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This article was able to summarize all the different event registration softwares that are available currently and their pros and cons. It gives you a good idea on what software you would prefer for your company depending on what they have to offer.

As technology continues to advance, companies are looking into what works well for what kinda consumer. RateTiger is targeting corporate consumers, who want to be in control of room rates and have the ability to negotiate better deal based on services provided. RTC uses RPS, rate parameter shopping that searches thru hundreds of travel sites, hotel brand sites and GDS offeres corporate buyers, OTA's and travel companies the opportunities to build a rate around the best room rate for the perks and services, in comparison to what the public pays.

Excellent Article!...While corporate travelers are noticing fluctuations in "Best Available Rates (BAR)" I can only imagine that hotel owners and stakeholders are seeing a decrease of revenue caused by the ADR (Average Daily Rate). During the recession hotels had to re-shape their thinking and lower Corporate Room Rates to stay afloat; these changes caused the ADR to be lower than usual. As the economy improved, it has been harder for companies to re-negotiate corporate rates in an attempt to increase the ADR and profits for owners/stakeholders. http://www.bcdtravel.com/global/show_document.asp?id=aaaaaaaaaadsveg

This technology will provide business travelers the ability to compare hotel prices based on the type of rooms. This will help the customer in customizing their own needs during travel, while being price savvy. The traveler also has the ability to have default settings that will meet their own room specifications.

This article describes the decline and increase in GDS bookings in May 2012 in comparison to 2011. The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan may have had an impact in the drop off of hotel reservations as many trips that would have occurred in March and April were postponed to May.

It appears that American Airline is about to remove itself from the tradition global distribution system and introduce its own distribution system. American Airlines is advocating for distribution companies to utilize AA direct connect which is a direct link into AA's host reservations system. Currently American Airlines fares are no longer available on Expedia or Orbitz sites. This is because no contractual agreement was reached for the distribution of AA products. Travel professionals are waiting to see the result of this bold move by American as this has great implication for the future of airline distribution systems. If American Airlines pulls away from the mainstream GDS, consumers and travel specialist alike will be faced with the inconvenience of going to a separate reservations system to compare fares. Although travel professionals are now urged to use direct connect on a trial basis, the general feeling is that eventually they will be charged to sell American Airline flights. To defend this move American Airline is only saying that direct connect will make it easier for them to tract ancillary fees like priority seating. It was noted in the article that Southwest Airline for the most part is a stand alone reservations system but they do not negotiate with the GDS companies to sell their flights. It is therefore quite evident that this move by American is really to reduce expenditure by eliminating the middle GDS companies while increasing revenue by charging travel partners for utilizing direct connect. American Airlines clearly wants to globally control their distribution system and maximize revenues. Contract renewal for both world span and sabre are due and the experts are waiting to see if American will renew with them. Sabre is owned by American Airlines so its a wait and see game to see how all this will be panned out. The real problem for the consumers and travel specialists are that if other airlines are to follow this move by American the tra

This article explains the distribution route American Airlines is taking to sell their flights. Due to not seeing eye to eye with the two most probably used websites for travel, Expedia and Orbitz, American has now taken their products away from both airline distribution sites. American suggest that all travel agencies and distribution companies begin using Direct Connect, which is a system for only American Airlines flights. If this would happen, travel agencies and companies will then begin having to pay for the system in order to sell Americans flights. At the moment you can still book flights through other distribution sites, but until when will that be? They already stopped Orbitz and Expedia, what's not to stop the others. The future of global distribution systems will be up in the air if all airlines choose to sell their own systems to be able to sell reservations. The only positive that was pointed out in this article was that if this system takes over, then more consumers will have to go back to using travel agents to secure the best reservations for flights and such.

With the contracts for major global systems, Worldspan and Sabre, being up for renewal in the near future, this article analyses the possible outcomes for airlines, and alternatives should they choose not to forgo continuing use of GDS

This is an interesting article about Google, who is quickly becoming a big name player in just about every business segment out there. The article addresses Googles new search tool called Hotel Finder, which is still in testing phases. This tool is designed to make it easier for users to find, compare, and book hotels, by drawing on a map around an area they want to stay in a certain location or city and it lists the hotels in the search area, with prices, availability, star rating's and reviews. In addition it lets you filter the results by price, price compared to usual, Hotel class, and user reviews, and allows the user to book directly through the hotel or through an intermediary site with a click of a button. This article also talks about a possible downside to Googles new service in the online travel agency segment. The article explains how some are concerned, because Google is placing comparison ads in premium space on top of the Google search results for hotels, which when clicked by a user takes the them to the full Google site and pushes OTA sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, and Orbitz and hotel websites farther down the search results list, which is making them pay more for premium comparison Ads. Also the OTA's are concerned about how the Price Per Click may go up, making the OTA's pay more to Google. I went on and played around with Hotel Finder, and I have to say it is very easy to use, and allows you to really customize your experience and pick exactly where you want to stay. http://www.google.com/hotelfinder/#search;l=miami+florida;d=2012-01-22;n=1;v=l;r=0;s=m;fv=

I love the part of the Google Hotel Finder about the comparison ads that help me know how much I would pay if I book the same hotel from other websites by only visiting one Google Hotel Finder website. I hate to search the same hotel on different websites to choose the best price. It costs me much time to make a plan of travel. The page of Hotel Finder is clear and easy to understand how to use it. All results of hotels would be sorted by price and I could get best price fast. Yesterday was my first time to use Hotel Finder and I used it just like I already knew how to use. I don't need to spend much time to study the search website and the page has several recommended words to help me get what I want.

Romano's Macaroni Grill is rolling out to all 181 company restaurants a system that helps servers boost sales and guest satisfaction by combining data analysis with personalized coaching. Read more: http://nrn.com/article/macaroni-grill%E2%80%99s-interactive-mentoring-system-helps-boost-sales?ad=news#ixzz1lGb0JfiS

I really like this system cause it makes the management so effective. By using this system, manager will recieve information about the areas in which each server has room for improvement weekly which may help managers to figure out the potential problems in their management.

It is a so smart system that makes it easy to analyze and control the operation of restaurant. I think it helps manager save a lot of time and costs due to automated analysis of point-of-sale-system data and comparison with others! What a wonderful system!

The role of GDSs in the travel industry has a major impact on revenue, competition, and reservations. In this article, Sabre, one of the largest known GDSs was sued by US Airways for failing to provide a fair contract to the airline. The lawyers from US Airways claimed that Sabre threatened to "cut off the airlines from a network of thousands of travel agents worldwide who depend on inventory that the tech giant provides via desktop software". The jury concluded that Sabre indeed violated antitrust law. Sabre, apparently, charged US Airways increased fees though their cost per transaction decreased because of the advances in technology. According to the article, Sabre argued that the fees were justified relative to the cost that an airline would incur to distribute its fares by other methods. This helped the agents have access to a plethora of information regarding price comparison. In my opinion, this is just a messy situation. However, it goes to show how important and how much of an impact that GDSs have on airline companies. They determine what consumers or agents readily see on the site. They determine how much of a presence a company has. The GDSs provide company information to a worldwide network that markets to consumers. Having a GDS system hold back or increase fees has proved to be detrimental. Ethical issues have come into play. The fact cannot be ignored that the technology being used by Sabre is helping lower cost for transactions. This decrease in cost should have resulted in a decrease in fees for the airlines. Nevertheless, the key to this article is that GDSs have the power (though Sabre did illegally) to determine which avenue a company goes through in regards to apparent competition and markets. The advancement of GDSs is resulting in lower cost transactions and giving agents and consumers "more bang for their buck". So it is important that the relationship between GDSs and airline companies remain ethical in all ways, especially dealing with

iPerceptions put information together on online travel shopping. One question being what are some of the things that keep travelers from booking rooms. Price was number one on this list of things. This is not surprising because most online travel customers comparison shop to find the best deals. Next, after price, functionality and site design were among the biggest stumbling blocks to those who wanted to book online. Having a website that is easy to navigate so the customer can get the information they are looking for is critical to that traveler actually making that reservation. 8% gave up after being unable to find what they needed. And 7% had a technical issue when trying to book. That's 15% altogether. The survey also concluded that it is mostly leisure travelers who were seeking information as opposed to business travelers. Although, business travelers were more likely to complete reservations. Maybe this can be accredited to the fact that business travelers have all the information they need so they don't have to spend time searching. Or the increased frequency of travel makes them more familiar with sites and where to go and how to get information. The highest percentage of respondents said they arrived at a website by typing in the web address. This leads me to believe that in addition to having a website that is functional and easy to navigate, your web address must be memorable and easy to spell. Those who got to the site by search engine came in at a close second.

Cloud computing is a trend expanding across many industries, from technology to tourism, and the hospitality industry is no exception. Cloud computing deploys IT resources over the Internet and these resources are shared by multiple end users, effectively reducing the cost of providing those resources. The article makes a detailed comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of local server-based PMS and cloud-based PMS and their technical requirements. The clear chart shows you the whether to choose cloud-based PMS.

This article talks about one successful third-party property manager company Prospera Hospitality and the accounting system it chose Profitvue which is provided by Aptech Computer Systems company. Prospear Hospitality has 18 branded and independent hotels and resorts as customers, each one of them has different requirements, so chose a powerful accounting system which can generate all kinds of financial reports is very important, and obviously Profitvue system is qualified. Besides providing detailed and flexible reports, another success secret of Aptech computer Systems is Side-by-side comparisons. With the information of comparison report, property owners will have a idea that how they are doing compares with other peers and can also identify issues which put them on disadvantage positions of the industry. Another benefit Profitvue provided is its cloud-based feature. Small business owner can also enjoy excellent service of Aptech computer systems company although they may can not afford on-site system installation, by accessing Profitvue's cloud-based platform. Yes, another strong example that cloud computing is a growing trend.

This article talks about the available restaurant systems(POS) for restaurant operations. It highlights the pros and cons so that you are able to decide which will best suit your operations needs. A few that are listed are Ambur, Breadcrumb Pro, and Lavu.

This article firstly reviewed the development of the PMS. Twenty years ago, the value of a PMS was in its computerized capabilities as properties began to switch over from manual systems. Ten years ago, the more valid comparison was between a DOS and a Windows-based system. And today the PMS has more functions and can do better for the hotel. As a hotel director compared the new PMS with the old one. The old PMS allowed only 20 or 30 letters for notes while the new one allowed him to review guest histories after checkout as well as to write unlimited guest notes on reservations. Lisa Jane Gibson, director of revenue management for the six Vintage Hotel locations, concluded three main trends with front and back of house systems. First is the wider use of technology to enable properties to run more efficiently. Another trend is more personalized interaction with guests. Finally, Gibson notes the upcoming deadline for all businesses to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) mandate for specific security guidelines. The guest trend has an effect on the PMS, and the trend will lead the direction of the PMS product development. More and more people are becoming their own travel agents. The PMS is also very useful for the food and beverage management. The PMS can help the hotels or restaurants with tracking inventory and cost of sale as well as setting up and running reports for key areas of the business such as returns, refunds and promos. The new POS products can help the hotels save costs and cost saving becomes the hot topic for the new POS. For example, hotel management consultant Paul Lynch of PGL Consulting has been able to deliver a cost benefit of up to five to seven per cent on wage savings with H&L Canada Ltd.'s Workforce Management control system. Lynch initially used it to monitor staff rosters daily but now has embraced the package as a complete information and management tool for the sites that he controls.

Article provides discussion on beneficial reference to the idea of moving expenditures from Operating Expenses (OpEx) vs Capital Expenses (CapEx) when determining cloud vs static installations/deployments to gain economic benefit. Article discusses some of the misconceptions that cloud (IaaS, SaaS or PaaS) have a cost advantage vs static. Additionally, discussed are foundations of general accepted accounting principles (GAPP) in the explanation of OpEx and CapEx. Also expanded on the concept of "cloud requires no upfront investment" vs time value of money (TVM) model. TMV is the a concept used in accounting used in the comparison of two or more financial outcomes. Article applies this concept to values across current cloud service vendor offerings (2009). The author also provides a calculation to evaluate an Instance level cloud deployment can reach same cost as static in three-years.

FIFA has paid noticeable attention to the environmental impact of the World Cup since the 2006 World Cup and green management has increased with every World Cup since with the biggest plans already staged for years 2018 and 2022. The Green Goal environmental program has been in effect since 2005 when FIFA partnered with Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) in order to champion green initiatives. This program has been adapted for every World Cup since. The program combines the resources of host cities, governmental departments, local environmentalists and international partners. Now, FIFA is implementing green initiatives into the bidding process for 2018 and 2022 by requesting information pertaining to the reduction and control of negative environmental impacts from bidders prior to making a decision on where to host the World Cup. In my opinion, FIFA has adequately worked towards environmental sustainability over the past ten years and has powerful plans to continue and improve green initiatives going forward. Previously, the indoctrination of the Green Goal program in 2005 laid the foundation for green goals and growth. Each subsequent World Cup has relied on a Green Goal program to set and measure environmental initiatives. Also, FIFA has already begun working on the Green Goal for 2018 and 2022 by requiring potential host destinations to incorporate environmental sustainability into the management structure of the mega-event. Management is required to set measurable objectives in six key areas: water, waste, energy, transportation, procurement and climate change. In addition, potential host destinations are required to plan and explain how they will incorporate stakeholders and the community via an Environmental Advisory Board. All of these aspects must be outlined in the bid submitted for consideration by FIFA and will be weighed heavily during the host location decision process.

FIFA's decision to use involved green standards as part of the bidding process for World Cups 2018 and 2022 is ingenious. The rigorous standards and expectations eliminate cities that are unwilling or unable to do the research and prep work required for the environmental concerns associated with such a large and prestigious event. However, these same circumstances caused increased competition between the remaining cities and come with some sort of financial cost. The increased competition between potential host cities and the associated higher costs pertaining to the implementation of green strategies may be seen as negatives to involved commercial/government entities and community conservatives. The following comparison explains how this may be so. Companies often design buildings with minimal closets despite having a large need for storage space. The philosophy behind this is "closets don't make money." On the contrary, entertainments space (i.e. Casinos), larger sales floors (i.e. Car Dealerships) and management offices are all spaces in which money is generate and therefore income is maximized by maximizing the "money-generating space" and minimizing spaces (i.e. closets) that do not do so. Similarly, green initiatives guarantee extra expenses and do not generate a significantly increased income. Some entities may view green initiatives as "closets." In conclusion, FIFA is a powerful force in the green initiative campaign. The organization has worked tirelessly the last 15 years to implement and improve environmental initiatives related to the World Cup. Despite the outside chance that a significant portion of the population will view green initiatives as costly non-necessities, I believe that FIFA's Green Goal program will be a success. It provides an expanding platform for each subsequent Word Cup by requiring environmental initiatives to be implemented at the management level and begin at the earliest point possible: bidding.

This article mainly compares cloud-based POS versus traditional POS. While cloud-based systems are easier to access and are supported through any tablet or smartphone, it explains how traditional POS systems are more difficult to access if you are away from your restaurant. Cloud-based point of sale systems have made it easier for employees to access data from outside of the office, decreased operating costs, and have made it easier for system updates. Although, the only advantage that a traditional POS might have over a cloud-based POS is that it does not rely on the internet.

This article mainly describes the differences between local and cloud PMS. This paper mainly puts forward six different directions: improving hotel efficiency, improving staff productivity, automatic software upgrade, security, cost reduction, free service market (SMP) application. Through a brief introduction and comparison, it shows that cloud PMS is the future development trend. Cloud PMS provides flexibility, simplifies workflow, custom options, new ideas for mobile front desk and mobile access, while eliminating management hassles and maintaining your local solutions.

This article goes into detail about the top 10 used Event Management technology systems, going over all of the different features that each offers and how they can be applied to events within the company. It gives a lot of insight on how they are used across the world, and shows that every company big or small has a need to use one of these systems when dealing with events. Without a technological system being incorporated when planing events of any size; it is crucial to have a reliable system to ensure everything is organized.

This article is extremely insightful and provides the top technological resources used in event management. These systems are important whether you have a small or large company because they track data and is a great organizational tool.

PMS are designed to create greater efficiency. Both on-premise and a cloud-based systems have similar core functions. The differences are on-premise software must be physically installed on all computers that will require access. The server holds all of the data, which is located on the property. The security of the data and the maintenance of the hardware is the properties responsibility. Cloud software's security is in the hands of the company who owns the software. When it comes to the big differences between the two, it comes down to deployment, technical requirements, cost, and accessibility.

Global distribution systems work by connecting travel companies (airlines, car rentals, cruise lines) to travel agencies (online or human) who then connect with the interested traveler. By this chain, the travel agent is able to offer real time availability from the companies to the traveller. The benefits of this system are the ability to deliver tons of information direct from the relevant companies, it is convenient for those that use them and easy to track travelling trends and interests. To me, it works like a mass marketing strategy. The content is generated by the owners and instead of enlisting their own man power, they utilize the efficiency and convenience of remote technology to mass distribute. The intended consumer receives the information without ever having to think where it's coming from, but inevitably trusts its reliability. The productivity of this system is something that those in the hospitality industry cannot ignore because this represents moments of the first interaction between the interested consumer and your operation. In order for the information to reach them in a convenient medium. In summary, GDS's help information get from the travel company to the consumer everyday in real time via global networks.

Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are largely responsible for the expansion of the travel industry. They provide the foundation for most internet-based travel services offered globally, and they link the providers of travel services in real-time. To make the travel business more complex and informatics, the GDS system provides global data, pricing, inventory, offers, and real-time availability of flights, hotel rooms, car rentals, and even bus tickets. GDS enables travel agencies and their customers to access travel information, purchase and compare options for reservations, and schedule trips. One of the most essential tools for the travel industry is the GDS system. Global Distribution Systems are server-hosted web platforms that offer worldwide discounts on the booking of travel-related goods like airfares. Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport are the three main GDSs in the market, and they are connected to more than 650,000 travel agents. Travel agencies depend on GDS's assistance to maximize their own profits because GDS is a direct seller of airline tickets. To increase their revenues and their ability to offer tickets to customers, travel agencies enter into an agreement with GDS and gain access to a listing of fares.

" Benefits of Global Distribution System Global distribution systems are widely responsible for the growth of travel industry and stepping stone of most internet based travel services. Benefits of Global Distribution System for Travel Agents and Tour Operators GDS systems deliver worldwide data, rates, inventory, offers, real-time availability of airlines, hotel rooms, car rental, bus tickets, and many more to make the travel industry more informatics and sophisticated. How Travel GDS Marketplace Is Reshaping the Travel Industry GDS stands for Global Distribution System and it's essentially a central reservation system that allows travel agencies and their clients to access travel knowledge, buy and compare reservations choices and book travel. functions across the world and connects the travel service suppliers or vendors to the travel agencies in real-time, by providing a centralized service that covers the bookings of airline tickets and more. permits travel agents to access, in real-time, availability, feature and costs for airlines and extra travel services worldwide. The leading global distribution systems are Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, and Worldspan. This permits users to buy tickets from various suppliers or completely different airlines. GDS can link services, rates, and bookings that combine a spread of products and services in travel sectors: e.g., airline bookings. Independent travel agents, travel agencies are now using an increasing sophisticated GDS system to seek out the best travel and accommodation and rates for their clients. Travel Agencies have historically relied on GDS for services, products & rates to produce travel-related services GDS system is one of the most necessary tools for the travel business the system will yield results with real-time pricing and availability comparisons There are 3 major GDS within the market- Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport here are over 650,000 and travel agents connected via a GDS system Systems enable users to bu