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In this article, the author mentions something about the online booking glitches happened sometimes. Although they are not a big deal, it affects consumers in some degree. First, the fare jump happens sometimes when consumers are booking their flights online. While they clicking the searching results, it will come out a price, the fare jumps after they click the price and they are ready to book it. For example, the price shows in the search result list is 582, when consumer clicks the price button and is ready to book it, the 'fare jump' happens at next booking procedure page. It always makes consumers a little angry but have nothing to do with it. I meet the same problems in the past when I booked the flight. Those spokesmen said that these are technical problems, those inventory systems, called global distribution systems, do not always have the freshest price information, which in some cases changes so frequently that between the time the travel agency site queries the distribution system for a requested fare and the consumer actually clicks on that fare, the prices could have changed. In my opinion, that's part of reason, staffs who in charge of the website is another big part of reason. Second, consumers also meet the problem of mix lower-class tickets into the first-class search results. That is the responsibility of e-travel agencies, because they mislabel or fail to label the fare on different occasions. It seems to be another glitches, but it will affect consumers a lot when they are booking. To sum it up, details determine success or failure. Even though these are tiny problems, in a long run, they will disappoint consumers and finally lose them.

This article discusses how a convention manager for a Chicago planning firm keeps the SIGGRAPH convention happy every year the convention takes place. It explains that SIGGRAPH brings in 30,000 to 50,000 graphic artists and software designers to the convention, so it is important that planning company keeps their technology up to date. There is a positive side to SIGGRAPH convention goers, which is they understand that small glitches in technology do occur and they do not get frustrated when those glitches do occur. They had to implement a technology that will occur in real time, so they do not have to waste time inputting information, this is something that the SIGGRAHPH convention required if they were going to continue their business with the planning company. The software they developed allowed for everything to be in real time, all the staff had to do was review to make sure all the registration for their conventions were correct. I think that this article is a great example of why event planning firms should stay up-to-date on technology that will aid them in the planning process and keep clients returning.

The overcharge nightmare of an establishment and their quick response to guests has led Sacred Rose Festival to scramble in response to outraged customers. The festival has shared the error came with the systems configuration and are PCI compliant with no exposure to breaches or fraud, but one would venture a guess there is more to this story.

The La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in California has had many problems with time cards for their employees over the past several years. They used to use swipe cards with bar-codes to tell when people were coming in and out of work but there are a lot of problems with that technology. If people misplaced their cards or knew they were going to be late so gave it to a co-worker to punch them in is not a very smart thing to have in the hotel. After a lot of problems with this system management finally went in a new direction. They decided to move to newer technology and go with Biometrics. The hotel now has a hand reader system that makes every employee get there hand measured to clock in. This technology measured length, width, thickness, and surface area of the hand to store in the system so it knows each persons hand every time they go to clock in any time there after. When going to clock in the system asks for the employee number and then is ready for your hand on the little screen for your scan. The entire process of this takes under 1 minute. This technology of the HandPunch 3000 not only allows the employees to clock in but also allows management to collect data for pay codes, tips collected, and to allow the employees to go back and view their past times in and out. This system is a very green way to go in the hotel industry because there is no paper for records of clock in times, and there are no swipe cards that need to be made for clock in times. Ever since this hotel got the HandPunch 3000 they have not had issues of other employees clocking in other people. The system of course had some glitches to it in the beginning but they were fixed immediately while the staff was there installing it. My only question to this article that is not answered is : since it is a machine that has to be plugged in, what happens if the power goes out? Can employees still clock in to work because the hotel still is functioning?

This article on navigating the PMS market makes some valid points as it relates to application and the need for a PMS system in order to eventually either scale or grow the management of the asset. It makes a key point in addressing that by the year 2030 there will be an increase in market size for this type of software reaching 2.7 billion in market share. The blog also makes an excellent point that I have not seen in many articles claiming that the effectiveness of a good PMS system also helps the tenant, and not just the management, as it provides a better managed community for those who live and or work in properties that employ these systems. Ill note there is a glitch and the highlighter is not working.

In this article we could check lots pros of the cloud PMS.This includes the ease-of-use, scope for customization and assurance of any-time, anywhere availability.When the Cloud first arrived, data security-related concerns were prominent. This is why computing solutions offered on the Cloud have risen as a dynamic solution for businesses handling the most sensitive kind of data, including financial/banking institutions and workplaces handling large volumes of personal information.Hotel owners have realized that investing in new IT infrastructure or manpower just isn't practical. This helps to raise the recall value of hotels and provides them with the most influential form of marketing recommendations from happier, more contented customers

Hybrid meetings - meetings where some part of the event is broadcast to attendees tuning in remotely become more and more popular right now! There are few technical requirements for Skype conferences, video calls and so on which need to be done. First rule - try to communicate before the actual event, check up the sound, try to make a plan, what if smth fails. Second rule - less music and live video. People are using different devices to connect with you, so you cannot be sure everyone can get all the audial part of the presentation clearly. Third rule - speaker issues. We should remember speakers are not necessarily bringing the sound up to the listener just as you say it. There might be some glitches, the sound may delay, sometimes you need to check if the audience have heard everything clearly, or you need to repeat several things.

This article is focussed on the risk involved if the proper impact study is not undertaken prior to implementation of extensive IT projects. Several multinational companies were referenced in the article, highlighting failures with smooth implementation resulting in the loss of millions and sometimes billions. Below is a summary of some companies referenced in article and the impact of IT implementation gone wrong: 1. Levi Strauss: In 2003 Levi Strauss examined its technological capabilities and concluded that its systems were inadequate for its multi-national corporation operation within 110 countries. A budget of US$5 million was created for a system upgrade. Many challenges along the way resulted in the inability to sufficiently report financials resulted in three distribution canters in the USA closing for a week. As a result of this, the company lost US$200 million and the termination of the chief information officer in 2008. 2. Hong Kong Airport: IT problems resulting in glitches in flight information system and database for tracking cargo shipment resulted in a US$600 million loss between 1998 and 1999. 3. Hershey: About 10 years ago Hershey wanted to implement a new order taking system. Problems with implementation resulted in the inability of the company shipping US$100 million worth of candy in time for Halloween thus impacting the company's bottom-line of an 18.6% loss in earnings during the quarter. 4. Kmart: in 2000 Kmart embarked on aUS$1.4 billon IT modernization project. In the midst of the project Kmart discovered that the project had too many customized application which would result in an exorbitant maintenance costs. An additional US$600m was spent on integrating a supply chain management system. Failure of this project led to bankruptcy filing by Kmart in 2002. This resulted in the closure of 600 stores and the loss of over 60,000 jobs in the USA. 5. Auto windshield (UK): Auto windshield was considered to be the second largest auto glass c

This article particularly caught my attention because it points out the major advantages of web-based PMS, but it does not mention the risk of transfering such sensitive guest information over the unsecure and unregulated Internet. Surely there are great cost-related and operational advantages to web-based PMS and that alone often motivates hotels to upgrade in that general direction. Afterall, the reason why the hotel is operated is to generate revenues. However, is risking the identity of thousands of your guests worth the money you will save? That is what this article does not cover. As the title points out, web-based PMS is the future of the industry, but securing the identity of the biggest drivers behind all revenue for your hotel is arguably more important. Is the risk worth the reward? I believe the Internet needs to become a more secure highway of information before the industry can fully embrace this new technological advancement. My thoughts on considering an upgrade to web based PMS: Research and proceed with caution.

This article indicated the importance of Internet for hotel industry and also assumed that web based property management systems will widely used in future. The author listed some advantages of web based property management system:1) Central Reservation System: One of the greatest advantages of using an online hotel software is that you do not have any more headaches about reservations.2)   Numerous Point of Sale: Keeping a check on the add-on services your hotel provides can easily be done with the help of the numerous points of sales.3) Sales and Marketing Console. With the help of this console, you can access the database of your customers get in touch with them notifying them of special offers and discounts. 4)Travel Agents and Corporate Clients:It is important that you properly deal with travel agents and corporate clients as they play a very important role in bringing in more guests to the hotel.5)   Connected to 1000s of Travel Portals: Web based PMS help you get connected to many travel portals like Travelocity, Tripadvisor and Expedia helping you reach more people. 

t is the age of the Internet, the age when many businesses solely run on the Internet. From marketing to reaching new people, there is a lot that can be done with the help of this medium. The hotel industry too is not insulated from its effect. Almost all kinds of hotels, from inns to bed and breakfasts to resorts, everyone is trying to tap the energies of the Internet and make optimum use of the medium. The Internet plays a major role in improving the sales and customer relationship.

Hotel rooms are ready to go high-tech with new security products that can enhance the guest experience. As the organization Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) prepared the 2012 guestroom exhibit Guestroom 20X for last week's HITEC tradeshow, the group sought new ways to make the room more modern, efficient and self-serviced.

Hotel rooms are ready to go high-tech with new security products that can enhance the guest experience. As the organization Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) prepared the 2012 guestroom exhibit Guestroom 20X for last week's HITEC tradeshow, the group sought new ways to make the room more modern, efficient and self-serviced.

This article covered information on the projected security of the future in hospitality. The Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) were working on developments that they planned to showcase in the HITEC tradeshow last year. These developments, collectively recognized as the Guestroom 20x, were expected to make hotel rooms more efficient and modern. These developments included obtaining rooms and keys without front desk interaction, video intercoms to replace peepholes, reinforced room safes, and a smoke alarm aid to properly alert guests in case of fire. There were also talks of an energy management system in the rooms included. The developments seem to be a start towards a changing way of hospitality. I believe that these developments are great options for hotels in the future. Of course, there are always risks that must be recognized. These risks could even be the downfall of the developments. Technology's ability to fail or malfunction is too constant at this time. System glitches, hacking possibilities and power outages could inconvenience these developments as well as inconvenience the guests at the hotel that use them. My main concerns lie with the option to obtain rooms and keys through PCs and mobile phones, the smoke alarm aid and the energy management. One technological failure could cause any of these to cease operating, which means that guests could be locked out of their rooms, in danger if there is actually a fire (or inconvenienced because of a malfunctioning alarm), or inconvenienced because of a nonworking room temperature gauge. These issues could lead to many problems for the hotel that hosts these developments. So, the companies should analyze these issues before installing these developments.

This article discusses the importance of the Computerized Maintenance Management Systems for the hotels. In the hospitality industry, the emphasis is made on the customer satisfaction. Thus, every issue including proper, thorough and timely maintenance is extremely important in making a guest happy. The maintenance manager may experience a large workload. The CMMS is intended to help in organizing the work and keeping it done fast and efficiently. Here are some functions of the CMMS. The assets are easily tracked with the detailed reports of the layouts, scheduled or completed repairs, etc. The guests' requests are responded faster as they are sent directly to the person in charge of the particular situation. It also provides effective scheduling procedures so that every request would be reacted in the best possible way. CMMS also schedules preventive maintenance for the most appropriate time. Regular preventive maintenance would save money on emergency repair. Thus, as the physical plant in the hotels becomes more complex the maintenance issues are getting more difficult to manage. The CMMS is able to assist the management in maintaining the facility in a way that will be satisfying to the customer.

This article shows us top 3 free even management softwares. Before choosing your software, keep these 3 things in mind: size of the event, marketing and promotion needs and deployment options.

An article describes the ways in that F&B companies can benefit from using cloud computing. The streamline options, great security offered by cloud computing providers, the abilities to work with all size enterprises, and ways to improve customer experience are discussed.

Cloud computing offers a more efficient way for hotels to keep up with data and programs for their company. When a hotel uses cloud computing, they are able to create more of a positive experience for their guests. It also is extremely helpful to use a cloud-based system because hotels could access their cloud-based application on any device. Cloud-based software also gets better with age because the updates can be made at any time so this will get rid of negative depreciation.

The article discusses the hotel industry's adoption of cloud computing. By using cloud computing, you can use programs, upload files, and access data over the internet instead of storing them locally. Cloud computing and local storage are used together in some applications. In addition to hardware, software, training, and maintenance, IBM offered an extensive range of services. Due to Cloudbeds' ability to integrate with other tools, they have experienced rapid growth. Integrations can offer upgrades and analyze reviews, among other things, so you can provide better service and increase revenue. By implementing cloud-based software, hotels can stay ahead of the competition, save time for employees, and give their guests a better experience.

This article describes what cloud computing is, and what it isn't, so people understand how it can be seen in the industry. The storing of data on the internet has been a huge innovation as it expanded storage beyond the typical storage offered on a device. By switching to this new technology, businesses may minimize future investments as the technology tends to work for many years and only requires quick updates. By researching what your business and customers need, you can make the right choices on whether this investment is worth it or not for your property.

This arctic is about what is a global Distribution System, history of the GDS, how does a GDS work and what benefits GDS offer.

A GDS or Global distribution system can come in handy for many different purposes. Some of these companies such as Expedia and Travelocity are know ones in the United States. It is important to weight pros and cons when deciding who to book with when choosing a hotel or an airlines especially since there are so many options. Depending on how you book especially when bundling with a GDS you could get a great deal.

This article evaluates the past and current roles of GDS in the travel and tourism industry. It is clear that the GDS has adapted and changed with the times and now is able to do even more than at its initial conception. However, as the article pointed out the all the functions of the GDS it is clear that OTA's ad websites are also able to provide a lot of these same functions. We discussed this week whether the GDS system is still currently a relevant system and most agreed that it is. However, as we look to the future it will be interesting to see what evolutions the GDS has yet to go through and how it will attempt to remain relevant in the ever changing tourism market.