Hospitality Technology

The article talks about how a business owner was able to reduce the paper used at his restaurant in the back office. While doing this he finds out that it is much easier to control his business, the cloud and technology initiatives provide him with accountability and easier way to expand. This is a lesson in the how to achieve two objectives with one solution. 

I think going green is a must but its not enough. The system of producing-consuming needs to be comletely changed. Actually im happy companies start thinking about bringing less harm to nature.

Going green is such a win for every party. I would argue that there is a big difference between wading through piles of paper and having a clean organized electronic system. The more automated the back office of any company can be, the more efficient and therefore profitable it will be. The popularity of cyber communication, data storage, bookeeping, etc is only going to increase rapidly in the next few years.

This article talks about how social media helps hotels not only to promote their public image but also provide customers a two-way road of comments and suggestions about their stay. The three websites that are best suited for hotels are Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Using these resources a hotel can give its clients and potential guests the freedom to freely interact with the company itself. Facebook serves greatly to allow people to comment on their recent stay and provide feedback. Twitter enables the marketing department to promote deals and upcoming special events. Foursquare is a tool similar to reward accounts. People can check-in to Foursquare at the actual location and depending on a set amount of check-ins, a guest can be awarded with a discount or special arrangement, for example, a complimentary bottle of champagne can be offered for five check-ins. Social media is an always evolving tool that goes hand-in-hand with marketing advancements and the growing use of gadgets. Iphones, blackberries and tablets are present in almost every home of travelers and are heavily used to interact, find deals and leave reviews. Hotels that use this media weapon and its technology to the fullest are on the upper hand compared to their competitors that rely on traditional advertisements.

That is a good way for hotels and restaurants to invest more in social media. Almost all people have their facebook pages they can a lot of information from facebook. People talk about everything on the facebook and share their experiences with friends. If somebody is sharing his great hotel experience with friends, that would be like a great advertisement that does not requires much money and all friends would believe this advertisement more than others.

The social media is a good way to promote itself from word of month. It is an easy way to get the feedback from their customers, and improve itself. The hotel can become more competitive base on the social media because it contains the real evaluations from the previous customers rather than the unconvincing advertisement.

due to people are able to buy more computer or devices the consumption or energy has increased dramatically affecting the global warming and companies are implementing new technology or methods to minimize the negative impact in our habitat.

Seems like going green is on its way to becom a trend. Business going green not only for protecting our environment and limited resource, but also one of the ways of competing with competitors.

I love this article and I am so glad to be told that something is changing to being green in high-tech sector. Going green is always a serious issue and all industries should pay attention to it. I am happy to see that computer industry realize that they need to focus on green things and they are really doing something to be green.

The hospitality industry can be extremely overwhelming if all departments are not in sink because one department depends on the other. In order to increase efficiency and service delivery various hardware and software systems have to be implemented. For example: an application for making hotel reservations which is used to check availability of rates and rooms could be NovaPlus from multi system incorporation. This program provides access for the guest and allows hotel management to modification accessibility to discounts on base rates. Another software needed in the hotel industry is the point of sale which the PlacePoint program can be used from multi system incorporation. In this program employee/guest can place orders in the menu and it is known to be structured as user friendly. One of the most important applications in the industry would be the Property management application which is where all the guest contact information, preferences, revenue management and room sales strategy are located. Overall there are a numerous of software and hardware necessary in order to run a hotel efficiently. From my own experience I have worked with 3 different PMS systems, Brilliant, Epitome and Opera, it just seems that after learning one system I find that it was better then the last one. As technology advances I have found that the more updated PMS systems like Opera , work much better and have facilitated my working environment and user friendly. Whatever the previous systems lacked in efficiency for the employee, the new system definitely gained.

The hospitality industry consists of a service industry that includes lodging restaurants event planning transportation and so on. It relies heavily on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. It all requires the aid of facility maintenance, direct operations, housekeepers, kitchen workers, etc in which they all serve the industry in different ways. So this program helps runs a hotel business for example a lot smoother for the guests and hotel management. These PMS programs although not always reliable if there were a power outage, are all well structured and efficient. Epitome for example is backed by highly effective training, may offer considerable value for money and is continued by ongoing support and assistance.

This article discusses the types of information Technology that is used in the Hospitality industry. These systems are needed, to make sure the business runs seamlessly without problem. Most of the systems rely on each other to run properly, and different departments need these systems in order to make the whole business work together efficiently. The essential Technology needed is Computer Software and hardware. Reservation Technology for booking guests. Property management application, POS Systems, and applications for Food and beverage and conference management.

By using of Nano Ionic technology, The new interior paint will remove odors that caused be smoking, pets, bacterial proliferation. However, some natural matrix materials ground into a fine powder the mixed with paint to be applied to the interior walls of homes and businesses. Moreover, this new product is non-toxic, not harmful to pets, children or planet earth and no consumption of electricity is necessary.

Just for fun for my fellow Tech group ... Are you dreading Valentines? Wondering why you are single? Well there is an app for that. Wot Went Wrong beta will help you find out why your ex left you. Fill out your name their name and it makes a questionnaire to send to your ex. Once they fill it out using the drop down adjectives and phrases you just might get the answer to the question keeping you up at night. Or you will realize that is why you left the tool in the first place.  Put the chocolate down! Be proactive! Actually, I just thought this was a funny app and wanted to share. ***Not responsible for any restraining order violations, unwanted make ups or horrible self actualizations. 

With the trend of green hotels and technology growing rapidly in not only our industry but all industries in general, it is important for companies to stay up to date with new innovative green technologies. This article touches upon on hotel in Seattle named Hotel 1000. The hotel has begun implementing new technologies such as memory lights that shut down when guests are out of the room and then turn on to the same levels set when the guest returns. Also being implemented is a system that can switch air on when a guest arrives to the hotel. This controls the amount of time the air is in use as well as prepares the room pre-arrival.  Finally this article discusses the imminent idea of alternative energy solutions for hotels. Many hotels hope to receive government subsidies in order to begin implementing solar panels on their roofs providing more energy while cutting current electricity costs. Installation costs are high but will be offset over time.

When the Valentine's day is so close e-business gives us a new way out if you have forgotten to buy a gift and yet have no time to do it. The main feature - speed. E-commerce start up is going back to basics with the oppotunity to order flowers online. This website is an international venture working 24/7, partnering with thousands of local suppliers all over the world. Flowers as a product of daily need when widely distributed with no time boundaries can be a good deal for you and a segment of market which still has a lot to innovate. At the same time the website has an oppotunity to be dedicated not only to various plants but to gifts of all kinds which is fantastic because every day of a year is a holiday for somebody.

Yes I have ordered flowers online before through 1-800 Flowers because I needed flowers delivered in another state and I was not familiar with the florists in the area. I trusted the Teleflora company (1-800 Flowers) to have the same quality of flowers in all locations but this is simply not true. I was very disappointed on several occasions by having wilted old flowers in small arrangements delivered. Not only is it embarrassing but it is frustrating to the consumer having paid so much money and not been happy with the product. I do not use these online companies anymore. I go to the florist websites and go by word of mouth which is time consuming (something I was hoping to avoid by using the online florist in the first place). That is why I bring up the question of how this FloristAdvisor differs from other companies and how are they succeeding? Bing I like to go to the supermarket and make my own arrangements if they receiver of my intended bouquet is close by. Fresh Market has excellent flowers, a bit pricey but they are great quality and last.

Actually while browsing the website I couldnt find any information about the guarantee... And the prices are unexpectably high which shows that this business has yet a lot to improve. I ve never ordered flowers online and your information, Melissa, was really helpful for me.

According to the article, Colorado College did the survey on some state to looking for the swing voters minds of the November election. This survey asked some questions such as what the U.S. would be like in 30 years if it remains dependent on fossil fuels? And what the U.S. would be like in 30 years if clean energy is developed. Swing voters answers were discussed in this news. As the survey showed, the majority of swing voters in those states agreed with the statement that renewable energy will create jobs in the future. 80% interviewees believe the possibility of improving economy and protecting the environment. Besides, the climate change didn't resonated with those voters; however, they worried about the economic competition from China.

The companies have to do a drastic changes in order to stop destroying the planet and today there are materials or sources that can be substitute the fossil fuels, but they have invested so much money in their infractstructure that they do not want to loose it. The corpotates know that making this changes means invest a lot of money and I think they do not want to do so unless we as society force them to make these changes.

The federal government has recently promoted a new plan that will combine smartphone applications and energy companies to help consumers monitor and manage their utility bills. The Green Button initiative was first welcomed at the Silicon Valley event by California's biggest utilities companies. The government is now hoping that the rest of the country will be able to jump on the bandwagon. The initiative is led by Aneesh Chopra, the chief technology officer, who hopes that private sector utility companies will create a standard format across the board so that a wide range of consumers could potentially benefit. Consumers will have virtual access through applications to their energy consumption. Ideally, the plan is supposed create energy saving efforts for consumers who will have greater access to managing their bills and levels of consumption. There already are major energy companies, like Opower and Tendril, which are producing Green Button compatible applications. It shows how energy companies are treading the online and smartphone waters. This initiative will also require consumers to put their part in adopting smart meters and smart phone applications. I think this a great move by the government in a time where both energy consumption and costs are increasing. As a future homeowner, I would be more than willing to contribute to participating in this type of plan. People today are interested in having their life bundled up and having access to it through their online services, this effort was definitely inevitable.

SalonPOS is setting the trend in utilizing the point of sale specially created for Ipad. This is following on apple's POS system created for Old Navy last year. SalonPos thought it beneficial to focus on a system for spas as most of the focus is usually on restaurants and perhaps other retail business forgetting that spas and wellness centres are becoming a large revenue generator and growing rapidly. SalonPro system for Ipad is entering the market at a very reasonable cost. The entire system including Ipad retails for under US$2,000.00. The system provides flexible access for manager to monitor business remotely. This POS system does not have much more capabilities than the traditional POS system except that 3G and Wi-Fi are included. A very good feature of the system is also that the Ipad includes close circuit camera that will allow managers to keep tract of activities even remotely. This will also be introduced to the Iphone later this year. SalonPro back up can be done on property as well as through iCloud with full access to apple updates. Though Salon Pro is not offering much more in terms of software capabilities to the spa system, it will be a good move to introduce this into the operations. Mobile check out where a guest does not have to go to a reception desk to sign out is also great. This will also give the spa an image of technological competence.

The iPad POS is a great innovation for the salon. I believe that it can be used very successfully for many businesses that rely on personal interaction; the best example would be hotels. An iPad check-in system would be a great integration that eliminates paperwork, cables, keyboards, mouse, etc. Since the iPad and Mac sofware are very user-friendly to operate, trainings costs could also be easily reduced.

This article is about a task force called Guestroom 20X and this team puts on a "conference" or sorts every year and it displays the newest and most innovative technology for the hospitality field. specializing in hotel guest rooms. This is such a great way to get people together and get people talking about the newest technology. sometimes technology is updated so fast that it is hard to keep up with the curve and the point of this meeting is so that everyone can be educated and also be ahead of the curve. These technologies that are exhibited are anywhere from next generation tv's to non traditional technologies like bathroom fixtures, and also user friendly tech like mobile applications for the rooms. This also includes green technology as well to help heal our environment! I think this is just an amazing idea and that everyone in the hotel business should attend and learn more about what technology has to offer.

This article introduces the role of IT in tourism industry and then talks about how IT investments might pay in tourism industry. There are some roles of IT in tourism industry such as reduce costs of information handling, increase speed of information transfer and retrieval and increase customer involvement in the control of transactions. And the most important role is the development of competitive advantages by both reducing cost and enhancing differentiation. It's important to invest in IT since IT could really increasing the tourism economic growth. 

The Amadeus computer system crashed on Monday, Jan 30, 2012 leaving thousands of airline passengers without the opportunity to check-in online, reserve their seats, or buy airplane tickets. For more than 3 hours, customers were very upset and unsatisfied for the delay that this situation caused by having the airline crew members manually put their information instead of usually scanning the ticket or passport.

Luckily this didn't happen during a busy time as the article stated. I can only imagine the bedlam had this happened during say the holiday season such as Christmas or a day following a major event like the Olympics or something similar. What I'd be interested t see is if all staff can react to and handle this as well as the staff of the airlines involved. I guess its a good example of having a back up plan in the instance of network issues such as this. Can't say our staff at work would be able to function as well in the instance of similar downtime.

This article is very interesting because it does not focus solely on one type of technology, but rather summarizes several technologies and discusses the importance of their uses. Green technologies in hotels can vary from anything affecting the water heating system to air ventilation and even plumbing systems in hotels. As stated in the article, it is extremely important for hoteliers to be aware of these changes that are occurring. Hoteliers may not have to immediately alter their current systems but they should definitely be aware and in tuned to the ever-changing "green" technologies - for if they don't they may be putting their hotels at risk.

This article is basically talking about the different green ways that a hotel can operate. For instance in Denmark they have stations set up where a guest can pedal stationary bikes to produce energy which in exchange they receive a free meal from the restaurant. To make hotels more green the hotels are using higher technological systems like changing the ventilation systems that provide fresh air indoors and have timers on the exhaust in the bathrooms. These technological advances to the properties will be more pricey than normal systems but in the long run they will save these hotels money and help them be more earth friendly.

Having worked in the meetings industry for 5 years now, we have also seen the increase of the more eco friendly traveler/meeting planner/attendee. Our accommodations have taken an active stance to incorporate more of the green friendly features to meet the needs of this traveler, but also to cut costs and increase operations efficiency.

As most customers are supporting the green movement hoteliers had the need of applying green practices in their properties to attract potential clients. That is the case of Hilton Hotels such as the Strater and The Double Tree. "The Doubletree has been listed at the silver level by Green Seal, a nonprofit, third-party certifier in Washington, D.C. The Strater has been designated as meeting Energy Star standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency." Nielsen the Director of Marketing and Sales and green team leader at the Double Tree explains how the hotel had worked rigorously to become Green Seal certificated. Among the green practices that take place in the Double Tree as well as in The Strater are " recycling, energy efficiency, elimination of chemicals and the hotel had word volatile organic compounds, low-flow showers, toilets and sinks, and contracting with suppliers whose business practices are shades of green." The hotel also takes left over food and amenities to different organizations. With the implementation of the green practices the hotel has saved 26 percent on its energy costs by having lights with timers in low occupancy areas, low energy bulbs in offices and halls, and energy efficient lighting in guest rooms and restaurants.

Good article about the Doubletree receiving the silver level. They don't use chemical on their pools anymore and they also collect the leftovers from the restaurant and take it to a local ranch. Indeed, this shows that investing a great amount of money at first to become more and more green will lead them to save a lot of money in the long run!

As good an example as you will ever find about the benefits of the implementation of green technologies from top to bottom. I think this will begin to become common practice in the industry as more states adopt green certified practices in the lodging and hospitality industry in general.

New York City union employees are trying to secure a contract that would include a 29 percent wage increase for workers in big hotels. Hotels will also increase contributions to worker pension funds to 10.5 percent of total payroll. That's opposed to the former 9 percent. The seven-year proposed contract would affect some 30 thousand employees and could raise some housekeeper salaries as high as 60 thousand dollars. In perspective, New York City has the highest yearly hotel occupancy rate of anywhere else in the world, at 85 percent. Room rates are well over 200 dollars. It's understandable how Hilton, Hyatt and other large brands can afford to negotiate with union demands. I foresee that the accounting departments in many of the big hotels will be quite busy making the adjustments if the proposed plan is accepted after Monday's vote.

This article highlight what different hotel chains are doing in order to "go green" It looks at different sections of the hotel and explains what the hotel chosen is doing to go green in the different areas. The first are is the Guest Room. The article explains the the Kimton Hotels have recycling bins for bottles, cans and paper and this increase there recycling rate to 75% over 3 years. The second area the article touches on is the Kitchen. It explains how the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts are encouraging their kitchens all over the world to use organic foods. The third area the article explains in the Bathroom. Apparently, the Aloft group has installed refillable shampoo and body wash dispenser at its locations and plan to do it for the future locations they are opening. As it relates to the outdoors, Asia's Six Senses is protecting the seascapes with chlorine fee pool sanitation system in order to protect the coral and marine life. The article also explained that the RockResorts have changed chemical cleaners to cleaners that were more natural. The article also states that changes are being made in shops and boutiques. The Swedish Scandic hotels stopped selling bottle water at 147 of their hotels and Banyan Tree resorts has partnered with local vendors to sell in their boutiques. I feel that all of these hotels and resorts are going in the right direction in order to save the environment in which they operate.

As Americans tries to go paper less in many areas, the process is taking longer than expected. A survey conducted by TNS Global Market asks Americans if they would be willing to go paperless. Here are the results: 48% would be willing to reduce their use of newspapers, 45.9 % would reduce their use of magazines, 37.6 % are happy to reduce their use of forms, contracts, documents, 31.6% are willing to reduce their use of books and 6.1% would be willing to reduce their use of toilet paper. What do you think of that 6.1% that is willing to reduce the use of toilet paper?

The nation's largest Army Reserve training post is "going green" . A new