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This article talked about Sabre Hospitality Solution which is the user-friendly e-marketing tool. The Sabre Hospitality Solution will push your internet marketing program to a higher level of performance through the following five essential elements. First, Sabre Hospitality Solutions developed a proprietary Content Management Tool (CMT) based on the needs of the clients. Second, Sabre Hospitality Solutions provides a full e-commerce solution that enables you to build and manage an E-store that generates significant incremental revenue. Third, behavioral targeting engine of Sabre Hospitality Solutions serves potential guests content based on how they are navigating through the Website; and profiles their keyword search that has led them to the Website. Fourth, flash map solution integrates standard interactive components for any set of floor plans. Fifth, Sabre Hospitality Solutions' Interactive Proposal Service (IPS) is a proprietary system that allows a property to respond to RFP's in a highly customized fashion.

Sabre Hospitality Solutions has designed applications and products to push the e-marketing program to a higher level. It offers a wide range of e-marketing tools. Sabre Hospitality Solutions developed a proprietary CMT based on the needs of the clients. This friendly empowering the clients and is widely used in multiple hospitality websites. It also provides a full e-commerce solution that enables you to build and manage and e-store that generates significant incremental revenue. In addition, the behavioral targeting engine serves potential guests content and the flash map solution integrates standard interactive components for any set of floor plans. Finally, it is a interactive proposal service. This unique online presentation of your proposal will ensure your product stands apart form other competitors.

Royal Caribbean and O3b Networks have again signed a multi-year contract. O3b will once again be providing "high-speed satellite-delivered broadband service" to the Allure of the Seas. The system used is O3bMaritime and Royal Caribbean was one of the first cruise lines to use this system. This system will be on their two largest ships the Oasis and the Allure based in the Caribbean. It is also the only system that is on par with telecommunication standards on land. Soon O3b will deliver more bandwidth on these two ships than on all other cruise ships in the Caribbean. I personally feel internet access really lacks on many of the cruise lines right now and feel Royal Caribbean is taking a step in the right direction with O3b. My family and I like to cruise a lot and have received very spotty internet access around the globe. In today's world many people still have to check up on work while on vacation or keep in contact with family, it only makes sense for cruise lines to start working on faster internet comparable to on land. I read various cruise line message boards and this is a common complaint about slow internet access or virtually none. In the current economy where all the various lines are in competition against one another, this gives Royal Caribbean a leg up in the competition. Additionally, my understanding the only region where satellite internet is unavailable is off the coast of Japan due to government regulations. This system makes sense to have available one day in more regions.

I for one am very happy to hear this news. I too have experienced the snail-paced internet "access" on cruise ships. With the high cost per minute and slow speeds, cruisers can't help but feel that they wasted their money. This definitely gives Royal Caribbean an advantage over Carnival, NCL and other large cruise lines. By implementing O3b networks on their two largest and most popular ships, they will reach their target consumer and help spread the word.

A group of international hotels including Hilton, Hyatt and Marriot is collaborating on a groundbreaking initiative to standardize carbon accounting in the hospitality industry.

This article is recognizing the performance of a great innovative website model developer Vizergy's; which captures the wonderful images and writings and place them into corporate websites. VIZERGY's is being acknowledge for being the leader in hotel internet marketing and interactive media awards. Nevertheless, VIZERGY received one of the highest acheivements for excellence in website design and development; I personally believe that companies should recognize such accomplishment and let it be know to the hospitality industry that it is very important to dedicate time and perhaps money into website development. A website not only represents the company as a whole but it can be seen worldwide over the internet and therefore should be up to standards and complice with all hospitality industry marketing related.

The best of both worlds is described in this article using a cloud computing system, PMS and POS are integrated to a user friendly system that helps manage retail, food and beverage and rooms in one. The system maintains pricing structure thru out a group of hotels in real time.

Hotel technology vendors release functionality previously unseen in hotels - enabling better guest service and tighter control hetras, the developer of cloud-based hotel management software, and Vectron, a leading provider of point of sale systems for hospitality and retail, announced today the certified integration of their products. hetras, the developer of cloud-based hotel management software, and Vectron, a leading provider of point of sale systems for hospitality and retail, announced today the certified integration of their products. The new seamless interface between the hetras hotel management system and Vectron's POS provides, in addition to the standard features one has come to expect, a host of highly advanced capabilities long desired, but before today never achieved, in a hotel environment. Some unique features of the interface include: Automatic discounts for loyalty club members at the article level. Front office credit limit detection at the POS with multiple resolution options (e.g. allow charge to room, allow partial charge to room, deny charge to room) Full guest check detail can be sent to PMS enabling detailed folios and statistics in the PMS. POS discounts can be sent to PMS in detail for full tracking of discounts in the PMS or accounting system Extensive handling of house bons (e.g. for hotels staff) between PMS and POS Both charges and payments (e.g. cash or credit card) can be sent from POS to PMS.

The Sabre Eco-Certified Hotel Program builds upon Travelocity's Green Hotel Directory, launched in 2009, and extends the program company-wide to recognize hotels that are certified as sustainable according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's guidelines. Travelocity is still the only major online travel company that helps users find green hotels with an eco-friendly tag.The program addresses travelers' growing desire for environmentally responsible accommodations and includes more than 4,700 hotels certified by globally-recognized certification programs. The 4,700+ hotels participating in the program will be clearly distinguished in Sabre's Global Distribution System (GDS) and reflected in other Sabre platforms. Sabre is keenly focused on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the travel industry and we are committed to providing our customers with products and services that help them promote these same long-term values throughout their businesses." In addition, Sabre's resolve that standards are important for the travel industry directed an industry-leading path for standards with the introduction of carbon calculation and reporting tools for airlines, hotels, and car rental companies.

Immaculata University in southeast Pennsylvania has replaced 20 standard water fountains with new "hydration stations." In addition to the regular spout, there is an outflow at the top. The fountains' tap water is supplied by Elkay, an Illinois-based water supply company. Each fountain has the ability to keep track of the number of refills and displays it as the number of water bottles that are NOT going into a landfill as a result. Putting a number to this green initiaive is a great way to get people involved and make them more aware of how much they can contribute by doing simple things like reusing a water bottle. It also encourages students to drink more water instead of sugary sodas and other carbonated beverages. With about half of the students using refillable bottles last year, the university's environmental club plans to hold events and give away refillable bottles to increase the use of these fountains.  I think it is great that you can see the contribution you are making with the tracker on the fountain, as I am all for doing my part to reduce waste headed to landfills. I just wonder how much waste is being produced by replacing the still-working standard fountains. 

Green initiative has a great value for both economy and environment. Some countries' governments had drafed some regulations supporting this concept of development. Canada is one of the most early contries focusing on thise issues. The Cnadian Intellectual Property Office is mainly responsible for detail jobs related to green technology developing and spreading. They made some standerds toward some primary industries in both demastic and international market. Nowadays, they plan to update their strategies and standards to make these industries more productivity and eco-friendly. All of the agencies or ministries regarding to these issues attmpt to iprove their ability to solve green product problems through a proaction approach. In my opinion, all of these efforts are benefit to sustaianable development of local economy and society.

Many hotels may want to chance their accounting systems but at the same time are trying to avoid all of the new costs and possible disruptions that come with a new system. By staying with their old systems though it could end up costing them more money in the long run if the system decides to just stop working and then you lose all of your data.

This article describes what basic capabilities an accounting software for a hotel who is trying to expand globally should have. As well know, it is very important for a company to be able to adapt to changing times. Hotels are an industry that is constantly facing challenges, especially when trying to expand globally. This article gives some very important tips on what hotels should looks for when putting their financial management system in place. For example, expanding globally means a hotel would have to handle different currencies at one time. This is somewhat of a complex task for a company who is new to the global arena. Hotels should make sure to have a system that would make following different sets of accounting and business rules easier for the company. Another example is hotels should have a system that is able to utilize multiple accounting standards. "GAAP, IFRS and local accounting standards require different accounting treatments", therefore, software for hotels should be able to accommodate these variations.

I found this article very interesting as it discusses various aspects that a financial system should have in order to provide the most accurate and timely financial reports and analysis to help hotels to be more efficient and increase profit. According to the article, as all the hotels are evolving and changing at all times and the financial system has to be able to keep up with all the changes. One of the few things a financial management system should be able to do is to handle currency complexity and make sure that the hotel's accounting system can handle multiple currencies. A good financial system should also be able to handle multiple different languages for employees with different language backgrounds and also units of measurements and formats. The system also needs to be able to support multiple charts of accounts. According to Ventana Research 2011, "maintaining multiple charts of accounts may prove to be both simpler in the long run and more productive." Another important aspect of a good financial system it to handle tax complexities for hotels operating in various countries. The accounting software should be able to "handle complexities associated with different tax regulations and help defending tax audits." The last important fact it that the software should web based therefore accessible from anywhere and anytime. I find the last one the most important one as our technology and our PMS are moving into cloud based systems, it is curial that we are moving in the right direction with all of our systems and have them synchronized.

This article discusses the Federal Trade commission's actions against Wyndham Worldwide Hotels. Unsophisticated hackers breached the hotels system and obtained the credit card records of 600,000 guests, causing the FTC to claim that the hotel group did not maintain proper system security. However, several groups file a Amicus Brief that the FTC is not clear as to what security standards they require. Currently the FTC requirements "will depend on the size and complexity of the business, the nature and scope of its activities, and the sensitivity of the information at issue". This means to many in the industry that company does not know if they are maintain proper security in the eyes of the FTC until they are sued by the FTC. The article goes on to say that a company should "Review your privacy policy immediately to insure it is compliant with the most recent standards and that the data security systems in place are actually consistent with the stated policy".

This article introduced what are web-based and server-based management system and the pros and cons of each. We can not say which one is better. But a hotel need to consider its specific business requirements and budgets when choosing one. Either one can cause security problem, and security is already not an advantage of server-based management system now. What the hotel should do is to ensure their management system meet the industry data security standards.

I found an interesting article about how the big computer companies can recycle the computers. This can solve some of the main problem about the recycling. The article is referring to idea that computers may become bigger size but easier to recycle. In other words we might wanna make a step back in the past, when we was able to just replace one detail from the computer instead of throwing it away.

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.

Last year, Harbortouch released a new POS system that had all the features of a standard POS while also adding new features such as an easier search function, online reservations, online ordering, and tableside ordering. The POS system is cloud-based and uses Android as a platform, making it easily adaptable to standard POS systems and tablets. The company also made things easier and more affordable to smaller businesses by having a monthly fee of $49 for these businesses to get the POS system and everything that it includes, such as onsite training, 2/7 support, professional installation and more.

Sustainability in the hospitality industry was introduced back in the late 80's. Ever since then it has been a growing movement, seeking the best and most efficient strategies for hotels and tourism. In 1992, The United Nations Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED) recognized that travel and tourism would be one of the most benefitted by sustainability trends. In 1996 three organizations (World Travel & Tourism Council, World Tourism Organization, and the Earth Council) met to create a global environmental certification program called "Agenda 21". Consequently, Green Globe was created after to set targets and functioning standards based on environmental development. Hotels receiving the "Green Globe" address issues within their hotel that include: * Greenhouse emissions * Energy efficiency * Management of freshwater resources * Ecosystem conservation * Waste water and solid waste management Hospitality is the fastest growing global industry. In 2014 it was stated that it contributes $7 trillion annually to the total world gross domestic product. There is a huge incentive for sustainability due to customers being conscious of the impact their actions have on the planet. Soon green and sustainability will become the standard rather than an option.

The article discusses how POS systems have changed the way establishments do business and also the way to look for the perfect server to host your POS system. This system is used mainly within hospitality industries such as restaurants, retail and even medical office, but what is important to realize is that with the use of POS systems a server is still needed to maintain and operate them. It requires a lot of research and analysis to select the correct server such as looking for servers that are not attached to a particular software and creating standardization to remove the amount of risks that a server encounters. There is a section that does mention that these systems are not prone to security concerns since POS systems are behind in security technology but virtualization is a way to provide better level of security. The main taken from the article, is that although POS systems are become more trendy it requires a lot of planning to incorporate these systems within an establishment. Besides security the main issue is finding the correct server to host this device. I agree with the fact that server should be able to "customizable and configure" to that of the consumer. The main use of the devices is to enhance the experience and create something unique. If every establishment had the same system it would be generic and non-authentic to the establishment.

A hotel workforce communications platform named Quora is helping operators ensure that all their pools, hot tubs, and spas meet water safety standards within a Pool Readings module. The recurring app enables hotel engineers to test a pool/s chlorine, PH, alkalinity, and calcium levels as well as water temperature and PSI flow rates identifying if the pool water is safe for hotel guests. 

This article is an case study on how one restaurant group could use cloud computing to improve their business. By not only securing the companies information by the customers as well. Reviewing the key points of sales interactions between customers and the restaurant, like the POS, Tableside payments, reservations and management assistants.

This article was about a company, Concord Hospitality Enterprises invested in a new standardized sowftware with Aptech. This new software system will enhance the back-office financial functionality. These include reporting, budgetiing, and forecasting.

This article covers a study performed on various hotels to determine management's level of IT knowledge and security implementations in relation to the hotel's IT security budget. The article discusses four types of technology impacting the hotel industry and how management responses to trending technology can affect a business, particularly in terms of a data breach and overall security. The study finds that an alarming percentage of hotel managers are not adequately informed on the risks and procedures of IT management and security, and many do not have proper IT security measures in place despite having an appropriate budget.