AN HRIS system is a computer program that allows a company to electronically store information about their employees. HRIS eases the work of managing daily employee related issues. HRIS stores a large collection of databases on employees and employee issues. Information included in the databases include employee names, their contact information, and any training they may have received. HRIS systems make it more efficient for a company as it can process payroll and benefits information electronically rather than having to rely on the traditional pen and paper. Storing information in the databases makes it more secure against the potential of tampering and theft.

In an effort to cut expenses the Renaissance Club Sport Hotel installed the Pelican Wireless HVAC Thermostat. This saved them $41,160 a year on energy related costs giving them an ROI of 8.5 months. Through research presented by Pelican Wireless it was discovered that HVAC energy consumption drives over 60% of most hotel energy bills each month. The Renaissance Hotel discovered that by implementing the Pelican Wireless technology they could save substantially each month on energy costs. The previous room configuration had basic thermostats installed in the rooms which were left running even when the rooms had no checked in guests. They also had no way to monitor the health of their existing HVAC units and their facilities department was being called upon by the front desk to regularly check the AC. Installation took only 3 days with 2 installers in a sold out hotel consisting of 175 hotel rooms, conference center, spa and workout facility. Pelican's technology interfaces with the Hotel's PMS and to the internet to access the Pelican Site Manager. Initial setup is done via an easy to understand graphical user interface accessible on any Web Browser. Cloud based servers allow access to resources and have control of information from anywhere there is an internet connection.

In the fast paced and often stressful world of event planning, a new innovative planning tool has been released that allows customers, vendors and anyone else the opportunity to see event layouts, menus, specifications and make notes on the event from either a desktop, laptop or even an android device. The event planning tool is called AllSeated.com and is completely cloud based which eliminates the use of the much antiquated way of writing everything down or showing a photocopy of a layout. Allseated.com also utilizes social media and to sync guest lists making it even faster for the client. With AllSeated.com, the hassle of having to book an event is eliminated and the customer can feel more at ease with their event on hand and the event manager can also have a much less stressful experience.

As hotels make every attempt to come up with new and innovative techniques to conduct business, technology companies are looking for ways to being the first on scene with new technological tools. Many hotels now have instead of swiping ones card through the lock and waiting for the green light to enter, the guest can simply approach the door with a card in their hands and walk right into their rooms. This is possible through radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID are also being used to track customer loyalty to ones brand. RFID Technology also allows the hotel to maintain better security by knowing more clearly who's coming in and going throughout the hotel, since each RFID card be detected by multiple sensors in the lobby, elevators and rooms. There is even the possibility to access ones room by simply utilizing their cell phones and having the phone unlock the door. This is done by simply dialing a phone number and when prompted placing the cell phone next to the door lock. An audio key will play and the door will be unlocked. The audio is unique to each and every reservation.

A recent study conducted by Motorola Solutions Inc. has revealed that 56% of hospitality organizations planned to raise mobile investments to better equip their workforces, improve operational efficiencies and ultimately enhance the customer experience. The sytudy shows that consumers will see an increase in information technology spending within the hospitality industry with guest experience cited as the top driver for investment. The interesting datas revelaed that 91% of hospitlaity decision makers realise the increasing importance of mobile and wireless technology. One of the critical challenges for hotel technology managers is convinving upper management to approve investing in the latest technology. Often times cost is not the only deterrent for a company to upgrade their system but having to go through various layers of red tape and await hierachial approval can often lead to companies not keeping up with the latest technology and always having to play catch up rather than setting an industry standard for others to follow.

Revel Systems is an iPad point of sale company that is backed by $3.7 million in funding. The Revel Router is an Apple certified made for iPad technology that allows shops to run their POS through an Apple iPad. The company is selling the device as a package deal which includes an iPad, the routerm peripherals and the POS software. Currently there are 300 locations installed. Revel CEO Lisa Falzone says that a restaurant owner or retail owner doesnt even know when the internet goes out and with the iPad being on either 3G or 4G connectivity this problem will not exist. Also the need for intenret is eliminated due to the iPad. The system isnt really designed for mobility but rather it aims to replace the existing, stationary setups at the point of sale. The starting package is $3,330 and includes an iPad, cash box, printer, credit card swiper, the router, and the software license. The company offers two support pacakges and meail and online ticketing support for $100/month or per terminal fee thats available 24/7. The use of the iPad will make it easier for an establishment that is just starting out. Rather than running wires and installing internet, the use of the iPad will give the same functionality that a regualr touchscreen POS can bring. The amount of downtime due to internet failure is virtually non existent and the cost is at a very affordable price for any restaurant..

With smartphones evlving and getting smarter, smaller and speedier it is allowing for advances in mobile point-of-sale technology especially in the restaurant industr. There are now numerous POS platforms that support both iPhone as well as android. Tablets and iPads are also supported so that restaurants can process payments in the field with a credit card reader. Traditionally POS have been very costly and structured; now with mobile technology the flexibility is convenient, fast and user friendly. New applications allow restaurants to store customer spending patterns without retaining their personal credit card information. the use of smartphones also opens up very exciting opportunities when it comes to business-consumer communication. Restaurants can send text messages containg discounted coupons to their establishments. The key is to not over do it as customers may become annoyed with too many text messages. This article delat mainly with the restaurant industry but did mention the evolution of technological advances with the use of smart phones. Form personal experience I have used my iphone and ipad to conduct credit card transactions utilzing squareD which provides free of charge a mobile credit card swiper that is connected to the microphone port of either the iphone or Ipad. there is not monthly contract or fee. The only charge is 2.5% per settled credit card transaction and the amount is automatically deducted from the batched amount and within 1-2 business days the funds are deposited directly into ones checking/savings account. This is convenient, fast, and easy. I have been able to secure payment right on the spot instead of either handling cash which is always a ahzard or the risk of accepting checks. the use of smartphones and tbalets have revolutionozed the way business is being conducted making it fast, easy, and convenient to both cutomer and busoness owner alike.

Optima Go Green allows hotels using the Optima Hotel Management Solution property management system to go the extra mile and reduce the total amount of paper used by implementing Optima green solutions. The Optima Go Green solution includes features such as advance up to 24hours before using a smart phone; guest checkout allowing the guest folio to be viewed via an iPad; scanning of IDs to save time and ensure accuracy, managerial reports being able to be directly sent to the appropriate manager without having the need of being printed; allowing managers to check rate strategies and availability online on their smart phones. The maon concept of Optima goGreen is a cost effective solution which is all about managing documents without wasting time and space. This article tied in with the previous weeks discussion about green initiatives. A hotel's priamry office expense is paper and toner. By printing less we are drastically saving money by not having to waste paper. Storage is also cut down because the need of storing paper is eliminated. In such a tech savvy world, this is definitely the way to go.

In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,

As new technological advances are being made, the hospitality industry has always been among the first to capitalize on new technologies. The term e-commerce has been defined as the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the internet. Now that hotels are involved directly with e-commerce it becomes even more important today because of the accelerating internet usage worldwide,the internet is still the lowest cost channel for booking, many travelers make their travel decisions via the internet. Embracing social media, 93% of social media users expect companies to have a social presence and 85% of social media users want comoanies to interact with them on social sites. A well-planned social iniative can turn fans into brand evangelists. This article dealt mainly with a brief introduction of what e-commerce is in terms of its defining and what it means to the hospitality industry. With more and more people utilizing the internet each day, the potential to have a person book a hotel room greatly increases. Several search engines have advertisements relating to many hotel companies offering specials and customers will see these ads and book. With more technological advances bound to come into play, its only a matter of time before the practice of e-commerce is taken to another level.

An unssuspecting person check into a hotel like any normal person would. The ever so common exchange, credit card for room key took place. The only difference was that the person that checked had done so with other intentions. The "guest" utilized an IP Telephone that was in this hotel room to hack into the hotel credit card database and steal credit cards, transmit them to a foreign country and then have money transferred to his offshore bank account. This happened but at the hands of Jason Ostrom, aa Vigilar senior security consultant. Ostrom was able to unplug teh telephone in his room, plug in the phone's ethernet canle into his laptop and hack away. Of course, he did this as part of his job in testing a company's security agaisnt viral hackers. His company offers free security testing using a downloadable software called VolP Hopper This article was extremely interesting because as a frequrnt traveler as well as a perosn in the hospitlaity industry I was very shocked at the ease that the credit card information could be stolen. When it comes to credit card security it is of the utmost importance for companies to be PCI compliant and spend whatever it is necessary to safeguard the information of their customers. The detrimental damage that a security breach can have on a person can be debilitating as leaders in the hospitality industry we must do everything possible to prevent attacks like this from happening. made me become extra cautious about using my credit cards.

A German hotel software company, protel, has been an iinnovative leader in the software PMS since 1994. Protel became a leader in the hospitality software field by introducing the first property management system with a grpahic user interface (GUI). Once companies began going mobile, they again were the first to offer a complete front office application on a mobile touch screen device. Protel offers several web-based applications that can be assessed through the internet on any type of device, any operating system and in any language. This particular articel I found interesting because I had never heard of the company but they have paved the way for many of the large hotel franchises to utilize mobile based apps for their hotels. With so many of the larger hotel chains, I would imagine that they would have been one of the original innovators of the mobile web based technology but instead it was a German company that helped pave the way for the hospitlaity industry.

The Kimberly hotel located at 145 East 50th Street in New York City became Manhattan's and New York's first hotel to utilize touch screen technology in its guest rooms. The technology is provided by Intelity, an Orlando based hospitality software solution company. The touch screen use a prgram called ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) to allow guests to order room service, check flight status, express check outs, check destinations using Google maps, and even the ability to print their boarding pass. This software and touch screen technology will definitely increase employee custoemr service and reduce guest wait time. Hotel personnel will be able to spend more time with the guest because many of the tasks will be literally at the guests fingertips. The hotel will save money because they will not need to staff as much because of the automated system. Fantastic technology.