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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Frances Mesa

Frances Mesa

Eco Tourism: Hotels Going Green - Cereplast - 0 views

  • Water-efficient practices can through technologies and proper systems can deliver equal or better service while saving water.
  • Cooling, lighting, water heating/cooking/refrigeration and ventilation account for 85% of total electric usage in hotels and motels. Reducing electricity consumption in theses equipment areas represents considerable energy and cost savings. There are many options for conserving energy: from good insulation to something as simple as changing thermostat settings can help reduce or eliminate the need for costly heating and cooling.
  • Solid waste in lodging include paper, food, plastic and various other components. Implementing a solid waste reduction program in a hotel can create significant cost savings and reduce land pollution.
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  • Lighting is the second largest energy expenditure in a hotel and is the easiest area for saving energy and money.  According to the Florida Power & Light Company, interior lighting accounts for 19% of electric usage in hotels and exterior lighting accounts for 4%
  • Thus, many hotels have realized a significant decrease in solid waste, energy and water consumption by making these small changes. It is not easy to be green in this sector, but the hotel industry now has a new environmental conscience.
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    As the article states"The hotel industry has long been associated with excessive waste: using powerful chemicals for cleaning and wasting energy for maintenance rather than being environmentally friendly. Moreover and as result of tourism industry growth, the demand for resources from the hospitality sector has exponentially increased. However, the new popularity of Eco Tourism has encouraged hotels to adopt new green practices that allow them to reduce their negative impact on the environment" The hospitality industry can help improve the environmental problems we are going through at the moment by simply adding: low water consumption, power saving, energy-efficient lighting and solid waste disposal. Furthermore, the guest are starting to become more aware and loyal to brands that are making changes to become green and there is where eco tourism starts and its getting bigger. In the future, all hotels will have to follow the LEED requirements which makes them follow certain rules to help reduce energy and go green. This will help the hotel managers and industry save money and at the same time help the environment.
Frances Mesa

New Technology Solutions Every Event Planner Should Check Out - 1 views

  • Event planners are juggling enough information in their heads and it’s nice when we find easy to use technologies to help us be more efficient.
  • Private webcasting is now accessible to everyone thanks to Event-Cast. Armed with an iPhone or iPad, you can now set up a webcast in minutes and send or post a link to your audience.
  • Although you will still have to make tough calls on who sits where Perfect Table Plan allows users to upload an excel list of guest names and then drag/drop them to various tables
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  • Post the options and let your team note their availability on Doodle. Everyone can take a vote for their preferred times or venues
  • Event planners live in a mobile world and Meet.fm was created to streamline communication and collaboration between business teams and their clients. Meet.fm allows you to create a branded “online meeting room” if you will, for each of your events by providing a simple live file sharing, screen sharing and video conferencing resource
  • with Asana. You can create “projects” for each event and then assign tasks with due dates to appropriate team members within each event.
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    The new technology solutions are: Doodle, Perfect Table Plan, Event-Cast, Meet.fm and Asana. Each new technology solutions makes the work easier for event planners. The Doodle can help with the time and venue. The perfect table plan can do exactly what it says help with the sitting chart. The Event-cast can provide a webcast of the event for guest that couldn't make it or to broadcast a wonderful event. The Meet.fm is a new way to help with the communication between the client and the event planning team and lastly, Asana is to help create a to do list for each event so it will help each event planner be organized and so they don't forget any special project before the day of the event. All of these new technologies will help an event planner's job be easier.
Frances Mesa

Recludo introduces time-controlled biometric access system | Hotel Management - 0 views

  • With the time-controlled fingerprint access system, the fingerprint is stored locally in the lock and only for the duration of the stay. After this, the memory is automatically erased.
  • an added advantage of the Recludo lock is that guests can by-pass the front desk and go directly to the room which is accessed with a code sent to the guest during the booking process.
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    "Recludo's time controlled, biometric fingerprint access system lets the guest unlock any door with the tip of their finger"
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    The Recludo security system introduces a minimum operating cost for hotel managers. This device is built in the lock so there is no need for wires or network to connect to a computer. This security system will help the hotels reduce money in the long run. However, the question is how accurate will the finger prints will be if the guest does not have to go by the front desk? Additionally, the biometric fingerprint access system also included a pin code or RFID access that the hotel can provide the guest before arrival to use when they go to their hotel rooms. This way they do not have to stop by the front desk even if their finger prints do not work. "This multi-choice system allows the hotel to offer their guests a product they already know while getting them used to the biometric fingerprint access system." as the article states. The finger prints and access codes are only valid during the stay of the guest, when the duration of the stay is over the finger print or access code will not work on opening the door.
Frances Mesa

Aptech Launches New Hospitality Accounting Software | Technology content from National ... - 0 views

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    Aptech Computer System created a new accounting system, which is web-based and developed in Microsoft's VB.NET technology that leverages a Structured Query Language database. This database will benefit both individual operators and multi-property hotel companies. Aptech started to notice that there was a demand for an accounting system that would benefit the company by including more details in their financial statements. As the article states ""The pioneers in this industry were innkeepers in the hospitality tradition and technology was secondary," says Jay Troutman, president of Aptech. According to the senior Troutman, groups like Interstate entered the industry and looked at such hotel properties as assets first, which brought technology to the forefront of the industry in the 1970s." Furthermore, the president of the company believes that the hospitality industry has become a bit spoiled with technology after they had a taste of it, but he is glad to know that the product is being used and the demand keeps growing.
Frances Mesa

Should Your Hotel be Considering an LEED Certification? | Hospitality Technology - 0 views

  • Today, guests around the world are extremely conscious about the kind of hotels they live and holiday in. They constantly need to be reassured that the hotel they are staying at is environmentally friendly and so, gone are the days when ‘environmental consciousness’ was just a fad
  • What is LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized Green Building Rating System and measures how efficiently a building or hotel property performs across a relevant set of metrics like energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, improved indoor environment quality as well as use of natural resources in construction and their impacts.
  • The LEED website says, LEED promotes a holistic approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health, namely, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
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  • LEED is the most widely recognized form of green building certification in the world, and for a hotel that wants to establish a prominent competitive advantage, it is a must.
  • An LEED certification has numerous advantages. Initially it may seem that the hotel needs to invest in putting in place compliance related technology and processes, but in the long run these solutions reduce hotels expenditure, be it through reduced energy consumption, water consumption, use of recycled products which are cost effective etc.
  • Hotels, from luxury, to chains to standalone properties are now exploring the option of an LEED certification. The advantage of this certification is that it is recognized by guests and the media, internationally and this allows a property to attract guests who are environmentally conscious. It also allows hotels to display their thought leadership and commitment to the environment while also reducing costs internally.
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    LEED certification for hotels. "You do not need to be a five start hotel or a large resort before considering an LEED certification. What you need is INITIATIVE!
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    In this article it talks about the new LEED certificate and what is it and why should hotel consider this certification. Government is starting to react to the environmental problems in the world and are starting to do something to reduce the carbon footprint. They are doing this by starting the LEED certificate for hotel buildings. Hotels right now have the option to stay as they are or to comply by the LEED certificate regulations, but in the future all the hotel buildings will have to comply with the regulations that the LEED certificate demands. Hotels are being pushed to change their ways in doing things from their regular way of electricity to their waste so they can help with our environment. the "LEED certificate is issued by the US Green Building Council, an independent, non-profit, third-party rating system." They have even created four levels of LEED certification: certificate, silver, gold and platinum. The LEED certification has various benefits some of them are: lower operation costs, increased property value and healthier and safer environments for occupants. Furthermore, some of the things hotels can do to be comply with the LEED regulations are: switching from evening to daytime office cleaning, installing motion sensors in all restrooms, telecom and electrical closets and adopting zero garbage or solid waste management.
Frances Mesa

2013: The year of three-screen hospitality - 0 views

  • Industry experts have projected staggering growth rates in leisure and unmanaged business travel bookings via the mobile channel: from $753 million in 2011 to $1.4 million in 2012, according to PhoCusWright research.
  • And yet, a careful analysis of all the industry stats and projections reveals a very interesting picture that not all hoteliers fully understand: The majority of the mobile bookings, roomnights and revenue are generated by tablet devices, not by smartphones.
  • Three distinct device categories constitute the three screens to which hoteliers should pay special attention in 2013: desktop, mobile and tablet.
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  • For all practical purposes, the desktop, mobile device and tablet all address different needs at different times of the day and week.
  • Google also reports different search dynamics across the three device/channel categories and a dramatic increase in hotel queries in the mobile and tablet channels.
  • 2013: The year of three-screen hospitality Google projects an overall increase in number of search queries by 24% in 2013, but search data differs dramatically across the three device categories. Searches from mobile devices will experience an increase of 68%, while searches from tablets will increase by more than 180%. Desktop searches will experience a decline of 4%.
  • 2013: The year of three-screen hospitality Google projects an overall increase in number of search queries by 24% in 2013, but search data differs dramatically across the three device categories. Searches from mobile devices will experience an increase of 68%, while searches from tablets will increase by more than 180%. Desktop searches will experience a decline of 4%.
  • Hotel marketers should consider either enhancing their desktop website for the touch-screen tablet environment or building a tablet-only version of their website in addition to their desktop and mobile sites, which all should be managed via a single digital content depository-enabled content management system
  • Hotel marketers should consider either enhancing their desktop website for the touch-screen tablet environment or building a tablet-only version of their website in addition to their desktop and mobile sites, which all should be managed via a single digital content depository-enabled content management system
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    Three screen hospitality: Desktop, Mobile phones and tablet. All three channels must be integrated in the hotel's multi-channel marketing strategy.
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    This article was about the three-screen in hospitality: desktop, mobile phones and tablets. As technology progresses hotel marketers have to keep up with all the new technology to keep their future guest happy and satisfied. Nowadays, future guests can book through their desktop or mobile phone or tablet. Therefore, hotels have to improve their websites so guest can access the website through the different three devices. There are different content needs- Each device has to meet different needs and different user intent- Each device is used for different situations, like mobile phones vs Tables to book a hotel (entering your credit card information). Lastly, Mobile vs. Tablet connectivity- tablet needs a Wi-Fi connection and mobile devices use telecommunication carriers.
Frances Mesa

Electronic 'Smarts' at Hotels Attract Guests - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • Hotels around the world are using technology in new ways, with the goal of speeding up or personalizing more services for guests.
  • He said he had found that hotels were using technology as a substitute for human hospitality.
  • Instead of the staff at the front desk offering advice on where to go for dinner, guests may be lent an iPad loaded with maps and suggestions for local restaurants and sightseeing.
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  • “Hotels are transforming service into a digital concept,” Mr. Davies said.
  • Some technology offerings extend beyond the hotel’s walls. The Park Hyatt Tokyo rents guests a pocket-size mobile Wi-Fi connector to use with an iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or laptop to make international calls and get Internet access wherever they go during their stay.
  • Ms. O’Reilly said she also used Foursquare to share where she was by “checking in” at that location. She was recently surprised to discover as she was checking in at a Starwood hotel that she qualified for a Foursquare promotion and received 250 points for her Starwood loyalty program account.
  • Ms. Kahn said personalization continued to be another big theme in hospitality
  • Despite all the new bells and whistles, sometimes the most basic of the modern services is what counts the most. Guests’ No. 1 choice of a hotel amenity is free Wi-Fi, according to a 2012 Hotels.com survey.
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    This article focuses on the "smart" trends in hotels that are replacing the human service. In this article David-Michael Davies does make a good point about "technology as a substitute for human hospitality" Now days hotels are focusing on having the latest technology that it could be seen as if they are forgetting the human service in the hotels. Though, I do agree with Barbara Kahn, that "most guest, especially younger ones who are used to having information at their fingertips…l" However, hotels are still focusing in personalization and making their guest feel like they care about them and not just their money. In my opinion, it is wonderful that hotels are focusing on being up to date with all the technology that is being offered to hotels because it does simplify the whole experience of staying in a hotel and at the same time it saves money for the hotel. Like they mentioned in the article, hotels are saving money by using technology to manage their inventory instead of having employees physically counting them. Specially, when the technology being adopted in the hotels can help safe money for guest. Just like The Park Hyatt Tokyo helps their guest with saving money with international calls. Furthermore, hotels are adding more advantages to being connected with them through social media. by offering promotions, discounts and even free drinks if you tag, check-in or write about them. This type of telecommunication is growing every day, but hotels should remember that the most basic modern service is important for the guest. Free Wi-Fi is a most for almost everybody now days.
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