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The tourism is considered the biggest industry in the world, This industry has also one of the biggest impact on the environment. The tourism and hospitality industries can play a key role reducing our footprint on the planet

The total online transaction for both inbound and outbound tourism have add up to USD 1,200 million for Peru tourism industry according to National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur). The website has played an important role with a small investment of USD 20,000 can compete with either any tour operator or country's most important operators. The Foreign visitors will continue generate 15 percent more from last year which is forecast to be USD 3.800 million. The reason for a large amount of online tourism transaction is because of the growth of the Peruvian economy increase the number of foreign investment.

This article takes a look at the positive and negative sides of online hotel reviews. Although online reviews play a large part in guests decision to stay at a property they are not always fair or accurate. This article takes a look at the factors influencing these negative reviews.

This article described the goal of Marriott's environmental initiatives goals and what did they do in all over the world. Marriott plays a leading role in the environmental initiatives in the industry. It can reduce wastes and costs. What's more, it can improve the image of the firm. I think other hotel chains should learn form Marriott and set up their image. This can not only help protect our world and life but also make a great contribution to the development of the company.

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

Food Trucks no longer have to worry about internet connections, cables and loss of power. This system is on the go and perfect for them and even has a way for them to reach out to customers when they are in a slow time. If food trucks are having a slow day they can just tweet to all of their followers special deals or locations even to attract more business.

Having the iPad POS system in the food trucks is a great idea because the owners no longer have to worry about lots of hardware in the truck just to be able to take payment from customers.

Technology continues to advance in every aspect of the hospitality field even for food trucks businesses. The Revel System has released a new iPad-based restaurant POS system. This system is very convenient for food truck employees. There is no longer need to worry about the hustle and bustle of loose cables and poor router connection. As social media plays an important role in today's day and age the new POS system is equip with Twitter. Food trucks owners can send a tweet out about promotions, discounts, and their current location. This is very much an innovation for food truck businesses.

This article focuses on steps needed for successful marketing campaigns with in the hospitality and tourism industry. The use of the internet has far reaching implications as this is the way that most communication takes place. Social media plays a huge role in giving and receiving information. Travel review websites and tourism publications can be used for advertisement purposes. Surveys offer instant feedback (positive or negative) and can determine whether or not customer referrals will be given. Forming partnerships with other companies such as restaurants, boat/bus tours, taxi cabs, etc. helps both parties.

Module 8: "Everything in the business world is about the bottom line, and the accounting department of an organization is the keeper of that bottom line's flame." The following article, Accounting and Bookkeeping For The Tourism Industry gives and inside look and new perspective into the accounting and bookkeeping within the hospitality and tourism industry. The following are a few topics that are required in order to successfully run financial aspects within the travel industry; cash-flow, operation & cost budget, pensions, foreign currency, accounting system integrity and accounting & reporting standards. I was interested to read all of the possible job opportunities that are available in accounting and booking sides of the travel industry; for example - opportunities to travel to exotic locations, work/live abroad, possible events, etc. It is clear to read that employees in both accounting and booking are vital today and their role continues to play a major role in the overall success of the industry. "Just as the history of the tourism and hotel industry has grown and evolved into the mega economic force it is today, so has the bookkeeping necessary grown into a mega accounting career that the tourism business could not live without."

This article reflects on this weeks topic of e-menus. It refers the different companies that have started this trend and the birth of this technology. It explains the pros of having this and what encouragements are embedded in order to grasp the user and influence them to play. AS mentioned in the summary, not all restaurants will adopt this as their are many risks involved with this type of technology.

This article was very interesting as it analyzes whether combining technology in the restaurant industry will appeal to customers. The debate of using tablets to replace paper menus has been considered by different restaurant segments. Its advantages include the ability of updating a menu continuously and offering clients additional advantages such as the option of viewing images of the dish. One of the benefits it offered is that guests can use tablets for more features, such as playing a game and competing with another diner in the same restaurant. I personally feel that not all restaurant segments will appeal to this. With regards to etiquette, fine dining establishments prefer to offer a well- designed paper menu. A tablet is quite distracting and it is an expensive investment if each guest is to have one. I believe this is only useful in a fine dining establishment while reading the wine menu as it can be updated frequently. For other restaurant segments such as a casual restaurant, this can be appealing. While technology can always be beneficial, some establishments are better off with traditional approaches to dining.

As i have mentioned in all of my posts this week, e-menu is believe is the future of the restaurant industry. Throughout this article you read about the positives of electronic menus as well as how difficult it might be to get the electronic menus might struggle to hit the ground running. It is a very interesting and educational article.

With the development and improvement of technology, point-of-sale (POS) systems nowadays are playing a vital role in the industry. In this article, the author has mentioned that POS systems let businesses track usage, monitor changes in unit dollar costs, calculate when businesses need to reorder, and analyze inventory levels on an item-by-item basis. In one word, POS systems enable businesses to keep track of their cash flow. The author also introduced some features to consider in a POS system, including: ease of use, entry of sales information, pricing, updating product information, sales tracking options, security, and taxes for businesses to choose the most appropriate system for them. Since every business is unique, it's important for every business find that system meeting their all requirements instead of just using a popular one.

E-commerce has made a huge difference when it comes to how the tourism industry has grown and developed. With the introduction of marketing techniques such as virtual tours, virtual views of popular landmarks, and ideas on things to do in town, tourists have an easier time deciding where and if they want to visit different destinations. Mobile apps have also made it easier for tourists to access important information, such as their flight and hotel reservations, any itineraries they may have, and food delivery services, all of which would make their stay easier and more comfortable. E-Commerce has made traveling more cost effective for travelers by allowing online travel agencies the ability to provide deals for cheaper hotels and flights.

Hotels are starting to see a trend in high technology that are becoming more appealing to guests. Two hotels in China began using facial recognition to check in there guests in 2018. The article states that because of the good feedback from guests that enjoy these high-tech hotels, this technology will become mainstream in the hospitality industry by 2025. Despite all of the excitement behind the new facial recognition and the big role artificial intelligence will play in hotels, some industry professionals believe that it takes the personality out of the hospitality industry.

This is a great article for any company that produces large events and is thinking about implementing event software. It helps to analyze both the pros and the cons of software like this as well as what it takes from your company in order for it to work. It points out that without someone who understands programming your company is going to have a very hard time running this software and getting it set up. Overall, I agree with the articles viewpoint on a companies size playing a major deciding factor. A company should only invest in this costly software if they take part in large scale or consistent events that need the software. Before jumping into a software a company can try many of the online simple tools and figure out what they need from a software.

"And the changes keep coming. Among this year's winners, handpicked by InfoWorld editors and product reviewers, you'll find a number of "traditional" names: Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat. But you'll also find the names of more open source projects than we've ever seen in the Technology of the Year winner's circle, thanks to the huge role open source has come to play in software development, data center (and cloud) infrastructure, and big data analytics. [ Read about the winning hardware, software, development tools, and cloud services in our slideshow: InfoWorld's 2016 Technology of the Year Award winners. | Get a digest of the day's top tech stories in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ] Docker, Kubernetes, Mesos, Spark -- these are only a few of this year's winners from the open source camp. In one way or another, each brings something new to the enterprise. Docker's clever take on Linux containers was so popular with developers, it became a standard even Microsoft sought fit to adopt. Kubernetes brings Google's cloud-tested technology for container management to the rest of us, while Mesos -- the U.C. Berkeley AMPLab project that gave birth to Spark -- offers an elegant solution to cluster resource management. "

This article is discussing the changes and updates in technology for the year 2016. It explains how the best IT products has been used for this year and the order of the ratings for them. It also explains the best hardware/software that has has been used by consumers and for businesses. This can help in the hospitality field by choosing which software is best to use.

The right property management system plays a key roles in the success of any hotel. Property management systems store guests' information which helps make for a pleasurable stay at the hotel. On the back end having the proper property management system can be key tool in making a successful stay at the hotel. The front end has software that handles the point of sale, account receivable, banquets, conferences, restaurant, housekeeping, inventory, payroll, among other apps and modules that connect to make the hotel run successful smooth. The information that is stored in these systems generate reports that the hotel can review for decision making. Much like other software, technology can be exhausting at times when it doesn't do what we want it to do. The hotel software market is full of many different option management can choose do off with. A few things a hotel should consider when choosing software should be: How many modules will your new hotel software offer? Does your new property management system have third party products merged into it? Is your hotel software compatible with third party software? Does your property management system help you enhance revenue? Considering all these questions while choosing a new property management system can help management choose the best system that will be most beneficial for the hotel. As someone who has been part of choosing a PMS it is very important to consider everything. Every vendor tells you why theirs is the best. It takes a lot of time to review everything and determine what system will work best for the company. I think where companies go wrong when getting a new system is training. The companies I've worked for often do very little training. I think lack of training for employees contributes to employees not using systems correctly and to full capacity which causes errors in reports. As a sales director, I often read reports and knew the information wasn't correct and it was due to input error. This

This article was very interesting and it gives advice to any person thinking about opening a hotel in what software you can use. A hotel software is extremely important because that has all the guest information and store there experience that they had at the hotel. You have to see what software you want to implement when changing the hotel management system or property management system you need to know who is selling it to you and what is included in the software. If you are just getting a new system, you have to make sure that everything you already have is included and more. You also have to make sure that the software you get is compatible with a third party hardware. A hotel software system can make you or break you in a hotel. You really have to know the vendor that is selling you the software and make sure that they have experience with the software. The better the software that you have in the hotel, the smoother the hotel will run.

The article talks about the importance of using a PMS or Property Management System. The use of a property management system is very important to the success of a property. The article is also able to aid those who looking to implement a property management system by helping them narrow down what they will need. The article poses questions toward the reader to see what they are looking for in a PMS.

This article talks about the efforts computer companies are making to reduce the negative environmental results of traditional technology equipment. There are more than 60 electronic devices from companies like Dell and HP that are becoming apart of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is a funded project called EPEAT that has the goal of identifying environmentally friendly computer equipment that still outputs the same level of performance for the customer. This new "green" certification system even provides a list online of the products that meet the standards. EPEAT allows customers to rank computer electronics by their environmental. There are 23 required criteria and 28 optional criteria involved in the rankings. The optional criteria determines if the product is EPEAT Bronze, Silver, or Gold. These standards include having lower levels of lead, mercury and cadmium as well as being more energy efficient so they reduce emissions put into the atmosphere to help reduce the levels of greenhouse gases. These products are also more simple to upgrade and have recycled… businesses actually have to provide safe ways to recycle the products they sell when the customer can no longer use them. Manufacturers think having an even playing field for the customer to be able to view their products by environmental aspect is better and are proud to be apart of something so beneficial to the environment. The EPEAT program was expected to reduce 13 million pounds of hazardous waste and 3 million pounds of non hazardous waste.

It is said the the central reservation system is essentially the core of reservations since the internet plays a huge part in making those reservations. It goes from property management systems, to the CRS which is then distributed to GDS's, wholesalers, or other viewing options. This allows the hotel to have profiles that can be viewed online by consumers and agents to get a feel for the services. Additionally, it is said that is allows for great visibility to attract more customers which allows for groups and blocks. It also allows the consumer to check around for competitors to ensure they are finding the best rates and deals. All in all, it connects the entire globe to reach a wider audience to maximize profit.

This article helps us to better understand the information systems being utilized, why they are important and what difficulties they bring about. In the Hospitality Industry, customer service is put at the top of the list of must haves. With customer service comes knowing information about your customer and without Information Technology services put in place, these expectations will never be met. Having a computer based IT is crucial because it allows the employees to work more proficiently which in turn creates a better experience for the guest. Multiple hospitality leaders have been applying fully Internet based technological systems within their organizations. IHG group has implemented an easy to use system so it is simple for every position within the hotel. For a company like IHG with over 500 hotels, it was imperative they eliminated the manual system to provide better quality control. Because of this system they can get better quality products at lower costs. Although this new system is much more user friendly, the overall cost involved is still not confirmed but this system is still predicted to have positive impacts long term. For example at Marriott Hotels, they use a company website, POS Micros, Property Management System and Central reservation system just to name a few. On top of stellar service and quick/ easy information submissions, guests are looking to have the best technology at their disposal to use. Things like computers with full internet access, printers and fax machines to make sure they can still be functional while displaced. An advanced system called MARSHA is being used as a reservation system and stores the rewards system information for Marriot guests. Micros-Opera is a popular property based system provider and has become common within the hotel industry. Vendors usually use this since it gives them the ability to connect to other vendor's applications. MICROS 9700 HMS is the most popularly used point of sale system. There are some

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.