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Summer is wedding season. Celebrities aren't the only one spending a ton of money willing to spend on their honeymoons. Billionaires have honeymoons almost as extravagant as their wedding itself. With all that money, but tends to be complicated. Ovation Vacations have become experts at planning honeymoons for billionaires. This company is known for planning leisure travel consulting for 'ultra-high net worth' people. This team consists of 30 employees which plan nearly 200 honeymoons per year, averaging about $50,000 each trip. This results in $1 million in revenue per month. The CEO is considered to be the Olivia Pope of the travel industry. An interesting request of travelers who book with Ovation is that they like specific cuts of meat during traveling. It's very common to have meat sent from the U.S. to where ever they are vacationing. This is very interesting to me because you would expect one of the main attractions of traveling is to try new cuisines. Seems a little over the top. It gets a little more extreme -- one guest even requested an al dente pasta cooked for a certain amount of minutes. A celebrity requested dragon fruit for their "pink smoothie". This gets tricky when other countries have rules when it comes to importation. JLo wanted Ovation to pick our green M&Ms for her. In addition, another guest wanted a crate of Fiji water bottles delivered nightly. It gets even better, one guest paid $40,000 for her 5-night stay in order to have her sink filled 7 inches in order to not bend over to wash their face. another husband spent $80,000 to have a yacht carpeted so his wife can wear her stilettos instead of being barefoot. Sometimes inevitable things happen such as natural disasters. Not a problem for Ovation. They spend $50,000 for one couple to still enjoy the beach, which had been destroyed due to weather. What they did was hire a truck to move sand from one part of the island to the other for them to enjoy a private beach. Something simple, yet

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 tells about the perspectives of Hotspot 2.0, the new standard for public WiFi, in the hotel industry. The WiFi Alliance has been working on designing this new standard which is supposed to be much friendlier to the users while making Wi-Fi usage more akin to cellular. It allows automatic WiFi network detection and eliminates the public Wi-Fi log-ins, providing automatic access to secure Wi-Fi networks using a Passpoint profile stored on a device. For hotel guests, this means they would be able to go from using their mobile devices on their personal mobile networks to the hotel's Wi-Fi without having to re-enter their authentication credentials every time. This feature, in my point of view, would be very useful, especially for the business travelers who value every second of their time. Another major benefit of Hotspot 2.0 is improved security by means of enterprise-grade WPA2 encryption, which makes it safer than open public networks. This also will be appreciated by the travelers who often use hotel's WiFi networks for booking different travel services and insert security sensitive data. However, the cost of implementation of this new standard in the hotels is rather high. Thus, hoteliers do not wish to force its realization until they are sure that there is demand from the customers. The polls show that the guests are still unaware of the benefits of Hotspot 2.0 and don't consider it as a key point while choosing a hotel. Yet some hotels try to be before the competition and become early adopters of this technology. They believe that quality of internet connection, as well as additional options, will be a differentiating point for hotels in the future. However, in my opinion, it would be wise to conduct appropriate research and wait until this technology will be close to becoming the industry standard before making significant investments. There is always a chance that the trend will go Another way.

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.

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 captured my intrigue in that it effectively compared Julia Child's words in the kitchen being the heart of a home, and how an organized kitchen allows for the operations to run smoothly. In a hotel alike, the heart of the hotel is technology and it is important to keep the heart beating by running efficient, interfaced, and integrated systems. Moreover, this is the reason service lags in the hospitality industry - because we continue to run on a myriad of systems that do not work well with one another. Should we begin investing in systems that sync and run well with one another, service and efficiency would improve.

Another Article about how Covid-19 has affected the industry. In this one in particular, is about an application that can be accessed by Android phone or website called Event Tow. With this new app that was inspired in millennial technology and Covid-19 pandemic, the customers can book events from the comfort of their homes and/or office. I believe this could be Another example like the Smart-bar

There are many ways to utilize proximity marketing for restaurants. You can reach potential customers letting them know about special promotions that they might only know about since they are near the restaurant. Targeting the local community is a great way to get them into your restaurant and make them feel special so they return. Another great idea is to partner with Another complimentary establishment to yours and both places benefit. Loyalty programs are a great way to get repeat customers and proximity marketing can target them. Targeting an exact location is Another great way to use proximity marketing...let customers know you are coming to them.

This article is telling us about some advantages of cloud computing in hospitality industry (hotel industry). You won`t need to store any data outside if you invest in Hotel Property Management System (PMS). There are advantages in cloud computing in hotel industry both for hotel staff and guests.

This article is about the innovation in the back office arena. When many managers are still doubting back office technology efficiency, at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, based in Destin, Fla. with 275 franchise locations, operators there are adding up money saved by setting up RedPrairie's Performance Management (RPM). Benefits could be like control labor cost and food cost, especially for those franchise companies with hundreds of hotels or restaurants throughout the country even the world, RPM will provide a complete compared among different locations reports in a few minutes. Besides, back office begins to meet iPhone, which make it possible to see real-time information about what was going on in the restaurants, including open checks, servers logged in or out and even sales for the managers. Another sign that technology is changing is the ability to combine accounting, inventory and point of sale into one solution without the old challenge of interfacing disparate systems. In a word, it is really convenient to get the back office intelligence.

Having a clear understand of what makes a great hotel, resort, or conference centre and how to run it profitably is an essential part for a successful management company. Benchmark Hospitality International win the market through its day-to-day management decisions on the numbers. They built a  centralized 'private cloud' technology hub and data gathering platform based on which the managers can make decisions every morning while not wait until month end or later to see property financials. The private cloud helps to reduce its ownership costs and to protect data. Benchmark also uses the Internet-enabled Profitvue enterprise back office system from Aptech Computer System to centralized property accounting.  This is technology plays an important part of hotel operations. The Profivue back office accounting system is internet-enabled, so a PC is the only back-office hardware. The same for the front office systems. It is a great saving for its owners. Since Profivue is flexible enough for Benchmark to have a standard chart of accounts and general ledger for all its properties, Benchmark can quickly integrate a new property into Benchmark's processes. It just bring financial team members from other properties, who are familiar with the system and chart and G/L. So a new property can be ran very quickly without the usual hardware and software installation and staff training. Another advantage of this system is that Benchmark's financial stockholders, management teams, and guests benefit a lot from it, so they always support these innovations, which can later stimulate the company's success. Applying new technology in operation management can help company win a larger market share and develop fast.

This article talks about one successful third-party property manager company Prospera Hospitality and the accounting system it chose Profitvue which is provided by Aptech Computer Systems company. Prospear Hospitality has 18 branded and independent hotels and resorts as customers, each one of them has different requirements, so chose a powerful accounting system which can generate all kinds of financial reports is very important, and obviously Profitvue system is qualified. Besides providing detailed and flexible reports, another success secret of Aptech computer Systems is Side-by-side comparisons. With the information of comparison report, property owners will have a idea that how they are doing compares with other peers and can also identify issues which put them on disadvantage positions of the industry. another benefit Profitvue provided is its cloud-based feature. Small business owner can also enjoy excellent service of Aptech computer systems company although they may can not afford on-site system installation, by accessing Profitvue's cloud-based platform. Yes, another strong example that cloud computing is a growing trend.

From this article, I can get some information that the new technology bring convenience both hotel and customers. The customers just press the simple button to control everyting in the hotel room that is a good experience difference from home. And the hotel can utilize the high technology to satisfied the customers and thus improving the competitiveness in the industry. However, high technology means high cost. The hotel that adopt the high technoloty should has the ability to maintain and update which will become a huge cost. So keeping up with the development of technology is the biggest difficulty problem in the hotel industry.

The latest technology gives hotels an opportunity to provide new products and services to guests but also the challenges . The biggest difficulty is the speed at which technology is evolving which makes it impossible for hotels to keep up with the latest developments. On the other hand there are many hotels are embracing the new technologies. Such as guest's smartphone, which will allow for interactive channel guides to appear on the handheld and can store guest preferences that travelers can take from one hotel to another. And the Plaza provide iPads in every guest room. which provide an easy way for customers to make reservation checking airline schedules and printing boarding passes.

The hospitality industry began to develop the mobile point-of-sale (POS) technology. Technology vendors brought POS capabilities to consumers' own devices. Hospitality Technology has scanned many of the latest releases in point-of-sale technology to help restaurants keep up-to-date on mobile solutions. For example, Tabbedout, a secure mobile payment solution, allows patrons to open, view and pay their tabs, for free, with an iPhone or Android smartphone. Another example is Micros Makes Memorable Menus. An interactive restaurant menu and marketing portal built for the Apple iPad that enables restaurants to showcase upcoming events, programs, food and beverage menus, and daily specials; as well as to facilitate tabletop ordering and payment processing.

It is an impressive article that a security system could be literally so sound and impregnable. It can monitor and assure all the checkpoints; especially it can scan the contractor IDs while access to the property. As we know the hospitality industry is a meeting ground, labor-orinted and customers diversified, easy to be liable for negligence.  There is news I read in the newspaper years ago, the front desk person accidentally assigned the room key to a guest that has been given to another guest in advance. And that leads to the second guest lost his $5000 in his suitcase. The court decision was the hotel was liable and compensated for the loss of the second guests. The hotel is not only has loss in money but also in the reputation. If the hotel could have the InvoTech's system, it would check all the keys, this situation would never happened. And for the system can automatic scan contractor IDs, all I can say is amazing, it not a easy thing from my eyes. Especially for some luxury hotels, there will have some VIPs, or VVIPs, their security is the top one task for the hotel

This article discusses some current trends in property management systems and how Maestro by NORTHWIND is ready to deliver. Maestro by NORTHWIND is a PMS used by many independent hotels and resorts and offers 20 integrated modules. One of the top trends for 2012 is mobile optimization for management and guests. More and more people are turning to mobile apps for personalized services, and express check-in and check-outs. Maestro Xpress Check-In App allows properties to use iPads and other tablets to do this anywhere there is WIFI. Maestro's App will also allow managers access to reports, and real-time activity from anywhere allowing managers more control over their business. Another growing trend is cloud PMS. Maestro has a cloud based system that claims it can increase productivity at the same time reducing costs. Managers can manage multiple hotels from a single location and reduce costs because they won't have to maintain an in-house PMS. There is also a steady increase in direct online booking from mobile apps and social media sites. Maestro Web Connection reduces the commissions paid to online travel agencies and 3rd parties by allowing guests to book reservations directly. Another way Maestro helps independent hotel chains is by offering them a guest loyalty system to help them offer some of the same incentive and reward programs offered by larger hotel chains.

Northwind Maestro leads the innovations of industry. Cloud system platforms are not just for the large chains. Small, independent operators also can use web-enabled platform with lower cost. Mobile is another trend of PMS innovations. Customers can check in and checkout on iPad by using Maestro Mobile Apps. In addition, direct-booking online from Mobile is the third top trend in 2012 PMS technology. Maestro's Guest Loyalty System with online capabilities is the first application to offer independents the same benefits as major chains to recognize, reward, and retain guests.

Seeing the rapid development of mobile devices and social media, hoteliers are connecting PMS with mobile devices and social media. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is a kind of software which satisfies hoteliers' current requirement. NORTHWIND Maestro™ is an Internet-based PMS. It brings plenty of benefits to hotels. To illustrate, Maestro can reduce cost, create operating efficiencies, secure cardholder information, and to have instant remote access to their property or hotel group's data. Furthermore, since more and more people are using mobile devices to book rooms, make dining reservations or some other services, Maestro also develops mobile apps. "The Maestro Mobile App enables operators to wirelessly connect to their Maestro centralized system and provides access to management reports, real-time activity and other features found in Maestro." Maestro also thinks of customer loyalty by tracking customers and establish database.

From this article,I think it is amazing to have such revolution of POS system. First of all, POS system itself is wonderful for the hoteliers all these years. The latest i-trends and NFC put it much further step to not only free the employees,but also bring efficiency to the customers. It is said that "the point of sale on the move" which free the employee to use the mobile device to control everything it matters of the business. It makes hoteliers more flexiable and at the meanwhile, it provides quantity information. The other innovation here is that there is one IPAD POS kiosk which allows self-service card swiping system so the customers can complete their own transaction. Though this technology is the only IPad enclosure, it help eliminate theft and tampering. Then ,when the growing trend of Near Field Communication comes, it free the customers another further step to eliminate the necessity to carry money/credit cards to pay their bills. This technology is also come with the smartphone by just swiping the mobile device across a special kiosk at the counter, and the payment is done quickly. This technology also developed another growing technology "RFID" card readers. another name for the NFC is the digital wallet means that a customer's device can store all their bank account details and credit card information with no need for a real wallet. That's amazing for the people who are not good at financing. This technology can really impact the hotel market and bring the competitive advantages for the hotels. It's a new trend for the hotel to update themselves to level-up. This trend is also fit the market nowadays, the consumer is more and more younger, they curious about the high-tech things, the success of Apple proves this trend. In order to meet with the customer needs in current hotel industry, this technology is worth to have a try.

This article talks about the importance of POS systems in the hospitality industry and the new technological trends that are affecting it. POS systems are extremely important to hoteliers primarily to keep track of sales and bookings. With recent technological developments though, POS systems have revolutionized that hospitality industry by increase efficiency and production. The newest trend in these accounting and POS systems are cloud-based technologies. I believe this type of technology will allow for busy hotel managers to track all accounting information through either a smart phone, PC, or even tablet. This type of technology, as stated in the article, would allow for managers to keep track of sales data and profits even when they are away from the office. All in all, I believe this is a very helpful technology for hotel operations and will benefit the industry in the long run.

Allow the customers to to use smartphone across a special kiosk at the counter to pay may benefit restaurants a lot. It may reduce the stress of the servers in the peak time. Customers no longer waiting a long time for the servers to get their bill, they can pay by themselves through mobile devices. Moreover, the customers do not need to bring their wallets to the restaurants which may improve the security of the restaurant environment.

Hotel owners need to keep up with the pace of changes in technology. Not only costumers expect to have access to the latest technology related facilities  in their hotel room but also hoteliers can make fundamental changes in their property management with help of technology. since the hospitality market is very competitive, the hotel property owners needs to invest in technology related amenities. Three basic reason to invest in hotel technology are mentioned here which are revenue, operation and costumer service related issues.

The article discusses five issues that hotel operations are facing, and how to decrease these issues in regards to data thieves. The first security issue discussed is "Remote Access", the article states "Many hotel operators and franchisors use remote management applications (RMAs)". This enable easy access to manage multiple locations downloads; conduct sales polls, and other systems within multiple companies. A advices to remote control issues are to change vendor default settings, in which you can create unique user IDs and complex passwords. Another advice is to "Configure the RMA", in which users are only allowed to connect to known MAC/IP. I personally don't think that creating a unique ID or account password may solve this issue, but allowing connection capability to a set IP/MAC is a wise intake. Although being able to just connect to a set MAC, will cause a limit on where and when you connect. The second security issue is "Network Security", many transaction volumes are being exposed, brand recognition as well; and that attract hackers. In order to reduce this problem, it is suggested that companies need to install and maintain a fire wall at all time. I agree with this other suggestion which is to Use outside resources to help identify new security vulnerabilities. This is great, because a company will be able to receive an outside outlook in regards to security. The last three issues that are on this list are: Password Management, Wireless Security, and Incident Response Plan. Overall it's evident that any system that has a password requirement is causing a major attraction towards security thieves. The suggestions within this article are great, but from my observation; many companies will have to put in time to track and monitor their systems. Systems can't allow to be left open without monitoring, and the internet is a lead way to all this, so any system that requires the internet must be monitored, and protected.

Technology enables service. That's the idea, anyway. In the hotel industry, thousands of companies worldwide provide hundreds of software applications to help hotels and hotel companies manage operations to provide better guest service. However, the hospitality industry continues to find itself targeted for damaging data compromise events by hackers. There are some good ways to decrease the attack of hackers. For example, Remote Access, many hotel operators and franchisors use remote management applications (RMAs).  Their ease of use in managing multiple locations makes them ideally suited to disseminate business downloads, conduct sales polls or survey inventory. RMAs are often packaged from vendors with default or blank passwords. Creating unique user IDs and complex passwords can reduce the risk of data compromise and help facilitate compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Another example is about Network Security, transaction volume, brand recognition and the potential for sensitive data retention are all factors that make hotels (particularly franchise networks) juicy targets for hackers seeking to exploit insecure networks via the Internet. The hotel can install and maintain a firewall at all times.  Disabling a firewall can put a business at heightened risk of Internet attacks and potential system compromise.