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Ready When I Get There: Mobile Takeout Is A Rising Restaurant Trend - 0 views

  • At the moment, about 20% of diners are using a pre-order option, according to a study from BRP and Windstream Enterprise. But mobile pre-ordering is used by about 32% of millennials, the study found. "They are less likely than older generations to dine out and more inclined to order their food for off-site consumption,"
  • Pre-ordering can save money, since many delivery apps charge a fee to bring food to your door. There's often a service charge, too, and the diner is generally expected to tip on top of those costs.
  • Plus, delivery times can be unpredictable, and food may not be in optimum shape once it arrives.
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  • Getting food at the source saves those fees, and even if the diner tips, it's often only a dollar or two for a single meal, more if the order is larger. And the diner has the option of where they'd like to eat their meal. They can sit down in the restaurant, take it home or go someplace else.
  • Pre-order has become a standard feature for some of the country's leading fast-casual restaurant brands, including Panera Bread, Shake Shack and Chipotle, while quick service brands such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin' and Domino's also have adopted it.
  • Given how quickly the restaurant world is being transformed by digital ordering, it seems a bit surprising that only 26% of restaurants surveyed had such mobile point-of-sale technology
  • But 59% of restaurants said they plan to add it in the next year.
  • Beyond that, about 18% of restaurants have technology allowing customers to order at the table, like the tablet screens deployed at Applebee's. However, 52% said they would add the capability in the next two years.
  • The digital shift seems all the more urgent when it comes to the role that mobile devices are playing in dining decisions as well as the meal experience itself.
  • 53% of millennials say their visits to a restaurant are influenced in some way by digital technology, from being able to search a menu online, to reading reviews, to scrolling through Instagram photos, and posting their own after. For all diners, the figure is 40%.
  • But a new study of restaurant guests and executives has found that an increasing number of people want another option: the ability to order food in advance via mobile apps and have it waiting for them when they arrive.
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    There is a new trend of diners opting to pre-order food through their mobile app and go themselves to pick up the food. This allows them to lower the cost by not having to pay delivery fee, and service charge. It also allows for the food to be more consistent and give them the flexibility to eat wherever the customer prefers either in the restaurant or out. About 20% of diners are using the pre-order option (32% millennials), however only 26% of establishments have the mobile POS technology but 59% of restaurants surveyed plan to add in the next year. About 18% of restaurants have technology allowing customers to order at the table, however 52% said they will add this in the next 2 years. Restaurants are starting to react to the trend from consumers where 53% of millennials mention that the restaurant they choose will base on the digital technology they have including online menu, read reviews, look at Instagram pics, and post their own.
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How Green Rankings Benefit Hotels - 0 views

  • #1: Long-Term Monetary Savings
  • hese technologies reduce resource consumption, saving hotels money in the long run.
  • the typical amount of energy used by 30 standard incandescent bulbs each year is 3,285 kWh
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  • LED lights last an average of 50,000 hours to an incandescent bulb’s meager 1,200 hours.
  • Eco-Conscious Travelers
  • So an investment in being more environmentally friendly not only results in more customers, but more savings as well. More revenue at less cost, it’s a win-win for green hotels.
  • green certification
  • New Environmental Regulations
  • By employing green technologies and methods, hoteliers can be better prepared for any new upcoming environmental restrictions that may come in the future.
  • hotel industry is responsible for about 15% of the total water use in commercial
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    This article explained how green ranking benefits hotels. Being green certified will bring Eco-conscious guests to the hotel.
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Q&A: Southwest Airlines on its GDS, corporate business strategy | PhocusWire - 0 views

  • announced deals to participate in the Amadeus and Travelport global distribution systems, providing content and full booking capabilities for the first time.
  • We have such a great business-friendly product, such a strong schedule, and the policies and fares are so accommodating. But we've been harder to do business within terms of how you book, transact and settle and all of that kind of stuff.
  • The shift away from our [basic booking request] and the basic approach to an industry-standard GDS is really important.
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  • When will content be available on the GDSs?We're still going through the implementation and the sequencing and who comes up first. I think we'll be up and live by mid-2020. I would love that to be both partners. We'll have to see how the work pans out, but that's what we're trying to do.
  •  
    This article focuses on the impact that two new GDS programs will have on Southwest flights and their cooperate progress. While they dive into other observations in the article, the main points are being made about GDS and how it is newly implemented in their company. Based on the GDS that is now with Southwest, they can now "provide content and full booking capabilities for the first time." This is important as they are trying to open their flights to make more Hawaii trips and this helps their cause. The reason that this article strikes me of such importance because it shows a real-life example of GDS being used to this day. GDS is still a prevalent force in the travel industry and while stated in the article that it will take some time to be fully operationally, the company still believes that it is a plus. When studying about GDS, there were many opinions saying it is not as relied on anymore as it once was. Yet as we have here, GDS is still here as it is being used to it strengthens and helping a major airliner like Southwest.
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InterContinental New York Barclay Aligns Sustainability Efforts With UN's 2030 Agenda |... - 0 views

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    This article discusses the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel's mission to become New York's most sustainable hotel. In order to do so, the Barclay has aligned its own initiates with those of the United Nations and look to follow its standards 100% by 2010. Some of these initiatives include donating unused toiletries to impoverished nations as well as partnering with New York's Repeat Roses, an organization that reuses floral arrangements from weddings and other events for nursing homes and hospitals.
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Flight Booking Process: Structure, Steps, and Key Systems | AltexSoft - 0 views

  • An airline uses a software solution called Passenger Service System (PSS) comprised of a central reservation system (CRS), airline inventory system, and departure control system (DCS).
  • It’s responsible for storing and managing all flight-related information, inventory, and ticketing.
  • contains schedules, fares, reservations and ticket records. Its goal is to support bookings through different distribution channels. It stores a database of fare tariffs, rules and booking conditions, all considering different zones, classes, and inventory buckets.
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  • The GDS data from is then distributed among booking platforms and directly to travel agents who request it.
  • All the systems mentioned above are connected via APIs or an EDIFACT protocol and distributed via GDSs. So, if an Online Travel Agency (OTA) wants to access flight information, it must connect to a GDS or third-party API for fares and schedules.
  • Flight search
  • Reservation management
  • Passenger name record (PNR) is a personal code that contains a traveler’s information and itinerary.
  • Ancillary services include an ability to reserve a particular seat, additional baggage, extra legroom, or in-flight meals.
  • Being a member of a frequent-flyer or airline loyalty program, a passenger can use earned miles accumulated from each flight, or points for purchasing extra services from airlines.
  • To receive a ticket with a PNR (sometimes called a booking confirmation number), a traveler must pay the fare.
  • A payment gateway is a third-party service that not only processes all financial operations between customer and merchant, it also ensures data safety.
  • As soon as the payment was processed by the payment gateway, the airline’s CRS can generate a booking confirmation number and issue an electronic version of a ticket.
  • Based on a flight’s itinerary, airport baggage management systems like SITA’s BagManager or ARINC SmartBag generate code and issue a baggage tag with it each time luggage is checked-in through an airport agent or a self-service drop.
  • Since there are no ticket agents anymore and you don’t need to call them to reserve a paper ticket, today’s flight booking pipeline is considered to be simpler than before. But still, a single booking requires a number of different operations, all bound to one another.
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    This article goes into detail of the processes involved in flight booking and how GDS's play a role in this process. GDS's allow for airlines to disburse their flight information to various search engines which allows the consumer to have it at their hands in a matter of minutes. Booking is now made easy and GDS's have decreased the work load of hotels and airlines alike.
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Social Commerce in Hospitality: Hotel Yearbook Digital 2020 Report - 0 views

  • In this scenario, hoteliers should try to develop an authentic storytelling on different channels (i.e. respecting channels’ characteristics) stimulating exogenous eWord of Mouth and attaching call to actions as the ones above; additionally they should monitor and eventually try to stimulate social media activities from guests (endogenous eWord of Mouth), where real and authentic experiences do came up in different social media (again respecting channels’ characteristics) with the aim of generating conversions. As Seth Godin said, it is time to get off the social media merry-go-round thus entrusting social media with a form of commerce that intercepts authenticity, and connects to the lifestyle of customers.  
    • lclar060
       
      Connecting lifestyle of target audience with the brand's image is ideal to drive revenue. In fact, social media is one of the most efficient platforms for this to take place because of its reach to a diverse set of population.
  • In fact, the concept of Social Commerce could be of help to better understand the evolution of digitally mediated social communication. Social Commerce can be understood as a subset of e-commerce; it is essentially about enhancing the online shopping experience with social media and facilitate social interaction and experience sharing.
    • lclar060
       
      Social E-Commerce should be one of the key driving tools for business development in today's hospitality industry. In fact, the term certainly signifies interaction with a vast majority of people.
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    E-commerce has made tremendous strides for business transactions but merchants and marketers alike are advised to engage in Social E-commerce. Social commerce reinvigorates the standards of E-commerce and actively engages with buyers while making purchases.
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Southwest Will Put Content on GDSs: Business Travel News - 0 views

  • Southwest Airlines at long last will provide content and full booking capabilities in global distribution systems via agreements with Travelport and Amadeus
  • Southwest president Tom Nealon said the GDSs are the "third leg of the stool" in Southwest's distribution strategy for business travel, the other two being direct channels and the Swabiz booking tool.
  • Southwest has rolled all those approaches and its recently revamped sales team into a newly named Southwest Business umbrella
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  • Southwest projects that the GDS presence will bring between $10 million and $20 million in additional revenue during the second half of 2020
  • "The shift away from our [Basic Booking Request] and the basic approach to an industry-standard GDS is important.
  • "We have a great business product, but we've been harder to do business with in terms of how you book, transact and settle," Nealon said
  • "We're going to compete hard and compete to win
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    In sum, this article discusses the long awaited partnership with Southwest airlines and global distribution channels Amadeus and Travelport. In the past, there have been many debates regarding the topic of "full content" between airlines and travel intermediaries. However, according to Southwest, this agreement will bring "the highest level of participation." As Southwest continues to revamp and improve the way it competes in the global market arena, Tom Nealon, President of Southwest has stated that, "GDSs are the third leg of the stool in Southwest's distribution strategy for business travel. With its great business product, Southwest is hoping to improve the way consumers book, transact and settle by using global distribution systems. With a conservative outlook, Southwest is hoping that the newly formed partnership with Amadeus and Travelport will generate between $10-$20 million in additional revenue in the second half of 2020.
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    The article demonstrates the benefits of implementing GDS in the hospitality industry. According to the article, installing GDS will enable Southwest Airlines to improve its level of participation by allowing buyers to not only book but also to "change, change, cancel, and modify reservations" via the system. Besides, the implementation of GDS will lead to increase revenue for the company.
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Twenty Four Seven Hotels Updates Accounting to Aptech's PVNG for 23 Properties - Hotel-... - 1 views

  • Aptech Computer Systems, the industry standard for hospitality financial systems, announced Twenty Four Seven Hotels updated its Enterprise Accounting for 23 properties to the PVNG Cloud Back Office system. Twenty Four Seven Hotels is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a portfolio that includes Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt brands. Aptech is an IBM Premier Solution Provider as well as a Prophix Premier Business Partner offering web-enabled business intelligence, budgeting, and hotel accounting software systems that are 100% hospitality specific.
  • Twenty Four Seven Hotels upgraded all 23 properties from Profitvue® to Aptech’s PVNG hotel accounting software in late 2019
  • Twenty Four Seven Hotels’ Vice President of Finance and Accounting Samuel Grant said, “All our properties are on PVNG now and the upgrade went smoothly. My staff loves the system. PVNG is easy to use and its cloud platform enables me to manage and review financial processes from anywhere on a mobile device. This makes it a very efficient system and gives us greater latitude in our financial operation.”
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  • PVNG supports one property or a large multi-brand, multi-property portfolio. PVNG uses the most current technology platform incorporating AP, AR, GL, Statistics, Financials, and a Bank Reconciliation, all with easy to use, familiar browser navigation.
  • Each of our properties is a separate entity and PVNG lets us provide separate financials for each,”
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    Twenty Four Seven Hotels has moved all their properties to Aptechs PVNG software. PVNG is a cloud-based enterprise accounting software. Aptech is a software company that has 100% hospitality specific software systems. Twenty Four Seven hotels has had no issue with this software as of yet they have only been seeing the positives of the software, the staff finds it very easy to use as well as the vice president of finance for the chain. twenty four seven hotels portfolio also includes Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt brands. this could see major hotel brands switch to more cloud based technology if this chain continues to be successful with it
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Hospitality Upgrade | Property Groups Leverage Maestro PMS's Sophistication at Award Wi... - 0 views

  • The same property management software (PMS) and the same central reservations and other systems let operators have one central reservations office, standardized data formats, and a consistent staff training program. Maestro works well for multi-property management companies that have independents in their portfolio.
  • Its branded portfolio is primarily select-service brands from Marriott International, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group. Its independent portfolio includes full-service hotels and luxury properties with the distinction of earning the Preferred Hotels designation and Condé Nast awards. 
  • We first implemented Maestro at Olympia’s independents
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  • Our decision was based on our requirement for a cloud platform that would easily interface with our integration partners,”
  • Today we have five properties on Maestro.
  • Maestro is the most flexible and responsive provider our team has worked with
  • Maestro hosts its five cloud systems and supports all our interfaces remotely.”
  • Maestro is a solid PMS platform used by many independent hotel groups
  • Independent properties rely on Maestro to communicate with a wide variety of tech partner systems that include the Silverware F&B POS, Elavon Fusebox credit card payment processing, call accounting, electronic key systems, voice mail and PBX systems, the ALICE app operations platform, Revinate CRM, IDEAS RMS, and Maestro’s ResWave direct booking engine. Maestro simplifies interface deployment thanks to its Genomi open API that supports deeper capabilities for complementary 3rd party system additions.  
  • Reliable 24/7 real-time system support is also a must for independent operators that do not have a ‘brand tech safety net.
  • ’  Maestro’s award-winning Diamond Plus Support is North American-based and always ready to help
  • The Maestro Property Management System delivers flexible and scalable deployment options with an identical full-featured web browser or windows solution available in the cloud or on premise
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    Maestro is the future of PMS in hotels! This cloud based system allows hotels with multiple properties to be fully integrated with one another. Hotel chains like Marriott International, Hilton, and InterContinental hotel groups are among of Maestro's customers. Hotels rave about Maestro flexibility, 24/7 support, and excellent customer service.
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Digital Menu Boards: Don't Buy Into the Hype - 0 views

  • It's undeniable—digital menu boards are very convenient. You can display different menu items based on the time of day or day of the week, you can alter prices or remove menu items, and you can do all of this without bringing a ladder into the process.
  • It's much easier to add detailed nutritional information for every item you serve to a digital menu board than having your standard board reprinted.
  • A digital menu board can showcase different parts of your menu in new and tantalizing ways You can easily upsell menu items by displaying attractive photos of the item, perhaps enticing your customers to make purchases they weren't planning to make through the power of suggestion.
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  • Implementing a digital menu board can be an enormous expense. The more elaborate they get, the more expensive they become. You'll have to purchase the hardware, the software, and the infrastructure required to implement the signage.
  • A high-quality printed menu board is generally executed better than the best of the digital menu boards. It's crisper, clearer, and the colors are richer than their digital counterparts.
  •  Should your digital menu board go down, it’s DOWN. There’s no backup, so your customers are left staring at a blank screen.
  • Sure, your digital menu board might be cheaper in the long run, but it might be at the expense of the appearance of your food
  • While traditional printed menu boards require very little by way of maintenance, a digital menu board will need continuous maintenance.
  • Printed boards are significantly less expensive to implement, and they're much easier to install, too.
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    This article share some pros and cons about utilizing a digital menu. It describes the convinces involved in using this device and also how cost for repairs and maintenance can be disheartening. All in all, digital menu's are becoming the new trend in this world but this shouldn't eliminate the need for waiters/waitresses.
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Hospitality Property Management Software Market Growing - 0 views

  • Hotel property management system (PMS) is known as a platform that enables the group or a particular hotel to manage front-office tasks, such as room assignment, guest check-in/check-out, booking reservations, managing billing, and room rates.
  • Production is analyzed with respect to different regions, types, and applications. Here, the price analysis of various Market key players is also covered.
  • Both, sales and revenue are studied for the different regions of the global market.
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  • Based on deployment, the market is divided into: * On-Premise * CloudBased on hotel size, the market is divided into: * Small & Medium-scale, * Large ScaleBased on type, the market is divided into: * Hotel Operation Management System * Integrated Security System * Hotel Building Automation System * Guest Service Management System * Others
    • lavendersheshe
       
      These are the different criterias based on deployment, hotel size and type that you would choose which property management software is the most suitable for your hotel business.
  • Apart from the information, trade and distribution analysis for the Market, contact information of major manufacturers, suppliers and key consumers are also given.
  • To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the global market and its commercial landscape. Assess the production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the market and its impact in the global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for the market. Besides the standard structure reports, we also provide custom research according to specific requirements.
    • lavendersheshe
       
      These are the key reasons for a large hospitality business like a hotel to purchase a property management software. It would provide the most accurate information and analyses of a large operation.
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    As the hospitality industry keeps expanding and the demand keeps accelerating from the increasing number of travelers. Businesses operating under this industry relatively also have the increasing need for maintaining efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Major B2B software providers are now currently getting into this rapid growth wave to meet the needs of these businesses.
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Intelligent Buildings and Smart Homes: Solving for Connectivity - 0 views

  • The growth of such markets and the development of applications will require the hardware necessary for connectivity.
  • a number of roadblocks currently limit widespread adoption and are worth mentioning.
  • Whenever a new system or product is released, it becomes a new target for cyber attacks.
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  • today’s connected consumer is accustomed to these risks and accepts them in exchange for the benefits offered by connectivity.
  • hardware remains the same across protocols – so the hardware currently in development will help drive adoption of home automation, no matter which protocols become standard.
  • Without front-line education during the sales cycle, a consumer could opt out, and the connected home capabilities and value would go unrealized.
  • The connected home market is still in the early-adopter phase, and many startup companies are jockeying for position and for consumer attention.
  • The commercial building automation space is different from home automation in many aspects.
  • Its growth is tied heavily to commercial building construction trends, which in this decade have been relatively slow and tempered by the reduction in the commercial building construction pace in China.
  • The Cloud simplifies multi-building management and serves as a data aggregator for building managers responsible for multiple buildings without the need for a large IT staff to manage a dedicated system.
  • While both these systems initially emerged as hard-wired, they have been extended into wireless realms to provide connectivity in less accessible conditions.
  • facility maintenance personnel have a common system to maintain, control, and troubleshoot if needed, creating a strong brand alliance in the commercial controls space.
  • A centralized control system may take readings from multiple airflow sensors in a building and dynamically adjust airflow dampers to ensure equalized airflow and comfort throughout the building.
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    These health-monitoring options are also creating new market spaces, such as age-in-place applications that enable real-time monitoring of the elderly and the devices in their homes - a better alternative to moving them to more costly assisted living facilities.
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Hyatt Transforms Global Finance & Accounting Ops with Digital Management Service - 0 views

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    Hyatt is expanding its finance and accounting (F&A) relationship with Genpact to transform Hyatt's financial operations in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. As part of the multi-year engagement, Genpact will seek to globalize its business model for Hyatt's F&A organization that centralizes and standardizes processes for procure-to-pay, record-to-report, and order-to-cash operations.
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    Multi year engagement is a pretty big deal! I think this is a great move on Hyatt!
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Green megatrends for hospitality and tourism - 0 views

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    According to Erik Stuebe, Auguste 13, 2013, the hospitality and tourism are being pressured to go green in order to protect the environment. Thus, certain standard criteria were established and should be taken into consideration the type of door, ventilation, motion senor lights installation of solar panels, electric car charge spots, biomass, and renewable energies programs. Society need to be educated on the important of positively protecting the environment especially in the schools. Many resorts/ hotels are now using the reuse towel program and smoking policies. Recently, I stayed at Country Inn hotel in Miami who has enforced the towel program. In addition, Sandals International Resorts my current employer also encourage the guest to reuse their towels by placing conservation energy card in all rooms. Furthermore some establishments are recycling their use water to else where such as the irrigation system. This is a practice that I have seen a lot of the time.
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Digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry in 2017 - 0 views

  • Digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry in 2017
  • However sooner or later we’ll be looking at an industry where these 2017 digital marketing trends for the hospitality industry are likely to be the new industry standards.
  • 83% of adults in the USA use smartphones or tablets to search for restaurant locations, directions, and hours. They use these devices in the following manner:
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  • Such a large consumer segment preferring to go online has created a vast market for digital marketing in this industry sector.
  • Advertising through digital platforms is often more cost effective than traditional marketing methods.
  •  which can be used to run targeting email campaigns.
  • 80% of restaurant operators agree that investing in technology helps in increasing sales, making restaurants more productive, and giving them a competitive edge. As a result, owners have increased mainstream technology use by 14% in their restaurants since 2016.
  • Mobile pay transactions are projected to reach the trillion dollar mark within the next few years, meaning it will be something the hospitality industry cannot ignore.
  • Visual content is more than 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than other types of content. 37% of marketers believe that visual marketing is the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging (38%).
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    Expect the hospitality industry to capitalize on these trends in 2017. Get ready to pay for your stay with a mobile app. Also, we will see more and more digital marketing.
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    With the new year upon us, this article describes the biggest trends of 2017. The biggest trend is the most obvious, more people are using their mobile device/ smartphones to search for restaurants locations or make reservations. The other trend, is how advertising through digital platforms is more cost effective than traditional marketing methods such as email campaigns. Projections show that 80% of restaurant operators agree that investing in technology helps the increasing of sales and gives them a competitive edge. Another statistic shows that mobile pay transactions will be the future.
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THE PASSAGE FROM AIRLINE RESERVATION SYSTEMS TO GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS - ProQuest - 0 views

    • drbucky
       
      This is ridiculously inefficient compared to the amount of time researching today.
  • INTRODUCTION
  • (CRS)
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    • drbucky
       
      The CRS is still in use today but, from my experience, it is accessed less by travel agents than by the end user (the traveler) directly.
  • airline company managers
  • Consumers also seek immediate confirmation of the reservation;
    • drbucky
       
      One of the smart things about the evolution of the GDS is that designers keep the end user (the traveler) in mind and continue to make sure the systems are user friendly and provide assurances to the traveler. This is significant to remember because there are several GDSs out there performing similar functions so, designing customer friendly systems become competitive advantage.
  • GDS also uses the tourism
    • drbucky
       
      A big benefit for organizations that have strong GDSs: This is an excellent opportunity to collect traveler/guest data. GDSs can be used as an amazing marketing tool in providing information to users in real time and collecting data to help learn how to "speak" more effectively with the users
  • Since there are far more young people
  • Through automation, the efficiency of this process has increased tremendously, while valuable information is being supplied to the customer.
  • Even a relatively standardized hote
  • For instance,
    • drbucky
       
      Perhaps one of the strongest reasons GDSs remain popular in the lodging industry is that these systems are built to be incredibly flexible, reflecting variations in seasonal rates for rooms and for different room types.
  • 1. INTRODUCTION
    • drbucky
       
      The reason I was attracted to this article was that the authors provide an interesting history lesson about the role of the travel agent before the advent of modern-day GDSs, including online travel websites, including Travelocity and Expedia.
  • travel agents spent up to 80% of their time doing things that prepared them for making reservations, and only 20% actually making them. But, due to the commission that tourism providers and travel agents relied on, only the 20% generated revenue.
    • drbucky
       
      Important to note that although this article is specifically written about the airline industry, the entire concept relates directly to the GDS of the lodging industry.
    • drbucky
       
      These systems tend to attract younger users - is this a missed opportunity to attract older users or are businesses intentionally ignoring older travelers who may still depend on more traditional travel agent services?
    • drbucky
       
      Costs to use these systems are high but the ROI may be higher than traditional methods because, used correctly, these systems market and sell themselves.
    • drbucky
       
      This section describes how the lodging industry started to incorporate GDSs into their own businesses.
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The Marriott/Starwood "Back to the Future" Technology Decision | By Israel del Rio - Ho... - 0 views

  • decade's-long technology transformation program to move Starwood from its MVS Mainframe technology (Starlink) to modern Reservation, Call Center, eCommerce Web, Property Management and Revenue Management systems integrated with the Loyalty system via SOA interfaces and open system frameworks (system name: Valhalla)
  • dynamic pricing, rapid channel distribution plug-in integration, standardized PMS, Web/Loyalty integration, multifaceted inventory and booking capabilities, advanced amenity search, etc.
  • heIntercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), for example, is currently engaged in a major project in partnership with Amadeus to replace its own Holidex TPF Mainframe reservation system with state of the art technologies by 2018[1]. Wyndham Hotel Group too has announced its intention to migrate its legacy system to a new system being developed by Sabre [2], and Hilton has also announced a major $500M investment to upgrade its technology[3].
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  • Marriott's own system today centers around 1970's Mainframe TPF technology (MARSHA) suitably kept current via the judicious use of the scotch-tape and wires represented by a cornucopia of front-end gateways and the labor intense support of inflexible legacy code, eclectic data bases, hard-coded interfaces, and a veritable zoo of different property management systems crying for better integration.
  • MARSHA stays, and the Starwood System goes away.
  • Back to the Future Transformation Strategy under the principal argument that it will be easier to migrate the 1,200 Starwood properties to the old Marriott system than to migrate the 4,000 Marriott properties to Starwood's 21st Century solution.
  • Given that Marriott is now risking being left behind—especially as it invariably loses the people who forged the Starwood system—it's hard to argue its chosen course of action is in the best interest of its stockholders.
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    This blog article relates to the merger between Mariott and Starwood Hotels. For decades Starwood hotels had been investing in a technology transformation program to move Starwood properties from their old mainframe technology to a more modern reservation system called Valhalla. Valhalla is an all in one system and manages reservations, call center, eCommerce Web, Property management and Rev mgmt systems. One would expect Mariott to migrate their current properties to Starwoods PMS however this was not the case. After the merger Mariott announced that they would be migrating the 1200 acquired Starwood properties to their reservation system. I don't understand why Mariott would do this as this would be a backward move. It's a bit strange because their purchase price for Starwood factored in a $500 million Starwood IP technology value which was not owned by Mariott.
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Tablets Are Making Waiters Obsolete - Business Insider - 0 views

  • The casual dining spot has recently introduced tablets in dining rooms nationwide that customers can use to place orders, browse the menu, and entertain otherwise noisy children.
  • As tablets in restaurants go, Chili's has become a standard bearer. They just announced the introduction of 45,000 Ziosk tablets in 800 locations.
  • But Chili's is not alone in this push toward automation. Applebee's announced the installation of 100,000 tablets last December
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  • Some major chains have already made the bet. Buffalo Wild Wings announced a big tablet push in March, promising to have them in all North American stores by the end of 2015.
  • E la Carte cofounder and CEO Rajat Suri argued that tablets are designed to work alongside human employees, not replace them.
  • These enhancements are geared toward increasing customer satisfaction and driving up revenue. Patrons are far more like to buy a restaurant gift card or buy dessert if they're pleased with their dinning experience at the end of the meal. 
  • Tablets are also making life better for waiters with the help of some behavioral science.
  • This tablet tsunami suggests waiters might not be getting the job done.
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    Sam Colt wrote an article for Business Insider titled Tablets Are Making Waiters Obsolete - An Chilli's Is Leading The Way. This article bothered me a bit, because knowing what I know about Hospitality we build our brand around customer service and customer satisfaction and how can we do that if we are eliminating the person to person interaction. In his article Colt mentioned Chili's "has recently introduced tablets in dining rooms nationwide that customers can use to place orders, browse the menu, and entertain otherwise noisy children". I understand the thought behind keeping your guests entertain while they wait for service; however, I believe it should be just that, entertainment not self-service. Dine in restaurants should not be treated like a fast food restaurant and guests should expect a reasonable wait time. Having that person to person interaction makes a dining experience more enjoyable. E la Carte co-founder and CEO Rajat Suri argued "if someone does not want to spend time with a server, they're going to ignore the server anyways." My thoughts are why would you dine in a restaurant if you do not want to be severed, why not go to a fast food restaurant. Chili's states the tablets are solely for increasing customer satisfaction and increase revenue and suggests the tablets are making the life of waiters better.
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Why Tablets on Restaurant Tables Are Here to Stay - Eater - 1 views

  • Over the past few years, a new fixture has popped up on restaurant tables next to the ketchup bottles and salt shakers: tablets.
  • Applebee’s installed tablets at its restaurants in 2014, and they’re now found on every table at all of its nearly 2,000 U.S. locations.
  • There’s been a fair amount of concern that tablets would put human servers out of jobs, but thus far Outback and other casual dining chains say they are using tablets as server’s assistants:
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  • n fact, tips have stayed steady or even increased, thanks to the ease of tipping via tablet: Diners can typically tap just one button to automatically apply a tip of the industry standard 20 percent, which is easier than manually entering a smaller tip.
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    This article describes how many restaurants are now adding tablets to their POS systems. Major chains, such as Applebee's, TGI Friday's, and Outback Steakhouse, are now using these tablets at many of their tables. The article suggests that the servers' tips are either staying the same or increasing due to the ability of the customer to merely tap a 20% tip. Also, the article suggests that sales for the restaurant have increased and labor costs have decreased. It appears that this trend will continue to increase in restaurants.
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Blog | History of POS in hospitality industry | intelligentpos - 1 views

  • Whether it is a hotel requiring integration of room rates and billable amenities, or a restaurant incorporating both front and back-end activities, the point-of-sale (POS) environment is critical to successful operations
  • the first cash register was invented in the late 1800s? From those earliest days through to the early 1980s, manual cash registers were combined with paper transactions to keep track of everything occurring within the hospitality business.
  • there was no way to integrate what happened at the counter with back office operations. Companies were still required to enter the same data two and three times by way of manual transcription.
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  • The mid-1990s saw the development of POS software that could be run on a standard computer. The electronic cash register was replaced with a desktop computer system consisting of a monitor, keyboard, CPU, and cash drawer.
  • a number of well-known software companies began working on technology that could link software systems across a local network
  • Cloud computing really took off at the turn of the 21st century. It is cloud computing that forms the basis of today's electronic point-of-sale systems (EPOS) now used by virtually every company in the hospitality industry. EPOS makes it possible to integrate nearly every aspect of a hospitality business into a single system located on the cloud.
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    I found this article very interesting because it gives us a walk through of the evolution of POS in the hospitality industry. Since the very beginning hotels and restaurants have relied on keeping record and storing data. Throughout the years there have been great breakthroughs that have made the life of the employees easier as well as lead to greater productivity. It makes me happy and feel very fortunate to live in times where work has been facilitated and has made work for efficient and reliable. I am sure that there is still much work to be done and many adjustments to be made but we are on a good path.
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    I like your reflection about the article very much because as you mentioned "it walk you through" the different stages of technology through time. Our industry had evolute from the paper record keeper all the way to a very efficient data storage and operating systems. I cannot even imagine what the future will withhold for the lodging industry.
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