This article basically talks about a successful adoption of HRIS system for Wente Family Estates. This company is comprised of numerous business units including a vineyard and winery, a restaurant, and a world class golf course. Their HR team and managers are responsible for a wide range of people, jobs, and related to the company's workforce. So they needed a solution for better talent management, sustainability, and improved time management and selected the Ultimate Software's HRIS system. The HRIS system enables HR team to easily assess employee performance against measurable goals and job competencies, create employee development plans, identity high performing employees for key positions, and build an environment that maximizes talent and rewards their best performers. Besides, it enables their employees to go online to view relevant details about their hours worked and schedules. It also enables managers to log on to the system at any time to stay on top of hours and labor costs so that they can quickly make decisions such as modifying schedules or job responsibilities, if needed, to control costs.  This type of cloud based HRIS system will bring many benefits to companies comprised of diverse business units to manage their human capital.

Many organizations in the hospitality industry underestimate the risk and consequences of business identity theft and they should be more concerned with the risk of personal identity theft. A study by the Ponemon Institute demonstrates that a data breach could cost organizations an average of $7.2 million. This does not even include indirect costs such as lost customers or damaged reputations. To prevent identity theft, companies need to be aware that fraud can occur in many unexpected ways. This article gives a few examples that can help firms to reduce the risk of personal identity theft below.  Instituting a shred-all policy to ensure unneeded files are regularly and safely destroyed Restaurants employee should give their receipts directly to staff rather than leave anything on the table or counter Hotels employee should be instructed to store all sensitive documents in a safe place until they can be securely shredded On the cloud, Businesses should conduct a full security audit of any cloud computing company before storing documents on the cloud Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the hospitality industry. Just being careful isn't enough to protect customers' identity. If the data is spilled, customers will have a less favorable view of your company or may be angered to the point of never allowing you to serve them again. Any amount of loss of trust and loyalty is harmful to your business.

Hyatt Hotel Corp., one of the world's largest hospitality companies, announced plans to install iTV platform within the next two years in as many as 60,000 rooms. Guests also can order room service, interact with hotel associates, make restaurant reservations, edit and print documents as well as gain direct access to local dining, shopping, night life, cultural events or attractions all through a dynamic user interface on (the TV. I think this investment will bring a faster delivery of goods and services to clients, increased employee productivity and reduced production costs. To make a good decision on IT investment, firms should take into consideration its long-term performance value before investing on a new technology. Looking at the TCO (total cost of ownership) which is far more than just the sticker price would be the right way to determine whether to invest or not.

This article basically talks about an outsourcing accounting company, Indevia Accounting and how its accounting program works for small businesses.  The list of services Indevia offers is long, from recording and reporting daily and weekly sales, to offering accurate bank and credit card reconciliations, and everything in between. Indevia reports in real time, offers consistent reporting. Operators can see their food and labor costs and they can vary those based on where they find inefficiencies.  The owner of Indevia accounting was an accountant and he even designed himself a 20-point review checklist to catch mistakes in any of their reports so that they could learn what they need from the clients.  This article seems a little bit advertising but I could think that it is important to have a personalized accounting program that will best fit our specific needs.

This article basically talks about four different types of POSs for restaurants, a brief overview of the main contenders and considerations.  The one of the interesting POS systems in the article is The Rail which is introduced last month, a digital bill folder that enables restaurant customers to self-swipe credit or debit cards at the table without the cards ever leaving their possession, thereby protecting against credit card and identity theft.  The basic Rail system includes POS integration, the BaseStation, a secure wireless system, a set of Rail devices (generally 1 device per every 3 tables), and monthly maintenance. Basic Rail devices incorporate a credit card swiper with encryption, billing touch screen display, bill splitting, tip calculator, signature field, NFC payment capabilities, LED stage lights, and receipt email program. The other POSs in the article are Card Case, Tabbedout which are a mobile payment system with smart phone, Square which is mobile card reader, and Chain-Specific Apps which permit the patron to call up menus, locations and nutritional data, as well as to order and pay on-line. Nowadays, many mobile payment systems tailored for restaurants and other food vendors are being introduced. Since they are new and challenges to restaurateur, considering what the pros and cons are and what kinds of POSs best fit to their establishments will be necessary and critical to remain competitive with others.

According to the article, independent operators are taking advantage of vendor-mandated property management system upgrades to review alternative systems that offer more value for their investment. Rather than defaulting to a system upgrade, many independents are evaluating solutions that provide greater mobile versatility, loyalty functionality, and social media marketing capability. Maestro Enterprise Property Management hotel software is developed to provide a suite of business tools and services to meet the needs of independent hotels, resorts and multi-property groups. Maestro's Diamond Plus Service reduces operating costs, keeps staff productive and generates revenue. Diamond Plus Service also includes on-demand training, live webinars, PCI assistance, lifetime version upgrades, management strategies, property productivity audits and online marketing services to increase profitability.  Moreover, Maestro offers mobile-capable ResWave Booking Engine that enables guests to book reservations from virtually any directly from social media sites like Facebook to increase revenue and lower reservation costs. 

This is an interesting article mentioning how airline industry goes green. Air France and Airbus combined the latest Bio-fuel and air traffic management technologies and reduced CO2 emissions in half. Furthermore, Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) is becoming more widespread as a way to reduce fuel burn. It requires significantly less engine thrust and less fuel burn. These green bio-fuel and CDA strategies might make airline companies as sustainable and valuable chains.

This article basically talks about the importance of social media in the hospitality industry and gives us other thoughts beyond just applying a social media monitoring tool.  Managing the social media is no longer an option, but a necessity, particularly for those of us working in the hospitality industry. By using a social media monitoring tool, you may be able to know in real or near-real time each time your property or properties are mentioned online on every major social media network. On the other hand, you need to compile competitor data and compare it to your own so that you can analyze your brand in relation to competing brands. More and more social media consulting companies will crop up and your competitors may also have the tools you have. For a long-term success, make sure that the people who are speaking for you have the tools they need to resolve issues as well as represent your organization properly and find out a way that can make a difference with your competitors.

This article talks about Guest Review System from Lodging Interactive. It is a cloud-based system enabling a website to collect guest reviews directly, manage & reply to guest reviews from one easy system, receive real-time guest review alerts, and view & download online reports. Besides, it enables travelers to share their reviews on Facebook with their network of friends. The price of Guest Review System is $750 per year. In addition to its Guest Review System, Lodging Interactive's Chatter GuardTM Service helps hoteliers monitor what people are saying about their brand 24/7.  Nowadays, many cloud-based programs are coming out and it actually has brought lots of benefits to companies but users still need to be aware of the risks of cloud computing system such as possibility of data spill when it's hacked, impossibility of data control when server goes down.

This article basically talks about a front-desk bypass solution that allows guests to head straight to their room without standing in lines to obtain a plastic room key as long as a guest has a mobile phone.  To sum up the article, mobile key by Open ways is compatible with any cell phone, as all of the 6+ billion mobile devices in the world. It simplifies hotel Master Key management by harnessing mobile technologies to make all locks 'on line' without the costly infrastructure. It also enhances a hotel's sustainability program because the Mobile key is made only of data and not plastic. Moreover, hotels can eliminate costs originally spent on toxic plastic key cards. It is a creative way to move the technology of mobile keys forward, giving hotels an added dimension to guest satisfaction and a new means of attracting the ever-important business traveler. In my opinion, this solution could be beneficial to hotels' revenue since the system is compatible with not only smartphones but also all kinds of cell phone. It works with all major lock technologies and relies on a combination of text messages and its Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC) technology. The only modification required to a lock for it to work is the addition of a decoding listening device. I think this is a great convenience for both the hotel management and consumers. Furthermore, there might be a good marketing opportunity here modifying the system to pop up a special offer on a phone once the rock has been deactivated. For example, a free dink at the hotel bar, or a half price meal at the hotel restaurant.