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From cocktail-making to burger-flipping, many food and beverage businesses are beginning to discover the benefits of using robots to improve their productivity.

The automation revolution has begun.

make 10 loaves per hour,

businesses don’t have to burden themselves by storing data in traditional in-house servers

they can opt for a cloud service that would store their data in secured data centres.

Not only the big hotel chains but today, even independent and small hotels have strong management tools within their reach. There are several benefits of using the cloud and they have helped several hotels across the world to strengthen up their business — from increasing operational efficiency to lowering the management costs.

During I/O, the annual developer conference, Google made several announcements that are set to have an impact on how we use technology at events.

Google Glass is the gadget of the moment

Event staff could immediately scan event tickets by wearing Glass or attendees could scan an intelligent code to get clearance. The technology is so event friendly that I anticipate lots of cool apps in this space.

5 Future Developments that will revolutionize Online Hotel Marketing: “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”, says a famous proverb…and what better fit to apply this than in the world of technology and marketing?

The breakneck speed of tech evolution is inspiring (and often scary) but the two keywords that will set winning developments apart from the ‘also ran’ are ‘love’ and ‘simplicity’. It doesn’t take a degree to understand that people adopt technologies that fuel their imagination & passions…and the rate of adoption is in close sync to the simplicity of its interface and operation. Great technology needs to adapt to the needs of the user and future breakthroughs will bear testament to this.

1. Choice is king.The clear winners of the online distribution race will be suppliers and 3rd parties that provide the most choice to the customer. “Experience building” will become key to the looking and booking process online.

LBA Hospitality partners with M3 Accounting + Analytics to Enhance Accounting processes and Increase Efficiencies July, 31 2013 M3 Accounting + Analytics Seeking to update and streamline accounting processes for its 70-plus Southeast properties, Dothan, Ala.-based Larry Blumberg & Associates, Inc. (LBA Hospitality) recently announced an expanded partnership with M3 Accounting + Analytics, the national leader in hotel-specific accounting software, operations reporting, and business analytics. “If we are to continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA president Beau Benton.  LBA sought the ability to swiftly handle budgets, forecasts, and reports, and to dissect business data, all while insuring that the back-office accounting platform functionality was state-of-the-art and industry-specific.  In choosing M3, Benton cited how the company integrates accounting, business intelligence, and reporting, while eliminating most redundancy, software investment and annual hardware/software maintenance. In addition, Benton and LBA were looking for continual and automatic upgrades, backup and disaster protection, and minimized downtime.  LBA is implementing the full suite of M3 products: accounting through the AccKnowledge platform, time, attendance and labor management through the newly released RightTime solution and LaborWatch, and payroll services through Rightpay. The company will also continue to use M3 Link business intelligence reporting, as LBA will be expanding it to bring financial data, operating stats, Smith Travel feeds and guest satisfaction data (including verbatim responses) into one completely customizable dashboard. LBA, which launched its business by developing a Sheraton Inn in 1973, is rapidly growing its management business and securing more and more agreements from sophisticated owners and investors.   Scott Watson, M3 Vice president of Sales & Marketing, said, “While our core product remains our accounting solution, we’ve continued to evolve and offer new products and services that meet the current and future needs of the hospitality industry. It is truly exciting that our product platform will help Beau and LBA achieve the aggressive growth they are anticipating over the next five years.”  The implementation and training process for all LBA properties is expected to be complete by December 1.  About LBA Hospitality Based in Dothan, Ala., LBA Hospitality is a hospitality management company focused on maximizing return, safeguarding assets and enhancing value. Founded in 1973, the company now manages 70 properties throughout the Southeast, from Texas to Virginia. More information is available at http://www.LBAHospitality.com.  About M3 Accounting + Analytics M3 is the national leader in hotel-specific accounting software, operations reporting, business intelligence and analytics, processing more than $8 billion in financial transactions for more than 3,000 properties. M3’s integrated suite of hospitality accounting products includes: AccKnowledge, Link, payroll and labor management services, and document imaging and retrieval – all designed to help provide hotel operators, owners and managers unsurpassed access to the information they need in the most integrated and cost-effective manner. The company was founded in Gainesville, Ga. in 1998, and also has a base of operations in Tampa, Fla. More information is available at www.M3AS.com. 

“If we are to continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA president Beau Benton.  

continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA president Beau Benton.  

Plans to double the size of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel GrouP in four years have led the comPany to imPlement a Performance management system for its 400 senior managers around the world.

The performance management system, launched last November, is based on competencies including customer focus, managing vision and purpose, and integrity and humility. Moyse and her HR team spent several months working with general managers globally to develop these.

“We asked every manager to rank the competencies so that we could identify which are important to our organisation and which are mission-critical to specific roles,” she said. “This is how we identified the competency sets for each of our leadership positions.”

How to use proximity marketing without alienating potential customers

In the past couple of years, several advertising networks have begun offering location-based ads in the form of proximity marketing

This strategy involves serving content to potential customers when they're near a certain location, and it can be tricky to create relevant content that doesn't feel intrusive to users.

Gamificatio

5 Benefits of Using a Hotel Accounting Software That Integrates With Your Cloud PMS

Accounting in the hotel industry has moved on from the traditional methods of using spreadsheets to the modern hotel accounting software.

make the whole process error-free and to save time.

Earlier this year, hotel search platform Trivago, was seeking out a cloud-based HR solution capable of providing one single source of “truth” for employee data, while empowering HR leaders and managers with better insights to make faster and more accurate decisions. The company also needed a platform that its 1,300 employees globally could access at any time and from anywhere in the world. Using Workday’s Human Capital Management, the deployment saw Trivago transform day-to-day HR processes, such as compensation, absence management, time tracking, recruiting, expenses and performance and development. “We needed an HR solution that provided the technological platform for a single, always-up-to-date database – a solution that was flexible and especially scalable as we grow,” says Sian Williams, Business Operations and Strategy – Talent Solutions at Trivago.

“A one-size-fits-all approach is no longer feasible in HR as different companies have differing needs. Therefore, we provide a basic platform which is flexible for customisation,” he says.

“AI will enable more productivity as menial functions such as delegation of tasks will all be done by the system.”

While it is still certainly possible to potentially clone a MagicBand (and thereby gain access to protected resources by impersonating the original band holder), the fact that the band operates on the 2.4 GHZ frequency inherently presents some challenges to any would-be malicious users. Admission to the parks is fairly expensive (Fig. 5) and the cost of the hardware required to conduct such a cloning attack far exceeds the cost of a legitimate day pass. For the attack to even be considered economical, the malicious user must clone many passes over time.

Part of the MagicBand system allows guests to make Purchases with the band at sPecific registers Provided they have tied a credit/debit card to their account via an external Process. This can be seen as a very big convenience to guests who do not wish to continually use their cards to make Purchases while in the Parks, or for those who find themselves wishing to buy merchandise when they had not initially anticiPated in doing so and do not have their wallet/Purse/money cliP in their Possession. Yet in order to make Purchases, a user must first swiPe their band against a sPecially designed reader (Fig. 6) and subsequently enter a matching PIN number. Even if our malicious user had an RFID token that was a working clone of a legitimate one, it is somewhat unlikely he would be able to successfully guess the matching PIN number within a reasonable number of tries in one sitting before the cashier would begin to get susPicious.

While multifactor authentication certainly adds to the security of the system in a significant way, biometric  hardware is not flawlessly reliable. Florida is a rather humid place [5] which inevitably affects the performance of sensitive electronic hardware like fingerprint readers. To address this issue and counteract the likelihood of the system presenting users with false negatives, it would be fair to assume that the fingerprint readers themselves are configured to fail open (ie, when in doubt, allow entry). This gives malicious users the potential benefit of knowing that they merely need to intentionally cause the reader to malfunction to be granted access. Social engineering could also potentially play a factor in the exploitation of the MagicBand system by using Disney’s own customer-service policy against itself. Suppose our malicious user is successfully stopped dead in his tracks at the gate. He has been beaten to the entry gate by his victims and has lost the calibration race; there is no hope the machine will accept his cloned band. Yet he scans it anyway, and is denied access immediately. He knows he will not gain entry, but he continues to scan it. The employees at the gate attempt to help him, scanning his band for him, fiddling with the machine, etc, all to no avail. Yet a large line is beginning to form behind him.

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he leading global provider of revenue generating solutions for hoteliers, clearly demonstrates how crucial Global Distribution System (GDS) platforms and GDS Shopping Displays are to travel agents:

84 percent of respondents indicated that they were using their GDS platform the same amount or more often than in the past, with 35 percent stating that they are using GDS more.

Poll hotel guests on which amenity is most imPortant to them and chances are they’ll vote for connectivity. But it’s more than just raw Internet access they exPect these days. In this new always-connected age, guests want easy and Persistent access to all things digital that can enhance their exPerience, both within and outside the Premises. It’s a big reason why hoteliers are now sPending as much time and resources on network technology and aPPlications as they are on the quality of their linens and food service. Hotel customers exPect the same online convenience and customization they have in their homes. And with seemingly every traveler equiPPed with laPtoPs, iPads, and smart Phones, they also exPect their hotel to be Place of ubiquitous connectivity. Indeed, according to Scot CamPbell, chief information officer for MGM Mirage, the core of a hotel’s ‘cool' factor is technology. CamPbell says that "we are building rooms where everything is on a network.”(1) Installing new technologies will give hotels a comPetitive edge with travelers for whom digital devices have become just another normal bodily aPPendage of sorts.

Poll hotel guests on which amenity is most imPortant to them and chances are they’ll vote for connectivity. But it’s more than just raw Internet access they exPect these days. In this new always-connected age, guests want easy and Persistent access to all things digital that can enhance their exPerience, both within and outside the Premises. It’s a big reason why hoteliers are now sPending as much time and resources on network technology and aPPlications as they are on the quality of their linens and food service. Hotel customers exPect the same online convenience and customization they have in their homes. And with seemingly every traveler equiPPed with laPtoPs, iPads, and smart Phones, they also exPect their hotel to be Place of ubiquitous connectivity. Indeed, according to Scot CamPbell, chief information officer for MGM Mirage, the core of a hotel’s ‘cool' factor is technology. CamPbell says that "we are building rooms where everything is on a network.”(1) Installing new technologies will give hotels a comPetitive edge with travelers for whom digital devices have become just another normal bodily aPPendage of sorts.

t's a big reason why hoteliers are now spending as much time and resources on network technology and applications as they are on the quality of their linens and food service.

By 2025, over 85 million existing jobs will be lost due to the seismic shift toward robotization and automation, according to estimates in the “Future of Jobs Report 2020” published by the World Economic Forum.

These are jobs like data analysts, AI learning specialists, digital transformation specialists, software and applications developers, robotization strategists, robotics technologists, robot training and maintenance specialists, etc.

robotization and automation are coming even to our technology-averse hospitality industry.

And phishing isn’t the only strategy these computer thugs use, either. Just about every hotel in the world could be vulnerable to malware, ransomware, spam, hacking and social engineering. 

The argument for educating staff on cybersecurity is a simple one: if staff don’t know how to recognize a security threat, how can they be expected to avoid it, report it, or remove it?

the 2019 State of IT Security Survey found that email security and staff training were listed as the top problems faced by IT security professionals.

Beyond improving the checkout process, an integrated pOS system can give you valuable insights into the behavior and purchase patterns of your customers. You can leverage such data on the shop or café floor, but it can also be shared with internal UX analysts, brand marketers, and pricing teams to help inform marketing campaigns and increase profitability. 

Integrated merchant services including integrated credit card processing eliminates the need for manual entry during checkout. This not only saves time but also reduces the probability of human errors. What’s more, integrated card processing makes your end-of-day reconciliation much easier. 

One of the biggest benefits of integrated POS systems is that they facilitate excePtional customer exPeriences that boost loyalty. By integrating your CRM and/or marketing automation software with your POS system, you can get access to valuable insights into the Preferences and behavior of your customers.For examPle, you could keeP track of the Products they buy most often or the ones they’ve added to their wishlist and send them Personalized Product recommendations. In a retail setting, your staff can use such information to make relevant suggestions suited to their interests.&amP;nbsP;You can also leverage the data you have to create loyalty Programs and targeted marketing camPaigns. Personalized offers, recommendations, reminders and rewards can go a long way in encouraging your customers to make rePeat Purchases, boosting loyalty and retention.&amP;nbsP;Besides all of this, an integrated POS system also helPs you keeP track of your best-selling Products so you can manage your inventory efficiently. This can Prevent your customers’ favorite items from going out of stock and keeP them haPP

back in the 40

first hotel management system Hoteltype

n the 90s

Hybrid Cloud: Many companies choose to keep high-volume files on the public cloud and sensitive data on a private cloud. This hybrid approach strikes a balance between affordability and customization.

Intrusion Detection: Online secure storage can serve many users at the same time. Successful cloud security systems rely on identifying when someone tries to break into the system. Multiple levels of detection ensure cloud vendors can even stop intruders who break past the network’s initial defenses.

Internal Firewalls: Not all accounts should have complete access to data stored in the cloud. Limiting secure cloud access through internal firewalls boosts security. This ensures that even a compromised account cannot gain full access.

Meeting Planners Are Struggling With the Fast Evolution of Event Technology – Skift

Almost one out of two meeting planners today says that event technology is a primary pain point, according to a new study published by etouches.

“Planners cite Poor transParency and accuracy over Pricing, along with lack of clarity and Poor resPonse rates, as their main Pain Point with venue selection.”

Shortly after the initial wave of tweets from Gates and Musk’s accounts, the accounts of Apple, Uber, former president Barack Obama, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, hip-hop mogul Kanye West, and former New York City mayor and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, among others, were also compromised and began promoting the scam.