This article talks about how event planning is evolving. Nowadays, event planners are using social media such as facebook, twitter, foursquare, and vimeo. These social media tools allow them to reach a broader audience, keep track of how many people attended their event, and help find vendors such as DJ's, photographers etc. "What we're seeing is more integration of social media into their lives as a way to promote their services, plan and promote events, and bring the conversation full circle from the virtual world to real life."

This article talks about e-marketing and how it is going to take over the industry. It mentions that the number of people on the interent is increasing and rapidly. E-marketing need to "create interesst, excitement and buy-ins at their hotels". Now with social media, e-marketing is becoming more accessible. "The level of emphasis and extent of experimentation varies greatly by hotel group and location, but growing importance, both for generating revenues, lower costs adn online visibility, is indisputable".

This article speaks about a user guide that will "compile accounts, compare regional differences and define the value of a hospitality operation." To create this guide will take some time, and 3 steps must be performed. First the research needs to be conducted and gathered, secondly the collected data will be distributed to regional teams who will develop sample charts of accounts. Lastly, the team chairs will finalize the project by authoring a discussion on similarities or differences.

This article talks about the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and the different steps they have taken to Go Green. They have significantly reduced their water and electricity consumption with the "When not in use, turn off the juice" project. Along with saving water and energy, they have also begun recycling. They recycle, paper, plastic, cardboard, light bulbs and the list goes on. They are also taking the time to educate their employees as well. "To encourage participation in programs such as 'When Not in Use, Turn Off the Juice,' employee awareness days are held. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are given to employees to help them save energy at home." The hotel has a green team who meet quarterly to continue growing in their sustainability initiatives. The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place is Green Key certified and has been recognized and awarded for their Green efforts.

I found this article to be extremely interesting. It is from 1999, and is discussing the Genting hospitality management system. Having worked at hotels I know and understand the importance of having a property management system. The article states, "Genting is the first company to have developed a hospitality software in the country." The property management system can be incorporated into many different aspects of the hospitality industry: resorts, gaming, theme parks etc. Genting's managing director described the system explaining that that the software "customized to meet the needs of modern travelers". By using this PMS, hotels would be able to improve their customer service, meet the needs of modern travelers, and schedule maintenance more effectively. Not only will this PMS assist with better catering to the guests, but it will also provide a new source of revenue for Genting as they can sell the system worldwide. The article continues to discuss the amount of internet users being able to surpass the one million mark. It is difficult for me to remember a time when there was no internet as almost everything can be done online now. PMS play a very important role in the hospitality industry, especially when it comes to hotels. They assist with keeping track of how many guests are in the property, the names of the guests, their arrival and departure dates, special requests and much more. Genting paved the way for all the PMS in the industry today.