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The National Restaurant Association conducts a forecasting survey annually regarding industry trends and points of view. According to the 2013 Forecast, restaurants customers are looking to use more table-side technology, such as Apps, ordering kiosks or tablets, and mobile payments. In various surveys, the forecast found that around 40-50% of those polled would use technology in aspects of viewing the menu, ordering the food, and paying the bill. Yet, only around 10% of table-service restaurants are offering these technology systems, with Quick Service Restaurants at around 2%. About 45-50% of restaurant operators said they would embrace the addition of technologies. In looking at the polls, you should understand that there is a difference between what people say they will use and what they actually do. Many of the ones how said they would use the new technology may be resistant to change when confronted with it. Companies are open to investing in the technology, yet should do so calculatedly and with as few risks as possible. Because, if customers do not embrace change, the investment could see no returns.

This article discusses the use of electronic badges to analyze employee behavior. Over all it found that employees that spent time together were more productive. Other options to track and analyze employee behavior are with cell phones. The use of technology in badges to track and analyze employees was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. The article discusses the next challenge is to learn from the data collected and then influence how people work together. The badges do not collect actual voice discussions of the employee. The data collected is limited to employee movement, the tone of their voice and with whom they are talking. Office design is one area that the data is being used. For example, a water cooler may be placed is a specific location to make sure certain employees come in contact with each other. Other studies have shown that employees, such as programmers, who work in groups, are 8% more efficient when collaboration on a project is needed then working remotely. Overall the general consensus of the article is that creativity and productivity are better when people work together on site.

This article shows that majority of hoteliers know the importance of technology in this industry, however, they just put off adopting new advancements because of the lack of funds and a fear of changing. When the hotel adopts a high technology, majority of working system should be changed which cause a fear to hoteliers. However, most surveys reveal that investment on technology surely enhance the customers experience that directly related to generate revenue.

This article shows the relationship between tourism security and economy. Tourism security is an important factor that will affect the economy, people should pay attention to it and also the staff in tourism industry should pay attention to it, cause they can make full use of this factor to improve the economy.

Great read!! Explains how tourist need to feel safe in order to travel. The importance of safety is the most important thing tourist look for when traveling. Currently the world is in a disarray. 

I think that it is very important for hotel to go green. Many top hotels are the members of green hotels. That means go green is a trend. Go green could makes the hotel cost savings, competitive advantage, employee retention, customer loyalty, regulatory compliance, decrease risk and it's the right thing to do. When I went to New York, Key West and Boston, I found the hotels where I lived are all green hotels. They use retrofitting light bulbs instead of regular bulbs. But in China, green hotel is not popular. I think that it will be the trend in the future all over the world!

This is an amazing technology. A customer can use his cellphone to do the reservation, check-in, enter the room and pay the bill. If  this technology can be widely used in this industry. It really can bring a lot of convenience to both the hotels and the customers. It is also very safe, because only your cellphone can open your room and the cellphone is also a identification of a customer. But there are two concerns. First is the cost of this technology and the hardware. It can be too much to afford for the hotels. Second, is it really that safety. What if someone lose his mobile?

As people continue to move towards a lifestyle that is sustainable and eco-friendly so to are their choices re travel. Llaria Bertini in her ariticle "TripAdvisor launches green initiative for sustainable travel" highlights how the popular travel site TripAdvisor has launched an initiative to assist European travelers in making hotel choices that suit their lifestyle. The initiative called "TripAdvisor Green Leaders" came about as a result of travelers need to stay at more eco-friendly accomodation. Despite that need they had difficulty in obtaining information about hotel practices. Jenny Rushmore, director of responsible travel at TripAdvisor said "We know a lot of travellers in Europe want to be savvy about eco-friendly choices they make on holiday but they don't alwyas know where to go to find that information, " thus the initiative was born. Trip Advisor came on board to provide information for travelers re hotel Green practices , to compare offerings of various hotels as well as to provide reviews not only based on what the hoteliers would provide but from the perspective of persons who would have had a first hand experience at the property. As going green becomes a more acceptable approach for many things in various areas of our lives the hospitality and tourism industry is no exception. As John Alker,director of policy and communication at UK Green Building Council said " For the hotel and leisure sector, going green is not only the right thing to do, its just good business. " TripAdvisor initiative allows us to know which properties are taking the steps towards sustatainability in one place.

With the rapid growth and increased use of the Internet over the past 2 decades, industry professional Andrey Smirnov gives 7 tips to other industry leaders on maximizing their presence in e-commerce and in consumer minds: (1) make your website quick to download and easy to find; (2) organize content by prioritizing information; (3) when offering promotions, clearly reflect it with a call to action; (4) distribute 'fresh' content on different channels (i.e., photo galleries, press releases, etc.); (5) maximize on mobile marketing; (6) embrace social media; and (7) continually improve by testing new things.

The internet is constantly changing, the way we communicate and they way we do business. The hospitality industry is always quick to capitalize on new technologies. However, the e-commerce growth in the hospitality industry has created an urgent need for simple changes to companies' presence online. So when every hotel is involved in e-commerce, why is it so important today? It is simple. Today, the internet is the lowest cost hotel-booking channel. As well as now, most travelers are searching and making hotel reservations online. Lastly, social media and online hotel reviews are increasing and have made an important decision factor. Now, hoteliers need to keep focus on what information customers are seeking and what they are looking for online. There are a few basic strategies that will help drive usage from the internet world. Some of those are: vave a search-friendly website, focus on usability and conversation taking a holistic approach and prioritize information, and lastly make websites compatible for mobile phones. If hoteliers can use the full potential of the internet, they will maximize their return on investment in e-commerce. The hospitality industry needs to constantly learn and look for ways to use the new developments and trends.

Andrey Smirnov in his article "E-Commerce for the Hospitality Industry highlights how the internet has changed the way business is done not only in the hospitality industry but as a whole. He stresses the importance of e-commerce in the hospitatlity industry and why hoteliers must utilise strategies to ensure they make the most of the marketing and sales opportunties the internet provides. There are a few things that hoteliers must do to make the most of what the internet provides. They include: (1) Search Friendly Website Design - "site download speed is one of the most important ranking factors in organic search" says Smirnov therfore hoteliers must ensure that their site is properly designed and compatible across any browser, any items that causes the site to perform poorly shoud be eliminated as internet users similar to hotel guests tend to only visit sites where they can receive the best experience yet. (2) Improve conversion and Usability - content on website must be properly organised and users must not be bombaded by information. (3)Search - Hoteliers must focus on Paid searches as well as Real time search to increase traffic. Paid searches ensure that your targeted traffic are directed right to you. Whereas with a great web design with strong content that is also timely the natural ranking of the oranisation website can be increased thus increasing tracffic to it. (4)Mobile - Mobile devices have become a popular means of conducting e-business related activities for consumers therefore the hotel that ensures that their online services are accessible from mobile devices will be putting themselves ahead of the game. (5) Embracing Social Media - According to Smirnov 93 percent of social media users expect companies to have a social presence and 85 percent of social media users want companies to interact with them on social sites. With this being said one can see why a social media presence is one that cannot be overlooked. It is important that co

This article found in Social Hospitality features one of my favorite innovative technologies being utilized in the hospitality industry.  In some cutting edge properties, housekeepers now have the ability to use heat detectors to determine whether a room is occupied or not.  This is a fantastic new addition to most hotels current procedures and would cut down on numerous instances of guest annoyance.  One of the most frustrating things when staying in a hotel is being woken up early by housekeeping knocking on your door, and this technology offers a "21st century do not disturb notice" which would greatly improve the guest experience.  

This article is a great guide for how a bar or restaurant can best use facebook to promote their business. Most of us are personal users of facebook but there are tools especially useful for businesses that will make your page more visited and legitimate for your guests. The article lists 20 tips for maximizing facebook, I think the most impactful would be how your page interacts with other pages. The business page can interact regularly with others, vendors, guests, neighborhood businesses. Participate in discussions that are relevant with sincere comments (not just shameless plugs) and participate in paid facebook marketing. Facebook is a marketing tool that can be more than superficial and can help businesses reach their customers where they are. Spending time on this communication channel is a valuable use of resources if done with strategy.

The role of travel agents has changed drastically over the last 30 years. When once you needed a travel agent to do all of your bookings for you, you now have access to all of these tools and can create your own travel experience. Therefore, today's travel agent needs to be tech savvy and must keep up with the trends and provide their clients with the most up to date travel information. They also must have an online presence, specifically social media that shows their "personality" and helps with marketing. As long as agents can keep up with the ever changing technologies, clients will go to agents for the "human touch" and real first hand experience.

The article talking maining about the issues that companies have in investing into technology without having a set plan. Mr. Estis-Green, among others, stated that they see an industry that is very innovative but lacking direction in its approach to investing in the correct technology. The main issue is seems to follow throughout the article is that these companies are following trends instead of figuring out if said technology would mix well with the brand vision. A first, the implementation of technology within a business was used more as a tactic but it has become more popular that is has changed the way the guest experiences service at a hotel, from POS systems to a front desk check in. It's driving the way hotels run their business. I think that the biggest issue with investing in technology is controlling the way its used within a hotel. With technology becoming bigger and being implemented within larger hotel brands, it is changing the service experience which affects the loyalty of a guests. Taking that into consideration, I think that it causes internal competition within the vision that a hotel original sets out to provide and what other hoteliers are doing to gain that loyalty. As mentioned in the article, i think that the best way to have a vision and trend coincide is to find a way to personalize it to its convenience and effectiveness.

After 9/11, hospitality-related businesses, especially airlines, cruise lines, and hotels started putting huge efforts to prevent terrorist attacks, but it has never been easy to do so because of financial matters and guests' privacy. Hotels have been exposed to terrorist attacks since, unlike airlines and cruise lines, it is relatively easy for terrorists to access hotel properties without strict security check. This article suggests hoteliers to invest in the latest technology, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for guests' safety. Within the hospitality industry, non-contact RFID is one of the latest innovations in the customer security market. This new technology allows guests to easily access the hotel and their rooms by putting their room card on a sensor. However, guests can access to only the floors that they are entitled. So this could help hotels increase the level of security. Currently, RFID technology is at the forefront of hotel security throughout the world; and, more and more hoteliers have been interested in this technology for not only cutting down labor expenses but protecting their guests from terrorism. Mostly, this RFID technology still has room for improvement and advancements.

What types of improvements do you see in the future of RFID technology?

As i know, RFID has been used in some high class buildings or latest built building in residential areas, residents can only access the floors that they are entitled. This is a great idea that i hope the hotels could widely used it in the future to protect their guests' safety.

This article is talking about how the hotel cybersecurity keeps guest information data secure and why is very important. Most of the hotel has a really big database of the guest's personal information. Thus, it's easy to have security problems happen in the hotel. Hospitality organizations have to understand their vulnerabilities and always have to make a plan about how to protect hotel guest's data. This article also introduced 4 key areas cybersecurity teams need to focus on. First of all, instill security as a Cultural Norm. When the customer chooses the hotel to stay, which means they trust this hotel, they feel the environment is safe and they trust the digital assets as well. They will connect the Wi-Fi with their personal laptop or smartphone. Therefore, hotelier have to train their employee about provide the safety environment for their guests is necessary and everyone have to focus on it. Secondly, Think Beyond the Credit Card. Every billing system need to be protect customers personal and financial information, the hotel need to think about the multiple endpoints. Third, Be Smart About Responses. When the cybercrimes happen, they need to be reported responsibly and they have to know this thing at the first moment. Hotel have to keep training their security teams and be aware of some bad things happen. The last one, Don't sleep on Insider Threats. There is one thing that hotel have to focus on that the employee may steal data to sell it to other company.

This article mentioned how hotels do not have as many transactions as popular stores have but their transactions are typically more than grocery transactions. Hotels have a lot of personal information for many people and that information should not be leaked, never. It was mentioned that hotels need security as it is a cultural norm, you have to think beyond the credit card, be smart about responses, and don't sleep on insider threats. "Hotels are vulnerable to cybercrimes through a variety of avenues that break with the traditional physical security measures deployed across the hospitality industry. Keeping guests and their assets - both physical and digital - safe is paramount to preserving both the image and financial security of hotels."

This article was a huge help during my additional research on proximity marketing. The article sums up some pros and cons of the software. I think it did a thorough job on explaining some of the points and definitely peaked my interest to do more research. Proximity Marketing seems cool but at the same time it makes me nervous. As consumers we literally don't get a break to simply just function and be normal. This is our new normal, technology overkill that is supposed to help us and make things easier but at times can seem intrusive.

While reading this article, I found that the statistic pertaining to the notion that 82% mobile market penetration will be anticipated by 2020 in the United States is quite significant. Considering that there is an estimated 40 million messages per year, proximity marketing does indeed sound captivating. Thanks to geolocation tags, they can properly attract consumers such as in the article's example of Macy's with Black Friday. Do you think this type of proximity marketing is attractive to all types of consumers? In my personal opinion, there are certain locations which do not specifically mean that the user wants to be bombarded by messages. For instance, an individual may go to a business meeting in Madison Avenue in New York, and due to the geolocations she may receive messages pertaining to nearby sales. However, these may become a bit too intrusive at times.

This article is introducing the Homeboy Electronics Recycling. This business is provide the job opportunities for people who overcoming life setbacks that include drug addiction, homelessness and incarceration. And they do the jobs with recycling of electronics.

The article titled "Deciphering ROI from tech investment can be complicated", explores how technology can be challenging within the hotel industry. It is important to note that hotels need to understand what components they need to include, and which are simply a waste of money. According to the author, "Some technology trends are elements that hotels need to survive, while some technology is simply a fad". It is important to keep an eye on consumer trends to filter out what will actually enhance guest experience. Nowadays, guests and staff need mobile needs to optimize their work processes. For some processes and technologies, the ROI may be almost immediate, but for others, they still require more time to see the investment. In terms of investing in technology, do you think room automation is always necessary? In my personal opinion, the more perks a room has, the more it may enhance the customer experience. Ultimately, it all depends on the hotel, its size and its investment opportunities.

This article discussed how to pick the best technology for your company thus maximizing your ROI. Some technologies are necessary while others are just a fad and it is important to determine what your company needs. Guests are also demanding more tech advancements from hotels, the personal touch is not as important anymore. Mobile and digital payment tech is becoming more and more important. Lastly it is important to note that technology will not always fix a problem, it is up to the company to determine what the issue is and then learn how to implement technology that will assist, not just expect it to resolve on its own.

Very interesting article that makes us question whether specific technological add-ons are must haves versus nice to haves to separate us from our neighbours. It also shows us that we cant often times quantify from an ROI perspective. It begs the question, does technology really set a hotel apart and how.

This incident implies how important safety and security in hospitality industry. This was so devastating that every must invest and modify the security in the hospitality industry.

The latest chain of events that we are all are aware of is shaping the security system all over the world. It have been happening in airports, clubs and now with the Vegas incident the hospitality industry have been expose as a vulnerable. Obviously the security system will change in the lodging industry now, which not only going to be a "must do" expense but as "vmorr026" may have an impact on the hotel rates as well.