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This article talks about both the pros and cons of eCommerce in the hospitality industry. It talks about how it has changed and helped the industry but also the side effects that it may have.

This article discusses how it is difficult for many businesses to get into the e-commerce world the same way Amazon is. It also explains how to develop a successful e-commerce strategy. Every business is trying to achieve the same success that Amazon has, but businesses are struggling. In the article it states, "the e-commerce strategies most retailers employ don't address the root causes of their problems. Their strategies don't address customers' needs, so their customers go elsewhere." This simply means that businesses are trying to fix their issues with different solutions. They are not going into the e-commerce industry with all the right reasons. Some fashion businesses are addressing the customer need for affordable fashion better than other businesses. In order for businesses to tackle the e-commerce world, they must follow the steps stated in the article. Step 1: Identify the targeted customer segment - Businesses need to have the ability to target each customer segment differently based on interests. Step 2: Identify customer needs of the targeted segment - understanding customer needs is one of the most important steps. Step 3: Develop strategies to meet those needs - strategies need to be put into action to be able to satisfy customer needs. Step 4: Enable with technology - It is highly recommended that companies use the right technology when starting their online business. They could either partner with other sites such as Amazon, or use different technology (software) to create it themselves. In the end, businesses need to solely understand the customer needs above all else. Understanding needs will lead the business to know how to sell their products/services online. Businesses will be able to take over the e-commerce world when they apply these simple steps to conduct strategies.

In order to stay competitive in an industry as tough as hospitality, it is now as important as ever for hotels to accomplish an important goal: improve guest experience by making customers feel valued. The key to this is creating a personalized experience for each individual. One way to go about this is to learn more about customers by offering coupons, discounts, and other promotional material based on preference. Geofencing and proximity marketing are designed to encourage repeat visits and customer loyalty. What we are trying to reach is the situation of "The customer is happy because he or she received a personal invitation to the bar with a free drink coupon." and "The hotel bar manager is happy because he or she potentially received an interested patron who will most likely spend more money." Geofencing with proximity marketing is the solution to providing relevant content to consumers quickly, easily and cost-effectively.

This article give us two main method to in increase hotel marketing performance, one is improving customer experience another one is increase local customer foot traffic. The important things in mraket competition is attract customers.

This article discusses how CRM's use social media to promptly communicate with customers. I thought it was very interesting that 70% of the complaints made by customers via a sm outlet are not responded to. Examples are given as to how some companies use teams whose specific responsibility is to respond to customer complaints by text, email, twitter, and/or facebook. I thought it was cool that one guests tweet about loving cornbread, turned into a response by room service to deliver cornbread right to her room.

This article discusses 'E-Tourism Evolution' from tourism initial goal of establishing an online presence (96-99) to acquiring customers (99-03) and then retaining customers (2003-now). E-Tourism started with a focus on getting travel industry members in front of consumers on their computers, then offering attractive travel site features such as direct booking for customer convenience. This course has shown that while travel providers increased online travel options and services, consumers were finding a lack of personalized customer service which prompted increased dissatisfaction with the eMarketing providers. This led to the current focus by the tourism industry seeking to provide exceptional customer service within their eMarketing platform to ensure effective service and enhanced customer satisfaction, thereby ensuring increased customer retention. Whereas eMarketing has greatly increased travel to under developed countries, such countries must gain greater access to information and communication technologies to capture more of the tourism market. Tourism is utilizing a variety of communication channels including social media. Facebook booking engines are utilized by online travel sites, and travel packages and services are auctioned or bought direct on eBay. An online brochure, VBrochure by VFM Leonardo provides virtual tours and marketing content for mobile applications as well.

In the beginning of this article, it uses a chart to depicts the transformation and evolution of e-tourism over the past 15 years. According to the chart, we can easily find out that the goal and focus has changed as the year changes, from just to establish an online presence to customer retention. Then, it uses the changes of the number of tourists visiting Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world, as an example to say how information and communication technologies impact the tourism industry. However, this trend seems put more good impacts on developed countries. So next, the article gives some solutions to reverse this trend. In the end of the article it shows a chart to compare the percentage that people use e-market with the percentage that people use traditional methods.

E-tourism represents the paradigm-shift experienced in the tourism industry as a result of the adoption of ICTs and the Internet. It is evident that all best business practices have been transformed as a result, and that the each stakeholder in the marketplace is going through a redefinition of their role and scope. There are both challenges and opportunities emerging but the competitiveness of all tourism enterprises and destinations has been altered dramatically. It is evident that the "only constant is change." Organisations which compute will be able to compete in the future.

The fashion merchandise retailer store, Nordstrom, has joined the venture of equipping employees with mobile POS devices in order to increase customer satisfaction, in a focus toward convenient efficient checkout. The fundamental incentive is to minimize the customer's inclination to over analyze their potential purchase by waiting in the line for a lengthy period, thus, maintaining the impose of the customers to purchase the item. The mobile POS devices are equipped with a scanner and credit card slider in order to complete the transaction for the customer, the same type of technology is visible in Apple and Home Depot stores. According to the company's sale report, a visible increase in sales has occurred for the Nordstrom Company, an estimated 15.3 percent from $1.5 Billion to $1.73 Billion in the same fiscal year of 2011. As well, the creation of a Nordstrom app allows salespersons to check inventory and availability, in a further aim to increase customer satisfaction and their business. Without a doubt POS system are branching into different spectrum of business in order to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The article talks about how restaurants can use a POS system and reviews the pros and cons of whether a system like this is beneficial to an establishment. It states that customer service plays a huge role in the success of a business and having a well operational POS system aids in the success of the customer service offered. One example of being more successful is to be sure you can accommodate as many customers as possible… so offering the payment option of just cash limits your projected revenue whereas accepting credit cards broadens your horizon as a business owner. Saving on merchant fees may be hurting income all together. This article goes over the benefits of a POS system and how it can improve daily sales. These benefits include a quicker processing of payments, more accurate payments, splitting orders, opening the door to more customers, preventing errors and tracking inventory. All of these things assist in the accuracy and smooth running of an establishment.

Hello, This article is very insightful with regards to how a POS system can become beneficial. Indeed, customer service plays a major role on the business and having a well-positioned POS system. Therefore, as a hotel or a restaurant needs to focus on service, a POS system can complement this objective. Being able to accommodate as many clients as possible through great customer service and organization can be obtained through a POS system. Additionally, I think this system helps maximize time and optimize processes. I'm sure a wide array of companies are appealed to this, it is a matter of finding which type of POS system would be most suitable for them.

Hotels rely on the information that is accessed through different intermediary systems that give each property information on their customers, as well as insight on their comp set. OTAs play a key role in assisting properties generate revenue, they have different processes in place such as pay per clicks or commissions involved when bookings are made through their websites. Marketing plays a key role in both OTAs and a properties direct website. Websites must be user friendly, easily accessible and have the ability to function on a mobile device. Majority of bookings are made online and and increasing amount are being made through a mobile device. Ensuring that each of these platforms creates a welcoming environment for each potential guest maximizes the chances of them booking.

An effective marketing strategy starts with knowing your customers and your goals. it is important to understand how to attract online shoppers, increase conversion rates, and have data mining tools to understand the customer's preferences and booking patterns to be able to develop a long-lasting relationship.OTAs and GDS remain an essential part of the industry, as they provide marketing exposure to a wider range of market segments.

The leader in the airline industry, Emirates airlines is collaborating with Sabre Corporation Technology to provide better services for it's customers, as well as receiving more in revenue. Studies have shown that customers enjoy customizing their travel plans and by working with this new type of technology partnership, the software is being developed that will allow the customers to customize every aspect of their trip. They can filter based upon price, miles earned, and date/time while then adding on any other options, but rather through just one airline, this software allows guests to choose from all airlines within the Emirates family. I think this type of investment technology is the future, because the airline industry has already changed the way we purchase airline tickets, by no longer including seat selection, checked baggage, and now even carry-on baggage. Instead of trying to make the customers feel like the airlines are charging for every littl thing (which they are), this type of technology can let guests feel like they are truly creating their own trip.

(Part 1 of 2) This eInsights article reminds us how important exceeding guest expectations can be in making a guest's stay memorable. Both hospitality and ecommerce need to be able to deliver exceptional guests service, and we are in a society now where that is very much possible. The article goes into detail about how automated service can improve a guest's experience. It suggests that AI play more of an active role in the industry, as AI has created things such as chatbots that can resolve problems and provide efficient service. eInsights continued the discussion by expressing that, "Content is the lifeblood of ecommerce businesses." Content is something that, if utilized properly, can strengthen customer-brand relationships. Tools such as blogs or hotel websites can be used to communicate unique information to guests and then guests can use the tools to create their entire trip seamlessly. It is much better for hotels to keep their websites and navigation channels simple. Guests expects a quick experience and "a streamlined checkout with a simple, linear process and as few choices as possible." Guests are already overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of their daily lives, so they do not want vacation planning to be complicated as well.

(Part 2 of 2) The final point that the articled discussed was about the importance of social media and how it can make for an even better guest stay. We are in a world where we can learn all about a guest's needs or preferences and can communicate with them before they ever step through the lobby doors. Being in the hospitality industry, we get to take this one step further and actually have the human element as part of the scenario as well. Online social interactions are "a valuable touchpoint between you and your customers, one that delivers a breadth of benefits for customer experience." When we utilize these properly, we can make an enhanced, enjoyable guest experience. Ecommerce and the hospitality industry work hand-in-hand to create a unique, memorable guest experience each and every stay.

This article highlights the different aspects that e-commerce brings to society. It highlights the many ways that e-commerce has affected the Hospitality Industry and the things that can be done about it, and it also highlights the economical and political impact that e-commerce might have on the future of our society (especially the hospitality industry).

This article discusses the 4 advantages of using facial recognition technology in the hospitality industry. These are security and access improvement, customer service improvement, payment authorization, and collecting data. This article also talks about the disadvantage which is the privacy concern from the customers. As technology advances, and consumers are more accustomed to using facial recognition technology in their daily lives such as Apple Face ID login and payments, and facial recognition social media apps, I believe that it is a matter of time until facial recognition technology becomes a norm in the hotel industry.

This article from "Revfine" details the innovation and implementation of facial recognition into operations within the Hospitality industry. The article not only talks about how it is used to optimize the check-in and check-out process but also how it can be used for security purposes and payment authorization. This article also presented an interesting issue in terms of privacy as hotels also use facial recognition for data collection.

Hotel Reservation Software is making online booking easier. The advantage of Hotel Reservation Software is that it can show rooms availability, it eliminate double booking, and it provides the availability to reserve specific rooms while giving instant confirmation. The software keeps personal information secure, maintain costumer data base and create custom reports. The crucial part of the technology is it security feature and it is user- friendly. Hotel Reservation Software enables communication between all hotel depart, making booking quicker and easier and provide useful financial and customer reports.

This article talks about how hotels can use location based marking to drive business and create customer loyalty. Hotels and restaurants can use proximity marketing and geofencing to get the messages out to customers. Proximity marketing uses Bluetooth technology and WIFI to send messages to a customers mobile phone when they are within a specific proximity to your business. Geofencing creates a virtual "fence" that once the customer is within this area they can be reached on their mobile device. Hotels can use this technology to build customer loyalty by sending special messages to guests when they enter the hotel. These personalized messages can you give a competitive advantage by making the guest feel special and welcome. They can also send messages to guests encouraging them to visit the hotel's restaurant or spa instead of going somewhere else. According to a recent study, customers are willing to give up personal information and privacy in exchange for money saving deals. It is important for hotels and restaurants to take advantage of this new technology to reach the people who are willing and want to be contacted this way.

Hi Dawn This article is great and learning about proximity marketing made me understand it way more now. I think that it could be a good feature to reach out to people that signed up for your program when they get within a certain distance to your property to get them know about current specials. I know if I was part of a loyalty program at a hotel this would make me feel special for sure having them send me a personalized message to my phone upon returning to the property. With the economy where it is at people will willingly give up their personal information to get deals that can save them money for sure. Great post!

E-Marketing/ digital marketing help businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry grow and succeed. This article focuses on the importance of e-marketing/digital marketing for the restaurant industry. The article mentions that over 70% of smartphone users access restaurant information on their phone, therefore promoting the restaurant online through a website, social media or e-mail marketing can help drive business. The first way digital marketing can help restaurants would be to develop the brand's story and identity. Secondly, having the restaurant be active and engaging on social media will help build customer loyalty and interaction. Another advantage to digital marketing is sharing menu items, pictures of the restaurants and showing guests having fun online develops visual content and can entice and attract customers. Another point made in the article was to keep the restaurant information such as hours, promotions and restaurant contact info up to date. Incorrect information can lead to customer frustration and loss of business and profit. Another benefit of e-marketing is the ability to offer incentives to the customers and bring them in the door. It is especially important to reward loyal customers. Another benefit listed is to review and interact with customers on platforms such as Yelp and Facebook. All in all, digital marketing is beneficial for business growth not only restaurants, but any business in the hospitality and tourism sector.

Mercedes-Benz President and CEO Steve Cannon stated, "Customer experience is the new marketing," and his prediction helps explain a new wave of optimism. Nowadays, hotels are judged by whether guest experiences match customer expectations. Individuals desire to be engaged when they want, where they want, with the content they would like to see. It's about people, connection, service quality, engagement and experience. The future will belong to those hotels and hotel brands that create the most memorable customer experiences. Using a cloud PMS for managing a hotel efficiently, is an essential shift to improve operations and increase profitability in the hospitality industry. Also, a cloud-based PMS enables mobile self-service to provide self-check-in options for hotel guests. This hotel experience contributes to guests' comfort and improves their experience as soon as they arrive, which in turn, increases customer satisfaction. Cloud PMS allows hotels to easily keep track of all their guests' personalized preferences and provides a system for delivering individualized services and amenities to meet their needs. Personalized service makes guests not only feel welcome, but also creates an emotional bond between hotels and their customers. This is a win-win situation, which creates guest loyalty in the long run.

Week 4 Article Summary 15 Benefits of Having Digital Menu Boards in Your Restaurant. This article discusses the positive ways in having a digital menus and explains the benefit it has on the restaurant. The focus of the restaurant should be more on the quality of food being served. Even though there are a lot of restaurant that give you an experience like no other but if the food is not top quality it will be hard to bring customers back. Having this type of digital menus could enhance the guest experience while helping the restaurant increase revenues. Here are ten of the top fifteen positives reasons of having a digital menu boards. 1) Digital menu displays will make communication easier. This starts form the customer directly to the kitchen. It will also allow the establishment to display videos and animations that will catch the eyes of the customers and could highlight specific menu items. 2) Saves time by easy updates on display. The software will allow the restaurant to update the menu very easy. You could add and take away dishes without having to print all new menus. It will also allow you 86 items that are sold out at any time during the shift. 3) Sound Investment of saving money. With the system allowing you to change menus, it will save money because you won't have to pay to print new menus every time you want revise it. 4) Digital displays create a more memorable experience. With having a digital screen, it will allow the customer to stay entertained by having a right mix of graphic videos and allowing them to keep them occupied during down times. 5) Better Visibility of menu. The display on the tablet will allow the guest to see a nice HD screen with colors that will make it easy to see and read. 6) 24/7 support. No matter what time of day, there will be support for mangers to trouble shoot any issues that might be happing at time. 7) Boost sales up to 21-23%. It has been said that having an emenu will increase revenues by allowing the establ

Property management systems (PMS) were originally only for front desk needs like booking reservations, checking guest in and out, charging accounts, and managing room assignments. The newer PMS systems have enhanced the check in and check out process, maintenance and housekeeping management, and accounts receivable management. The check in and check out process has been enhanced by the newer cloud based PMS systems by giving the front desk the ability to provide service anywhere and anytime. It is more accessible and can update room statuses in real time. As housekeeping cleans rooms the room statuses are updated through their mobile cleaning device into the PMS system. Also, the PMS system allows the front desk to communicate with the maintenance and housekeeping staff for last minute guest request and complaints. The cloud based PMS system also allows the front desk to have access to revenue management. This way the front desk can have access to accounts receivable and update it as payments come in from previous guest. This enables faster and more accurate billing for guest. As technology advances it is important for the hospitality industry to stay updated so that guest and employees needs are met. Keeping up with the technological trends allows companies to remain competitive.

This article tell us what is PMS and what benefits it can brings to the hotels operation. Automating daily operations and administrative tasks is an important part of achieving customer satisfaction as it helps provide reliable and quality service time after time. A hotel is a complex system that encompasses the activities of many departments, and every operation must be tracked

More than a "platform that enabled a hotel or group of hotels to manage front-office capabilities", modern PMS is "a critical business operations system that enables hoteliers to deliver a seamless guest experience" by integrating many other systems. PMS offers many kinds of benefits to hoteliers, including improving housekeeping services and revenue management. The deployment of PMS is also a consideration. While most PMS systems were on-premise, there do have cloud-based ones that reduces cost in an innovative way. It also helps in enhancing customer lifetime value and increase RevPAR and ADR.

This article explains what proximity marketing is, that marketing to customers and prospects in the right place at the right time, and how it works. Through a series of research data shows the development prospect of this marketing way. Introduce the most common technique used for this type of marketing is beacon，while also introduce some other methods and the reason why these technologies haven't been as popular as beacons, including NCF (near-field communication), QR codes, RFID (radio-frequency identification), and WiFi. The author also analyzes the benefits, which contains advertising, personalization, access to data, and increase usage of mobile apps, for companies to use this, as well as benefits for customers, such as a personalized shopping experience. Moreover, the writer rounded up some of the best-use cases of proximity marketing by big brands, including McDonald's, Amazon Go, and Walmart in order to give some idea for readers how this could be applied for business.

This article discusses what proximity marketing is, how it is used, the different forms of it, as well as the pros and cons of it. Proximity marketing has many different uses, and is currently mainly used in retail stores. However, this kind of location based marketing is becoming popular in hospitality, mainly through restaurant usage.

InteSolv, a provider for high-impact technology consulting strategies and customized business solutions, announced their new custom Web Event Management service for existing PGi Adobe Connect customers. customers are able to choose from a variety of services to best fit their needs: event planning, seminar room set-up, audio provisioning, presenter training and coaching, campaign reporting, etc. In order to maximize conversion, the InteSolv solution allows customers to customize their message while InteSolv manages the administrative/technical traits.