This article discusses how many hotels are not utilizing the PMS to its full potential due to lack of training being provided. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, a hospitality school in Switzerland, conducted a study to investigate the investment in training in the PMS and the relationship between training and business performance at property level. The survey was given to about 150 mid and up-scale hotels around the world. The fact that the PMS is so crucial for a hotel to maintain efficient and effective operations, I found the results of the research a little shocking. A majority of the hotels (65%) said that in 2011 they had no budget for training on the PMS and 32% did not offer training at all to their employees. The hotels in the sample showed higher occupancy levels when hotels have a higher budget for PMS training .The results also showed that there is still a lack of the optimal use of the PMS in hotels because there is not enough training for its use provided to the employees. This study is an ongoing research project and early indications show that effective management of the PMS training resources may result in increased revenues for the hotels.

This article gives an in depth explanation of the importance of GDS's in the hotel industry and the increased usage of the GDS due to the rising travel demand. The American Society of Travel Agents conducted a study in 2009 and found the percentage of member travel agencies that used the GDS declined from 98% in 1999 to 79% in 2009. A significant portion of the decrease was due to the economic downturn, but regardless hoteliers and travels still found value is the GDS channel. According to Sabre Travel Network, there was an increase of more than 7% in GDS bookings during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year. The demand for corporate travel is the main reason for the increase. Many people that are traveling for business want to extend their trips for leisure. This allows hotels the opportunity to adjust their pricing strategies by putting travel promotions for leisure for the business travels as well. Many people utilize the GDS to find the most affordable prices, but it is also beneficial to hoteliers as well. Elaine Kennedy, one of the two interviewed in the article, stated the pricing model provides corporations with a lower rate when demand decreases but also gives hoteliers the opportunity to achieve higher rates when demand increases, which ultimately is a win-win for both sides. The GDS also provides many opportunities for hotels to cut costs. Robert Cole, the other person interviewed in this article, stated "The GDS also provides enhanced marketing support….immediately when you use the GDS to put your product, your service, your room, your rate, you're getting it in front of an audience without using your own marketing budget." According to Robert Cole, the GDS is not going away any time soon because of the unique solutions it provides for hotels and travelers alike. I believe this article was very informative on how the GDS is currently being utilized and where it is going in the future. It basically helped answer question 3

This article introduces the hospitality industry's first Mobile Management device solution. MVI, an Asia-focused hotel technology provider, partnered with IBM to develop the new enterprise class MDM solution. The MDM solution provides effective management of smart mobile devices to support interactive, live and on-demand video services in hotels. The usage of this new device was recently incorporated at the L'Hotel`elan in Hong Kong. An iPad is provided for guest use in all the hotel's rooms, and it serves as an entertainment device, offering eGuest services such as TV channels and interactive guest services including in-room dining. The MDM solution is fully integrated with hotel PMS and POS systems, which allows the device to become a part of a hotel's overall management ecosystem. This device not only provides the features of an entertainment device for guests, but it also offers hotels unique management features. A few of the features include customized workflow to streamline the installation of hotels' managed apps on mobile device, comprehensive push-based notification management, availability for all Apple mobile devices, and effective protection of guests' own data and personal information for apps that required login. I recently went on a site visit at Turnberry Isles Resort with one of my classes. While on the tour, the lady conducting the tour mentioned that with the rate technology is advancing in the near future many of the hotel procedures will be completed via Ipad (such as checking in and out of the hotel). After reading this article, it seems as if the near future has already arrived!!!

This article is an introduction of a new business application software called Infor 10 EAM. It provides a brief overview of how this software is beneficial to both the hospitality and healthcare industries. The Infor 10 EAM Hospitality Edition enables companies to manage multiple tasks and departments from one integrated application, which gives hotels the ability to improve their performance and increase their savings. This application was designed to specialize in asset management to help companies not only focus on reducing costs, but also achieve Energy Star standards. I believe the Infor10 EAM Hospitality Edition will be up and running in most hotels within the next few years. The benefits provided from the utilization of this software seem to be worth the investment. A few of the benefits provided by the Infor10 EAM Hospitality Edition include: better tools for guest incident management and rapid response, increased equipment reliability, trusted information for fleet management, real-time preventive maintenance alerts, and enhanced risk management and regulatory compliance.