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davidclark33

Take 5: Barry Fieldman, Smart Bar USA - in the Mix Magazine - 0 views

  • Barry Fieldman Co-Managing Partner Smart Bar USA
  • The primary users of the SmarTender are cocktail servers and waiters/waitresses.
  • Today we have installations in movie theaters all over the U.S., including many Regal Cinemas. We have installed numerous units in hotel casino gaming properties (both American Indian gaming and non-American Indian gaming). The SmarTenders are deployed at service bars, pool cabanas, theaters and restaurants. We have also placed our SmarTenders in private suites at major stadiums including those for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. Cruise lines are currently looking into using our machines as well. Portable SmarTenders are also currently utilized in banquet and catering halls.
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  • The software also prevents unauthorized use by automatically locking the system after each user’s order is complete.
  • Each user is provided an access code or employee swipe card, and all drinks prepared by that access code are stored and recorded in the on-board management screen.
  • The SmarTender will not replace a bartender who serves those customers seated at the bar; that is part of the relationship a proprietor has with a customer. There are many applications where a customer orders a drink and never sees it made by a bartender. In these cases, a service bar is utilized and a “service” bartender prepares drinks for servers. SmarTender can eliminate the need for that extra bartender, thereby affecting labor costs. The servers do not share their tips with a service bartender because there isn’t one – this makes the servers happy. The customer gets their drink faster (keeping the customer happy and more drinks sold) because the server is in control and not dependent on a service bartender.
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    This article is an interview with one of the managing partners of SmartBar. He speaks about some of the specific uses and that it was never intended to replace a bartender, so to speak, more of replacing a service bartender. Its worth the read.
anonymous

Are customers' reviews creating value in the hospitality industry? Exploring the moderating effects of market positioning - ScienceDirect - 0 views

  • reviews
  • positive effect on hotel revenues
  • outside popular destinations
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  • online visibility
  • user-generated reviews
  • 240 small and medium-sized hotels
  • online retailers have thus been gaining increasing market power in influencing customers’ purchases (i.e., Inversini and Masiero, 2014, Silva, 2015, Yen and Tang, 2015) and have improved market transparency and uncertainty for travellers (Toh, Raven, & DeKay, 2011). For this reason, their role is now considered an infomediary (Chen, Yang, & Wang, 2015) because their capability to add value in transactions depends primarily on collecting and processing information about prices, destinations and travellers’ reviews.
  • positive effect on hotel revenue growth
  • outweighed by a negative effect on gross profit margins.
  • managerial implications discuss how hotels should use social media features according to a strategic view based on pursuing the horizontal and vertical differentiation of their services in an attempt to create more economic value from their online visibility and to protect profit margins from the intermediation in their customer relationships.
    • anonymous
       
      MIS idea of how to actually use the information giving from this style of data mining
  • Online reviews provide additional information for travellers to mitigate the uncertainty about the quality of a hotel and about its fit to their needs and preferences on accommodations and destinations.
  • 50,115 user-generated reviews on TripAdvisor,
  • shake up long-lasting reputations through reviews posted by unmonitored influential opinion makers
  • Internet can be a value-destroying mechanism for small businesses and can deter hotels’ capacity to defend profit margins
  • empower buyers
  • ncrease the degree of rivalry among firms that sell and distribute their products/services
  • bargaining power
  • First, online ratings can have a beneficial effect on the occupancy rate of rooms, which is especially important for larger hotels that bear a greater cost of idle capacity, especially in off-peak periods. Second, visibility on social media can allow hotels to apply a price premium thanks to greater economic value generated by market transparency, the reduction of the search costs for both parties involved in the transaction
    • anonymous
       
      Hypothesis broken into 2 parts
  • brand image of hotels,
    • anonymous
       
      Potential here for bad press. Viral videos of mistakes/ misinformation etc.
  • maller hotels with opportunities for market growth in segments in which they have a limited market presence
  • exploring the relationship between online visibility and the creation of economic value in terms of increase of sales and profitability for a panel of 240 Italian small and medium hotels
  • ive million registered users who visit the platform 30 million times per month on average
  • we consider only the profitability (the value appropriation achieved through online visibility) and not the increase in sales (the value generation achieved through online visibility) because hotels’ market positioning affects a hotel’s capability to appropriate the economic value brought by online visibility and influences hotels’ ability to negotiate the infomediation fees, which in turn impact hotels’ profitability.
  • social networking (i.e., the opportunity that users have to connect with people with similar travel interests, needs or experience) and knowledge sharing
  • travellers can more easily find persons who share similar travel preferences and needs. In a similar way, a user consulting travellers’ reviews can see if the reviewer is a member of his/her friends’ social networks on other platforms, such as Facebook.
  • beyond allowing hotels to improve their room occupancy rates, online visibility may allow hotels to apply price premiums.
  • respond strategically to online reviews
  • positive relationship between online visibility and sales
  • three different forms.
  • first is the rating assigned by users, who can express their evaluations on a quantitative scale.
  • rates given by users are distributed over the scale.
    • anonymous
       
      Think amazon review
  • number of reviews that users give to hotels
  • we may expect that online visibility on social media – seen as a composite measure of the three above-mentioned elements – can positively impact hotels’ revenue growth
    • anonymous
       
      hypothesis
  • hotels’ market positioning between their online visibility and profitability.
  • Online visibility has a negative effect on the gross profit margin of a hotel.
  • Consequently, high star-rating hotels apply price premiums for their superior quality and attract less price sensitive customers, who have a higher willingness to pay for quality
  • we expect that less price sensitive customers are willing to pay more for hotels with higher customer ratings on infomediation platforms because they perceive these hotels to be more valuable
  • The relation between online visibility and sales profitability is stronger for hotels with high star-rating.
  • iche tourism appears to offer a more meaningful set of experiences, given the knowledge that tourists’ needs and wants are being met
  • “what makes a tourism destination truly competitive is its ability to increase tourism expenditure, to increasingly attract visitors while providing them with satisfying, memorable experiences, and to do so in a profitable way” (p. 2).
  • However, a number of studies have reported that online user-generated reviews are perceived as more credible than traditional word-of-mouth when they come from persons with similar attitudes and preferences
    • anonymous
       
      Hate this.
  • Hotels in niche destinations are thus better positioned to extract more economic value from online visibility.
  •  
    This article analyzes how user-generated ratings have a positive impact on hotels revenue growth. It looks at this through three different methods: one, ratings that the uses provide, two at how those ratings are "distributed over the scale," and three, the number of reviews that hotel receives. The article observes 240 small to mid scale hotels in Italy. Some issues we see come up revolve around the subjectivity of user-generated reviews and how that can positively and negatively affect hotel occupancy and interest. Ultimately, it appears that hotels that already have a high star rating will benefit most from these user-generated ratings because they have a stronger bargaining tool. The other benefactor are small, niche hotels whose increase viability and unique qualities help it in encouraging new tourism and high level experiences.
anaslip

10 Examples Of Customer Experience Innovation In Hospitality - 1 views

  • When a guest feels the hotel understands them, they are 13% more likely to stay there again. The majority of hotel visitors want to experience new technology
  • Marriott is testing the technology at its hotels in China, which shortens check-in time from three minutes or more to less than one minute.
  • InterContinental Hotels Group is creating AI smart rooms in its hotels in China. The rooms allow guests to use voice control technology and speak naturally to get personalized assistance for both business and personal travel.
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  • Aloft Hotels uses Botlr, a robot butler, to deliver items to guests around the clock.
  • Guests at New York’s Yotel can have their bags stored with Yobot, a robotic luggage concierge. Robots aren’t entirely replacing humans, however—a lesson learned by the Henn-na Hotel in Japan, which fired half of its all-robot staff to employ more humans.
  • More hotels are moving away from traditional room keys to leverage RFID technology through guest wristbands. The technology is popular at resorts like Disney World and Great Wolf Lodge.
  • The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas has Rose, an AI concierge who can help guests book spa services and restaurants and offers insider information like secret menu items at the hotel bar. Four Seasons Hotels uses Four Seasons Chat for 24/7 chat service that is powered by humans, not AI, for a more personal touch and responds to messages in 90 seconds or less.
  • . Hilton Hotels has introduced mobile check in for rewards guests to seamlessly check in, choose their room and unlock the door through an app. 
  • ach room at the CitizenM Hotel in Amsterdam comes equipped with a MoodPad tablet, which allows guests to change the temperature, TV, window blinds, alarm and lighting in one place. Some Marriott hotels have smart shower doors where guests can jot down their ideas while in the shower and then email the image to themselves for future use. 
  • A number of hotels and resorts, including Radisson and Omni, offer the service and have seen improved customer satisfaction and online booking rates. 
  • Hilton uses location-based services at some of its resorts to alert guests to events and activities that might interest them based on where they are on the property.
  • The wall of each room at Hub by Premier Inn in the U.K. includes an AR map of the local area. When guests point a smartphone at the map, they can learn about local attractions and get recommendations for the best things to do and see.
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    This article tells us about 10 new innovations in the hospitality world. Mostly it is talking about some innovations in the hotel industry such as face recognition at the registrations, voice-controlled rooms, and smart amenities.
Karyn

Green Chemistry – Electronics TakeBack Coalition - 0 views

  •  
    This article discusses a solution to the toxic chemicals that are used in technological products and its effect on the environment due to lack of recycling and toxicity hazards. The current solution to the hazardous chemicals leaking into the environment and its human rights issues has been a management solution only. Products are made with these chemicals without, possibly for decades, knowing the true harm that coming into contact with them can cause to humans and the environment, so scientists simply try to decipher this and contain the problem. This has led to huge amounts of money trying to clean the damage already done by this tech trash. We are now learning (especially with the rejection of trash from poorer nations), that there needs to be a better solution to this problem. The article points out a plan with a few strategies, but which center more around prevention, than cleaning up after a mess. This is where "green chemistry," comes in. Technological products of all kinds can be redesigned with prevention of toxicity in mind. This has to do with not only using less toxic chemicals, but using chemicals that break down in certain ways, testing new methods to see how they break down before using them, designing safer chemicals, using renewable raw material, design for better energy efficiency, and more. The article states that it is important for the electronics industry to take responsibility and to design with green chemistry. Green chemistry is a very new science, brought about by the realization of the overwhelming issue of toxic tech trash. A smattering of universities are now developing these green chemistry programs, or in the least, requiring chemistry students to take courses on toxicity which were not requirements previously.
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    The hospitality industry can contribute to this movement by recycling hardware, reducing hardware usage, and purchasing technology that becomes developed that is considered to be "green." This way, the industry can produce less waste that is driving this huge international problem.
Kevin Sepulveda

Cruise Ship Apps are Dramatically Improving the Cruise Line Experience - Here's How - TheStreet - 0 views

  • "Beyond supporting travel needs, these apps are providing convenience. In the old days, when you wanted to make a restaurant reservation or if you lost your bill, you had to go someone's desk and stand in line and wait. Now you can just do these things from your phone.
  • some of the new apps provide interactive ship maps, locations of the various activities onboard, menus for the day's meals, onboard spending calculators and even language and currency conversion assistance geared toward the various exotic ports a ship may be pulling into.
  • Some of the other functions that come with the cruise line designed apps include being able to track your luggage from when you first board the ship until your suitcase arrives at your room, and booking restaurant reservations.
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  • Mast says one the best apps out there right now is Royal Caribbean's Royal iQ app, which allows users to make dinner plans in advance, book shore excursions, reserve evening entertainment, manage dining reservations, schedule times for onboard activities, and modify reservations.
  • All of this is really just the beginning, when it comes to onboard cruise ship apps. According to Mast, Spencer-Brown and others, the technology and its potential is still in its infancy. The next few years will continue to bring more innovation and convenience. But already the apps have made a significant change in the quality of a cruise experience for many travelers in the increasingly complex and dizzying world of cruise ships.
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    Cruise ships are creating software applications to enhance the guest experience. Long lines and long lines are a thing of the past with new software which bring excitement to the guest without running the adventure. With significant companies hopping on the software/guest experience, it's easier than ever to stay connected and get the most out of a cruise vacation.
blevi022

Rwanda's Tourism Seeks Innovative Minds to Recover from Covid-19 Shock - KT PRESS - 1 views

  • Rwandans with tech or innovative business solutions will this June have an opportunity to pitch their business ideas that could help the country’s tourism and hospitality sector recover from the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.
  • Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Private Sector Federation (PSF) ICT and Tourism Chambers will this June 4, host an online conversation and workshop to identify innovations and solutions the technology sector currently has, or could build to support the recovery process.
  • The digitalisation of tourism will play a big role in leading the needed recovery for the economy just like it is helping in other sectors like trade, education and healthcare as global economies face-off the Covid-19 pandemic,”
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  • focus on digitalisation of the tourism sector as the new driver of the economic recovery for tourism businesses, which have been one of hardest hit in the country as a result of closed travel for local and international visitors.
  • government has embarked on starting up a Rwf100billion Covid-19 economy recovery fund, which will largely support the tourism and hospitality, industry, and water, electricity, road infrastructure projects among other income-generating activities.
  • session will expose the sector to listen into new concepts and ideas that they (participants) have, so as to tackle different challenges emerging from Covid19 but also for the overall sector.
  • We want to be inspired with new ideas. Not only digital way to also expose more ideas, answering the potential challenges that we have, not locked to one way (digitalisation) but many more alternatives of improving the sector going forward,” Kariza told KTPress today. 
  • online workshop aims at opening up new opportunities for technology companies to better understand the need in the tourism sector and in doing so develop solutions fit for driving the sector’s growth.
  • largely focus on strategies that could leverage technology to encourage domestic tourism covering but not limited to travel and hospitality sectors.
  • ICT Chamber has been working with the Chamber of Tourism to promote digitalization of the industry, by supporting companies that are serving in the industry through incubation programs at the ICT Innovation Center in Kicukiro district.
  • accelerate digitalization of the tourism sector through public private dialogue. 
  • RDB’s intent is to leverage technology and the solutions we have to stimulate domestic tourism and help the sector’s recovery. Taking lessons from what has been done with e-commerce and the online e-learning platforms. RDB will also present to us their challenges that tech companies can turn into monetize-able opportunities
  •  
    Rwanda is seeking to engage the technology industry in a conversation to generate ways that e-commerce can be used to help the Tourism and Hospitality sector recover in the wake of COVID-19. This will be an online conversation on June 4 to find ways the technology already has or could create to help tourism. It notes how digitization has been important to other sectors of the economy during the pandemic including sectors such as education and Healthcare. By leveraging technology it is hoped that ways can be found to stimulate the tourism industry
laurenperdomo

https://www.restaurant-hospitality.com/finance/recognizing-signs-embezzlement - 1 views

  • “Things to look out for are uneven income flows, changes in patterns of income or net profits, and odd tipping patterns on credit cards,”
  • “Other unusual activity can include people who are adamant about working together or picking certain shifts, shipments paid for that aren’t delivered, and straight-out theft of product, cash, or drinks.”
  • Looking for things such as stacks of quarters by a bar till and unmarked bottles in a bar break can signal that an employee is keeping track of money in the register.”
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  • “There’s often skimming of the register, voiding of tickets, and wasting of food,” he said. “As you move to the back office, there’s a lot more opportunity to handle cash and receipts, create phony vendor companies, and use company cards for personal purchases.”
  • At the end of the day, the only way you’ll ever know if there’s a thief among the ranks is by performing regular checks and audits.
  • The owner should have a firm hand on all activities, change shifts and responsibilities, and a firm hand on the cash and checkbook,”
  • “Other recommended tactics include paid professional spotters, and, of course, security cameras, especially at the bar.”
  • “It’s important to have a bookkeeper in charge of the everyday numbers and an accountant, preferable a CPA, to review the books. This provides a nice check and balance if the owner is not overly hands-on or proficient with numbers.”
  • “Simply monitoring employees and ensuring a system of oversight will lessen the likelihood that a normally compliant employee will be tempted into a crime of opportunity,”
  • “Run a transparent inventory to ensure employees know you are tracking usage. Beware of employees wearing large coats or clothing out of season and suspicious behavior.”
  • “It’s easy to look at the bookkeeper, but it can come from anywhere. Start by looking through the profit-and-loss statement every few weeks; it will show symptoms. And don’t have a set routine; show up to work randomly.”
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    This article mentions ways in which an owner can detect if theft is taking place at his restaurant, ways in which this could be prevented and also what do in the case of an actual theft.
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    This article have mentioned the reality that restaurant theft and embezzlement are pretty common and are causing problems, yet the most owners and managers are not willing to deal with the issues with law enforcement. The reasons include unwilling to ruin the employees' lives and the threshold of establishing a theft case. However, the article suggested that seeking advice from accountants (preferably CPAs) and lawyers is a brilliant way of dealing with these issues. It can give the owner better understandings of the situation, and deal with the wrongdoers in a cleverer way.
blevi022

Horizon Properties Group Maintains Business Continuity with Aptech's PVNG During CV19 - 0 views

  • When we deployed Aptech’s PVNG Enterprise Accounting this February we did not plan for a pandemic, but PVNG has been instrumental in our business continuity because now we can oversee financial performance and effectively manage operations remotely,” said Joshua M. Morgan, CHTP, director of technology and infrastructure for Horizon Properties Group, LLC.
  • Horizon Hospitality LLC specializes in hotel ownership, partner relationships, and hotel management services. Its portfolio includes Hilton, Marriott, and independent properties.
  • PVNG is an enterprise hotel accounting software financial system that supports one property or large multi-brand, multi-property portfolios. It uses the most current technology platform incorporating AP, GL, A/R, statistics, financials, and bank reconciliation with easy to use browser navigation. Aptech is an IBM Premier Solution Provider and Prophix Premier Business Partner offering web-enabled business intelligence, budgeting, and hotel accounting software
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  • PVNG lets us remotely pay our vendors and coordinate the A/P workflow with our GMs. Our VP looks at all payments and invoices personally and can approve them remotely on her tablet from wherever she is. Remote cloud financial management was a major factor in our PVNG decision.
  • PVNG also lets us compare Hilton’s property reports with Horizon Hospitality’s budgeting and expense data
  • Our executive team works late and travels, and PVNG lets them oversee operations wherever they are. Even with CV19 taking place, PVNG lets our executive team work more efficiently to serve our properties and investors.”
  • Aptech VP Cam Troutman said, “Horizon Hospitality’s team is doing a great job of leveraging mobile technology to operate its properties during CV19’s impact on business. Aptech is happy to support the creative management processes Horizon implemented with PVNG. We are proud of how Horizon is handling the current issue.”
  • When we deployed Aptech’s PVNG Enterprise Accounting this February we did not plan for a pandemic, but PVNG has been instrumental in our business continuity because now we can oversee financial performance and effectively manage operations remotely
  •  
    Horizon properties had been looking to get a remote accounting system for 3 years and deployed Aptech's PVNG Enterprise Accounting system this February prior to planning for a pandemic but have become very useful for business continuity during COVID 19 by allowing operations to be managed remotely.
jackyreis

Can You Use Your POS To Help Eliminate Restaurant Fraud? - Total Food Service - 0 views

  • Can You Use Your POS To Help Eliminate Restaurant Fraud?
  • Fraud comes up a lot in the restaurant industry. It’s with good reason. In a business where margins are always tight, customers literally walk in and out, fraud continues to be a constant concern.
  • But did you know your POS has other features to help in your efforts to keep transactions safe and your business secure? Scammers are a crafty lot.
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  • Auto-grat scams
  • Automatic tip calculation is a genuine convenience for large parties and those who have difficulty determining appropriate gratuities.
  • Your POS has the ability to determine which tables qualify for an automatic gratuity, so management can easily see which large parties in your dining room will be targeted. If you see cash left after a table has already paid a bill, you may want to intervene and remind the guest that gratuity was already covered, and additional cash should only be left if they intended to do so.
  • Coupon scams
  • Discounts are a fantastic marketing tool. But they’re only good if the customer is aware of the deal.
  • Thankfully, your POS system can ensure all active coupons loaded into the system, and that they’re applied directly to an order, rather than after a cash transaction is complete.
  • Voided transactions
  • Except there are no guests behind those transactions – just wads of unaccounted cash. In a slow restaurant bar, this would never fly. But in a thumping nightclub with high ticket table service bills throughout the facility, a “mere” $500 discrepancy is a drop in the bucket for management, and an easy target for scammers looking to pad their own pockets. Even worse? Serving up complimentary drinks for cash transactions and pocketing the money but adding a tip to the jar as a cover-up.
  • The “Wagon Wheel”
  • In this scenario, a waiter transfers an item like a soda from one check to another prior to closing the tab when a guest pays in cash
  • Then, the next time a guest orders that soda, the server starts the ticket on that tab and continue to transfer the soda while they pockets the cash. Sometimes known as the “revolving soda,” this frequently happens with items like beverages where the server or bartender is preparing their own.
  • To avoid this, restaurant owner’s can monitor activity and behaviors such as low sales of server-controlled items like drinks, compare bartender performance over the same shift, or set restrictions requiring a manager to authorize any transfers.
  • The list goes on. But, thanks to loss prevention features built into modern POS systems, hospitality managers now have the ability to get ahead of scams being run.
  • By leveraging algorithms to identify patterns and suspicious transactions, such as increases in coupon redemption or notably low cash totals, and help you bore down to the source of the problems, before they get out of hand.
shannaton

4 hotel accounting challenges and solutions | Hotel Management - 0 views

  • Adopting solutions that are developed by hoteliers exclusively for hoteliers gives users a critical leg up over their competition
  • From the front desk and housekeeping to security and management staff, it seems like hotels have infinite types of employees
  • “Adopting a solution that incorporates job standards, in addition to budget numbers, allows operators to ensure that proper staffing is in place based on the previous night’s stay and circumstances,
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  • With the industry constantly claiming it must have data, the challenge then becomes how to best decipher that data to determine the story being told and then how to read the story to best react.
  • Managing the challenges of finances and accounting is no exception here, he said. While Watson said outsourcing isn’t for everyone, it can be an efficient and cost-effective solution for some
  • management companies work for multiple ownership groups that often have a variety of differing expectations and timelines
  • The solution: Partner up,
  • As a result, through month-to-month subscriptions, all hoteliers, from single-location owner operators to large-scale portfolio-management companies, can leverage best-of-breed accounting and financial technology at a fraction of the cost of ownership
  • It is critical for hoteliers to establish a balance between monitoring daily labor costs, managing overtime, overseeing daily payroll transactions and accessing simple reporting functions
  •  
    This article describes the challenges that hoteliers face when it comes to accounting principles. There are four major issues that arise: Enterprise Resource Planning, Staff Variations, Data Overload, and Core Challenges. Choosing the proper system to manage your finances is an important issue when dealing hotel accounting. Taking into consideration your varying staff levels into the financial arena is also important. In addition you must choose what data is important to your financial success. Once you determine the data to use its very important on what you do with it. Its important to have someone on staff that will understand how to interpret the information and make it useful. If no one is on staff then the choice to outsource the task will be the next option.
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    The first challenge is Enterprise Resource Planning - Following through with solutions specifically for hoteliers made by a hotelier is the most effective. The second challenge is Staff Variations - Cloud-based tools will be a hoteliers best friend in managing earnings and transactions. The third challenge is Data Overload - When there's just too much data, hoteliers have to find a way to have an analytics tool that will show where improvement is needed. The fourth challenge is Core Challenges - To focus on core challenges, although this may not work for everyone, outsourcing can be a good way to save on costs and it's an efficient method.
  •  
    It's no secret that hotel finances and accounting can be complex and come with their own unique sets of challenges. And those challenges often arrive during times when hoteliers are already stretched thin in terms of time and resources.
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    This article explains the 4 types of challenges within Hotel accounting. It briefly describes each item with their pros and possible or actual challenges that may be presented. It gives the reader a more balanced idea as to what that option is capable, in addition to its limitations. Some solutions may work for certain types of hotels, while other options are simply not viable, or within the best interest of the company. Accounting options will have some sort of customization, depending on the property, it's the size and whether or not is a branded location.
  •  
    Every hotel company would like to build their own enterprise back-office system. It is more cost effective solution would be to partner up and invest in hotel sector specific technologies. With needs to staff variations real-time monitoring of labor is essentially in reducing labor cost. Another cost-effective and efficient solution is to outsource any finances and accounting practices that the hoteliers can't perform themselves
  •  
    Its no secret that a hospitality companies financies and accounting tools can be complex with there own unique challenges. Cloud based reporting tools are there to help manage and monitor transactions in real time through an array of data sets.
jalipman

How Restaurant Operators Can Optimize their POS Investment in the COVID-19 Environment | Modern Restaurant Management | The Business of Eating & Restaurant Management News - 1 views

  • Perhaps they’ll see that they’re better prepared for contactless and touchless payment technologies of the future, or that customers are willing to share valuable data and feedback at the time of payment – or that they’re suddenly getting more value out of their POS investment than ever imagined.
  • oving forward, the protection of personal health will now be on par with protection of personal financial information.  Whether restaurant operators like it or not, these responsibilities are now table stakes for the restaurant industry and the new fundamentals for delivering the ultimate dining experience
    • jalipman
       
      This is very valid it will open an entire new market for touch less safe POS systems
  • These financial and health assurances are vital to bringing diners back to restaurants, and to the resurrection of the industry as a whole. 
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  • Through direct integration with the POS, restaurant operators can extend their POS to create a truly secure and touchless environment. This option is available for several well-known and widely used POS systems such as Aloha, MICROS, Squirrel, Dinerware and Focus – and can be utilized without the hassle of having to re-program menu items and prices, or retrain waitstaff.  It can also help operators avoid any changes to merchant processing or pricing.  
    • jalipman
       
      The direct integration will be very helpful and create and ease of service that will drive people to go to restaurants more. The idea of safety and touch less environments will be a driving force in the food market from now on.
  • By using a fully PCI and EMV compliant pay-at-the-table device that extends the POS to the table, restaurant guests are empowered to use their phone to facilitate the transaction. With the simple scan of a QR code, guests can immediately launch a payment process that’s both encrypted and entirely touchless. 
    • jalipman
       
      This aspect of the POS system will really make the dining experience virtually all from your phone. It may adversely affect the in person staff because it is a lot easier to tip less and leave honest feedback if you can do it from a distance.
  • he consumer can choose either to reduce contact with a payment system where they control their own credit card, or to eliminate all contact with a touchless payment option.  
  • It also represents one of the largest investments for a restaurant operator, so it only makes sense to explore how the investment can be leveraged to provide additional value. 
  • ow can their existing point-of-sale (POS) system and related technologies help to provide a safe environment with secure payments?
  • Despite these conditions, the expectations placed on restaurant operators are greater than ever.  On top of the everyday commitment to prepare great food, provide stellar service, and maintain an inviting environment, restaurant operators have, in recent years, been challenged to meet higher standards for protecting customer payment information – and now to preserve public health and safety.  The responsibility is daunting, some may say overwhelming.
    • jalipman
       
      As we go further into the corona virus epidemic it is becoming even more evident that proper safety precautions are important. Using these POS systems is also difficult during a time like this because they are very high touch areas.
  • There have been many industries that have had to adjust to the new reality of COVID-19, but likely none have been more dramatically impacted than the restaurant industry.
marble_bird

Roche2016_Article_RecreationalDivingImpactsOnCor.pdf - 0 views

shared by marble_bird on 07 Jul 20 - No Cached
  • Recreational diving on coral reefs is an activity that has experienced rapidly growing levels of popularity and participation.
  • the potential role of dive impacts in contributing to coral reef damage is a concern at heavily dived locations. Management measures to address this issue increasingly include the introduction of programmes designed to encourage environmentally responsible practices within the dive industry.
  • Coral reefs are a threatened, but globally important ecosystem, providing key services to local communities such as coastal defence, sediment production, and fisheries benefits
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  • The role of dive supervision was assessed by recording dive guide interventions underwater, and how this was affected by dive group size.
  • Over recent decades, tourism activities benefiting from the pleasing aesthetics and biodiversity of coral reefs, primarily SCUBA diving and snorkelling, have experienced rapidly increasing numbers of participants globally
  • We found evidence that the ability of dive guides to intervene and correct diver behaviour in the event of a reef contact decreases with larger diver group sizes. Divers from operators with high levels of compliance with the Green Fins programme exhibited significantly lower reef contact rates than those from dive operators with low levels of compliance.
  • Damage to corals on dived reefs often occurs as a result of skeletal breakage, particularly in branching species (Guzner et al. 2010;H a s l e ra n dO t t 2008). Tissue abrasion can also result from diver contact (Hawkins et al. 1999), and a recent study reported a higher incidence of coral disease in areas heavily used for recreational diving
  • It is possible that other diver characteristics such as qualification level or dive experience may affect the ability to respond to dive briefings, although several studies have failed to find a correlation between divers’ reef contact rates and experience
  • Due to the difficulties of effectively addressing global stressors, an emerging recommendation is the focus of coral reef management on local scales (e.g. Anthony et al. 2014). A frequent challenge facing managers and policy makers at local levels relates to the maximisation of tourism benefits whilst simultaneously reducing its environmental impacts
  • Alternatively, previous experience and possible affinity and attachment to a specific dive site may influence how closely divers follow pre-dive briefings and affect their behaviour underwater, as suggested by place attachment theory
  • The methodologies which have been developed to minimise the environmental impact of SCUBA diving on coral reefs can be summarised as follows: (1) managing or restricting diver numbers, (2) regulating the locations in which SCUBA diving activities occur, (3) regulating the types of equipment used, and 4) implementing programmes which seek to manage the methods used by the dive industry in providing their services. Restricting diver numbers is based on the concept of a reef dive site’s ‘carrying capacity’; a level beyond which diving impacts become readily apparent.
  • Restriction of SCUBA diving equipment has focused on banning the use of accessories believed to increase reef contacts within marine protected areas such as gloves, muck sticks, or underwater cameras; however, such regulations are often unpopular within the SCUBA diving community
  • Governments and reef managers seek evidence that the effort expended in implementing programmes translates into measurable benefits; however, research into the effectiveness of such programmes at influencing diver behaviour and reducing diving impacts is limited.
  • In this study, we focused on dive operators participating in the Green Fins diving programme at three major dive locations within the Philippines.
  • Nonetheless, levels of dive supervision underwater would intuitively appear to be linked to rates of reef contact, and when examined, the willingness of dive guides to intervene in correcting diver behaviour underwater has been found to significantly reduce diver contact rates
  • Malapascua Island, Moalboal, and Puerto Galera.
  • divers may have been aware that a Green Fins compliance assessment was taking place, but they were unaware that diver contacts with the reef were being specifically recorded. Green Fins environmental assessments and diver observations were conducted simultaneously.
  • Dive guides and guest divers from 44 dive operators participating in the Green Fins programme were followed
  • Diver characteristics with potential to influence underwater behaviour were categorised as the following factors: diver qualification level (three levels), dive experience (five levels), and previous number of dives at site (three levels).
  • Divers were assigned a unique diver number, and then followed and observed underwater for the entire duration of their dive.
  • If the overall group was very large such that the dive guide could not be seen from the rear of the group, the pair immediately behind the dive guide was selected.
  • Compliance with the Green Fins approach was determined by utilising diver contact rates and dive guide intervention rates as at the dependent variables of interest, and by defining dive operators according to those who had received a high score (above the median score) versus those with a low score (below the median score) on the most recent conducted Green Fins assessment
  • The part of the body or item of equipment making contact with the reef was recorded as follows: hand, fin, knee, camera, muck stick (a handheld stainless steel or aluminium rod approximately 30 cm in length) and equipment (e.g. tank, submersible pressure gauges, octopus regulator), and multiple (parts of the body and equipment simultaneously). The time during the dive at which the contact occurred was also recorded.
  • If observable damage (i.e. breakage, obvious physical damage, or injury) occurred as a result of the contact this was recorded, together with the apparent awareness of the diver to the contact, regardless of damage caused.
  • Interventions were defined as an event in which the dive guide intervened in diver behaviour through signalling or demonstrating correct behaviour in order to minimise or prevent contact with the reef.
  • A total of 100 SCUBA divers were observed at three diving locations within the Philippines (Table 1). The majority (72 %) of these divers were male, and diving experience ranged from those completing diving training to those who were instructors elsewhere with experience of hundreds of dives.
  • Following dive completion, divers that had been observed underwater were asked to complete a survey to determine diver characteristics.
  • Most contacts were made with fins (45.5 %, n = 261); however, hands (19.5 %, n = 112) and dive equipment (15.9 %, n = 91) were also major contributors to the total number of contacts
  • Contacts made with a camera (77.7 %) accounted for the highest proportion of contacts which resulted in damage, followed by contacts made with the knee (43.3 %), multiple body and equipment parts (38.2 %), equipment (30.7 %), fins (29.8 %), hands (24.7 %), and muck sticks (23.5 %).
  • A total of 81 interventions were observed (in comparison to 573 reef contacts—see Fig. 4 for the distribution of contacts and interventions);
  • Camera systems were carried by 55 % of divers; camera-wielding divers accounted for 52.7 % of the total contacts made with the reef. Of divers who utilised a camera, 35 % carried a non-specialist compact type and 20 % carried an SLR type within a specialist underwater housing.
  • Mean (±SE) dive time was 49.3 ± 0.42 min. A total of 573 diver contacts with the reef were recorded during all assessed dives.
  • The difference in the frequency of interventions was statistically significant (ANOVA, f = 4.81, P = 0.03)
  • although a significant portion (36 %) appeared unaware of the contact they made with the reef.
  • In addition to overall contact levels, some studies have also quantified reef contacts either as the mean number of contacts per diver over the duration of a dive or the diver contact rate per minute of dive time. The mean contact rates of 5.7 contacts per dive, or 0.12 contacts per min, which we observed at dive sites in the Philippines are lower than those previously reported
  • All divers observed within the present study were diving with operators participating to various degrees in the Green Fins environmentally responsible diving programme.
  • Identifying factors and policy measures which influence SCUBA diver behaviour underwater can help coral reef managers determine where to most effectively focus effort and funding with respect to dive management. In this study, we found that 88 % of the divers observed made at least one contact with the reef at some point
  • Divers who are more conservation aware and who contact the reef less may preferentially choose to dive with environmentally ‘accredited’ dive operators; indeed, this assumption partially drives dive operator participation in such programmes.
  • Underwater interventions by dive guides have been suggested to be the most successful deterrent to diver contact with reefs (Barker and Roberts 2004). In this study, there was no significant difference in the intervention rates between dive centres of high and low Green Fins compliance. Therefore, we cannot attribute the observed difference in diver reef contact rates to differences in intervention rates between these two groups.
  • Studies examining the effect of carrying camera equipment on the frequency of diver contacts with the reef have produced conflicting results.
  • Additionally, the administration of a pre-dive briefing can influence diver contact rates underwater (Medio et al. 1997). The Green Fins programme incorporates the use of a pre-dive briefing that emphasises the importance of refraining from contacting the reef, which would be expected to result in lower diver contact rates.
  • A concern amongst representatives of the diving industry is the use of muck sticks to manipulate animals unnecessarily—pushing animals out of holes for better viewing, stressing animals to show customers their stress behaviour (e.g. an octopus changing colour), and physically breaking hard coral to be used in photographs.
  • When examining the part of the body or dive equipment which made contact with the reef, we found that the majority of contacts were made with fins, in agreement with Krieger and Chadwick (2013) and Rouphael and Inglis (1998).
  • It has previously been noted that dive guides customarily perform different roles at dive locations globally; at some locations, they act primarily to lead the dive group around the reef, whilst at others, pairing with and closely supervising individual divers throughout the course of a dive
  • this suggests that dive guides carry out the closest supervision during the initial phase of the dive and then switch to a ‘dive leader’ role at the front of a dive group.
  • This study provides evidence that the effective implementation of environmentally responsible practices, via programmes designed to reduce diving impacts, may translate to reduced diver reef contacts.
  • Many diver characteristics which might intuitively be expected to impact reef contact rates, such as level of qualification and overall experience, were not significant influencing factors in this study, and high versus low levels of Green Fins compliance did not influence the number of interventions made by dive guides underwater.
  • For continued economic benefit and conservation of Philippine reef dive locations, we recommend that management measures facilitate high levels of compliance with environmentally responsible diving programmes to reduce the impact of diving on coral reefs.
  •  
    This article discusses a study performed at various diving locations in the Philippines to determine whether or not measures taken by Green Fin diving guides were effective in reducing contact with coral reef systems. The study also recorded the average number of contacts with the reef during a dive, as well as the equipment or body part which came into contact with the reef most often, and which actions resulted in the most damage. The study finds that adherence to Green Fin standards or other policies may significantly impact diver behaviors and reduce the level of contact with sensitive coral reefs during SCUBA dives.
Angelica Saez

Information Technology: A Boom in the Hospitality Industry. : 4Hoteliers - 1 views

  • Selecting the right type of system is most important for any hotel operation.
  • Most of the hotels use special software made for hotels which are generally called as Property Management System (PMS). PMS comprise of both front end and back end solutions. There are various other solutions which are not part of PMS but, get interfaced with the PMS.
  • Good IT personnel should have the knowledge of all the three components, i.e., System (flow of each activity), Software (that translate the activity in measurable terms both quantitatively and qualitatively) and Hardware (Media through which we can see these activities). All this should reflect in primarily guest satisfaction, staff satisfaction, management satisfaction and owner satisfaction.
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  • While choosing the system, proper evaluation of the PMS has to be made. Evaluation must be in terms of User Friendliness, Menu Driven navigation, Key defined access, Lesser number of key strokes, Easy access to required data, Visual Impacts, Meaningful reports, various levels of security access, possibility of customization at the user level etc.
  • Today, computers do magic for the front end staff enabling them to devote more time in attending guest requirements in a pleasing way without compromising the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
    • Angelica Saez
       
      Today working in a hotel it is very useful to use computers. They are very helpful and are able to resolve a lot of things for guests.
  • System requirement for each facility differs and it should preferably be a cost effective solution. It is not necessary that all hotels require most expensive computer systems. Small hotels needs a simpler systems than the big operations where complicated services, standards, data assimilation and decision making tools are required. Many big operations require various interfacing such as Telephones, Internet, Interactive Television, Door Locking system, Yield Management, Global Distribution System, Visa/Master Card etc.
    • Angelica Saez
       
      Having the right IT personnel working in your hotel is very important because if something went wrong they are there to fix it.
  • While choosing PMS software for a property, one has to derive the guest needs in the front end on one side and needs of the management and the owner at the back end on the other side. Staff should be able to use the system comfortably in achieving both the ends. One has to set the right parameters in the system that can be used to create meaningful reports that helps in decision making easier and faster at all levels. This, as said before, requires expertise and knowledge of all three components of IT.
  •  
    A good information technology system consists of three parts, namely system, software and hardware. Choosing the right system type is the most important for any hotel operation. Choosing the right system requires expertise in hotel operations. Good IT personnel should have knowledge of all three components, namely the system (the process of each activity), software (software that can quantitatively and quantitatively translate activities) and hardware (the media through which these activities can be viewed). All these should be mainly reflected in guest satisfaction, employee satisfaction, management satisfaction and owner satisfaction. Proper training is the key to effective implementation. Many times, the hotel does not fully use the software. Although the system can provide various reports and usages, they have not been fully utilized due to lack of proper training and induction in the use of software.
anonymous

How Can Small Hotels Work With Global Distribution Systems (GDS)? - 0 views

  • 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.
  • What is a global distribution system (GDS)? In simple terms, a GDS acts as a middle-man that connects your small hotel to a network of travel agency professions.
  • 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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  • The GDS world leaders are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Travelport and Worldspan.
  • Retail model This is the traditional model,
  • Whoever sells your room earns a standard commission. Your guest pays you, then you pay your agent.
  • This is the default model used upon connecting with a GDS.
  • 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.
  • An OTA sells rooms on your behalf, allowing your guests to find and select your hotel, check your availability, and make a booking.
  • When you do create an agreement with them, the OTAs improve your listing, pay you directly (removing the hassle of credit card transactions), give you the guest’s contact information, and give you the option to run promotions with them.
  • 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.
  •  
    A global distribution system, or GDS, helps hotels sell rooms to travelers. A global distribution system helps smaller hotels connect to several different travel agencies. GDS allows travel agents to sell rooms to customers. There are three models: the retail model, the merchant model, and the opaque model. The retail model is the most traditional model. The travel agent would get a commission from the sell. The guest would pay the hotel and then the hotel would pay the agent.
sharlabrunsvold

Is Google Making Sabre and Global Distribution Systems Obsolete? - 2 views

  • Finnair wanted to move “…to our desired state of pricing and distribution freedom in direct channels and content differentiation in indirect channels.” Effectively, the airline saw more value in flyers purchasing fares directly from them, or through indirect channels including online travel agencies and Google Flights.
  • While Sabre handles a number of tickets every year, it also comes with hidden costs that are ultimately passed down to flyers. In 2011, American Airlines accused its former child company of exorbitantly raising fees for using the global distribution system to publish fares.
  • While Sabre was doing battle with airlines over fees, a smaller player in the travel space with a big name would begin building their pathway to dominance. In 2010, Google quietly purchased a flight information software company called ITA Travel.
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  • Google Flights, along with other global distribution systems, provided a new direction for airlines. Instead of being dependent on a legacy technology service, they could market fares directly to travelers, and keep more of the fare through direct booking with the airline.
  • As a result, the tables turned against Sabre – allowing airlines to be bolder in their relationship with the global distribution system.
  • As technology makes data accessibility easier for both companies and consumers, more decisions could be made outside of global distribution systems and through consumer-focused technology.
  •  
    This article discusses how Google Flights has become a threat to global distribution systems, such as Sabre. Google Flights allows airlines to market directly to travelers and keep more of the fare. Sabre, on the other hand, has been charging airlines fees for their services. This contrast has changed how airlines utilize global distribution systems, and Google Flights could ultimately replace GDS's like Sabre.
irinadolgopolova

A Look at Cloud Computing in the Food and Beverage Sector | Charles Phillips - 0 views

  • Today, everyone from individual restaurants to giant F&B manufacturers is reaping the benefits of cloud computing.
  • Cloud computing gives F&B entities the support that they need to extract critical reporting data and use it to their advantage. At the manufacturing level, organizations can use the built-in analytics resources of the cloud to mine the necessary data to make and execute business decisions in a timely manner.
  • Using cloud platforms, those in the F&B sector can access information about their inventory purchases, learn how long it has been since they purchased certain items, and make additions to their stock. This allows them to more easily manage the flow of their inventory and determine if and when they must make changes to inventory protocol.
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  • In the cloud, for example, F&B businesses can greatly mitigate the risks surrounding the potential loss of data. Instead of using an internal system, they will rely on POS software that they access through the Internet. Since an outside vendor maintains this system on their behalf, they do not need to worry about losing their data if their on-premises hardware should fail.
  • If a glitch causes their in-house system to go down, they can rest assured that they can still access their payment system online.
  • Cloud computing is critical for F&B organizations with structures like these because it allows them to consolidate these various locations into a single enterprise cloud platform. This gives them the ability to oversee all infrastructure—from pieces of equipment to digital systems—from a central location and integrate these disparate resources efficiently.
  • F&B businesses can also leverage cloud platforms to facilitate innovative marketing campaigns through customer interactions. For instance, restaurants can deploy loyalty programs that link with customer information, allowing them to engage with their audience outside of the brick-and-mortar establishment.
  •  
    An article describes the ways in that F&B companies can benefit from using cloud computing. The streamline options, great security offered by cloud computing providers, the abilities to work with all size enterprises, and ways to improve customer experience are discussed.
blevi022

Southwest Airlines Expands Corporate Booking Through the GDS – Skift - 0 views

  • For the first time, the majority of the airline’s content and booking capabilities are available in global distribution systems (GDS) at an industry-standard level of participation, instead of at a basic booking level.
  • In August 2019, the airline announced that after nearly 50 years in operation, it would significantly expand the amount of content it offers in the GDS through agreements with Travelport and Amadeus
  • Nearly every other major U.S. airline is in all three of the main GDS providers: Amadeus, Travelport, and Sabre, at an industry-standard level of participation. Prior to this May’s launch, Southwest only offered limited participation in Sabre and Apollo
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  • This strategic move has been a long time coming for Southwest and its corporate travel buyers — and it’s more important than ever during such a turbulent time.
  • Additionally, the airline is partnering with the Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) to ensure the expanded offerings act in accordance with industry standards and to efficiently manage the reporting and settlement of tickets booked through the Travelport and Amadeus channels.
  • August 2019, the airline announced that after nearly 50 years in operation, it would significantly expand the amount of content it offers in the GDS through agreements with Travelport and Amadeus. The move to make the majority of its fares available in the GDS marks a big step forward for the airline in how it reaches business travelers and provides a more consistent customer experience for its corporate travel
  • Southwest Airlines is one airline that has its eyes set on a rebound to emerge stronger on the other side. One way it plans to do so is by shifting its distribution strategy. For the first time, the majority of the airline’s content and booking capabilities are available in global distribution systems (GDS) at an industry-standard level of participation, instead of at a basic booking level
  • uthwest Airlines is upping its corporate travel game by significantly expanding its presence in the global distribution system (GDS) network. This is set to enhance the relationship between the airline and its corporate buyers and agencies.
  • Nearly every other major U.S. airline is in all three of the main GDS providers: Amadeus, Travelport, and Sabre, at an
  • Prior to this May’s launch, Southwest only offered limited participation in Sabre and Apollo. Most corporate bookings were made on Southwest’s direct channels: SWABIZ, its corporate booking channel, and the Southwest API direct connect. Those that did book within the GDS were unable to perform
  • The process was not only atypical for a major U.S. airline, but was often frustrating and more costly for corporate buyers and agencies.
  • The agreement will give both Amadeus and Travelport industry-standard access to Southwest’s fares and functionality, like allowing travel managers to change and cancel flights through the system without having to pick up the phone and call the airline directly.
  • This move was in direct response to customer feedback. For the past few years, we’ve been told that the GDS is the preferred channel among business travelers and corporate travel buyers for booking travel. But it’s a timely shift as well. This new channel strategy will put Southwest in a strong position when a recovery begins,” h
  • The key benefit of the GDS is that it allows us to perform the booking in a standard workflow. The ability to serve our clients will be more efficient, and it will ultimately result in allowing us to offer a more effective and comprehensive service.”
  •  
    This article is about Southwest expanding their GDS game. They are going to enhance their relationship with travel agencies and corporate customers.
  •  
    Southwest Airlines had long resisted using GDS. It has been known for only allowing direct booking through its website. Last year, Southwest began to significantly increase the amount of tickets offered through GDS. This is viewed as good move for Southwest to help increase sales for the Corporate Travel market. This shows that GDS continues to have a use and airlines who did not use them are now willing to use them to help sell their inventory especially in the wake of COVID-19.
marble_bird

Modern information technologies in the hotel business: development trends and implementation issues Modern information technologies in the hotel business: development trends and implementation issues.pdf - 0 views

shared by marble_bird on 08 Jun 20 - No Cached
  • Today, the process of digitalization of the Russian economy has a significant impact on hospitality industry.
  • Digitalization is becoming a major trend, which is evident in the distribution models of hotel services, and also actively comes to the sphere of automation of internal business processes
  • Digital innovations are gradually becoming the new standard of hotel service
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  • digitalization of hotels also includes introduction of advanced solutions for analytics and security.
  • Digital security systems can not only track the slightest disturbance of the public peace, but also provide additional information.
  • At present day, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of some recent innovations, that are related mostly to the hotel's image and attract customers.
  • The main trends in the use of modern technologies in hospitality industry in the conditions of digitalization of the economy are presented in figure 1.
  • The main disadvantages of traditional technologies include the following: local server requires regular maintenance from the system administrator; access to database is restricted by local network facilities; connection speed is limited by the speed of a local provider and divided among all who are drawn to the sever database
  • Artificial intelligence plays an equally important role in improving the efficiency of public catering enterprises.
  • Use of artificial intelligence also allows to analyze the work of the restaurant, and to detect violations of rules by the staff via control of bills, number of the discount card uses, as well as the number of cancellations and deletions of checks.
  • The issue of privacy that characterizes traditional tourism industry is also addressed through blockchain technology, minimizing exposure to sensitive data in the face of existing problems with cyber attacks and fraud in traditional financial services.
  • if the concept of hospitality industry enterprise changes, it is possible to change the composition of paid licenses.
  • Almost all companies in hospitality industry have started to think about using chatbots to solve specific business problems [9].
  • One of the ways to get competitive advantages for accommodation facilities is to invest and use new technologies. In this regard, augmented reality is the most promising technology for the modern tourism industry. its development and application can increase the competitiveness of destinations.
  • Augmented reality can be used to interact with guests before, during, and after their stay.
  • Augmented reality technologies can be used to stimulate travel purchases (the effect of being present in a hotel room, as well as demonstrating the environment and local services using a virtual reality headset). Also, virtual and augmented reality, including those with tactile sensations, can be implemented by digital concierges to issue recommendations to the client on various issues and types of recreation
  • The API allows one hotel technology system to automatically (i.e., without the participation of hotel employees) interact with another technology system and gain access to its functionality.
  • The largest companies develop APIs for clients or internal use at some stage.
  • The main point of switching to outsourcing is to optimize the company's costs while significantly improving the quality of services provided. The main criteria for outsourcing are the lack of competitive advantages and not the strategic position of this operation or function for the company
  • With the help of speech Analytics tools, specialists can work with 100% of requests. To do this, all dialogues are translated into text and analyzed using a special system.
  • Based on this analysis, you can develop a change program for existing procedures and processes and optimize self-service systems (personal account, website).
  • The result of the introduction of innovative speech analytics technologies will be an increase in sales efficiency, an increase in loyalty and customer satisfaction, a reduction in service costs without loss of quality, and behavioral analytics.
  • Currently, biometrics can already be used to identify and confirm the client's identity. Face scanning technologies when registering with the service.
  • Analysts predict that the international market for biometric solutions for the hotel sector will grow exponentially in the coming years. Biometrics, as the most reliable and accurate authentication system, can provide real-time information about employees and their use of their working time.
  • The result of using this technology is payment without wallets and Bank cards, increasing the speed of customer service, and a high level of security.
  • In 2018, Amazon presented a special version of the voice assistant for hotels — Alexa for Hospitality, which is currently being tested in Marriott hotels.
  • At the same time, the use of Echo speakers in hotels raises concerns about the privacy of personal data. Amazon claims that audio recordings of the guest's voice commands will be deleted every day, and the hotel administration will not have access to both request records and response records.
  • IT outsourcing is the transfer to a third-party contractor (outsourcer) of all or part of the functions for servicing the organization's information needs. Currently, this technology is becoming increasingly common in the hospitality industry.
  • The result of the analysis of cash transactions is a regular analysis and detailing of violations, categorization of violations, development of measures to counter violations, training of personnel [13].
  • The main problems of implementing information technologies in the hospitality and tourism industry include the high cost of these developments, the duration of staff training processes, and the adaptation of the built system of business processes of enterprises.
  • The problem is also the difficulty of attracting investment in the hotel business
  • Another problem with the introduction of information technology in the hotel business is the lack of relevance of regulatory documents and legal barriers to the introduction of innovations
  • In addition, the introduction of modern information technologies in the hospitality industry is complicated by the level of technical and technological complexity of implementation projects.
  • nformation technologies are improving at a rapid pace
  • In the leading Russian hotels that are part of the global hotel chains, the work is fully automated, technological, and has its own computer and Internet services. Such hotels already have a successful experience in implementing modern information technologies.
  • Customers of the hospitality industry already have a lot of experience in using mobile devices.
  • Digital marketing is becoming a key channel of communication between the hotel and the network. At the same time, only the implementation of continuous data collection, processing, analysis and aggregation tasks will allow the management of hospitality enterprises to achieve one of their main goals - to better understand their customers and interact with them.
  •  
    This article describes trends in technology in the hotel industry and the applications of them in the Russian economy. The article discusses what the trends in IT are and how they may apply to the hotel sector of the hospitality industry, providing real-world examples and hypothetical scenarios. The information in this article is insightful to the relationship between hospitality and information technology and provides a perspective on this relationship from the viewpoint of the Russian hotel economy specifically.
Karyn

How AI is Transforming the Event Planning Space One Conversation at a Time - 0 views

  •  
    This article discusses the use of AI technology in the event planning sector, concluding that AI can be used as chatbots interfaces, data collection tools, and recommendation engines for event planners, to make the event planning process much faster and easier.
  • ...2 more comments...
  •  
    Used properly, AI technology can lead to enhanced experiences for guests and a more streamlined and efficient process for event planners, and extremely useful feedback data. AI technology is increasingly being utilized by many businesses and investments in smart technology is increasing across industries. The article states that by 2020, about 80% of business plans will include the use of chatbots and the event planning industry will do the same.
  •  
    Here is why and how: --AI technology is easy to implement at a low cost --They are easy to "plug" in and incorporate and suitable for any size events --A chatbot is a great solution for engaging with guests easily at lower cost and complexity, although it seems the idea of creating a dedicated app for a smaller event may not seem necessary --Consider that a chatbot build for marketing purposes will cost small and medium sized enterprises about $3000-$5000 --However they can then be implemented for any event format within a particular business niche, so consider the investment may be worth it --Especially since they can be quickly trained to engage guests and answer frequently asked questions or to direct guests to the correct solution or person, 24 hours a day, so the need for support staff 24 hours a day is eliminated, or it allows a better experience if, for any reason, a guest needs help during non-business hours, and can even escalate guest situations at any time to management. --It can provide insightful information for guests, such as matching a guest with the best sessions for them, based on their interests, contacts, or any other useful information, taking away the need for the guest to analyze and plan their day based on an overwhelming complicated schedule --Eliminates the need for the guest to carry around a large schedule and try to plan their day accordingly --Not only can the AI technology automate recommendations for the guests, it can also automate recommendations for planners, taking away the need for planners to manually sift through a variety of sources, send outreach emails, etc.
  •  
    On that note it makes it easier to match planners with appropriate vendors as well. Both of these are considered the AI matchmaking function. The chatbot can also unite fellow guests with similar interests or experiences and give them a place to virtually meet each other, and Facebook has launched chatbot extensions. A company called PubNub allows a business to build its own chatbots from scratch.
  •  
    Instead of having to download yet another app, chatbots allow users to connect through apps they've already downloaded (like facebook messenger), or other popular apps. And of course all of this data and interaction is collected and can be analyzed by event planners to streamline and enhance business, increase revenue, and increase guest satisfaction based on recommendations from the AI technology.
bdegirolmo

6 Benefits of Investing in Event Management Software | MemberSuite - 1 views

  • According to a study from Frost and Sullivan, the industry of event management software currently stands at approximately $28 billion and maintains a 3.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
  • You can more easily aggregate the conversations from your social media platforms and organize them into segments from the trends
  • Keeping records digitally also reduces the instance of human error that can cause problems in real time.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • You can also automate your follow up process - thank you emails are now sent off to your entire audience with just a few clicks.
  • Automating your outreach and intake processes allows your organization to snapshot events as they happen.
  • Your marketing is definitely more effective if it is targeted at the members who are already more likely to be interested in your event. When you have the right software package as a tool, you can completely tailor it to fit the individual event.
  •  
    This article discusses the importance of implementing software management systems into your event business. It allows for a more smoothly operated and efficient business. The 6 benefits that come with having a software management system are: improving engagement, automation, snapshotting, professionalism, highly targeted market, holistic solution.
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