This article was great to read because it focuses on how HRIS can be beneficial for scheduling, which I previously haven't thought about. The part that stood out most to me was the fact that it can forecast future sales and rush hours so that it can assist you in making sure there are enough staff members scheduled to cover those extra busy hours. In turn, the employees will also be a little bit happier with their schedules because they are able to get them earlier, request days off, and switch with other staff. As the industry is moving into being dominated by Generation Y and Z employees, who want their jobs to work around their lives, I think this can really help the companies.

The obvious initial measure hotels take to reduce energy cost and become more "green" are by replacing lights bulbs with LED, switching to paperless options, and other small tasks. The most cost efficient though is the conversion of their central air conditioner and heater, as this makes up a large percentage of costs for the hotel, which is also a burden on the environment due to the excess use of gas and electric to power the system. The new Energy Policy Act that was put into effect helps hotel not only save on long-term costs in the HVAC department, but also get a tax credit. This credit can range from $0.60 to $1.80 per square footage of the hotel. This is helping to encourage hotels to make the switch. This type of technology allows the air to be controlled by different zones in the hotel, which can be each individual room, floor, or however the hotel sets it up. This also prevents the air constantly running in the hotel room when it is unoccupied by hotel guests.

I found this article extremely interesting! Just last weekend I was in Key West at the Hilton Doubletree and I had my first experience of using the keyless entry, which was by using my cell phone as a key instead. My bluetooth was turned off so the staff informed me to turn it on and that was how the phone communicated with turning the door unlocked. This article discusses about how bluetooth technology now enables guests to do more than just unlock their hotel door. Checking in, setting the room temperature, ordering food, and managing the television can all be done. When a guest is walking near a restaurant in the hotel, bluetooth marketing technology can send a notification to the guest offering them something, which can lead to an increase in sales. The future of hotels is ever-changing with technology. Great article to read!

RFID, event applications, wearable technology, virtual reality, and social media are upcoming popular uses for event planners. With RFID event planners are able to keep better track of the guests attending the event as well as keeping them more involved. I first heard of this a few months ago when attending an event and it described that a chip with RFID was placed inside the wristband-type ticket. For me, the most interesting thing is the wearable technology! Imagine an event where you can have directions given to you or a layout of the event right on your wrist! Also, the watch can notify you of events happening within an event or you can see order your food or see the menu. To know that soon enough it will be a norm for everyone to have some type of wearable technology and that event planners can truly get the guests involved through this use is exciting.

I found with this article that cyber attacks are becoming alarmingly more common than we have prepared ourselves for. Businesses now need to invest in their own cyber security department or, as the article suggests, apply a cyber security budget to each department. With security budgets predicted to increase 14%, money should be collected through the customers over a lifetime of the customer so that the budget is continually there. I found this article to stand out to me because I never thought of cyber security being so crucial, but it easily makes sense. I think a lot of business lack in providing the proper amount of security to prevent cyber attacks. Personally, I never heard of a cyber security department so this was new for me to read about.

The leader in the airline industry, Emirates airlines is collaborating with Sabre Corporation Technology to provide better services for it's customers, as well as receiving more in revenue. Studies have shown that customers enjoy customizing their travel plans and by working with this new type of technology partnership, the software is being developed that will allow the customers to customize every aspect of their trip. They can filter based upon price, miles earned, and date/time while then adding on any other options, but rather through just one airline, this software allows guests to choose from all airlines within the Emirates family. I think this type of investment technology is the future, because the airline industry has already changed the way we purchase airline tickets, by no longer including seat selection, checked baggage, and now even carry-on baggage. Instead of trying to make the customers feel like the airlines are charging for every littl thing (which they are), this type of technology can let guests feel like they are truly creating their own trip.

Aptech is a hospitality technology company offering the much needed and desired tools of accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and business intelligence into hotel systems. They are seen as the leader in the industry for this and are said to have been the first company to bring the "business" mindset into the hotel industry. This article, however, is about their new cloud-based enterprise accounting hotel software system: PVNG. Glacier House hotels, whom is based out of Arizona converted completely from the original Aptech accounting software to the new cloud PVNG system. The reviews so far are highly rated and it seems to have a bright future again. I thought this article was perfect because it blends multiple aspects that we have discussed over the past couple of weeks!

This article predicted POS trends for 2017 and narrowed it down to convenience, mobile retail, smarter technology use, accessibility, and media. I found this article interesting to read because most of this I have seen throughout the hospitality industry. As cloud storage systems are becoming more common, tablets are being used in placed of large desktop computers because they are cheaper and not much storage is needed. The article also stated that Global Market Insights, a research firm, predicts that POS terminal market will increase 19% from 2016 to 2023. This shows that the industry is changing as a whole and for those who haven't converted yet to this type of technology, they may want to consider doing so. It also explained how technology can be used to gather more data about the consumer/customers and also to use the technology to attract customers to dine in at the restaurant or shop because they want a more interactive experience.

This very interesting article explains the top 5 trends currently with the hotel property management systems. The obvious top trend is the cloud-based systems because the cost is so much less and the efficiency is so high, that many don't have more con's than pro's so there is almost little to no reason for hotel companies to jump right into this trend, if they haven't already done so. The other trends mentioned were mobility, guests engagement, endless ietegration, and sleek design, which all in a way tie in with the new cloud-based systems. The one I found most interesting was the guest engagement because with the cloud systems, employees are able to connect with a guest and other employees at any time and essentially anywhere because the cloud PMS is able to be used on mobile devices. The systems are also more integrated with other software that understanding the true nature of the guests is easier and therefore the best service can be provided to accommodate that guest to his/her specific needs, without him or her needed to ask for it.

This article stood out to me because it stands behind the future of the global distribution systems. Direct bookings have increased .8% in the first quarter of 2016, but GDS also increased during the time at 1.3%. Having rates and rooms availability easily accessible for travel agencies is still crucial for the hotels, especially due to the increase in business travelers. This article mentions GDS by SiteMinder, which is a platform that connects the hotels to all the GDS systems, making it easier to manage and control because when one room is sold on one platform, all the other platforms are recognized that that room is gone. I mentioned in my post on the discussion board that I think the future of the GDS can still survive as long as it continues to adapt to what the industry trends are heading towards. This SiteMinder I think is exactly that. An easily controllable system that is supportive of a pool inventory, that operates as if there is only one GDS system out there, although there are several.

SERI is multi-stakeholder group made up of the Environmental Protection Agency, Regulators, Trade Associations, and many others to commit to recycling in a non-harmful way electronic waste, more commonly known as e-waste. This group certifies recycling centers to ensure that the most environmentally friendly practices are put into place and a locator can be found on their website for one to use. It is estimated currentlybthat at this rate, wasted electonics will increase 33% by the end of the decade, which is an alarming amount. This shows that governement officials are starting to take a stance.

This article predicts the future of networking and the internet, which is a challenging thing to do, considering how complex this technology is. Among some things predicted are that web site address space will eventually run out and the domain names will crash as human recognition will be able to navigate through web pages. The most interesting thing I found is that broadband routers will soon disappear due to multiple internet capable devices will be able to solely communicate with each other, meaning our phones, watches, and computers will all be connected without a router. It also goes deeper into the possibility of a future without an internet network. It's hard to predict that we will also be able to fight against cyber attacks and spam and keep our internet at use. Imagine a future with no internet! What will be the next big thing then?