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This is a very interesting read on Europe's thriving development pipeline. Even with the pandemic they are growing substantially year over year.

Electronic waste is a global ecological issue. It raises concern about air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, information security, and even human exploitation. This article talks about electronics being made to be thrown away. This affects consumers and the environment in a negative way. The shortened lifespans of electronic devices, encouraged or designed by manufacturers, have pushed consumers to interpret working electronics as insufficient or unusable.

Almost a third of hospitality companies have reported that they do not have a policy in place for storing and disposing of confidential information. In that same group another 19% reported that they don't have policy for storing or disposing of confidential paper documents. This is a alarming because most hospitality companies have to store consumer information. Nearly 23% of consumers reported they would take their business elsewhere following a data breach which should be a walk up call in the industry to improve their current security. What is even more alarming 41% of hospitality businesses say they believe that their organization will experience some form of data breach in the next five years.

The security of data in the hospitality industry is now more and more important. Although some hotel owners may not keeping it in mind as an important issue, a large percentage of hotel guests feel concerned about it. This discrepancy should be a wake-up call for hoteliers. Organizations can do three things to minimize risk: update security policies, train employees better, and regaining customer trust. Current statistics provided evidence that these three aspects are all important and can be improved.

This article covers a study performed on various 5-star hotels in Jakarta on the effectiveness and feasibility of IT investments. The study is performed via a questionnaire distributed to hotels in the area with associated data values for analysis. The study finds that IT investment in 5-star hotels in Jakarta is economically feasible and could provide these businesses with competitive advantage and profit.

companies and people are wanting more evolved events design and decor and technology being apart of it. A dimly lit ballroom just isnt cutting it anymore. Event Managers are in high demand to work with hotels to create a space that can host all kinds of events in one venue.

As the need for event planning rising more and more over the years Hotel developers are assuring the need to hire event planners to help boost their sales and awareness for their property by redesigning and maintain their current areas. This allows many hotel owners to help create memories while leaving a great taste on the guest who requested the venue. he job of event planners are very critical because they go through every detail and trends to gather ideas for the clients. They have to keep in contact with property for any changes or layout to ensure it meets to clients needs.

IT security is a set of cybersecurity strategies that prevents unauthorized access to organizational assets such as computers, networks, and data. It maintains the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information, blocking the access of sophisticated hackers. IT security includes Network security, Internet security, Endpoint security, Cloud security, and Application security.

Talks about the effects and the importance of being prepared for a cyber attack.

According to 2020 Cybersecurity Trends to Watch, organizations that are attacked by ransomware are frequently impacted to a degree where operations may completely come to halt. Cytelligence has handled a significant number of cases where recovering from a ransomware attack is a very long process and getting data back and systems operational is only one step in the process. In addition, the increase in scammers presents a problem as there are several organizations making promises that cannot technically be true, but during the time of crisis, some of the structured decision-making processes are thrown out the window.These same decision-making processes are not structured to remove emotional decisions which are very prevalent during a ransomware event and may result in a decision that is not business focused and support sound economic outcomes. For example, if a company is suffering $100,000 in losses for every hour of being unable to operate, then a ransom demand of $200,000 which is equivalent to 2 hours of an outage should be considered in terms of costs and possible future business impact.

This article talks about the 7 fundamental changes that are impacting travel agents. Specifically it speaks about the internet's role, self-service, forming new types of relationships with clients, social media, mobile access, digitization, and data/AI use.

(Part 1 of 2) This eInsights article reminds us how important exceeding guest expectations can be in making a guest's stay memorable. Both hospitality and ecommerce need to be able to deliver exceptional guests service, and we are in a society now where that is very much possible. The article goes into detail about how automated service can improve a guest's experience. It suggests that AI play more of an active role in the industry, as AI has created things such as chatbots that can resolve problems and provide efficient service. eInsights continued the discussion by expressing that, "Content is the lifeblood of ecommerce businesses." Content is something that, if utilized properly, can strengthen customer-brand relationships. Tools such as blogs or hotel websites can be used to communicate unique information to guests and then guests can use the tools to create their entire trip seamlessly. It is much better for hotels to keep their websites and navigation channels simple. Guests expects a quick experience and "a streamlined checkout with a simple, linear process and as few choices as possible." Guests are already overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of their daily lives, so they do not want vacation planning to be complicated as well.

(Part 2 of 2) The final point that the articled discussed was about the importance of social media and how it can make for an even better guest stay. We are in a world where we can learn all about a guest's needs or preferences and can communicate with them before they ever step through the lobby doors. Being in the hospitality industry, we get to take this one step further and actually have the human element as part of the scenario as well. Online social interactions are "a valuable touchpoint between you and your customers, one that delivers a breadth of benefits for customer experience." When we utilize these properly, we can make an enhanced, enjoyable guest experience. Ecommerce and the hospitality industry work hand-in-hand to create a unique, memorable guest experience each and every stay.

The article by Shiji Group (2020) focuses on how companies can utilize technology in responding to post-crisis operations, increasing their competitiveness in their respective industries. In itself, the Shiji group is a software solutions company that provides its services in the Food, hospitality, entertainment, and retail industry. The company was founded in 1998 and currently employs approximately 5,000 individuals in its over 80 subsidiaries. As of 2020, Shiji Group serves approximately 200,000 restaurants, 74,000 hotels, and 600,00 retail businesses (Shiji Group, 2020. To this effect, the Shiji Group (2020) provides that the utilization of point-of-sale software and technologies is the best suit technological alternative for foods and beverages companies in the post-crisis period. In this line, the article indicates that the best alternative in implementing such technology is ensuring that the company's systems can communicate effectively. In this line, Shiji Group (2020) notes that approximately 65% of all purchasing decisions are affected by the availability of point-of-sale features, modules, and functionalities. Shiji Group (2020) further provides one of the transitioning alternatives: the utilization of cloud-based technologies that provide secure, convenient, flexible, and open application programming interfaces (APIs). Some of the accrued benefits include better customer experiences due to software ease of use, multi-function applications and reports building, and capacity to alter the software and hardware accessibility. Having noted these advantages, Shiji Group (2020) provides an example of its software business partnership with Barstock Exchange. They focused on helping Food and beverage businesses extend their capacity through the upgrading of its technological base. This was achieved through the upgrading and integration of the point-of-sale software and their cloud-based software functionality, hence increasing their operational capacity and effi

Module 3: This article focuses on the importance of GDS systems during the challenges of COVID-19. With an emphasis on travel agents using the GDS, hotels will be able to continue to thrive and survive. According to the article, " travel agents will play a key role in connecting hotels and travelers, especially given the flexibility and changes that may be required of travelers in the coming months." This article provides insights for hotels to best optimize using a GDS for travel agents to find them. The article states, "Rate parity is important to 89% of travel agents worldwide - if they see a better rate elsewhere, they'll actively book away from your property." I believe using a GDS will be the only way in the future to continue to travel and save money. Tripadvisor is my go to when it comes to finding out about a resort and which website has the best rate for the same room.

This article showed us 5 cloud trends coming up over the horizon in 2020. They are multi and hybrid cloud environments will continue to grow; retaining compliance in an increasingly complex environment; organizations will make it a priority to control cloud costs; solution-focused partners; a continued shift to tech on demand.

As technology develops, the fast- food industry has relied on drive-throughs for orders. Drive throughs throughout the United States have grown 33 billion in food sales from 2010-2015. Present-day technological advancements are faster than ever. There has been a shift in lanes ways these fast- food restaurants are relying solely on mobile technology for ordering. Consumers can order on their phones and pay for their meals prior to arriving at the restaurant. Restaurants are also offering curb-side delivery service, where they can notify the restaurant when they arrive, and wait in their cars. Restaurants have recognized the importance of shift to a virtual experience, such as data ordering frequency and patterns. This can benefit repeat customers, and sales. However, mobile ordering can possibly not have the ability to limit a surge in demand of orders. Overall, as technology advances, this can assist companies with serving their customers.

The article talks about Hotelogix, a cloud-based hotel PMS, teaming up with Xperium's new technology that enables complete contactless check-in and check-outs. This new technology allows guests to perform all the normal check-in activities right on their cell phone, without the need to download a specific app. It digitizes the paperwork so the guests can electronically review the reservation and sign off on the registration card. They can also select their room right from their phone. This new technology complies with the COVID-19 guidelines and will be key in the industry's recovery. The new technology doesn't just end with the check-in process. It offers various capabilities such as collecting guest feedback and preferences, up-selling rooms, ordering room service, and can even take credit card payments. With the pandemic and the need for contactless services, this will help push cloud-based PMS to the forefront. The speed in which hotels adopt these new types of technologies will be crucial to their recovery in the new normal.

This article looks at the 5 best POS systems for hotels including Hotelogix, Agilysys, Lightspeed Retail, Bepoz, and LS Retail. It breaks down what makes each system different and the pros/cons associated to each of them.

This article addresses a few essential guest facing technologies that hotels need to be competitive in the modern marketplace. Hotels must provide free hi-speed Wi-Fi and tech hubs/charging stations both in rooms and throughout the property. Guests are seeking more streaming options because this is how the view content at home. Guests feel "high-class" when staying in Smart Rooms and perceive more value, which can justify higher rack rates. Guests appreciate the ability to text a concierge or order services via text. These all speak to the increased level of comfort that people feel in using technology and the need to provide guests with the means to maintain their tech comfort while travelling.