Hospitality Technology

PAR Springer-Miller Systems, which is the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems and Personality Hotels announced a successful implementation of the ATRIO Guest Experience Management platform at the Hotel Diva in California. ATRIO was built using Microsoft technologies and gives the look and feel of other innovative products from companies like Apple and Google. Simple to use, this system in the cloud reduced implementation costs. This is the first application purpose-built for true cloud computing.

This article firstly reviewed the development of the PMS. Twenty years ago, the value of a PMS was in its computerized capabilities as properties began to switch over from manual systems. Ten years ago, the more valid comparison was between a DOS and a Windows-based system. And today the PMS has more functions and can do better for the hotel. As a hotel director compared the new PMS with the old one. The old PMS allowed only 20 or 30 letters for notes while the new one allowed him to review guest histories after checkout as well as to write unlimited guest notes on reservations. Lisa Jane Gibson, director of revenue management for the six Vintage Hotel locations, concluded three main trends with front and back of house systems. First is the wider use of technology to enable properties to run more efficiently. Another trend is more personalized interaction with guests. Finally, Gibson notes the upcoming deadline for all businesses to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) mandate for specific security guidelines. The guest trend has an effect on the PMS, and the trend will lead the direction of the PMS product development. More and more people are becoming their own travel agents. The PMS is also very useful for the food and beverage management. The PMS can help the hotels or restaurants with tracking inventory and cost of sale as well as setting up and running reports for key areas of the business such as returns, refunds and promos. The new POS products can help the hotels save costs and cost saving becomes the hot topic for the new POS. For example, hotel management consultant Paul Lynch of PGL Consulting has been able to deliver a cost benefit of up to five to seven per cent on wage savings with H&L Canada Ltd.'s Workforce Management control system. Lynch initially used it to monitor staff rosters daily but now has embraced the package as a complete information and management tool for the sites that he controls.

In 2012, with an eye on becoming more competitive, hotels are looking in to becoming more effective in their revenue management strategies and maximizing business efficiency by integrating their online distributions with their PMS and RMS systems.

SiteMinder is the world's leading online distribution company used by thousands of accommodation providers. It helps increase revenue through online services, and lower acquisition costs. Online bookings sites like Orbitz, Expedia, and Booking.com can be accessed for a monthly flat rate and 0% comission fee. This article also discusses the importance of social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and an increase in consumer sites like Groupon.

SoftBrands, the second largest provider of hospitality software worldwide, has announced about the acquisition of Amadeus PMS, who is one of the biggest DGSs in the world. This acquisition benefits customers with access to complimentary applications to the latest technology and they will be served better, because of the global reach of SoftBrands.

Property Management System (PMS) is a software application that is designed and can be implemented to meet varied requirements of any size hotel or hotel group. A property management system should include the ability to handle daily task such as check-in, check-outs, to assigning rooms and billing rooms and even the accounting aspect of the hotel. It should cater to each hotel specifically and uniquely as each hotel has their own requirements and functions. With the added PMS, a hotel can reduce their cost of hardware/software investments and labor expenses used to accommodate traditional PMS. A centralized software such as a PMS software application can make everything more easier and convenient for the guest and the hotel staff.

Currently, there are many different types of property management systems available like Opera and Guest360. However, business want to work with the different companies to determine which property management system best fits their needs. Nowadys, there are some new pms systems which are cheap and powerful such as webrezpr.

PMS are very important for hotels therefore it is necessary to choose the most adequeate for the property. As Wei said Opera is very common among hotels.

"Facebook ads (except for major placements like the home page) work like Google's AdWords. The advertiser creates ad content; selects targeting options; and sets budget, scheduling and payment parameters." Based upon one's "likes" or interests, facebook ads pertain almost exclusively to proximity marketing, allowing companies to advertise for people based upon recent google searches, in addition to facebook. Their job is basically to anticipate and manage what people like, in order to succeed in their advertising. One of the downfalls to this is that you have to consider the people who know nothing about what is being advertised, thereby eliminating a potential new client completely. You have to be very careful about this.

The article is talking about that FastBooking, one of the world's leading e-marketing and online technology solution providers announced FastBooking Updater Premium which has been added new functionalities to industry-leading channel management tool. New features include the powerful reporting tools that collects and stores reservations made on internet distribution sites in a single database and generates business reports for the hotel, the centrally managed inventory that allows allotments to be automatically adjusted and dispatched to all channel, and the automatic, real-time booking of the PMS to minimize manual intervention.

The functionalities of FastBooking seem very interesting such as collecting reservations made in different websites. In this manner the productivity and performance would be more accurated providing a best service for the potential guests.

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

Hotel Concepts- Brilliant, a leading global provider of advanced PMS, recently announced its integration of Flip.to into RezExchange. For a small monthly subscription, Flip.to acts as marketing platform for hotels, restaurants, and airports. Customers can use it to comment, post feedback, and recommend the establishment to friends who in turn can get discounts. It also allows loyal guests and customers incentives to spread the word. RezExchange allows customers to manage their sales channels directly from the hotel management system and will receive all reservations from these channels directly into their own database. With this integration customers don't have to present printed coupons and any earned incentives are automatically credited to their hotel profiles. Hotels, restaurants, and airports that already use RezExchange and integrate Flip.to into their system will become more streamlined making it that much easier for customers and guests to build up and use their incentives.   L'Auberge Carmel hotel in California is the first property to go live with this integration and thus far, this integration has proved successful. Approximately 15 to 25 percent of guests who book rooms at participating hotels engage with Flip.to, and for every 100 engaged guests, an average of 10 to 20 additional room nights are booked within six months. 

The ATRIO is a platform that would make big changes in the hospitality industry. ATRIO will be installed at the boutique Hotel Diva of Personality Hotels which will make a competitive advantage among its competitors. "The ATRIO platform represents the most significant technology development to occur in the global hospitality industry in the last 25 years." By implementing ATRIO to the property it is assumed that the service and financial goals will exceed expectations. Larry Hall, President & CEO of PAR Springer-Miller states "We look forward to the world coming to know Personality Hotels as an operator of some of the finest lifestyle properties in the world and the launch client for ATRIO, the platform that moved an industry." ATRIO will follow cloud computing which will bring significant financial benefit to Personality Hotels "Deploying ATRIO in the cloud helped reduce our implementation costs considerably," said Lembi-Detert President & CEO of Personality Hotels.

The EcoTex Advanced Laundry Oxidation System enables to use the power of Ozone (03) and Oxygen (O2) to save money and improve in commercial laundries as well as detergent and water savings. This is great for hotels, spas, cruise ships, etc. Use of chemicals and hot water will be replaced with cold-water programs that use the power of ozone for disinfection and detergent activation.

Traditional PMS functionality is still the critical core at every property. By tracking and managing all aspects of guests' data, it's both a source and collection point for the crucial activity and preference information that forms the basis of all future relationships with the guest. But with the change of technology and the manner we do business today, hotels now need a wider function set than what a traditional PMS provides. Having a PMS on the web and in the clouds is getting more popular. These new Web services make it easier for new vendors to develop fresh approaches and link them quickly and effectively into established systems, providing hoteliers with richer and more varied options. There are more advantages than disadvantages when using cloud computing. The world is changing rapidly and in other for hotels to survive, they have to keep up with those changes.

Hey all, here is an article I found that talks about the traditional PMS systems for hotels and how it once rained supreme. Now a days, traditional PMS systems are not cutting it anymore because businesses are growing and are trying to find systems that have more functionality. This article brings up a few different options that a business could adopt and put into use. Installing software applications at the property is becoming unmanageably complex. Despite very worthwhile gains in functionality, no PMS will ever cover everything a hotel needs; none offer telephone service, for example. As more guest and operating information needs to be captured and managed, many hotels and resorts need multiple other systems to complement the PMS. The first option the article bring up is Virtualization, Server virtualization is not a new technology, but its adoption by the hospitality industry is relatively recent. The basic concept is that specialized control software allows the physical resources of a single computer server-memory, disk space and computing power-to be divided as needed between several different software applications, each perceived to be running on its own dedicated server. The second option is running a cloud based system, we all know what that is so I will let you read the article. Enjoy

The author attributes a growth in 'hotel complexity' that is driving the need for a change with traditional PMS systems and the limits of their capabilities. According to the article, the current PMS system is unsustainable and will need to evolve to meet client's demands- such as cloud computing, which is highlighted as being beneficial to hotels especially with regards to flexibility, better security, speed of implementation, etc. The pros and cons of cloud computing are clearly described, the cons mainly being loss of connectivity and security breaching. Although traditional PMS are essential for most hotels, cloud computing could put them at a competitive edge.

This article touches on Property Solutions' new ResidentUtility initiative to bundle billing and utilities for the multifamily industry. Property Solutions is the nation's largest provider of apartment community websites and management software tools. The new system will enable property managers to manage billing and utilities through electronic payments. It solves the industry's utility billing problems, like costs associated with inefficient standards. ResidentUtility combines billing and utility management with en electronic payment systems that will increase extra incomes for properties, especially given that option that utilities and rent and be billed on the same invoices, properties will have extra cash inflows earlier in the month. As a result of extra income, properties can also reduce working capital and pay their own bills in a timely fashion. In addition, residents can reap the benefits because their bills will have more transparency and be bundled so that they only need to worry about paying one large sum. I think this is a great idea for properties, I used to be a leasing manager for residential condos and we offered this billing system to residents and it was very successful. Although I do see residents getting scared by one large invoice as some prefer to pay everything separate. From the management perspective, it is very beneficial because accounts payable and receivables become easier to handle when it is all done under one invoice and electronically.

Terrorism attacks on international hotels have turned the industry's focus on security issues. No doubt about it, both government and hospitality entrepreneur pay more attentions on security after September 11, 2001. It is important for hotels enhance security by using technology. Hotels use Vehicle Management System to tab all vehicles entering the property. This VMS also can be tagged with the guest information, drivers' information and vehicle number. Hotel should use the guest history modules to store the information about every guest especially for those 'first time guest'. The information includes the copy of passport detail of the international guests, guests' flight detail, an emergency contact number and copy of photo registration cards. The house keeping module makes report of Sleep-out guest. This system can share the occupancy reports and nationality wise occupancy report automatically with local police. Also the incoming call can be tracked. Hotel should have a stringent recruitment procedure in place. Hotel can use biometric access to restrict employees only allowed access their working place. The gate-pass system, vehicle management system and biometric access control system ensure only authorized staff and vehicles are allowed into the property. The online central passport and ID card verification mechanism can automatically verify the document against data available with the security agencies. The communication engine can send message to stuff, supervisors, in house guests and authorized external security bodies about the emergency like suspicious guest, fake passport and so on. Effective use these technology can save the hotels from the worse that can happened.

This article gives us some tips on how technology could help enhance security at hotels. By summary the article, we can find out that the technology can help enhance security at hotels in maintaining copy of passport or ID card of all guests, noting an emergency contact number always, storing data at an off-site location for easy access in case of mishap, installing a biometric access control system for in-house and supplier staff, scanning baggage and maintaining baggage count of each guest and cross-verify on check-out, and monitoring sleep-out guest report closely. By using these simple technology, hotels can save a lot, and make hotels secure.

The hospitality industry is hassled by the terror attacks at luxury properties, so it is important to use technology to protect the guests. A Vehicle Management System can be used to keep watch on all vehicles entering the property. The property management system is used from check-in to check out to verify the baggage and guests. A stringent recruitment such as biometric access can prevent unauthorized staff or guests step into the specific area. Also, there is an online central passport and ID card verification can verify the guests' identification and give an alert on a fake ID or passport. All these measures can help to prevent worst things from happening.

Interactive apps are more effective than tradional ones, because they allow guest's to be more informed. This Hotel Evolution app is also a point of sale, as guests can order things with ease of a touch. Apps like this enhance guest expereinces and drive sales, ultimately increasing the bottom line!!

This article discusses the effects of technology on the hospitality industry. It discusses that the bottom line of using technology is to create a better level of service quality and customer satisfaction. These are including the software that the employees use to check in the guests as well. how social networking helps market to those on the web and there is minimal costs associated with this. It also talks about the next important steps that hospitality industry needs to take from other industries like stately formulation for restaurants. In conclusion this article states that technology plays a key strategic role in the growth and progression of the industry and i completely agree. with out it no company will be able to keep up with their competitors.

Technology plays an important role nowadays in different areas. Without the updated technologies, its hard for the organization to compete with its competitors. In my opinion, organization should do the environmental scanning on what competitors have in order to keep up with them.

According to the news. One of the major trends for the hotelier in 2012 will be the integration of their online distribution with PMS and Revenue Management Systems. Hotel will benefit from making its online reach faster and automating business processes, thus, generate higher revenues with lower costs of acquisition.

This article describes a new PMS technology helps keep costs down, among other benefits. This will allow smaller hotels the opportunity to access systems for the purpose of pricing and placement in the industry.

A key focus for hoteliers around the world in 2012 will be the integration of their online distribution with their Property Management Systems (PMS) and Revenue Management Systems (RMS) to make their online reach faster, simpler and more powerful. It means that many accommodation providers will switch their channel management strategy from the "legacy" manual channel management products of yesterday to technologies capable of providing fully automated, two- way, seamless integration between online booking channels and their PMS, CRS or RMS systems.

WebPMS Pros * Typically less cost involved with computer equipment compared to server based. * Full time IT department at the hotel may not be necessary. * Remote access is easy when owner, manager or reservationist is not at the property and they need access to the property management system from a different location. * Consistent Data backup is completed at the data centre.(You need to verify this with your vendor, see the Service Level Agreement provided by your vendor for more information.) * Software enhancements and upgrades are typically done regularly and easily. * Quick deployment. Cons * Does not work optimally without a good quality high speed Internet connection. * Data access is dependent on the Internet connection being available. * Not a good choice for areas that have unreliable internet connections. PMS/Server Based *Costs to setup and maintain are typically higher than web based systems *Backup is done at the property and may not be tested for integrity or may be forgotten. *Data is physically located at the hotel; data security may not be as high. *Software enhancements and upgrade need to be applied via modem, internet or CD and are done less frequently due to the slower procedure.