The use of wedding apps is making life easier for the frantic bride or wedding planner preparing for the big day. These apps help organize all aspects of planning. One of the most useful parts of these apps is one called task manager that allows the planner to keep up with each step of heh wedding planning through e-mail updates and scheduling calendars. It will be interesting to see if a tech savvy generation will even need people to help plan their wedding. Maybe digital wedding planners will overshadow the traditional wedding planner.Technology is changing the face of the industry and it will be interesting going forwards to see how the industry evolves over the next few years.

The failure of hotels to properly store and transmit sensitive credit card data makes them an easy target for hackers. This article shows that in 2009 a whopping 38% of credit card theft was associated with the hotel industry. These thefts necessitate a level of uniformity for hotel security standards. The biggest key to this article is the reminder that hotels cannot be lacking in their technology security measures. The industry is based on service and must do its due diligence to protect its customers and retain their loyalty and trust.

I noticed the time frame as well. I would love to see a more recent article or study done. It is definetely a reminder to consumers that you cannot rely upon hotels or other industries to provide security. Consumers need to be more responsible for tracking their own actions. Hotels also need to recognize that this threat is not going to go away. They must continuously look for new attack angles. It seems to me that the very best amongst the hospitality industry are casinoes. Other hotels should use them as a model and avoid "sophisticated hackers."

I agree that hotels who use Social Media proactively will be more competitive going forwards. Social Media is a way for companies to connect directly with their customers or potential customers on a personal level. Consumers will need to be increasingly cautious of Social Media feedback as it can easily be influenced as likely will be as unrelible a source as your mainstream advertising is. I would like to see how companies work around the fact that most people only trust the opinions those they know. Perhaps this is why the blogging world is so important to the future of social media advertising.

This article addresses the differences between how CIOs in mid-sized companies and those in large companies behave towards IT investing in times of economic hardship. Specifically, it points out the mid-sized companies are quicker to jump on board with IT investments in hard economic times based on the premise that the cost benefits will be greater if they invest sooner. They were more likely to overspend in IT to try and get a step ahead. The larger companies were more likely to take a wait and see approach and to cut back on their IT budget in hard economic times. These larger companies tend to wait longer to make sure that the IT investment will pay off. When the economy is more stable, the spending between the two becomes more closely aligned. It appears that the mid-sized companies scramble to find any IT tech angle available in hard times to try and get ahead. In slower times, the mid-sized companies behave more like the large companies.

Choice Hotels International has established thousands of Cloud Based Property Management Systems in its hotels. It can track every aspect of a guest stay in one centralized location and store it in the much cheaper and more efficient Cloud System. This system is being used in 5000 locations globally and is contributing to Choice Hotels' increasing profits.

This article emphasizes the importance of the hotel industry embracing trends in e-commerce. Consumer expectations concerning social media and e-commerce are constantly changing and demanding more from businesses. Specifically, the article suggests that hotels pay money for search engines that will drive internet business to their hotels. They also need to have websites that are easy to use, mobile, attractive, and relevant. Most importantly, the internet is constantly changing and hotels need to stay on top of the changing trends to remain competitive. Newer trends such as the rise in using social media to increase business need to be embraced.

A company in Denmark has piloted a solar panel system (Zenros Solar Touch Panels) they believe will save hotels 35% in energy costs (heating light and power) over the current sensor based system.The system draws power from natural and man-made light and wirelessly communicates with all electrical devices in the room allowing for efficient function. Unlike other systems, this one does not require rewiring of the hotel because it is wireless. A hotel in Qatar has purchased the system and is set to go live with the new green hotel soon.

I find myself wondering why the United States is not more proactive in green technology. A lot of the information I came across centered around other areas of the world pushing forwards with innovation. I would assume that all technology will require maintenance, but once a system has the bugs worked out of it, most modern technology runs pretty well. Maybe that is why more hotels are not using the technology. They could be waiting to see how the pioneer hotels do.

This article hits on the forward thinking steps taken by hotel chains that allow them to take a competitive advantage over independent hotels. Customers would prefer to stay in a green hotel if all other elements such as cost and quality are relatively equal. Hotel owners need to understand the mind of the customer so they can make green changes that will attract business or they will have a hard time competing with progessive chain hotels.

A relatively unsophisticated group of hackers stole millions from Subway by hacking through their poorly secured POS systems. These franchise businesses possibly failed to adhere to the standard required by Subway Corporation and failed to establish two points of entry for remote access into the POS system, making it easy for hackers to steal credit card information. These types of crimes are likely to increase in the future as hackers from around the world take advantage of sub-par security systems. Businesses can no longer concern themselves only with the sale of an item, they also need to offer a sense of security to their customers and accept the reality that cyber theft is a rising problem.

Jeremy, I can appreciate the transparency of those restaurants. I wish more businesses would be open about their security. People are wound pretty tight about money right now and need to feel that the business world does care enough to protect their information.