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This article focuses on the technology innovation regarding electricity in hotels. The article states that the total energy consumption costs for hotels will continue to rise. Luckily, there is an energy saving technology that is worth investing in. Cogeneration, which the article states is known as "combined heat and power (CHP), helps minimize the heat and power from a single fuel source". It takes natural gas and converts it to electricity. This helps the hotel use heat for areas of their operation. This technology supplies 95% of the electricity needed for a standard hotel. Besides helping the hotel's electricity, heat, and power system be more efficient, the CHP helps with financial costs. According to the article, investing in a CHP will bring a payback in about 3 years and this time expected to decrease. This means hotels will receive a return on their investment in a shorter period of time. In my opinion, this is great technology to invest in. It not only helps with financial savings but it is also better for the environment. The business will benefit from it because it helps with operations. Also, consumers will be more likely to want to stay in a hotel with an energy efficient system. It goes hand in hand with the Go Green initiative that has proved to be successful and consumer driven. In all, investing in technology is a risky business. For this specific energy saving technology, I believe it is worth investing in. The cogeneration would be ideal for "hotels with 100 or more rooms, high electric rates, hot water heating system, and high use needs".

The article basically discusses the differences between investing before and investing now since the internet has been born. Previously, people had to try and gather as much information about the company they were interested in investing in by going to the library and reading as much as possible but now it is easier for investors to search a company up and gain all the information they need and more to invest in that company just by entering keywords. Therefore, the internet has changed the investing game completely and even lowered the amount in fees that brokers pay immensely.

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.

From answering incoming phone calls, checking out guests, taking payments, and processing reports for management, a front desk agent can't do it all. Today, many hotels can come to the conclusion that a high number of guests are booking through online channels, but they cannot lose sight of to business that can be made over the phone. If hotels do not accommodate to guests calling in, it may lead to lack of trust from potential and loyal guests. In order to solve this issue, Collins refers to a mantra: hotels must need to recognize that what get measured, gets managed. This can be done by measuring how many calls are actually being handled and measuring those that are being ignored by a front desk agent on a typical day. When calls get ignored or are rushed, any investment that a hotel put into advertising or content production could turn up to be a loss. If incoming calls aren't being measured now, eventually hotels will be in for a rude awakening. Collins mentions that technology can help solve this issue, but most hotels find it difficult to handle scenarios with IT due to a lack of investment. Collins stresses how important it is to have the appropriate software and hardware for employees to perform at their best for the hotel to reach it's goals. In order to better navigate and keep track of call volume, Collins states that the PMS provider may not be able to accommodate a hotels request; therefore, hotels may need to invest in additional hardware and software. In addition to this, hotels may need to find an additional information technology partner to help reach their monitoring and service needs. In my opinion, although smaller hotels may have an issue with having to invest in sufficient hardware and software, the benefits would lead to better business practices and a more efficient front desk staff. The benefits of a more efficient front desk are endless, especially when it comes to effective multi-tasting and creating memorable customer relationships

This article is based on SIM's top 5 largest IT investments of 2017, which I found interesting to share, as we learn about I.T. investments. They ranked business analytics as the number one of IT investments, as companies are always looking to hire the best talent. Next on the list is custom software development, as new technologies now allow access to different applications to work together. Furthermore on the list, are cybersecurity, cloud computing, and CRM, which is no surprise as they are growing tools in today's technology driven industry. Overall, I agree with SIM's list, as these top 5 investments are clearly necessities to success in today's tech-driven industries. 

Before the pandemic, companies were afraid to invest in cloud due to the concerns of the cost, time, and security. But in today's world technology is something companies need to adopt. It's time for travel companies to see the cloud for what it is, the passport to future value. All sections can benefit from this technology including hotels, airlines, and airports. This is the best time to invest into technology to benefit the industry by taking a deep relook at strategy, organization, practices, technology, and talent function. As travel is being rebuilt, cloud-related investments will deliver higher returns on capital than investment in new aircraft, new hotels, and new ships. This is the perfect time to invest into cloud adoption.

Justifying IT investments is a critical skill for anyone working in technology. It's important to understand the terminology and basic techniques to make a choice to invest a new equipment. Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), Depreciation, Cash Flow, Discount Rate are basic IT investment analysis terminologies. Capital is used to identify a purchase that can be used more than one year. Usually companies will have policies on the useful life of equipment. Depreciation is used to spread the expanse of a capital IT investment over the useful life of purchase. Cash flow means that the movement of cash. And there are cash and non-cash items. Discount rate can be used to account for the fact that a dollar today is worth more than past. There are two simple IT investment techniques, Net Present Value, and Payback Period. Net present value lines up a series of cash flows over time and discounts each to the current period. It take into account the time value of money. It typical to look at cash inflows (saved maintenance costs from retired software), and outflows (cost of the software) over a 3 to 5 year period and discount the net inflow less the net outflow into a single value. Payback period analysis is trying to indicate how long the IT investment takes to recover the cost of the investment. Usually the shorter the payback period the less risky the IT investment

In the article "Investing in Hotel Technology- Guest Needs Versus Franchise Demands" it talks about how hotel owners follow brand standards while managing potential conflict with guests and are making sure they are getting their moneys worth on this investment. Technology is a huge part of hotels today, everything is done from the Internet and it even helps employees organize all of their information in an easy, user friendly way. Over the past years many hotel owners have opted to become franchisees of big name industries. "By joining a major hotel chain, these individual owners benefit from the brand association they get from being under such a well-known corporate umbrella, broader consumer recognition, plus access to well-established centralized reservation and booking systems." When hotel owners opt to become franchises of these bigger hotels they also give up their right to make certain decisions for their own hotel. Although this could be a downfall for the owner, "these investments have a negligible impact on the ability of the hotelier to bring in additional revenue," which is something that the hotel needs help with. Overall, when small hotels opt out and decide to become franchisees of big name hotels like the Hilton, it has both its advantages and disadvantages.

It is important to lay down a technology investment strategy that aligns with the specific goals of your organization and avoid investing in "pie in the sky" with no guaranteed returns. It will be easier to identify technologies that can help your business if you have a clear picture of where you're heading and what steps you must take to get there. Once you've set down your business strategy, you should appoint a member of your organization to track IT trends and advancements in the marketplace. Sit down with this person and list the sky technology areas they should be monitoring based on your business needs. Once you have projects in mind, talk to a trusted IT advisor and run a cost analysis. Create a short list of IT investments that you can not only afford, but will also help you achieve your stated business goals. Do a risk analysis of significant project you consider to undertake. Make sure the project is coming in on time and on budget. Finally, continue to update your IT investment plan and monitor new technology developments.

Great article talks about what companies should do if they want to invest the technology. Companies will surfer great risk if the company is blindness in investment. The company should firstly Clearfield their business strategy know what kind of the technology needed by the company. Advisor from professional people and the cost analysis is also important. Base on this analysis hotel can find better technology with less risk.

This article talks about a study that analyzed over 400 companies regarding the positive impact and profitability of IT Technology investments. It was said that IT technology can offer more room for creativity and innovation. Two things crucial to stay on top in this industry. IT investments have shown to produce a positive impact on revenue growth as well. As competition continues to occur, IT investments will continue to increase profitability and managers should continue to invest in things that will help to provide for them financially.

Is the tech investment worthwhile for your company? As we discussed, should you be ahead of the curve or wait and see? This article highlights some of the benefits of investing in new tech, and how that translates into the customer service. Many people have become accustomed to using some kind of tech device on a daily basis and chances are they would not mind trying something new. Most tech devices help with the easiness and accessibility, and as humans grow impatient then your tech investment is already justified. The article helps to illustrate how such investment can assist with productivity, speed, utility, clarity and many other factors.

This article is about Hostelworld, which is the global hostel-focused online booking platform and its $3 million investment in a company called Tipi Pty LTD. Tipi provides technology solutions exclusively to the hostel market, enabling guests to check-in and download their keys prior to arrival. Hostelworld is a go-to platform for hostel travellers and have a key focus on investing in the best technology for the hostel market. In my opinion, this article brings out two key points about a couple topics that have been brought out and one that is to come. One being the video about technology revolution and staying ahead of the curve. The other being Proximity Marketing, which is a future topic. By Hostelworld investing in Tipi, it positions them as a market leader in the hostel sector. This will generate a huge revenue growth in the company. In regards to Proximity Marketing, giving customers access to their brand centered platform during their stay, it will increase ancillary revenue and improve guest satisfaction scores.

A recent study conducted by Motorola Solutions Inc. has revealed that 56% of hospitality organizations planned to raise mobile investments to better equip their workforces, improve operational efficiencies and ultimately enhance the customer experience. The sytudy shows that consumers will see an increase in information technology spending within the hospitality industry with guest experience cited as the top driver for investment. The interesting datas revelaed that 91% of hospitlaity decision makers realise the increasing importance of mobile and wireless technology. One of the critical challenges for hotel technology managers is convinving upper management to approve investing in the latest technology. Often times cost is not the only deterrent for a company to upgrade their system but having to go through various layers of red tape and await hierachial approval can often lead to companies not keeping up with the latest technology and always having to play catch up rather than setting an industry standard for others to follow.

Long term financing in hospitality is often done for a period of more than one year. Such financing will have good impacts on hospitality industry like renewing its equipments and meeting operating costs with smooth cash flow. Therefore it is a cost-effective way to help hotels during their tough times in accounting and cash problems. Like we learned in accounting and financing classes, ratio analysis is the best  method to analyze finance in a hotel, which compares the current ratio with the past in order to make feasible investments in the future. What's more, long term financing in hotel industry gives lots of investment potentials. For example, by investing new sectors in F&B as well as accommodation, the job opportunity has also been increased. Besides the investments in hotels, hospitality investment also includes in airlines, cruise lines and tourism bureaus which can also bring profits. So long term financing help hospitality industry make a successful goal with experience and cost effective strategic plan in order to attract more and more tourists as well as guests.

I didn't agree with the pricing method of examining the past and the prices. What for? Prices, consumers wants and needs along with products constantly change. It's an unpredictable market at times. So examining the history would be a waste of time, the only thing you could possibly get from this would be to see how much your costs have gone up in recent years and plain your profit margins accordingly. But you can do this with out having to manage your previous records and histroy. You could just look at any expense report and go from there

It was recently brought to my attention that Donald Trump has expanded his portfolio with the $150 million dollar purchase of Miami's Doral Hotel & Country Club. I was casually watching the coverage of the 2012 World Golf Cadillac Championship on NBC and saw Ivanka and Donald on the screen but just brushed it off because of their well known passion for golf. To be honest, it was more exciting for me to see Watson fall to Rose after missing a birdie putt in the playoff round. Anyways, after searching Market Watch for 'IT Investment' and 'RFP' I stumbled upon this article and it all made sense. I am now pleased to summarize the exciting $200 million dollar Investment Mr. Trump made with intentions to "reposition all aspects of the resort" resulting in a "greatly enhanced guest experience." Although not explicitly stated, I assume this Investment will also include a 'renovation' of the current IT structure of the hotel and country club to increase productivity, revenue and ultimately ROI. Linda Robertson, from the Miami Herald, reported on March 8th that Mr. Trump stated, "to have 800 acres in a city like Miami -that opportunity will never arise again." It will be interesting to see how The Trump Organization follows through on their Investment and achieves their goal of making Doral a "world-class facility benefiting of the resort." This article also mentions that The Trump Hotel Collection had been selected by GSA as the preferred developer for Washington D.C.'s The Old Post Office after an "exhaustive" Request For Proposal review. After researching the topic I could not find for what exact reasons he won, besides money. I will take a further look into the news. A lot of exciting new developments for The Trump Organization in the recent few months.

"Stop, look and listen before investing in hotel tech"

This article first reviewed the technology revolution in hotels. From the telephone, TVs, to today's mini bars and electronic door locks. Why hotels install more and more technology into guestrooms? Because the hotels believe the guest wants it, needs it, and it's become a way to stay competitive. However, the high technology gives brings them competitive advantages and also provides convenience for the guests, at the same time, it also carries a high cost with it. How to select the best technology and how to make best use of the technology? The author suggested the hotels should Stop, Look and Listen before investing in hotel technology. First, the hotels should justify the reasons to set the expensive devices. How to make sure the devices is useful and worth that much money? The hoteliers need to see whether the guests really want and need the technology. Consider very carefully the kind of tech you are deploying. Is it because you feel threatened by what your competitors are doing? Remember they may be on the wrong track. It is important for hotels to understand what the guests really want and need and before investing the new technology, the hotels need to stop, look and listen.

When it comes to investing in technology in hotels, a better approach might be to simplify. In a day and age when most people carry around all their technology needs in their pockets (Cellphones, Tablets, Laptops, etc.) There may not be a need to invest so heavily in gizmos to attract customers and keep them happy. We may want to consider that all the guest wants is to be connected, so offering a super fast, reliable and suitably priced internet access is all the technology they really need. Investing in every new technology, with short lifespans, can end up making a real dent in your ROI.

This Article, written by Jim Butler and Catherin Holmes; clearly explains that there has been an explosion of Asian investment, mostly Chinese towards United States Hotels. It's important that before you choose to do business with these investors to first understand what their motivations are and what exactly attracted them to U.S. hotel investments. Such as, qualifying for the EB-5 visa for immigrant investment, which helps grant the foreign investor with direct foreign investment in the U.S. and permanent U.S. residence when sufficient jobs are created. Its been proven and shown that all these Asian investors have a preference for U.S. real estate and hotel investments and with the EB-5 visa will help create enough jobs to satisfy the EB-5 requirements. Citizenship and Immigration services have doubled in the first half-year of 2011. Investing in U.S. hotels is also becoming an improving trend of profit and its fundamental. It brings in an explosion of Asian tourists; it is bring in lots of wealth for these Asian investors, its also expanding an economic growth in China.

This is an interesting article. As you mentioned, EB-5 visa or permanent citizenship attracts many Chinese wealthy people to the U.S. I have seen some real estate agencies whose main clients are Chinese people who are willing to invest their enormous money in the U.S. As the economy of China has significantly developed and U.S. visa barrier has been eased recently, more and more Chinese people are coming to the U.S. I think that is another reason why many Chinese people want to invest in U.S. hotels.

This article indicates that there are three majors shaping our world between now and 2020. Those are the cloud, mobility, and Cellular Offload. We should determine the major trends, and then invest in solutions that align with those trends. Interestingly, it is mentioned some insights provide clues as which investments will be future proof to and witch will be risks. From hospitality perspective, equipment and maintenance performed by on-site or locally based staff, which is great for all owners. Also, It can be seen that the cloud allows investors to make big investments in its service.

This article introduced three major trends that we think will shape our world between now and 2020. The author thought one of the biggest challenges for any technology executive is predicting the landscape of toolsets and IT infrastructure that will be available in the future. The correct choice can last at least 10 years and there are three major trends, cloud, mobility and cellular offload. For cloud, the author thought it is good for hospitality. It holds the promise of relieving the hotel owner of responsibility for managing the operation and integration of premise-based systems, with associated costs for deployment, equipment and maintenance performed by on-site or locally based staff. Also, the author thought the mobility creates both opportunity and challenge. It can be used to both define new service models and revenue streams, and to improve existing ones. Today's challenge is that mobility requires massive investment in wireless infrastructure and bandwidth .Finally, the author thought as it is far cheaper for a cellular carrier to build or fund a Wi-Fi network, than to install an additional cell tower and/or buy additional spectrum, it is good news for hotels. It means that cellular companies have an economic reason to help fund hotel Wi-Fi networks.

This article shows that majority of hoteliers know the importance of technology in this industry, however, they just put off adopting new advancements because of the lack of funds and a fear of changing. When the hotel adopts a high technology, majority of working system should be changed which cause a fear to hoteliers. However, most surveys reveal that investment on technology surely enhance the customers experience that directly related to generate revenue.

The article talking maining about the issues that companies have in investing into technology without having a set plan. Mr. Estis-Green, among others, stated that they see an industry that is very innovative but lacking direction in its approach to investing in the correct technology. The main issue is seems to follow throughout the article is that these companies are following trends instead of figuring out if said technology would mix well with the brand vision. A first, the implementation of technology within a business was used more as a tactic but it has become more popular that is has changed the way the guest experiences service at a hotel, from POS systems to a front desk check in. It's driving the way hotels run their business. I think that the biggest issue with investing in technology is controlling the way its used within a hotel. With technology becoming bigger and being implemented within larger hotel brands, it is changing the service experience which affects the loyalty of a guests. Taking that into consideration, I think that it causes internal competition within the vision that a hotel original sets out to provide and what other hoteliers are doing to gain that loyalty. As mentioned in the article, i think that the best way to have a vision and trend coincide is to find a way to personalize it to its convenience and effectiveness.