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Focusing on new trends, POS systems are being brought out and introduced in the new addition of IPAD. This new system called Revel hopes to be the go-to Ipad powered comprehensive POS system for restaurants. Revel systems can be used for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering and email receipts. Lisa Falzone is the co founder and CEO of Revel System expressed how this new system is going after chains and restaurants that obtain at least $500,000 in yearly revenue. Launched in August 2011 Revel is seeing around $80 million in business processing with major brands and franchises ex: Freshberry frozen yogurt café, Rexs chicker, Dixie cream etc. This new trend with IPAD POS system is a great idea and a fantastic way to be more efficient. Usually POS systems are these screens that are not movable it mainly resides on one specific location while these ipads could be more convenient and mobile. This may help to bring out a better and faster customer satisfaction.

Revel Systems hopes to be the new POS platform for restaurants. This iPad works like a cash register, it can be customized for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering, email receipts and more.The Revel system is going after chains and restaurants that have at least $500,000 in yearly revenue.

I had a doctor visit this past week and the office could barely function because their servers were down. If down systems can cause this much turmoil in a doctor's office where people expect to wait, imagine the trouble in a busy restaurant. The system sounds great, but there would need to be a back-up system or procedure in place. There are risks of a system crash, so why not have a more traditional processing system available if it is needed? The benefits of cyber storage can be considerable and likely down the road more safeguards will be in place to hedge against the negative effects of a system crash. This is definetely a technology worth researching (if your business is big enough to sustain it).

This article is about innRoad a New York based company that specializes in delivering SaaS and web based PMS and software solutions specifically targeted at independent hotels. The article mentions how the company just received almost $6 Million dollars to invest in expanding and and building their sales team. The CEO of the company brings up an interesting point about brands, and mentions that its becoming less and less about he size or name of the brand but rather how your peers and others rate their experience in a particular hotel. This will provide leverage for smaller independent hotels to gain popularity and grow. InnRoad's software is doing big things to help its clients better connect with customers and manage their properties.

According to the article, Starwood Hotels and Resorts has appointed Martha Poulter as the new Chief of Information Officer. CEO, Frits van Paasschen claims that Martha's significant experience in leading a large global IT organization will be very beneficial to the company. She will help the company stay up to pace with the quickly changing technological habits of Starwood's guests. When she steps into her new position on June 23, 2014, Martha will be responsible for leading a seasoned group of IT specialists that are well integrated in virtually every aspect of the business including all of Starwood's brands and global operations. Starwood is looking forward to what Martha has to provide for the company's future.

""Cybercriminals and payment card data are like dogs and bacon, they just can't get enough. With POS devices now handling most of the payment card transactions around the world for retailers, restaurants, hotels and grocers, these systems are in the cross-hairs," commented Paul Lipman, iSheriff CEO. "Compromised POS's were the source of major data breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus, Subway and many others, and there are no signs the security risks are slowing down.""

I think that the POS system is definitely the one place that we need to stop and look at when it comes to security and data breaches and we need to keep updating these systems to make it harder and harder for people to hack them. What does this mean for hospitality?

Even though the GDS had reformed the distribution system of the travel industry, will it continue to grow and update it's current model to upkeep the growing age of tourism? The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is looking for newer ways to revolutionize the travel industry. Tony Tyler, IATA CEO, feels that the Global Distribution System (GDS) is lacking upgrades and says "the GDS model is too clunky to adapt easily to the emergence of trends". As a result, the IATA is working on a new distribution capability (NDC) that will enable the industry to become on trend with online retailers and transform distribution. However, the GDS will still play an important role in aiding the NDS to get there. Tyler spoke at the SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Belgium, asking the IT partners to help innovate the air transport industry. He also explained that the IT already did and will continue on doing a great job with facilitating the operational efficiency.

This article introduces one of the big events about hospitality technology investment, MURTEC. MURTEC is the conference that technology-savvy restaurant companies, top executives, CEO, restaurant group, or independent operators gather to talk about technology initiatives, the limitation of existing hospitality technology and development. It is interesting that this type of event is held regularly for people who are interested in technology development, especially in hospitality industry. Good information about savvy technology will be introduced here and professionals can have chances to hear an explanation about new technology. Of course, the vendors also can experiment whether their technology will be successful or not based on attendees' response and competitors' products. Not only for this but networking can be established through the event. Sometimes though they have good products, their business cannot be successful if they fail to find proper buyers. Considering this issue, both vendors and buyers can have benefits via the event.

This recent article talks about the partnership which was formed due to the recent Marriott International hacking scandal. Cybint, military trained cybersecurity experts, and Routier, a service which provides hotels with engagement, operational and marketing products, have joined forces to prevent such future attacks. Routier co-founder and CEO Gal Bareket states "Our partnership with Cybint and the addition of its cybersecurity educational programming will help secure and protect end users in the wake of the Marriott [International] hacking scandal,". The article further highlights other benefits of this union between Cybint and Routier such as cyber literacy courses and hands on simulator labs for cybersecurity professionals. The article also highlights the prime features and services provided by both Cybint and Routier.

RealView is a Chicago-based mobile software company that assists hotels with emergencies by equipping first responders with hotel's up-to-date floor plans and other relevant information. "We provide a preplan program where we make everything a responder would need available to them ahead of time," Stephen Nardi, CEO of RealView, said. "With planning, both employees and responders won't be operating on trial and error but reality." All of this information is streamlined to portable tablets or security stations and can be updated remotely and shared digitally. This software is important not only because of the safety of hotel patrons and visitors, but also to protect a hotel from a liability standpoint. "The front-end policies you have will protect you in the moment and in the end," Justin Parafinczuk, a partner for the defense law firm Koch, Parafinczuk, Wolf and Susen said. ""Any break in the chain is a liability. It's a minefield." In my opinion, this type of software not only makes sense but should be required in all hotels. When dealing with emergencies that involve life and death, seconds matter. It is software like RealView that can be the difference in saving peoples live's. RealView offers the ability to streamline real time information and make it easily sharable. I believe that not having this type of software should be considered a legal liability to hotels and they should be held accountable if they do not have this type of software implemented.

"Cisco Systems Inc., is the biggest maker of equipment that runs the internet". This article highlights the disappointing revenue that Cisco Systems is facing currently. However, the CEO is pushing to have Cisco's networking services to be more cloud based than hardware based. Because their company is known for its hardware, they are taking a hit revenue wise in their transition to a cloud based system. Companies are buying less hardware and are relying on other alternatives to keep their business running efficiently. I believe that Cisco is identifying with the current trends that are apparent in the IT world. As stated in our discussions, a cloud-based software eliminates the use of bulky hardware, eliminates costs, and allows companies to scale up or down depending on their size. So Cisco can use this information to help develop their cloud system. The businesses see value in switching systems and Cisco is in the business of providing them with what they need. Cisco is being recasted as a networking system so it is taking time for companies to switch their view on Cisco. I believe that Cisco should not deter from this transition and be able to reinvent themselves as a cloud based network. Though their revenue is taking a hit, they should continue for now until they are able to establish themselves.

Checkmate is an app which allows customers to check into their hotel as well as communicate with them during their stay via their smartphone, According to Tnooz CEO Drew Patterson, there have been changes is consumer expectations. For instance one of the changes that his 41-employee company found was that customers, regardless of age, like communicating with the staff over a text-messaging style interface. Interesting enough, properties that have implemented such technologies, have been receiving higher guest satisfaction evaluations than before. The article mentions that one property for instance, had a 20% increase in customers satisfaction due to this kind of technology.

The EDTS company believes Savannah's economic and employement growth could attract hackers from obtaining personal information of tourists and visiting customers. Charles Johnson, the CEO of the company believes it is a duty for hotels/restaurants to provide data security for its customers. He believes that not only big companies such as Equifax and Yahoo are vulnerable to hacks, but also small businesses. He adds that when small businesses are hacked, they can be ruined. He stresses all kinds of outlets to protect their data before they have a major breach.

This article talks about when Andy Jassy started at amazon. He also started their cloud computing. Amazon now owns 30% of all cloud computing. This is almost half of the worlds public cloud computing infrastructure!

In this article, Binu Mathews, Ceo at IDS Next, discusses how the hospitality industry faces massive disruptions and the majority of the challenges related to technology. He discusses how these challenges affect larger hotel chains.

New technology is working to fix the global garbage problem. AMP Robotics has processed more than 1 billion recyclable objects in a year with their computer technology. Robotics and artificial intelligence sort through recycling to ensure the waste is disposed of properly. Matanya Horowitz, founder/CEO of AMP Robotics said, "If you reduce the cost of sorting, the margin you can extract on all those materials increases and you naturally find incentive to capture that material." Another way technology is enhancing the garbage industry is through the Association of Plastic Recyclers by designing packaging that can be recycled. Also, developing compostable containers and eliminating single-use plastics which is what the company Footprint is working on.

The article discusses how a service-based approach to e-commerce has tremendous value. The article focus on how Rakuten choose to infuse hospitality services, normally reserved for brick & mortar establishments on internet based business. Affording them the opportunity to generate profits by having access to this type of infrastructure at a fraction of the cost than if delivered in a traditional format.

I enjoyed reading this article and learning more about Rakuten. Their business approach seems valuable particularly for the culture it serves. Being that he is familiar with Japanese culture and their preference for an interpersonal approach, Hiroshi Mikitani the CEO of Rakuten was able to veer from the norm of a standardized and process-oriented approach and build a successful business. Rakuten platform allows allows hotels to set up so they can edit their pages themselves and tell their own stories, which allows the hotels to make a connection with customers.

Fintech startup company, Banked, has partnered with British Airways to provide a new and effective form of payment for their airline loyalty members to pay for online purchases using BA Avios. BA Executive Club members can now use their bank account via Banked and merchants will be able to offer the Avios option at a fraction of the cost of credit card processing fees. (2-4% vs 0.1%) This new partnership will lead to increased customer loyalty, conversion rates along with higher average order value. Banked is currently integrated with may of the largest banks in the United Kingdom, including Barclays and HSBC. Banked CEO stated that 78% of consumers in the UK are making purchasing decisions based on loyalty points, which will extremely increase customer loyalty from the British Airways Executive Club members. In my opinion, this is an excellent way for loyalty club members, especially airline and hotel rewards members, to be able to utilize their points or miles that have been of no use due to the pandemic. This has already been integrated in the United States through Chase, American Express, and Citibank where rewards points can be used for purchases online and even on Amazon. This was the correct step for BA because they will be able to retain loyal customers until travel restrictions are lightened.

Even though this article is from 2019 it is still extremely relevant today. POS systems are found in most hospitality outlets and the chances for a security breach are high. I have often thought when I had my credit card to a waiter and they are gone for 10 minutes are they copying the number, is it being added to a database that can then be hacked? The importance of having the proper securities in place, the proper malware and security software is really important. Having had a catering company for 20 years I had to do PCI compliance tests every 6 months and for years I just handed it over to my IT to do the test. He would suggest things to make us safer and since it usually cost money I would shake it off. It wasnt until the credit card processing company i was using had a security breach that I realized how important these PCI rules were. It is something going forward I will always pay attention to!

Alex Canter, CEO of Nextbite and Ordermark explains the difference between virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens. Both exist online, with no physical storefront. A report by Statista predicted online food delivery revenue will reach over $324 billion in 2022. Virtual Restaurants - only exist online, work with existing restaurants and kitchens. Helps increase productivity of their kitchen and labor, increase revenue and margins. Ghost Kitchens - Physical kitchens designed off-premise (pick-up and delivery only). Some have 30 or more individual commercial kitchens for rent and one area for delivery drivers to pick up. These kitchens house many brands and new local restaurants for a rent fee. Virtual restaurants require great marketing strategies, such as digital marketing, SEO, social media, professional photography and menu design. Some of the strategies suggested for success are utilising and being part of apps, focusing on the reviews, setting up a website.

This article from the CEO of PayBright discusses the many ways that restaurants can make their POS better at serving its employees. Options such as pre-calculated tip suggestions, flexible ordering options, cash discounts, and gift card management are all ways that more (tip) money can flow into servers' pockets. An intelligently managed POS can lead to happier (and retained) employees and a more efficient operation.