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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

It sounds so easy to use NDC, but the reality is: Not too many bookings are being made. Why? GDSs won't just give up the battlefield of simple bookings (call it 'easily earned money') and only deal with the complicated PNRs. While I am critical of the global distribution system "oligopoly", the sustainability of the redrawn commercial and technological landscape that NDC could produce has to be questioned. The proposition of NDC means that a "formerly relatively lean distribution chain will become a complicated commercial landscape with numerous airlines, numerous TMCs (or corporations) and several technology providers - all being connected to each other on a technological, as well as commercial, level."

This article is about a new technology POS system intergrated with iPad and iPod touch using in the restaurant, Brooklyn Taphouse. The two videos below presents how this system works. This new-tech device does show certain advantages such as saving money - costing about $7000 comapred with $20,000 of traditional system; getting away of paper work and mass in the kitchen; service delivery much faster,etc. However, a shortcoming chould be that new customers may ssume the servers entering orders but accually they texing their freinds. In a word, it is not a bad idea for a restaurant, especially for large-scale to import this technology since iPad and iPod is in the fashion for most of people.

Advancements are growing enormously throughout every field of the working industry. Hotels have now adapted to using cloud computing in many hotels and it's really shaping how data and analysis are being kept and processed on day to day basis. Some pros of this idea are that companies save money because they only pay for the amount of cloud they use, they save money on training, and it's safe from any physical damage. I feel this is a very good investment for any company because what company doesn't like saving money in many areas? A weakness in the hotel industry is, companies don't know how to give, customers that are on a budget, the same amount of attention and personal service that they do for a high priced customers. The cloud can solve this and many other problems by knowing what the people like and giving it to them by not spending more money. Cloud computing can even kept customer happy when they are not even checked in the hotel, which is a plus on both ends. All in all, cloud computing expands any company, whether it be with other companies for networking or just helping inside of their own company by saving, it's definitely the way to go.

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

In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,

Instead of introducing some new technology, this article is more like an advertisement. it does not introduce much information about this technology and it is not a news for us to know a cloud based PMS. But cloud based PMS is still not widely used in the industry, while Benchmark is one step ahead. Except the benefit of reduce hardware costs for investors, closed based accounting system also make it easier for its headquarter to protect corporate and guest data as well as maintain these data. With this benefit, corporate is able to monitor the operations of its hotels. 

This article introduces the accouting systems developed by Benchmark Hospitality International. Benchmark invested in the hospitality industry's first "private" cloud platform to host its property's systems and data. Profitvue back office accounting system was mentioned, which has the advantages of more flexible, simple and faster to use, and save money. Also, it is safer to use this private cloud-based to save data, which can bring lots of benifits to shareholders and management teams. In my opinion, all hospitality organizations should enhance their accouting and financial systems to create a safer financial environment, and to get clear information of the financial operations and make further plans to control costs.

The way a property is designed, managed, and positioned in its market all contribute to solid operation makes a great hotel, resort, or conference center. Benchmark invested in the hospitality industry's first 'private' cloud platform to host its propertys' systems and data. Its strategy means that we add properties on a regular basis.The system is Internet-enabled, so the only back-office hardware the hotels need is a PC.It could have the new property up and running quickly without the usual hardware and software installation, and staff training. This saves time and money, and it can turn the property around much faster.

There is always a negative side to a positive. As GDS has a lot advantages for hotels, there are a lot of negatives to consider as well. It is certain that GDS is an asset in the hospitality industry but a hotel for example might choose to seek bookings through other means because they are trying to cut costs. Some of the many reasons why hotels don't choose to use GDS are money, priorities, industry stagnation, declining audience and controversy. I will touch upon money, priorities and controversy which I found are the most important. For money, the price of GDS alone may be a drawback for some properties; this money could be invested in other areas of the property instead of GDS. For priorities, retaining guest in a hotel should more important than bringing new guests through GDS. For Controversies, GDS is known to monopolize the business travel market because some companies claim that their fees are unreasonable. To summarize this, there is not just one way to do things nowadays. As GDS could be advantageous for one property, it may not be for another one. GDS is not the only answer when it comes to managing bookings and there are a lot of plenty options. Therefore a manager should know what choice to make by finding a balance through the positives and negatives of GDS.

Cloud based hotel software is allowing management for more efficient and affordable results. Hotel management can save on time, training, and cash flow. The cloud computing software enables hotels to construct their own IT infrastructure. This saves them money on expensive hardware equipment. Cloud based reservations are becoming extremely popular because of the customer can directly book a room via the web resulting in direct revenue for the hotel. More hotels are considering cloud-computing solutions due to: * Affordability - Hotels can save on hardware and can save on money being paid to employees to manage that hardware. All they need to focus on is paying for computing power and storage that the hotel may need. * Reliability and Security - Information is stored in the cloud, alleviating management of data being destroyed in a natural disaster or security breach. * Flexibility to operate from anywhere at anytime - A chain of hotels can easily use the cloud technology from anywhere in the world. The future of hospitality industry with cloud technology is moving fast and effectively, hotels want to deliver personalized guest experiences that will ensure customer loyalty. This data can be gathered by cloud technology, via email or reservation bookings.

This article touch bases on the special events industry and the how it grew enormously in the past decade. There are so many special events planning companies out there I never thought about how much money companies had to spend on the supplies for the event. According to recent research by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, (Certified Special Events Professional), the spending for special events worldwide is $500 billion annually. working in the hospitality industry for many years I always meet that one person who's interested starting their own event planning service. One of the biggest challenges for them is the money they will need to put events together. After reading this article Goldblatt makes it clear by saying "The marketplace is large enough to support and sustain your endeavor there are many directions you can expand.

This article is great! I love event planning and I think there is a huge market for it. Event planning is definitely the route Id like to take with this career so learning more about the different possibilities is a must. Thanks for sharing.

This article talks about technology can significantly reduce the amount of time and sweat you invest in delivering a seamless, successful event. Definitely . the planners will always be perfectionists and no matter what tools they have at their disposal, they will always suffer from a last minute panic attack about the seating plan. There are many benefits from effectively using technology to events By using software to help you manage your event, you can ensure that it runs smoothly and that nothing is forgotten.Taking advantage of event planning technology will save you both time and money in the long run. Staying below budget is an important concept to keep in mind when planning any event. You can save a lot of money by managing your budget with software programs that allow you to keep track of all your expenses in one central location. By using technology to manage attendee registration, you can track variables such as fees, food orders and send marketing emails to your list of attendees.Staying organized is probably the single most important aspect of planning a successful event, and the use of technology can alleviate a lot of stress from an organizational standpoint. The events your company puts on are a direct reflection its value, so you will want it to be the best that it can be

I totally agree with you that with the assistance of technology, event planning has become easier than ever before. It can help people stay organized, keep track of details, and make sure no stone is left unturned. Technology can also help people plan, analyze and budget for an event accurately and effectively.

The new iPad POS systems are starting to turn up all over the place in many restaurants and hotels. The iPad FIRMS POS system also can be used with the iPod touch, offers a 90% savings on traditional POS systems and can be optimized to fit restaurants of any level. We all know that POS systems could cost over $20,000 so by getting the iPad system you can put the money you are saving to improve the restaurant or use the money else where.

why is it so hard for the foeign visiors to com to the united sates?the economy make it that way! the Americas International travel sector is in fact healthy, so it shouldnt be so difficlt to bring peolple to our country. Nominal revenues reached an all time peak last year of a $153 billion. Th tourism indstry has never been the same since 9/11, but there is plnty we can do to boost the industry. Foreigners come here to spend money, leavving us americans with extra funds, in excange we can use that money to fix things, purchase oil etc. Tourism benfits directly from the structue of the economy. Tourism is one of the main was in which t uited statesbeneifts from global growth. We need to do what we ca and bring he people over nd help our economy.

Choice hotels have deployed their cloud based hotel property management system choiceADVANTAGE, to its 5000th hotel, which is the Comfort Hotel De L'Europe of Saint -Nazaire, France, and is one of the lodging industry's most widely distributed web-based proprietary systems. This is a very user-friendly system and according to the chief technology officer of the Choice Hotels, the software also has an integrated solution to manage guest interaction at every stage. some of its features are efficient guest servicing, sophisticated revenue management, groups functionality, remote access and integration with company's programs. one of their main reasons to do this was to reduce their cost of purchasing, storing, and maintaining the costly infrastructure and hardware associated with the previous management systems. The hotel group also installed the Rate Center management tool, which will allow them to manage their pricing and inventory.

Good to see a strong working example of mass implementation like this. Proves that the web based model can work, so it will be interesting to see if more properties, and large chains in particular will adopt this model.

Choice made a wise choice! The cloud-based hotel property management system, choiceAdvantage, allows Choice Hotel to become more competitive in the hospitality industry by mastering efficient guest service, sophisticated revenue management, remote access, and so on. Since it is cloud-based, the system can be accessible to any computer that have Internet connection. The reason why Choice has made a wise choice is that It benefits a lot from this system by using less money. Usually hotel needs to spend more for installing and maintaing infrastructure and hardware. Since ChoiceAdvantage system is web based solution, it needs a minimal initial investment and save hotel a large sum of money. Choice hotel now starts to combine other management tools with its choiceAdvantage system to become more powerful in management level, which taught us that high-technology can help hotels improve and develop faster if it is applied in the right way.    

The nation's largest Army Reserve training post is "going green" . A new

This article summarizes why we wont be seeing a decline of GDS use in the travel industry anytime soon. As stated in the article "nothing beats a GDS model for booking seats on planes". The article suggests that a good GDS agent can ultimately work more efficiently than someone working with a GUI. Another major positive to using GDS is accessibility. A firm can book both corporate and leisure travel from anywhere, as long as internet access is available. In one study 62% of agents said that air content was the biggest draw of a GDS. One agent said that when booking air the GDS system Amadeus gives her a selection of choices in a fraction of the time it takes her clients to see them online. Clearly, GDS systems such as Amadeus and Sabre are saving agents and customers time and money while booking. Another upside to using GDS is that it allows agents to see routes, departures and arrival times which are important because many clients have preferable airports when they travel. The article also says how GDS is more commonly used for air and car rentals instead of hotels. It also gives a look into why Airlines werent a fan of GDS usage. For example, GDS were changing revenue models for airlines because GDSs paid travel agents and it seemed that they were buying loyalty with money from airline fees.

With the demand for sustainability initiatives by consumers, hotel are having to make major changes in order to oblige. Sustainability has become a major concern for many consumers and businesses have taken notice. As a result, major hotel chains across country have begun to put in order plans to make changes to their daily operations. As noted in the article by L.A. Times, changes have been made to features such as water usage, machinery operations and even landscaping design . These changes and updates are in the hopes to attract a wider consumer market which now includes Eco-friendly travelers.

The LA Times article, "More hotels are going green, and not just to save water or money" highlights how an "earth-friendly image" is important to many corporate travel managers. Research suggests that having an environmentally friendly hotel not only aids in decreasing operational cost and avoiding city or county fines but may also be a way to differentiate a firm's brand and compete more effectively in the market. With travelers specifically seeking out eco-friendly choices and demonstrating a willingness to pay extra to accommodate a hotels ability to provide these services; going green could be a strategic solution implemented in a manner that allows for increasing market share while reducing operational cost.

Good Afternoon, It good to see hotels are being proactive about being environmentally friendly. It also great they mentioned that corporate travelers are looking for Eco-friendly hotels. I know a lot of companies require corporate travelers to seek out hotels that meet certain green levels and along with there corporate rates. Hotels are demonstrating that they are willing to invest in green technology not only for money but because it the right thing to.

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.

Going green not only helps the environment, but it invests in communities and the environment.  Many guests are looking for places to stay that offer more green trends.  

The article written by Kristine Loretta, details five key benefits of why business owners should launch themselves into the e-business market. 

Due to the growth and advancement of technology, businesses have been able to grow in ways bigger than ever before. As we all know, e-commerce has become more popular today and is taking over many industries now. In this article, it discusses how this trend of e-commerce is extremely innovative and is proven to be a good alternative to the normal ways of business is usually conducted. Just to name a few things, conducting business via the internet saves tons of money. Customers are now able to shop and add items directly into a virtual cart instead of it been a paper trail of the items that are attempted to be purchased. Also, in addition what was mentioned above, e-commerce has opened up new and better channels for communication that can occur faster. Convenience is another key role that e-commerce plays in this. "No longer do people have to wait for stores to open". Patrons can now shop whenever they want to due to online shopping and have the items shipped directly to their home. Which leads me to say that this also is way that reduces cost and save money, especially for small businesses.Last but not least, without a doubt, it is pretty evident that e-commerce create different and many avenues of ways for money to be made. All in all, e-commerce is relevant in today's industry and many other businesses and these are the advantages that allow for it to thrive as it does.