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This article presented the possibilities of  the usage of smartphone as the single control device in hotel guestrooms in the near future.  "The newest trend in the hotel space is allowing guests to control everything in the room with one device". Hotel Technology Next Generation(HTNG) recently published a new standard for single remote control to support multiple devices. There already are technology that use television remote for this function. And because of the popularity of smartphones and tablets, guestrooms are now expected to have these devices. HTNG is also working on standards for these devices, they are believed to be able to replace the television as the focal point of control in the future. Although the offering tablet devices in guestrooms is still new to the industry, only several high rank hotels have done. And the usage rates of tables stand much higher than the usage rates for television, These devices have multiple functions vary from ordering room service to turn off the light.   The article also discussed the necessity of television for guestroom control. Many hotels use products that enable guests to connect their own devices onto television and make these devices the remote control for televisions or other devices in the room. 

The newest trend in the hotel space is allowing guests to control everything in the room with one device. With the popularity of smartphones and tablets, experts believe they will replace the television as the focal point of control.  People are familiar with smartphones and tablet applications and therefore adoption using those devices rather than a television is more likely Today. In a hotel, if it has not switched to flat-screen TVs, it is probably angering a lot of customers. On the other hand, the experts  don't think the typical customer expects to find an iPad, the trend may shift to just offering apps because smartphone use is becoming even more widespread.

"the inventor of popular valet parking technology Computerized Valet Parking System (CVPS) makes life easier for hotels and hotel guests."

Biometrics is becoming more popular.  49% surveyed stated they would like biometric payments.  In relation to smartphones, 20% have made payments, 45% browse in-store & shop online later, 45% check prices, 31% comment re shopping on social media, and 28% download coupons. Steps need to be taken to ensure implementation such as provide support to retailers and educate staff. 

Theft of data by hackers remains the major threat to Hospitality Industry. Usually, hackers attack hotel point of sale for obtaining personal information. But now days hotel owners should be aware of ransomware which is becoming more popular among hackers as it provides the hacker an immediate return.

POS can assist restaurant owners and managers adapt to current trends and find their best selling dishes as well as the least popular and change their menus.

This article talks about how the cloud computing is getting popular and if the hotel industry should get into cloud computing. This article is to inform the reader about the disadvantages and the advantages of this tendency. In the disadvantages of cloud  computing it talks about security and privacy, what i feel confuse, due that in other articles i have seen, one  of the advantages is the security and the customization of the privacy.

The article highlighted the five top technologies that are quite effective and beneficial for events: 1. Smart phones: Smart phones have the ability to look up suppliers when on the move, for example the ability to respond to emails as well as monitor and respond to the social media. Another benefit is the ability for to do list and scheduled to be created. This is very critical in the time management of events. 2. Saas Cloud Application (software as a service): The advantage is to have access form any web enabled device. This will reduce printing cost and provide the ability to customize reports. Meeting Planners can use Saas to link event management system with customer relationship systems eg. Saleforce. This allows efficient data transfer to both speakers and attendees. 3. Virtual Events: Webiners like gotomeeting.com give participants the ability to attend meetings from multiple locations. This can be save time and money. The only drawback in the personal interaction however, for quick group meetings and presentations this can be quite convenient. 4. Social Media and Viral Marketing: One out of every three persons spend three or more hours on-line per day. The sharing of events though social media sites is highly beneficial for both planners and attendees. Smart planners get participants to market to people within their network. 5. Ipads and Tablets: No more big boxes of binders to ship home form a conference. This means huge saving for bit planners and attendees. Access for information can be controlled at registration point. Information is easily transferred to ones device

I agree every event planner I met at SOBEWFF was on their Ipad 24/7- you sort of feel out of the loop without one. However while observing the benefits of new technology, increased response rates and efficiency, there were still issues that required a phone call rather than an e-mail. In the planning stage this technology is all very helpful but the day of personal interaction is required. Also as far as CRM event planners are still very hands on in terms of making their presence known through face-to-face interactions. The industry still relies heavily on personal relationships.

This article talks about the 5 most important tools that an event planner needs to use. 1.Smart phones- this one is an easy one. We all know how important our smart phones are to us. Smart phones allow us to have so many different applications at our fingertips. 2.SaaS cloud applications-"software as a service" these applications have opened up a new way to view things in the event planning industry. These applications allow the planners to use their ipads and tablets to allow them to connect with other applications like salesforce, to deal with customers in an easy manner. 3.Virtual events-these events like "webinars and live feed "have become popular it gives viewers the sense of being at the event. Webinars are also very popular because it allows planners to get more people to "be" at the event for a lower cost. 4.Social Media- because sites like Facebook and Twitter have become so popular it makes sense that this would be important to events because people are often commenting of places they have been to. 5.iPads and Tablets-because they add a sense of simplicity and organization to the madness that is party planning

According to the results of "2012 Energy Efficiency IT report", based on 760 IT professionals' view, on cutting energy costs, buy greener gear than to get high-ROI green initiatives. Implementing Energy-star-qualifying equipment got more potential ROI. Server consolidation and virtualization also ranked high among already deployed green-tech projects. And the 8 popular green-technology projects are: server/storage virtualization, consolidating servers, implementing hardware with more efficient processors, implementing energy star-qualifying equipment, deploying more energy-efficient networking equipment, employing energy-efficient ups, employing new cooling approaches,  increased use of hosted services.

The director of the Trade Service Division of China's Ministry of Commerce, named Di Jiankai, stated by media of China that nation is going to create 10,000 green hotels by the year of 2012. When I was working on my ecological part of remote environment analysis for another courses, I realized that "Go green" is so much important today even every nations are thinking about it, not only China. As we all know, pollution has been becoming one of the most significant issues in the world, such as CO2 emission, overuse of water, energy using by fuel fossil and so on. By different kinds of pollutions, hospitality industry, especially hotels, have to take more into consideration about the pollution trends and have to think more about the impacts from those pollutions. In my opinion, hotels have to pay more for new eco-technology. However, since "go green" will attract more guests, which means lots consumers come to the hotel just because its "eco-label" or "eco-brand". In this article, Gong Ping also said that not only decorations outside, even the materials using inside should change to be green. For instance, the bath tubs, which is more popular if it is organic.

This article is about the concern of customers paying their purchase online, and not through a machine as is the most typical way to do it. But for many this transaction is not safe at all, there could be hackers that can make fraud. This is why two of the most popular CC companies has developed the Visa's 3-D Secure™ and MasterCard's 28SecureCode™ to keep their customers safe, these cards requires a personal security code for every transactions and other personal information in order to keep the purchase safe and some others requires a monthly fee to obtain this service.

Neon is a new app designed by Eventbrite to be used by Event Planners in order to help organize the events they are coordinating. The app is available for iPod, iPad and the iPhone making it conveniently accessible through one's mobile device. The app allows event organizers to sell tickets in advance to an even as well as provide last minute deals to fill all remaining spots. The app even allows payment to be taken right from the event organizer's mobile device. The app also allows the user to manage guest lists and even helps those who have access to the app to make customer service decisions so that disgruntled guests are not sent to a different location to settle ticket disputes. With all the data the app collects even organizers are able to see important data pertaining to popularity of certain events as well as price variations. The app was designed to be used in dark places. This feature, along with many others makes it user friendly and it is helping event organizers to keep track of important data that will allow them to better assist customers in the future.

I think I'd need to see it in action. The Forbes article sounds a lot like an Eventbrite press release. I like the idea in principal, but it almost sounds like too much to jam into a single app. Tickets sales, venue status, customer service, revenue tracking.,,, Deployed and linked across multiple tablets, each with it's own purpose and/or scattered across the event venue (with users in some sort of identifiable uniform), I can see it being useful. This also seems like a bit of a departure from straight tickets sales. Who else is in the market space? I'd be interested if Ticket Master is also coming online with event software.

As it becomes more and more popular (and more crucial to the environment) to "go green", it is also becoming less intimidating and more rewarding for organizations in the hospitality industry.  The notion that improving an organizations operations to make them more sustainable is too costly, is quickly being disproven, and in many instances organizations actually save money in the long run.  Part I of this series by Lee Simon focuses on operational practices and outlines simple steps that can be integrated in to a restaurant or hotel's current systems.  

Going Green is quickly becoming the thing to do in the hotel industry. In fact, Hilton now requires their department heads within their hotels to be trained and certified in their green program. They have created a link on their site which measures waste put out into the environment by each specific meeting group or guest. Even more importantly, clients are beginning to ask for these statistics and reports prior to committing to sign a contract that states they will hold their meeting at that particular hotel.

In the article "Effective Marketing Strategies for the Hospitality Industry," author Grace Owen highlights the importance an online presence to gain market share. She showed how popular online sites that are frequented by the general public can assist in bringing patrons to hospitality establishments and increase market share. According to Ms Owens, "in the digital age social media must be a part o hospitality marketing and it goes without saying that every hotel or restaurant must have a high quality website." Regardless of how one may feel about technology it is important that it is incorporated in the marketing campaign as this is the way to reach persons and engage with them and a company that chooses not to embrace digital marketing will be at a disadvantage.

Module 7: I found the following article, The Benefits of Restaurant iPad POS systems, to be very interesting and informative as it was all new information to me. I was not aware that iPad POS's could provide restaurants with such efficiency. I believe that one of the main benefits of choosing an iPad POS is that it is totally mobile and has the ability to connect to any Wifi network. I was truly surprised to read the possibilities iPad POS can provide to users - from tracking inventory, update on items, automatic refills, immediate email notifications, give information on most popular ingredients/menu items, totally mobile, etc. The article reviews various aspects of iPad POS, such as, inventory management, table-side payment processing, and various benefits of using iPad POS.

I thought that my article was very interesting and it provided the 3 most popular opera PMS alternatives for hotels. In the hotel industry, Oracle's OPERA Hotel PMS remains the most used in the field but there are other property management that are available and sometimes they even offer cheaper prices. The first alternative is Hotello, which offers some features like front desk management, marketing and all the essential features to run a hotel. The second alternative is Hotelware PMS is used by hotels and hotels chain all sizes which is great for hotels that may expand in the future. The third alternative is Protel Air which is a cloud-based system which is great for small hotels because cost of IT and hardware could be avoided. All 3 alternatives are great options that hotels should look into because they have more pros than cons and can be asset for saving money.

This article highlights three hardware trends that is shaping the modern hospitality industry globally by focusing on the advances experienced in POS technology. The writer emphasizes that since the hospitality industry has been more focused on services than on retail, restaurant, bars, hotel and pub owners should pay keen interest on the technological developments. This technology is beneficial to the hospitality industry, as it will help the operators improve on customer experience. Hardware plays a critical role in improving the services offered in the hospitality industry. The three emerging trends in hospitality mentioned in the article relate to the trends in EPOS hardware in the industry. The first trend mentioned in the article is mobile EPOS (M-POS), which helps in taking orders, inputting them into the EPOS system, have the order forwarded to the kitchen and processing for the order payment by using wireless broadband. The second trend is kiosks that are self-service points in the hospitality industry. Kiosks have several uses like checking availability, making reservations when the patrons arrive in restaurants and allowing guests to order room service in hotel rooms. The last trend is the use of scanners, which is modern EPOS software for setting up a loyalty scheme for businesses. Scanners have not been a necessary part of the hospitality EPOS but their demand has grown due to the increase in popularity for loyalty schemes among businesses.

This article talks about the three hardware systems that are trending now in the hospitality industry. The Mobile EPOS, Kioks, and Scanners are all meant to make the job of the company run smoother and more efficiently. The EPOS makes it easier to get everything done in one place, for example placing an order, paying and receiving a receipt. Kiosks allow customers to place their own order and have the food delivered to them. Lastly, scanners are a great help when it come tp updating records.

Retail operators are now understanding that point of sale systems can also be used to not only assist in processing the final phase of the checkout but also throughout the entire process to increase the service aspect. The advancement in POS technology is the driving force behind this initiative. Operators of restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, etc., are using POS technology to improve the customer service experience. The main focus of this is placed on modern specialised EPOS software and hardware systems and how they can help to integrate operations across an entire business. There are three emerging trends in hospitality EPOS hardware that are used to run the software. They are mobile Epos (M-Pos), Kiosks and Scanners. Mobile EPOS (M-POS) use single devices at the table to take orders, input into the EPOS system, forwarded to the kitchen and process the order for payment. Kiosks, on the other hand are self-service points that allow users to process orders and payments separate from collection they can also allow users to check availability and making reservations, allowing them to perform tasks like choosing tables and dining times themselves. Kiosks could play a similar role in hotel rooms, allowing guests to order room service or offering a smart concierge option. The final hardware option mentioned was the use of scanners. Scanners are used in conjunction with the loyalty schemes which are growing in popularity as a way to incentivise repeat business and for updating records.

This article highlighted how I.T has impacted the guests' experience in a positive way by providing modern technology to gain a competitive advantage among its competitors. This article indicated how they are staying ahead of the curve with modern technology to stay competitive with other hotels

This article reviews Mobile POS systems and unattended POS systems and provides key features of each.

This article defines the importance of accounting in the hospitality industry. The industry is growing at a rapid rate and is becoming the largest service provider in the world. A business's operation is important in this industry, which is all done through the accuracy of perfect accounting.

This article basically talked about why accounting is important to the hospitality and tourism industry. As we all know, the industry is on a rise and constantly growing. With that being said, it is important that companies have an accounting system in place. This can help with making predictions that can in turn benefit the company on decision making and implementing new ideas and strategies for the success of the business.

The article suggest that accounting is essential for the success of the operations of the hospitality industry. The accounting outlines the budget for what services to be rendered and how many guest are needed to increase revenue. The article highlights the advancement and efficiency or the accounting system used in Dubai. Dubai has become a popular destination for travelers.