The business of Event Planning is booming and continues to grow largely in part due to social media. This article explains 10 reasons why they complement each other so well and it all revolves around the social aspect of our daily lives. Social networks bring people together and with today's technology, event planners can target specific groups or individuals quickly and efficiently at relatively little cost. I believe that social media is the driving force behind Event Planning. Without social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, Event Planning would be very costly and time consuming since these social media networks connect you to millions of people with the click of a button. I believe that without them, the task of reaching out to people and the cost of postage would hardly be worth the time.

This article points out the key features that standard hotel accounting software should have, like keeping track of costs, sales and inventory. It also points out the advantage having these features fully integrated. For example, a fully integrated system can let you make reservations, make sales, take payments, process room charges and manage accounting with one click of a button. The convenience of having a fully integrated system, along with its detialed reporting system, can make hotel accounting software a critical tool for daily hotel operations. In addition to integrated sales/revenue tracking features, you should also be able to track accounts payable to guests and vendors. Overall, hotel accounting software is essential in today's technology-driven Hospitality Industry. With the right software, you can basically run your entire hotel operation from one screen.

This article particularly caught my attention because it points out the major advantages of web-based PMS, but it does not mention the risk of transfering such sensitive guest information over the unsecure and unregulated Internet. Surely there are great cost-related and operational advantages to web-based PMS and that alone often motivates hotels to upgrade in that general direction. Afterall, the reason why the hotel is operated is to generate revenues. However, is risking the identity of thousands of your guests worth the money you will save? That is what this article does not cover. As the title points out, web-based PMS is the future of the industry, but securing the identity of the biggest drivers behind all revenue for your hotel is arguably more important. Is the risk worth the reward? I believe the Internet needs to become a more secure highway of information before the industry can fully embrace this new technological advancement. My thoughts on considering an upgrade to web based PMS: Research and proceed with caution.

This article was particularly intersting to me because it highlights the active "green movement" in the industry, but it also points out that many hotels that claim to be "going green" are actually employing practices that are anything but sustainable. The "green" notice you see when you enter the property, is nothing more than a marketing ploy in case they may encounter a customer who actually values sustainability. As much as eco-friendly organizations may inspect, certify, and supervise the industry, it is still very easy for companies to take the cheaper, more traditional road of ignoring the very principles of sustainability they claim to operate by. As much as we may try to regulate this movement, our efforts are never enough. Becoming environmentally sustainable has had a global impact already, but the level of awareness is not high enough to reach a globally effective level yet. Sustainability is our obligation to the earth that lets us live rent free. It is our responsibility and we must all take the initiative to ensure our global destinations are still around for future generations to enjoy. The problem, as this article points out, is that you can still polute and waste energy and hide behind the sign on your property that says you are eco-friendly just in case you come across that customer out there who actually values sustainability. It is sad that with all the sustainable technology available today, we still don't appreciate its importance. We have the technology to manage HVAC systems, waste processing, and renewable energy to name a few, but it is cheaper and more convenient to employ the traditional methods that are not sustainable. Many travel industry organizations have figured out that all they have to do is post signs saying they have sustainable technology and what it does without actually having to practice what they preach. I believe government agencies need to move in the general direction of coercing sustainable practices under s

Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry begins with energy management. It can be viewed by your establishment as a way to save money, conserve the environment, and preserve destinations for future generations to enjoy as we have. This article points out some of the simple, more inexpensive ways to manage energy consumption and how sadly, so few establishments develop these energy management systems despite acknowledging their benefits. On a brighter note, the article mentions 6 reasons why energy management will inevitably assume its role in our industry and it is encouraging to see more and more establishments already paving that road towards a cleaner, brighter tomorrow. It is not about "tree huggers" and fanatics. It is about our future and the future of next generations living on this fragile planet. The "Green" Movement needs more exposure and I am glad that many experts are taking the initiative to point that out. If we don't take care of this planet, who will?