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This program insures the safety and well keeping of the patients. I know it's not the latest in-room safe technology. But having just been in a hospital and having a dreadful experience I can honestly say that this technology would have helped.  During my hospital stay I was lost, mistaken for a man, not given an IV, and almost given the wrong prescription. Now I know it was 3 am, but if this program would have been installed I don't think I would have the same story to tell. The fact that the software tracks both the patients and the staff is what I find amazing. That was the biggest problem with my visit. No-one knew who was supposed to take care of me. This would have changed all of that.

The article highlights the dramatic change that Disney will effect to increase customer service at the theme park using the Near- Field Communication technology (NFC). This technology which is presently been use by hospitality firms and other industries will allow Disney to eliminate the need for room keys, credit cards, and paper tickets. Customers will be given a wrist band which will be tied to the Disney websites and all accounts numbers and IDs created on the website will be embedded in a chip that is also embedded in that wrist band. All you will need to do is just give it a tap and boom! You are given access to rides, movies, restaurants, kiosks and other attractions within the park. According to the report this saves customers and Disney tremendous amount of time but the real deal behind this is to gather more personal data about customers, and track all the activities you engaged in plus the things you bought. Personal information could be encoded in the wrist band so that an employee or even mickey mouse could greet you by name. All this technology sounds very good but what if I lost my wrist band and it gets in the hands of someone else. The article states that the wrist band can be remotely deactivated if lost or stolen. You and I know that when you having fun at Disney no one will be looking at their wrist every five minutes to see if a wrist band is still in place. If someone found my lost wristband and I notice two or three hours later who will be responsible for all these charges racked up by someone else? I really like this technology because I hate having to wait in long lines; anything that would make my life easier I will pay for it. Having said that I do believe that there are facets of this amazing technology that still needs to be tweaked.

 In the customer survey the mobile POS requirement is high, and the online payment is also popular among consumers. The trend is obviously and the development of such technology will become beneficial investment for the company.  

This article shows us the result of VSR Magazine's first annual "2012 POS Study". The result indicated some developments and some worries of end users. 28% current POS were not well integrated into other IT systems, the POS is not ready to grow with their company, and it is difficult to add additional modules or functionalities to the current POS. But it also indicated negative perceptions of wireless POS have given way to a more positive outlook. Most of them wanted mobile POS capabilities to be the top technology features for next POS solutions because of three reasons. Firstly, mobile POS is vary from improving the customer experience. Secondly, mobile POS providing associates with better tools. In addition, it speeding up checkout and providing a more mobile workforce. Most of them wanted E-wallet payment in the next POS. some others were interested in near-field communication payment, while very few people want future POS to recognize near-field communication coupons.

The article talks about the results of first annual "2012 POS Study." The study were POS were not well integrated into IT systems 28% that the POS is not ready to grow with their company(26%) and to the additional modules or functionalities to the current POS ( 30%). Secondly, the study also shows the negative perceptions of wireless POS have given way for positive outcomes. For example, they want mobile POS capabilities were the top technology features they want for the next POS solutions. According to reports, restaurant operators have a wish list of anticipated POS platforms that go beyond mobile POS. Finally, E-wallet payment was the most widely recognized new payment option, with 36% of respondents that they want it with their next POS.

Global Distribution System (GDS) & Alternative Distribution System (ADS) GDS & ADS Today's Global Distribution System (GDS) is comprised of 4 major GDS channels: Sabre Amadeus Worldspan Galileo The latter two, as of 2006, have been aggregated under the TravelPort banner. There are also a number of smaller, regionalized GDS connections including Abacus and Patheo. Included with GDS connectivity are hundreds of Alternative Distribution System channels that are effectively "hybrid distribution" mechanisms in that they provide web-based visibility to 3rd party merchants while "pulling inventory" from the GDS. These include household names such as Travelocity and Expedia and not-so-well-known sites such as e-Bookers and Opodo. A single "switch," Pegasus, provides overall system connectivity (Wizcom was acquired by Pegasus in July, 2004) and the industry is now seeing a proliferation of "direct-connects" to by-pass switch transaction and pass-through fees to mitigate acquisition costs. Connectivity to, and marketing within, the GDS is vital to the success of any hotel and resort given that 17-21% of worldwide bookings are made by travel agents through this channel. To have access to the GDS, your operation must belong to a Central Reservations Service (though you could try to create a proprietary CRS) and that is where the Hospitality Performance Group distribution program can bring value to your operation. We work closely with a number of CRS providers and can match you with one that is appropriate to the distribution needs of your property. Approximately 80,000 travel agents globally use the GDS. Hotel and resort "book-ability" has been an element of the GDS since the 80's (see the HPG history timeline) and given the vast selection provided to agents, GDS marketing can prove extremely productive--particularly in an extremely competitive market or when your operation's feeder markets are global. Working with our GDS marketi

This article talked about the GDS and ADS. It said there are four major GDS channels: Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan, Galileo. Besides, there are also small channels like Abacus and Patheo. Then, the article introduced that Included with GDS connectivity are hundreds of Alternative Distribution System channels that are effectively "hybrid distribution" mechanisms in that they provide web-based visibility to 3rd party merchants while "pulling inventory" from the GDS. Then, according to the article, the GDS is vital to the success of any hotel and resort given that 17-21% of worldwide bookings are made by travel agents through this channel. It said that about 80,000 travel agents globally use the GDS So we can say the GDS's is very useful for travel agency business. It has very long history since Hotel and resort "book-ability" has been an element of the GDS since the 80's (see the HPG history timeline) and given the vast selection provided to agents. In the end, the article promoted a new system called HPG.

This is a great article that provides tips on how to use green practices within the IT realm. It starts by giving statistics on how much energy can be consumed by equipment, and also how much electronic waste can be done when not reusing or recycling such equipment. There is tips on how to increase efficiency with your technology and also providing tips on how to properly purchase needed equipment. Another set of tips covers reducing the running costs of office equipment and reducing e-waste by the 'reduce, reuse, and recycle'. Lastly, developments for green technology and equipment are provided for us. My opinion is that this article is very informative and should be read by all hoteliers to look into and apply the tips given. Showing the statistics paints a great picture for the reasons why we should be going green with technology.

This article touches on events and the process Event Coordinators use to keep track of money. Things like dinners, galas, auctions and fundraisers are examples of events that involve a transfer of money. The "Direct benefit to donors" are the actual costs of the items and services given to guests for their attendance. There are 3 options given to report these benefits. Option 1 - Present the Costs of Direct Benefits to Donors as a line item. Option 2 - Present Special Event Gross Revenues in the revenue section of the Statement. Option 3 - Present the contribution portion as contribution revenue and the exchange portion (fair value received by donor) as special events revenue. To properly report activities each transaction needs to be recorded for revenue purposes. Tracking the number of attendees, ticket prices, and value of the event is important to make sure funds are being allocated correctly. If lump sum donations are made or sponsorships are involved, that revenue needs to be reported as well. On top of this, costs need to be calculated too, event space rental, food, table cloths… in order to come up with a final profit number. Sometimes donated auction items are used to incur a 100% profit for the organization.

It is an impressive article that a security system could be literally so sound and impregnable. It can monitor and assure all the checkpoints; especially it can scan the contractor IDs while access to the property. As we know the hospitality industry is a meeting ground, labor-orinted and customers diversified, easy to be liable for negligence.  There is news I read in the newspaper years ago, the front desk person accidentally assigned the room key to a guest that has been given to another guest in advance. And that leads to the second guest lost his $5000 in his suitcase. The court decision was the hotel was liable and compensated for the loss of the second guests. The hotel is not only has loss in money but also in the reputation. If the hotel could have the InvoTech's system, it would check all the keys, this situation would never happened. And for the system can automatic scan contractor IDs, all I can say is amazing, it not a easy thing from my eyes. Especially for some luxury hotels, there will have some VIPs, or VVIPs, their security is the top one task for the hotel

All about  Mobile Wireless Cell Phone Recycling This articles states how  people know everything about using their cell phone, such as taking picture, recording and dialing but when it  comes time to dispose of the cell phone they are clueless of what to do . Knowing how to dispose of one's cellphone is very important  for our health because improper disposal of one's cell phone  can lead to the intoxication of the ecosystems due to all the  toxins that our cell phones contains such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, beryllium,  antimony and nickel. Taking in consideration that most used cell phones can be refurbished, it is important that we use proper disposal process so the cell phones can  be fixed to be given at a better price in third world countries or even if they cannot be fixed, manufacturers can  use the materials that are still good  to make a new cell phone instead of working with raw material to make new cell phones. If  one doesn't know how to dispose of their cell phones properly  they can always give the  to a " Recycling for charity" because these programs  dispose properly of used cell phone and therefore reduce  the toxicity of our landfill.

It is true that most used cell phone can be refurbished for future use. We should aim to go green and make most cell phones restored to full function faster and economically.

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly  demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But  it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications.  If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel.  It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Technology has taken a huge toll on society and business now a day. If our business is keeping itself updated with technology, could mean we are at the top of our game. This article briefly demonstrates how Beacons can help improve your business by providing how, when and where are customers behaving. For example, Beacons allow customers to order-ahead of time. It attracts a different clientele and allows us to gain others because of a shorter or no waiting time. Like an express line. But it may become a challenge if the business doesn't know how to ensure a time-effective preparation before customers arrive. Beacons also allow customers to know exactly how much people are at that exact time at the restaurant or business, and thus waiting time, if any. Another advantage would be "push-customized notifications". I believe this is one of the most challenging for businesses. Customers (as myself) hate when we get attacked by too much notifications. If it were useful in any way or if it called my attention every now and then, but companies apparently don't pay attention to how customers may feel. It is very important to use the access wisely and give out information customers really want. Offer what they are looking for, by personalizing. It also helps to attract customers by promoting events or special offers and notifying via beacons. People like a place they can see as happy and fun. Also, who doesn't like discounts? A fifth advantage, and as I believe to be one of the best ways to retain and gain customers, is to reward the customer who passes by every now and then, with personalized dishes, and reward first time customers by attracting them with discounts specifically for them. And finally, another must consider, is that beacons help keep track of everything (all happening at a specific given time) to better improve employee wages and specifics of customers that are out-and-about.

Creative and a bit scary application of existing technologies. Much like Facebook Messenger, when do we cross the line between convenience and forfeiture of privacy? As part of the industry, the responsibility falls to us to manage the line in favor of our guests. They will know when it has become too much, and we will know very soon after when business evaporates. Provide friendly, targeted service without being too invasive. Remembering orders and having them ready on time is fine. Sending a pop-up message every time the guest passes by in a cab may be a bit much. Consider how many Starbucks messages you could receive in any major metropolitan area. Without proper care, we could be giving a whole new meaning to the word Spam.

In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.

In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.

For an individual shopper, Alibaba has also created Ali Express, which gives an individual access to the same staggering number of products at near wholesale prices. They do indeed appear to have broken the code on B2B sales while still providing availability to the consumer. Win-win.

Module 3: This article focuses on the importance of GDS systems during the challenges of COVID-19. With an emphasis on travel agents using the GDS, hotels will be able to continue to thrive and survive. According to the article, " travel agents will play a key role in connecting hotels and travelers, especially given the flexibility and changes that may be required of travelers in the coming months." This article provides insights for hotels to best optimize using a GDS for travel agents to find them. The article states, "Rate parity is important to 89% of travel agents worldwide - if they see a better rate elsewhere, they'll actively book away from your property." I believe using a GDS will be the only way in the future to continue to travel and save money. Tripadvisor is my go to when it comes to finding out about a resort and which website has the best rate for the same room.

This article provides a detailed account of the variety of ways that E-Commerce can be used within the hospitality industry. With the advent of the Internet and new and improved technology, it has become much more imperative for companies to remain competitive in this space. From VR to targeting, as well as online tracking, there are a variety of tools that hospitality firms can employ to attract customers via the Internet. As the Internet is the primary resource that people utilize to shop for hospitality products such as hotel rooms, airfare, etc... it is incredibly important for companies to remain on the cutting edge in regards to their marketing online and attracting and retaining customers.

The hospitality industry is faced with numerous responsibilities when it come to the satisfaction of guest. with the tremendous acts of growth within trends it is often difficult for vendors to keep up with the trends. some of the new trends that are being introduced include personalized features which is playing a major role today. Another major trend is now called virtual reality. I think this trend is a great addition to the industry because it allows customers to virtually place the item in their home to see if it fits their style. Also with the pandemic situations with can help with the idea of social distancing .

The innovations of e-commerce with application in hospitality is becoming a growth trend for this industry. Many more guests are interested in the experience of personalized attractions and the creativity of what brands has to offer. Many merchants are creating a tool that allows the software to remind shopper/guest about what left in the carts to reduce the number of missed sales.

This article introduced the importance of HRIS. Having HRIS in the hotel could aid the human resource team to become more organized and practice being practical in the workplace. Since this converts all the information digitally, the use of paper will definitely decrease. Having this kind of attitude towards employees will make them feel confident and secure. This in turn makes them more productive and will become happy at work. By having a clearer view of what is presently happening in the hotel, top management can also predict what could happen in the future. Some HR-related expenses that can be monitored through this system are the training costs of newly-hired employees, and the benefits given to the employees and their reported dependents. In addition, attendance can also be monitored here. Since being frequently absent or tardy could decrease the company's productivity, it is important that the hotel have a system where in top management can easily observe if there is an abuse of the company's system.

Green hotel has become a hot topic recent years since people have more concerns about sustainability of natural resources. This article is talking about sustainable hospitality hardware. It starts right from one kind of hardware material, bronze. Two types of bronze are introduced as the most popular choice for hardware, "silicon bronze" and "white bronze". Considering the long durability, excellent corrosion resistance, better fatigue resistance, lower melting point, easy care and maintenance, bronze, as a material is a dramatically long time and continues to be so today using both time -tested and innovative manufacturing techniques. The article also talks about green characteristics of bronze products. For example, it use life cycle analysis results to show bronze products is better than other materials. Bronze is 100 percent recyclable and make healthier environment. In hospitality industry, the most applications of bronze must be the door hardware, including the lock set. The article gives an example of Pelican Hill Resort which used lot bronze in the resort manufacture. Overall, it's a material choice that can contribute positively to the overall design intent of a given facility and its long-term successful operations.

Hotels have been lax on keeping up with the technological advances that have come about in the past few years. This article talks about how a few different hotels all over the world are starting to use these technologies to their benefit. Some hotels have hosts greeting guests with an ipad and making room keys etc.. while they have a drink at the bar. Others have given their guests capabilities to play the movies or music they've purchased on their ipad or iphone directly on the room TV as opposed to purchasing movies from the hotel. It seems like hotels are starting to grasp what their guests really want which is quick, paperless and technilogical convenience.

Hotels are catching up with the technological advances

"View From  the Top" discusses the new 360-degree camera technology which is helping MGM Resorts and the gaming industry to increase efficiency in their surveillance departments.  These cameras have no blind spots and provide a fish-eye view of the whole casino floor. "It offers situational awareness of the entire floor, and permits the operator to zoom in with other cameras where needed," according to Oncam Grandeye's director of global sales. This company is considered to be a leader in 360-degree technology. The article also discusses a complete solution for surveillance operations. This new technology coupled with more traditional megapixel cameras provide video history of given subjects entering or leaving the property or parking garage (for the entire month). Suspects can even be tracked "back in time" if need be with use of the 360-degree images and software. License-plate recognition software aids in tracking a suspect even if they leave the property. Many thieves end up at another MGM property (there are 10) not realizing their image has been sent out to all of the properties, so if they aren't caught at one, they will be at another. Ticket thieves for slot machines are caught when they try to cash out at kiosks, since their image is on surveillance. Through use of creating triggers in the software, players-club card thieves are caught by patterns and locations of their bets. "We'll mine data for standard deviations, wins that don't look right", says director of surveillance. 360-degree camera technology is one of the most valuable tools in aiding the surveillance operations for the gaming industry.

The article tells us how the social networks important to the hotel business. The study shows the network and social media are benefit to hotel marketing. And the ARCOTEL sees this potential opportunity in social media and network application Facebook. Nowadays, the network and some third party such as kayak, priceline provide many hotels boost in booking and increase in guest loyalty and public relation. But study shows that only 24 percent of the users would like to join hotel profiles on Facebook. The ARCOTEL hotels have integrated the apps into their Facebook sites. By using this app, the fans can directly book their favourite hotel and read ratings and other information through the app. The social media will get after them to offer excellent services. Both of them were done on the internet. At the same time, the fans who use the app to book hotel will also get prize draws, special discounts or a user-friendly booking function with extra tools. Although the network has given the hotel a instrument to contact with the guest, the modern technology still can not replace the classical booking and marketing paths, the network is just like the catalyst. As the internet business is rapidly growing worldwide. Hotels have to focus on combine their classical marketing with new technologies such as smartphones, ipad and facebook. They will help the hotel gain business and be success.

This article discusses how many hotels are not utilizing the PMS to its full potential due to lack of training being provided. Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, a hospitality school in Switzerland, conducted a study to investigate the investment in training in the PMS and the relationship between training and business performance at property level. The survey was given to about 150 mid and up-scale hotels around the world. The fact that the PMS is so crucial for a hotel to maintain efficient and effective operations, I found the results of the research a little shocking. A majority of the hotels (65%) said that in 2011 they had no budget for training on the PMS and 32% did not offer training at all to their employees. The hotels in the sample showed higher occupancy levels when hotels have a higher budget for PMS training .The results also showed that there is still a lack of the optimal use of the PMS in hotels because there is not enough training for its use provided to the employees. This study is an ongoing research project and early indications show that effective management of the PMS training resources may result in increased revenues for the hotels.

Email marketing is a crucial component of the hotel eMarketing and online distribution strategy. The website is a key to establish interactive relationship with customers and capture client email profiles by the company. In hospitality industry, especially the travel agency frequently use the emarketing to retain the loyalty, and offer accurate communication. The permission-based email marketing is very useful and practical for sending the promotional emails. And the precision e-mail marketing used by the airlines has generated up to a fivefold increase in response rates and tenfold lower conversion costs than direct mail. The email marketing provides some benefits for hoteliers, such as low cost, accessibility, protecting brands integrity, hommization, timeliness, good visual sense and positive results. The consumers, travel intermediaries and corporate clients are the significant customers for email marketing. The hotel can stratify the customer list by specific characteristics, communicate and offer value in the message. Hotels must employ new strategies to take advantage of these opportunities to capture this Internet market.

As this class teaches us, along with this article, " the marketing power of the Internet in terms of reach and frequency." This article in particular speaks about the advantages of email marketing. With the low cost for companies in the hospitality industry, email marketing can produce positive results form the masses. The article goes on to explain how and why email marketing have been seen to be so efficient as a marketing tool. One obvious pro for instance is that everyone uses emails in today's society. After reading this article I can agree that email marketing is a very good way to put the internet to use when it comes to marketing. My concern, however, as mentioned in the article is the control the receiver has with the emails. For instance, how many emails are too much, too frequent or just not relevant? Features today have given the consumer the opportunity to now have a bit of control over this issue as I have mentioned. I believe this may be one of, if not the best form of marketing online because it gets directly to the customer, usually requires interaction whether to the main website or further clicking for deals, and sets up a format in which sufficient information can be given.

Many hospitality managers choose email for its low cost, rapid spread, and measurability. There is an incline to online purchasing, which means that Internet is the place to establish relationships with your customer, through email for instance. Email can be easily personalized, include only relevant promotions, and be a tool to keep in touch with your regular and new customers. Permission-based email is sent only to customers who have allowed to be emailed, thus, you are targeting people who gave you permission and who most likely are interested in your product/service. Email is also a better tool because it is cheaper and faster than regular mail. Also, it is easier to track the results, using the tools to see who opened the email, clicked on the link, etc. There are key factors to remember in order to be successful: -interactive relationships -frequency -personalize and relevance -permission-based The article provides a rationale for implementing total email marketing strategy.

Global distribution systems have thought to eventually become extinct but the growth of new technologies has given GDS new hope. The three main companies that control this market are Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport. Each of the companies has expanded their market penetration via their subsidiaries that are currently operating with global distribution systems. In 2014 Amadeus brought in almost $1billion in revenue. In addition, Sabre and Travelport showed positive growth. Airlines on the other hand, would prefer to directly have travelers book with them to save on fees. At the same time GDS brings attractive promotions to customers making them useful to the airlines and their revenue. GDS has stimulated the growth of online websites like, Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline). Where potential customers find competitive rates and can book more than just a plane ticket.