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This article spotlights this new virtual concierge system that is used in the hotel sector. The Petit Denit virtual concierge service is located in the hotel reception and was initially an application used for the home and now was adapted to the hotel sector for the first time in Barcelona. The Petit Denit "allows the hotel reception to create a small tourist guide tailored to each guest." This a fast system that allows the hotel to print instantly a customized guide for each guest on all the tourist attractions in the city. I think this saves time and money for the hotel because you have a small machine doing the work of an individual. When the staff is busy, this allows the Petit Denit to do all the work and satisfy guests staying at the hotel. In addition, it's practical because the design can be adapted to mobile devices and tablets since we live in a world that is very technologically advanced and everyone is always on their smart devices. Finally, it's important that the hotel sector stays on top of every technological advance because there is a lot of competition.

Medical tourism has recently skyrocketed due to the fact that procedures done outside of the U.S. are a fraction of the price that they would usually cost inside of the US. Companies inside of the U.S. are also beginning to send their employees to locations outside of the U.S. due to the fact that they're much more inexpensive. However, some companies are beginning to shy away from this practice due to "possible risks".

In essence this "data mining" related article explains how the FTC recently outlined new policies in an effort to close loopholes which allow websites to gather and turnover information gathered to third parties for advertising purposes.   Changes such as videos, photos, locations, etc, which cannot be pulled without parental approval are making impacts on what can be pulled and shared. Another change includes closing a loophole that gives apps/websites directed at children the ability to collect information through plug-ins, without parents permission. In conclusion, these rules are based on the Children s Online Privacy Act of 1998, which gave the FTC the authority to implement/periodically update rules pertaining to "how the law is enforced". These rules will go into effect on July 1, 2013.

Marketing and E-business for tourism industry A good marketing plan is important to the success of businesses. There are several guidelines and ways to use electronic medium to stay competitive. A business has to always take care of the existing customers and their needs without forgetting to attract new customers. Tourists are using internet to shop for new destinations so an online presence is very important for consumers so they will be able to find out information about the business. There are several guidelines to consider: * Promptness people expect to get a response within a reasonable time. * Quality means that your website should be able to compete with other websites on the internet and this means that it should have good quality photographs and professional tone to the websites. * Consistency means a good consumer service and a professional image. There are many ways to promote services online: email newsletters and promotion, building traffic by working with other websites, offer deals, get involved in discussion sites about the industry you are in. During an off season bookings, simplicity of booking should be a priority. Tourism operators should join travel and tourism "mall" to offer their products and host their site and use these low cost services. Companies can also promote their products online by offering auction style sales that helps consumers have some kind of control over the prices of the different services in tourism. One of the perks of online shopping for travel services is the price transparency and the fact that costumers have choices of different prices in front of them. Company should Increase a web marketing pull by offering different services and also advertising with other companies. Promote and minimize the costs of the services by adding "do-it-yourself" features. A list such as: A FAQ, maps of location of other area attractions and local guides for rental outlets. To improve the way you market your products and

Hotel Citi International is among the top hotels in New Delhi. It provides traditional hospitality with state of the art facilities, conveniently located near business and tourist places in New Delhi.

To prevent the potentially harmful effects by the disaster, the chief engineer Sam Lota of Sheraton Sacramento Rancho Cordova Hotel set up a detailed engineering contingency plan. The plan can protect physical plant systems, computer systems, gas system, etc., and can also back up the electric's battery power and phone system. Instead of reacting to crises as they occur, Lota set up some action plans in advance. He asked staff to review the emergency procedures and make sure the emergency generator can be used smoothly. However, the emergency plan does not specifically deal with the computer system interruption caused by earthquake. Some experts advised that the data should be backed up in an offsite location.

This article focuses on the benefits that Maestro (a property management system) offers to hotels and how it has been benefitting hotels that currently use their system, more specifically, smaller, independent hotels. Most chain hotels and large facilities are required to utilize a flag-mandated property management system. However, independent operators are not linked with these mandated systems, and have a choice as to which system to utilize. Maestro claims to offer Northwind, a service that allows Maestro to be utilized in a cloud-based system, enabling it to host multiple properties and save the establishment money by not requiring them to purchase servers and security, whereas a traditional PMS would have done so. The president of Northwind also states that they strive for their clients to succeed and that it is more of a partnership with those who utilize their service, and their goal is to make a hotel's operations more profitable and efficient. The article continues on to explain the uses and functions of the Maestro system, including being fully-integrates and offering operators loyalty program benefits and the functionality to compete with programs that were solely available to chains. It also tracks points earned and redemption stays as well for those loyalty programs, and claims to minimize errors and save operators money. It also allows integrations that provides social media outlets through the property management system, allowing the user to operate their business simultaneously through different systems. Maestro also boasts that the utilization of their property management system allows hotels to increase their direct bookings through the property for a lower cost than if they were to utilize a different system in which it was not flawlessly and seamlessly integrated with a global distribution system. It seems to be a property management system that enables users to complete many tasks at once, from one location, without having the hassle of

Mc Donalds is now taking another step towards technology use and providing nutritional information via QR codes. Customers can scan a QR code located on their bag and be directed to a web site that list the nutritional content of their food. This is another way McDonalds is "trying" to be more health conscious with its customers and the meals that they serve. Way to go McD's. I think this technology is beneficial in several ways: 1- the obvious of providing customers with needed nutritional information 2- it is more convenient as it allows the company to make changes to the menu items and update nutritional information without having to reprint all the associated materials 3- possible marketing opportunity to print QR codes to win prizes As a side tip I think other companies should embrace this technology and instead print the QR code on the customer receipt with data corresponding to only items they ordered.

When considering mobile technologies, many hospitality managers are not convinced of the potential benefits resulting in enhanced guest engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and increased consumer spending. The common goals of mobile technology implementation are acceleration of guest traffic, heightened interactivity, promotion and sales of goods and services, and gathering of feedback relative to the guest's experience. Mobile services include special website configurations, fluent marketing campaigns, location-based activities, digital couponing, and point-of-sale settlement. Currently, the fastest growing segment of m-commerce service is mobile payments featuring cashless and cardless payment platforms. If not already in place, hospitality management should consider business payment choices of coin and currency, credit and debit card, and mobile options.

Benchmark Hospitality has been able to reduce hardware costs for investors, protect corporate and guest data in secure off-property locations. Benchmark Hospitality uses a 'private' cloud platform to host their properties systems and data and they have centralized their property accounting systems.

The article discusses the changes to come within the GDS Travelfusion. The changes would be the inclusion of China, which would be a great expansion. Travel fusion will now allow people in china to book travel and have access to not only book travel but have access to contact support in chinese. The article discusses the different locations of travel that can be booked from china. This in my opinion is def a great for the chinese, seeing that they have a great deal of travel going out its great that they can have a low cost site that helps find the best deals for travels.

Because the calling rates decrease, hotel revenue of calling decline. However, according to this article, hotel can get much profit when using call accounting system. Hotel could track the busy number or peak calling times to set up specific rates or charge plan to maximize revenue from call. Besides, night auditors should pay more attention on reconcile balance between calling bills and hotel calling record, and ensuring the calling accounting system keep the accurate rates for different guests or locations.

A web based point-of-sale (POS) system is also called cloud POS.  This new technology allows managers to control operation remotely. The employees also can perform actions on the restaurant's computers through a mobile POS device. Some mobile POS devices will even allow employees to swipe credit cards and print out receipts on the spot. Compared with the traditional POS, web based POS makes it easier to fix any problems with the system, because a technician can access the business's account from a remote location and fix it right away.

The following article introduces MICROS Systems, Inc, a leading provider of IT solutions for hospitality and retail industries, announcement of a new integrated mobile application, Isis SmartTap. Isis SmartTap is a mobile commerce network that has transformed how people shop, pay and save, in which MICROS Systems has first implemented to ARAMARK Basking Ridge location where the mobile commerce application will be put in to production. Customers will be able to make purchases, redeem offers and present loyalty cards within this mobile application, increasing speed service. The following application is a two-way integration of Isis SmartTap into a cloud-based MICROS Symphony POS platform. ARAMARK Basking Ridge is excited to offer its customers this new POS technology engagement of transactions.

The following article introduces MICROS Systems, Inc, a leading provider of IT solutions for hospitality and retail industries, announcement of a new integrated mobile application, Isis SmartTap. Isis SmartTap is a mobile commerce network that has transformed how people shop, pay and save, in which MICROS Systems has first implemented to ARAMARK Basking Ridge location where the mobile commerce application will be put in to production. Customers will be able to make purchases, redeem offers and present loyalty cards within this mobile application, increasing speed service. The following application is a two-way integration of Isis SmartTap into a cloud-based MICROS Symphony POS platform. ARAMARK Basking Ridge is excited to offer its customers this new POS technology engagement of transactions.

Sentry Hospitality company has implemented Aptech Computer Systems Inc.'s Profitvue and Webvue. This web-enabled hospitality back office solution easily handles single or multi-property and multi-company accounting, and incorporates accounts payable, general ledger, budgeting, forecasting, and financials. Profitvue is used by over 500 properties! These programs are back office accounting systems to automate several financial reports and analysis functions for businesses and hospitality companies. Managers can check on a hotel's performance from anywhere using real-time access to financials at any time, from any location! Webvue is an extension of Profitvue that supports property accounting and reporting via the Internet. Coupled with Profitvue, Webvue enables properties to quickly and easily send and access financial and statistical data and generate reports through its Internet. Both Profitvue and Webvue are protected and secure to use!

Motel 6 deployed the Crossbeam X-Series security platform to ensure traveler security during the online reservations process without slowing the network or negatively affecting the user experience. The Crossbeam X-Series platform runs third-party, best-in-class firewall software to deliver high-performance, highly scalable protection for its e-commerce traffic. As the risk reduction strategy of Motel 6 is to use the best products on the market for all security applications, Motel 6 is expecting greater long-term benefits with Crossbeam.

This article speaks about beacon technology in airports. Beacons use Bluetooth technology to prompt the display of information, such as luggage location, directly to the users phone or tablet. This investment is hoping to show less congestion for passengers in the airports. She talks about how beacons are being deployed at security and check-in areas of an airport. In conclusion, airports are willing to invest this money in order to not only satisfy their guests, but also increase revenue by attracting new and old passengers.

With 110,000 employees in more than 750 properties, it has been a challenge for Starwood of making current data accessible to authorized users. So Starwood recently deployed Information Builders' WebFOCUS to augment their SAP suite of applications, and the results are accommodating HR professionals worldwide. This system boosts the productivity and reduce manual labor. The WebFOCUS Managed Reporting environment made it easy to develop standard reports, set up domains for various properties and divisions, and manage the reporting infrastructure from a central location. 

This article describes the system that Starwood has implemented in regards to their HR department and the benefits of the system. The Webfocus system which is a customizable reporting system that can give a myriad of data to the HR managers.

This article gives us a glance at six different technological trends being used and "revolutionizing" the hospitality industry. The six trends are cloud/software services, mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization. The trends are all seen across the board in hospitality nowadays and are making huge changes in the industry. We have been talking about cloud computing and the pros and cons of using a cloud to store information and even with all the controversy, companies are investing and using the cloud. The use of tablets and smartphones has changed the way we interact with technology and the hospitality field is not staying behind. They are developing mobile sites and apps to help customers look at pictures and reviews about a place, check in and check out or make other arrangements. Social media is also revolutionizing hospitality by creating a reputation for businesses whether they be positive or negative. People can freely post about whether they enjoyed their stay at a certain hotel and helps build the online reputation of the company. In addition, more and more companies are looking to become more personalized experience. When I think about this part, I think mostly of the new systems rolling out at Disney World that scream personalization, guests can select their Fastpasses ahead of time, can use MagicBands to purchase things, get into their hotel, get into the park as well as to utilize the Fastpass system and every time a MagicBand is scanned at a touchpoint, the cast members know the person's name and whether they are celebrating something. With integration, customers and staff can access information from different departments all on one system and with globalization companies are trying to use systems that are global and used worldwide. 

Technological developments continue to have a great effect on all aspects of our lives, the hospitality industry not being an exception. Calum McIndoe in his article "Six Technology Trends Revolutionising the hospitality industry" outlines areas of technology that managers within the industry need to take advantage of. Cloud technology, though this concept is fairly new it can provide great financial benefits to companies as it cuts cost greatly due to the fact that it eliminates the heavy hardware requirements traditional technology offered. Mobility, the fact that portable devices can add a competitive edge to the service offered. Think traditional services being provided on the go away from a fixed station. Social; the popularity of social networking sites have changed the face of hospitality and tourism marketing completely. Properties are now forced to monitor social networking sites to learn about customer demands and to also learn about the image their company has out there and how they can improve it. According to Mr. "for any hotel to not at least monitor social medis is tantamount to willingly flying blind." Personalized systems; value for customers within this industry has to do greatly with the personal touch added to the service delivered. These merged systems allows properites to use data to ensure that guest needs are met. Integration; the joining of isolated systems used in all areas of operations on the property. The use of integrated systems allows for the pulling of data from the different departments thus ensuring proper management of services delivered and revenue management. Globalisation; It is important that hospitality companies adapt to changes and trends brought about by globalisation. Whether the current global outlook is taken into consideration when considering how a company operates can greatly impact the final product.

((NOTE: The author already highlighted the article in yellow when I found it, my personal highlighting is in PINK. Sections 5 and 6 are not highlighted in pink because I agree with the parts that the author highlighted yellow in those sections; Diigo toolbar will not let you highlight over something that has already been highlighted.)) This article mainly focuses on the technological changes in the hotel industry in pertinence with storing hotel information versus the traditional method(s) used by hotels that involved little to no technology at all. The article lists six different points or examples and states that businesses, especially small or upcoming businesses, need to follow by these six trends. The part of the article that stood out to me the most when reflecting on the lectures and power points for this week is the first trend. The first trend speaks about a "cloud" software (which I am not really familiar with so excuse me if my explanation is not 100% sound) and announces that "around 85% of the queries we see from hospitality companies and hotels include a serious look at cloud computing". The author lists a few reasons why such a high percentage of hotels are doing it this way. He basically says that you do not need special staff or special training to maintain the system; the system maintains itself so you can have more time to focus on your guests and trends in their patterns. Also, as far as the cost is concerned, "upfront investment is lower with the cloud as there are no initial hardware costs or associated expense…". Even though I am not very familiar with this service just yet, I like the idea of freeing up employee time to go and interact more with the customers; attending to the customers' needs is the most important thing in my eyes. The article goes on to list mobility, social media, personalized systems, integration, and globalization as all equally important parts to this revolution of technology pertaining to the hospitality industr

This article discusses the different environments in which a Smart Bar may be functional and efficient.  It intelligently discusses both sides, positive and negative of the Smart Bar and defends itself against trying to take away bar tender positions.

As with any new technology, I believe this product must find its niche. I don't believe that it will replace a face to face bartender in every situation. In areas where the customer needs to "grab a drink and go" (i.e. Theaters, Stadiums, Hotel Lobbies, etc) I think this is an excellent option. This system cannot completely replace a bartender, but it can make a drink quickly and accurately in situations where that is all that is required. This system cannot upsell, suggest particular menu items, create complex or frozen drinks, communicate with a lonely customer, etc. I believe that there is a tremendous market for a product like this, and, as a former bartender, I am jealous that I didn't come up with this idea myself.

Fieldman's intentions for the target audience for this technology may be overstretching the capabilities. I do see the movie theaters as a great option for this product. Certain areas of casinos and stadiums as a possibility for locations, such as the poker room areas in casinos or boxes in stadiums would be good locations too. I would see volume of business being the biggest enemy of this technology.