In Toronto, Eventmobi has created a mobile app for the meetings and events industry. They are launching what they claim to be "the Worlds first smartphone-based gaming app designed exclusively for event professionals". What this app allows event planners to do is build and customizes games in order to provide an experience to the attendees. It allows them to engage in networking, teambuilding and take computerized quizzes and solve challenges and perform task. The attendees can compete with each other and even gain points and virtual badges which will be redeem at the event for prizes. They are able to see the progress in points. Gamify/app has already been implemented to several big brands and associations. Some of these brands are Disney, crocs, and the health care information and management system society. The cost of the Gamify/App can be purchased for $2,500, the cost is extremely high right now since it is still a new technology and will slowly become a high demand. I believe that meeting planners are starting to avoid carrying their 3 inch binders and are more interested in the convenient and efficiency of advanced technology. This new app will definitely benefit the attendees and meeting planners to be more organized and have the convenience of adjusting everything with just the touch of a finger.

The HRIS system which refers to the human resource information system is software or an online source which tracks data, and entry information in regards to employees in the organization. Most organizations have more then 400 employees in the property it is difficult to keep track, however, the HRIS system makes the life of an HR coordinator or manager much simpler. The system gathers information where it even tracks the enrollment of new and future employees with application and resumes management. Additionally, after they have become a part of the organization it tracks down in several areas making it accessible and efficient for the human resource coordinator or manager to find information for example: attendance and PTO use, pay raises and history, disciplinary actions received as well as personal information and succession plan. This system has integration with payroll and other company financial software and company related documents such as employee handbook. This seems like a very efficient system to have for the Human resource department which makes their life at work much simpler. All the information they need is under one system instead of having a folder in the computer saved for each individual who works for the company. The HRIS system seems very efficient and effective.

With all this new and emerging technology changes in the industry are occurring, seems like these mobile apps are the new hot trend along with cloud based services, video analytics and identity management. Mobile apps are being observed as not an extra but more like a necessity, customers expect mobile apps to be part of their security systems. However, it is known that there needs to be a precaution with these trends since their can be an increase in hackers in having greater access to security systems. Ipads are the ones to blame about this dependability, due to the functionality and speed it has. In continuation, there has been an increase in the use of physical security that leverage the flexibility of cloud based service. One of the emerging technologies that are being well thought and looking forward to is the video analytics. Not only will it be the ability to increase the effectiveness of video monitoring but it can also provide return on investment for customers by allowing greater use of the video systems. Looks like all this technology advancement will definitely make our industry much more efficient and convenient for our guest. Although safety and security should always remain in our minds, since most of it has to do with related "hacker" concerns due to the past.

IT investment are pushed forward now and days more so for guest satisfaction. A recent Motorola Solutions Inc has uncovered a study that fifty six percent of hospitality organization plan to increase their mobile investment and wireless technology with greater data volumes and high speed access. This will increase drastically competitive advantage for the business and customer experience. Some find it a challenge in convincing upper management to approve investing in to the latest technology. As well as demonstrating that a proposed technology investment will be beneficial for their business and will assist in continuous up to date trends and market competition. I highly agree that technology is a must in this industry, especially how fast it is changing. In order to stay within the competitive advantage and provide convenience for our guest it is necessary to invest and update into the latest technology. The initial investment might be extreme especially if you have been out of date from any recent technology however, with time the results will be returned with satisfied guest and fast paced PMS systems.

This article informs us on the different levels of integration to accounting, ecommerce, rental, shop management and other software modules. There is a slight difference between integrated and interfaced. Interface is when the system is linked to another accounting system like quick books or Peachtree in order to transfer data between them in order to communicate with third party programs. Integrated modules use the same file and information, data is consistent in order to avoid double entry. Most accounting systems are built in and tightly integrated into the software so there is an instant update of inventory quantity, customer history, account receivables etc. There are some advantages of a separate accounting package which include saving money, no retraining, and better overall design with stand alone accounting systems. Some disadvantages of a separate accounting package will be out of date information, updates and maintenance can cause problems, difficult configuration. The built in (integrated) accounting includes updates, quick reference, and easy configuration. Disadvantages are poor design. According to this article it seems that accounting systems which are integrated are far more efficient then interfaced accounting systems. Although it clearly states that both words are used interchangeably and both can give plenty of problems with the software. But with integrated individuals are just working with one program while with interface individuals have to learn two programs and user interfaces.

Focusing on new trends, POS systems are being brought out and introduced in the new addition of IPAD. This new system called Revel hopes to be the go-to Ipad powered comprehensive POS system for restaurants. Revel systems can be used for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering and email receipts. Lisa Falzone is the co founder and CEO of Revel System expressed how this new system is going after chains and restaurants that obtain at least $500,000 in yearly revenue. Launched in August 2011 Revel is seeing around $80 million in business processing with major brands and franchises ex: Freshberry frozen yogurt café, Rexs chicker, Dixie cream etc. This new trend with IPAD POS system is a great idea and a fantastic way to be more efficient. Usually POS systems are these screens that are not movable it mainly resides on one specific location while these ipads could be more convenient and mobile. This may help to bring out a better and faster customer satisfaction.

Considered the technology of the next generation Optima PMS, with advanced icons and color codes which gives managers an overview of hotels operations and maintain management controls. The windows graphical user interface helps simplify data entry by employees, user friendly, quick and easy. The system is able to change to a variety of languages, automatic or semi automatic night auditing procedures, guest history and mail merge, unlimited number of folios for guest, interfaced with all leading PBXs, housekeeping and room maintenance. Optima PMS has a report module with an extensive report generator which provides statistical reports and occupancy and work assignment forecasting reports. This new upcoming system seems to be well suited and user friendly, but does not seem very far from opera. Opera is a very user friendly system which really provides convenient use for the employees. It is even possible to email reservation confirmation through the system to a guest. In other PMS systems like brilliant or Epitome that was not possible. These new and improved systems really make a front desk and reservation agent life a bit easier. The system is interfaced with the phones in the rooms, which allows us to see in the system when a housekeeper is in the room cleaning which is called pick up status" so that we can provide adequate information for the guest informing them that the room is currently being cleaned instead of having to call housekeeping every 5 minutes.

Opportunities for adopting green initiatives are becoming more and more common in the hospitality industry. IT updates and implementations have become a sustainable practice to reduce cost, provide a better guest satisfaction and environmentally friendly. One of the ways to start off the green initiatives is by effectively reducing energy and paper consumption; this gets done by using smart phones to replace key cards and using emails to reduce paper flow. Another green initiative is the effective technology practice such as energy star which is the system that powers down a computer automatically after it has not been used for a period of time. The use of digital media (social media) instead of print media is a fantastic way to save money while lowering the impact on the environment. Green initiatives are coming up pretty fast and are required to have a strong commitment but all vary depending on the size of organization, demand of business and location of doing business. I have seen many hotels implementing green initiatives in their facilities which at first can become extremely costly but in the long term very cost effective and environmentally friendly and expand the guest experience. I have seen hotels that have a HVAC system which senses the presence of someone in the room, this system puts the AC temperature high when room is vacant and lowers the temperature when it is occupied. Additionally the lighting of the room works the same; it turns on when someone is present and automatically turns off when the room is vacant. Just these two initiatives alone can save the property millions of dollars in a period of a year. In my opinion, going green is a great way to benefit every one involved, the guest, the environment, and cost efficient (long term) for hoteliers. The green initiative has not yet been a giant boom, but in a few years a larger amount of guest will prefer to stay in a green environmental friendly hotel then with a non green hotel. I believ

GDS systems began in the 1960s with the airline industry in order to track, schedule, check availability and pricing for flights. The first two GDS's that were created was SABRE which was owned by American airlines and Apollo owned by United. GDS provides a perfect marketplace for the travel industry, helping them increase revenue and online marketing exposure. According to researchers travelers that book packages which include hotel, airfare and special events tend to stay longer at destinations and spend large amounts of money. Large and small businesses that sign up for GDS systems to be accessed in their property may receive a small amount of online reservations. Smaller properties can expect 10-20 reservations per month, larger properties may receive as many as 5-10 per day. One of the factors which reflect on the amount of reservation your property may receive consists of your location, unique amenities and services which may appeal to travelers. I have worked in the industry for over 2 years and numerous times I have had to handle reservations made by expedia, travelocity and other third party reservations and room types are not guaranteed. Guest usually arrive to the hotel stating how they have requested double beds and unfortunately on a night where the hotel is sold out the guest has to be told that their request can not be meet because with third party companies room types are not guaranteed. Guest are constantly upset and expect to be compensated in some sort of way, although they are paying approximately $200 dollars on a room that is going for $400. In my opinion GDS are great for saving money and providing the hotel with occupied rooms, but can really cause an inconvenience for those guest that are not able to receive what they requested.

Telecommunication is an area in the industry that has driven the productivity of all employees and the efficiency of processed information and future growth. One of the examples of telecommunication would be the PBX voice switch which can be used to facilitate data and video communication, enhancing security. Offering a competitive advantage the PBX has become more then just a voice switch, since its improvement housekeeping is able to moderate the room status directly from the room and guest can choose to checkout by dialing out in the room. Inclusively, systems can be interfaced with videophones which allow the user to see and decide on the visitors they would allow entering their room using VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP provides cost efficiency, productivity, customer capabilities and enhancing access to information. Another useful form of telecommunication is wireless paging systems where it keeps employees from different departments accessible incase of any emergency. In my opinion, telecommunication has been a great advantage in the industry. It has improved in various ways through out the years and it continues to grow and allowing the customer experience to become a one of a kind with the efficiency that it offers. Guest is able to become more independent during their stay even when checking out of their rooms. Telecommunication has even provided employees with more ease at work by creating a system where housekeeping department is able to press a button on the phone of the room, which changes the status of the rooms immediately instead of having to inspect the room and then change status on the computer system. I still believe this new technology is great, but I stand firm that the older crowd (baby boomers) and those that do not speak the language (English) still prefer the human interaction for instance, at checkout time. The Y generation is more prone to be excited about all these new gadgets and independent ways of getting things done.

The hospitality industry can be extremely overwhelming if all departments are not in sink because one department depends on the other. In order to increase efficiency and service delivery various hardware and software systems have to be implemented. For example: an application for making hotel reservations which is used to check availability of rates and rooms could be NovaPlus from multi system incorporation. This program provides access for the guest and allows hotel management to modification accessibility to discounts on base rates. Another software needed in the hotel industry is the point of sale which the PlacePoint program can be used from multi system incorporation. In this program employee/guest can place orders in the menu and it is known to be structured as user friendly. One of the most important applications in the industry would be the Property management application which is where all the guest contact information, preferences, revenue management and room sales strategy are located. Overall there are a numerous of software and hardware necessary in order to run a hotel efficiently. From my own experience I have worked with 3 different PMS systems, Brilliant, Epitome and Opera, it just seems that after learning one system I find that it was better then the last one. As technology advances I have found that the more updated PMS systems like Opera , work much better and have facilitated my working environment and user friendly. Whatever the previous systems lacked in efficiency for the employee, the new system definitely gained.

This article basically talks about how much technology has changed and what directors of softwares predict technology will be in the near future. The article informs how the Peachtree Plaza hotel like many other hotels replaced the keys to all the rooms with electronic key cards. Which increased security for the guest and cost saving. Hospitality consultants agreed that in the future mobile phones will be the way to open guest room doors and will probably occur through infrared or wirelesss access to rooms. Neil Roodyn the director of software developers informed that he predicts that in the future people will be sitting around touch sensitive table top computer in lobbies where they can searchfor places to go in the area and make their own restaurant reservations. Neil predicts this can also influence more communication and interaction between guest. My thoughts on this article is that the younger generation is far more technology oriented and feel more comfortable with working all these new gadgets, but for the baby boomers and older crowd have the want and need of having that human interaction. Technology seems a bit to advanced for them. The more technology advances the less human interaction will occur. I think that technology advancement is great for everyone, but human interaction needs to remain for those that are not very technology savy.

My parents are also not very savy with technology and they dont even speak english, so it makes it that much harder for them. They both still have flip phones. Overall, I know in the end there has to be some sort of balance with the advancement of technology and still have that human interaction.