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It will be an interesting experience that you can place a drink or food order with your special requirements and to pay the bill if using a card by your own iphone, iPad, or Android smart phone? The product, dubbed 'the waiter in your pocket, made this become true. The app uses a cloud-based system, hosted by QikServe, to receive orders, connecting with the restaurant's own EPOS system, so the front and back of the house can view the order as soon as possible. It is time efficient and cost saving. Since it is cloud-based, there are no hardware or software requirements for the operators. Besides the staff costs can be reduced to a large degree because a lot of work can be done by the system. We can also expect improvements in service quality for most of the causal restaurants or chain restaurants. Staff spend more time taking care of  each table with less time spent on ordering and cash handling. The system can help to capture consumer behavior and send target offers to them. QikServe is linked to social networking sites, so we can view feedbacks posted by customers directly. It is a good choice for casual restaurants and chain restaurants to apply this system.

This article is introducing the operational & accounting systems in Highpointe. This system is a blend of several systems and procedures which comprise one of the most valuable components in the entire organization, and one that its investors have come to trust and even admire for its thoroughness and accuracy. Specifically, it does all accounting in-house, including payroll. And the financial status of any property will be pinpointed at any time via real-time analysis. Investors can review financial statements 24-hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere in the world via website. Highpointe takes the concept of in-house accounting a step further by assigning each accountant full financial responsibility for a certain number of properties, rather than the traditional method. This practice not only saves money, but again keeps accountants fully in the financial loop. What is more, every hotel manager in the Highpointe group is responsible for meeting financial goals and objectives. Finally, every hotel is audited yearly. By maintaining a clear, concise and accurate account of the financial state of each property, investors can be confident they can bank on numbers.

The importance of sustainable ("green") construction and practices within the hospitality industry, and particularly the hotel segment, is growing. The U.S. Green Building Council is at the heart of LEED certification which establishes standards for and designates properties that are actively pursuing a more sustainable model. Consumers are becoming more ecologically aware and have made the "green" status of a destination part of their criteria when making decisions about where to stay. Hotels like the Hyat Hotels Complex in Chicago, the ITC Windsor in India, and the Tambo del Inka Hotel in Peru are chasing "triple-bottom-line wins" by implementing smarter designs like rooftop gardens, in-house water treatment/recycling, and sustainable local lumber sources for structures and interiors.

Point of sales systems are a business main tool for processing transactions. There are so many different software that business are using around the world. In the top ten reviews of 2017 some of the best POS systems will include new software updates. These system updates will be easy to set up and wont cost the business a fortune. The POS system in this years line up will be all formatted to suit a general retail business. With the exception that some businesses have specialized POS solutions for example restaurants POS systems have options to manage tables and deliver complicated orders to the back of house. Then you have retail systems that are equipped with the tools to help owners keep up with inventory. It's not easy ranking the best POS systems they are all compared by their choice of credit card processors since finding credit processors is the most difficult thing a business owner will make.

POS systems are very individualized and the businesses need to be careful to select the best one for their needs. It is such a large investment that making the wrong choice could have big consequences. It is best to choose the one with the most features for reporting, user support, and ease of use/programming.

This article mainly talks about the latest trends for in room service and track in-room dining trends in hotels around the country. Trend 1: Synergy between the in-house restaurant and in-room dining Trend 2: Organic and locally grown foods on in-room dining menus Trend 3: The return of comfort food Trend 4: Desserts are on the rise Room service appeals to guests for lots of reasons. Hotels should keep tracking on those trends and meet guest in room service expectations. In room service is an important part to enhance guest experience in a hotel.

I used Maestro in my first position in the hospitality industry as a front desk agent in a Boutique Hotel. We also used Micros for the POS system for the in-house restaurant but they were two separate entities at the time. I am happy to see the advancements that have been made to this now highly efficient system. After reading this article and doing some research on Maestro's website I feel Maestro outshines its competitors by providing excellent 'Diamond Plus' service to its clients. Compared to the Webrezpro system that I just analyzed for our Discussion assignment, Maestro provides several free tools and resources twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. An impressively North American based Help Desk is available 24/7 to ensure smooth operations of the system and optimal staff training. In addition Maestro provides install, staff training, transition assistance, refresher training, online tutorials, webinars, productivity audits, upgrades, enhancements and much more. Maestro management strategies collaborates with Hotel Executives and staff to increase performance, deliver high quality guest services and increase profits. Their professional team also addresses issues such as under-utilization of the system and ways to get the most value for your investment. Since Maestro supports platform and database independence updates occur instantaneously. To help Hotels save time, increase efficiency and have higher levels of staff productivity Maestro is the chosen tool for the job. Maestro clearly puts their clients' needs first and is therefore trusted by several Hotels worldwide.

Maestro appears to be a good product based on the article. I would say though that both this and webrezpro do have some similarities of operating on cloud computing. The key is that depending on cost and application a company may choose what works best for them.

With over 11% of U.S. adults owning a tablet computer, it's time for more hotels to get savvy with the trend. Utilizing an iPad or other tablet device in everyday practices at a hotel can be a rewarding, impressive, and fun way to interact with guests. Not to mention it can cut down on printing costs! Here are some ideas of how your hotel can use a tablet: Spice up the check-in process. Instead of the same old tedious check-in process, keep things interesting by showing your guests how tech-savvy you are.If they ask any questions about nearby activities or events, flip through a brochure on the tablet that will show them their options in a visually stimulating way. Show enticing photos on your menu.Guests can even order directly from the kitchen through the tablet.You can even take it a step further and use your iPad as a wine list at your in-house restaurant. Provide many in-room amenities.Software like that supplied by Intelity with just a swipe of a finger, guests can adjust the room temperature or turn on a light. They can browse area guides or place dinner reservations. Enhance your customer service. If a room needs more towels, the message can be sent directly to housekeeping. Guests will love the simplicity of the process and will enjoy being able to use iPads or other tablets to do something so straightforward.

In the article Mr. Lassana Tunkara talks about the positive impacts information technology has on the travel agencies, tourism industries and individuals that uses the internet. Everybody is becoming computer literate since it's the number one means of communication through the internet. Information technology has taken over the world. In the past if you want to book a vacation, you would have to find the closest travel agencies to you. You would spend a couple days in the travel agent office looking through brochures. With the advance in information technology, you can do so from the comfort of your home with just your laptop and an internet connection and logging to your desire website. The tourism and travel industry depends a whole lot on the internet as a means of communication, through emails and other forms of communications. With the advance in information technology cost is reduced, the speed at which information is transferred and retrieved has increased. Information technology has transformed the tourism industry, it changes the way the services are delivered and customers' expectations are much higher. With the internet all these industries are able to communicate with each other, such as travel agencies, airline, hotel and car rental companies. Doing reservation is much easier for everyone involve, it can be done anytime and anywhere without having to sit in a travel agencies office going through tons of brochures.

Sceptre Hospitality Resources, one of the hospitality industries leading revenue enhancement service providers recently announced that they will be using voice activated services powered by Thing5 LLC. Their switch over to Thing5 is largely due to the fact that this company has been one of the leading telecommunication providers in the industry. Sceptre is hoping that the quality service Thing5 offers will help them achieve consistant sales revenue growth. Thing5 offers a wide array of services including complete reservation office support, after hours reservation call support, as well as concierge and loyalty program services to guests.  I think that by utilizing the services Thing5 have to offer, Sceptre will continue to be one of the bigger revenue enhancement service providers in the industry. The many features of Thing5 voice activation systems will allow for a better customer service experience. Guests will have full access to reservation services  as well as in-house staff and will also be able to book at any time of day or night with after- hours reservation call support. 

Sceptre is a company that provides useful resources to resorts and hotels to optimize performance and service; thus increasing revenues. Thing5 provides users with control over voice and online channels to provide better security and has better reporting tools. The two are among the most reliable and popular in their lines of business and are working together.

NEW YORK, NY, Jun 26, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced the availability of Infor10 HMS Hotel Check-In, an innovative hospitality management application for the Apple(TM) iPad.

The Infor10 HMS Hotel Check-In enables check-in to run much more smoothly with staff now having the ability to provide room assignments, registration cards with online signature options, credit card swipes and hotel room key generation straight from the iPad. Our society is based now based around the use of technology in our everyday lives. Almost everyone has a smartphone these days and everyone uses it like their own personal assistant. The hospitality industry has to keep up with this growing trend and this is a step in the right direction. . "Enabling many hotel functions on mobile devices will help hotels better communicate, allowing them to respond to guest questions and needs in real-time giving them a leg up on the competition. Providing a more personalized experience to guests will help increase overall satisfaction, encouraging more repeat visits." This innovative technology is not just to increase customer arrival experience but also to increase operational efficiency. This device is equipped with the lastest technology that can connect the front of the house to the back of the house and basically throughout the hotel to ease communication. This tool is just one of many that I believe will be seen in the coming years in the hotel/lodging industry. It will increase the customer arrival experience and contribute to the increase of repeating guests.

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

Hotels are becoming more green world wide. MGM hotels is on board with a green initiative. Hotels electricity and water add up because they have to cool a building , clean and maintain the hotel. IT costs about 800 per room annually in electricity and water costs. MGM hotels reduced the electrivity they use which can help power 12, 000 houses. HOtels are also trying to reduce its carbon emissions. Although as the article states " its very difficult fot hotels to be trully green by their nature" every little bit helps.

SUMMARY OPERA Property Management System is fully integrated with all the OPERA modules and offers the most extensive list of certified interfaces in the industry. FEATURES: Reservation, rate management, profiles, front desk management, back office interface, room management, cashiering, account receivables, commissions, reporting, fully configurable, global perspective, hospitality system interface, opera express, tailored to fit hotel's operational business needs, scalable to suit the size of the hotel, helps operators to become more productive, profitable and professional, and delivers fast, accurate and online information on property

A lot of hotels use OPERA as their property management system. I have never personally worked in a hotel so I am not familiar with PMS's but from everything that I have read and heard from people is that OPERA is very efficient with everything. This system seems as though it can do everything for your property just the way that you would like it to. OPERA is customizable to your company's needs which seems great. This is a great website that you posted as it informs all of us exactly what this PMS is capable of.

On January 2012, President Obama announced an executive order that would allow travelers from Brazil and China to receive travel VISA faster than before. A study from Huffington Post.com showed that on 2010 Brazilians spent $5,400 per visit, more than any other tourist. This executive order will help increase tourism travel across the nation that will help the economy. The order will help the travel industry, retail and housing. The property that I work at Walt Disney World hosts the majority of Brazilians that visit Walt Disney World. You can spend eight hours in our lobby in the afternoon, and you can experience the amount of money Brazilian guests spend on shopping inside and outside Walt Disney World. Stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart are the most popular; online shopping has also become very favorable for guests. During the summer season, the hotel processed over 6,000 packages received from Amazon.com and other online stores that were purchased prior to arrival. It is amazing to see the items received and how much luggage guests take with them. With this economic boost, more job creations will occur. The most popular US cities visited by Brazilians are New York City, Las Vegas and Orlando (http://www.traveltobrazil.org/post/20-most-visited-places-by-brazilians-in-brazil-and-abroad.html).

The article introduced about the opportunities and challenges if the hotels want to expand their ecommerce in China. As the China Internet Network Information Center said, more than 500 million Internet users reside in China while it is still growing, hotels around the world believe that it is a big opportunities to develop their online distribution in China. However, although this is a big opportunities, there are also many challenges which can influence the effect. As the author said, the challenges are government restriction, language and translation and lack of adequate technology. As many hoteliers said, in china, it is very hard to develop its ecommerce. The key issue is the language, only the companies can find professional staff to translate the system into Chinese, the ecommerce can be used. Also, as Chinese credit limits are very low, most of the overseas travel transactions are completed offline in cash.However, hoteliers are trying to find solutions to beat challenges like hiring local marketing agencies or developing in-house marketing teams. Also working with local partners has been more used in the industry.

This article shows us the initial stage of web-based PMS launched by BookingCenter. It integrates Property Management Systems, Central Reservations and Global Distribution together, which is a simple yet smart application which minimizes the investment and common risks of PMS software and hardware. It displays most benefits, such as Flexibility * Transparency * Immediacy * Customization* Simplicity * Savings * Fixed Cost * Deployment * Standards* Security * Centralization. MyPMS makes it easy to manage rates via channel, tiers, sources, and room type from anywhere for the revenue manager. Besides, it is useful and easy to learn so widely, from front desk staff, to property owners, management companies and franchisors, to global distribution partners and individual and group guests.

I'd be interested to see how many other properties jump on board. I didn't see anything in the article about the software's ability for additional systems such as integration with rms and pos software. The property mentioned in the article must not have had a restaurant in the hotel or is fine with his rms system working independent of the pms.

Yeah，it just focus on introducing the advantages of the system. Actually in this software it accomplishes the following tasks: Reservations Guest History Group Bookings Guest Accounting House Accounting (house folios and reporting) Night Audit and Automatic billing Content and security control Inventory Sales and Packages Invoicing for Direct Bills Distribute corporate/AAA/AARP rates, net rates, Consortia rates, through all 4 GDS systems, Pegasus, and other networks Maybe I should have bookmarked two links.

Highlights: Several of the recycling initiatives are housed in the delivery area, where you can see the following not-so-glamorous but significant processes: -The collection of aluminum, plastic and glass for recycling. -Baling cardboard so it can be hauled and sold. -The collection of office paper to be sold for newspaper manufacturing. -The containment of waste cooking oil to be sold to make biodiesel fuel. My Descriptions: The author had a back-of-the-house tour of this hotel in the 140 acres of Palm Beach island, and she regard it eco-tourism. She found this hotel separate different trash in different box, and then sell this recycling materials to local supplies. One special thing in this hotel is that Native drought-tolerant vegetation has replaced more exotic flora. This hotel also has an organic and vegetable garden providing its restaurant with fresh organic produce.The reverse-osmosis plant and 1,100-foot-deep well treats unusable salt water to be used for irrigation of The Ocean Golf Course. It is really a concrete example of a hotel present its green initiatives. This idea can be widely used in hotel landscaping and purchasing.

This article reveals that Revel Systems is expanding its point-of-sale products with Beautiful Brand International. Revel Systems is well-known for creating the mobile point-of-sale system for Apple used by numerous restaurants and retails. Other popular restaurants currently partnered with Revel Systems are Camille's Sidewalk Café, Dixie Cream, FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafe and Rex's Chicken. This POS system provides a quicker checkout option for customers and offers hotel/restaurant managers the option of powering the software using the cloud or an iPad application. This provides the company a cost efficient, easy to use program that has the ability to customize payroll, track inventory, email receipts and allow customers to make orders online. Most managers who invest in this program make it a requirement for all their companies to utilize in order to provide a systematic approach to maintaining their database and ensuring all locations are managed the same. This is such a popular and competitive tool that Revel is already making $80 million since its origin in August 2010. A major advantage of this system is that it provides the ease of accessing documents with its reliance on servers hosted in the cloud. These systems are quickly being adopted by restaurants mainly because customers are impressed with the style, speed and reliability. Revel Systems forces busineses to upgrade their POS systems in order to meet security standards. This will result in a $34 billion POS market by the end of 2012. Companies selling these systems make businesses believe they need POS systems in order to run their business efficiently. They explain that with servers hosted in the cloud, management is enabe to see data in real time from any location.

The article talk about a POS company that has developed a complete system for retail or restaurant stores that runs on the IPAD and the Cloud. It lowers the entry barrier by more than 75% compared to a regular MICROS POS system, they do this by not having a in house server and using standard hardware.  One of the advantages of using this system is that you can monitor your sales real time on any location that might be using the system.