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55% of all leisure and business reservations are expected to be made online for 2013 (PhoCusWright), which means measuring and optimizing a hotel’s digital marketing is more important than ever before.

The average conversion rate for hotel websites is about 2%. In other words, approximately 98% of visitors to a hotel’s website leave without making a reservation. This suggests that the hotel industry could be doing significantly more to capitalize on visitors’ interest. It is imperative that hotels utilize the right data in the right way to paint a clearer picture of how their audience interacts with their marketing.

Hotel franchisors can also capitalize on trends in their data. For example, if there is a substantial increase in searches for a particular destination, brands can recommend that their franchisees in that location raise their rates because of the spike in demand. This could substantially improve the revenue that the franchise’s website generates.

Call accounting, the ability to track and analyze phone calls, was originally invented in the 1970s as a way for businesses to manage phone usage within their organizations. By the early 1980s it had been adapted to the hospitality industry, allowing hotels and resorts to more easily track guest phone usage, recover telephone costs, and generate extra revenue through the resale of phone calls.

During the 1980s and 1990s call accounting systems were in high demand due to the fact that hotels could often generate thousands of dollars each month by marking up long distance calls.

In today’s world, major business and hospitality organisations strongly suggest that their properties use call accounting systems, and many require that their systems are up-to-date and accurate. They do this for four main reasons: (1) to recover the cost of long-distance calls, (2) to properly allocate, account for, and charge customers for phone usage, (3) to generate revenue through the resale of phone calls, and (4) to track phone calls made to and from their property for marketing, planning, and other purposes, and especially for handling and tracking emergency calls.

The cameras can use facial recognition software to tell who's coming and going, and to home in on VIPs to whisk them to the front of a line or shower them with special treatment.

The cameras can use facial recognition software to tell who's coming and going, and to home in on VIPs to whisk them to the front of a line or shower them with special treatment.

The cameras can use facial recognition software to tell who's coming and going, and to home in on VIPs to whisk them to the front of a line or shower them with special treatment.

With futuristic systems like scent and iris scanners and digital facial-recognition, hotel security is being taken to the next level. #plain_module { width: 590px; height:170px; border: none; float:left; margin:0px; font-size:12px;} #plain_module img {border:none; width: 13px; height:14; border: 0px; margin:0px; } #plain_module .mini_main { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:585px; height:220px; repeat scroll 0 0} #plain_module .mini_item_header {padding:10px 0px; margin: 0px 0px; font-size:16px; color: #555555; border-bottom:1px dotted #CCCCCC;} #plain_module .mini_item {padding:5px 0px; margin: 0px 0px;} #plain_module a { color: #49A3CA; text-decoration:none; } #plain_module a:hover { color: #F98419; text-decoration:underline;} span.gray {color:#949494;} .mini_main li{list-style-type: none;background-image: url(http://www.aolcdn.com/travel/bullet);background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: 0 1px;padding-left: 10px;}

The new thing is contact-less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access.

But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether.

The popularity of VoIP has grown substantially in the last several years and the rise will no doubt continue.

With Hosted PBX, your provider handles the problems for your hotel through the cloud and monitors how the system is operating. Plus, you can enjoy quite a few features of a Hosted PBX setup. These reasons should cement Hosted PBX as a trend throughout 2015.

an employee's mobile device becomes the primary VoIP handset

Savvy businesses are aware that regulations do not have to be a negative restraint on their daily operations - in fact, they can offer opportunities to gain an advantage over competitors

In recent years however, environmental and social issues are emerging as a key risk issue for the lodging sector.

Companies that integrate the environment into their business decisions and reduce their environmental risk and potential liabilities are in a better position to secure investment and reduce their financial and reputational market exposure (Graci and Dodds, 2009).

Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers?

Investment in Hotel Technology Pays Off with Increased Group Revenue Tuesday, July 10, 2012 by Sarah Vining Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers? Virtual concierge service on guest room TVs At Hyatt Hotels with in-room HD TVs by Roomlinx Inc., guests are able make service requests, check email/weather, use the Business Center, print documents, and receive customized messages from meeting planners. Service requests like housekeeping and in-room dining are instantly sent through the system, improving the venue’s departmental efficiency. All of these virtual functions are hoped to appeal to new markets and drive group business. More efficient billing In the article, “Insert IACC blog post title URL” we learn that in 2012, meeting and group planners are prioritizing finance as very important during in their planning process (which made the top 10 list for the first time). Hotels making large investments in revenue management systems are taking advantage of new features that automate and process data to improve efficiency and increase revenue for properties. Virtual business centers Socialization through technology and food and beverage outlets is increasing revenue for TRYP by Wyndham in the NYC Times Square South property. Google TVs and access to Google Chrome laptops near the Gastro Bar in the hotel’s lobby offers guests an opportunity to enjoy a dining experience with the comfort of complimentary technology use. On-staff IT team When planners were surveyed, reliability was listed as a top concern of IT services in the white paper “What Do Planners and Trainers Really Want in Their Meeting Service?” All IACC-certified conference centers are required to have an on-site IT team to ensure technology functions properly. Now, the need for a knowledgeable IT team that really understands technology and can cater to individuals and group business is spreading to other hotel markets.   These impressive technology tools improve the guest experience and lead to a quick return on investment, especially in F&B. As we move beyond the discussion of required hotel Wi-Fi services, there will be a focus on technology amenities that provide the same comforts of home or the office. To increase group business, hoteliers are comfortable with this investment knowing there’s a return on investment with generated buzz/venue marketing and satisfied guests. Want to learn about other ways hotels are using technology to build relationships? Check out Enhancing Your Social Networking Site with a Social Concierge! to maximize social media and connect with guests, attendees and planners!

Oh sure, many companies have green initiatives. Apple in particular has made notable, documented efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, powering a majority of its retail stores and data centers with renewable energy, developing more efficient packaging design, and designing products that use less power than their predecessors. But if your products are going to be tossed out in a year, none of that is particularly brag-worthy. That’s a tremendous amount of wasted resources.

In the past, computers were designed to be relatively easy to disassemble, like HP’s towers and older versions of the Mac Mini. You could swap out dead parts and batteries, add more memory if it got sluggish, even replace a motherboard. But in the mid-2000s, things started to change. Apple introduced the ultra-thin, ultra-light MacBook Air and the industry enthusiastically followed with heaping helpings of devices that, while slim, were very difficult to repair due to the construction compromises required to achieve that svelte profile. Smartphones and tablets followed with an even faster purchasing and chucking cycle.

Therefore, the easier it is to disassemble something, the more likely it is to be worth someone’s time to recycle it. And that’s where issues arise

How to use proximity marketing without alienating potential customers

In the past couple of years, several advertising networks have begun offering location-based ads in the form of proximity marketing

This strategy involves serving content to potential customers when they're near a certain location, and it can be tricky to create relevant content that doesn't feel intrusive to users.

the most familiar check in kiosks are the ones at the airport used for printing boarding passes and checking luggage

Checking in at the kiosk typically takes only a fraction of the time normally involved to check in with an attendant

Check in kiosks have also been popular in hotels for guests checking in

More than 100,000 users log in to a Newmarket technology solution every day in over 150 countries. Newmarket continues to listen to those users by advancing the features and functionality of Delphi 2015 so customers can increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve guest satisfaction.

an enhanced reporting engine, and increased visibility to lead and RFP details via MeetingBroker, the pinnacle of RFP distribution platforms in the hospitality industry.

Credit card fraud and identity theft should remain high on the hotel and lodging industry’s radar. Just ask Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (including their Westin, Sheraton and W Hotel brands), Hilton, Hyatt and the Trump Hotel Collection, all of which were victims of highly publicized, major breaches in the hospitality industry last year. 

Hotels need a ‘toolbelt’ of various security technologies that can be used to prevent malicious attacks. A managed firewall is essential, blocking dangerous traffic from coming onto the network and preventing sensitive data from being exfiltrated, or sent, to the hackers.

In the breaches mentioned above, point-of-sale (POS) systems were attacked and malware launched to acquire cardholder names, credit card numbers and expiration dates.

it is vital that franchisors and their corporate security teams communicate franchisees’ contractual duties;

It’s you who may need to ensure all policies are upheld, that’s why it pays to provide incentives that will make it worth franchisees’ while to comply.

The study also reported that the cost for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information increased from an average of $154 to $158.

Ask any retailer, “What is a point of sale system?” and they’ll tell you—it’s the central component of their business; the hub where everything merges.

“A point of sale system is a combination of software and hardware that allows merchants to take transactions and simplify key day-to-day business operations.”

Software and Hardware Components of POS Systems As we look at the components of POS systems, it’s first important to understand the software options available and what each requires.

Hotels need cybersecurity: Although they don’t have the volume of transactions that big box retail stores do, their transactions are generally larger, and their guests have more at stake than just their groceries.

But the personal information hotels store is only part of what’s at risk.

Hospitality organizations need to understand their vulnerabilities, as well as how to identify threats to their guests, property and data.