This article discusses a program called Tripleseat that was created in 2008 as a way to better organize sales and even planning within the hospitality industry. The program is a cloud-based software that provides a competitive edge that event managers need. The founders of the software said that the idea came when he realized that Event sales managers were still using paper and pens to organize their events. He said that event planners were losing sales by not having a simple organized system to track their events. The point of Tripleseat is to provide a fast yet simple to learn program that allows event sales managers to easily book and plan any sort of event no matter the size. It keeps track of little details as well as past client information, there is less paperwork, and managers are able to focus on sales. Since this is a web application it can easily be integrated with other websites as well as social media. It is a sophisticated event planning system, but is also offered at a manageable cost. This type of system sounds like a great system to use. I only wonder if it is able to interface with a property management system of a hotel? Especially one that isn't cloud-based.

According to this article, hotels are coming up with new and more secure ways to make guests feel safe and comfortable. This can be extremely important for women traveling alone, or people with children. This article describes several new security features that can be added to hotel rooms that serves guests efficiently and with ease. The first new technology device is a Mobile Key Solution. Guests will be able to receive their room number and room key via their mobile phone or computer allowing them to bypass the front desk altogether. Also, at the door, it is equipped with IP Video Intercom that can replace the peephole. This intercom can routed to any device in the room and it can be accessed using mobile phones. Also inside the room is a high-tech safe that features four unique solution for providing extra security. Other security features are sound recognition smoke alarms and CO2 detectors. Right now, technology companies are ready to install new products, but there is question as to whether hotels are buying the technology. It is my opinion that as technology continues to advance, security will have to advance as well. Security for guests information, and personal safety will have to increase. More advanced room key technology is definitely a priority. There are too many issues with room keys and this can be a giant security issue. It is my opinion that we will start to see new security technology entering hotels in the near future.

This article discusses some of the POS trends that restaurants will be making in 2013. Restaurants have been more dedicated to customer service than technology investment, but that has started to change. Technology advancements over the years have motivated restaurants to into looking into changing their current models of operations. In the case of POS systems, suppliers have made many advancements to positively impact the customer experience. Mobile POS, social media, and tablet hardware are only a few of the advancements suppliers have made to create interest within the restaurant operator community. Restaurant operators were asked what they were looking for in innovations. Online ordering was the number one choice, and mobile phone features were on the list. Cloud computing continues to rise in the interest of restaurant operators as well. Out of all of the operators surveyed, only 19% said that they had no plans to make any changes to their POS systems. Some of the restaurants said that they would be moving on the a new POS vendor while other said that they plan to stay with their current vendor. No matter the choice investment in new POS technology is not going to slow down. More restaurants are taking risks and diving into new technology and "testing" the new product. There is a strong desire within the restaurant community to have new POS technologies.

This article does a great job of showing the history of the point of sales system and looking at the future of the POS System. Point of sales, or retail transactions, have been around since humans were created. Cash transactions took place between consumers and merchants, and the cash was kept in a box. The cash register, a mechanical cash box, was the first real POS System that kept track of revenues. It wasn't until businesses started using barcodes that the POS really started to change. Merchants could process sales more quickly and accurately. Restaurants were among the first to use mobile POS systems. Staff could process credit cards at the table, and place orders without ever having to write an order down. Apple, for example, eliminates the cash register altogether and handles all transactions from hand-held devices. These new systems of POS reduce labor costs and increase productivity. The elimination of written orders increases the accuracy of servers and gives customers a better quality of service. The future of the POS System is bright. Restaurants have created iPhone apps that allow customers to place their orders before they even reach the restaurant, while others let servers carry around a small computer that allows them to process transactions from wherever they are. Even more advancements are beginning to take place. Encrypted card readers and contact less payment methods will increase the security of mobile POS systems. Eventually a person's cell phone will be able to be passed over a terminal and act as a credit card. These advancements are ultimately to create more time for the guest and the business as well as make shopping more automatic. In today's society where people are controlled by the need to shop, a more automatic type of transaction is the best invention.

There is a lot of talk within the travel industry about the future of travel distribution. Some argue that direct bookings from airlines are the new future, while others are arguing that the continued use of GDSs still remain essential to travel distribution. ASTA and Travel Weekly conducted a survey of travel agencies to get their take on GDSs. Although the use of GDSs continues to shrink, the declining rate of use has been slowing down. In 2010, the rate was 76% and in 2011 the rate was 75%. In 2012, surveys found that 72% of agencies surveyed were still using a GDS. ASTA predicts that the rate of decline will eventually stop because no other method of booking flights beats the GDS System. Agencies surveyed said that they continue to use GDSs because of the speed, and the ability to easily compare airlines and hotels. Airline bookings continue to be the main reason for the success of GDSs, with 90% of air bookings made through the GDS. 95% of car rentals are made through a GDS, and 50% of hotel bookings are done through GDS. GDS systems continue to drive competition, and make it easier for agencies to negotiate with suppliers. Agencies also continue to receive incentives from GDSs as long as they use a GDS. I believe that as long as travel agencies stay in business and are continuing to turn a profit then the GDSs are safe. Travel agencies are not likely to switch to a new system if the easily accessible, and easily manageable system is still GDS. If travel agencies begin to become less popular, then GDSs may see a rapid decline in the use of the system.

Trends in the hospitality industry are changing. Hotels were once considered the place to indulge and splurge a little, but now we are beginning to see hotels change their approach to attracting customers. Properties around the world have begun to make changes that are reducing their carbon footprint, but those changes cannot always be seen by the guest. This means that many guests do not even realize that its happening. Many changes will begin to happen as customers express their concerns more publicly. Surveys are showing that a growing number of guests want to see green initiatives within hotels, and wouldn't mind paying a little more to stay at green hotels. There is work being done to measure a customer's carbon footprint and this knowledge will give hotels some consistency in the way they report their emissions. Although still in its early stages, green initiatives provide great marketing opportunities for hotels, and they are starting to see that they can attract more people through these initiatives. Green Initiatives are will continue to becomes increasingly more popular for guests. As guests continue to become aware of the effects of their carbon footprint they are going to look for ways to help reduce it. One area will be in the hospitality industry. This is a great opportunity for hotels to increase profits, by marketing to this type of traveler.

Starting this spring Walt Disney World is introducing it's new vacation management system known as "MyMagic+". This system will drastically change the way Disney World theme parks are run. Part of the software is introducing "MagicBands" that will store guests credit card information, Fast Pass, hotel key, and other information to make the guests experience more interactive. The system will also allow Disney to keep a more accurate account of what is interesting to guests and what is not being utilized. There are some concerns with privacy that guests may have, but Disney is proactively trying to ensure that all guests privacy is still intact. Guests will be able to use the system how they want, and share only as much information as they are comfortable with. The introduction of this management system will benefit both guests and Disney if used effectively. Guests will be able to plan their trips with more ease, and spend more time enjoying the parks rather than standing in lines. Disney will be able to offer a better product, as well as manage its parks more effectively and see what guests are really interested in.