Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Switching to the cloud from a client server platform pays off with a big drop in both the initial capital outlay and the ongoing operating costs for the property management and other systems.

pects of a franchisee’s business, from guest check-ins and housekeeping services to billing and finances. Over time new features have been rolled into the software platform making it more robust and useful for hotel owners—it’s currently distributed in eight countries and available in four languages. And while plenty of cloud-based PMS packages are now available from third-party vendors like Micros, Maestro, and RoomKey, Choice’s internal solution has garnered its fair share of attention. “We had been getting knocks on the door from IT vendors at other hotel companies and individual Choice franchisees that own other brands, saying they were interested in our product,” says Pacious, “So we set up a new division so we could take a look at other opportunities we could develop.” This led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system. Pages: 1 2 3 4 2013-06-18 Sean Downey !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); inShare0 Related Articles attachment-3

his led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system. Pages: 1 2 3 4 2013-06-18 Sean Downey !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); inShare0 Related Articles Hotel Market Insight: Cleveland a

This led the company to launch SkyTouch last year, a new division that develops and markets cloud-based software solutions to hotels inside and outside the Choice system.

The U.S. requests included 117 court orders, including one that instructed Google to remove 218 search results linking to websites containing content alleged to be defamatory. Google said it censored about 25 percent of the search results covered in that court order.

Other governments frequently reaching out to Google included Germany (103 content-removal requests, down 18 percent from the previous six-month period), and India (101 requests, a 49 percent increase).

The U.S. government filed 6,321 requests with Google for user data during the final six months of the year. That was far more than any other country, according to Google, and a 6 percent increase from the previous six months. Google complied with 93 percent of the U.S. requests for user data, encompassing more than 12,200 accounts.

What’s the problem? “Political will,” said Seleni Matus, Vice President with Sustainable Travel International, which is implementing the STLN project. “Destinations have sustainability plans, but often they just end up on a shelf.” “Governments just don’t see sustainability as a priority,” said Aram Zerunian, General Manager of Half Moon hotel, who spoke on a panel at the launch event. “They are focused on the bottom line, and don’t see that these things are connected.”

The first phase is a survey that will determine how destinations need to improve in promoting sustainable tourism. Based on the 58 destinations that have piloted the survey, it looks like most governments have a ways to go.

“A tool like this can help us convene conversations with governments about sustainability. Our bottom line is if we don’t have great destinations to visit, we won’t have a business.”

identify low-risk travelers so that lighter screening can be done at airport security checkpoints

One of the most important issues facing the world today is poverty and how to alleviate it. The MDGs aim to eradicate extreme poverty and halve the number of workers living on less than one US dollar a day, among other aims. Tourism creates economic opportunity through employment business linkages, and other income-generating possibilities -and therefore has the potential to reduce poverty

This needs to be addressed so that traditions and local culture are carried through the generations and not watered down or commercialised

Despite its potential for negative impacts, tourism by its very nature also offers a mechanism through which to address issues and achieve positive outcomes.

No industry is more customer-focused than tourism -satisfying people’s needs, desires and dreams. But as well as ensuring the well-being of its clients there are others whose well-being is fundamental to the sustainability of any tourism enterprise:

Tourism can seriously damage the environment at both global and local level if it is not developed and operated responsibly:

The negative effects of poorly-planned hotel and tourism infrastructure development can place an intolerable strain upon natural systems, particularly in terms of demand for water and the effect of its treatment and disposal.

Too many tourists visiting fragile archaeological and architectural sites of historic and cultural significance

Various types of partnership have been formed to address the issues relating to sustainable tourism development and are supported by the case studies on these and the following pages:

To be successful, partnerships need:

appropriate stakeholders

organisations or individuals

mutually agreed goals and processes

sensitivity to the power balance between members

the ability to accept compromise

Through its Green Button program, the government hopes to coax all utility companies across the country to collect and produce energy usage data for homeowners in a standard format they can download at any time from a utility’s Web site.

endeavor would depend on private industry.

A standard format allows software developers to create one version of their product that will work for all utility customers across the country.

A recent business report on key megatrends and market disruptors suggests that technology and new ways of engaging and interacting with customers are fuelling the rate of disruption as currently businesses are able to reach new customers in new ways and can reinvent customer engagement around service and convenience (Boumphrey, 2019).

One of the most important uses of data is to improve personalisation, travel companies using the information they gather to make specific adjustments to their offerings.

Currently, considerable amount of structured and unstructured data are produced globally (Nunan and Di Domenico, 2013; Verdino, 2013), a so-called “digital exhaust” (Wang, 2013; Barocas and Nissenbaum, 2014) that is passively generated by users of products and services using mobile devices (Shilton, 2009), an abundance of publicly available data shared on social networking platforms (Nov et al., 2010) and customer data and information purposely collected by tourism organisations’ booking systems or customer relations management (CRM) systems

This abundance of data and the act of processing data on a large scale has led to the concept of “Big Data,” which Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier (2013) define as “things one can do at a large scale that cannot be done at a smaller one, to extract new insights or create new forms of value, in ways that change markets, organisations, the relationship between citizens and governments, and more” (p. 6

ndeed, one of the latest Euromonitor International travel industry reports confirms that big data and analytics is expected to be the most influential technology impacting the industry in the next five years (Bremmer, 2019), followed by artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

The use of data is viewed as a disruptive innovation in the tourism and hospitality industry, although it allows organisations in the industry to facilitate personalisation, offer convenience, save costs and overall gain competitive advantage (Evans, 2020).

These technological advances provide significant opportunities for businesses to harness the wealth of data to support their activities and gain competitive advantage. The efficient uses of data and analytics drive process and cost efficiencies and strategy and change (MicroStrategy, 2018).

In particular, in the tourism and hospitality sector, the effective use of big data is associated with revenue management (e.g. using and combining internal data, such as occupancy rates and current bookings, with external data such as information about local events, school holidays and flight information to forecast demand and maximise revenues); market research and strategic marketing purposes (e.g. identifying customer trends to best cater marketing opportunities); customer experience and reputation management (e.g. social media conversations and online reviews, service usage data and internal feedback via customer surveys). A good example of an organisation that successfully uses big data to gain competitive advantage is AirBnB (Evans, 2020; Guttentag, 2019).

These concerns have been intensified by recent global cyber-attacks and more specifically by significant data breaches in a wide range of industries and sectors, including the tourism and hospitality industry (Armerding, 2018; PwC, 2016, 2017). The hospitality industry is now in the media spotlight because of high profile breaches (PwC, 2016, 2017).

One of the biggest data breaches of the 21st century has affected one of the largest hospitality companies, Marriott International. Starting in 2014, the data breach occurred on systems supporting Starwood hotel brands, which were acquired by Marriott in 2016 and affected ∼500 million customers worldwide, with the breach only being discovered in September 2018. Data and information on names, contact information, passport numbers, travel information and other personal information were compromised, and information on credit card numbers and expiration dates of more than 100 million customers was stolen (Armerding, 2018).

Indeed, the 2018 Global State of Enterprise Analytics survey found that globally 49 per cent of companies surveyed believed that the primary challenges organisations most commonly face are data privacy and security concerns (MicroStrategy, 2018). Similarly, another recent industry report shows that over 40 per cent of tourism industry professionals claimed that data privacy and cybersecurity are one of the most influential factors impacting digital commerce in this sector (Bremmer, 2019).

Not surprisingly, privacy is now the top data issue and concern for organisations

When selecting analytics solutions, tourism and hospitality organisations are required to address the growing concerns around privacy and security of customer data by putting in place well-designed data governance frameworks capable of providing quality data and be able to provide effective frameworks of data security and protection for all stakeholders

Potential frameworks for ethical data management and digital privacy specific to tourism and hospitality would need to identify, in addition to the protections afforded under the recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (ICO, 2018), how data is collected, what it is used for and who has access to it and why

Big data and analytics are playing a crucial role in digital transformation efforts of organisations in general and in the tourism and hospitality industry, thus driving greater effectiveness and efficiency and the strategy to define new business models and bring about successful change (Evans, 2020; MicroStrategy, 2018)

Nationally, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs is estimated to be 464,000, including 3,800 in Connecticut, according to Cyberseek, which is backed by a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

With the negative impacts that hotels exert on the environment, greater pressure is placed on governments and role players in tourism to reinforce eco-friendlier enterprises and green consumption in hotels (Moreo 2008:1). This compels hotels to demonstrate responsible behaviour to become 'eco-friendly hotels' or 'green hotels', which refers to accommodation establishments that have made a commitment to implementing or following various ecologically-sound practices, such as saving water and energy as well as reducing solid waste

Because hotels exert a negative environmental impact, it is imperative that the management of hotels take action to mitigate their impact on the environment

Within the hotel sector, the areas of concern for the environment include pollution through solid and liquid waste, high energy consumption and the increasing release of greenhouse gases that cause changes in the atmosphere.

Consequently, practices such as recycling of waste, waste management, supplying clean air, energy and water conservation, environmental health, adopting a purchasing policy and environmental education are being considered in various hotels in mitigation of the negative impacts on the environment

According to estimations, an average hotel releases between 160 kg and 200 kg of CO2 per square metre of room floor area per year and the water consumption per guest per night is between 170 and 440 litres in the average five-star hotel. On average, hotels produce 1 kg of waste per guest per night

It is recommended that hotels implement and monitor the progress of the green initiatives in their establishments. The initiatives to be implemented may include any or some of the following:

• Water - Water may be saved by flushing toilets using a flushing system fed from rainwater harvesting. In addition, hotels can use low-flow shower heads and taps to reduce waste.

Energy - Occupancy sensors can be used in hotels so as to use energy in occupied rooms only. Also, hotels can use renewable energies such as solar power and wind energy.

Reuse of linen - Reuse of linens and towels save water, detergent and energy which reduces the release of greenhouse gases. Water saving information cards should be placed in rooms for guests to read.

Solid waste - Recycling is one way by which hotels can begin to participate in waste management. Composting at the establishment is also encouraged. • Air quality - Air filtration can be installed in hotels. In addition, the creation of smoking sections for guests to avoid involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke can also be helpful. • Installation of green roofs improves air quality, which includes the use of recycled material in the growing medium. • Environmental purchasing - Hotels should avoid procuring plastic-based packaging, which contributes to high levels of pollution and should rather use paper bags made from recycled products.

This research study determined the environmentally friendly practices adopted in 3- to 5-star-graded hotels in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Against this background, this study was conducted to examine issues relating to environmentally-friendly practices of hotels in these two developing countries

Decisions governing selection of accounting programs depend on multiple factors including the uses of the accounting programs.

Hotel managers are often faced with the challenge to propose and procure the appropriate technology and software to run their operations.

This article describes major factors to weigh in selecting accounting software for the hotel industry.

Decision Criteria Used in Selection Process: Major factors identifying selection of accounting programs used in hotels are: ---Annual revenue ---Budget ---Location ---Multiple sites ---National or international location ---In-house vs outsourced operations

Accounting software is crucial in measuring and tracking the hotel's profitability.

Functions covered in accounting software programs include: --Accounts payable --Accounts receivable --Budgeting --Cash management --General ledger --Sales analysis --Payroll --Procurement --Order entry --Fixed assets --Inventory management

   This article describes major factors to weigh in selecting accounting software for the hotel industry.

Accounting software is used to track the profitability of hotel operations and identify trends in the hospitality industry. Careful consideration of the purpose, functionality and desired results from accounting software must be taken prior to selection and purchase

How to Select Hotel Accounting Software:     Decisions governing selection of accounting programs depend on multiple factors including the uses of the accounting programs

Decision Criteria Used in Selection Process: Major factors identifying selection of accounting programs used in hotels are: ---Annual revenue ---Budget ---Location ---Multiple sites ---National or international location ---In-house vs outsourced operations

Accounting software incorporates the widely used Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP) and focuses on key measures unique to the hotel industry, such as revenue per room (RevPar)

Accounting software encompasses multiple functions of a hotel's operations, ranging from data mining to running financial reports.  Functions covered in accounting software programs include: --Accounts payable --Accounts receivable --Budgeting --Cash management --General ledger --Sales analysis --Payroll --Procurement --Order entry --Fixed assets --Inventory management

Print this article DartUtils.loadGoogle160 = function() { dmjs.runInlineAd = true; $('.AdUnit160').hide(); $('.AdWrapper').addClass('no160'); }; dartAds.renderiFrameAd([{ sz: '160x600' }], 160); How to Select Hotel Accounting Software:    Decisions governing selection of accounting programs depend on multiple factors including the uses of the accounting programs

Hotels rely on different tools, including their accounting software, to increase their effectiveness and make them more competitive in their core business.

Hotels can decide to purchase accounting software dedicated solely to one function or can invest in enterprise software. Some chains have opted to outsource their accounting operations to major computer companies and accounting firms

Accounting software is used to track room-rate revenues and identify any discrepancies that require remediation and corrective actions.  The percentages of room-rate vacancy and seasonal trends are evaluated and measured against the best establishments to assess hotel performance.

The hospitality industry has had steady growth, with increasing demands for internal controls and financial accountability.  Accounting software is crucial in measuring and tracking the hotel's profitability

Areas of Functionality in Hotel Accounting Software

Areas of Functionality in Hotel Accounting Software

depend on the goodwill, real-time information, and online cohesiveness

International Conference of Crisis Mappers exemplified the benefits of online integration, as mappers and technologist from around the globe gathered both online and in Washington, DC for four days of conversation.

By livestreaming the event, the ICCM’s webcast enabled the inclusion of over 950 additional attendees – almost doubling their audience!

. In many ways they are thought leaders in this field through their engagement with online learning communities. However, other international organizations that focus on issues such as open governance and transparency often fail to lead by example on these issues, holding conferences that are limited to small audiences, and comprised only of individuals who can afford the time and airfare necessary to be in attendance.

Today, the barriers to entry with this kind of online engagement are so low, that all takes is a bit of planning and a small amount of technical know-how to get up and running

Other hotels are doing similar things (and even more). An example of a newly-developed energy efficient amenity:

And the conference also talked a lot about putting solar panels on hotel roofs with government subsidies.

Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference in New Orleans.

We're geeky enough to love new hotel technology, but we've got our green side too;

The system will remember how lights are set and if the fireplace is on and will shut down 20 minutes after the guest leaves and come back to the same setting when guest returns.

Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference in New Orleans.

Most of the new green tech developments are focused on reducing energy use, and it seems like there are some killer new innovations coming to hotels at the moment

For example, at Hotel 1000 in Seattle,  they control what gets switched on and off using the system that tells them when

a guest comes and goes.

Other hotels are doing similar things (and even more). An example of a newly-developed energy efficient amenity

The system will remember how lights are set and if the fireplace is on and will shut down 20 minutes after the guest leaves and come back to the same setting when guest returns.

And the conference also talked a lot about putting solar panels on hotel roofs with government subsidies.

In today’s world of cloud computing and ubiquitous screens, these protections are horribly inadequate

An HRIS can be set up with rules, so that it isn’t possible to schedule minors more than a certain number of hours and alerts are sent out when employees reach a certain number of hours in a day or week and need a break or are coming close to overtime.

Certain types of information that is pertinent to compliance needs must stored for a set amount of time, such as four years for all FICA information and FUTA information.

Certain reports must be filed with certain government agencies at different times of year to prove compliance. An HRIS can be set up to alert managers when these reports are due so that they can be sent out on time with all of the required information.