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This article succinctly suggests 6 ways how a hotel can make their e-commerce efforts more rewarding; by reducing friction for users on the hotel's website, by having fewer clicks from discovery to purchase, using speed as their friend with a faster hotel website, and faster hotel booking process, getting to the point by providing the option for users to book right away, not confusing the user by taking them away to a different URL that has different branding to the rest of their hotel's site, triple testing their hotel's website functions or options to determine if they generate additional revenue if not, remove it and test again.

A security researcher, Mr. Noam Rotem has found a security vulnerability in the widely used Amadeus airline software. Mr. Rotem booked a flight with El Al and the company sent him a link to retrieve his Passenger Name Record (PNR). Rotem inputted a random booking reference number into this link, which is sent to all customers upon booking, and he was able to access other passenger's information. This raises concerns among attackers changing seat flights, meal specifications, or claiming flyer miles. The security researcher also viewed email addresses, phone numbers, and was even able to cancel flights. Additionally, this data can easily be accessed because reference numbers and last names are printed on baggage tags, making this available for many to see in an airport. The Global Distribution System does not have any form of authentication factor or password to keep this information safe. The GDS has not been updated to ensure security in many years. The company claims that the PNR process must be in accordance with the whole industry, and it needs to collaborate with everyone in order to form a new procedure.

With the demand for sustainability initiatives by consumers, hotel are having to make major changes in order to oblige. Sustainability has become a major concern for many consumers and businesses have taken notice. As a result, major hotel chains across country have begun to put in order plans to make changes to their daily operations. As noted in the article by L.A. Times, changes have been made to features such as water usage, machinery operations and even landscaping design . These changes and updates are in the hopes to attract a wider consumer market which now includes Eco-friendly travelers.

The LA Times article, "More hotels are going green, and not just to save water or money" highlights how an "earth-friendly image" is important to many corporate travel managers. Research suggests that having an environmentally friendly hotel not only aids in decreasing operational cost and avoiding city or county fines but may also be a way to differentiate a firm's brand and compete more effectively in the market. With travelers specifically seeking out eco-friendly choices and demonstrating a willingness to pay extra to accommodate a hotels ability to provide these services; going green could be a strategic solution implemented in a manner that allows for increasing market share while reducing operational cost.

Good Afternoon, It good to see hotels are being proactive about being environmentally friendly. It also great they mentioned that corporate travelers are looking for Eco-friendly hotels. I know a lot of companies require corporate travelers to seek out hotels that meet certain green levels and along with there corporate rates. Hotels are demonstrating that they are willing to invest in green technology not only for money but because it the right thing to.

This article discusses what benefits an HRIS will provide a firm. Some of the most important benefits include cost savings. The system allows an HR manager to manage more employees so they firm can hire less in the HR department. Additionally it provides insight into other departments if turnover is high and the system can save money in the long run in the case of legal disputes. For employees it allows them to access their information and get contact information for other employees. All these benefits improve the job performance of everyone involved.

According to Rob Hard, sustainability awareness has grown quite substantially. Now it is a must for for all employees in the industry, not only leaders, to extend their knowledge in sustainability practices. This article focuses on event planners and how understanding a hotel green initiatives can help make their selection of a hotel to be in the clients interest. Nowadays, hotels are slowly transitioning into becoming a green hotel for this reason. Some few initiatives that were talked about were the following: energy conservation, water conservation, bottled water alternatives, and recycling and waste reduction.

This article expounds how hoteliers can ensure that their property provides a secure environment, while maintaining friendly customer service. This article goes into further detail about implementing key card access reviews in order to prevent the possibility for a criminal to gain undetectable entree to millions of keycard-protected hotel rooms. According to this article, establishing evergreen background screening protocols and controlling after hours access was also crucial in Hotels ensuring that their key card access systems are not vulnerable to hacking or unlawful access. Above all else, this article goes into great depth about maintaining an emergency response plan and team that would allow hotels to proactively implement prevention and response plans for everything from workplace violence to natural disasters.

This article outlines some of the procedures that are used in the Hospitality Industry accounting departments. Beginning with document retention, GAAP is followed to comply with how long the documents need to be kept. In keeping documents, data security needs to be in place to protect sensitive information. Internal controls are also important and follow GAAP, so that stakeholders and owners are protected. The procedure is so that the proper allocation of assets are maintained. Revenue recognition is also part of accounting procedures, as revenues may be sorted in various ways as appropriate. Lastly, timeshare accounting being one of the most complicated, due to the different agreements. I found this article to be a good guide in knowing the basic procedures that are followed in hospitality accounting.

This is an important point - The hours of labor that can be reduced because of an HRIS can allow HR employees to focus on other projects.

The article recaps some benefits of an HRIS system. It also emphasizes on the importance of the Human Resources department, as it is considered to be one of the most critical departments in any company. Human Resources is responsible for tasks that concern employee benefits, payroll, scheduling, rules and policies, contracts, legal documents, and training. An HRIS is able to facilitate the duty of HR employees and automate employee records, payroll and several other tasks. Highlighted below are some of the most important benefits mentioned in the article.

I found this article extremely interesting because in today's world, almost everyone relies on technology for everything. From googling what 25 centimeters is in inches, to emailing your cousin who lives across the world from you. So why not, bring that favorite technology with you when you go away? Like the article mentions, these smart apps, and chat bots, not only helps guests have a more comfortable stay, but also helps things go more smoothly for staff. In addition, these technologies allow hotels to make it a better stay for guests, by recording specific preferences, leading to increased loyalty. All in all, if it helps it make a more convenient experience for both the guest and staff at the hotel, I say it is a winner! 

This article talks about the growing need for customers to have certain in-technology. It also talks about what hotel industry is doing and investing keep it's ahead of the curve and what current are guest expectations when arriving at a Hotel in 21 century.

In this article, it explains that technology is the ruler of today's world. It creates an "easy life" and raises the expectations of customers by the minute, essentially making anything possible. To meet these expectations in the hospitality industry, hotels are incorporating more technological accommodations. This is a must to stay ahead of the competition and attract new customers. A report showed the hospitality industry as the 5th highest investor in sensors to ensure a positive customer experience. From simple technology such as online booking to things such as automated check in/ out are changing the game for the customers overall experience. These things have become normalized for a better guest experience along with keyless hotel room entrance making a shift to app's that act as the bedroom key. Another growing trend is having robots complete simple tasks such as room service as well as more sustainable practices such as adjustable lighting. In order to properly track the success rate of these new technologies, many hospitality related companies are hiring data scientists to assure they are meeting their guest's expectations. All of these advances make life easier for the company and the guests but none of these things can replace the art of human interaction. Although this art is dwindling away, it is something that most still yearn for, regardless of the technology involved in their experience.

IT investment are pushed forward now and days more so for guest satisfaction. A recent Motorola Solutions Inc has uncovered a study that fifty six percent of hospitality organization plan to increase their mobile investment and wireless technology with greater data volumes and high speed access. This will increase drastically competitive advantage for the business and customer experience. Some find it a challenge in convincing upper management to approve investing in to the latest technology. As well as demonstrating that a proposed technology investment will be beneficial for their business and will assist in continuous up to date trends and market competition. I highly agree that technology is a must in this industry, especially how fast it is changing. In order to stay within the competitive advantage and provide convenience for our guest it is necessary to invest and update into the latest technology. The initial investment might be extreme especially if you have been out of date from any recent technology however, with time the results will be returned with satisfied guest and fast paced PMS systems.

Information Technology is indispensable in the hospitality industry for several reasons. This article discusses how many hotels are increasing their investment in I.T because of its abundant advantages, especially guest satisfaction. It particularly states how mobile and wireless technology will aid in guests pleasure but ensure competitive advantage as well. They looked at a study of Motorola Solutions Market Barometer of 2011 where they fundamentally determine the emerging trends in the industry and opportunities. They then came to understand that businesses are investing more on hospitality information technology to not only assist in customer retention but to have an overall high-quality system that can manage their daily duties such as inventory, budget, and status of room reservations.

This article talks about how hotel companies are starting to invest more in information technology to provide a more enhanced guest experience. A survey done by Motorola Solutions found that 56% of hospitality companies are looking to invest in more mobile technology. While companies are looking to invest more in technology, it has been challenging to convince higher management levels to make the investment. Radi Karnib with Rotana Hotel Management said that it's important to demonstrate the benefits of the investment. Daniel Haijar with Layia Hospitality agrees and goes on to say that it's important to differentiate between what's an investment and what's an expense.

This article discusses the hospitality industry's developing technology sector, claiming an age of interconnectivity. This industry has long been plagued by the stereotype of being behind technologically, largely due to long standing and set-in ways that utilize old systems. A few numbers worth mentioning include enterprise hospitality spending an average of 3.5 percent of revenue on IT versus 7.9 percent for financial services, 6.1 percent for public sector, and 5.9 for high tech. In a study done by Lodging Technology Study, 53 percent of hoteliers cited that the outdated tech architecture set-in and the effort it would take to change them is what keeps people from investing in new technologies. Fortunately since then, this sector has been gaining momentum, expecting to be the fastest growing IT sector between 2018 and 2021. The article continues on talking about the barrier of integration fees and how tech innovators today are forced to pay massive fees to be compatible with existing systems, which carry on to consumers of these technologies. For hoteliers to utilize these new technologies, large sums of money have to be paid upfront and there's a significant lag in actually getting to try the product. The rest of the article discusses a few points we do in this week's module: pros and cons to two-way interconnectivity in PMS systems and third party technology providers.

Module 4: This article is about Grindrod Travel acquiring the services of Caveau for GDPR and PCI Compliance solutions. Grindrod Travel is one of the oldest travel management companies within South Africa that caters to both corporate and international travelers and conferencing services. With the ever-present looming threat of cyber security and protecting personal information and payment methods, Cavaeu can assist Grindrod is providing efficient solutions to their issues. With Grindrod being such a large company with its own IT department; when it came down to initiating a vulnerability scan of the Travel Division of the company, it proved to be more complicated with much difficulty to accomplish without having to apply the scan to the entire company. With the assistance of Caveau, they were able to develop a secure storage for Grindrod's clients credit cards and personal information. PCI compliance is such an important factor to abide by when managing a travel company. You have various clients that have different forms of payment and they are trusting that same company to protect and store their credit card information. While cyber-security continues to be an ongoing issue in today's industry, companies should continue in their efforts to monitor that their software is always updated and secured.

No matter how much hotels invest in security, there are still vulnerable areas where hotels should improve to prevent thefts, break-ins, fraud, hacking, and numerous other crimes from happening. In this article, the author has introduced certain ways to optimize hotel security, including increasing the invests in surveillance software, holding regular security meetings, upgrading the locks, meeting your customers, paying attention to cyber-attacks, and carrying on background checks of staff.

This article is about hotel security and different ways to optimise it to meet your needs. Some of the topics discussed were the integration of surveillance software, the importance of regularly scheduled security meetings, lock upgrades, and customer interaction. The article touches upon each of the topics mentioned and explains how the integration of all of these practices helps create a safer and more cohesive security system. I liked how it focuses on the need to interact with customers as they are the ones you are protecting the most. I think that interaction really makes a difference.

This article discusses the reason hotels are shifting their focus on energy management. Hotels are adopting green practices that not only saves money but benefits the environment. One method is by controlling energy output. New technology allows the hotel management to have wireless control of the heating and cooling systems. If rooms are unoccupied they can turn off the cooling system to save energy which in-turn reduces cost. The invention of the "Internet of Things" (IoT), management can control, diagnose and operate AC and other systems from their tablets or computers. This advantage gives the hotels the need for less service calls and disruptions to guests. Also, the trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) gives the guest the option to control their room settings from their own phone. Lastly, hotels are building towards LEED certifications from the U.S. Green Building council. The certification is internationally known. It saves the company money and aligns to a lot of guests eco-traveling preferences.