If your connection isn't password protected, anyone can access the system.

And even with a password, computer-savvy network users can gain access to another user's data.

Hospitality workers don't have any special legal authority, so they can't physically restrain a customer. Instead, they should call the police if they suspect criminal activity.

Your company's confidentiality policy can educate customers about the amount of privacy they can expect.

If you promise a customer a specific amount of confidentiality and then break that agreement, you've broken your contract and can be sued.

No one can contract to engage in illegal behavior, and if someone is in immediate danger, it's your duty to take steps to protect him.

It also establishes guidelines for employees to follow, and a clear policy can even protect you against lawsuits.

The U.S. Supreme Court has established that hotel customers have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in hotel rooms.

You can't enter or search a guest's room without her explicit consent, but guests are not entitled to any special privacy

As a business owner, you value the privacy of company secrets and procedures, which is why you expect your employees to maintain some standard of confidentiality

confidentiality in employment is implicit, regardless of whether employees have signed an agreement.

If a member of your staff violates this explicit or implicit agreement, the penalty for breach of confidentiality can be severe and long-lasting.

an employee who signs this type of agreement agrees that a violation of confidentiality is also a violation of the employment contract. The penalty for breach of confidentiality isn’t restricted to employees who have signed confidentiality agreements,

if you own a computer security company and an employee’s laptop is stolen, and that employee didn’t encrypt sensitive data on that computer per company policy, it could constitute a breach of confidentiality.

Healthcare privacy is essential, not only to protect a patient’s right to decide who has access to sensitive information but also to protect doctors and other healthcare professionals from malpractice claims.

Theft is a violation of criminal law that in some instances can be punishable by a stiff fine or imprisonment.

As a business owner, you would report the theft to law enforcement, and the state or federal government would charge your employee with the crime.

Employers will not look favorably on any prospective employees who were terminated due to a confidentiality breach, or convicted of a crime related to that type of violation.

Energy-efficiency and e-waste are two major techniques involved in green computing. Energy efficiency involves implementation of energy-efficient central processing units (CPUs), servers and peripherals as well as reduced resource consumption. And e-waste is the proper disposal of electronic waste.

It is estimated that out of $250 billion per year spent on powering computers worldwide only about 15% of that power is spent computing, the rest is wasted idling (i.e. consumed by computers which are not in use but still turned ON).

A recent example is seen in Intel's 2030 strategy. Intel has been committed to continued progress on achieving net positive water use, 100% green power and zero waste to landfills across Intel's global manufacturing operations.

Because "one company can't solve climate change" according to Intel CEO Bob Swan, Intel is marking a new era of shared corporate responsibility and collaboration.

Green design: Designing energy-efficient computers, servers, printers, projectors and other digital devices.

 Green manufacturing: Minimising waste during the manufacturing of computers and other subsystems to reduce the environmental impact of these activities.

 Green use: Minimising the electricity consumption of computers and their peripheral devices and using them in an eco-friendly manner.

Green disposal: Repurposing existing equipment or appropriately disposing of, or recycling, unwanted electronic equipment.

However, due to the restrictions on mass gatherings and increased focus on remote work and video calling, business travel has been hit especially hard by COVID and some travel companies are placing a renewed focus on leisure

Make sure your destination or property is visible on distribution and communication channels that leisure customers use and highlight associated facilities.

However, with COVID reducing international travel, one of the biggest hospitality marketing trends involves placing a renewed focus on local custom instead.

Some companies in the industry are having success through offering food delivery as an experience, combining well-presented food with add-ons, such as candles, music playlists or other freebies.

Which demographics are still interested and making bookings, and which have fallen away? Which market segments are growing and which are taking longer to return? Is there any relevant geographical data to consider? Once you have insights into how customers are really behaving, you can adjust your hospitality marketing efforts accordingly.

While many businesses compete based on pricing, the reality is that many customers are happy to pay more for guaranteed quality, excellent service or a unique experience. Think about some of the things you can throw into your offering, in order to make it stand out from what rivals are selling.

These bots allow for rapid responses to customer questions, regardless of staff availability, and can provide support for multiple languages too.

This technology can be used during the booking stage, in order to offer support and encourage completion of bookings. Bots may also be able to up-sell and cross-sell, potentially helping your business to maximise revenue.

n fact, this marketing trend could soon eliminate the need for Internet users to press buttons or type their search queries online. Hotel guests can book a hotel room via their smartphone by just speaking to the device.

y returns and a steady stream of returning clients, you must compile analytics from online customer testimonials on review websites.

Retail model

easy way to understand this model is if you think about how you would work with your local brick and mortar travel agency, that caters to walk-in customers.

Merchant model

 you would work with online travel agents (OTAs) like Booking.com via the third party service provider.

Opaque model

your guests don’t know they’re staying at your specific property until after they’ve made the booking.

Small accommodation providers can benefit greatly from using a GDS to connect to retail travel agents and corporate buyers.

However, we highly recommend that you steer clear of the merchant model, because you would be paying commission to both the third party service provider and the OTA.

n this kind of business relationship, it’s much better to retain full control of your rates and inventory, and cut out the middle-man by using an integrated channel manager to sell rooms through your OTAs.

    Improving hotel operations

By effectively training your staff to perform like robots, your service levels will decrease too.

Your front desk staff can comfortably answer guests at the front desk, while the chatbot takes care of online queries from potential guests

This means that both the tasks are being performed simultaneously without the hassle of adding extra stress on your staff.

    Effective revenue management

Moreover, a cloud-based property management system will give you numerous other benefits (hyperlink to our cloud-based PMP article).

Artificial intelligence in the hospitality industry has made it possible for your channel manager to compute complex data to give you the best rate.

    Personalization gets a whole new meaning

While a small hotel might be perfectly satisfied with a Facebook chatbot to drive additional sales, a hotel chain with hundreds of rooms at each hotel will need more than just a chatbot.

  Data analysis

AI technology can be used to quickly and efficiently categorize your guest data as per room preference, budget, amenities your guests use etc to lure them with attractive loyalty programs and offers for their next stay or perhaps even reach out to potential guests.

Multilingual booking experience

These chatbots are programmed to create a simulated conversation through natural language processing (text) and generation (voice) in your guests’ native language; the result being clear and concise interactions between the human and the machine.

With more guests carrying laptops than ever before and Internet business activity rapidly increasing, the guest must have the best connection available. HSIA also relieves the congestion on the PBX caused by modem calls.

No matter what cell phone the guest may carry or what service provider is used, no wireless connection is as good as a land-line connection.

1. Personal Control

to enable a greater degree of personalisation within hotels, and on flights, and this is primarily provided by enabling customers to control more appliances or services through a centralised device

2. Seamless Travel

In hotels, the check-in process can be made seamless, with hotels sending electronic key cards to guests’ phones which, when used, automatically check them in without them ever having to stop at the front desk

3. Smart Energy Saving

Sensors automatically detect the levels of natural light in the room, reducing the power of light bulbs in the process, meaning less energy is wasted and high powered lighting is only used when light levels are low enough.

4. Location Information

The IoT can also be used to gather accurate data about the number of people using specific hotel facilities at different times, so that staffing levels can be optimised.

5. Maintenance & Repairs

Away from hotels, the Internet of Things can also be deployed to allow airlines to fuel aeroplanes more efficiently, or replace parts at the right time, striking the ideal balance between gaining maximum value and maintaining safety.