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This article claims that the hotels are trying to apply and adopt cloud-based hardware and software as the developing of computers and smartphones. The article uses the Delta Hotel as a example, explaining how the software apply to the management and how it be updated. In the Delta Hotel, Micro Opera 9 hotel management software is applied to many supportable devices. Also, the software contains the original product, mixing with new functions and fashion designs. Some company now is developing the software and application based on the Cloud system. Hotel Concepts-Brilliant a company providing such kind of service to hotels by collecting just only monthly subscription fee. The software-as-a-service has some advantages such as cost less, upgrade in time, no extra up-front investment and no property software or hardware to maintain. iTesso，which includes the booking engine, interface hardware and mobile applications is available as a front-end service. Call charging, POS system, accounting and keycard system are also included. The client who uses this software is able to use functions such as dashboard, check-in, check-out and housekeeping.

Now that cloud computing systems have become more widely used, hotels are also turning to this emerging technology. Cloud computing is far more convenient than traditional methods and this article states: "Delta Hotels and Resorts is piloting Micros Opera 9 hotel management software, which works with popular browsers and tablet devices, including the iPad. Through the transition, Micros will release Opera 9 modules that complement, and add value to the current Opera V5 application." "Using the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, the iTesso Enterprise Lodging System eliminates the perpetual licensing fees that are standard with traditional, premise-based software. Instead, hoteliers pay a monthly fee per room for full use of the web-based system. The company claims that the SaaS model is more cost-efficient and offers perks like quick deployment, continuous upgrades, no up-front investment in either software or server hardware, and no property software or hardware to maintain."

In this article, the author mentions something about the online booking glitches happened sometimes. Although they are not a big deal, it affects consumers in some degree. First, the fare jump happens sometimes when consumers are booking their flights online. While they clicking the searching results, it will come out a price, the fare jumps after they click the price and they are ready to book it. For example, the price shows in the search result list is 582, when consumer clicks the price button and is ready to book it, the 'fare jump' happens at next booking procedure page. It always makes consumers a little angry but have nothing to do with it. I meet the same problems in the past when I booked the flight. Those spokesmen said that these are technical problems, those inventory systems, called global distribution systems, do not always have the freshest price information, which in some cases changes so frequently that between the time the travel agency site queries the distribution system for a requested fare and the consumer actually clicks on that fare, the prices could have changed. In my opinion, that's part of reason, staffs who in charge of the website is another big part of reason. Second, consumers also meet the problem of mix lower-class tickets into the first-class search results. That is the responsibility of e-travel agencies, because they mislabel or fail to label the fare on different occasions. It seems to be another glitches, but it will affect consumers a lot when they are booking. To sum it up, details determine success or failure. Even though these are tiny problems, in a long run, they will disappoint consumers and finally lose them.

Smart companies are taking full advantage social media by interacting with customers in innovative ways.With the advent of the Internet, marketers have access to the technology to customize products and communicate directly with smaller target markets. The Internet is now firmly established as a marketing tool. It serves as an integral part of the marketing mix, serving as a digital distribution channel as well as an electronic storefront.

Nice article. E-procurement solves alot of small everyday problems of hospitality industry. Not only does the Internet facilitate the sharing of information, it simplifies the process for the end-user as well, and reduces infrastructure and transaction costs. The shared nature of the Internet distributes the infrastructure costs across large groups of potential customers,

Romano's Macaroni Grill is rolling out to all 181 company restaurants a system that helps servers boost sales and guest satisfaction by combining data analysis with personalized coaching. Read more: http://nrn.com/article/macaroni-grill%E2%80%99s-interactive-mentoring-system-helps-boost-sales?ad=news#ixzz1lGb0JfiS

I really like this system cause it makes the management so effective. By using this system, manager will recieve information about the areas in which each server has room for improvement weekly which may help managers to figure out the potential problems in their management.

It is a so smart system that makes it easy to analyze and control the operation of restaurant. I think it helps manager save a lot of time and costs due to automated analysis of point-of-sale-system data and comparison with others! What a wonderful system!

"While the online marketplace is gaining ground in channel mix for hotels, especially for established hotel companies, the Global Distribution System (GDS) still contributes significantly to hotel distribution revenue-approximately 27 percent, according to TRAVELCLICK's latest eTRAK report. Also, GDS hotel promotions-appearing when agents search the air, car and hotel availability screens within their GDS-continue to have a growing influence on bookings, particularly in today's unsettled economy." The above paragraph is from the very beginning of the linked article. I believe it is a good summary of the topic that follows throughout the article. Global Distribution Systems have always been a must in the industry and have continuously provided hotels with direct revenues. One of the major and most important benefits to using GDS is that it builds reservations through influence. This influence, with the help of marketing, ads, promotions, and special packages, can differentiate your specific hotel and pull customers away from competing markets.

Considering the three R's--reduce, reuse and recycle--may be difficult in an industry that is known to change styles with every season. Kamilah Grace Cole, the founder of K. Grace, has always had a love for fashion and the environment. And she only uses sustainable, eco-friendly materials in its designs, everything from organic cotton to recycled hemp, silk, modal and buttons made from coconut shells. But the biggest challenge is still finding the right mix of textiles and materials. Compared to traditional materials Organic cotton starts with a non-genetically modified seed and there are no pesticides used, therefore the end product is safer and gentler. Hemp is considered a renewable source because it grows so quickly without pesticides and is a very durable and versatile fabric. Although it is a little bit expensive for the cost of the sustainable material, but all of us have such kind of the social responsibility to support fair wages, healthier farmers, cleaner water, air and a commitment to making the world a better place.

Great Article! The needs for green initiatives are important in any industry. Boeing's newest aircraft; the Boeing 787 is made primarily of carbon fiber composite material. It allows the manufacture to produce an airplane with less scrap. The airplane will use biofuel energy which will reduce emissions helping the environment. (http://www.newairplane.com/787/design_highlights/#/environmental-performance/environmentally-progressive-manufacturing).

The Basel Convention is a great step forward in controlling e-waste, the US still needs to get on board and deal with electronic waste within its own territory and not send it abroad to be dealt with. Once this happens then the reality of how much waste is produced will be evident and actions will be taken to reduce, reuse and recycle.

It is important for companies to get involved in protecting the environment. The need to ensure that we are recycling e-waste properly to protect our lands is vital. The government needs to mandate that technological companies protect the environment and force them to ensure that e-waste is being performed correctly. It is great to know that both Dell and Microsoft are working together to make this happen (http://venturebeat.com/2010/04/22/microsoft-joins-with-dell-to-tackle-e-waste-on-earth-day/).

Restaurateur's evaluation of machines purchased in move to automate noodle making process in business units owned. Owner reports that machines are working proficiently and cost of ownership provides good ROI vs human wages. Also mentioned were projected cost advantages achieved through greater economies of scale vs variable cost that would be incurred utilizing human-based alternative.

Foodservice automation technology: Robot Serves Up 360 Hamburgers Per Hour | http://bit.ly/18p0HoW SushiBot Serves Up An Order Of 3,600 Per Hour | http://bit.ly/14gEmg3 Foodservice automation technology issues: Fast food strikes NYC | http://nbcnews.to/175TET1

Noodle Power Rangers! Only thing I am worry about is the sanitation standards, not to mention you have no idea what goes inside that noodle dough mix. Other than that, cute little robot with automation technology in food production.

Travelport, one of the world's largest GDS companies reported about corporate travellers' preference and expectation. Visa informations is the top information followed by immunisations, weather, city maps, restaurants, and entertainment information. More customers, expecially corporate travellers want to book with ancillaries. The most commonly authorised ancillaries are extra baggage and hotel wifi. I've learned that the range of destination services and ancillary options grow increasingly and more complex. Because travellers' needs are evolving and yonger generations now expect customised content, intelligent itineraries and easily bookable ancillary content.

Restaurants use e marketing for a better market mix for their establishment. Today, it is very difficult to have a restaurant and not have a Facebook, twitter account, or even instagram. There are other e-marketing tools that have proven to be useful and boost business. One example this article focuses on is the use of websites more specifically, LivingSocial. They took research gathered from LivingSocial and analyzed the marketing practice. It shows how people respond to online and offline marketing tools/concepts. This allows for restaurant establishments to utilize this information. Enables focus to be on the best marketing tool for their business, rather than try to operate every outlet of e marketing.

It gives a discription of how nowadays'  hotels develop and use of their PMS. Some brands develop their own PMS such as Marriott and Starwood; some look more to the independent and resort market expanded their PMS. It seems that we don't need so much kinds of PMS and so many function. According to the analysis of the market and demand, it comes the conclusion that a well- designed, intuitive and well-interfaced PMS module is still the core of operational success at every property.

Gainey Suites Hotel is the hotel group who provide the upscale experience for the guests. The property generate good money through the highly effective online social medial marketing strategies such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Besides, the Gainey Suites Hotel targeted email and landing pages which helpful to the rooms booking. Last but not least, eMarketing is also make a big difference in occupancy because the promotions and packages from the 360 guest view which creative style to builds an unique, personalized image.

This article is a great guide for how a bar or restaurant can best use facebook to promote their business. Most of us are personal users of facebook but there are tools especially useful for businesses that will make your page more visited and legitimate for your guests. The article lists 20 tips for maximizing facebook, I think the most impactful would be how your page interacts with other pages. The business page can interact regularly with others, vendors, guests, neighborhood businesses. Participate in discussions that are relevant with sincere comments (not just shameless plugs) and participate in paid facebook marketing. Facebook is a marketing tool that can be more than superficial and can help businesses reach their customers where they are. Spending time on this communication channel is a valuable use of resources if done with strategy.

Jason Bradbury a technology expert and futurist spends a night in the Eccleston Square Hotel in London. He states how its a fine example of how smart technology can greatly enhance a hotel stay. Bradbury describes the rooms many technological aspects and reviews his stay entire stay. He states how technology will deliver what the future guest deires which is aunthenticity.

In this article, the writer informs us on how two system solution based companies are joining forces to give hotels the most accurate and up-to-date data on their companies transactions. These transactions includes the control of inventories, pricing of inventory, and forecasting in order to increase hotel revenue. This allows for hotel managers to better strategize their brand's revenue in order to create more informed decisions. The article highlights what both IDeaS Revenue Solutions and Springer Miller Systems do to support hotels. Many resorts already use both systems. The companies working together allows their solutions to become more streamlined for hotel establishments. Hoteliers largely focus on the guest experience, but are restricted in how they manage inventory and forecast. These tools will allow them to do both at the same time with less manual labor. It sounds like an expensive investment. It's important for managers to decide whether it's worth the investment and predict whether they will see a return on this investment. Thoughts?

Module 3: Networking (Rebecca Noble)

The topic of the article is about the use of Chatbot within the industry and how it could be valuable to e business. Chatbot is a messenger tool that allows for customers to communicate with someone to provide a more personalized and better customer experience when booking online. The article mentions that Chatbot is used on a variety of hotels, airlines and even booking agents to provide a different way of booking trips and experiences. It focuses on providing images, prices and descriptions to enhance the "online shopping experience." (Knight, 2018) The way Chatbot seems to operate through different partners by providing the guest with requests, transportation, last minute reservations and up to date information regarding hotels, airlines, etc. Knight takes into account the potential that Chatbot has in the future to help the hospitality industry grow earnings while positive service. Although, Chatbot seems like the newest way to appeal to those guests that are within the technology wave, i feel like apps like these are already implemented. It is convenient to have the information coming from one source, but hotels brands like Marriott have the mobile app and GXI where you can communicate with someone in assist with creating reservations, add requests and also create a profile that gives the hotel an idea of what someone expects at the hotel. The same goes for those airline apps such as American and Delta, providing similar services. What i do take into consideration is that bots like these where it be a direct bot or Chatbot are being used more and more daily to enhance the experience a customer receives which helps to increase sales for the industry.

Plate IQ has formed a partnership with Square announcing an integration with Square's new Restaurant service. Plate IQ's daily dales software enables restaurants to "automatically input guest payment data from Square for Restaurants into many existing accounting software platforms and create valuable summaries of daily transactions." This integration has multiple benefits including more accurate, faster and detailed bookkeeping and more efficient cost of goods sold management. At my restaurant, we use a very similar software to this called Avero. Avero is integrated with our Aloha POS system and the information is automatically inputted every morning from the day before. As a General Manager, I find software like this necessary to day to day operations. It enables me to generate reports on product mixes, individual server sales, categorical sales and even enables me to monitor labor compared to my revenue.

This article talks about the various ways virtual reality can be used in the hotel industry. VR can be used to entice consumers to increase their amount of travel, by immersing them in VR versions of almost any travel destination. The article also briefly touches on the use of VR for hotel booking and even training employees.

Very interesting read. I have always had mixed emotions as it relates to the use of virtual reality in the hospitality and tourism sector. On one hand, it is my opinion that virtual reality can add to the guest and consumer experience. Virtual reality can allow consumers to experience multiple levels of travel with the purchase of one ticket or hotel booking. While on the other hand, I am also of the view that virtual reality can limit the amount of travel and hotel bookings that can actually occur. Why would consumers travel to a specific location when they can travel virtually? The article highlights various ways that virtual reality can be used in the hotel industry. Technology is changing and the industry must continue to adapt and make use of the new trends and technological advances. I look forward to the future with virtual reality.

The use of VR as an augmentative tool in Hospitality and Tourism is virtually a non-sequitur. In an industry that is built on experiences its use and value is almost limitless. In of itself, no doubt we will see "Virtual Tourism" become an actual industry. I do believe the timelines being pushed forth by the article represent fairly conservative estimates even with the current limitations of the technology. Oddly it leaves out augmented reality, which is already seeing heavy increases in usage from previewing venues to experiencing the product before you try. With the current rapid progress and access of the technology to the general end user growing, we will see consumer driven adoption outpacing industry delivered implementations quite soon. Once driven by the desires of the consumer, not unlike the advent of the OTA, we will see the industry adopt much more quickly than I think this article presents.