manufacturers are putting their R&D and marketing budgets behind home-monitoring and security gadgets–they will have 22.6% of the smart-home market share by 2023, estimates research firm IDC, with smart speakers and lighting equipment not far behind, at 15.4% and 11.8% respectively

cybersecurity will become all the more vital. Any kind of massive breach that turns off consumers, says Daniel Cooley, chief strategy officer at electronics-component manufacturer Silicon Labs, could be catastrophic for the industry. “I call it a mass-extinction event for the Internet of Things,” he says.

Smart vacuum cleaners like iRobot’s Roomba are already picking up after us, while products like the Aibo, a robotic dog for children, show how they might help keep us company like a pet. As for the future? Robotic-furniture company Ori Living is working with Ikea on pieces that change based on your needs, getting the bed out of the way when you need a desk, or hiding your closet when it’s dinnertime.

It’s no surprise that hospitality businesses want to take advantage of RFID technology too, especially when it offers speed, security, and a high-tech touch.

Seeing an opportunity to meet all of these objectives, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival rolled out an RFID wristband solution that allows faster entry into the festival and eliminates the risk of counterfeiting.

One of the most popular use cases for RFID technology is guestroom entry. Compared to a traditional keycard, RFID-equipped cards offer hoteliers more control over security. Front desk staff can activate and deactivate cards remotely and review logs to see where and when a card was used.

"We," Zuckerberg stated in his keynote, "believe the Metaverse will be the successor to the mobile Internet. We'll be able to feel present, like we're right there with people, no matter how far apart we actually are. We'll be able to express ourselves in new, joyful, completely immersive ways. And that's going to unlock a lot of amazing new experiences. When I send my parents a video of my kids, they'll feel like they're in the moment with us, not peering in through a little window. When you play a game with friends, you'll feel like you're right there together in a different world, not just on your computer by yourself. And when you're in a meeting in the Metaverse, it'll feel like you're right in the room together, making eye contact, having a shared sense of space, and not looking at a grid of faces on a screen. That's what we mean by an embodied internet. Instead of looking at a screen, you're going to be in these experiences."

the Metaverse is not only VR and AR, but also Mixed Reality. In a few years, we could be able to join our friends at a concert under the appearance of holograms, and enjoy the experience from our couch while our pals are physically at the gig. "The feeling of presence," as Zuckerberg highlighted, "is the defining quality of the Metaverse."

If the Metaverse can be (and will surely be) a goldmine for online microtransactions-centric industries (think of gaming: the console microtransaction market alone generated $2.94 Billion in 2017), on the other hand, VR traveling never really got mainstream, and this is something we all learned during last year's lockdowns.

While room booking has been highly modernized, the same can’t be said for the activities and services offered by the hotel.  Experiences such as spa, tours, and excursions play a vital role in the guest’s overall experience. Modern travelers like Millenials want to dive deep into the culture of the location they are visiting and experience it at its fullest. Even a great hotel room and good service are no longer enough.

By having all activity bookings in one organized, online platform concierge teams and hotel staff can enjoy a much better collaboration. All knowledge and bookings are shared through the software.

A big part of the concierge’s role is the development of meaningful relationships with the hotel’s guests in order to better understand their needs, enhance their experience, and delight them.Unfortunately, due to inefficient activity booking methods, concierges often lack the time needed to do that. With a hotel concierge software, all activity bookings can be done with a click of a button (literally) , and thus they have more time to come closer to your customers, assess their needs, and emphasize on the personal touch. 

The Internet brings boundary-less business environment and a strong competitive market. The oversupply of tourism suppliers, especially in the hotel industry, forces hoteliers to be innovative and creative and to find ways to differentiate and give prominence to their hotel among the large number of competitors.

Technology in hospitality not only acts as a tools to improve operation efficiency and effectiveness (Yu and Lee, 2009) but also co-create customer experiences (Neuhofer et al., 2015), improve organisational performance (Melián-González and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016), and disseminate marketing information (Okumus, 2013). Electronic marketing campaigns now shift its focus to cocreate through social media. Customers’ pre-purchase and on-site behaviour are influenced by the context posted on online platforms (Buhalis and Foerste, 2015).

Based on the related literature on smart network and application interoperability and interconnectivity, this study proposes an integrated smart hospitality network which includes sensors (for collecting external data), cloud computing (big data storage and processing), and intelligence applications that enables automated operations to support intelligent business decisions with minimum customization of communication protocols.

The independent report (not put in the field by an existing tech brand or hotelier) from hospitality consultant Josiah Mankenzie found that over 80% of chief information officers, chief technology officers and chief operating officers of hotel brands wanted their PMS provider to concentrate on integrations.

Other noteworthy items in the survey included some relief for PMS vendors, with around 70% of respondents expressing they are satisfied with their current supplier.

Half of respondents said supporting integration with other vendors, compared to 15% for growing revenue, 11% for time-saving functionality. Other factors such as mobile usage, security and cost all came in 5% or lower.