Event planning is one of the vital areas in hospitality. Many guests travel for various reasons and one of them is entertainment or special events be it festivals or weddings. These occasions have to be planned and well executed for repeat business. According to the article event planning such as festivals are great economic generators to local communities; for example the Anderson Arts Festival, an annual event in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. With eyes twinkling and listeners enthralled, Miller talks about the first economic impact study of the event, conducted in 2010, which revealed that the annual festival grossed $13 million in a town of 18,000 people. The multiplier effects of event planning such as festivals are the life blood for many families and businesses, and in many instances these events are supported by local government because of the economic impacts.

E-marketing has had a tremendous on customer service, efficiencies and overall profitability within the hospitality industry. Social networking has also an added feature to marketing. Marketing over the internet has given hotel operators the opportunity to create a positive image and reach more potential customers at a lower price. As a result of e-marketing many hotels are now realizing a profit from an area that was operating as a loss. This phenomena has cause many traditional marketers to be out of business, if they do dot reinvent themselves. In conclusion, e-marketing a a strategic way for hotels to reach a wider cross section of a population with minimum cost associated.

Investing in the hospitality industry as it relates to information technology is one of the ways the industry will stay current and be able to compete in this fast pace environment. More and more guest are demanding exceptional, cutting edge customer service. As this investment occurs there needs to be integration of hardware and software for the future. These choices are not easy and is perhaps one of the greatest challenges that the industry faces. Timing and knowledge is critical to investing in technology because innovation is moving so fast, therefore knowing what new development to purchase and the ability to integrate existing systems into new one is important. In conclusion, it is paramount for investors to be mindful of the market place and to get as much inputs into the decision that is made for maximum results.

Property management systems (PMS) have become an integral systems within the hospitality industry with many advantages from considerably reducing data management, check-ins and checkouts and booking reservations are all available on screen with the click of a mouse, which increase the efficiency of hotel staffs. Because of PMS the hospitality industry can provide exceptional customer service to clients.

Global distribution systems (GDS) are used within the travel industry for the booking of flights a service that was once performed by travel agents. With the introduction of GDS many jobs were loss. Because GDS are contracted services with World- span and Sabre renewal and renegotiation of contracts may pose a problem. There are many pros and cons to the GDS for consumers such as booking of flights anytime and the loss of personal relations with the travel agents. According to Bonnie Burgess, the renewal of the GDS with world-span and Sabre is eminent which might create a problem for consumes if the negotiation falls apart. There was a similar situation Direct TV and the provider of many channels to Direct TV when they could not come an agreement, and, in the final analysis the consumers were the ones who suffered. Southwest and American airlines are two airlines who defended why they felt that booking directly at the website is the best options for travelers. The conclusion, is that there are advantages and disadvantages to the GDS. one of the overarching disadvantage is when there are difficulties with meeting of the minds in contractual negotiations.

Information technology is of vital importance to how businesses operate effectively in this century. The article puts into focus the significance of the coordination of inputs and outputs. Management Information systems (MIS) help to coordinate activities within the hospitality industry. The conclusive thought is that MIS drives our economy and therefore it is imperative to strategically monitor and manage because decisions that are made on a day to day basic relies on information technology.

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.