The Intercontinental Los Angeles Century City Hotel is removing draping ivy plants from the balconies of all 361 rooms, replacing them with drought-tolerant succulents.
The Courtyard by Marriott in Torrance tore out 81sq m of turf and flower beds, swapping them for native California grass to help cut water use by 15%.
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Protect your business by keeping data secure | Product Watch content from Nation's Rest... - 0 views
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This article discusses the importance of restaurants protecting their systems and data from a security breach. This is a major issue for the food and beverage industry. According to a data security research and investigation firm, "the food and beverage industry accounted for 57% of all data breaches it investigated last year." This finding was a 44% increase from the previous year. Author Barbara King notes important risk management measures for owners and managers. Using strong passwords and non-identifying network web names are simple preventative measures. A few more include firewalls and installation of antivirus software. These must be kept updated to be effective, though. Another preventative measure she discusses is logging all remote access and utilizing two forms of user verification for access points which are considered higher risk. Still other measures include segmenting the network cardholder data environment so it will not be a target. Finally, one of the most important security measures is complying with PCI DSS. This is essential for protecting payment data from customers and securing networks. This standard also gives important guidelines for proper handling of such data. In the end, these are all things we must do to keep and protect a loyal customer base.
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Hotel CEOs talk about Wi-Fi and other tech issues - USATODAY.com - 0 views
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USA TODAY assembled five of the industry's top executives last month at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles in the LA Live JW Marriott hotel for a discussion of the industry's latest developments. They were: Marriott International CEO J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr.; InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) CEO Richard Solomons; Carlson CEO Hubert Joly; Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce; and Eric Danziger, CEO Wyndham Hotel Group. The discussion ranged from hotel Internet fees to iPad apps, new lobbies and chainwide hotel renovations. The hour-long event was moderated by USA TODAY's Barbara De Lollis . The text has been edited for clarity and length.
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Thought this was a great article from the perspective of five of the top industry executives. Of particular note was about the issues of catering to the newer wireless data hungry traveler. Interesting to see all of their comments and concerns. Seems like this is an issue that is across the board and there is no consensus at the point about how to tackle.
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shared by ccpanther88 on 21 Jan 15
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More hotels are going green, and it's not just to save water or money - Features | The ... - 0 views
www.thestar.com.my/...ot-just-to-save-water-or-money
green luxury hotels sustainability conservation
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“It’s not a huge savings,” Steve Choe, general manager of the Intercontinental, said about dumping the ivy planters. “I think it’s about sending the right message.”
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Nearly 60% of travellers say they plan to make eco-friendly choices when booking hotels, with half saying they would pay extra to stay at an environmentally friendly hotel, according to a 2012 survey by the travel website TripAdvisor.
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The percentage of companies with travel booking policies that either require or recommend that a hotel adopt “sustainability” measures has jumped to 19% in the US, up from 11% in 2011, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Association
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Bathrooms are the biggest drain, accounting for about 30% of hotel water use, followed by landscaping and laundry, each with 16%, and kitchens with 1%, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Typical water-saving measures can reduce operating costs at hotels by as much 11%, the EPA estimates.
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The Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara drained its decorative fountains and planted succulents and agave plants in a large fountain near the entrance.
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The Intercontinental Hotels Group plans next year to give all 4,700 of its hotels access to an online tool that lets managers track how much energy and water they are using. The group hopes to use the system to cut water use by 12% over the next three years in water-starved areas like California.
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The Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel plans to install a system to recycle about 70% of the water used for its laundry operation.
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The project will cost about US$96,000 (RM326,400), after water and gas rebates, according to hotel officials. Hotel officials expect the investment will pay for itself in 17 months
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The Montecito Water District in Santa Barbara declared a water emergency in February and adopted penalties to force residents and businesses to cut overall water use by 30%.
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The "Going Green" trend has been a true blessing since it's marketability took birth several years ago. Many industries are taking advantage of this technological and ecological trend. There has never been a better time than now to turn our business ethics into the direction of a better world. Basic utility expenses at any hotel or business can sometimes make or break their existence. Technology today has given us the tools to give back to both our beautiful Earth and our bottom dollar. Luxury brands and all the like are implementing new green policies and technologies that will cut costs and even beautiful their environments. By the end of 2015 The Intercontinental Hotels Group plans on equipping over 4,000 of their hotels with a system that monitors and assists in energy use and conservation. They have a goal of reducing their overall water use by 12% in California in part due to the severe ongoing drought. The Loews in Santa Monica Beach is investing $96,000 in a laundry-water recycling system. It will recycle nearly 70% of water use and pay for itself in less than 2 years. Apart from it's ability to cut-costs and truly give back to the environment, "going green" is highly marketable. One of the Intercontinental's General Managers was quoted saying "It's not a huge savings. I think it's about sending the right message." I have personally seen many RFPs from large corporate companies that request green-initiatives from hotels. Improving sustainability is important to the customer and the establishment. Around 60% of travelers consider green initiatives when selecting a destination and activity. Of those 60%, over half said they would even pay more to stay at an establishment that respected and helped improve the environment. In a world where we are fortunate enough to live in excess should we choose to, it's a shame it took this long for a global movement to "go green". Sustainability alone has built such a giant indu
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Electronic 'Smarts' at Hotels Attract Guests - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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Hotels around the world are using technology in new ways, with the goal of speeding up or personalizing more services for guests.
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Instead of the staff at the front desk offering advice on where to go for dinner, guests may be lent an iPad loaded with maps and suggestions for local restaurants and sightseeing.
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Ms. O’Reilly said she also used Foursquare to share where she was by “checking in” at that location. She was recently surprised to discover as she was checking in at a Starwood hotel that she qualified for a Foursquare promotion and received 250 points for her Starwood loyalty program account.
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Some technology offerings extend beyond the hotel’s walls. The Park Hyatt Tokyo rents guests a pocket-size mobile Wi-Fi connector to use with an iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or laptop to make international calls and get Internet access wherever they go during their stay.
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Despite all the new bells and whistles, sometimes the most basic of the modern services is what counts the most. Guests’ No. 1 choice of a hotel amenity is free Wi-Fi, according to a 2012 Hotels.com survey.
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This article focuses on the "smart" trends in hotels that are replacing the human service. In this article David-Michael Davies does make a good point about "technology as a substitute for human hospitality" Now days hotels are focusing on having the latest technology that it could be seen as if they are forgetting the human service in the hotels. Though, I do agree with Barbara Kahn, that "most guest, especially younger ones who are used to having information at their fingertips…l" However, hotels are still focusing in personalization and making their guest feel like they care about them and not just their money. In my opinion, it is wonderful that hotels are focusing on being up to date with all the technology that is being offered to hotels because it does simplify the whole experience of staying in a hotel and at the same time it saves money for the hotel. Like they mentioned in the article, hotels are saving money by using technology to manage their inventory instead of having employees physically counting them. Specially, when the technology being adopted in the hotels can help safe money for guest. Just like The Park Hyatt Tokyo helps their guest with saving money with international calls. Furthermore, hotels are adding more advantages to being connected with them through social media. by offering promotions, discounts and even free drinks if you tag, check-in or write about them. This type of telecommunication is growing every day, but hotels should remember that the most basic modern service is important for the guest. Free Wi-Fi is a most for almost everybody now days.
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shared by Krystal Jost on 02 Mar 12
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Four Hotel Companies Select Aptech Business Intelligence, Accounting and Budgeting Solu... - 0 views
www.hospitalitynet.org/...4053658.html
technology accounting budgeting intelligence hospitality solutions
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Hotels across Country Implement Aptech Systems to Grow Portfolios, Assess Acquisition Profitability, and Simplify Back Office Operations
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Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., the leading provider of hospitality software for business intelligence and enterprise financial accounting, today announced four new hotel companies have selected its hospitality solutions to improve their business intelligence, budgeting and forecasting, and accounting.
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"The four new Aptech clients are a great example of how hotel companies are leveraging financial solutions to better manage their companies and increase profitability,"
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Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., the leading provider of hospitality software for business intelligence and enterprise financial accounting, announced about four new hotel companies who have selected their hospitality solutions to improve their business intelligence, budgeting and forecasting, and accounting. M&R Hospitality Management in New York and San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, CA, are among the companies implementing Aptech's financial solutions. Excuvue is a web based hospitality Business Intelligence application which gathers and coordinates data from different hotel systems, including the Smith Travel Research report. This system can convert written online ratings, comments, and the guest satisfaction ratings into metrics. This basically helps in optimizing the revenues as they can match up with the customer's idea and with their current daily performance and also with their competitors. It is very essential to bring about changes in the department where your competitor is excelling at. This sort of information can help them make quick changes for profitability and customer satisfaction. The interesting part is that companies are looking outside to leverage financial solutions in order to better manage their standards and keep up the pace. and many more hotel companies are implementing this to streamline their back office processes.
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This article focuses on how hotel companies are implementing a new system that has been introduced to simplify financial accounting. Aptech Computer Systems claims to be a leading provider of such software, allowing companies to improve their budgeting, forecasting, and accounting. Many hotel companies utilize Quickbooks to effectively manage their budgeting and forecasting needs, along with their accounting needs, and as these companies grow, they need a better solution to effectively manage these aspects. Companies with multiple properties need a system that can manage data from all of their different sources, and combine them to strategically analyze their profits, revenues, and their losses, as well as to make budgeting decisions and forecasts. Execuvue, a web based business intelligence application created by Aptech, combines data from a large variety of hotel systems, such as STR data, which is extremely valuable in assessing where each hotel stands in its competitive set, and how much of its market share that it is currently obtaining. The system also provides insight to operators as to recommended actions for the hotel to take with the data that is collected. The system also measures online ratings, comment card details and other guest satisfaction measurements, enabling hotel operators to utilize guest satisfaction ratings along with their profit standpoints and their current financials. This system seems to be a valuable resource in today's economy, and with the evolving technology. It allows users to utilize data from all sorts of sources to make decisions and assessments. Any operator or manager knows that seeing data quickly and efficiently, where the answer is simply laid out in front of you so that you do not have to seek information from multiple sources and then compare it with the other sources, allows you to make informed decisions much more quickly and be much more assured with your choices. It also enables those operators to find ways to opt
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Hotel Computer Network » BNG Hotel Management Kolkata - 1 views
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A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows for computer systems to alternate data. In computer networks, networked computing instruments pass knowledge to each other along network links
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In 1969, the university of California at la, the Stanford research Institute, the tuition of California at Santa Barbara and the institution of Utah had been related as part of the evolved study initiatives company network (ARPANET) task. It is this network that developed to come to be what we now call the web.
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Two such instruments are said to be networked collectively when one gadget is able to alternate knowledge with the opposite device, whether or not or no longer they have an instantaneous connection to each other.
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This article discusses "Hotel Computer Networks". The author keeps information brief but informative.Highlights include, explaining the point of a computer network and how such communication is made possible. "Hotel Computer Networks are used to: Facilitate communique via electronic mail, video conferencing, immediate messaging, etc." The article concludes by highlighting the various varieties of computer network's used in hotels i.e. Local Area Networks, Personal Area Networks and Campus Networks.