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Chad Kaydo in his article '7 Things Event Planners Want From Technology Now," highlights the results of a recent survey where industry officials noted what tech changes and adaptations they would like to see as it relates to the Event Planning and Management area of the Hospitality Industry. He noted the following items as the urgent needs of event planners: **Lower Prices - many planners steer clear of the technology due to costs and thus would like to see adjustments in costs relating to new technology. **Integration of Planning Tools - Planners want to be able to connect the different tech offerings used instead of using them in isolation. **Next Generation Apps - Event Apps should be of the same sophistication and simple to use as those of popular consumer apps such as Instagram. **Seamless Social Media Integration - Social Media has become and important tool for event planners. Rene Mark stated that they would like to see "any form of technology that creates a more engaging experience for our clients so that they can interact from the audience, share their experiences online and engage actively with other participants." ** Improved Internet Access - one of the major complaints of planners and something they would like to see improvements on is WiFi access at event venues. Mr. Kaydo noted that planners and tech developers said that the lack of robust, reliable, reasonably priced bandwidth and network services at hotels is slowing the pace of technological advancements across meetings and events. ** Attendee Data Tracking -Improved Technology to keep track of attendee participation. **Help to figure it all out - Planners find it difficult to keep up with technology and to constantly learn how a new device or program works. However this attitude is affecting the results gained from the adoption or lack of as it relates to technological advancements in the Event planning field.

This article discusses the importance of having a Point of Sale, or POS, system in your restaurant and its many roles in the operations of the business. POS systems track all sales transaction up to the minute. It also accounts for all employees' operations. Of course, there are pros and cons to every system. One pro of a POS is the direct connection to the kitchen staff. Once the server places the order, a ticket is printed in the kitchen thus helping to eliminate miscommunication and create efficiencies between servers and kitchen staff. Another positive stated was a POS system helps cut back on employee theft since the system logs employee actions and makes it difficult to alter items in the system. Additionally, POS systems can help substantially with the bookkeeping operations. POSs can track and collect data regarding popular and unpopular food and menu items. The system also can help with accounting and show payroll as well as profit and loss statements. One of the drawbacks of a POS is the susceptibility to electronic issues, such as hardware failure or system crashes. If there is a catastrophic crash to the system, the restaurant could lose all of its sales data as well as payroll statements and other important documents. Therefore, having a backup is important, but expensive. Additionally, while the POS system typically comes with a warranty, it would be smart to have an IT person employed who can set up the POSs and update the device or software and address any problems the POS network may encounter. Again, this adds cost. In the end, Point of Sale systems are an overwhelmingly positive tool for the restaurant industry. However, restauranteurs need to be aware of the issues and plan accordingly to run a smooth operation.

This article talks about POS. POS-point of sales is a hardware that used in the hospitality industry, mostly used in the restaurant. It's a tool you can accept the payment of customers and count the transaction. Modern POS system provides a platform to help customers to enhance the experience. It's also an easy communication with kitchen and wait staff. It can maximize the revenue. But some issues are POS systems come with limited warranties and tech support. I think companies need to ask for help with the IT advisor In the hospitality industry, tough competition and thin margins, we need to get more value from POS.

The article talking maining about the issues that companies have in investing into technology without having a set plan. Mr. Estis-Green, among others, stated that they see an industry that is very innovative but lacking direction in its approach to investing in the correct technology. The main issue is seems to follow throughout the article is that these companies are following trends instead of figuring out if said technology would mix well with the brand vision. A first, the implementation of technology within a business was used more as a tactic but it has become more popular that is has changed the way the guest experiences service at a hotel, from POS systems to a front desk check in. It's driving the way hotels run their business. I think that the biggest issue with investing in technology is controlling the way its used within a hotel. With technology becoming bigger and being implemented within larger hotel brands, it is changing the service experience which affects the loyalty of a guests. Taking that into consideration, I think that it causes internal competition within the vision that a hotel original sets out to provide and what other hoteliers are doing to gain that loyalty. As mentioned in the article, i think that the best way to have a vision and trend coincide is to find a way to personalize it to its convenience and effectiveness.

POS Restaurant Management systems market are expected to generate a $30 bn revenue by 2026. The cause of the demand for mobile POS systems is driven by the increasing demand and the rapidly growing popularity of wireless technology. Overall POS systems are essential in registrations of payments, sales operations, and icreases work effiency by reducing time and cost.

With the development and improvement of technology, point-of-sale (POS) systems nowadays are playing a vital role in the industry. In this article, the author has mentioned that POS systems let businesses track usage, monitor changes in unit dollar costs, calculate when businesses need to reorder, and analyze inventory levels on an item-by-item basis. In one word, POS systems enable businesses to keep track of their cash flow. The author also introduced some features to consider in a POS system, including: ease of use, entry of sales information, pricing, updating product information, sales tracking options, security, and taxes for businesses to choose the most appropriate system for them. Since every business is unique, it's important for every business find that system meeting their all requirements instead of just using a popular one.

I found this article incredibly interesting, as it is an interview with the co-founder of eMenu, Alexandru. He speaks about how he thought up the idea of eMenu, when he was at a restaurant trying to pay the bill, but after five minutes of trying to call the server and being ignored, he got annoyed; and believed there was a way to fix this. Additionally, he makes great points about why the eMenu is so efficient, such as it being technology based, it is very popular amongst Millennials. He also makes the great point of it being on a tech system, it allows restaurants to have the menu in several language options more conveniently. As well as, it being flexible enough to make changes, such as newly added plates, without needing to reprint several new menus. He then goes on to say, he now looks forward to bringing this technology into the hotel industry, where room service menus can now be available from the TV, rather than in a "small wasted paper menu." All in all, I believe Alexandru makes some very valid points as to why the eMenu should be considered in many aspects of the hospitality industry. 

E-commerce has made a huge difference when it comes to how the tourism industry has grown and developed. With the introduction of marketing techniques such as virtual tours, virtual views of popular landmarks, and ideas on things to do in town, tourists have an easier time deciding where and if they want to visit different destinations. Mobile apps have also made it easier for tourists to access important information, such as their flight and hotel reservations, any itineraries they may have, and food delivery services, all of which would make their stay easier and more comfortable. E-Commerce has made traveling more cost effective for travelers by allowing online travel agencies the ability to provide deals for cheaper hotels and flights.

"And the changes keep coming. Among this year's winners, handpicked by InfoWorld editors and product reviewers, you'll find a number of "traditional" names: Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat. But you'll also find the names of more open source projects than we've ever seen in the Technology of the Year winner's circle, thanks to the huge role open source has come to play in software development, data center (and cloud) infrastructure, and big data analytics. [ Read about the winning hardware, software, development tools, and cloud services in our slideshow: InfoWorld's 2016 Technology of the Year Award winners. | Get a digest of the day's top tech stories in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ] Docker, Kubernetes, Mesos, Spark -- these are only a few of this year's winners from the open source camp. In one way or another, each brings something new to the enterprise. Docker's clever take on Linux containers was so popular with developers, it became a standard even Microsoft sought fit to adopt. Kubernetes brings Google's cloud-tested technology for container management to the rest of us, while Mesos -- the U.C. Berkeley AMPLab project that gave birth to Spark -- offers an elegant solution to cluster resource management. "

This article is discussing the changes and updates in technology for the year 2016. It explains how the best IT products has been used for this year and the order of the ratings for them. It also explains the best hardware/software that has has been used by consumers and for businesses. This can help in the hospitality field by choosing which software is best to use.

This article brings us a closer sight into how the technology and digital advancement improve the restaurant operation. As social network has been more and more popular among millennials and babyboomers, social media has been used as one of the most important marketing approach. What's more, local pick-up and home delivery service have been rising up to a large extent. Digital technology is generally embraced by restaurant managers as most of them are willing to implement competitive and creative technology to their properties.

This article helps us to better understand the information systems being utilized, why they are important and what difficulties they bring about. In the Hospitality Industry, customer service is put at the top of the list of must haves. With customer service comes knowing information about your customer and without Information Technology services put in place, these expectations will never be met. Having a computer based IT is crucial because it allows the employees to work more proficiently which in turn creates a better experience for the guest. Multiple hospitality leaders have been applying fully Internet based technological systems within their organizations. IHG group has implemented an easy to use system so it is simple for every position within the hotel. For a company like IHG with over 500 hotels, it was imperative they eliminated the manual system to provide better quality control. Because of this system they can get better quality products at lower costs. Although this new system is much more user friendly, the overall cost involved is still not confirmed but this system is still predicted to have positive impacts long term. For example at Marriott Hotels, they use a company website, POS Micros, Property Management System and Central reservation system just to name a few. On top of stellar service and quick/ easy information submissions, guests are looking to have the best technology at their disposal to use. Things like computers with full internet access, printers and fax machines to make sure they can still be functional while displaced. An advanced system called MARSHA is being used as a reservation system and stores the rewards system information for Marriot guests. Micros-Opera is a popular property based system provider and has become common within the hotel industry. Vendors usually use this since it gives them the ability to connect to other vendor's applications. MICROS 9700 HMS is the most popularly used point of sale system. There are some

This article focuses on new hotel apps, focusing on Recharge, that let you rent upscale hotel rooms by the minute/hour. As the article states, this is not a new concept and has been offered in the pass usually at motels. This app looks to change the demographic of those looking to rent hotels for a small amount of time. The app is already active in popular cities around the world, they aim to only work with 3-5 star hotels. I downloaded the app and thought the pricing was a little concerning, but it goes back to the demographic the app is targeting. Recharge aims to appeal to travelers with long layovers, business people looking for a quiet spot in between meeting, sight seers that may need a nap, and even mothers looking for a safe place t publicly breastfeed. Their pricing is right in line with their target demographic as the cheapest price is usually around $30 per hour, and there is always a service fee; the author of the article talks about staying in a hotel for 15 minutes and paying $65 dollars. Personally the pricing is a huge setback, but business wise it makes sense. You are covering the cost of housekeeping having to go in and reset the room, and front desk reprogramming the keys/ handling check in and check out. While I think the system could create a bit of a challenge for hotels in terms of making if something is ready and clean or not, it is another opportunity to increase revenues. This app especially during the slow season for hotels, could help them fill their less desired rooms, if only for an hour. It is similar to a restaurant way of thinking "How many times can we flip this table (room) in peak hours". I may not use the app, but if I was traveling with friends and splitting the cost, I would definitely take the opportunity to pay a few bucks to nap in a 5 star resort.

This weekend at the National Restaurant Association conference Coca-Cola has unveiled a Bluetooth enabled fountain drink machine. The beverage market is highly competitive and Coke thinks that Smartphone ordering could give them an advantage. The previous version of this machine which is installed in 50,000 locations used an app and QR codes for ordering. The new Freestyle 9100 relies on Bluetooth and has other capabilities that are not yet activated including a microphone for voice ordering. This machine will allow guests to customize their beverages and is expected to build more meaningful customer relationships between them and the brand. A stronger relationship could lead to more purchases. Coca-cola will also gain valuable insight on their consumers drinking habits, the original iteration of the machine reported a popular combination of sprite and cherry soda, Coke has now introduced this mix in packaged form. I think that this technology has so far proven that it brings Coke closer to their consumers and simplifying the use process by going from an app to Bluetooth will only make it more accessible to consumers.

The following article reviews a few eco-friendly trends that are helping transform the foodservice industry. As green technology becomes mainstream it is important for companies in the hospitality industry to understand the potential impacts they could have on the environment by adopting some of these trends. Streamline reporting is one way that green technology shows to be beneficial. By streamlining and consolidating reporting vs. hard-coding, etc. offers users greater visibility over workload performance. Another popular green technology is virtual cloud systems. These cloud systems can help eliminate resource waste and reduce operational costs. The article mentions how Subway and BurgerFi are taking major steps in leveraging the latest technology to minimize their carbon footprint. A few things they focus on is cutting down their paper waste, conserve power, and improve overall efficiencies so the restaurants are environmentally "sound".

The article briefly reviews the digital marketing branch in the hospitality industry. In this modern age, hotels need to have an updated and optimized website running. Most guest or OTA rely on hotel websites to gain information about the hotel and amenities and prices they have to offer. They must be visually appealing and easy to access. Apart from using hotel websites, search engines are also popular amongst bookers. Search engines like google or bing use keywords to narrow their search when finding hotels so having such keywords or phrases in the hotel main page on the website will allow people to access their hotel website quicker. Hotels also rely on advertising on sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Heavy populated social platforms is one of he best ways to have a business advertise themselves to the public. The best part is that social media marketing can be cost-effective.

(make sure to click on full text pdf) Cloud Computing is a set of hardware, software, networks, storage, services that an interface combines to deliver aspects of computing as a service. This helps in the sharing of software, hardware, and application packages through internet tools and wireless media. This article discusses the advantages, challenges, issues, and opportunities that Cloud Computing (CC) brings. The biggest and most obvious of these advantages is that concerned organizations need not install IT or hardware/software of their own, but can received a more sophisticated service through a CC provider while also allowing for very large amounts of data to be available though the CC infrastructure. The main fundamentals for CC are deployment optimization, virtualization, and resource allocation. The article finds that CC is gaining popularity in educational systems and the e-learning is gaining considerable popularity. E-learning or online education through these CC will play an important roll in IT infrastructure development in hospitality companies. It is suggested through these findings that the government, IT organizations, and educational communities should increase their cooperation. Proper funding, planning, and training will be essential to CC being implemented successfully

The wine world is growing and normally a person goes to the grocery store to purchase their wine. Now there are groups or clubs that will give the option to purchase wines from all over the world at a discounted price. The average spent on each transaction is over $220. While these clubs are not as popular yet they idea that one can purchase wine online is creating a more convenient way of purchasing wines that the consumer can enjoy. Although less that 15% of sales are coming in from these wine clubs they are becoming a more popular and practical options for some consumers.

The focus of the article is to highlight how the event industry is becoming more popular among the hospitality industry in Nigeria. It mentions the Events Market Nigeria (EMN) group aims to provide a places that allows for growth and development within the event industry with the newcomers and experienced event planners. The event that was hosted by the EMN, provides free gathering that offer different speakers to offer advice and their experience to those attendees willing to listen. Throughout the article, it states that the country of Nigeria has a population of "almost $200 million people and a reputation for an ostentatious culture", which makes it a perfect place to invest in the event industry. Especially due to the fact that the industry is a source of a more favorable return on investment even though other sources in Nigeria are considered more attractive. What makes the event industry profitable, is the ability to venture with other businesses such as venues, catering, event planning and more. But with all the good, the article does point out the issues such as liability and the lack of rules that are set for the industry. I think that it's an important topic to consider because hotels are implementing a source of revenue with renting out meeting spaces and catering services to outside companies. With more and more events being planned, I think it's a great business to venture in. The ability to have an events department within a hotel or even a restaurant gives the establishment to produce more revenue within other departments. Such as a hotel, the planning of a meeting not only brings in the revenue of the space being rented but also to Food and Beverage with the catering aspect and the front desk with the rooms being occupied by the clients and attendees.

This article talks about the advantages of using an event management software and how the tool help managing the event successfully. This software is priority to the modern day event planner with an expert manner. Positively Impact the work flow cutting down on the boring paper work. Software will help time by cutting down all the time you would spend in organizational work reduced workload. Event software will reduce cost by inmanaging you data and task allowing you to have less employees and increasing ROI for the company. Have a good software will allow you to export reports with ease like client reports, analytics, registration, ticketing, scheduling as well as surveys. This will help ease the stress of the company and allow managers to focus on increasing revenues and getting new business.

For several years, tablets/eMenus have been rising in popularity within dining establishments as a way to increase efficiency and revenue for the establishment. Customers are able to view the menu in it's entirety along with pictures of each item, allowing the customer to view exactly what they are ordering. This could potentially decrease the amount of orders sent back to the kitchen and decrease food waste, thus minimizing loss of revenue. Although this developing technology has many advantages, there are a few disadvantages that management must consider before implementing these systems. Credit card security, risk of replacing wait staff/jobs, and potential theft of the system being a few.

The hotel industry is highly competitive and it is important to maintain an appeal to your customers and gain a competitive edge. Smart technology strategies is a way for a hotel to be able to ensure business and remain relevant to the target audience.