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Karyn

Bartech Addresses the Post-COVID Hotel Environment with Launch of Minibar+ for Remote Operation and Control - 0 views

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    The company Bartech is offering hotels and casinos in Las Vegas solutions regarding the coronavirus pandemic for guests.
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    Due to the pandemic, there is an increase of need to help guests feel safe and to cater to the new habits of guests. The article from hospitality.net notes that during reopening, guests will be congregating less in hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants, etc., as these venues are also reducing their capacity.
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    The bartech e-bar is convenient as hotels can seamlessly control these functions, and now it makes more sense than ever due to reduced capacity at hotels bars, that implementing a bartech mini bar will enhance customer satisfaction. There is a downloadable application to control the functions of the e-bar. Since guests are spending more time in the room and less in the hotel bar, the e-bar is a convenient way for hotels to increase their profits during this difficult time. It can also monitor when and what the guest is taking, and store this data for reference. In another way, it can monitor its touching by guests usage which eliminates the need for hotel staff to enter the room and check the bar--which reduces the touching and entering of people into rooms.
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    Besides ensuring guests of new safety protocols, the electronic mini bar reduces touch and saves costs to hotels because hotels can remotely change settings on the bar, for example, by locking, unlocking, remotely shutting off or reducing temperatures during non-occupancy. The article then suggests that a "well-run mini-bar" is a profit center to any hotel and to implement an e-bar makes sense for guest satisfaction and also to save costs, especially during this time.
cmick006

Professional Travel Advisors Key to Cruise Industry Rebound | TravelPulse - 0 views

  • Working
  • professional travel advisors will be key to helping it rebound by counseling clients about new health protocols and onboard changes.
  • provide guidance,
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  • ravel adviso
  • travel agents
  • educated
  • cruise industry
  • doing onboard, in terminals, and on motorcoaches to protect the health of its clients and crew amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • heavily enforced screening standards and pre-boarding cleaning protocols,
  • additional cleanliness
  • more frequent sweeps of public areas,
  • increased housekeeping
  • high cost
  • maintaining these additional levels of screening and services
  • Flexibility in canceling and rebooking also should continue
  • travel agent education program is undoubtedly in developmen
  • industry will pull out all the stops to give the tools necessary to the travel agents to sell the product effectively, including how to handle the virus issues and solutions
  • Working
  • Working together as an industry is key for the cruise lines
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    Cruise industry must work together to address safety & sanitation measures re:Covid-19. Travel advisors will be key to selling cruises to passengers. Industry is creating an education program for travel agents/advisors hoping that they will be able to effectively instill confidence in wary travelers.
ealmi001

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidelines for Point-of-Sale Systems | Gilbarco Veeder-Root - 0 views

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    According to the article Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidelines for Point-of-Sale Systems, essential businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, gas stations and convenience stores must take new safety precautions for every aspect of their operation - especially high contact touchpoints like POS (point-of-sale) systems and PIN pads. They have taken into consideration how important it has become the use of POS during Covid-19 pandemic. They are following rigorous guidelines to avoid the spread of the virus while working with touchscreen devices. For example, they are suggesting to avoiding contact because is the best way to keep everyone safe. If available, encourage consumers to use contactless payment like tap-to-pay cards or Apple Pay.
irinadolgopolova

6 0cBenefits 0c 0cof 0c 0ca Food & Beverage 0cPOS 0c 0cSystem 0c 0c 0c - 1 views

  • An effective POS solution for restaurants, bars or food service at attractions, entertainment and leisure venues can streamline a restaurant’s activities, saving time processing orders and money due to potential human error and customer loss.
  • The great thing about restaurant, entertainment or fun center POS systems now is that as they revolve around cloud-based software, the costs to upgrade to update is much lower as the equipment is already there and ready to go.
  • Once you’ve set up your entertianment POS or fun center POS system you must transfer your menu into the POS software to enable your servers to quickly record the customer’s order and allow for the customer to be charged the correct amount. To make the most out of the inventory management you will additionally have to record existing levels of stock, and how much each item on your menu depletes the respective products within your inventory. This will also mean that you must consistently update the inventory levels when they are replenished.
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  • Waiters have continuous mobility around the restaurant, while clearly communicating and recording orders. This gives the customers the convenience of table side ordering, whilst also allowing the orders to recorded and distributed seamlessly.
  • Another great benefit of using a entertianment POS or fun center POS system is that it avoids a lot of human errors in the communication between the waiters and the kitchen or bar staff. The cloud based system means that the orders are clearly recorded for the staff, forgoing any potential penmanship or shorthand issues.
  • Inventory management is another great feature of the entertianment POS or fun center POS system and it will allow your business to keep up to date with its inventory levels and knowing exactly when to restock their goods.
  • Through the continuous tracking of your levels of inventory, you’ll be able to identify trends in how each of your individual levels of stock are used in specific times. Not only can this aid in the planning and managing of stock, but it will also identify which products are popular within specific times of the year. This is valuable information and can be effectively utilized through your promotion and marketing, enticing more people to your family entertainment centre.
  • A entertianment POS or fun center POS system with a modern payment processor can allow your business to stay up to date with the majority of businesses, accepting credit cards and allowing customers to use their tap and go cards or functions like Apple Wallet and Google Pay. A entertianment POS or fun center POS system will also greatly improve the overall speed of the checkout process, making hard copies of orders expendable and recording them digitally in real-time.
  • Theft control may not seem like a particularly pressing issue, especially if your products are behind the counter and require customers to order and pay for them before accessing them. Regardless, a entertianment POS or fun center POS system will make you aware of any potential issues of theft through tracking what is ordered and what is paid for.
  • It is important to have set measures for staff to follow in recipes, which allows you to see how much inventory is actually left compared to how much should be left based on the inventory management system.
  • it can also be utilized in the building of customer relationships. Collecting customer details, namely an email address, will mean that you can communicate with past customers after their visit.
  • Managing an entertainment business requires a great deal of organization throughout all levels of the business. POS systems offer a great range of benefits aiding in the simplification of many business processes, from inventory management to staff management.
  • Clearly managing time clocks, scheduling which employees work each shift, keeping payroll up to date are all tasks entertianment POS or fun center POS can potentially assist with.
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    In this article the food and beverage POS systems are described and discussed. The author explains why POS systems are important for the restaurants and entertainment centers, how to build those systems, how much would it cost to the businesses and what POS is exactly. Other than that, the benefits of installing POS systems are pointed.
jackyreis

Pros and Cons of Using a POS System [Main Benefits] - 1 views

  • One of the most basic needs of any business is the ability to accurately track sales and other vital transactions.
  • POS (Point Of Sale) systems provide automatic record keeping solutions along with many other advantages that can help small businesses succeed in a competitive economy.
  • A POS system typically consists of software installed on a cash register terminal that communicates with another standard computer that stores transaction data and other vital information that is vital to maintaining a business’s bottom line.
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  • The POS market is very strong and increasingly profitable with an estimated market value of nearly $15 trillion, up from less than $10 trillion only two years ago
  • Advantages of POS System
  • A POS system allows a business to effectively track sales, analyze profits/expenses in detail, maintain inventory, analyze sale trends, as well as allow you to manage employees and other store operations.
  • POS Software
  • Item Information
  • Costs/Expenses
  • Payment Methods
  • Stock/Inventory
  • Purchase/Transaction Records
  • Employee Time Clocking
  • Tax/Discount Calculation
  • POS management software can assist a store manager by constantly collecting analytic data to produce detailed spreadsheet reports, eliminating the need for manually inputting formulas and data into a spreadsheet program.
  • This helps business owners and managers to determine the best way to maximize sales, determine what inventory restocked, easily and accurately do taxes, and other vital operations.
  • Web-based POS systems often feature very focused and on-demand customer support than traditional POS software, with more frequent updates and an easier method of delivering them.
  • Another one of the benefits of POS systems is that POS software is accessible on a number of different platforms. Instead of limiting your transactions and operations to a terminal that is in the store, you can also utilize the POS concurrently with a remote cash register in another location, a computer, a tablet or even a smartphone can all access and work with the software.
  • Furthermore, a multi-use tablet with a removable external card-reader is an ideal substitute for an expensive card reader unit from a POS developer, which will only serve one basic purpose.
  • Studies show that Web-based small business POS is becoming more popular, as the increased efficiency and availability of mobile devices make the need for mobile access more crucial, and allow personal devices like smartphones and tablets to double as financial hardware.
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    This article explains all the advantages of having a POS system, especially for a small business. It emphasizes the different benefits from constant software updates, and the ability for the hardware to be transposed into different electronics for easy access wherever you go! It also highlights the increase in market value within the last few years, and the continued growth it'll attract.
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    Item Information Costs/Expenses Payment Methods Stock/Inventory Purchase/Transaction Records Employee Time Clocking Tax/Discount Calculation Are the main functions that this article highlight about having the POS system. This system would have all the information in one centralized area that may be accessed by many coworkers. This keeps track of the inventory, transactions and much more. There may be times where manual labor would still be the primary go to but this system will make things easier.
mtedd003

UN report: Time to seize opportunity, tackle challenge of e-waste | UNEP - UN Environment Programme - 0 views

  • The world produces as much as 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) a year, weighing more than all of the commercial airliners ever made. Only 20% of this is formally recycled.
  • worth over $62.5 billion
  • Global e-waste production is on track to reach 120 million tonnes per year by 2050 if current trends continue,
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  • $62.5 billion, more than the GDP of most countries.
  • Less than 20% of e-waste is formally recycled, with 80% either ending up in landfill or being informally recycled – much of it by hand in developing countries, exposing workers to hazardous and carcinogenic substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium.
  • improper management of e-waste is resulting in a significant loss of scarce and valuable raw materials, such as gold, platinum, cobalt and rare earth elements.
    • mtedd003
       
      The resources not consumed but still existing in landfills.
  • circular economy in which resources are not extracted, used and discarded, but valued and reused
  • Nigerian Government, the Global Environment Facility and UN Environment announced a $2-million investment to kick off the formal e-waste recycling industry in Nigeria.
  • 100,000 people work in the informal e-waste sector in Nigeria.
  • PACE is a public-private collaboration mechanism and project accelerator dedicated to bringing about the circular economy at speed and scale.
  • The UN E-waste coalition is a group of seven UN agencies who have come together to increase collaboration, build partnerships and more efficiently provide support to Member States to address the e-waste challenge.
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    The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) is a public-private group consisting of more than 50 heads from various internal and external organizations. The group intends to fight the route cause of e-waste by repairing the method for which technology is recycled. The plan of action is to establish a circular economy. Materials are consumed, trashed, and eventually sent to landfills or sent for workers in toxic unsafe conditions to extract the precious materials. The world produces 50 million tons of e-waste annually, accumulating a worth of almost $62 billion. 80% of e-waste is improperly recycled in dangerous polluted conditions, creating an environmental hazard and unethical work conditions. Valuable resources such as gold, are also lost due to this poor method of recycling.Nigeria is one of the many countries that has exploited thousands of workers in the recycling of e-waste. In an effort to reform this issue, the Nigerian government has invested $15 million to employ PACE's circular economy. The design of a circular economy allows for products to be either made for longer use or recycled in a sustainable way. The circular economy will allow for a more efficient and environmentally friendly method of harvesting these resources while providing sustainable job opportunities.
jfuen093

The Applications of Environmental Technologies in Hotels: Discovery Service for FIU Libraries. - 1 views

  • This article investigates
  • the use of environmental technologies in the hotel industry. Data was collected via a series of in-depth, semistructured interviews with hotel professionals. The research findings reveal that the environmental technologies most commonly used in the sampled were light-emitting diode lights, T5 fluorescent tubes, motion sensors, the key-card system, and water-cooled chillers
  • However, the escalating number of environmental laws and increasing pressures from the market have raised their environmental awareness. Many hotels and other hospitality businesses now implement environmental programs to save energy and water, reduce waste, and improve their environmental performance in response to increasing pressure from "green" customers, local government, business partners, and the shareholders of their holding companie
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  • . Many hotels do not intend to take a lead in implementing new environmental technologies as hotel managers are not often well educated in these technologies, causing the hotel industry to lag behind in their us
  • Energy, water, and waste in the hotel industry
  • . Hoteliers can use technology in a number of ways, from taking guest reservations to saving energy and water in hotel guest rooms. Energy and water saving require environmental technologies. Examples of environmental technologies related to the hotel sector are a key-card system for energy saving, a centralized air conditioning system that can reset a guest-room's temperature to the hotel's established temperature when integrated with a building management system to save energy, and light-emitting diode (LED) lights and heat pumps. In addition, many advanced environmental technologies have entered the market such as solar heat pumps, solar control film, solar batteries, light pipes, energy efficient lighting, light sensors and dimmers (Chan, [17]), different types of food decomposers, and water-saving devices.
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    This is an excellent, comprehensive article and research study that fully looks at environmental technology through interviews with hotel professionals. It has many specific examples of hotel environmental technologies. It also specifically looks at energy, water and waste in the hotel industry.
biancafavilli

ECommerce in Hospitality and Tourism Industry - 1 views

  • New technologies are providing different channels for marketing and management that improve the capabilities of society. And computers are providing faster and more reliable processing with lower cost continually.
  • In Hospitality and Tourism industry, hardware, software, information management, and telecommunications systems have allowed for the processing and information flow amongst organizations. The way in which tourism organizations take advantage of IT tools may determine their future success in the marketplace [4]. We consider the importance of the trend of Information Technology by implementing an effective IT system for advertising, distribution, encouragement and co-ordination of the industry. It is important that Hotel Industry take the lead of the emerging technologies to improve management abilities and develop business plans focusing on the most efficient income of delivering value added products to clients.
  • B2C transactions involve business-to-customer interactions.
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  • B2B transactions involve business-to-business.
  • B2E transactions involve a business and its employees.
  • C2C transactions involve two or more consumers (customer-to-customer).
  • The industry can make profits to many countries and pull foreign currencies into the country.
  • The travel distribution system is currently facing many changes as online agencies such as Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia, etc. have introduced a way to access travel suppliers directly via the worldwide web. In general, Global Distribution Systems have not shown much of an effort toward targeting on-line customers. As an alternative, Customer Relation Systems have remained trustworthy to their travel agency distributors.
  • The Internet is not the full solution to success in the Hospitality and Tourism industry. However, the Internet is the “overall business answer” across industries
  • The success of the Hospitality and Tourism industry will depend upon the abilities to identify and answer quickly to current and potential customer needs
  • Starwood Hotel Group was standing ahead of other Hotels to offer a online “virtual tours” of its properties. This feature provides a site visit to potential guests without having to travel to each property. And now, many well-known hotels are also providing this promotion feature for stand top of the roles to attract potential customers.
  • Google presented the vision of Internet marketing is likely to grow by 2015. Some of them are worth to be informed and aware about.
  • 50% of ad campaigns will include video ads bought on a cost-per-view basis 50% of ads will be bought using this real-time bidding technology to tailor experiences for different viewers Smartphones / mobile phone will be the number one screen for digital brands to engage users There will be at least 5 metrics that advertisers will regard as more important than the “click” 75% of web ads will be “social” in nature such as facebook. Therefore, Ads will be shared, discussed, subscribed to and recommended Multimedia formats enable great creativity and interaction – these will grow from 6% of display ad impressions to 50%, especially for brand building campaigns Digital display advertising is going to grow to a $50 billion industry This forecast shows that competition to attract potential customers via worldwide web will be more and more drastic.
  • World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimates that over 1.5 billion tourists would take international journeys in the year 2020.
  • Another e-Commerce model such as Auction style-pricing models are becoming customer preference, where the customer are able to control the price of the products and services to be consumed.
  • Airlines have a stronger straight link to customers as they compete directly against travel agents [23]. Furthermore, they could have stronger control over the customers due in part to the e-ticketing. In this respect, online technology has replaced the travel agency by adding value via fare shoppers, promotions, and personalized recommendations
  • Customers are almost guaranteed that they will obtain the best price by negotiating via an online agent such as Priceline. But a shortcoming to all of this is that the customer will not understand all of the normal benefits of air tickets as they are sacrificed via online auction purchases. For example, in many cases the travel ticket does not permit any changes or accrual of or without significant penalty charges.
  • Online companies have more of a chance at success in Hong Kong due to the dense population, strong education systems, high credit card and cell phone usage. This leaves room for the future development of the next Priceline or Travelocity in Asia which could pose a major threat to hospitality & tourism organizations. Based on the high volume cell phone usage in Hong Kong, Mobile commerce should be a new trend on next stage. [29]
  • As low cost computer real-time data, fast speed internet access, voice and video communications become a reality, travel agencies may no longer be needed. On the other hand, the Internet challenge can also mean chance. Hotel owners and operators who understand and master e-commerce or m-commerce challenges will be able to jump ahead of online threats from large players such as Priceline. Otherwise, many will find themselves out of business.
  • Information Technology tools have allowed travel intermediaries to expand their role in the industry by presenting opportunities to venture into other markets on a geographical level.
  • Not only should hoteliers focus on the business traveler, but they should also consider whether there are other types of potential target customers as we may find that both young and older generations were sitting in the Internet shops utilizing online services during their vacation as well.
  • Organizations have to invest in the expertise and equipment (Hardware, Software) for building a strong IT base at first.
  • Internet security has been a major issue surrounding the Internet community.
  • Governments are currently addressing Internet based global commerce by considering rules of conduct, guiding principles, laws and taxation. [*30]
  • Today, hotels are distributing their product via more and more channels. How they keep control of availability and price, maintain a consistent level of customer service, in addition to keep their distribution partners up to date at the same time has becomes a complicated and expensive process.
  • The core transactions of our business involve intimate face-to-face interactions, which have certain limitations in regard to the use of e-commerce in the hospitality industry compared with other enterprises
  • It is important to take a look at how Internet technology will affect the future of the tourism industry. Most IT tools are being utilized
  • The hospitality & tourism internet future suggests a universal system where property management systems will eliminate the need for expensive on-site computer hardware/software.
  • Future success for hospitality & tourism companies depends upon their abilities to identify a target market and the strategic opportunities available for survival and growth.
  • It is crucial for hospitality & tourism organizations to stay on top of the roles of the major online players that are posing a serious threat to the industry such as Travelocity, Priceline, Expedia, Yahoo, etc. Their role in the future of hospitality & tourism marketing is crucial to the survival of Hoteliers.
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    This article highlights the different aspects that e-commerce brings to society. It highlights the many ways that e-commerce has affected the Hospitality Industry and the things that can be done about it, and it also highlights the economical and political impact that e-commerce might have on the future of our society (especially the hospitality industry).
khadija2050

Future proof, defined: 10 things to look for when considering new hotel tech | PhocusWire - 0 views

  • a hub connects best-in-class technologies and thereby ensures that your hotel has a choice of best-in-class technologies today and into the future.
  • A hub like HapiCloud will make your technologies more powerful and connected, ensuring each piece of your hotel technology puzzle is leveraging the data and functionality of the others.
  • but tooling (that has a modular architecture which can be built atop the provided technology) is ke
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  • ok to work wit
  • Look for technologies that provide a code-free interface that can be managed by non-technical staf
  • cloud-connected devices will grow, adapt and change with your hotel’s (or hotel group’s) needs.
  • They’ll enable the personalization your guests expect and the fleet-management tools your hotel operations require.
  • technologies that are agnostic in approach and play well with others.
  • ook to devices that provide the same - perhaps brand standard - features that your guests expect, but in a modern future proof way. A great new example is the Echo Dot with a clock from Amazon
  • A great example of a feature-rich solution in the hotel technology market today
  • s the energy management system from INTEREL
  • has a lot of features - including Bluetooth beaconing - that you may not see the need for today, but, mark my words, you will in the future.
  • Leapfrogging over technologies that clearly have a shelf life is a giant step forward in the quest to protect against future switching costs.
  • Look at the track record of your potential partne
  • Technology is not static, and custom-building a product inherently means continued development costs just to keep up with change
  •  
    the article explores different types of softwares and new technologies that hotels should use to stay up to date with the needs of the guests and help employees perform their tasks better to give a better customer service.
jwilc019

Tips for Maximizing Your Hotel's Visibility on the GDS Channel - By Lana Tettelbach - 0 views

  • Hotel bookings are on the rise, and travel agent bookings are growing–more than doubling since April.
  • Solutions like GDS Media provide hoteliers with increased exposure to over 425,000 travel agents searching for certain locations and amenities.
  • GDS Tips: What you should know 1) Update traveler safety and cleanliness certifications
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  • ) Target ads to domestic agents without travel restrictions
  • 3) Use two versions of creative in your ads
  • ) Start GDS Media for future travel dates only
  • Hold rates and utilize added amenities
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    This article gives 5 tips on ways to maximize a property's visibility on GDS channels. As more regions and tourist hot spots adjust to new safety COVID-19 protocols, bookings are starting rise. With 400,000+ travel agents searching for the best options for their clients, it is important to standout to get the booking. It helps if the hotel updates their travel/safety guidelines, so guests know the property is taking their safety seriously. By targeting ads in domestic areas without travel restrictions, the hotel is getting the most "bang for their buck" with their marketing. This article recommends using two separate creative in your ads: one focusing on offers/promotions and one featuring safety/cleanliness. It suggests marketing for future stays a few months in advance, because as travel restrictions start to ease more people are looking ahead to their future travel needs. It emphasizes the important of holding rates and using added amenities to help reduce price slashing and look more attractive to potential guests.
kelseybarton

Top 5 trends in green hospitality and sustainability - Insights - 1 views

  • Over the last decade, guests have looked beyond amenities to decide where they want to stay. Now, they compare a property’s sustainable efforts to see if it matches their firmly held beliefs.
  • When someone decides to go green, reducing their water waste is often the first thing they try.
  •  
    eInsights has written an article discussing the trends of how the hospitality industry has become green. "Over the last decade, guests have looked beyond amenities to decide where they want to stay. Now, they compare a property's sustainable efforts to see if it matches their firmly held beliefs." It has come to the attention of the entire industry that we are leaving a huge footprint on the environment and we are taking strides to fix something that has been ongoing for quite some time. The first topic discussed was that hotels are minimizing their water usage and waste. This is often the most common first step for any hotel to work on their sustainability. Guests are often already privy to saving water in their own homes and will carry this over to their hotel stay. The second topic covered was that hotels are reducing their plastic products. This is a very popular topic within the industry as hotels have many options such as turning their plastic straws or water bottles into reusable items. Within the hospitality industry, sometimes food waste is unpreventable. Hotels have made great efforts to work with each of their departments to see where their waste originates and find the best solutions to reduce it. "Sustainability promotes a healthier environment," which often leads to hotels introducing new allergy-friendly options for their guests. Items such as allergy-friendly flooring or self-sustaining plants are just a few ways that hotels can create a healthier environment for their guests. Finally, the article discusses the importance of monitoring carbon emissions for the entire industry. "The UN recently called attention to hotel emissions, saying they account for 1% of all carbon waste." Hotels will often employ a professional to evaluate their property and make recommendations of how they can reduce their carbon footprint. After a hotel adds a new sustainability effort, it is important that they get guest feedback.
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    A combination of positive guest feedback and minimizing energy usage will let a hotel know that they are moving in the right direction. It is so important for every hotel to try their best to employ whatever sustainability efforts they can and reduce their impacts on the environment as a whole. The emissions from the industry were overlooked for such a long time and have gotten out of control. With some of the popular industry trends, it is getting easier for hotels to make strides in the right direction.
kburn039

Apple fined for slowing down old iPhones - BBC News - 0 views

  • Apple has been fined 25 million euros (£21m, $27m) for deliberately slowing down older iPhone models without making it clear to consumers.
  • Apple said in a statement that it had resolved the issue with the watchdog.
    • kburn039
       
      Apple's solution to prevent it happening again
  • Many customers had long suspected that Apple slowed down older iPhones to encourage people to upgrade when a new one was released.
    • kburn039
       
      Tarnishing great technology to generate more revenue.
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  • It said the lithium-ion batteries in the devices became less capable of supplying peak current demands, as they aged over time.
    • kburn039
       
      Apple says the batteries in iPhone's just does not last as long as imagined.
  • Apple "committed the crime of deceptive commercial practice by omission" and had agreed to pay the fine.
    • kburn039
       
      Apple agreed to a settlement as this was discovered.
  • es. Since Apple confirmed the practice in 2017
    • kburn039
       
      It has been proven that Apple slows down technology in order to have customers come back to spend more money.
  • "The effects of performance management on these newer models may be less noticeable due to their more advanced hardware and software design," Apple said.
yvenisem

How Wi-Fi 6 is changing the hospitality landscape | CommScope - 0 views

  • Wi-Fi was originally designed to support basic network connectivity for limited services such as retail point of sale (POS) transactions in proprietary business environments.
  • Intel’s endorsement and integration significantly simplified connecting wireless clients and helped make Wi-Fi a standard requirement at hospitality suites across the world.
    • yvenisem
       
      Faster internet = happier customers in the 21st century
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  • arly iterations of the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard were relatively limited in terms of speed, spectrum utilization and the efficiency of communications
  • The latest Wi-Fi iteration – Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) – offers a four-fold increase in speed over its Wi-Fi 5 predecessor, enabling hotels to smoothly stream a range of guest applications
  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is revolutionary, rather than simply evolutionary.
    • yvenisem
       
      REVOLUTIONARY, changing the game, prioritizing efficiency
  • it is smarter (deterministic) and moves away from a ‘first come, first served’ model
  • This provides higher throughput and performance for networks, allowing everyone to move at 15 miles an hour instead of 10. 
    • yvenisem
       
      Efficiency
  • the dominant enterprise Wi-Fi standard by 2021
    • yvenisem
       
      shows how quickly technology can go
  •  
    This article was surprisingly a very interesting read due to how fast things actually are in the world of technology as it relates to the hospitality industry. In this article, I read about the origins of Wi-Fi when it was primarily used as basic network connections for POS software to where we are now with an expectation of the revolutionary technology that is Wi-Fi 6 to roll out in 2021. Currently, we as a society are only really familiar with Wi-Fi 5 that functions on a first-come, first-served basis. Wi-Fi 6, moves past the focus of getting faster internet to getting more efficient internet. While this is a factor of the technology in that it is 4-5 times faster, it actually goes about giving people better internet acces in a more intelligent manner. Based on the article, this intelligence means that instead of someone benefitting from 100MB download speeds when they're watching a short YouTube video since they logged onto the hotel internet first, a person that is streaming a live convention with several cameras and computers would benefit more because it would be more efficient than a simple YouTube video. Something that the author of this article makes very known is that this technology is not getting "better" interms of evolution of product. Wi-Fi 6 is actually entering a new era of intelligence, making it a more revolutionary development in the tech industry and hospitality. In the 21st century, new technology like this is essential because we see so many things moving onto online services when it comes to booking a hotel, buying event tickets, interacting with other people, etc. In a hotel setting, this new technology would lead to increased satisfaction since their Snapchat and Instagram stories are being uploaded at nearly instantaneous speeds, same with their YouTube videos, and Facebook photos. While this may not be the best thingsto do when considering how much of our lives we spend online, it is best to go along and welcome it since the advancemen
laboygrisell

GDS vs. Channel Manager: What's Better for Small Hotels? - 1 views

  • Small accommodation providers have two options when it comes to distributing their online inventory. They can either do it via a global distribution system (GDS) or via a channel manager.
  • Option 1: Global distribution system (GDS)
  • GDS acts as a middle-man that connects your small hotel to a network of travel agency professionals, including corporate travel bookers. You connect to the GDS, giving you access to all of the travel agents your GDS is connected with. Those travel agents then sell your rooms to their customers (a mix of corporates and leisure travelers), and any bookings made are automatic.
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  • Retail model This is the traditional model, ie. how you would work with a retail or traditional travel agent.
  • Merchant model This model applies to third party service providers that connect you to retail travel agents (by integrating with a GDS) and online travel agents.
  • Opaque model In this model, your guests don’t know they’re staying at your specific property until after they’ve made the booking.
  • Small accommodation providers can benefit greatly from using a GDS to connect to retail travel agents and corporate buyers. However, we highly recommend that you steer clear of the merchant model, because you would be paying commission to both the third party service provider and the OTA.
  • Option 2: Channel Manager
  • On average, small hotels can cut the commissions they pay in half by using an all-in-one solution
  • In this kind of business relationship, it’s much better to retain full control of your rates and inventory
  • In the distribution landscape, Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are just one of the many players involved in selling your rooms to a world of travelers. They are one of the oldest kinds of distributors in the industry, so it’s important that you understand how you can work with them effectively.
  • A GDS doesn’t work exclusively for accommodation providers – it does the same for airlines, activities, and car rental companies.
  • Your rooms are sold through all channels connected through the GDS e.g. traditional travel agents. Whoever sells your room earns a standard commission. Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent. An easy way to understand this model is if you think about how you would work with your local brick and mortar travel agency, that caters to walk-in customers. This is the default model used upon connecting with a GDS.
  • In this model, you would work with online travel agents (OTAs) like Booking.com via the third party service provider. An OTA sells rooms on your behalf, allowing your guests to find and select your hotel, check your availability, and make a booking.
  • However, this is very costly. As they are a third party provider of GDS services, you would not only pay commission to the OTA (a percentage of each booking), but you would also be paying the third party service provider a commission for use of the system (usually $10-$12 per reservation).
  • The only difference is, they won’t guarantee it (there is less of an incentive to sell you because there is no additional commission for them), and they will de-emphasise your listing (by placing it at the end of the list, hiding images, hiding room rate, and other strategies).
  • You set up several rates (usually 25%-45% less than retail rate), selling your rooms based on bids that guests make based on location, star rating, and other attributes. For example, Priceline uses a bidding system, and Hotwire allows guests to make bookings based on discounted rates.
  • GDSes are great for tapping into the corporate travel market – however, it is being used more for other types of travel than for accommodation.
  •  
    Compared to large hotel chains and airlines, the GDS can play a different role for businesses of smaller sizes. For small hotels, it may be beneficial to make use of a channel manager instead of depending on sales from a GDS. The article suggests to smaller hotels that channel managers, who work directly with travel agents, can mean more profit for your business. Using the GDS and a travel agency, you are technically paying 2 commissions. With a channel manager, you would only be paying one. Having this business relationship will cut out a middle man, and hotels with smaller budget will find this strategy more efficient.
  •  
    I find this article a little misleading. The GDS are channels, can be managed by a channel manager, or in conjunction with, or separately but usually for smaller hotels require an intermediary. Accessing the GDS(s) are used less by smaller hotels for two main factors: 1. Costs and Fees 2. Scope of demand (driving the right customers). 3. Program Fees The article cites figures which have changed substantially since 2015, as of Q4 North American GDS growth was up 6.4% and ADR was up 4.2% YOY with 18.4% of all bookings coming through GDS. TravelClick, Inc. (2019, March 4) What isn't highlighted in the article was the fact that margin agreements with OTAs for smaller independent hotel range anywhere from 20-35% . If the article had done an actual cost comparison (access through intermediary to GDS instead of OTA) the 10% commission + access and delivery fee may have proven more profitable. It would have been better if they had done a little more comparative cost analysis. TravelClick, Inc. (2019, March 4). GDS Booking and ADR Growth Drive Strong Q4 2018 RevPAR Performance in Hospitality. Retrieved from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/performance/4092226.html
  •  
    This article from the Little Hotelier talks about what exactly is GDS and the Channel Manager and which on is better for Small Hotels. Small Hotels should opt for the system that gives them what they need, but in their price range and for the size of their business.
tredunbar

Hotel Kiosks | Five Key Benefits of Self-Service Check-In/Out - 2 views

  • Mobile hotel kiosks are digital touchscreens or smartphone applications where guests complete tasks themselves instead of relying on hotel front desk staff.
  • Almost 78 percent of their respondents admitted they wanted to see self-serving mobile kiosks to complete the check-in process at more hotels.
  • provide guests with a convenient, hassle-free way to check in
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  • Mobile hotel kiosks
  • enables individuals to bypass the line at the front desk, so they can go directly to their rooms
  • Each hotel kiosk check-in app has an intuitive interface and simple commands to walk the guest through a secure, fast, check-in process
  • Guests can also use these kiosks to order room service, extra towels, set reminders, or complete other essential tasks
  • Mobile hotel kiosks can provide a more personalized experience for your customers. They connect to your hotel’s property management system (PMS).
  • These kiosk software solutions collect valuable data on your guests, including which rooms they prefer to book
  • Mobile hotel kiosks increase the opportunity to upsell packages and services to people
  • Mobile hotel kiosks increase accuracy because customers enter this information themselves during the check-in process. So the possibility of errors is minimal.
  • Mobile kiosks also offer an uncomplicated way to speak with your hotel’s brand throughout the customer journey from the pre-stay registration, hotel kiosk check-in/check-out process, reviews, and re-discovery
  • Increase revenues: Our application helps your hotel brand upsell services to customers.Improve Staff Coordination: Our hotel kiosk software allows your housekeeping and maintenance staff to communicate and collaborate better.Self-Check-In – Your customers can check-in using their mobile phones instead of relying on the front desk.
  •  
    This article was provided by Protel - a developer of hotel check-in software. The focus of the article is to convince hotels of the benefits of the check-in software. The article acknowledges that the technology allows guests to complete the check-in/out process without having to endure log lines and also by customizing the guests' stay. The software also allows the hotel integrate with their PMS. This allows for the teams on property to communicate more effectively about the guest experience, provide much needed marketing data and helping to eliminate many human-related errors.
kuhang

Developing an Email Marketing Strategy in Hospitality By Max Starkov, Adjunct Professor NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality and Hospitality & Online Travel Tech Consultant - 0 views

  • This year over 20% of all revenues in hospitality will be generated from the Internet (15% in 2003). Another 20% of hotel bookings will be influenced by the Internet, but done offline (call center, walk-ins). In 2004, for the first time Internet hotel bookings will surpass GDS hotel bookings. Two years from now the Internet will contribute over 27% of all hotel bookings (PhoCusWright). 53% of all Internet bookings in hospitality will be direct to consumer (i.e. via hotel-owned websites).
  • Email Marketing - a Powerful Direct-to-Consumer Distribution Tool
  • In the context of explosive growth in Internet distribution and marketing in hospitality, email marketing is a powerful direct-to-consumer distribution and marketing tool. It allows hoteliers to engage customers in strong, personalized and mutually beneficial interactive relationships, increases conversions, and sells more efficiently. Email marketing is an important aspect of today’s multi-channel marketing model that requires hoteliers to communicate a single brand image across all channels.
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  • So the fight is to build your organic database, construct effective email campaign messages, win the right to be recognized and accepted into the email box, and convert the reader into a customer now and into the future.
  • The analytics to measure the success of an email campaign should include: open or view rates, click through rates, the number of pages viewed, the duration of the site visit, the number of contact forms submitted, the number of phone calls received, revenues and roomnights from special rate code bookings or packages purchased, and the long term sustainability of the campaign. Do people print out the email and present it by mail or at the front desk when making a reservation? Have you received inquires referencing the special rate announcement?
  • Email Marketing is here to stay. It is an important aspect of the hotelier’s Direct Online Distribution and eMarketing Strategy. Email and eMarketing in general can be used both as a direct response vehicle (short-term, results-oriented) and as a branding tool (long-term and strategic goals). Email marketing allows hoteliers to engage the customer in a strong, personalized and mutually beneficial interactive relationship at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. And most importantly, email marketing allows the hotelier to “own the customer” in this new online distribution and marketing environment.
  •  
    This article makes a detailed analysis of E-mail marketing strategies in the hospitality industry. Through a large number of data and case analysis, the author resolves the current development environment of E-mail marketing. In addition, the author puts forward his own views and summarizes a set of standard E-mail summaries from several important aspects of E-mail marketing activities.
jamigovaerts

How proximity marketing can help the high street | The Drum - 0 views

  • beacons haven’t taken over the marketing world in the way so many predicted, however, some of the world’s biggest brands are redefining the customer experience with proximity marketing - with or without beacons.
  • Amazon is trying to reshape the in-store customer experience with a fleet of Amazon Go stores where customers can simply walk in, pick the items they want and walk right out - no queues and no physical payments action whatsoever.
  • One of the most successful uses of proximity marketing also happens to be one of the oldest, though. The Starbucks mobile app allows customers to place orders, pay in-store, collect rewards and receive custom offers from the biggest name in high street coffee.
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  • shopping habits are changing and online spending continues to increase. Yet, there are parts of the consumer journey that online-only technology can’t fulfil - and this is where retailers need to innovate most.
  • The technology that powers proximity marketing is only going to improve as smart cities grow and IoT becomes a part of our everyday lives. But the technology, in its current state, is already there to redefine customer experiences and the way consumers engage with brands, based on their immediate location.
  • When Apple launched iBeacons in 2013, proximity marketing became the industry’s favourite trend. With the right technology, this hyper-localised strategy was supposed to bridge the divide between online content and offline consumer action but Apple’s iBeacon platform ultimately failed to take off.
  •  
    Module 6: Proximity Marketing This article focuses on the use of proximity marketing in 2020, and discusses how beacons have not taken over the offline and online market like Apple and Google originally hoped they would. Discussed in the article is how Amazon is utilizing proximity marketing in their Amazon Go stores This technology in a COVID-19 world will allow shoppers the flexibility to go outside of their homes and continue to social distance as all payments occur as, " customers can simply walk in, pick the items they want and walk right out - no queues and no physical payments action whatsoever." Similar to Starbucks where guests pay directly on their phones, the proximity marketing market will continue to grow as technology continues to advance. According to the article, "The technology, in its current state, is already there to redefine customer experiences and the way consumers engage with brands, based on their immediate location."
kuhang

Industry Leading Property Management Company UR Concierge Services Inc. Chooses RentMoola As Exclusive Payment Platform - 0 views

  • With RentMoola 360° payments, URCSI customers can access multiple forms of payments from credit, debit, bank transfer, digital wallet, and even pay over the phone or in-store in over 85,000 locations.
  • This collaboration allows both companies to provide their solutions to more customers and help a larger population be more financially and socially secure.
  • Through URCSI, RentMoola will be able to provide customers a way to seamlessly communicate and engage digitally.
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  • The communication platform makes it easy to manage maintenance requests, send out news and updates, organize community events, and provide property managers a new revenue stream by promoting utilities, cable, bundles, and more.
  •  
    With the rising of Cloud-Based PMS, most of traditional PMS company are trying to change things. They hope to make their system more flexible and easy to use. So, URCSI start with exclusive payment platform and build closer relationships and interactions with customers.
Lymaris Collazo

For hotels, COVID-19 has created an operational "perfect storm" | PhocusWire - 0 views

  • As recovery starts in some regions, hotels are reporting dramatic and unexpected spikes in occupancy numbers, swinging from 20% to 80% occupancy and back down to 20% in a matter of days.
  • The guest profile of businesses is changing too in many instances. Many business travel hotels are having to work out how to pivot to attract and profitably service leisure guests in the absence of a business travel market currently.
  • On top of the basic need to have the right amount of staff in place for a highly unpredictable amount and type of guests, hotels also have to process systemic change in the way their operations run to be able to guarantee the care of their staff and their guests. Surgical precision also needs to be applied to cost control.
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  • One of the biggest challenges for operations managers and housekeepers alike is in implementing the new cleaning protocols. Extra time needs to be planned per hotel room to make sure that the right processes are followed, and the correct manpower needs to be available to execute the new protocols adequately for the number of rooms in service.
  • Some hotels are also deploying cleaning techniques that require rooms to be left for three hours after spraying, others have a policy of allocating 24 hours per room before another guest can be checked in to ensure there is time to fulfill the new procedures.
  • We found that the average guest departure room cleaning time has increased by around 11% overall. In fact, over half of the hotels we spoke to report an increase in minutes spent cleaning each room of at least 15% or more. Ivaylo Ivanov, senior vice president of hotel operations for Okada Manila, estimates that at his 5-star resort, an additional 25% to 30% time is required to clean each room.
  • Expense control pressures are increasing as the costs of these operations continue to spiral with hotels having to outlay hundreds of thousands of dollars on new cleaning products and protective equipment.
  • With supplementary costs like these to balance against occupancy rates of 20% on average, hotels have to find sophisticated ways to save on costs that won’t compromise the all‐important guest experience.
  • We expected hotels to turn to a reduction in stayover cleans as a key way to balance out the additional time spent cleaning check-out stays. However, our survey found that only 12% of the hotels we have spoken to have actually gone down this route.
  • As a five‐star resort where guests know to expect exemplary service, Ivaylo at the Okada resort just simply does not feel this option is open to them as standard (although, if guests request it, that would of course be accommodated). Indeed, where guests do want stayover cleans, the hotels we surveyed found that cleaning time significantly increases by around 35%.
  • When all the strings of the current environment for operations staff are pulled together, it is easy to see that not only have their jobs fundamentally shifted but that there is a huge amount expected of them. Technology has played a vital role in helping teams to communicate and operate during the lockdown, and it will be even more essential to equip teams with the right tools in this next stage so that hotel operations can be optimized to the maximum and these key members of the team are properly supported.Now is the time to assess each process to gain a full picture of exactly what labor and time is needed to continue to operate at the level guests expect whilst adapting to the regulations of the new normal. Any investment made now to support this essential part of any hotel will pay dividends in terms of lowering staff turnover and increasing guest satisfaction as well as realizing business-critical cost savings.
  •  
    On this article you may learn about the security protocols of cleanliness rooms that hotels had to implement due to Covid-19. This challenges comes with the accompanion of controlling opertional costs and what labor and time is needed to continue to operate at the level guests expect whilst adapting to the regulations of the new normal.
mannypjr

The Best HR Practices in the Hospitality Industry - 0 views

  • the quality of your customer services and staff responsiveness has a direct impact on the image and reputation of your hotel
  • Hotel executives need to devise a well-managed and robust talent management strategy that creates a culture of ongoing development, high performance, and organization-wide commitment to providing top-notch service in a practical way.
  • recruiting, hiring, and retaining skilled and experienced employees
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  • Many hotels are incorporating web-based solutions to optimize their key management functions in order for managers, HR executives, and employees to shift their focus to other high value activities.
  • Within just a year, the hotel experienced significant positive results in terms of better alignment and lower turnover.
  • scale, magnitude, duration, and strategic importance
  • hotels are cultivating talent pools internally and preparing their employees to assume leadership roles whenever the time comes.
  • The senior management needs to outline such customer service values of their hotel, and ensure that their staff at all levels has clear understanding of how their individual actions contribute to providing these values.
  • senior executives also need to empower employees to ensure they deliver them in a way that adds values to the customer experience.
  • experience and knowledge must be readily available to employees, and must be proactively delivered to the right person at the right time.
  • they need to reinforce core messages through timely advice, which should be both practical and inspirational.
  • Each employee needs to know this change is going to affect their work, what they are expected during and after the transformation process, on what basis their performance will be measured, and what is the altered definition of success and failure.
  •  
    This article outlines some best practices in the hospitality industry. These include: Talent Mgmt. & High Levels of Customer Centricity, Executing Enterprise-Wide Transformation, and Lessons from Industry Leaders.
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