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Every year hotels come out with newer more advanced ways to make your stay more comfortable. In some hotels gone are the days of getting up and turning off the light or calling and trying to get services via the telephone. Remembering to put out the Do Not Disturb sign is now a thing of the past combined with remote systems and keyless entry already out and being used it makes one wonder what they could possible think of next.

This article tells us about 10 new innovations in the hospitality world. Mostly it is talking about some innovations in the hotel industry such as face recognition at the registrations, voice-controlled rooms, and smart amenities.

this article talks about how gamification is impacting the Hospitality industry.

This article focuses on six trends that are redefining the hospitality industry. These trends are; gamification of travel planning, virtual reality tours, going contactless, chatbot as digital concierge, IoT for room control, and location-based services. Companies must evolve in the world of technology in order to meet customer demands. In effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers now prefer self-service such as contactless check in. The incorporation of this technology, minimizes huma error and maximizes efficiency. Gamification of travel planning: By using game like templates in their websites, travel companies are able to capitalize on human motivation. When customers able to get rewards, brand awareness, customer loyalty, and revenue are improved. Virtual Reality Tours: Virtual reality tours help travelers to enjoy their future destination before they arrive. They also help with brand experience as they create mental imagery and presence. Going Contactless: Contactless check in, mobile keys, and digital payments all increased by 66 percent due to the pandemic. This however, is here to stay as this decreases staff dependency. Chatbot as a Digital Concierge: Chatbot is a simple way to meet guest demands 24/7. With FAQ, guests can get an answer to their question in a matter of seconds at any time of the day without needing to leave their room. IoT for Room Control and Customization: IoT allows guests to have a home away from home by personalizing their rooms by changing the color of the lights, temperature, etc. Location-Based Services: With location based services, travelers are able to find activities and amenities wherever they are staying. This can offer more intuitive local recommendations without needing staff assistance.

Hello Alejandra. I really enjoyed reading this article, thank you for sharing! Although I am a germaphobe, and number three (Going contactless) appealed to me on a certain level, the points that stood out to me the most were; number two (Virtual reality tours) and number four (Chatbot as a digital concierge). I am one of the individuals who check reviews of places before I make a reservation but taking the virtual reality tour would give me more assurance of the property because individuals have different expectations and standards so what may be appropriate for them, may not be for me. The Chatbot as a digital concierge is quite convenient for both guests and hotels, hence it will ensure a more comfortable and relaxing stay.

This a great feature, meeting planners can communicate with attendees and they on the other hand can manage their stay. It can be a great marketing tool for the hotel as well it provides them the opportunity to up sell, either by room upgrades or extended stays. 

Most hotels can be entered without any restrictions. When traveling on business or pleasure, your hotel guest should feel safe and relaxed while they stay in your hotel. The hotel has to offer custom hotel security officers and patrol services, according to the location, image, and clientele of the hotel. Most international hotels have spent a considerable sum to ensure your safety and security. Fire safety equipment, CCTVs, and security patrols are often part of the hotel's security plan. Regardless of the level of security provided by the hotel, you need to become familiar with certain aspects of the security profile of the hotel. This will take on increased significance when you may be forced to stay at the only hotel at a particular location.

This article spotlights this new virtual concierge system that is used in the hotel sector. The Petit Denit virtual concierge service is located in the hotel reception and was initially an application used for the home and now was adapted to the hotel sector for the first time in Barcelona. The Petit Denit "allows the hotel reception to create a small tourist guide tailored to each guest." This a fast system that allows the hotel to print instantly a customized guide for each guest on all the tourist attractions in the city. I think this saves time and money for the hotel because you have a small machine doing the work of an individual. When the staff is busy, this allows the Petit Denit to do all the work and satisfy guests staying at the hotel. In addition, it's practical because the design can be adapted to mobile devices and tablets since we live in a world that is very technologically advanced and everyone is always on their smart devices. Finally, it's important that the hotel sector stays on top of every technological advance because there is a lot of competition.

As hoteliers, the development of hotel is very important. While, as the premise of development, the security is the first consideration whatever you work in the industry and also when guests stay in the hotel. As the development of society, hoteliers are constantly renew their new technology for the safety and security of property.     The security staff should have confidence to build a secure environment for employees and guests. But they often are challenged to the hilt to be professional in distinguishing between the real guest and con-men.     To the guests' point of view, before they choose the hotel, the security of the hotel is an important aspect the guest would require. The travelers also stay with confidence for their stay. So an important factor that should be seriously thought of is the web-site in which you market and sell your hotel.

GrandStay Hospitality has selected ZDirect for its eMarketing and eCRM provider. ZDirect also has ZMail which includes Mobile Passport, SMS Messaging, Apple Passbook, and Responsive Email Design. According to Jon Kennedy, president of GrandStay Hospitality, ZDirect has an impeccable reputation in regards to their services and customer successes. He believes that ZDirect will give it the leverage needed to help the "small, transitional" company quickly grow. The tools of ZDirect and ZMail will "enable each property to send electronic guest confirmations, pre-arrival email promotions, post-Stay satisfaction surveys", which will allow the hotel and its guests to communicate. This two-way communication will help to increase revenue and maximize profits.

eMarketing is a great way for smaller companies to grow in the hotel industry. But if planning to run eMarketing all on your own it can get costly. The amount of severs, maintenance, and man power to run a successful eMarketing campaign is more than a small hotel chain can handle. Allowing a third party company like ZDirect to come in and help orchestrate an eMarketing campaign is a great solution for smaller hotel chains a chance. 

Technology is changing our lives and experience. This article is a detailed description of how your lodging experience will be if you stay in a hotel with flashy iPad tablet.You can talk to the staff about your needs in basically all the services including room service, consulting and housekeeping. It will save your time on checkout by providing iPad POS to the tablet.People will get an unforgettable experience because they do not need to wait in line which may take a long time.

The article introduces a new approach to experience a technologilized hotel stay. Having a iPad in hand with the app designed for the hotel, guest is able to check-in/out, order room service, order cab, change the room status, call housekeeping, find surrounding spots, and more. There is not need to wait in lone line or be hold on a phone call.

This article talks about some of the key digital marketing trends that hotels should implement in order to stay relevant. OTAs continue to dominate the market offering competitive pricing. Hotels need to ensure rate parity is in play and that they are setting themselves apart from the OTAs. Social search optimization and social media marketing are becoming more important in today's society. Hotels need to ensure their posts are social search optimized in order to have better placement in Google searches. They can also choose to advertise through social media platforms. This article also states that mobile optimization is more than just a trend. Travelers are increasingly using their mobile devices to play trips including booking hotels. Hotels need to make sure their websites are optimized so guests can easily make reservations. This article also recommends that hotels feature special offers for those guests who book using a mobile device. This is key for setting themselves apart from OTAs. Video marketing is the final trend discussed in this article. Creating videos is a great way to stay relevant and also connect with guests. Having videos on your website also helps your social search optimization because guests will typically spend more time on the site, which ultimately improves your ratings.

In 2016, hospitality marketing MUST include e-marketing in order to stay relevant. E-marketing methods should take into account social media marketing, as well as mobile compatibility and videography to increase traffic to your sites.

For travelers on the go, one frequently encountered frustration is the poor quality of WiFi signal in international destinations. This is especially true for business travelers.This frustration can be remedied however. by providing travelers with WiFi range extenders such as the TP-Link N300 Wifi Antenna. They can plug right into a laptops Ethernet port to extend its WiFi range by 200 yards or more! This represents an easy fix to a common problem for travelers and one that hotels should be looking into providing to guests. (It should be noted however, that more powerful AC technology is now available, replacing older N version network tech.) Providing this to guests would greatly enhance their quality of stay. Nicholas Reynolds- Hospitality Enterprise Technology Online

I agree that a good wireless connection is vital to reaching customers and can really effect their stay. Connectivity has become such a big issue that it is in most hotel's customer satisfaction surveys as a metric for how the hotel is doing.

This would definitely be beneficial for those whose job requires them to travel and to be constantly connected to the internet. Unfortunately in the world we live in not only is this important to business travelers but can also be important to families that are traveling on vacation where parents can not fully disconnect from their jobs. We all know the importance of receiving emails and txts from work that can be vital to your career.

This article talks about some of the creative ways hotels are going green. As more and more guests are looking to stay at environmentally friendly hotels, properties have to go beyond just offering a towel initiative or just using LEED lights. Hotel chains like Kimpton, The Charles Hotel, Starwood, and Calistoga Ranch are all coming up with new ways to be more eco-friendly. About five years ago Kimpton Hotels implemented a complimentary bike service. Guests are able to check out the bikes and use them to navigate throughout the city. As this service became more popular, Kimpton started investing in more bikes at each property. The Charles Hotel in Cambridge Massachusetts offers a similar program for guests. Their program started eight years ago when they purchased a property in Boston. The program enables guests to experience the city, all-while being environmentally friendly. Hotels are also finding new ways to be eco-friendly with their food and beverage options. The Charles Hotel actually operates a farmers market on-site with local fruits, vegetables, and meats. Other companies like Kimpton focus on offering sustainable seafood in their restaurants. Kimpton has removed whale, turtle, and shark fin from their menus due to environmental concerns. Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley has come up with a creative way to reduce their carbon footprint when it comes to yard maintenance. About 11 years ago, they brought in babydoll Southdown sheep to graze on property in order to reduce their usage of lawn mowers. These babydolls help Calistoga Ranch reduce noise and reduce usage of gas-powered lawn mowers. Guests love to visit with the baby sheep, which is an added benefit. Hotels like Kimpton, Starwood, The Charles Hotel, Calistoga Ranch and other have to come up with more creative ways to be eco-friendly as more and more guests identify that this is important when considering where to stay.

This article talks about the future trend of the hospitality security, which is technology is opening new doors to hotel safety.  The author introduces some different technologies such as Contact-less Smartcards and RFID that hotels like New York's Plaza Hotel are currently using. Finger print or cellphone wipe technology is also used instead of card, which should be more safe. Some hotels even use video-capture systems to make sure the security is perfect. After introducing these technologies, the author also talks about the privacy issues. Because some customers are not willing to be on cameras. However, though some of them are concerning about this issue, an expert predicts that new security measures will eventually become such a part of everyone's everyday lives that he or she will become the norm. All in all, this article gives us the trend that more and more technologies will be used for hotel security in the future.

this article talks about new technology that is being implemented throughout out US and the world. Old key cards are now going to be replaced with even older standard keys or the radio frequency identification card that can be waived in front of the door to gain access. Also, there is a technology that will sent an encrypted sound text to guest;s cell phone, which when played back will open the door.  It talks about technology that tracks all employees, guests and their luggage.  There are several concerned that travelers have about their privacy, but article stated that it all depends on the type of the traveler.  Also, the face recognition technology used in Houston's largest hotel remembers guests names and when they return, guests are greeted by name.  Article concludes that even with all this technology, the best security is provided through interdependence of travelers and employees.  

Technology in the hotel travel and tourism industry will be changing drastically in the near future, from the swipe of a cell phone, print of a finger, facial recognition, iris scanners, security is going to be taken to the next level. the plastic key cards will soon no longer exist. Radio frequency I'd cards are the new thing, where guest will use this for preferences for everything, from charging things to your room, preference of floor type to pillow choice, chick in and out etc. systems that track the other qualities of a person instead of using a key or card are in development as well. There are research going on how to open the door and. Lose wi just the persons walk and movements. Some people think these new security technologies are awesome, while some think they are not, people dont want to be watched 24/7while on vacation they just want to enjoy there stay. But in today's society all travelers are becoming interdependent on each other for safety and security.

One of the hottest negotiation issues now a dyas is to stay green in whatever field of industry you're working at. That includes the Hospitality Management as well. In the hotel business one of the very basic, at the same time very important need is providing Hot Water. With the help of new sustainable hot water technology, the hotel properties can provide hot water without any trouble even during the peak hours while saving money!  These Solar Thermal heating Systems figured out to be very cost effective and practical that quickly began to rise interest between hoteliers.  In this way , they not only save energy and help our planet to stay green but also help them to save their budgets to be spent on some other parts. 

According to WTO more than %60 of the travelers take trip to United States every year. This huge percent though rises interest in the field of Hospitality but makes it a little bit challenging here . It's been quite a while that travelers regardless of their nationality, search for tourism destinations, reserve their hotel and arrange their trip schedule online. That is why the hoteliers should pay close attention how and where they are presenting and advertising their hotel online.This article mentions a number of strategies both short and long term. It is mentioned that you as a hospitality manager  should know that your website plays a very important role in introducing, presenting and encouraging international visitors to your hotel. One other important factor mentioned here is that your website should be user friendly not only as a matter of being simple to figure out what is what but also have different languages to satisfy different nationalities. Besides, it would be very useful for hotels to offer different packages for various tastes.No matter in what sector of travel and tourism you are involved in order to present your business you need to keep online! 

In this article by USA Today, David Grossman stresses the importance of recycling everything from plastic, to aluminum, even to grocery bags. In California, not only do they recycle the usual newspapers and bottles, but they also dispose of batteries, light bulbs and other hazardous materials that could do extra damage on the environment. Across the country hotels are taking basic measures to protect the environment by maximizing the recycling of towels, and bed linens, but in this article Grossman goes into great detail about the different hotels across the country that has taken extra measures to "go green". For example, The Kimpton Hotels based in San Francisco has equipped every room in in the 40 hotels nationwide with recycle bins and installed water-efficiency faucets, toilets, and efficient lighting. They also have implemented the use of non-toxic cleaners which not only benefits the environment, but also the employees because they are not constantly handling harsh chemicals and ammonia based cleaners. Like the Kimpton hotel, the orchard hotel in San Francisco has replaced these same dangerous cleaners with biodegradable cleansers made of fruit based essences. They have also added low emissions wallpaper and carpets, along with a key card control system that shuts off the electricity when guests leave. By hotels across the country doing their part, we can slowly eliminate the negative effects on the environment.

I agree with the different conservation methods because we have limited resources in the world, and we need to protect them.

I believe eco-friendly practices are necessary in today's world, especially in the hospitality industry, and the writer addresses very valid points. My question is this: is this practical for the industry as a whole? When do we come to the point that we need every hotel to be completely "green"? Over the years, being eco-friendly has become more prevalent across the board, but how do you encourage travelers to consistently be green? For that matter, how do the hotels with primarily transient stays (1-2 night stays) stay afloat in the battle to stay green? They are constantly using large amounts of resources required to clean and maintain their respective property, and constantly having new guests.

This article talks about the nexus reservations software and how it makes the lives of hotel managers much easier. Some of the things mentioned within the article are that the system is a quick and simple way to make reservations, saving the hotel manager time and money. Another great thing that this system is able to do is keep in touch with people that have already stayed at your establishment. Nexus reservations has the function of emailing previous clients and keeping in contact with them by sending birthday wishes or letting them know about upcoming events. Another important aspect of this article is that it talks about the company service that Nexus provides. Reservation Nexus is 100% web based and can be accessed at work, at home and on vacation. There are no additional costs for having it on more than one computer in your business. There is no software to install so there is no limit to its potential. It removes the headache of dealing with updates and the fear of possibly becoming obsolete. Reservation Nexus is a living system, with new innovations every quarter. With Reservation Nexus , you avoid having to buy a new software version every couple of year

This article talk about the PMS system in Middle east recent years. It is an important time of year for the hospitality industry in the Middle East. The region's industry has witnessed a strong recovery of 78.6% occupancy rates over last year and the holiday season continues to hold tremendous promise of high tourist traffic and increased occupancy. With the highlight of the year- Dubai Shopping Festival 2012 fast approaching, hoteliers need to brace themselves for round-the-clock services as they run at nearly 100% occupancy. Here will be integral for them to relook at existing business procedures to ensure efficient use of resources and enhanced guest experience. Technology is a key driver of business growth for the hospitality sector across segments. While hotels leverage technology, hoteliers need to remember that mere adoption of innovation does not suffice. Effective implementation of required hardware and software proves beneficial only if the hotel ERP is adequately aligned with the hotel's business needs. In 2010, tourist arrivals to theMiddle East increased by 14%, registering a total of 56.6 million tourists. The positive outlook of the year ahead will place an impetus on the adoption and implementation of CRM tools as well. Luxury hotel chains in theMiddle Eastalready offer rewards and loyalty programs for customers, however, with the advent of social media, CRM tools have been revised to track discussions and reviews on hotel properties. One of the key challenges for large hotel chains is to stay connected with their managers on-the-go. Hand held devices like PDAs enable hoteliers to stay connected with ongoing activities at their property and an integrated PMS system sends out automated updates to improve communications.

This article provides an interesting idea regarding technology and staying ahead of the curve. Since technology is evolving at such a rapid pace it is impossible to keep up while staying within a reasonable budget and pleasing the guests. Instead this article introduces the idea that instead hotels should be a platform for the users of technology instead of being the one with the latest technology.