This article describes step-by-step details on how to properly plan and execute an event. Event planning is not an easy task, and it takes a great deal of coordination, planning, and organization to effectively pull off an effective event, program, gala, etc. Events come in all shapes and sizes and any number of them will have their own unique challenges, but this article lays out some very simple and very plain ways to plan an event that can be applicable to almost any event that can be planned. While not a wholistic list by any means, the article provides a good overview of the event planning process and the steps needed to take to ensure one's event is a huge success and doesn't become susceptible to the common pitfalls that befall so many event planners.

This article discusses the promising technological advances going on in the space of proximity marketing. It details the advantages that proximity marketing can offer companies over traditional marketing methods and even lays out several ways that companies can get started in the space. Give how many times the average person checks their phone a day and the growing number of companies that are expected to adopt beacons, the technology used to broadcast content to a specific physical location, it makes logical sense that the technology for proximity marketing will only increase. That is why systems like Coaster CMS, the Content Management System, listed in the article will continue to be more prevalent as the need to have a firmer grasp on the content being delivered to customers becomes increasingly more important and used in a more widespread fashion.

This is a very detailed article about the various ways that hospitality firms are utilizing technology and using their capital to invest in IT related projects. A variety of hospitality firms were surveyed to produce this article on ways they plan to invest in IT and the various projects they feel are most worthy of their dollars. Some of the areas that were most noted and listed as worthy of additional IT investment include improving technology to improve financial performance and enhancements in CRM and loyalty programs, guest experience technology and ensuring the guest stay is always seen as paramount, as well as improved information and cyber security technology as well as an increased focus on understanding big data and improving employee engagement. This article is highly detailed in what it analyzes and it lists a long list of potential investments that a variety of companies will be taking on in the future. The focus of this article was on the year 2017, but many of these concepts still apply to the hospitality industry today and well into the future. Many of these things listed are also things we can see that many companies worked on leading to 2018 and continue to work on and it is the companies that put these IT investments at the forefront that will be leading the hospitality enterprises of the future.

This article details the up and coming new trend of restaurants offering customers the ability to be able to pay at their table. The article details the various pros and cons associated with the type of service and how it can benefit the customer as well as the employees of a restaurant establishment. While not perfect, there are many pros associated with a pay-at-the-table service that are hard to ignore, and it is my humble opinion that this kind of service will continue to catch on into the near future. Customers are increasingly looking for new ways to utilize technology to their advantage to be able to get in and out of a restaurant and pay-at-the-table technology definitely allows that. The companies that adopt this kind of technology will increasingly see their profits grow as well as their table turn increase.

This article provides a detailed account of the variety of ways that E-Commerce can be used within the hospitality industry. With the advent of the Internet and new and improved technology, it has become much more imperative for companies to remain competitive in this space. From VR to targeting, as well as online tracking, there are a variety of tools that hospitality firms can employ to attract customers via the Internet. As the Internet is the primary resource that people utilize to shop for hospitality products such as hotel rooms, airfare, etc... it is incredibly important for companies to remain on the cutting edge in regards to their marketing online and attracting and retaining customers.

This article discusses the various ways that hotels are increasingly going green and the certification process hotels can go to in order to get this green recognition. It is clear that going green nowadays is not a matter of choice, but of business necessity due to the various demands from guests and other consumers. Sustainability for hotels isn't just about recycling and choosing more energy efficient lights, its looking at sustainability holistically. This means looking at conversation from the start of a hotel project all the way through to the time the hotel first opens and continues to operate. While the upfront costs to be green may be costly, what may end up being more costly is the companies who choose not to go green at all.

This article illustrates how advancing technology has dramatically affected the hospitality landscape and what the guest experience looks like for hospitality customers. Guests are increasingly demanding more customization in their experience, less waiting, and increased access to information and their specific preferences. Technology allows all of this and has given hospitality companies greater access to information, particularly customer information and preferences. Social media gives hospitality companies the inside information on what guests want and feel in relation to a hotel, robots are allowing simple, redundant, and sometimes time-consuming tasks to be done much more quickly and with no human interference or interaction, and VR and chatbots are enabling hospitality guests to have more personalized and individualized experiences. Technology is not going away and it is the companies that are able to effectively utilize it to its full potential that will succeed well into the future.