Category Archives: Technology

by | February 3, 2014 · 8:10 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Z-Wave Technology: Offering Hotels a Wireless Energy Management Solution”

“…As someone in the hospitality industry you probably recognize that it isn’t all about costs, you have to keep your guests happy too. Image This system allows guests to have various room functions to suit their needs, with settings that are easily adjusted – this helps to make sure that your guests check-out of their room nothing less than happy…”

“…You can easily install back-office software which allows you to monitor and control your energy consumption. This allows you to always know where you stand and know where you might be able to make small changes. Of course you also have the added benefit that this is great for the environment…”

If you’re in charge of a hotel, then of course running costs are going to be one of your priorities. With any business you’ll want to keep outgoings to a minimum, but in the hospitality industry this can be tough.

The problem with this type of industry is that you aren’t always in charge of your outgoings – after all, you don’t know how long a guest will leave the hot water running or how much electricity they’ll use on an overnight stay.

For more: http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article76195.html

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by | January 29, 2014 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risk: “With Better Security Technology, Hotels Shore Up Blind Spots”

“…In New Orleans, Mike E. Cahn III, president of the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association security network, says he sends surveillance tapes showing criminal activity to other area hotels, and to the police,Image who sometimes put them on YouTube. Recently a man stole a laptop from a conference room, Mr. Cahn said, and within 24 hours, he was recognized from the distributed video footage and apprehended…”

At a poker tournament in Barcelona last September, Jens Kyllönen, a professional player, said that his room at Hotel Arts was broken into and malware was installed on his computer to transmit anything he saw on his screen as he played. Despite video camera systems and electronic key card entry logs, no one was caught.

Although he said he discovered the malware in time, he says he is much more careful now about where he stores his belongings and secures his computer. Hotel Arts declined to comment, saying it was a private event.

His case is just one in what has become a technological cat-and-mouse game between hotels and criminals.

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/business/with-better-security-technology-hotels-shore-up-blind-spots.html?_r=0

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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Privacy, Technology, Theft, Training

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by | January 27, 2014 · 9:04 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Smartphones to Open Doors at Some Hotels”

“…Guests at these properties will receive a message on a Starwood app containing a virtual key, which will unlock the door with a tap or twist of their phone through the use of Bluetooth technology.Image The company says the iPhone 4s or newer models and the Android phones running 4.3 or newer will be compatible…”

“…Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to eliminate the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel’s front desk. The delays are the bane of many a road warrior’s travel experience…”

Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smart phone as a room key.

The boutique hotel brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harlem neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif., before the end of the quarter.

For more: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304856504579339130820876304?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304856504579339130820876304.html

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by | January 22, 2014 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry Business Practices: “Bitcoin To Be Accepted For Food and Lodging In Two Las Vegas Hotels”

“…Using bitcoins for the casinos itself won’t be happening anytime soon. State regulators, particularly the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are being more cautious about acknowledging and accepting the new type of currency.Image The gaming industry isn’t particularly keen on pushing for it either. This is almost in contrast to the government of Singapore who just recently recognized Bitcoin as a valid, and therefore taxable, currency…”

Bitcoin has been making waves across the world, and now the cryptocurrency craze has reached the good city of Las Vegas. Starting Wednesday, two hotels in Las Vegas, including the The Golden Gate, the city’s oldest casino, will start accepting Bitcoin payments but only for hotel expenses.

Four years have already passed since Bitcoin came into being, but this new kind of currency only truly exploded last year, sometimes to rather insane heights. While it still mainly remains an oddity and curiosity for many, it has started to be become quite literally a serious business for others, including some governments.

For more: http://www.slashgear.com/bitcoin-to-be-accepted-for-food-and-lodging-in-two-las-vegas-hotels-21314010/

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by | January 16, 2014 · 8:13 am

Hospitality Industry Cyber Security Risk: “The Target and Neiman Marcus Breaches: What Hoteliers Need To Know”

“…Most of all, hotel companies need to make a commitment to secure the sensitive information of their companies and their guests, and to seek out informed consultants and advisers.Image Information security is a relatively new and rapidly changing area, and requires specialized knowledge; the investment today can protect a hotel from being front page news — for the wrong reasons — later. Developing a comprehensive information privacy and security program…”

The recent headlines about the Target and Neiman Marcus security breach with customer credit cards highlights a growing crisis that concerns owners and operator of hotels as well as retailers. In this article, Bob Braun, one of the senior members of our Global Hospitality Group® who focuses on data security — when he is not working on hotel management or franchise agreements — gives us some thoughts on what to do about this problem.

The Target and Neiman Marcus problem. When 50 million Americans – more than 15% of the nation’s population – wake up to find that their credit card information was compromised while Christmas shopping, we all take note. When we find out that there were 70 million victims, and the information went far beyond credit card information, and that it wasn’t just one chain, Target, but at least four more, including Neiman Marcus (which estimates 40 million payment card numbers were compromised), we should start to look at our own businesses and procedures to think about how we should plan for and respond to these malicious attacks.

For more: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4063594.html

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by | January 3, 2014 · 9:23 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: “Smart Hotelier’s 2014 Top 10 Digital Marketing” Strategies

Hotel Yearbook 2014

Hotel Yearbook 2014 Digital Trends

Click on “Top 10” to view document.

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by | December 28, 2013 · 7:13 am

Hospitality Industry Cyber Crime Risks: Boston Restaurant Group Was Source Of Major Credit Card Payment System Breach; “Sophisticated, Outside Attack”

“…The (restaurant group) believes that it was a sophisticated, outside attack…Boston Police and the US Secret Service are Hospitality Industry Identity Theftinvestigating…This is the second major breach of the Briar Group’s payment systems. In 2009, malware, or malicious software, was apparently installed on Briar’s computers, allowing thieves to access credit and debit card information. The chain paid a $110,000 to the state to settle allegations that it failed to protect diners’ personal information after that security breach.

A local restaurant chain confirmed Friday that its computer systems were breached, putting the credit-card information of thousands of customers at risk, including visitors who attended two major conventions in Boston.

The Briar Group, which owns 10 restaurants and bars in Boston, including two at the Westin hotel connected to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, said its computer systems were infiltrated sometime between October and early November. It said customer names, credit-card numbers, expiration dates, and security information were captured from the cards’ magnetic strips.

The company isn’t sure how many customers were affected, but every month thousands visit Briar’s locations, said Diana C. Pisciotta, a spokeswoman for the chain.

The American Public Health Association hosted 13,000 conventioneers in Boston in early November, and the American Society of Human Genetics brought 8,000 attendees to a conference in October. Both reported that hundreds of people reported unauthorized charges on their accounts after visiting Boston.

For more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/12/27/local-restaurant-chain-source-data-breach-that-compromised-card-info-conventioneers/wPhKKndyN4hshrU47J2rwO/story.html

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by | December 19, 2013 · 7:06 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotels Partner With Google To Present Guests With “360-Degree Panoramic Virtual Tours” On Websites

“…Google Business Photos are 360-degree tours powered by Google Street technology. Many businesses have used the technology since Google introduced it in 2010, but a growing number of hotel companies are now adopting it… “Since the 360-degree panoramic virtual tours are taken by Google Trusted Photographers, guests know that these tours are created by a trusted, third party.”

Hospitality Industry Technology SolutionsChekitan Dev, marketing professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and author of Hospitality Branding, says other hotel companies will have to think more about visuals to compete with their counterparts.

USA Today

By Nancy Trejos

Hotels are partnering with Google to change the way travelers can view hotels even before they walk through the front entrance. Best Western International on Thursday will announce the launch of Google Business Photos for all 2,200 of its North American hotels. All hotels will have the virtual tours online by the end of 2014.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, parent company of Radisson, Radisson Blu, and Country Inns & Suites, this month started a pilot program of the service with an initial rollout at its hotels in Chicago, Miami and metro Washington, D.C.

“It will allow you to virtually experience the hotel in the same way you would if you were there,” says Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western. “We personally believe that this is going to be a game-changer in the industry in redefining how photos will be consumed by the consumer.”

The photos are taken by photographers trained and certified by Google. Their still photographs are stitched into 360-degree views using panoramic camera technology. Travelers can see the photos when they search for the hotel on Google Search, Google Maps, Google+, and Google Hotel Finder. They’ll be able to take the interactive tours on their computers, smartphones or tablets. The hotels also can link to the images from their websites.

For more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2013/12/18/best-western-carlson-google-business-photos/4115185/

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by | December 14, 2013 · 7:10 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Restaurant Smartphone App Integrates “Ordering & Reservation System”; Customized Menus Along With Table Availability And Wait Times

“…the portable electronic device can be used to review a menu, place an order, and be billed for an order…In other examples, the Hände mit Handys im Restaurantportable electronic device can also transmit personal information or a personal profile of the operator of the portable electronic device to the restaurant so that the restaurant can personalize the menu or provide recommendations for items to order. In one example, the personalized menu can be configured to remove items from the menu that contain substances that the customer is allergic to…”

“…(the app is) capable of providing recommendations for restaurants in response to a search query for a particular restaurant type, cuisine, ethnicity, price point, rating, or a combination of a few of these factors. The recommendations provided to the customer can be based on the wait time for the next available table at the restaurant…”

“…the recommendations can contain only restaurants with a table available within a predetermined period of time. As another example, the recommendations can contain only restaurants capable of providing the customer with a table within a period of time after the customer arrives at the restaurant…”

On December 12, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new ordering and reservation system that could work with various Apple iDevices. Although the system can be modified to be apply to movie theaters, repair services, museums and the like, Apple’s main focus is on a restaurant market application Our cover graphic was taken from Apple’s “Life on iPad” promotional video where they illustrated a chef or short order cook using the iPad as part of an ordering system.

For more: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/12/apple-invents-restaurant-ordering-reservation-system.html

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2013/12/13/opentable-slips-apple-patent-describes-eating-at-a-restaurant/

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by | December 7, 2013 · 2:35 pm

Hospitality Industry Risk Solutions: Hotels Benefit From Online “Digital Suggestion Boxes” Allowing Workers To Upload “Great Ideas” That “Manifest Their Visions” Of A Better Workplace

“…Last year, hotel company Kimpton, which operates 50 boutique hotels nationwide, launched a “Great Ideas Board” website where employees Hospitality Employee Solutionscan upload suggestions and brainstorms at any time, from anywhere. Co-workers are able to log on and build on those suggestions. Steve Pinetti, Kimpton’s senior vice president of inspiration and creativity, started the concept to get employees brainstorming together. Either he or the appropriate division head provides a response to every post within 48 hours…”

The physical suggestion box has gone digital, creating new opportunity for workplace communication. From phone applications to websites to intranet portals and blogs, businesses are replacing paper communication with an online format where employees can manifest their visions and ideas.

“Companies have discovered that the ability to let their employees give ideas and share information is critical,” said Leslie Caccamese, director of strategic marketing and research with Great Place to Work. With employees often dispersed in multiple locations, leaders are turning to technology to encourage innovative ideas and help transmit them to the key decision-makers within the company. The companies that land on the Best Places to Work lists are those that have a foundation of communication, and increasingly, electronic suggestion boxes are part of their programs, she said.

Research shows employees want to have their say on issues or problems that arise in the workplace. On an informal basis, some 54 percent of employees make suggestions to their bosses at least 20 times a year, according to a recent survey by Right Management, an international career and outplacement consultancy. But without a formal system to submit ideas and respond, only a small number of those suggestions turn into results.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/12/06/4524967/employee-suggestion-boxes-move.html#storylink=cpy

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