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The article shows how a unified computing and communication system helps a company implement a new technology. While the new technology system is worth a multimillion-dollar investment; the benefits have provided the company excellent financial results. It allowed the company to consolidate 18 room reservation and telephone operations into a single location. Another advantage from the update is the capability for Station Casinos to connect 15,000 different devices which include some of the newer slot machines that have been installed. The new technology reduces downtime; this is an advantage as downtime could lead to potential monetary loss. Finally, the update while costing millions of dollars, the financial return on the investment is tremendously impactful to the company.

This article speaks about a seemingly successful turn around for a struggling casino group in Las Vegas after making multimillion-dollar investments for I.T. over a period of time. While it has not completely eradicated all their problems, Stations Casinos Inc., which operates 18 hotels, and casinos off the Vegas Strip has saved tremendously by providing a cohesive communication computer system that has allowed greater efficiency ultimately saving money. An example of efficiency is cutting down data center server racks from 12 to one. More advantages showed with reduced cost due to less power and energy being used to maintain more infrastructures. An upgrade in network allowed for their slot machines and security cameras to connect across the board. This is important because, " about 80% of revenue comes from slot machines," said Baltz. These are just a few advantages the Stations Casinos Inc., has experienced since their investment. After reading this article, it just goes to show how important the I.T. department can be to the profitability of a hotel, casino or other hospitality entity. Usually we think of the product or service as the revenue generators of a business, but this type of article shows that, by saving money, the trickle down effect of increasing profits will occur when you cut expenses.

If there was ever any question that IT investment could drastically benefit companies, this scenario is the proof. A group of struggling Las Vegas Casinos really turned there negative situation around with the use of new interactive technology. This interactive technology is not only beneficial in the hotel world, but apparently casinos as well. The possibilities for this technology are endless, as long as it continues to advance. Guests and costumers who continue to be satisfied with their enhanced technological experience, will give companies and businesses large profits. Just as the casinos had a drastic turnaround by utilizing technology, other groups will do the same.

This article looks at the growing trend of the cloud system. You hear the opinions from a few different companies in varying industries on the trending system and how they are implementing the cloud system. Some of these companies are slowly moving towards a total cloud infrastructure, but none of them are fully there quite yet.

Intercontinental Hotel Group(IHG) now said that the company will try to focus on mobile marketing to counter challenges from aggregators such as Expedia, Priceline.com, and booking.com. These aggregators enable guests to search by showing the price and location and book hotels at a time. They are such an important outlet for sales, however, they drive down the price and also drive down the brand. Hence, IGC now trying to focus on mobile marketing to connect guests journey from search, shop, compare, booking, confirmatiln, pre-staying planning, arrival, stay and depature.

This article gives a few examples of how POS systems can help to prevent theft from employees and even from customers. By implementing POS systems in restaurants owners are able to track orders, how much is paid, how much was comp'ed and so on. This helps owners to keep track of products and sales whereas with a paper system, receipts can be lost, written incorrectly and maybe all sales aren't logged.

Today's many hotels have been trying to innovate their hotel technology to keep pace with their competitors. However, it seemed like that they're too much depend on the unnecessary and expensive technology. Thus, before investing the hotel technology, stop and look and listen people and what the travelers really want and need. Instead of adding Blu-ray players or IP-TV systems with video-on-demand, or putting an expensive dedicated shaver socket into the bathroom, hotels need to rethink and downsize. Here are some simple and short lists. 1. Super-fast, reliable and suitably priced Internet access 2. A well-lit room with simple controls. 3. Power sockets, power sockets and more power sockets. 4.Temperatures that can be easily controlled, both up and down. 5. A place to work 6. And as for the TV, include 24-hour news channels, sports channels and some entertaining TV channels. From the lists, what guests want From a hotel room with three Cs: 1. Clean 2. Comfortable 3. Connected For conclusion, too many investment on expensive and unnecessary technology would lead a fail in ROI. Rather than just spend money on the technology, hotels should rethink and research what the guests really want while they're staying.

The article "The Software Algorithm That Turns Hotel 'Lookers' Into 'Bookers'" poses questions about the pricing algorithms in the airline and hotel industry. It then introduces and explains the software developed by Bruno Perez and Jean Francois Mourier called REVPAR GURU. In essence, the software is a revenue management system that analyzes data points online and internal factors within the company to provide suggested price-points to maximize profit. I believe that this software simplifies the job of the revenue manager because with the software they no longer have to agonize over data about reaching capacity at the highest room rate, they now focus on the data given by the software and its suggested prices. The idea for the software stemmed from the fact that we are going through a shift from offline to online in our society and more and more people are now doing their bookings online. I believe that this software has the right idea and is available at the right time during the shift to online. As more and more companies adapt, adjust, and use the online world, this program will continue to succeed. 

As iPhone 6s begin shipping to pre-order purchasers tonight, this article is very timely for retailers everywhere. Apple already has the support of the big three credit card companies (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) covering 83% of all credit cards out there. They also have buy in from a variety of companies including: Disney, Subway, McDonalds, Walgreens and many more. 220,000 stores are already ready to accept contactless payments . The system uses a combination of hardware, software and biometrics to keep the transactions secure. No actual card data ever leaves the phone. All transactions have unique codes and store personnel never get their hands on a card. Apple may have finally broken the code to making shopping easier and more secure.

Apple Pay is going to solve so many issues when it comes to security and fraud. By using biometrics it will be nearly impossible for people to use credit cards that are not theirs. Disney is already set up to start using Apple Pay and it will be so interesting to see how guests react to using this method of payment. Although we already use biometrics when guests enter the main entrance of our theme parks at Disney the idea of giving biometric information has not appealed to all of our guests. Biometrics are something many companies will be using in the future as an extra step in security and it will be essential that people adjust to this change.

Dear friends, i thought that this might be interesting for you to know. Did you know that our favorite Netflix wasn't the first online DVD subscription service? It was a Blockbuster . com :) And the fact that people will mostly shop online? 192 million in the USA! (I' honestly like shopping outside, so this way i can smell, touch, and try; although eBay is doing pretty good job by selling cheap Chinese stuff and having a free shipping. You can not even return the package , because it's 3 times more expensive to return than the original cost! ) What do you think? Thanks

The Hotel Industry and its vendors are acknowledging and taking a keen revenue advantage, because their customers are supporting a green environment focus. This green economic revolution has impacted the $90 billion dollar Hotel industry. The article describes a hotel in Austin Texas profoundly in regards to their property having the "largest solar system in the continental U.S.". The hotel goes as far as creating their motto, which gear guest towards a green environment focus; their motto states "Environmental consciousness in action." The hotel grows its own food and vegetables, in which they serve the guest with, and they also give some of their produce to local food banks. The hotel guest often brag about how well they slept in the night, this might be caused by the toxic free chemical environment they are in. The lodging have refrained from using chemical pesticides 20 years ago, which may have added to the result of guest sleeping well; stated the general manager. The Ritz-Carlton program "Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ambassadors of the Environment program" was originally for the children that were staying on the Kapalua in Hawaii. The children enjoyed it so much, and their parents became very inquisitive; that the program emerged into the entire property focus. This program gives guest the opportunity to have involvement with the native forest; native nature walk and the hotel also harvest a native garden. This is almost the same idea as the hotel located in Austin Texas. There are many valid reasons for the reason why the Hotel Industry should be green conscious. The Green Hotels Association states that "Companies with proactive environmental strategies will make 4 percent higher investment, 9 higher sales growth and 17 percent higher operating income growth than companies with poor environmental practices.". If I was a general manager, this would be one of my main concerns and focus. Going green is cost effective, but the ending

nowadays, more and more hotels attending to join the green army. one of the most important reason is this kind of hotel will have a better market. because of the education level of the guests, their invironmental awareness become stongly. so the guests want to do more to make a contribution the the environment protection. on the other hand, the customers all knows that even the price of the green hotel is higher, but it is more health and safe. it will make them feel better and have a good experience in the hotel. as we know, a good experience is the final goal of hotel. so, the green hotel must have a bright future.

The green economic revolution is impacting the $90 billion U.S. hotel industry. There is an opportunity to increase revenue and market share by "going green". Habitat Suites in Austin, Texas is a leader in this area. The hotel's motto is "Environmental consciousness in action." Habitat Suites has an environment that is free of chemicals, has the largest hotel solar system, and uses their own organic fruit and vegetable garden for food in the hotel. Due to this environmental consciousness, the customers are reacting positively. Commenting on how great they slept, due to the ecologically fresh rooms. Many hotel chains are jumping on the green revolution bandwagon. At the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Hawaii, they started an environment program that was originally designed to provide fun for kids. But after positive feedback from the children, this has grown from just learning about local marine life to educational nature walks. These walks go through Maui's native forests and a garden that grows native foods and has community engagement in order to preserve their island's culture and environment. The food that is grown in the native garden is used in the hotel to provide guests with a healthy dining experience. Because of this, it has increased guests' reason to eat at the hotel and is 15 percent of the hotel guests' revenue stream. This environmentally friendly program increases the possibility of repeat business and attract new travelers who search for these types of experiences. A report published by the Green Hotels Association states, "Companies with proactive environmental strategies have a 4 percent higher return on investment, 9 percent higher sales growth and 17 percent higher operating income growth than companies with poor environmental track records." Even non-hotel-industry entrepreneurs are realizing business opportunities in the green vacation industry. Patricia Griffin, president of the Green Hotel Association, started the associatio

The "Going Green" trend has been a true blessing since it's marketability took birth several years ago. Many industries are taking advantage of this technological and ecological trend. There has never been a better time than now to turn our business ethics into the direction of a better world. Basic utility expenses at any hotel or business can sometimes make or break their existence. Technology today has given us the tools to give back to both our beautiful Earth and our bottom dollar. Luxury brands and all the like are implementing new green policies and technologies that will cut costs and even beautiful their environments. By the end of 2015 The Intercontinental Hotels Group plans on equipping over 4,000 of their hotels with a system that monitors and assists in energy use and conservation. They have a goal of reducing their overall water use by 12% in California in part due to the severe ongoing drought. The Loews in Santa Monica Beach is investing $96,000 in a laundry-water recycling system. It will recycle nearly 70% of water use and pay for itself in less than 2 years. Apart from it's ability to cut-costs and truly give back to the environment, "going green" is highly marketable. One of the Intercontinental's General Managers was quoted saying "It's not a huge savings. I think it's about sending the right message." I have personally seen many RFPs from large corporate companies that request green-initiatives from hotels. Improving sustainability is important to the customer and the establishment. Around 60% of travelers consider green initiatives when selecting a destination and activity. Of those 60%, over half said they would even pay more to stay at an establishment that respected and helped improve the environment. In a world where we are fortunate enough to live in excess should we choose to, it's a shame it took this long for a global movement to "go green". Sustainability alone has built such a giant indu

Mark Starkov, President & CEO at HEBS Global provides advice as to how to understand and optimize several tools hotels use for bookings. We live in a world where mobile connectivity is on the rise with no fall in sight. More and more people are spending more time and money on and through these devices, and it is something that our travel and hospitality industries are booming from. In 2014, nearly 40% of web visitors and page views were credited to non-desktop computers. In terms of hotels, these devices can also account for over 20% of bookings and 17% of sleeping room nights. Between 2013 and 2014, hotel revenue generated via tablets more than doubled and booked over 77% more room nights than non-"pure" devices. These stats alone should have all hoteliers seeing opportunity. The world of e-commerce is allowing hoteliers and other travel companies to open up many revenue streams. Between DGS, OTAs, and CRM, we are able to reach a much wider audience and bring in an exponentially larger amount of business. These tools do not work for free, as there are often commissions or subscription fees these companies are compensated for. As valuable as these third-party tools are, it is equally important to invest in your direct-booking outlet. Booking direct business keeps the most money in your pocket. Not only will you get optimum rates, you will also save on commissions, referral fees, etc. Just imagine not having to pay a third-party commission of 10% of a $100,000 dollar piece of business. That's 10 thousand saved. Sometimes, when large corporate events are booked, there can be two referral services involved, resulting in 15% commission payout. In terms of direct vs. third-party business, a hotel could not survive on only one.

Hotels are stepping up the amount of tech on their properties as guests want the comforts of home, during their stay. Below are 6 trends to look at in 2018. 1. Virtual Concierge- App technology is allowing guests to access anything from local dining to concert tickets, and directions etc. from the comfort of their own phones without having to make a phone-call or walk to the concierge desk. 2. Mobile Connection/ Payment- Check in/ out, room keys are all done from app tech. 3. Personalized experiences/smart rooms/Internet of Things- Guests now have the ability to control the temp, humidity, lighting, blinds; do basically anything they fancy from their rooms. 4. In-room technology upgrades - WiFi improvements allowing technology to stream seamlessly while you are staying on the property 5. Virtual reality- VR tech is new to the mass market and hotels are not letting it slip by. Hotels are allowing guests to basically take a vacation to another location, from the comfort of the bedroom. 6. Robots- Robots are now being used in place of front office staff, in room dining, maintenance, to create a more private and efficient service.

This article discusses how hotel technology trends are growing and experiencing a very high demand. Technology is ever shaping and modeling new paths for better guest experiences and streamline hotel operations. In an already very competitive market, hotel operators are always looking for new ways to enhance their on-site operations and guest experiences. Some of the latest trends include virtual concierge, mobile connections and payments, personalized experiences, smart rooms and robots. There are always advancements in-room technology upgrades such as guest access to Wi-Fi since smartphones, tablets and laptops have become a must for travelers. It is such as exciting time to be apart of the hospitality industry, whether it's as an employee or guest.

A lot of new trends with IT have emerged within the year of 2018 so far which include: Virtual concierge - Saving guests the time to physically go down to a concierge desk and wait to talk to someone is key with online 24-hour concierge service Mobile connections/payments - Mobile check-ins Personalized experiences/smart rooms/Internet of Things - Using apps to control room temperature, lighting, etc In-room technology upgrades - Introducing smart TVs and all-access wifi Virtue Reality - 360-degree videos of hotel properties are now a thing. Offering guests the opportunity to see where they'll be staying is a huge advantage Robots - The Henn-na Hotel in Japan is ran by robots all throughout the property and this phenomenon is expanding to other hospitality establishments.

This article discusses the various ways that hotels are increasingly going green and the certification process hotels can go to in order to get this green recognition. It is clear that going green nowadays is not a matter of choice, but of business necessity due to the various demands from guests and other consumers. Sustainability for hotels isn't just about recycling and choosing more energy efficient lights, its looking at sustainability holistically. This means looking at conversation from the start of a hotel project all the way through to the time the hotel first opens and continues to operate. While the upfront costs to be green may be costly, what may end up being more costly is the companies who choose not to go green at all.

Alice, a relatively new start-up which sells operations software to hotels, had a significant investment from Expedia in the previous round of funding. Alice has become a software that provides "the first unified platform for a hotel to run its entire back end operations, such as housekeeping and customer service communication". The system allows guests to send a text message with a request for more pillows or towels, for example, which will be directed to the proper the hotel employee department. Customers can track their requests and both the front and back of house staff can receive communications from guest requests. This IT platform has seen 5 times the amount of requests being generated. Also, the platform has partnered with double the number of hotels and they project more than two million requests will be communicated through this software in a year. Expedia is the largest shareholder in Alice currently. Alice suggests that this is because Expedia could be more interested in "more back-end software services for the hotels that use it to market and distribute their inventory globally." Expedia currently markets tools such as revenue management under the name Expedia Powered Technology to hoteliers. Expedia also offers meetings and events booking tools for hotels. Priceline, which is a competitor to Expedia, also has invested in tools and services that include revenue management software for their hotel partners. Trivago is also offering these services. Alice believes that the size of the market will allow for many other companies to work in this space, and is even open to partnering with other firms to expand. Alice also plans to expand their own business and add personnel with the new funds.

Traveling is becoming a popular trend. People love to visit new locations around the world and are expecting a high quality level of technology. The more people travel, the higher their expectations become. The new technology trends being offered in the hospitality industry include wearable technology and sensors. Guests are able to check in and have a key-less room entry with an apple watch or something similar. Rooms are equipped with sensors for lights, an app to adjust room temperature as desired, TV voice recognition, digital news papers, and much more. Another important aspect of technology in the hospitality industry is providing rich travel related multimedia content. People like to use apps or websites such as Yelp, Youtube, or trip advisor to offer travelers suggestions and real life user experiences and reviews. Thus, providing such brands a way to create significant relationships with their current and future customers. Hotels encourage their guests to use social media to share their experiences. Yelp and swarm allows people to check-in and be rewarded for visiting the locations, by offering a complimentary cocktail, appetizer, and so on. In addition, Hotels encourage their guests to hashtag their stay. Robots are entering the hospitality industry, from serving foods, carrying luggage, and acting as hotel receptionists. You will be able to find this in the Henn-na Hotel in Japan.

Brands can now differentiate themselves from their competitors through the effectiveness of digital technologies such as sensors, robotics and mobile which provide a unique experience for customers. Sandals for example, uses key card sensors to door guest doors and customers are able to control the smart TV programs with an app on their phone. In addition, we uses a predictive system to monitor our rooms forecast as it relates to travel booking per month / year. The article focuses on five common trends: 1. Personalization by using predictive analytics: One example is Kayak, a travel booking site that uses the predictive analytics for their price forecast. 2. Integrating wearable technology and sensors: Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels integrated Apple Watch in their business operation to enable mobile check-in, keyless room entry and special request. 3. Providing rich travel related multimedia content: Customers are able to review valuable information about their destination through various social channels such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, blogs and other websites. 4. Leveraging social media: Social media channels are allowing customers to share their stay experience at a resort and plus give rewards points and discount offers. Marriott Hotels for example, has a PlusPoint reward system. (https://sourceable.net/hotel-design-trends-for-millennial-guests/) 5. Artificial Intelligence: Businesses are using Anybots and Roboceptionist to replace receptionists. (http://www.otrams.com/blog/innovations/artificial-intelligence-in-hospitality-industry/).

This article written by Sharma, is providing a brief explanation of how new technology is taking over the hotel industry. From Apple watch room entry, to robots now taking over luggage and receptionist duties, technology is quickly becoming the essence of the hotel industry. Having a successful hotel is now measured by the level of technology associated with that hotel.

The articles discusses about the eight major function of PMS. The PMS has become on of the key factors for the operations in hotels. The system literally connects all the departments of the hotel under one umbrella. It is easier faster and useful for any hotel organization. The PMS should include these 8 parts: Dashboard: The dashboard should be simple and easily understood by the employees, this will make the check in and check out process quick, even in restaurants the staff would be able to handle orders from the guest quickly. Sales and Cancellation: This will provide a better daily picture about functioning of the hotel rooms. Calendar: This function will help in tracking the booking, noting down occupancy for a particular day. Housekeeping: The housekeeping department would be able to have a proper track of rooms, dirty, clean, dirty vacant and occupied. The housekeeping staff would not have ton call at the front desk all the time to check status of a particular room. Best available rate: The system will give a broader image of rates which needs to be set for the future months, comparing the sales from previous years. Direct booking engine: This what all the hotels wants, to save commission which needs to be provided to the third parties.

This article talks about something similar that was discussed in our security and emerging technology module video. In the video it is discussed that hotels want to avoid having visible lines of security so guests do not feel threatened. In this article, it states that Disney Land and Walt Disney World have been budgeting more money for safety. But now Disney is trying to focus on how to make security more effecient, for example, they have recently changed their security checkpoints location in order to make it flow better for guests. Now checkpoints have even gone further away from Magic Kingdom and starting infront of the Ticket Center that is miles away from the park entrance. I guess this is creating a sense of safety for the guests as well as faster lines. Disney is even going so far as creating a PreCheck line like TSA for annual passholders that would create less security lines.

This article notes that many hotels have been the victims of cyber attacks. For example, in July of this year, the Four Seasons, Trump Hotels, and the Loews Hotels all had customer information hacked because of security failures. Furthermore, many of these resulted from vulnerability from the vendors. To address this issue, the article suggests that hotels should incorporate the following four actions: (1) Review data security policies; (2) Require vendors to take responsibility for their mistakes; (3) Analyze cybersecurity policies; and (4) Require brands and managers to test backup systems.

GDS changed the way airlines book flights. The process went from 90 minutes to a few seconds. GDS allowed agents to search for flights from multiple airlines. 

In today's fiercely competitive market adopting technology to grow your hotel business is essential, to avoid facing operational bottlenecks like Hotel A, unlike Hotel B who uses the latest technology to do smart hoteliering. This means getting a cloud based Hotel PMS which can easily integrate with a POS system that is also on the cloud. This translates into having all your hotel-related data under one umbrella in one single system, on one dashboard, giving you automation, accuracy, time and most importantly convenience. So during the stay, guests can order food from the restaurant, use the spa, the gym, the travel desk or the gift shop and pay for everything during checkout without being over or undercharged so both the hotel and guests remain happy and guests have a pleasant guest experience. In my opinion Hotel A needs to upgrade their technology to integrate the cloud PMS with the POS system also on the cloud and add other facilities to supplement revenue for the hotel when room occupancy might be down.