Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

With both individual sites like American Airlines or bundle sites like Travelocity; everyone is jumping on the eCommerce train. And what better way to grow customer loyalty than with your very own app. Want to buy a plane ticket or rent a hotel room do it from your smart phone. Problem is how do you get people to down load your app. Well Facebook has figured that out for you. Advertise on their site and customers can install your app with a click of a button. No jumping to other websites and hassling with tricky downloads; just click and your off.

People with more buying abilities are will to pay for more to be environment friendly trips. There are several benefits for hotels to install solar.  1 Saving environment- reduce CO2 emissions.  2 Cut expenses- save running costs.  3 Marketing- it enables the hotels to attracts guests using only eco              energy.

This article discusses the different aspects of choosing the best PMS for a companies specific needs. It offers several points to consider when selecting a PMS including what features to look for and hidden cost traps. The first and main point in selecting a PMS is to identify exactly what it is you need. This will help to eliminate unnecessary features that add to the cost allowing you to focus on more useful features or collect the savings. This is a very good tip it seems because PMSs have many different options, some of which that wouldn't benefit certain types of business. It would be wise to consider all the features included and their necessity for this reason allowing more efficient programs or savings. The next points discuss several traps that PMSs can include like hidden costs and technical support problems. Sometimes products may require costly upgrades that you are forced to buy in order for the system to run properly. This is definitely a factor to investigate when choosing a PMS as it could result in significant expenses to a company. Also if technical support is needed make sure the conditions are fair. This is also important because when the technology breaks down it will directly effect the cost and repair time. These are all excellent factors to consider when looking for a PMS because they all effect the main focus: money.

You probably still think of it as a "cash register" - basically a fancy calculator and cash drawer that sits at the end of the shopping aisle just before the exit, which gives you the correct change on your way out. The modern point-of-sale (POS) system is a tightly integrated computer that almost certainly knows all about your buying history, how often you shop online and what you're likely to buy next week Computers can work out if you are sick and how often, the number of people you live with, if you have pets and can even make an educated guess as to your pregnancy status. One of the biggest shifts recently in POS technology is to make the "point" mobile. Apple stores have championed this. Its "associates" interact with their customers and finish the transaction on the spot. Now others are following. We will all see POS systems becoming more customer friendly and ever present in our everyday lives. So far the self-checkout has been targeted at consumers who have a little bit of pioneer spirit and plenty of patience.

The article highlighted states that every business should have a cash management system either POS or cash register. The traditional cash registers will be adopted by smaller business; however, more developed systems should use a POS. The cost could be high but the life expectancy of the system is very long. To make a decision about which POS system to choose, the decision maker needs to do his/her homework to determine the business' needs including how much it will grow in the future. The system will benefit the business to generate detailed reports, track inventory, easy menu updates and others.

With the development of technology, there are many softwares and machines help business imporved. The POS is a good system, which chould be used in the hospitality and retail industries. It has the ability to save money, quickly process a customer's transaction and accurately keep records. However, it charged more than installing a cash register. When considering about whcih one need to adopt, it's better for the business do a self analysis first. No matter what kind of technology we use, we need focus on provide personalized and customer focused service.

if the owner use the cash register, he can get the money directly. he does not need to take out the money out of the bank when he faces to the emergency situation. also the cash register is more reliable and more real. it does not have high risks of fraud and cheat except the fake money. compare to the POS system, the Pos system is convenient and easy operation. customers only need to swipe the credit/debit card that they can pay for the goods. so the customers do not need to bring much money when they are out of home. it is safe for the customers. nowadays, everywhere can receive the master card and almost everyone has one or more debit/credit card. this behavior promotes the development of POS system. easy to carry and consume make people use this way to buy the goods instead of using the money.

This article shares both the difficulties and advantages of obtaining a property management system for a hotel. You want to look for a PMS that can not only check a guest in but also function for all departments of the hotel and with other software that is used in the hotel. There are many details one needs to look at before buying a PMS for the hotel, for example what is the return on investment or will this system bring more revenue to the hotel. I believe that the right PMS for a hotel works many wonders both in revenue and being able to satisfy the guest.

AccorHotels, which represents 20 brands and over 240,000 hotels, is in negotiation to buy an 80% stake in John Paul. John Paul is a leader in loyalty solution in numerous industries. The company leverages its state of the art technology to do so. With the acquisition of the company, AccorHotels will acquire "the first technology enabled concierge, equipped with proprietary CRM and data platform based on a behavioral profiling and 360 personalization". Having this type of software on hand will allow the company to strengthen its brand by providing a better customer experience. AccorHotels hopes to do so by using the in depth profiling system and strengthening their CRM with data attained through John Paul.

Internet is to business today what electricity is to industry and good living, we had 1 of 5 people on the planet already connect to the internet. And how much information and we can gain from internet, and the bigger challenge today is to ensure those who are following you can catch up. In the hospitality industry, the rift between tech-savvy users and those who're just sitting up and taking notice of the Internet revolution is even more pronounced. E-commerce and e-marketing are just starting to make a mark in the industry, much like revenue management did a while ago. So the future of e-commerce in the hospitality industry is guaranteed to be a bright one. And the savvy hotel emarketer has a lot to gain, including room to grow. While, to create interest, excitement and buy-in at your hotels. The path to achieving these lofty goals, there have some issues and opportunities: 1. Create an online culture included habits, attitudes and belifes. 2. 'e'ducate: Audit yourself, identify key tasks and projects that must be completed to bridge the gap between where you are as a hotel and where you want to be in terms of eMarketing prowess. 3.Obtain buy-in, communicate and report: Ensure that the decision-makers at the property/ies support all significant projects and hotel department heads are involved if issues affect their department in any way. Implement practices for daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly communication to keep things consistent and regular. 4.Reach all levels: Perhaps the hardest thing to do in hotels is to reach and communicate at most (if not all) levels of the organization. One solution is to create an "eTeam".5.Go back to basics: Computer Access,understanding the role of the internet in the hotel business and learning what the Internet is and how to send emails to family and friends. 6. Rinse and repeat. Persist. Enjoy. You may not accomplish everything you hoped to…or get across to everyone, but each little success and each new person

Hotels chains as well as independent hotels are using retargeting as a way of making internet advertising campaigns more effective. According to the article one hotel brand said that the average returns of investing in retargeting are between 5-1 and 10-1. Retargeting helps companies to keep advertising to prospective clients even if they have already leaved the page. Advertisements are displayed to users as they visit other sites. According to John Hach, VP of e-marketing solutions for TravelClick, hotels are looking for ways of making advertisement more efficient and what better way of doing this by already knowing who is interested in your product. One of the main advantages of retargeting is that with a small investment and specific information hotels can give the impression that they are advertising through the entire internet. Although there are different media companies that offer retargeting, Google is the leader. Trough Google AdWords a code can be built in a website and when a customer leaves the page a cookie is installed showing they visited the page. After that the user is shown ads that are part of Google Display Network.

I'm trying to understand the re-targeting method explained here. So once the user leaves a webpage Google's 'AdWords' sends them an ad based on key words from the page they just left?

This article discusses how to select the right Property Management System (PMS) for hotels and specifies procedures that the hotels need to follow. The first step in selecting a PMS is that hotels need to foam an evaluation team that includes managers, staff from different departments, such as front desk, accounting, housekeeping, and IT, in order to make sure the PMS works for everyone. Then, the hotel should determine its budget, making sure they don't waste time for a PMS out of their price range. Once the budget is set, the evaluation team should conduct a needs assessment to ensure that they only buy features they need. Next, researching the PMSs that meet the hotels' requirements and fit the budget is necessary. This article emphasizes some key features, such as user-friendly design, guest-oriented functionality, integration with other system, etc., to consider when evaluating the PMSs. After the hotel has completed its research, they need to narrow the options down to top two or three, and to have the selected vendors demonstrate their products in front of the evaluation team. After all, the hotels can choose the right one which works the best for them. Competition in the hospitality business has been intense, so it is essential to invest in technology, such as Property Management System (PMS), to streamline operations, enhance guest service, and ultimately win competition over others. However, there are so many PMS options to choose on the market, so it is also critical to know what procedures to follow, and to choose the most suitable PMS for each business.

This article lists pros and cons of Cloud Computing for Hotels. What is surprising is that Cloud Computing can be costly as opposed to the common belief that Cloud Computing is a great cost saver. According to this article, if your IT resource pool is too big, it is less likely that you'll see any enormous financial advantage in outsourcing to the cloud. In addition, there is a method being used by hackers to increase your Cloud usage significantly and make you end up paying a lot for it. The method is called DDoS(Distributed Denial of Service). Even a low-level of this can keep your server busy and give you an enormous bill. Sure, these problems can be prevented and benefits of Cloud Computing can outweigh them. However, this technology is quite new, you need to think strategically before you pounce on  it.

This article introduced the result of a survey for the adaptation of cloud computing global wise. 68% of the global organizations want to adapt this new tech but 51% have concerns that their old system may not be enough for the adaptation.  Then the article describes the pros and cons with cloud computing and solutions for hoteliers.  The pros are : no need to buy many expensive hardware, lower maintenance expense and software installing and updating fee, Cons: security, which is the biggest concern, redundancy, and other things. 

This article indicates that there are three majors shaping our world between now and 2020. Those are the cloud, mobility, and Cellular Offload. We should determine the major trends, and then invest in solutions that align with those trends. Interestingly, it is mentioned some insights provide clues as which investments will be future proof to and witch will be risks. From hospitality perspective, equipment and maintenance performed by on-site or locally based staff, which is great for all owners. Also, It can be seen that the cloud allows investors to make big investments in its service.

This article introduced three major trends that we think will shape our world between now and 2020. The author thought one of the biggest challenges for any technology executive is predicting the landscape of toolsets and IT infrastructure that will be available in the future. The correct choice can last at least 10 years and there are three major trends, cloud, mobility and cellular offload. For cloud, the author thought it is good for hospitality. It holds the promise of relieving the hotel owner of responsibility for managing the operation and integration of premise-based systems, with associated costs for deployment, equipment and maintenance performed by on-site or locally based staff. Also, the author thought the mobility creates both opportunity and challenge. It can be used to both define new service models and revenue streams, and to improve existing ones. Today's challenge is that mobility requires massive investment in wireless infrastructure and bandwidth .Finally, the author thought as it is far cheaper for a cellular carrier to build or fund a Wi-Fi network, than to install an additional cell tower and/or buy additional spectrum, it is good news for hotels. It means that cellular companies have an economic reason to help fund hotel Wi-Fi networks.

This article talks about the acquisition of Restaurant POS system company, Breadcrumb, by Groupon. This will provide seamless service to all Breadcrumb and Groupon  customers. This will also allow Goupon to observe customer spending patterns which it was not be able to see before. 

This paper talks about choosing the right POS system for any given restaurant. In today's market top restaurants in general invest heavily in high technology especially in POS systems. There are numerous amounts of benefits a POS system can offer to the hospitality industry. In a restaurant setting, for instance, a POS system allows the business owner to run his/her restaurant more efficiently. In addition, orders are being taken quicker, customers get their foods and checks quicker, staff can serve more tables simultaneously, servers are prevented from giving free food to friends and family. Reports can be run throughout the day to keep track of items missing, food inventory, incorrect pricing, re-ordering products, and so much more. Fortunately, any small or medium size restaurant can buy and use a POS system for the purpose of growing the business. The rewards of this technology are huge. When buying the POS system, there some factors that must be acknowledged.

Just as a website can be the online brand identity, the ecommerce website enables the entrepreneur to successfully display information about their products and services.

The contention between these OTA's and Google is a bit confusing and requires further research, but I think what is essentially at hand is severe competition. Google Flight has implications to cross over into OTA territory, which puts GDS's in a difficult position: support the OTA's or enter another profitable partnership with Google. Amadeus seems to be backtracking on its stance regarding new Google Flight Search, originally implying forming a partnership with Google, and now stating it is taking the sides of "anti-Googlers Expedia and TripAdvisor.

This article deals with the theft that happens on a daily basis in the hospitality field. It happens when credit cards are used to pay for something, like a reservation, and thieves want the information, so they can use your credit card number for whatever intentions they may have. As the article states, "our data is under attack". I can relate to those people that have had credit card numbers stolen, because it has happened to my husband and me, and it is a horrible feeling trying to get your life back on track and recover your money.  I think it would be a great idea, with some research, to get the point to point encryption technology in a field where credit cards are used so often, not only to cover the business (hotel), but also to protect the guest, so they feel at easy when they travel on vacation or business.  The overall point of this technology is to encrypt the information as close to the point of entry, i.e. the swiping of the credit card, as possible. This would in turn "significantly reduce a merchant's card data environment", as the program would encrypt the information so that hackers cannot access the customer's information. As I mentioned earlier, questions should be asked before buying this technology, as there is always something new on the market that may be better. Credit cards are not always swiped, but can also be manually placed in the system, so you want to make sure, that both transactions are protected. Overall, the establishment should always be concerned about the customer and their safety, whether physical or mental and always be prepared for the worse.

Great article! Personally after being a victim of credit card fraud, I'm very apprehensive of where I shop, who handles my card and how long it takes them to return it. I recently cancelled a large purchased after the cashier insisted on rubbing my card number on the reciept after the transactions had be approved. In my mind, I was thinking "If I let you do that, then I've open the door for anyone to charge thousand of dollars. I don't think so." As a manager, who hands credit card numbers for manual input, I'm very cautious of them and want to insure that they don't get into the wrong hand. Aftern each transactions is approved, that number is shredded and the credit card machine is batched out. Companies don't realize how important it is to PCI compliant. The risk in exposing sensitive information of our clients and customers can cost thousand of dolllars in fines and fee, in addition to the lost of that customer/client.

Marilyn, Great Article...as a Front Desk Manager, it is my responsibility to randomly check our computers to ensure employees are not placing USB driver to collect data from our system. Our company has taking this a step further by putting metal locked case around the PC to avoid possible fraudulent activity. If we have to open a PC, we must log it to show proof why a PC became unlock. Companies should adopt similar procedures to protect the consumers/guests. Nelson

The Intelity's ICE is a new virtual concierge program, as a digital supplement to its renowned "GEM" (guest engagement manager) service, which is established in Mogans hotel in New York. By launching the Intelity's ICE, nearly all guests' requirements can be accomplished quickly, for guests can explore the amenities in the hotels, search for events in the city, buy tickets and communicate with the hotel working staff through an ipad in each room. Not only that, but the hotel managers also find it a great program to communicate with the working staff. To the hotel managers, they think that the program can enhance customer service and increase communication opportunities as well as heightening operational efficiencies

I found the mobile app to be most interesting because my article disscussed that as well. I feel that the mobil app will certainily create a unique experience for the visting guest. By going digital there are many benefits to not only the guests but the environment as well. There will be longer be a need for plastic room keys, or large amounts of paper. Hotels will be able to save expenses and man power by providing systems like the new virtual concierge program. In particular, you won't need to hire so many people to book reservations over the telephone. Everything can be done through the Ipad which most people have now a days anyway. However, I would feel better if there was trouble shooter around should the guest not be able to comprehend the technologic system.

Cloud computing is becoming more and more popular in today's business world. What are the main advantages that cloud computing can bring to Hospitality industry? Through the article I found the answer which are also the concerns of hoteliers that are a lower cost and a higher security environment. For instance hotel companies can be access to the latest version of what they are using without paying too much to buy related software. Secondly since the cloud is being used by federal government and financial institution which have higher level of regulatory requirements than most hotels, hotel companies can feel more safety in applying this high-tech in their business. But nothing is perfect. The author mentioned in this article that before we choose cloud service, we should get to know some information about the hospitality software suppliers. As for me I concerned about whether they have an offline mode which can continue the business activities for a while when the internet disconnection happens. For example how could hotels make sure the check-in, check-out, and reservation activities go on successfully when something wrong with the internet. The second concern for me is how could I get my data back if I discontinue my service in certain provider. Hoteliers should have ways to protect their data and other business activities. Cloud computing is developing very quickly and it will benefit us a lot only when we get to know the right way to use it.