This article for event planning and technology shared the current trends of event technology for this year. Facial recognition is becoming popular and is encouraged to use to target an expansive audience. Some events encourage audiences to take advantage of technology by using Facebook to tag photos of the event attendees to to a personalized album. The article also predicts that the future holds facial recognition for attendees checking in for a further improved event. RFID is being widely used by experienced event coordinators in place of event tickets and to reduce payments made physically. With the usage of RFID, it enhances the productivity for the attendees, as well as, make special features, such as raffles, much easier and fun to conduct. Automated customer service features are also rising as it enables guests to conveniently have their questions answered without having to wait to get a response. For example, according to the article, Sound on Sound Fest is a festival for music lovers that created a customer service feature via Facebook Messenger to answer any questions from the potential and prospective attendees. It was said to have instant gratification and success in the ease of asking and answering questions. Apps are also taking a part in events. Apps, such as, Pathable (connect with attendees throughout entire event), Presdo (takes into consideration behavior of attendees), and attendify (share photos, messages, and comments with attendees) are example of applications that events benefit from in this growing trend of event technology. Broadcasting events also assist in gaining popularity for an event and social media walls encourage attendees to post photos of the event with hashtags. Technology is growing and gaining popularity in events. Due to the fact that people are almost never without their cellphones, nevertheless, on their cellphones, the discussed features are popular amongst event attendees and aids in bubbling the posit

There are various forms of e-marketing, and this particular article zooms into the principle of e-marketing through social media influencers, or in other words, social media celebrities. Social media celebrities have a significant amount of followers and dictate what is good, negative, fun, popular, or high quality in different segments- food, places to go, accessories, brands, and etc. They have the power to engage their audience and influence favoritism through their postings. These people often have a large number of followers and provide audiences with an insight of their private and social lifestyle. This article highlights the importance of capturing social media influencers because it can be a great way to market the property. According to this article, traditional form of advertising, or marketing, is no longer becoming as effective. Social media influencers have far more power than businesses believe. It is important, before a business dives in to capture a social media influencers interest, to dictate whether or not the influencers' number of followers are "real" and not "bought." Usually influencers will have a number over 50,000 followers, and a micro-influencer will have an average between 1,000 and 50,000 followers. The key to distinguish if these followers are "real" is through active engagement from the audience. The ultimate goal of a hotel is to have influencers visit their property, utilize their services, take beautiful pictures and add positive and descriptive captions, geotag location of the business, and finally, tag the hotel they are visiting. It should enable followers to easily click on the link or look up the property, so they too, can experience what their influencer has experienced. It is important that both parties adhere to the standards conformed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is an absolute must for influencers to include in their post that they are being compensated for sharing the experience.

This particular article on hospitality and tourism accounting states that the global travel industry is expanding at an accelerated rate. Although there are high demands in corporate travel and high level of satisfaction in the economy, the ever growing industry is vulnerable to many risks given by its consumers. Just as much as the guests utilizing these hospitality services are becoming more pressing towards great prices and expressing concern in the quality of service they receive, hotel businesses are adamant about increasing awareness in cost and profit. To balance all these exclusive challenges, hotels are insisting on being educated and equipped with the most up-to-date technological advances to keep up with the ever demanding industry. With this in mind, the article states three methods to conquer the challenges faced today. The first method is to utilize a cloud based system to keep track of all the innumerous activities present to keep the business running. Due to the fact that a hotel is run by an overflowing amount of employees, all with different jobs and tasks, all using different systems respective to their departments, and require several types of pay (part-time, full-time, tipped employees) methods, it is a challenge to keep things efficient without a proper system. This is the reason why the article recommends using a cloud based system to keep track of the daily labor costs, overtime management, daily payroll transactions, and incorporate easy accessibility to reporting functions. The cloud based system will be beneficial in keeping everything in record beginning from the moment an employees clocks in to the end where they receive their paycheck, as well as, the ability to manage transactions. The second method is to centralize all the various sources of data. Hotels have a countless amount of data being stored. That can range from guest satisfaction satisfaction survey and comment reports, PMS data, to financial reports. With all these busy ac

This article provides information for hoteliers on when it is the best time to change their business' property management system. I especially liked how the writer of this article referred to PMS as the "beating heart" of the hotel. The article goes on to explain that because PMS is a technology system, it has a definite lifespan. It also recommends a cloud based PMS for the business. As technology is evolving more than ever, guest expectations are increasing as well. Due to this fact, instead of reshaping or updating the PMS, it is highly recommended to change out the entire system. Utilizing an outdated system will only decrease the benefits and lose out on various opportunities. The first sign is when the PMS is showing its age. The writer encourages properties to change out the property management system to a cloud based system. It is time to change the property's PMS if the current system does not have any mobile, SMS, or self-serve features. Second, when your business sees that the employees using the system are starting to show disappointment when working, it is time to change it. There are multiple reasons why employees show frustration and a few of them are because the system may be lagging due to its age, it is too complicated to use, or the vendor does not provide enough support. Third, a significant amount of integration is necessary with third-party applications. If the current PMS is not cooperating hence requiring the employer to manually input data from third-party systems, it is time to change. In addition, the writer again suggests a cloud based PMS, such as StayNTouch Rover PMS. Fourth, should the vendor cause you more money due to its constant maintenance and updating issues, it may be time to change. Upgrades get pricey, and innumerable vendors charge a heavy price on performance upgrades and software customization. A cloud based system already comes with everything in a package. It is already equipped with data backups, security, upgrades, cust

This article emphasizes the fact that Chinese consumers is thriving in outbound travel. The number of people in China traveling is expected to increase from the current number of 150 million trips to 700 millions trips in the upcoming five years. With its significant growth, Marriott is taking extra measures to capture the eye of the interest of Chinese travelers. The Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group and Marriott declared a joint venture with their main purpose of building guest loyalty and uplifting the traveling experience for the Chinese market. With the increased income for the average Chinese middle class, traveling to the United States and Europe has become popular. Therefore, enabling "Alipay" through Fliggy (which is Alibaba's travel service platform) assists Chinese consumers to conveniently access digital pay for their trips. This particular venture was a huge stepping stone in forming the relationship with the known e-commerce company. Particular information pertaining to Chinese travelers, such as favored promotions, programs, and content also became more accessible to Marriott as this venture launched. Marriott's owners as well as franchisees are expecting to grasp these information to seize an ever growing Chinese travel market. Although Alipay is only available in certain Asia-Pacific hotels, it is expected to expand to the U.S. markets as well as the European market. Easy to use technology will aid in all steps of the booking process, starting from planning, booking, to paying and even managing a particular trip. Additionally, for Chinese consumers, Alipay, as mentioned above, is the main method of payment for Alibaba. 80% of e-commerce is made in Alibaba. Finally, this joint venture also enhances a crossover loyalty program feature. Through Marriott and Alibaba's loyalty program, point will be exchangeable and redeemable to further enhance consumer satisfaction.

In regards to Module 2: Post a hospitality/tourism network, telecommunications, or green related article, I chose to post about a green related article and found an awesome article of "Eight Ways Hotels Are Helping To Protect The Environment." In honor of the past April 22's Earth Day, the article displayed the examples for some of the hotels in the United States that were committed to aid in preserving the environment for the hoteliers and guests alike to keep sustainability strong for the respective hospitality companies as well as travelers who are striving to travel with eco-friendly options. Located in Oahu, Hawaii, the Turtle Bay Resort is home to an on-property horse stable, tennis and golf courses, a 15 mile hiking/mountain biking trails, many health conscious classes such as fitness, wellness, and even a surf school. With its advantageous beach location, water adventures such as eco-kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming enable guests to view many of the natural resources, mammals, and endangered species that visit along the shores of the resort. With all of the above activities, it is crucial for this resort to take especially good care of the natural resources that benefit the resort by attracting guests. With that being said, the resort team members initiate beach cleanups every month for about 5 miles of the beach's shoreline. As well, back in 2009, the resort developed a Green Committee to plan and map out methods to reduce the resort's carbon footprint. Some examples of this was adding solar roof panels, convert 70% of the resort's lighting to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, initiated recycling for the entire resort, and changed cups utilized at the F&B outlets to environmental friendly options. Located in Leesburg, Virginia, The National Conference Center's food and beverage program partnered with local Virginia Farms to source their food from local farmers to enhance the consumer's yearning for the farm-to-table cuisine. For Earth Day, the company i

This article states a number of technology utilized in the hotel of Las Vegas for the convenience and comfort of their guests. Hotels in Las Vegas have come to realize that the plain phone near the nightstand in every room just does not suffice the every growing world of technology. Tablets placed individually in each rooms provide a convenient access for guests to control the lighting and temperature of their rooms. An example of the convenience of tablets is portrayed at the Aria and Vdara hotels where guests can not only control lighting and temperature with the tablets, but also place a specific time for breakfast delivery. Hotels such as the MGM Grand and The Mirage boasted special rooms which display different lighting based on the body's needs and enhances the the body's internal clock just with the lighting itself. They also have technology which infuses Vitamin C into their showers so they can reap health benefits by staying at the respective hotels. Several hotels launched a program called "Ivy" which is the world's first smart texting service for hotels. This is a big money and time saving software. Trained employees will answer any complex questions, but Ivy is programmed to answer common guest questions almost instantly. At the Mandarin Oriental, a robot named Pepper, holds a place in the lobby to answer a set or pre-programed questions for the convenience of the guest. Examples of such questions include the check out time, the location of the amenities of the hotel, and directions on connecting to Wi-Fi. Due to the ever growing advancement of technology, hospitality and tourism never ceases to keep up for the sake of the convenience of their guests.