This article examines the disadvantages of a human resource management system. Employees give all of their personal information from their social security to martial status. One obvious disadvantage to having all of this information is a security breach which could create legal problems if employees choose to take on legal action. Another negative to HRIS that is discussed in the article is the finances involved with using this system. Another cost would be training the staff to learn how to use the HRIS system. Throughout the entire article I thought this negative stood out the most. With so much information in the system, it could be difficult for any owner/manager/ or employee to analyze. It could be hard to generate reports and/or identify patterns, according to the article.

This article discusses the push that is happening for hotels to "go green" and "tech-friendly". Travelers have more of a preference for eco-friendly/tech friendly hotels when booking. For example, guests now prefer wifi more than complimentary breakfast. Another example that guests are searching for sustainability usage was important to them. In a survey done one in five woule stay in a boutique hotel if it used renewable energy sources. The article examines the desires for guests and their preferences for hotels and how hotels can adjust to this change. To meet these demands, hotels can address what are easy fixes such minimizing wasted heat or light. Another way hotels can hop on in this movement is by investing in systems that are eco-friendly such as waste heat-recovery systems. Investing in energy solutions will meet customer demands and help save the environment.

With the new year upon us, this article describes the biggest trends of 2017. The biggest trend is the most obvious, more people are using their mobile device/ smartphones to search for restaurants locations or make reservations. The other trend, is how advertising through digital platforms is more cost effective than traditional marketing methods such as email campaigns. Projections show that 80% of restaurant operators agree that investing in technology helps the increasing of sales and gives them a competitive edge. Another statistic shows that mobile pay transactions will be the future.

This article is a perfect example of how event planning can go terribly wrong with social media usage. The Bahama music festival hosted by Ja-Rule and his company left hundreds stranded on the Island of Great Exuma. The event started off by being promoted through instagram, mainly by famous celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Tickets were sold at $1,200 for the utmost luxurious experience. Come the weekend of the festival, music go-ers arrived into full chaos. Everything that had been promised to the guests such as deluxe lodges, yoga tents and food courts were missing. People showed up to an empty island with no food, water or basic shelter. Clearly the festival was poorly executed and planned and it was canceled. There was a lack of infrastructure on the island to provide safety for the guests along with a lack of proper water systems and transportation. The event planners had not had a proper back up plan for storms that could potentially hit the island (which happened) which completely set back everything. Many viewed this Fryre Festival as a major scam and were extremely upset, but what it turned out to be was a poorly planned and executed music event.

This article talks about something similar that was discussed in our security and emerging technology module video. In the video it is discussed that hotels want to avoid having visible lines of security so guests do not feel threatened. In this article, it states that Disney Land and Walt Disney World have been budgeting more money for safety. But now Disney is trying to focus on how to make security more effecient, for example, they have recently changed their security checkpoints location in order to make it flow better for guests. Now checkpoints have even gone further away from Magic Kingdom and starting infront of the Ticket Center that is miles away from the park entrance. I guess this is creating a sense of safety for the guests as well as faster lines. Disney is even going so far as creating a PreCheck line like TSA for annual passholders that would create less security lines.

The article briefly talks about the MyMagic+ wrist bands that Disney introduced a while back! I decided to use this since I had used this example in our discussion board. The articles explains that with Disneys BILLION dollar technology investments income rose 22% to 1.4 billion. The article identifies that Disney's risks in technology is a huge reason why their business continues to grow (and probably wont decline anytime soon- but thats just my opinion). Another huge investment, which might not seem like a lot is the projections newly introduced in the new fireworks show. By introducing projections inside the park, it allows the nightly entertainment to keep up with new characters and keep the show extremely relevant, for example, Anna and Elsa were just added from the Disney movie, "Frozen". By investing in technology like this Disney will always stay relevant and ahead of the game.

This article provides a summary of the technology trends in the restaurant industry. One major point that I thought was related to this weeks topics was the 5th trend. Technology that is allowing guest to split the bill using their smart phones is an amazing way to keep track of income/bills/receipts and a great away to avoid fraud. In our discussion, if guests had used this technology, then the fraud would have been spotted almost immediately. The article also goes on to explain Eruza, which is a cloud-based system that will eliminated waste and improve profits by predicting demands for products.

I liked this article because it actually discusses something I thought about for the discussion board. POS systems, can create ways for guests to easily access what they want, quickly get it and have the opportunity to receive loyalty perks and promotions via APPs. Fast casual restaurants such as Little Caesars just introduced a self service and mobile order pickup stationed called the "pizza portal" which i think is effectively reaching their target market. The usage of POS is restaurant brands are having a major positive effect and creating stronger brand loyalty, especially with the generation CX taret.

Bunkhouse Group adopted a mobile PMS to seven of its hotels. Their hotels offer unique experiences that differ from other places. The properties really work together with the communities they are in and include locals, and dogs to come together with their guests. Adopting StayNTouch is a great way for bunkhouse to evolve as a group. With further research done, the hotels really gain attention from millenials whom are always up to date with the newest technology. By installing this new cloud PMS it will allow guests to check in and out easily and quickly. The PMS will also help cut costs in properties owned by Bunkhouse by reducing training and optimizing work done by front desk and housekeeping.

I found this article to be extremely interesting since I have been wanting to travel to Tulum for a while now. I was also aware that many of the hotels are focused on preserving their natural resources and maintaning their beautiful town, but I did not know to what extent. One thing I found to be so important was how many hotels are vegan or vegetarian. At first it doesnt seem like a huge deal, but when one realizes how the consumption of meat is bad for the environment, it really makes a huge difference. I think it is really cool that Tulum is trying to create menus that are better for the environment and healthy for their guests. Another thing that the article examines is how the new hotels in Tulum are staying true to their town and keeping things natural. For one example the hotel called Be Tulum is using materials that are 100% natural with wood that is 100% recycled. With having every detail of the hotel with purpose, it really changes the atmosphere of the hotel for the better. The idea here which the article explains is that hotel and shop owners are trying their best to keep Tulum safe and sustainable. The owner of Be Tulum said he was implementing sustainability intiatives and finding new and better ways to approach energy, water and food, which I think is what they are doing by being vegetarian. Overall there seems to be a movement of green initiatives in place for the future for Tulum.

This article summarizes why we wont be seeing a decline of GDS use in the travel industry anytime soon. As stated in the article "nothing beats a GDS model for booking seats on planes". The article suggests that a good GDS agent can ultimately work more efficiently than someone working with a GUI. Another major positive to using GDS is accessibility. A firm can book both corporate and leisure travel from anywhere, as long as internet access is available. In one study 62% of agents said that air content was the biggest draw of a GDS. One agent said that when booking air the GDS system Amadeus gives her a selection of choices in a fraction of the time it takes her clients to see them online. Clearly, GDS systems such as Amadeus and Sabre are saving agents and customers time and money while booking. Another upside to using GDS is that it allows agents to see routes, departures and arrival times which are important because many clients have preferable airports when they travel. The article also says how GDS is more commonly used for air and car rentals instead of hotels. It also gives a look into why Airlines werent a fan of GDS usage. For example, GDS were changing revenue models for airlines because GDSs paid travel agents and it seemed that they were buying loyalty with money from airline fees.

This article is showing how social media can positively impact guests experiences. This article was extremely useful for me. As a marketing consultant for a restaurant my main job is to interact with potential customers via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Yelp. One thing the article mentions is how social media is constant. This is extremely true when you have the ability to access communication with your costumers or clients. For example, in my case, if a customer posts a picture of a featured dish on the menu, I can easily and quickly reply with a positive comment, which could increase the potential for a loyal customer. The article starts off by how one can also monitor negative reviews on social media. I think this issue is so important to ensure good rapport between employees and guests. If a guest(s) posts a bad review on Yelp or Facebook, it is imperative to repair that by publicly apologizing and offering another free service or stay etc.

This article is explaining some of the new trends that hotels are finally catching up on. For example, self service check in took a while to catch on but with hotels using it now, it reduces wait times for customers and increases satisfaction.