Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Due to the increase in water usage around the world, the hospitality industry will be force to integrate responsible water usage policies. As mentioned in the article, technology plays an important role in supporting hotels in their water sustainable water management initiatives by integrating devices and systems that respond to a property water usage patterns. By having systems generate usage reports, property manager could react timely to leaks and faults and act proactively by calculating lifespan depending on usage. Depending on property location, those predictable and recurrent drought conditions would not benefit of rainwater recycling and those that experience rain often could incorporate rainwater harvesting an integrate it with greywater recycling.

In recent news, Arby's acknowledge a data breach within its restaurants. "Arby's said the breach involved malware placed on payment systems inside Arby's corporate stores, and that Arby's franchised restaurant locations were not impacted." Once figured out the company hired security experts to solve the problem. The initial sign of breach came from a service organization that serves more than 800 credit unions called PSCU. An alert was sent to all cardholders that a fast food chain had been compromised, but no specifics were mentioned. This article points out that, "point of sale malware has driven most of the major retail industry credit card breaches over the past two years." Monitoring your credit/debit card transactions is the best way to be safe in this situation- as long as you report the fraudulent charges you aren't liable. While IT has many positives for any organization, it's not risk adverse. Once a system is hacked all information of company and past users is up for grabs, and credit card companies are forced to take the blow.

People is getting more and more busy in this fast speed world and have fewer time to enjoy themselves. Catering is a big business in this country. "Industry data indicate there are nearly 40,000 catering businesses in the United States, not including the many restaurants that cater as well as operate one or more locations." Based on the need of socialization amount people, catering has been experienced rapid growth. The most important part and also is the most attractive part in catering is food. Now, there is a trend that people is more likely to enjoy nurturing, wholesome and down-to-earth food than before. With the globalization, Americans have a chance to taste worldwide food easily and have multiple choice. 

Its a very interesting article talking about how the catering trends are shaped by the diner's evolving taste pallet. I also found it to be interesting that the article addresses the issue of employee retention in the industry. How is hospitality technology related to this article? Besides of course the global media outlets promoting catering trends such as the Food Network.

this article talks about the trends int he marketing that are happening now, or are about to happen in the near future. Author compares new trends to an air travel. Trends that already have a lot of people being into are about to start, and there are some that exist but more people need to accept it before they will become successful.  

This article talks about the new tool for the hotels to reach out to their customers, an interaction with their guests only through mobile phones. and this shows that the future of hotel marketing is going to evolve even further. One of the reasons why this would be helpful is because of the way everyone communicates today. of all the mobile phones used today, 95% of them have bluetooth, and another interesting statistics is that 98% of guests switch on the television within five minutes of entering their room. hotels customers are primed for information and offers. Proximity marketing enables guest engagement, it offers what the guests want the most. This type of marketing has a tremendous potential of generating revenue, by establishing stronger roots of connection with their customers. So basically it provides instant connection, manage campaigns and transactions in real time, advertise smarter, no delivery fee and no privacy issues. all this along with growing customer acceptance of location based services will open new opportunities for the for proximity marketing, not only for hospitality but for others too.

Changing technologies provide a new way for hotels to interact with guests. Increased interaction engages the customer in a hotels promotion. Exclusivity generates interest and repeat business, and instant measurement gives hoteliers capabilities traditional advertising never could alone - instant customization and measurable reaction at no cost. With technology that allows digital signs to 'talk and interact' with nearby mobile devices, providing mobile users with information and incentives at exactly the time they need them, hotels and advertisers can transform their in-room TV and digital signage into interactive consumer touchpoints. The result is a true consumer interaction, which evolves in real-time. Hotels can deliver branded content to guests within a certain location. Proximity marketing has tremendous revenue-producing potential, allowing hotels to deepen their connection with guests, encourage more loyalty and greatly improve the customer experience: all of these factors combine to make proximity marketing a very effective tool to generate higher ROI for both hotels and their advertisers.

This article talks about technology can significantly reduce the amount of time and sweat you invest in delivering a seamless, successful event. Definitely . the planners will always be perfectionists and no matter what tools they have at their disposal, they will always suffer from a last minute panic attack about the seating plan. There are many benefits from effectively using technology to events By using software to help you manage your event, you can ensure that it runs smoothly and that nothing is forgotten.Taking advantage of event planning technology will save you both time and money in the long run. Staying below budget is an important concept to keep in mind when planning any event. You can save a lot of money by managing your budget with software programs that allow you to keep track of all your expenses in one central location. By using technology to manage attendee registration, you can track variables such as fees, food orders and send marketing emails to your list of attendees.Staying organized is probably the single most important aspect of planning a successful event, and the use of technology can alleviate a lot of stress from an organizational standpoint. The events your company puts on are a direct reflection its value, so you will want it to be the best that it can be

I totally agree with you that with the assistance of technology, event planning has become easier than ever before. It can help people stay organized, keep track of details, and make sure no stone is left unturned. Technology can also help people plan, analyze and budget for an event accurately and effectively.

This new Google Venice Update enable customers to receive more relevant and precise hotel information than before when they searching. The information including the nearest hotel around them, price, up-coming events, restaurant hours and so on. While many hoteliers already have a geo-targeted SEO strategy targeting long-tail keywords addressing the location, nearby attractions, etc., it is important to cover all your other SEO bases to ensure the best results. Further, developing an APP applied on iPhone or iPad which will increase convenience for customers and improve productivity for lodging industry.

MICROS Systems recently incorporated its cloud-based technology in the Moran & Bewley's Hotel Group. This system will assist in delivering consistent service to customers and staff throughout its ten hotels located across Ireland and the UK. MICROS OPERA, known as the world's most popular PMS, will control room availability and ensure that guests experience a consistent, fast and easy check-in/check-out service. It will also support the sales, catering and website integration among all the properties. This technology will be beneficial to management in allowing it to control company functions and sales in all of its establishments from a remote location. The PMS was also upgraded and migrated to provide greater resilience, reliability and performance. It is a smart investment for the hotel company because it provides upgrades for all areas of the business and allows management to focus on other vital aspects of the hotel, such as customer service, instead of dealing with IT. This leads to significant and measurable operation and economic benefits. Restaurants and bars will now provide greater service with the point-of-service that was installed. Data will be better secured and collected with the fully hosted solution, which ensures reliability and consistently high performance.

MICROS Systems, Inc. , a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce that the Moran & Bewley's Hotel Group has invested in MICROS cloud-based technology to help deliver a consistent experience to customers and staff throughout its ten hotels in Ireland and the UK.

Cloud computer seems be becoming more and more the way hotels communication. It has been proven more realiable, consistent, and allow for easy check-in as well as check-out services for hotels. Management is benefiting from being able to control all aspects of the hotel without having to be on property using the the network.

This article discusses a new less invasive type of airport security technology employed in an airport in Montana. Rather than an x-ray machine, this new machine uses electromagnetic waves to identify and locate metallic and non metallic concealed items. The software employed by this machine does not allow the TSA agent to see an image of the person's body, but rather a generic image of a human being to locate any suspicious items. I believe this is a very interesting new type of technology that would benefit both TSA agents and travelers. It is an easy machine to use and it also makes travelers less weary about their privacy when they are going through airport security. All in all, I think this new technology will be an asset to airport security.

In class you mentioned the high surveillance and passenger monitoring on cruise ships including the alerts of children going into non parental rooms. I found this intriguing because there are always a slew of people in the media that had the misfortune of going missing while on a cruise. In the last two years 41 people have gone missing and this does not include the Costa Concordia capsizing numbers. While the camera's might be rolling and the identification cards can track if passengers left the boat or stayed on I still wonder what the cruise lines do to cover up crimes. In Hospitality Law we learned that wherever the next docking country is that is where the crime that occurred on the ship will be investigated by. Most of these Caribbean Islands do not want to deal with missing persons or rape that occurred on a cruise ship so the cases get swept away. So despite the fact that cameras are supposedly on for safety here is an article with some interesting cases of missing people from cruise lines. I think a better technology would be to have the RFID enabled wristbands worn by all cruise ship passengers so that they can be located at anytime. This should be mandatory but disguise the tracking part by selling the fact that the wristband allows the passengers to make purchases with it.  Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas has this but it is voluntary and mostly requested by families who need to keep tabs on their children. They have only made 1000 wristbands and the article is accessible here : http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/7415/1

This article discusses the collaborative creation of hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriott, RoomKey.com. It is an OTA site that provides benefits to users who choose to make reservations with the partnered hotels. It is different from other OTAs in that loyalty program points can be used, users are aware of the hotel at which they are making the reservations, the prices are lower, RoomKey provides detailed views of the location and rooms, and there are no hidden fees. I thought this was an interesting article in that it displayed some of the hotels' efforts to compete with OTA websites.

This article is about a Miami hot dog and sandwich restaurant that is using iPad ordering kiosks with a POS software system built in. In an effort to reduce costs while not reducing customer experiences. Customers can order directly from their tables where the iPad is located. They can view high resolution pictures of menu items, make cooking specifications, as well as pay directly from the iPad terminal.

Technology is changing the face of retail every day do to new and future POS developments. POS software is utilized at physical locations at which goods are sold to customers. When using POS system you can tell the computer what you're selling, the selling price, and quantity sold. Also, the POS system has an advantage of recording every sale and tracking everything from calculating the total, including tax, and telling you how much change is due.

With the new version of Revel Systems POS, Atlas, vendors are only charged 2 % for credit card charges while other systems charge almost 3 %, giving Atlas an advantage to their users.  Atlas replaces all back office work, with the power of the cloud and security of the iPad app, vendors can see all their information in real time.  The system manages, time scheduling, inventory, kitchen checks, allows customers to sign for their cc receipts right on the iPad.  This technology also helps reduce the cost of paper and ink for the vendors.  

This article deals with the necessity to assist military veterans through all the internet marketing on colleges. Veterans or soon to be veterans can find it very hard to weed through all the internet information there is on colleges and which is the best for you to choose. One Marine veteran Paul Szoldra had this problem, he thought a good college would be one that was expensive with a low population, therefore a low student to teacher ratio, not true. To assist other veterans trying to locate a college that is suitable and is not looking for the monies that the GI Bill will provide the institution he created CollegeVeterans.com and created Change.org an online petition to rank colleges that best provide for veterans. President Obama has also pass an executive order to address these veteran issues at institutes of learning making it mandatory to have certified veteran advisers that will lead and insure veterans are not taken down a wrong path with their education benefits or other federal benefits vice more costly loans or funding to the veteran. Some more important factors that a veteran should do is research the institute they wish to attend, e-mail the veteran representative at the institute to get some insight on the institute, there is nothing like communicating with someone who know and cares about you and will help you to avoid the marketing pitfalls, and last look for institutions that have veteran assistance, look for the institute offering military credit towards education in the field you wish to enter.

Point of sale systems are utilized in many industries, however, it is prevalent in the hospitality industry. Point of Sale Systems is also referred to as Point of Service. A POS system encompasses various hardware and software such as touch screen display, barcode scanners, cash registers, scales, and receipt printers. Improvements in technology such as POS have made cash registers, paper tapes and journal tapes almost obsolete. During the late 80's and 90's credit card processing was implemented making it easier for customers to easily transact business with operations. Today hospitality POS systems are among the most sophisticated, powerful and user friendly networks. Many POS systems are fully integrated so managers can track inventory, sales, rental services, accounting and customer relation management. Depending on the size of the hospitality facility, management may be primarily concerned with implementing POS systems. Some o f the questions pertaining to POS that managers may have include: a) How many POS terminals do I need? b) Should I run credit cards through my POS system? c) Which style of computer is best for my facility? d) Do I need pole displays or customer displays? e) Should I have a back office computer?

This article was very enlightening on the recent advances of POS technology in the hospitality industry and the new developments that keep evolving. The article presents areas were recent advances have helped to improve the "effectiveness of a business and relationship with their customers". As stated in the article with the use of "cloud-based systems, the latest i-trends and the growth of Near Field Communications", the hospitality industry POS technology will move very far. Three key areas were discussed; "Point of Sale on the move" which referred to using a browser on any mobile device to obtain necessary information while you are on the move or away from the business. The second area was using a POS system on a tablet or smartphone that would be able to provide more useful information than tradition POS systems in a lightweight manner with more flexibility. I can attest to the real need for this advancement because working in an establishment that has the traditional POS systems has proven when there is a problem trouble shooting can be very difficult. A process as simple as getting your technical support team to make changes in your POS system can be a nightmare, when your system does not have updated software. We experienced that issue this week, when technical support attempted to access the system and could not locate the license agreement after hours of searching for a key we found a device that was attached to the printer cable in the back of the CPU. All of the unnecessary time spent on that one event could have been eliminated if some of this new technology was in place. The last area the article referred to is "Marrying POS and NFC". This new development is hoping to eliminate the need for carrying money or credit/debit cards and enable consumers to use mobile devices to process all transactions. I believe this would be very beneficial in the hospitality industry not only from the point credit card fraud but also it eliminate

This article discusses how new demand of customers within the hospitality industry is driving current point of sale systems such as micros to re-term their systems to focus more on customers. It includes several factors that are potentially driving POS systems to be revolutionized. The possibility of POS systems becoming more "from the palm of your hand" is growing each day as more POS systems are converging with wireless devices. As other outside factors influence hoteliers to emerge and update their POS systems, the development and progress of having the most profitable POS systems requires close examination of what works best for each company. One example the article touched on was the change from regular cashier systems to IPad based interactive systems and interactive kiosks. In addition, the enhancements of POS systems overall seem to be increasing F&B profit-a section of the financial statement that was historically less profitable. As with all technology, It is best to refrain from making a large capital investment into emerging systems, starting slow and monitoring how the bottom line is increasing and specific areas such as Room revenue or F&B revenue is the ideal choice.

Excellent Article! POS systems are becoming more user friendly than before. The systems allow companies to track revenue and inventory at the same time. The Walt Disney World Resort tested a POS system that allowed hotel guests to simply flash their room key and the charges would go directly into the POS system then PMS. Hotels have added POS systems to spas, recreation locations and retail stores...(http://www.restaurant.org/nra_news_blog/2012/04/pos-systems-must-accommodate-new-secure-payment-technology.cfm).

Theodore your article proves a great point on the benefits of POS technology. Having a POS system adds more value that will cover its initial cost. Handles greater product volumes. Makes complex business logic possible. Provides more management possibilities of your daily operations such as sales tracking, refunds, time clocks, menus, pricing, revenue maximization, etc.Provides advanced functionalities such as reservation and table management for restaurants, hotels, bars, and any business in the food service industry. Realizes enhanced savings with greater efficiency. Delivers better workflow for staff. Improves customer service and increases customer through-put. Easily manage large numbers of customers and groups. Allows restaurant businesses to combine multiple services into a single invoice (hotel room, meals, events, services). Graphical management of store assets such as table, rooms, bar, etc. Delivers superior reporting and analysis features. Streamlines inventory management. Back Office integration. The purpose of POS system is to accommodate your employees and your customers. If you have happy employees this results in customers having a smile. You have to spend money (POS SYSTEM) in order to make money.

Here is something interesting for you Mac users. Did you knew that you are actually being charged more to use websites like Orbitz or Priceline? Don't believe me, well check it out. Over the last year or two Orbitz has been working on what they call "predictive analytics". Meaning they are able to predict where consumers will likely book their reservations based on what computer they are using. The article states that, Mac users are 40% more likely to book a four to five star hotel than PC users. Since companies like Orbitz (who took a 37 million dollar loss in 2011) are taking big hits from the lack of travelling thanks to the economy, they are trying to create any advantage they can in order to turn the market around. One thing to point out, is that Orbitz's competitors like Priceline and Expedia said that they do not base their sales on what computers the consumers are using, Apple had no comment. Orbitz said the effort to incorporate Mac vs. PC distinctions is still in its formative stages and isn't evident across the site. Other factors have more influence over results, Mr. Liew said, including a user's location and history on the site, as well as a hotel's overall popularity and promotions. Still, he said, use of a Mac can influence results.

CHECK THIS OUT MAC USERS

The best part of the article is how it states a good POS system is one that doesn't let you waste time with the POS. Instead your attention can be turned to your customers and staff. The system will do everything for you just by a touch of buttons from the screen. All you would have to do is print out the information and it will tell you everything you need to run a sucessfull establishment.

At most hotels, waste is created at upwards of 1 kg per guest per night - a large amount when multiplied by the number of hotels and guests around the world. Taking responsibility for the environment and local community has been an important part of the hotel industry. Hotels can make a significant impact on waste reduction and recycling.  Hoteliers have many opportunities to reduce waste by establishing waste prevention and recycling programs and by purchasing recycled products. Besides reducing waste and saving money, these actions can increase employee morale and customer satisfaction. Hotels and motels generate large amounts of highly recyclable materials, such as office paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, plastics, metals, and glass. Work with your waste hauler or recycler to arrange the details of your recycling program. Management should adopt an environmental policy to reflect how the company sees itself in relation to the environment, neighbors, and the people it employs and serves. Chains with multiple locations may want to encourage each hotel to evaluate and establish its own program.