Hospitality Technology

With tourism increasing in Cambodia, the partnership between FCS and Quoc Khoa Networks is expected to enhance guest satisfaction. FCS is the a top provider of hotel technology products and services.

Cloud computing is regarded as a good tool for hotel. It could convert capital expenditure to operational expenditure, access to the latest version easier, and remove infrastructure management. However, there are several questions need to be asked when choose a software supplier.

There are several benefit of cloud computing, including low upfront costs, minimal IT infrastructure and easy across multiple properties.

Telecommunication is an area in the industry that has driven the productivity of all employees and the efficiency of processed information and future growth. One of the examples of telecommunication would be the PBX voice switch which can be used to facilitate data and video communication, enhancing security. Offering a competitive advantage the PBX has become more then just a voice switch, since its improvement housekeeping is able to moderate the room status directly from the room and guest can choose to checkout by dialing out in the room. Inclusively, systems can be interfaced with videophones which allow the user to see and decide on the visitors they would allow entering their room using VoIP (Voice over IP). VoIP provides cost efficiency, productivity, customer capabilities and enhancing access to information. Another useful form of telecommunication is wireless paging systems where it keeps employees from different departments accessible incase of any emergency. In my opinion, telecommunication has been a great advantage in the industry. It has improved in various ways through out the years and it continues to grow and allowing the customer experience to become a one of a kind with the efficiency that it offers. Guest is able to become more independent during their stay even when checking out of their rooms. Telecommunication has even provided employees with more ease at work by creating a system where housekeeping department is able to press a button on the phone of the room, which changes the status of the rooms immediately instead of having to inspect the room and then change status on the computer system. I still believe this new technology is great, but I stand firm that the older crowd (baby boomers) and those that do not speak the language (English) still prefer the human interaction for instance, at checkout time. The Y generation is more prone to be excited about all these new gadgets and independent ways of getting things done.

Telecommunication provides many benefits for hotel. It makes the housekeepers' work easier by change the room status in room rather than on computer system. And each user have separate number, so the outside call will directly received without go through the operator. Hotel does not need to hire a telephone operator.

"Technologies and evolving social values and trends will combine to establish a new era of collaborative travel over the next decade and beyond , according to "From chaos to collaboration: how transformative technologies will herald a new era in travel" a report developed by The Futures Company and commissioned by Amadeus."

Article discusses a new study recently commissioned by GDS Provider Amadeus outlines the Future of Travel. Article summarizes in six key areas where technology innovation can be deployed. I am in total agreement that depth of experience rather than breadth of experience will transform the travel experience. Social check-in apps like SCVNGR and game mechanisms can enhance the visitor experience in a destination greatly. I was under the impression item #4 had already happened with the rise in use of social media and user generated content review sites like TripAdvisor, but the article maybe supports that this is a trend not likely to go anywhere soon. Those who wish to read the study can access it here directly... http://new.amadeusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/From_chaos_to_collaboration.pdf

Restaurants have been turning more to high tech tools to better their services. A restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC has given its wait staff iPods and iPads to take food orders instead of writing with a pen and paper. Guests can look at photos of the dishes to help them make their decision and when the order is complete, the server can send it wirelessly to the kitchen.  This is a great way to increase customer service and overall satisfaction on both ends. It reduces wrong orders and is a green incentive as it eliminates much of the restaurant's paper use. However, it is a pricey investment to make. The restaurant owner in Chapel Hill said he expects to recover the cost in the long run through reduced expenses on paper and pens.  The wait staff reported they liked this new way of taking orders because they don't have to worry about their writing being illegible or their hand cramping up from writing so fast. It is beneficial for the customers in that it is a more interactive way for them to order and get something they have a better chance of liking since they can see photos. It also eliminates problems seeing a printed menu in dark lighting. Additionally, orders are processed right away so guests don't have to worry about their food taking a long time to come out because the server either forgot to put it in or they were running around doing other things before getting to the POS station. 

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an advanced technology. It is the use of a wireless non-contact radio system to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Tags do not need battery and they used radio waves to read them. The tag has electronically stored information, so it can use far distance. Unlike a bar code, the tag is not as same as bar code. Line of sight of the reader is not necessary. Radio frequency identification is used in different area. A lot of entertainment use tags as tickets. Some theme parks used tags for gaming, eating and lodging. I think in the future the hospitality industry really needs this technology. More and more new program join in hotel such as rock climbing, spa, casino and so on. These different programs need convenient tickets for guests. Because of this technology used in hotel, the ID card will not just for opening the door. It will include many functions. And the guests do not need any other card or cash in hotel.

This is an informative article on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. I found an article talks about RFID in cruise ship last week and got impressed with the advancement of technology in hospitality industry. Hopefully, we will see many hospitality properties equipped with RFID soon. This technology just reminds me of Korean style sauna called "Jjimjil bang" and many of the saunas in Korea are equipped with RFID. A wristband with a sensor inside is given to people when they chenk in and people just need to wear the wristband to pay in the sauna.

The article talks about the new technological advancements Red Lion Corporation has made in order to make customers do their reservations on the website of a company, to learn about their destinations, etc. Employing new search optimization engines, mobile platforms and interactive map technologies really advances this company in all the aspects.

It says the sooner the service is provided to the guests, the guests will more satisfied with the hotel. The telecommunication can help to reach the goal, for example, the system will determine which room need to be cleaned or not, the security camera also is a telecommunication system.

From my point of view, Mtech tracked service can really help the managers to save the cost on the management fees.

This article is starting from an agreement made between Travelclick which is a leading provider of profitable revenue generating solutions for hoteliers and Castle Resorts & Hotels on GDS connectivity and IDS distribution. The Castle Resorts will use Travelclick's central reservation system (CRS) to distribute inventory to thousands of travel agents on the Global Distribution System (GDS). Because of the alliance between the two organizations, Castle Resorts has become the largest iHotelier customer in Hawaii. The president of Castle Resorts believes that Teavelclick's GDS connectivity solutions will help them achieve a higher level of performance and allow them to connect with travel agents instantaneously and seamlessly to further potential guests. From this article, I fully realize how important the GDS system is and what it could do for hospitality industry. It is just like providing a closer link between hotels and potential guests by connecting with travel agents.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

This article is about how network works for the hotel. TravelClick is a leading provider that designs and produces websites for hotels. Each hotel can have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information. The Red Lion Hotel is one of the cooperators with the TravelClick. TravelClick designed a special web and mobile platform for the hotel. The guests of the hotel can find the information such as where to have the best breakfast and where is the good place to go. The hotel will excite them to go out and enjoy and encounter. This can give the guests special experience and let them have much fun. The hotel aims to use this way to make a differentiation from other hotels. In my opinion, the competition of the hotels likes the battle, the hotel must differentiates itself from others and let the customers to remember it. The network can help the hotel a lot. It not only has the traditional function of making introduction and reservation, it also can be used for marketing. For instance, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion's agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing. The resulting online experience will fuse mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. Make a good use of network can help the hotel manage itself well and attract more guests.

I agree with you. Hotels need to differentiate themselves among competitiors in order to attract more business. This online experience made by TravelClick could work as a competitive advantage for some hotels that need to make their name known in new markets.

This article introduced the computer network system such as LANs, WANs, and the differents of administrators or engineer`s responsibilitis for designing, maintaining and evaluating this system. For example, network and computer systems administrators may also research related products and make necessary hardware and software recommendations, maintain the system as well as address information security issues. And the Database administrators work with database management software and determine ways to store, organize, analyze, use, and present data. They identify user needs and set up new computer databases. And computer security specialists plan, coordinate, and maintain an organization's information security. A safe computer network system needs these important people to develop in spote of what kinds of organization network and database system.

The CEO of the award-winning Sandals Resorts International gave top marks to LIME, the Caribbean division of Cable & Wireless Communications. He remarks the importance of having the best in communication services in the hospitality industry. The executive Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel Association also welcomed the hotel industry improvements in telecommunications.

One of the major issue of cloud computing is encryption, which is the process of transforming information to make it unreadable to others users.  Encryption arises as a problem in cloud computing because not all the companies that are providing the service of cloud computing but not the encryption services which is very important for the safety on the data of the customers. When choosing to use cloud computing, it is important to find out al the services that the cloud offers because without the encryption services, the security of the data also decreased said Subra Kumaraswamy a senior security manager at Sun Microsystems INC.   Another issue when it comes to cloud computing is authorization because not all providers can control who can access their data, which make the data vulnerable to hackers.  In my opinion before someone decide to use the cloud computing it is important that the customers make researchers about the feature  and services that the cloud is using to make sure that is the best option for the company 

I thought this may be nice to share with everyone, even though we have known this for a while.

This article identified some factors that happening in the market which drives a trend for increased bookings through non-GDS hotels. Business travel buyers are increasingly looking at newer opportunities to cut travel costs. Business travel slowdown imminent, The Global Business Travel Association forecasts that the business travel growth is expected to slow in 2012. And business-travel growth will outpace anticipated GDP growth, despite uncertainties in the economy. Rate negotiation process is getting increasingly tougher With a declining market demand, hotels try hard to remain profitable, and have toughened the rate negotiations with buyers. Many are exploring alternative strategies to generate savings from their hotel programs. Some buyers are considering alternative negotiating strategies to derive savings. Due to the demand for wider range of rates to aid policy compliance, corporates are looking for a better value proposition in using hotel aggregators. Hotel aggregation offers key value proposition The latest versions of HotelHub indicate that hotel aggregation offers a major advantage in corporate hotel reservation process. GDS firms and non-GDS are realizing the gap, and aggregation makes Travel Managers save lot of time and cost in servicing booking requests. This article identified some factors that happening in the market which drives a trend for increased bookings through non-GDS hotels. Business travel buyers are increasingly looking at newer opportunities to cut travel costs. Business travel slowdown imminent, The Global Business Travel Association forecasts that the business travel growth is expected to slow in 2012. And business-travel growth will outpace anticipated GDP growth, despite uncertainties in the economy. Rate negotiation process is getting increasingly tougher With a declining market demand, hotels try hard to remain profitable, and have toughened the rate negotiations with buyers. Many are exploring alternative strategies to gener

The Availpro organization is the hospitality industry leader in online distribution. Its mission is to provide hotel owners with the most effective online sales platform. Using the tagline, 'The World is your hotel Marketplace,' Availpro has helped thousands of hotels worldwide sell over ten million rooms by utilizing a highly developed extranet channel. Availpro's extranet channels provide two-way connectivity to over one hundred distribution websites. With a larger scope of distribution the hotels using Availpro increase their sales and become more efficient. In addition, Availpro's management of these extranet channels saves hotels valuable time. However the reason Availpro is the leader in online distribution is not just its booking capabilities but rather its recent developments that together provide their clients an online distribution extranet solution. The booking engines that made Availpro successful expanded to include mobile applications and social booking with Facebook. Availpro also introduced important decision-making tools such as the Smart Channel Manager, Rate Screener and Guest Satisfaction. I was curious about the 'Rate Screener' so I read Availpro's article "Availpro rate screener allows Hotel owners to sell their rooms at best rate," published on October 17th 2011 (http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news//4053349.html). This tool was developed with user input and tested in real life rate decision scenarios. The all-in-one solution allows managers to see their rates, inventory and competitor rates on a central distribution schedule. By analyzing their competition in real time managers are able to optimize their rates. Long gone are the days when managers used to call the local competition and pretend to be walk-in guests to find out fire sale rates. This most recent article, published on the third of January 2012, discusses Availpro's growing partnership with Premier Hotels of the World™. By incorporating Availpro's ex

In this Article: "The Best Restaurant Marketing In the World" resiliently describes the marketing world and the amounts of money restaurants spend obsessively to bring in more customers. Instead of focusing on all the new technologies for new ways to advertise and spending thousands of dollars there are other things to consider such as bringing in more customers over the quality of the food, excellence in the service, cleanliness of the place, and having an agreeable unique dining experience. If all these requirements are not met that's when marketing comes in to place. There are many ways possible to improve your business such as changing or simplifying the menus, training the staff properly, making sure the restaurant is spotless, creating a nice ambiance and lastly making sure you have total commitment to all of these basic necessities. These requirements are essential when it comes to exceeding your customer expectations and important for your business in order to succeed. . With all of these categories fulfilled you will bring in a happier, lively and contented crowd; therefore, bringing in more regulars.

The basis of this article is to show the advanced and applications that proper networking can have on the hospitality industry. Cisco systems, a very well known networking company, along with hotel 1000 have begun taking leaps towards the future of the hospitality industry. Cisco's new Connected Hotel idea is being implemented at Hotel 1000 and consists of a system which stores client information and can also be customized to each guest. Other applications and features include group calling, improved voice quality, one touch valet service,  and many more. This article is just one look at how networking can help hotels to expand and grow into the coming age.