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As the technology develops so fast, this kind of software will be more and more popular through people who want to travel. And this kind of software really brings lots of profits for the firm. What is more, Apple is really a strong company! : )

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.

Cloud-based software delivery has the potential to open new markets and new sources of significant revenue for ISVs.

Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group have combined to build a new serach site-Room Key.The site is essentially a metasearch platform for properties, prices and availability across all six companies, including their sub-brands and affiliates. Users can browse rates across every property, read independent reviews, compare prices and share information around their various social networks. Some same type search sites were lanuched before Room Key was lanuched. However, most of them were failed. Fortunately, Room Key is in a very different era in hotel distribution and marketing, with more channels than ever before and the emergence of big and potentially very influential players, such as Google.

computer security is definitely still a "hot topic." But why are we spending all this time and money and still having problems? . Systems based on "Default Permit" are the computer security equivalent of empty calories: tasty, yet fattening.The most recognizable form in which the "Default Permit" dumb idea manifests itself is in firewall rules.Another place where "Default Permit" crops up is in how we typically approach code execution on our systems. 2.Why is "Enumerating Badness" a dumb idea? It's a dumb idea because sometime around 1992 the amount of Badness in the Internet began to vastly outweigh the amount of Goodness. "Enumerating Badness" is the idea behind a huge number of security products and systems, from anti-virus to intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, application security, and "deep packet inspection" firewalls. 3."Penetrate and Patch" crops up all over the place, and is the primary dumb idea behind the current fad (which has been going on for about 10 years) of vulnerability disclosure and patch updates. 4.Hidden in Parker's observation is the awareness that hacking is a social problem. It's not a technology problem, at all. "Timid people could become criminals." The Internet has given a whole new form of elbow-room to the badly socialized borderline personality.If you're a security practitioner, teaching yourself how to hack is also part of the "Hacking is Cool" dumb idea. 5."Penetrate and Patch" can be applied to human beings, as well as software, in the form of user education.Dealing with things like attachments and phishing is another case of "Default Permit" 6.There's an important corollary to the "Action is Better Than Inaction" dumb idea, and it's that: "It is often easier to not do something dumb than it is to do something smart."

"Technologies and evolving social values and trends will combine to establish a new era of collaborative travel over the next decade and beyond , according to "From chaos to collaboration: how transformative technologies will herald a new era in travel" a report developed by The Futures Company and commissioned by Amadeus."

Article discusses a new study recently commissioned by GDS Provider Amadeus outlines the Future of Travel. Article summarizes in six key areas where technology innovation can be deployed. I am in total agreement that depth of experience rather than breadth of experience will transform the travel experience. Social check-in apps like SCVNGR and game mechanisms can enhance the visitor experience in a destination greatly. I was under the impression item #4 had already happened with the rise in use of social media and user generated content review sites like TripAdvisor, but the article maybe supports that this is a trend not likely to go anywhere soon. Those who wish to read the study can access it here directly... http://new.amadeusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/From_chaos_to_collaboration.pdf

This article introduced the new website of the Four Seasons Hotel, what the new functions are added to the new website, and how the new website help the hotel attract new customers. There are some differences between the old hotel website and the new one. Six key features of the new website can respect the strengths of the new website which are Ease of booking, On the go, Access to review, Every property has a story, Location and Personalization. Four Seasons Hotel also unveils its Four Seasons Luxury Trend Report. Some of the insights from the report include: Luxury is back, Branding moves to the social sphere, E-commerce is king, The rise of the iPad. Nowadays, most customers choose to use website to get to know a hotel, so the website has a great meaning for the hotel. The website not only needs to have enough information, images, but some unique functions to attract customers and provide better service through the internet. Like the Four Seasons Hotel's new website, it allows for multi-destination, multi-hotel, and multi-person reservations, it will paint an authentic picture of the local culture, and it will collect guests' personal interests, related content and recommendations, this information will become available on a guest's next visit and over time, delivering a completely personalized experience. Four Seasons Hotel notices that E-commerce is the king, as Seventy-eight percent of the affluent participate in social networking sites, with more than half using social media to connect with a brand. The luxury consumer is increasingly going online to research and make purchases. It is important for the hotel the keep up with the latest technology such as the iPad. According to the Four Seasons Luxury Trend Report, One-third of wealthy consumers own a tablet or e-Reader. Four Seasons revenue generated from the iPad and other tablets has grown 200 percent from 2010 to 2011. The new technology has a close relationship with the hotel and the e-business.

As the title, this article is talking about that the MAESTRO PMS was selected by 3 multi-property groups and six independent operators for peak efficiency. They recognized that Maestro PMS increases revenues by cross-selling from single database, perfectly runs two hotels on one system, ties all operations together and the guest history and analytics solutions enable hotels to provide more personalized service.

Good to see more properties take this approach with the goal of more personalized service. The cross sell opportunity is one of the biggest benefits I see...

Hotel de Paris in opulent Monte Carlo, Monaco pleasantly surprises as a forerunner in the hospitality industry's green revolution. Prince Albert II leads by example after having a 'sustainably' lavish wedding using local and fair-trade products. Even though "mullet carpaccio" does not sound delectable to me; I am sure world renowned Chef Alain Ducasse knows how to transform the ordinary into extraordinary. Prince Albert II went so far to even have his cows supply the milk for his ice cream dessert, I call that dedication. With such excellent leadership and funding in the green initiative the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation addresses three major environmental issues: climate change, biodiversity and water consumption. Because of the Foundation visitors to Monaco participate in the green initiative with or without their knowledge. The casino, four hotels, several restaurants and spas all educate their staff on how to "be green." Hybrid shuttles, organic farming, reclaimed watering, on-site herb gardens and the banning of bluefin tuna are all examples of how the hospitality industry in Monaco has gone green. Monaco's will and initiative in the green revolution is inspiring. I hope that every hotel worldwide can try to adopt some of these practices and look to Monaco as a role model.

Six of the world's leading hotel companies, Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International Inc. and Wyndham Hotel Group, launched Roomkey.com, an innovative new online hotel search engine. It enables consumers to search and book directly with the hotel, and it gives consumers confidence that they have made the right choice by providing accurate hotel information straight from the source. The brain behind this project is John F. Davis III, Chief Executive Officer of Room Key, who is a highly experienced hospitality industry visionary with a history of entrepreneurial successes. The technology platform for RoomKey.com was acquired from hotelicopter, an innovative flexible hotel search and direct platform, which allows Room Key to evolve and enrich the user experience quickly. Additionally, hotelicopter's affiliate platform provides destination marketing organizations with a hotel marketing platform that helps drive more direct bookings to their local hotels, now under the Room Key Solutions brand. Shafiq Khan, Senior Vice President of eCommerce, Marriott International, said, "Room Key's new and unique offering will embody the best of what hotel company websites offer consumers, giving them confidence in their booking decisions - a personalized and welcoming experience that offers flexibility, accuracy, and benefits of booking with the hotel companies' proprietary sites." Now is time for consumers to use new "Rom Key"and make their way to hotel rooms around the world.

The article informs people about the hotel data issue maintenance of GDS, which was developed to transfer availability changes from hotel CRSs to the GDSs. However, the next challenge was to automate the processes for rate maintenance in the GDSs, a task much more complex than it might appear. Many hotel companies have seen increases in GDS reservations during the past years, which is a major and growing component in the hotel marketing and reservation process.

This article goes about discussing the issues around full service hotels and fees for WiFi internet connection. Travel Professionals do have changes throughout the years in the hotel and tourism industry, but some are really serious that is affecting the rating of customer satisfaction in hotels. According to experts, they do present a theory that something must be done in order to increase revenue and also hotel's ratings; no all hotel managements agree with such theory. Therefore, they are still pushing for continuing the fees and strive for customer satisfaction all at the same time. In essence, the hotel industry is constantly adapting to new and more changes everyday, as technology also changes and have new innovations.

Nor1 announced today the integration of its pricing and merchandising solutions with MICROS OPERA, aiming to enable nearly 22,000 hotel properties to quickly increase revenue and customer satisfaction. This agreement between Nor1 and MICROS is a partnership fueled by common customers such as Hilton, Hyatt, Fairmont, Carlson, and Joie de Vivre, and the desire to help their hotels maximize revenue opportunities at every turn. Furthermore, Nor1's eStandby Upgrade is a revenue enhancement solution that is providing hotels on six continents real bottom-line lift and overall guest satisfaction. It is to note that Nor1's eStandby Upgrade does this through PRiME, the pricing and merchandising engine, which dynamically analyzes over a million points of data to more accurately identify the right product selection, upsell pricing, and display ranking decisions for each individual guest. Now eStandby Upgrade hotels running MICROS OPERA will have access to deep insight into all their guests, ensuring more relevant and targeted offers.

This article discusses Marriott's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment) Certified hotel which is opening up in Scottsdale Arizona. In an effort to reduce energy and utility costs this new property boasts a variety of features such as Energy Star certified appliances, water- efficient toilets, and specialize lighting controls and sensors that reduce the consumption of electrical lighting in the presence of natural sun light. In addition changes made to the roofing, such as the installation of light colored panels that reflect heat and the use of recycled building materials will help keep costs down and use less energy. Marriott's effort to take measures in being more environmentally conscious should serve as an example to other hotel chains and properties to be socially responsible as well.

This article describes the hotel owners using the technology manage the hotels remotely. It shows several advantages, for example, convenience and  flexible.  However, some challenges also brought by the mobility. It needs time to take actions when using the remote technology and more private time are taken away from the managers. 

The author stated that "now is the time to upgrade your POS system" for many reasons: 1. This will bring you a competitive advantage, when you are more connected compared to others. Because more than 40 percent of sale has been generating through web and mobile ordering, with these ordering will not only cut the cost but also improve customers' satisfactions.  2. Because of PCI compliancy standards, the POS update is not a need but a requirements for most businesses. With the new POS system, all the information regarding customers' identification, credit card, etc. or owner's data base will be well protected to reduce a risk of data breach. Important issue is that, many manager recommended to upgrade your hardware instead of software, since many error will be continued without changing new hardware. 3. The initial cost of upgrading POS is definitely an investment, but to gain advantage over your competitors and cutting the cost in the long run are worth it. 4. Some key features to look at when considering an POS upgrade : Fit to the business, connections, and business insight.

With the growth of mobile phones and apps, there is no doubt a boom in online mobile bookings. Apps like Travelocity, Expedia and orbitz, makes it easy to search, compare and book all from your mobile phone. According to the article, online travel booking generate close to six Billion dollars in revenue each year. Out of that, 10 percent of bookings is conducted on mobile devices. Within the next two years, the market is likely to grow to about 30% from According to Amit Somany, companies began "investing on this mobile platform for the past four years but the investments had actually taken off only in the past 12-18 months." Some companies are surprised that people are going out and doing research from their mobile phones before marketing and advertisement plans were in motion. They noticed that more and more people are researching hotels and airfares while they are on the move. While commuting on a train in NY, people can research a possible trip to San Fransisco, without wasting any time at work. On the go, Expedia has simplified their app checkout process in order to "serve our consumers better."

This article presents that many of independent hotels choose the cloud based PMS to make their working systems more profitable. One of the cloud based PMS, Maestro property management system showcases enhanced technology, additionally customer engagement for increasing a loyalty as like as chain hotels. Here are trends that make independent hotels more productive and profitable. First, it makes direct booking that could reduces reliance on OTAs and boost occupancy. Second, its automated e-messaging increase guest retention and revenue. Third, it boast its affordable and secure information. It delivers instant remote access to property and let operators manage multipe properties. Fourthly, it provides dash board to access to real-time data and make on-the-spot decision. Fifthly, it provides guest loyalty programs to compete with chains. It has automated tracking system to redeem points and boost customer loyalty. lastly, it offers to users the knowledge center for 24/7 to let Maestro users to be familiar with the system and provide access to tools and resources.

Great article! I might biased but I love Hilton Chain. In the article they go on to say how they are taking the mobile frenzy to the hotels! They will be implementing not only apps but allowing guests to checkin/out with their phones, and use their phone to open the door. 

So, for the consumers that are used to booking their vacations by themselves, I don't think this article applies to you. For the ones that are trying to save money by not going through a travel agent, I think thesis the article for you. A study conducted by AH&LA shows early signs that almost 2.5 million bookings for hotel properties made online through "fake websites" are being accounted for. This is a huge security issue. Consumers are booking their travel thinking that they are getting certain room types, ample amenities, amazing discounts, and good deals, but turns out they are just getting scammed. Other then not making the clients happy, this also hurts the reputation of the hotel property because when things don't go our way or something happens, we tend to blame the property. And in today's society, most take to the internet to voice their opinions in addition to speaking with the hotel; and bad word-of-mouth is the last thing our industry needs. Also, this can lead to loss of revenue. The survey stated that 56% of customers prefer to book directly with the hotel. It is always recommended to book directly through the property themselves, but for the new guys, how are they supposed to differentiate the difference between real and fake websites?