Hospitality Technology

The article, Impact of Individual Differences and Consumers' Readiness on Likelihood of Using Self Service Technologies at Hospitality Settings states that the use of self-service technology is a rising trend across the board. Major hotel chains, resorts, casinos are implementing software that can remember customers, their information, and go beyond current human levels of service performance. However, not everyone is ready for this new age of self-service technology. In their study, the authors explored influential factors related to individual differences and customer readiness on the likelihood of using self-service technologies. Findings supported technologies such as pay-at-the-pump, online travel purchase, ATMS, and other services that have been around for years were highly accepted. On the contrary, new services such as ordering food over the phone and Internet kiosks in bars were preferred by less than thirty percent of respondents. Within the hospitality industry, customers may perceive new self-service technologies as positive but may choose not to use them if they do not understand it or see no clear benefit from it.  To summarize the results, people may just not be ready for the self-service take over. Especially in the early stages, hospitality companies would need to have an employee standing by the new self-service technology to assist customers with their needs. Although a well used self-service system could generate a new revenue stream, particularly when concerning the younger generation, it is essential that managers take into mind the overall level of consumer motivation and readiness to embrace it,

The article, Urbanspoon Unveils Rezbook "Right Now", highlights a new chapter in online reservation resources available to customers on their home computers or their smart phones. Urbanspoon's new application rivals Open Table. The "Right Now" feature allows guests to view what restaurants in their area have open tables, make reservations 'right now', view current wait times, and amount of guests in front of them. This allows restaurants to reach a market they might not have before and can provide them with new business. The goal of restaurants is to turn first-time guests into regulars, and Rezbooks is a great way to introduce new guests to your establishment. Not only can they reserve or find a table online, guests can also directly rate the restaurant and post details on their dining experience. This enables restaurants to get immediate feedback (positive or negative), especially since the application is readily available from smart phones. The new Urbanspoon application can work to provide new business while streamlining the seating process. For instance, even if a restaurant offers a 15-minute grace period for seating, to the diner they have conveniently jumped ahead of the wait in an otherwise busy setting. In our world of instant gratification, Urbanspoon's "Right Now" seems to fit in just right.

This article is a general introduction of Opera system. It is one of the most commonly used system in hospitality industry, especially in hotels. As far as I know, this system is used in basically every five-star hotels in my hometown. We can see from the article that it is helpful to basically all the departments in hotels. This is the system I used during my internship in Intercontinental Hotel Beijing Beichen. The main function of this software for me is to extract reservation information of our banquet and conference rooms. Under the guidance of my supervisor, I learned how to make a Banquet Event Order by this software. It is the common tool we used to get and share information with our colleagues in other department. For example, when I receive a call from a guest and he needs to book a banquet room for wedding ceremony, I click on the book button and our colleagues in Reservation department will know it is occupied by other people if someone else want to book it on that day.

This article introduce 12+ meeting technology Trends. In 1 of 12, the Near Field Communication (NFC) attracted my attention. NFC is a widely used system for making payments when devices touched together through a short-range wireless connectivity standard. This machine simplified electronic ticketing, data exchange, credit card payment and micropayment options for events. In 2012 and the following 5 years, NCF will provide better and faster service and connectivity for events.

In this article by Hospitality Business News, the author emphasizes the benefits of the new Mobile Payment Processing and the basic knowledge of the Smart Phone payment. This payment way attracts a lot restaurants owners' eyes, especially in large cities and big restaurants. This Mobile payment revolutionizes the traditional payment method in hotels and restaurants, and it brings much convenience to both merchants and customers. First, it can definitely increase speed of the table turn and save time for consumers and servers. Time is money, especially in the business, customers don't need to give the card to server, and then the server brings the card to the front desk, later bring it back to the customers and customers get that. that's a waste of time compared to this smart phone payment. Second, it is also a fully integrated extension of the current POS system, it makes the POS better and resolve some patches of the current POS. it is a win-win for everyone involved. This Mobile Payment Processing is now being applied in 13 states in 49 cities. In the future, I believe that it will be applied wider than that and it will be more and more popular all over the world, especially for those busy businesses.

By using this augmented reality-driven app, hoteliers can clearly see the effect of some decoration products during renovation of rooms. Thus hoteliers can do a better financial control and avoid unnecessary losses since they have got a better idea of what the brand's products will look like before they really put them in the room. This products also remind me of the improper or ugly decorations in some hotels. I guess if they apply this innovation, they can avoid this effect to a large degree so they can express a better outlook to their customers.

In this article, Salsarita's Restaurant installed Digital Menu Board(DMB) techonology in more the third of its locations, on the purpose of generating customer's attention and sales. Being a fan of its reputation for its creative products, Salsarita's Restaurant chosen WAND Corporation as the exclusive supplier of their Digital Menu Boards(DMBS). With this advanced DMB system, Salsarita's Restaurant will be able to add new items to its digital menu by WAND Creative Servise using WAND TRM and synchronise with store, market or chain-wide immediately. The DMB system is also going to help Salsarita's Restaurant generate sales by gaining more customers' attention. it can analysis customers' purchase record and find out the most popular items and lest popular ones, then the restaurant can adjust its menu based on the analysis. Our society is stepping into its electronic age, techonology innovates day by day.One thing stands out to me ‌ this article is that to be a good manager, to generate more salse and profit, you should always keep customers experience"fresh and engaging". To approach that goal, you should always keep your techonology updated.

This article demonstrates how easy it is to check in and out of your hotel as well use the services that feature at the property. There is no longer a need for room keys or itemized receipts to be printed. All the agents have to do is scan the mobile app and all charges can be seen from your smart phone. Asides from all charges being posted, yourphone will be unlocking most doors including your guest room, spa, and. fitness center. You don't have to worry about misplacing your room key and having to take it out everytime you want to use the elevator or get into your room. This type of technology has been produced in France and has been adopted by Comfort Xpress in Oslo, Norway. I don't think it will be long before the US adopts this policy. All they would have to do is create or purchase the software and hardware from Ariane Systems and Openways or create there own verison. Personally, I would love to be able to use something like this, I always misplace or forget my room key but never my phone. I also don't have to wory about putting change in my pocket and having the room key be defunct. My only question would be how many mobile apps could I have? If I was traveling with a guest or partner, could they get a mobile app as well at no additional costs?

Many of the individual elements of the tech-led hotel are in place, but a hotel in Norway has joined all the dots together, creating a completely human-free experience. Combining check-in/out and guest management software from France-based Ariane Systems with room door technology from OpenWays, visitors to the Comfort Xpress Hotel in Oslo will soon be able to complete their entire stay without ever speaking to a member of staff.

Through this article, I learn that the Smart Hotel Software is very useful. It can help you manage the reservations, deposits, check ins, check outs, guest folios, payments, sales, housekeeping, maintenance and yield management, with a strong interface to many popular accounting systems. This software is suitable for independent and boutique hotels, resorts, motels, villas, apartments, hostels, and chartered yachts. For me, I think this software has 3 advantages. First, it will improve the customer service by having guest history at their fingertips, remember guest preferences and improve your guest experience. Second, it can increase the revenue by effectively managing reservations, rooms and rates with powerful Yield Management tools. Third, it will save costs by tying it all together.  Integrated systems: Website Bookings, Central Reservation Systems, Call Accounting Systems, In-room services, Back Office Accounting and more! Nowadays, some software becomes more and more popular in the hospitality industry. I think the manager need choose and use some good software to their hotels. It can make the employees work more efficiently and attract more customers.  

In this article, it talks about all the new ways hotels are using technology to bring in more customers. They are trying to make everyone's stay as pleasant as possible, one example that they talked about is using in iPads to keep their guests entertained while waiting. The Royal Mansour in Marrakech has now set up every room with touch screen walls that allow guests to control the temperature and the lighting in the room. Another resort in Nantucket offers their guests Flip video Camcorders that they can use at their property, the guest can record all the different things that they have done throughout the week, they can record everything from the crazy storms to a beautiful hike that they did with their family! The last hotel that they talked about in the article was the Andaz 5th Avenue, this hotel allows guest to skip the front check out and they can just check in from the elevator with their credit card on the way to their room. This article really opened up my eyes and see that technology really is changing the way that we live!

Infor a provider for application software has created a special edition of its software to help multiple departments within hotels operate from one application. With this specialized hospitality edition hotels now reduce costs with through this management system, streamline functions in multiple departments. and tools for timely customer service. In addition this system will help in tracking their use of natural resources and use that information to help better manage costs. This system will provide hotel management with the necessary and real time information to help operate on a more efficient basis such as issues with maintenance alerts, guests services, notices on equipment reliability. Although the use of this technology promises to help with efficiency and cut costs to help management the cost of maintaining and updating such an application could be costly. In addition with all of the functions being operated on through the use of one application what are the fail-safe tools in place if such an application were to be compromised or go down. The entire hotel's business can be affected.

Recently, hoteliers all around the region will rely on Agilysys software systems to ensure smooth delivery of services. These agilysys solutions will increase the satisfaction of guests from all around the world to check in and check out more efficiently and decrease the working time. Plus, the service providers are very proud of this way to helo venues there deliver superior service. And this system really do help managers for both high demand and peak demand and meet the high satisfaction standards for customers all around the world.

The Passkey's GroupMAX ME is a big progress during the housing management service area. It major effect is promoting the efficiency of management in meeting, convention or event. It makes the meeting management become more professional. LA Tourism managers can organize the conventions and meetings that were more safe, consistent and portable by using GroupMAX ME on their hand. The technology could make participants easily and efficiently find hotel reservations in office. And meeting professionals could be easy to track inventory online. GroupMAX ME could help meeting professionals to avoid an excess of reservation fee because it could directly connect hotel property management system or central reservation system.

Hotels compete with others by providing excellent service which has been defined as giving outstanding technology. It means technology innovation has become one of the most important strategies to attract customers. WiFi has become one critical success factor in hospitality industry. Besides, people tend to interact and shop more through social media. Research shows that Facebook usage is up 40% since last year. 2.5 billion photos are uploaded to @Facebook each month. It's estimated that there will be 76.9 billion apps to download in 2014. And customers are predicted to spend $35 billion on apps in 2014. According to high demand of iPhone and iPad, some hotels set up iPad in concierge to assist guest with further information and iPad in rooms to help guests to control room temperature, light and TV. As going green has shaping a big trend for hotels, LED light and PlugOut Gym attract hotelier's attention to catch up with. Thus, technology is not only a way to give convenience to guests but also a way to ease management team.

Hotel Reservation Software is making online booking easier. The advantage of Hotel Reservation Software is that it can show rooms availability, it eliminate double booking, and it provides the availability to reserve specific rooms while giving instant confirmation. The software keeps personal information secure, maintain costumer data base and create custom reports. The crucial part of the technology is it security feature and it is user- friendly. Hotel Reservation Software enables communication between all hotel depart, making booking quicker and easier and provide useful financial and customer reports.

Computer reservations have become the primary means of disseminating air travel information to the airline-sales distribution system. These systems have greatly impacted competition within the airline industry. Sophisticated automation is changing the method by which reservations are requested and accepted. Never before have airline reservations come from so many varied directions. The lack of capital barrier to entry, the mobility of financial and physical capital and a well established information and distribution system seem to preclude any carrier from maintaining unreasonable rates and services without inviting a timely competitive response

In the future, the technology in hotels are developing faster and faster, better and better, it will make guests control more by just touching the button or screen. Nowadays, guests plugged-in the hotels or restaurants by online reservation via the high-tech networks and telecommunications. There are a lot of aspects in the hotels guests using the networks and telecommunications to connect with hotels. For example, before guests come to hotels, they made a reservation online, it needs network; and then, when they get into the hotel, they will check-in by self-service or using the hotel computers, which is convenient to guests. In addition, taking the Aloft Hotels in Hong Kong as an excellent example, guests can use their SPG card to go to their rooms directly without front desk check-in, and then when they go into the room, they can connect their phones and computers whatever they want to the hotel TV. Furthermore, Las Vegas guests can use a touch button to require cleaning services,view room charges, or survey the International Flight Schedule, all of these are related to the high-tech networks, if there is no power or no network, all of these technologies are went out. To sum it up, networks and telecommunications are extraordinary significant to hospitality industry, it represents a kind of luxury and top level of a hotel, it can bring more and more guests for itself.

From what I read about this article, I think this high-tech brings benefits both to hotels and guests. It improves hotel's working efficiency. At the same time, it brings convenience to guests when they check in. As an old saying goes, kill two birds with one stone. This is worthy recommended technology.

A telecommunication network used to refer to the collection of switches of wirings used by telephone service; it is now include internet, microwave and wireless equipment as well as telephony. The main function of a telecommunication network is to provide efficient and effect transmission of information. A telecommunication network can set up as WAN and LAN. A telecommunication set up as WAN allows reliable communication between nodes that are geographically located across large distance. Hotels chains that located in different area would like to use this network model. With the same level of security, a telecommunication network set up as LAN is used on a smaller geographic area. It provides phone, data, and internet within an enclosed setting. One example is a hotel, where the phones and internet access are all routed through a network located within a hotel. As technologies continue to advance, the definition and the scope of the telecommunication network will also continue to change. But what will remain the same is the core concept. Before I read this paper, my opinion on a telecommunication network is always indicates telephone service, and now I understand it also include internet, microwave and wireless equipment. I have to say that technology have been changed very fast so that we must keep in mind to update our knowledge on these new technology as well.