Category Archives: Technology

by | December 11, 2014 · 10:04 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Emerging Digital Trends in the Hotel Sector”

One of the most exciting things was Turning OFF and ON the lights and controlling Air-conditioning with the of apps.Tech conference IT departments in major hotels are also looking at TV based motion and voice controls, and presence detectors to allegedly making it easy for the guests, while at the same time – controlling energy.

Hotels are embracing digital in a big way, as they seek to distinguish themselves from the competition by offering compelling reasons to stay with them, over the competition.

One of the emerging trends is taking advantage of the technology in your pocket.  At select Starwood hotel brands around the world, guests will no longer have to fumble for their room key card at the bottom of their bag now that the chain has rolled out keyless technology that opens doors with the swipe of a smartphone. Starwood’s SPG Keyless program is being called a first for the hotel industry and will roll out to 10 hotels around the world in markets like Beijing, Doha, Hong Kong, New York, and Singapore.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zBH5h9

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Filed under Conferences, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

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by | December 8, 2014 · 10:06 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Millennials Have Youth, Baby Boomers Have Time and Money”

A recent Preferred Hotel Group survey found boomers want unique interludes for themselves and for multigenerational family groups. Yet, they typically don’t want to sleep in the same room as their children or grandchildren.Boomers-620x330 Seeing this trend, Preferred created a family rate that allows boomers to book two rooms—one for themselves and another for family at a 50 percent discount, says Michelle Woodley, SVP of distribution and revenue management. Promoting this sort of accommodation, distinct from inventory of traditional rooms, drives incremental revenue for the properties.

Hotels are going sleek and techie to woo millennials. But it’s the baby boomers who have the promise to keep brands’ pulses racing throughout a long relationship. Forbes estimates brand-loyal boomers spend a none-too-paltry $157 billion on travel every year. “Millennials are getting the buzz, but boomers are still the most valuable customers,” says Richard Jones, COO of Hospitality Ventures Management Group. “They have time and money, and leisure travel is their most desired activity. Projections show by 2017, 50 percent of the population will be over 50, control 70 percent of U.S. disposable income, and inherit $15 trillion over 20 years. Hotels can be a beneficiary of that.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1CZKV7q

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology

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by | December 4, 2014 · 9:01 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Use Mobile Apps to Get Out in Front of the Social Media Curve”

For several years, about half of all local search have been conducted using mobile technology. In the first quarter of 2014, searches on mobile devices surpassed desktop internet searches. mobile-apps-hotelThis suggests that mobile apps are not just a convenience anymore, they are necessary for hotels to remain in business. Customers now expect to find the information for which they search whenever they have to urge to access it

In order for hotels to grow their brand recognition and costumer preference, they need social media to establish a partnership with consumers. This is an ideal opportunity for the hotel industry to increase contact with customers, which aids in brand development based on decisions made according to demand and feedback. While almost all hotels now have websites and at least one social media channel, many have yet to adopt mobile technology. This puts them at risk for being left behind as customers seek lodging sites they can access while on the go. Ensuring that hotel businesses are not only optimized for search engines but also have mobile apps for android and non-android devices is important for brands to remain competitive.

For more: http://bit.ly/1BhklVO

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by | November 20, 2014 · 10:30 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How Much Bandwidth Does Your Property Need?”

Hoteliers need to know how the bandwidth is currently being used so they can prioritize different types of usage. Packet inspection equipment can help you figure out if guests are using the Internetbandwidth to download movie torrents or to make voice over IP calls, and then you can prioritize and make more bandwidth available for one activity over the other. “You don’t want to overpay for excess bandwidth when it isn’t necessary,”

Two years ago, BioMarin, a pharmaceutical firm based in San Rafael, Calif., called Inn Marin to book an offsite training session. This wasn’t unusual since the 69-room independent hotel is located eight miles up the road from the company’s headquarters. And with only 35 people attending, the meeting requirements were far from onerous. But there was one last-minute request that nearly caused Inn Marin to lose this booking. BioMarin needed an Internet connection that was six megabits per second (Mbps) or faster to allow 20 desktop computers to log into the corporate server in San Rafael. And the DSL line coming into the hotel was only capable of 1 Mbps down and 1/2 Mbps up. “I just about had a heart attack,” says Inn Marin General Manager Robert Marshall. “That’s when I realized that we couldn’t keep doing business like this.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1p3ciar

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

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by | November 19, 2014 · 9:48 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How Tech Will Make Your Hotel Room Feel Like Home (Or Better)”

In the wireless Internet age, guests increasingly expect a personalized experience abroad as well as at home. That can be tough on hotels, as rapid changes in technology makeforbes it difficult and expensive for them to adapt. A few years ago, hotels equipped themselves to handle two mobile devices per guest. Now, guests may have three or more, and just when they thought they had needs covered, hotels have to build more robust networks.

When you receive your morning wake-up call at theWit hotel in Chicago, there’s no robotic voice intoning, “It’s time for your wakeup call.” Instead, you can be rousted by a very different message:

“Hey you dirty rat, this is Al Capone reminding you to get your rotten bones out of that sack. Now get moving—I’ve got an overdue Valentine’s Day gift for Elliot Ness I’ve still got to deliver! [Laughter and gun shots].”

Or perhaps you’d rather hear Muddy Waters. Or Ann Landers. The touchscreen next to the phones in all of the hotel’s 310 rooms lets you choose who will urge you to rise and shine. Touch that same screen to request extra pillows, get a toothbrush or order meals—without ever picking up the phone.

For more: http://onforb.es/1uwkOOA

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by | November 17, 2014 · 9:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Cybersecurity Needs Planning, Periodic Review”

Whatever the cost, hoteliers are advised to take certain precautions. “Complacency” is dangerous, Schoshinski said, adding that hoteliers should update security protection plans periodicallyhackers…Despite such resources and other preventative measures in the hotel industry, “the bad guys are getting smarter,” Cividanes said. “The bad guys are watching what you do.

Data security breaches, a hot topic at last year’s Hotel & Lodging Legal Summit, took center stage again at the 2014 conference as the No. 1 topic that keeps hospitality lawyers “awake at night,” said Robert Lannan, program co-chair and principal of Lannan Legal PLLC.

His opening remarks mentioned several headline-making cases, including breaches at Target, Home Depot and White Lodging, where it was revealed in January 2013 that attackers allegedly collected customer credit and debit card numbers, security codes, card expiration dates and other personal information from guests who had stayed at 14 hotels.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zwrVIk

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

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by | November 12, 2014 · 9:42 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Hackers Using Hotel Wi-Fi to Check Into Victims’ Computers”

Safeguarding against such an attack can be difficult for hotel guests. The best defense is to double check update alerts that pop up on your computer during a stay in a hotel.hackers Go to the software vendor’s site directly to see if an update has been posted and download it directly from there. Though, of course, this won’t help if the attackers are able to redirect your machine to a malicious download site

A hacking campaign known as Darkhotel has been deployed by Hackers to steal sensitive information from business executives, security researchers have revealed.

How it happened is that the sophisticated attackers had been lurking on the hotel’s network for days waiting for him to check in. They uploaded their malware to the hotel’s server days before then deleted it from the hotel network days after.

For more: http://bit.ly/1B9M6jS

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by | November 10, 2014 · 8:58 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “What You Should Know Before Monitoring Your Employees and Guests”

There are many legitimate reasons for an employer to monitor spaces at the workplace, in fact, the law might require the employer to do so in some situations.monitoring employees However, surveillance is a sensitive subject and employers have good reason to be cautious. As always, employers should consult competent legal counsel before implementing any workplace surveillance program.

Employees can make or break businesses in the service industry. While customer service oriented employees create a luxurious experience at a lesser establishment, employees that don’t prioritize customer service can ruin a guest’s experience even at the most finely-appointed hotel.

However, managers and supervisors cannot always be present to recognize and reward desirable service practices, nor can they always be present identify and correct poor practices. With so many points of customer and employee interaction, surveillance is one of the most effective methods to safeguard employee safety and integrity, review employee performance, identify training points, and document “HR issues.” Of course, too much of a good thing can be a problem.

Employers must understand the difference between valid surveillance and illegal intrusions on privacy rights before taking advantage of video/audio recordings. This article aims to help employers stay on the right side of that fence.

For more: http://bit.ly/1u1RgK0

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by | October 15, 2014 · 9:30 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Reviews Increasingly Drive Booking Decisions”

The next step for the industry is taking those positive and negative reviews into account when setting rates. ratesreviews_featureMolinari said Las Vegas Sands isn’t quite there yet but noticed software developers are innovating in the space…Davis said she has developed her own metrics and is taking ratings and reviews into account when determining her price positioning, although she admits her process is a bit subjective and does not rely on a specific algorithm, such as a software program might.

Online reviews increasingly are affecting booking decisions, although not all traveler segments behave the same way, according to research and various industry sources.

Multiple studies recently have highlighted the importance of guest reviews and ratings in the booking funnel.

A study conducted by TrustYou and Donna Quadri-Felitti, clinical associate professor at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, concluded that guest reviews have a significant impact on hotel conversion rates as well as the rates that travelers are willing to pay. Given equal prices, travelers are 3.9 times more likely to choose a hotel with higher review scores, the study showed. And when hotel prices are increased for hotels with better review scores, travelers are more likely to book the hotel with the higher score despite the higher rate.

For more: http://bit.ly/1wHkOuy

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by | October 8, 2014 · 9:22 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “How Much Guest Data Do You Have a Right to Use?”

Pillsbury does his best to makes sure the question of data ownership is ambiguous in his contracts, Bosworth says.big data “It’s left as a, ‘Let’s leave it so that the contract is unclear on this point.’” That’s not a bad way to go. “There’s a strong motivation for the parties to play nice together,” Bennett says. “Because if a big fight breaks out over who owns the data, the answer is going to come down to, ‘None of you own this data. This is the data of the individual.’”

Using big data to gain insights about hotel guests is a relatively new development in the lodging industry. When done right, it can provide actionable intel to hoteliers that can boost room rates and drive more business to loyalty programs and marketing campaigns. And there are plenty of tech outfits stepping up to lend their expertise to hotels. “We have 18 companies now that we’ve invested in through Thayer Ventures, our venture capital arm, all in the hospitality travel technology space,” says Lee Pillsbury, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Thayer Lodging Group. “One is able to analyze the number of airline passengers overnighting in New York City in any date in the future.” If there’s a huge snowstorm coming to New York, Pillsbury says, the company will take into account the weather forecast and the 600 flights that will be canceled and determine the number of people who will now be staying overnight in Las Vegas as a result.

For more: http://bit.ly/1rX5JUQ

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