges - 0 views

  • Managing payroll is a constant challenge, so it’s critical for hoteliers to have a way to monitor daily labor costs, manage overtime, oversee daily payroll transactions, and have access to simple reporting functions.
  • Adopting a cloud-based reporting system can offer seamless labor monitoring and management from clock-in to paycheck while giving hoteliers on-demand management of earnings to manage transactions in real time.
  • Hoteliers may have a difficult time deciphering what story the data is telling and which levers to pull to remedy an issue or to replicate success. Business intelligence and analytics tool can point to where efficiencies can be improved and how to best reduce expenses.
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  • Adopting an operations management platform that allows hoteliers to import data into one centralized dashboard combines critical accounting and performance data to aid hoteliers in identifying trends and making more informed decisions.
  • Hoteliers must expect the best but prepare for the worst and have a back-up accounting team in place ready to resume operations in the event of a disaster.
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    The article discusses how hotels can overcome accounting obstacles. Firstly managing payroll is cumbersome, so a cloud-based reporting system can provide an easy way to monitor labour and manage overtime, and daily payroll transactions. Secondly, hotels have a difficult time to read data as data can come from a huge variety of sources: STR reports, PMS data, satisfaction surveys, comments. Hotels need a centralized dashboard which combines all critical accounting and performance data to assist hotels in making better decisions. Lastly, the article talks about hotels needing a back-up accounting team in case of disasters. In-house accounting teams may not be able to tackle on one-time event disasters and there must be a back-up team in place in times of urgency. The author, Scott Watson, executive vice president of sales and marketing at a cloud-based financial platform, sees that hotels are becoming more "cost and profit conscious" and I agree with him. Technology solutions are what hotels are craving right now to increase revenue, minimize costs, and maximize profits without sacrificing service quality.
dtrak002

The latest POS trends for restaurants - Restobiz - 0 views

  • The introduction of tablets has been truly disruptive, making it possible for restaurants of any size to afford a POS system.
  • The good news is that a tablet-based solution, in addition to being much less costly than a fixed hardware system, allows for either a stationary or mobile model. This offers much more flexibility to restaurant owners who may want to initially implement the POS with an iPad placed at reception or the counter and maybe another one at the server station.
  • “Dividing a bill used to take my wait staff up to 30 minutes,” says Tony Geer, co-owner of The Ledford House, a fine dining restaurant. “Now it takes them 30 seconds with TouchBistro, and they can pay a lot more attention to their customers.”
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  • “When my server crashed on my old POS system, it was going to cost $8,000 to replace and update the system,” says Joe Magoonaugh, owner of The Ogden, a full-service dining room and bar. That’s when he decided to go with a new tablet-based system. “You don’t have to put $10,000 – $20,000 up front for a POS, and it is easy to get up and running.”
  • Some customers can experience “line anxiety” when people are waiting behind them to order, so they may pass over upsell options to place their orders quicker, or because the menus on the wall are confusing and hard to read. With a well-designed kiosk, line anxiety is eliminated, and placing an order is easy.
  • “Our average guest check through the kiosk is nearly two times the average placed with a waiter. Since it is so easy to add items on the kiosk, guests add avocado or bacon, and may also see other options to add to the order that they may not have seen on a paper menu,”
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    The article discusses the numerous benefits of the self-order kiosk. Before, old iPads were used, but now, restaurants of any size can afford these kinds of devices. The article talks about a restaurant owner who were frustrated with an old POS system, who said that when his POS system crashed it costed him $8,000 to replace and update the system. But with the tablet-based system, you no longer need $10,000-20,000 up front for a POS system. The article also mentions the efficiencies boosted with the tablet-based system. For example dividing a bill used to take 30 minutes, now it takes 30 seconds. Also, some customers experience "line anxiety" when people are waiting in line for them to order, so they sometimes pass on the complex orders in favor of quick ones. But with the self-ordering system, customers are more likely to order complex options such as adding bacon or avocado. The article states that at one restaurant, the average guest check through the kiosk is nearly two times the average placed with a waiter. The restaurant can focus on service and the food, and less on the ordering and its accuracy.
dtrak002

Why GDS is Important for Travel Industry Software - 1 views

  • After the deregulation of Airline Industry in 1978, ARS (Airline reservation system) became more important to travel industry.
  • The USP of GDS that it can provide the best holiday packages to your guest on lowest rate, which includes air, hotel and car rental.
  • It is argued by many experts that by the end of 2020, GDS will be obsolete
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  • It is feared that advent of multiple price comparison website could eliminate the need of dedicated GDS for point-in-time prices and inventory for both travel agents and end-customers.
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    The article explains the history of GDS, and how GDS doesn't hold any inventory, but they are held on the vendor's reservation system so if a travel agent approaches Air India for reservation, the GDS can route the travel agent to Air India's computer reservation system in real time. Of course any travel agency should invest in the GDS as GDS can provide the best holiday package to guests at the lowest rate, for a package which includes air, hotel, and car rental. The article also illustrates how important GDS was to the airline industry and how the booking process has changed in the past decade, as we can now book within minutes in the comfort of our home. Before it would take an employee over an hour just to book a single flight for a customer.
dtrak002

Mobile Communication Trends Within the Hospitality Industry | News | Hospitality Magazi... - 0 views

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    Push-to-talk over celluar (PoC) has impacted wireless communications and hardware development globally in the hospitality industry. There is a growing rend toward the use of mobile messaging apps among hotels, casinos, stadiums, and other venues. The Internet of Things (IoT) has ultimately been the forefront of wireless innovations and mobile apps are being developed on a daily basis to satisfy sector-specific needs. Being easily accessible over Wi-Fi or broadband networks allow great reach and consistent connectivity. Manufacturers are staying relevant through developing joint solutions with other companies to meet end user demands. For example LMR radio and smart phone makers have been working with PTT app firms as well as network providers to satisfy the amount of PoC demand. The trend on replacing two-way radios with smartphones has been seen; however, some are reluctant to change. Some manufacturers have created devices that look like traditional radios but ultimately are just 4G phones on the inside. As soon as safety, productivity, and response time are improved and stable, this transition will become commonplace. In the very near future, through the use of Bluetooth technologies, hotels will send keys directly to smartphones for guests who wish to skip the check-in process.
dtrak002

How restaurants will soon serve you a fresh plate of AI - 0 views

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    Technology delivers valuable intel such as: which item brings customer back the most which bartender is too lenient and giving away too many free drinks whether it's more profitable to spend advertising dollars on brunch or on wine tasting Being able to put a slow server on the slowest night because he's amazing at upselling wine is an effective way to micromanage your limited resources. "As soon a guest is seated, the server can see important information about that guests (visit history, order history, food preferences, and more) and use this insight to deliver a VIP experience." This statement of course runs into the problem of user acceptance. The two sides of "They care enough to notice what I like" vs "This is stalkerish" require much consideration. Investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement this program only to find out the media comments this restaurant as being invasive would be tragic. For this reason, if I am the owner of a restaurant, I would be more likely to use AI to assist me in the back end of the operation: using sophisticated forecasting to automate scheduling or optimizing menu design, items, and purchase orders.
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