Looking back...

I can't believe this is the last post! I remember trying to look for something interesting to write every week. Sometimes, I had to rush because I remembered the fact that I had a blog due Sunday night. Sarah and I always asked each other in Stats class what we did for our blog. Before I took this class, I did not know so many people blogged about what they thought.
Before I took this class, I wanted to remain the old way and stick to writing on paper. However, I realized there are so many technology tools that I can use! Some of them were very convenient too! I was sort of afraid that technology was taking over the world. My brother wanted the latest technology tools and that scared me A LOT.
To tell the truth, if it were not for blogging, I would not have looked at any hospitality news. It did annoy me sometimes because I had to write a blog in addition to the other homework I had not done over the weekend. When I look back, it was worth it because I got to know many cool tools. It was also interesting to see what other people wrote about. Blogging has helped me update on what is important in the hospitality and events industry.

Going Green

One of the top ten hospitality and meeting trends is "going green." "Greening up your IT systems can save you money in the long run while boosting your karma at the same time." With technology, it is easier to be environmentally conscious and provide efficient service. So, start with the guest rooms. Most guests do not stay in the hotel rooms for long. Many hotels have programmable on/off timers or sensors used for lighting in low occupancy areas. However, not many hotels have the same system for air conditioners. Think about how much money is wasted when the air conditioner is kept on!
Incomm offers a thermostat that can sense when a guest is in the room. If there is no movement in the room for a certain amount of time, it will turn off automatically. Even though it might be slightly cold or hot when the guest enters, it will not take long to warm up or cool the room since hotels rooms are not the size of a gigantic mansion.
Another issue is solar electric energy becoming the major source of energy in the future. Hotels with flat roofs can establish panels that produce solar energy. The Carlton Hotel in San Francisco has flat panels for solar electric energy on their roof. I was surprised to find a hotel that actually operates on solar energy.
A huge area we must accomplish is recycling! I only thought about typical recycling, but this article also stated that properties that run a lot of different technologies is wasting e-waste or electronic waste. Since hotels have to keep up with the technology-savvy tools, the amount of technological garbage is unbelievable. For example, changing TVs to flat-panel TVs is an issue these days. All these hazardous materials have to go in the garbage bins.
It is important to improve technology tools in the hotel, but we must remind ourselves that not all technology tools save the environment.

GoConcierge

No need to shuffle through books to find what your guest wants. GoConcierge eliminates the need for logbooks, binders, and clutter. GoConcierge is a web-based solution for concierge and other departments including guest services, front desk, shpipping and receiving, and restaurants to track guest activities and preferences. Guests want service to happen the moment they request it. GoConcierge increases the ability to operate and deliver customer service faster and efficiently. Hotel's commitment to provide highly personalized service has allowed technology to develop. GoConcierge allows guest requests and information to be all in one location. The hotel can easily track past requests or information about guests. Functions include shared task calendar, multiple languages, customized databases, driving directions & map, confirmation letters, guest profiles, multiple department tracking, extensive reporting, email & text messaging, custom forms, and 7 day/24 hour support. For example, the calendar is color coded, which makes it easy to highlight open, pending, and closed tasks. Instead of taking minutes to locate a reservation or note, it takes just seconds.

uWink

How technology-savvy is the hospitality industry going to get? I came across an article called "uWink Wins Hospitality Technology's Berakthrough Award Overall Technological Innovation." I became curious and searched for it to see what it actually was. uWink, Inc. has made a touchscreen device that can be placed on each table in restaurants. This would replace the menus. The guests would be able to self-order, play games alone or with a group, watch movies, and pay with this touchscreen. The guest's experience would all happen with this device.
The restuarant would be able to upsell and promote effectively almost 100% of the time, improve speed of service and order accuracy, raise labor efficiency by placing employees in other areas that need improvement, and reduce cash theft or loss by encouraging credit cards. Also, restaurants can post promotions and advertising on uWink to increase brand awareness. The benefit of technology is being able to offer multilingual service. uWink is translated into 11 different languages for the conveninence of customers.
The first uWink restaurant opened in Woodland Hills, California. Guests' have mixed opinions about this restaurant. While it was an innovative idea, it takes away the experience between guests and servers. Also, it decreases the need to talk to others. "All the games are casual. None take longer than 2-3 minutes to play." Some guests who are not technologically advanced would have problems with the device. Also, if the computers had an error or were down, there would be no menus to substitute. It would bring attention in the beginning, but it could fade away in the future. Many young people were in favor of the technology, but others preferred the menu in front of them. While it is a good way to upsell and promote, I do not know if the guets will be more satisfied. I do not know whether it is the speed guests prefer or the experience as a whole since interacting with the guests is another crucial element in the bundle.

Mondrian Beach gets TiVoed

Guests want the same comforts of home in their hotels, and added to that, they want more than just a TV and a comfy bed. Customers demand more luxurious technology tools in their rooms. While Westin offers Wii in their fitness rooms, Morgan Hotel Groups offer something new with the TV. "TiVo Inc., the creater and leader in television services for digital VCR and Morgans Hotel Group Co,. announced that they are bringing the luxuries of in-home entertainment to hotels by oferring the TiVo service in al rooms throughout Morgans' newest property, Mondrian in South Beach."
When people travel, they miss TV programs that they watch at home. Joe Miller, Senior Vice President, Consumer Sales and Distribution for TiVo Inc. said, "When traveling, schedules can be unpredictable and television choices inhotels are typically limited, making it far more difficult to watch your favorite programs...until now. For the first time in any hotel, guests of the new Mondrian in South Beach can enjoy the TiVo service right in their rooms. While some people focus just on traveling and seeing the destination, some people want to watch their favorite TV shows when they return to the hotel at night. TiVo allows users to record, pause, and rewind live TV shows and use wishlist searches to find their favorite shows. Even though internet is becoming prevalent these days, TVs still remain as an entertainment when one goes on vacation. Hotels do not lend computers, but every room has a TV. Guests love to relax and watch TV after a tiring day of tour.
TiVo shows that hotels are striving toward technology-friendly environment. Customers love new technology-savvy tools. TiVo is perfect to show that there is a new feature in the hotel.

Guest Room 20X

Hotel rooms are becoming more technologically-savvy than ever! I introduce you to Guest Room 20X (2010). According to research, there are more than 40 different technologies featured in the room. Guestroom 20X was built by producers of HITEC, the Hotel Industry Technology Exposition and Conference. Hotel companies are progressively accompanying modern technology into their rooms to make every bit of customer’s experience unique and convenient. For example, Guest Room 20X has large windows that are curtain-free, but they still offer guests privacy by having people not able to look into the room from outside. At the exhibition, Guest Room 20X featured self service check-in, bed without mattress, whirlpool, remote control flame free candles, automatic shower cleaning system, floor washing robot, and many other interesting technology tools that I have not encountered before. They also offer Fonekey for the door lock, which I have talked about in my blog.
While these concepts are still in prototype, they are in the process of development. It is incredible how quick hotel technology is changing; you do not want to miss anything. Even though Guest Room 20X still needs more polishing to do; when this is finished, it will be a new era for the hospitality industry.

Hotels Lock It Up

When you are traveling in another country, it is important the room is locked properly. Most mid and high-end hotels accomodate magnetic strip key cards. Some hotels transfer credit cards into room cards for the convenience of customers. With the increasing demand for higher security, suppliers are responsible for providing the best locking system for hotel guests. Room keys not only have to be easy to use, but aesthetically pleasing for the guests. “Contactless locking solutions that rely on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and near field communication (NFC) cell phone compatibility are two solutions that are poised to be the next innovations in door-locking security.” With the RFID, it only requires guests to hold up a key card, wristband, or fob to the reader in order to gain access into the room. This prevents occurrences of key card demagnetization. The device is simple and easy to use for the guests. Another option is using a NFC-enabled cell phone to unlock the room. This is prevalent in Europe and Asia. “NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices over a distance of about 4 inches.

Quickness and easiness is not the only good part about these devices. RFID and NFC allow guests to skip the check-in line upon arrival and go straight to their rooms, using their cell phones to unlock the room. Upon arrival, guests will receive a short message which includes a booking confirmation and room number, with an encrypted room key access code that unlocks their door with their cell phone. Also at the end of their stay, guests can use their cell phones to check-out through an NFC-enabled in-room television or an NFC-enabled hotel kiosk. There is no need to stop at the front desk to check-in or check-out.

FoneKey, VingCard, and Kaba Ilco are one of the suppliers that offer this service. VingCard offers RFID lock at The Plaza in New York City. Regal Enclave and Executive Enclave in Mumbai, India are using this system. Guests love new technological tools. When it is easy and quick, guests will love more. By providing better service for guests, hotels are able to advertise themselves to the world. Sooner or later, FoneKey will be expanding its services to many hotels in the states.

Hotels Lock It Up by Christina Volpe

Forget the Front Desk: Hotels go High Tech

Life just gets easier and easier. Would you like to know more about your gests, increase customer satisfaction, and boost sales at the same time?

Rutriz, a software firm in California, is aiming to bring hotels up to speed. They have launched a product called “Hotel Evolution” at the Malibu Beach Inn in Malibu, California. When a guest checks into the hotel, they are asked if they have an iPhone or iPod Touch. If they do, the hotel staff will load the Runtriz Hotel web application to the device, If they don’t they are given a 16GB iPod Touch to keep for the duration of their stay.

All you have to do is punch in your room number and security code, and you are all set. Straight from the device’s screen, you can order room service, set a wake up call, request your luggage, dry cleaning, linens or toiletries, check your messages, or set your room to “Do Not Disturb.” It also provides information about nearby nightlife, attractions, shopping. The device is not hard to use because it works just like the iPhone or iPod Touch. It is a touch screen, so the guests do not have to wait for anything.

The hotel does not have to go through each iPod and update whenever they have additions. They can simply upgrade and maintain the application by modifying the site. You no longer have to have bunch of papers flying around. Hotel Evolution will simply update all the information about your customers on the reports. It is also eco-friendly because it eliminates the use of papers for brochures, menus, booklets, hotel directories, and so on.

This is just the start of technology, but possibilities of improvement are enormous. iPhone will not be the only device that hotels will use. In the future, Runtriz is planning to install the software on Blackberry and labtops. In the later days, the hotel might not need anyone at the front desk. Customers can simply type on their iPhone and everything will be set the moment they arrive at the airport. Most people carry phones with them anyways, so why not make their phone into a device they can use at the hotel?

Effects on the Wall

Biggest meeting industry trend is increasing use of technology. People love looking at new technology. In order to make a striking first impression, there is no better way than catching the group’s attention. Meeting planners are evolving to provide more creative tools to customers. “Projecting images through a wall of water is one effect meeting planners can now use to wake up jaded delegates. At the recent BET (Black Entertainment Awards) more than half of the 13 acts included some form of pyro, gas flames, cryogenics, fog, or water curtains.” These are used for great entrances and exits through laser or video-projected company logos. “The water screens work by creating a thin film of water ideal for rear projection of videos, laser, gobos, and other lighting effects.”
The scale of the event increases when the company uses various kinds of walls. When setting up an event, the meeting planner has a certain amount of budget that one has to manage. Setting up these high-tech screens can only be used in big events due to the cost of it. Prina offers seven-foot section with a screen, ejector, tank, hose, water pumps, and filtration system that can be rented for $2,300 a day.
It sure would be an eye-catching effect at corporate meetings, but I do not know how successful it will be other than just getting people’s attention. It does not have other benefits other than a visual effect. If it is profitable to the event’s core purpose, it would be worth spending the money. But if it does not, it might be useful to apply other technology tools that actually help the event. The effect is excellent for social events, but corporate event planners must allocate their budget accordingly.

Technology Talk: Writing on the Wall by Michael Goldstein

Spotme

In a room of 1,000 people, it is hard to meet and obtain information about others. There is a new device that will solve this problem.
A Swiss company has designed a portable wireless contace manager called Spotme. Many European countries are using this device to allow attendees to experience technology and convenience throughout meetings. It is specifically designed to be used at conferences with more than 1,000 participants. Spotme is part messaging tool and part peoplefinder with program-at-a glance and voting capabilities to boot. According to the website, “Spotme combines audience response, Q&A sessions, messaging, lead retrieval, social networking, attendance tracking, and electronic feedback forms to create the only all-in-one communication service for events.”
By using Spotme, the meeting planner can easily modify brochures and pamphlets and people will immediately be notified. There is no hassle when trying to receive feedback. It has a color screen, keypad, and wireless microphone and speaker. It eliminates the need for lengthy brochures and schedules at exhibitions. Its memory consists of 1MC Flash and 8MB DRAM. It is the perfect size for one meeting. The participant can also take notes on Spotme. Map of the meeting room and conference agendas are also provided. The best part of Spotme is that it does not take more than five minutes to learn how to use it.
For networking, the device identifies other attendees through a searchable photo database, allows participants to send messages to each other, and can exchange business cars that load into Outlook or a PDA. When you go home, it is hard for you to remember people that you have collected business cards from. Pictures are shown with the profile, so the participants can easily identify each other. It can also mark people that the participant wants to meet. When the marked person is within a 10m radius, the Spotme alerts the user and a photo pops up.

Hotel Websites

As I have said in my last blog, online booking is becoming a trend in the hospitality industry. Customers expect more from the hotels than ever. Online marketing tools lead you to achieving sales goals. Websites are the best marketing tools for hoteliers. It is crucial that hotels update their websites as often as possible (at least once a quarter, if not every month).

The content of your website is the first thing your target customers look at. I personally look at how neat and organized the website is to see how clean or modern the hotel is. If the website looks sloppy or have not been updated for a long time, I tend to avoid that hotel. If the website is content-rich and user-friendly people will be more interested in the hotel which will lead to the arrival of the customer to the hotel. According to the article “Importance of Hotel and Virtual Tours and High-quality Photography for Hotels”, they advise hotels to have rich content, meaning virtual tours and high-quality photography. Rich content allows customers to immerse themselves in a property prior to actually booking a reservation. The property must also accurately portrait what they offer. It must not be over exaggerated; otherwise it might disappoint the customers.

If you want to be famous internationally, your hotel must offer the website in various languages. It is comfortable for foreigners to be able to look at the website in their own language. They are able to understand the hotel and the amenities offered. There will be no conflict between the customer and hotel if the website is indicated clearly.

Search engines are another element that hotels must be aware of when they advertise their hotels. The placement of your hotel website in a search engine determines how interested people will be of your hotel. The website must be in a place where people go and see most often such as Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and many other search engines. If a hotel is trying to promote their event such as “inexpensive hotel nights for family promotion,” the hotel must link its package to a search engine so that people will be aware of its package.

Milestone is a full-service internet company for the hospitality industry. They provide internet marketing services for hotels so that they can present themselves effectively online. Some of the services they offer are: graphics, logo design, and website design and redesign. Hunt Webber Hotel Marketing Company is another internet markeing company for hotels.

If hotels make use of their website effectively, more customers will be interested in that specific hotel. People do not travel often these days, competition among hotels are getting fierce. By having “rich content” the hotel can advertise itself better which will lead to increased revenue.

Online Travel Booking

Ten years ago, people booked their trips by talking to a travel agent on the phone. However, this is changing these days. It seems as if today, the easiest way to plan your next trip is through online travel booking. Online travel booking has become an international trend these days. It offers affordability and convenience for the customers. You can find incredible deals and offers for the vacation of your dreams.
Nowadays, it is easier to find cheaper airplane tickets, hotels, and package deals online. Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Cheaptickets, Urbandaddy, and many other websites find the cheapest price one can get. Sometimes, the prices are so cheap that one cannot believe the price. Also, it is easier to view many deals at the same time. You can compare prices of hotels and pick the one right for you. Driven by low prices, many travelers search multiple sites for their vacation plans.
According to research, revenue from online travel bookings in 2006 was already $85 million. This year 1/3 of travelers reserved online. Claria Corporation’s feedback Research division said 88 percent of consumers who have gone or plan to travel this summer use the Internet to research and purchase their trips.
The number of online travel bookings is increasing rapidly every year. In a environment like this, the tourism industry must balance costs of their products with high brand awareness.

Wikipedia

From what we learned in class, Wiki is a collaborative website that can be edited by anyone. It lets anyone interact and participate. I was surprised to find out there are only three people that work for Wikipedia.

Since anyone can participate, one can get the newest information available. Technology is rapidly changing these days, so it’s important that someone revises the information on the web.

It is easy for anyone to search whatever they want on Wikipedia. However, many professors restrict students from finding information on Wikipedia. Why is that?

Wikipedia might be based on the writer’s opinions. It is easy to edit and correct in case there are mistakes. However, the reader does not know whether the writer is an expert or someone who has very little knowledge. Rather than writing anonymously, it is better for people to recognize who they are on Wikipedia.

Writing freely on the web for everyone to see might cause inappropriate language to come up. There has been a gap between generations because of the language that is used on the internet. When younger generations write on Wikipedia, it is most likely that there will be worlds the older generations do not understand.

It is very easy to find on the web, but one does not know where and how it should be restricted.

Will Google Chrome Change the World?

When I first saw Google Chrome, it reminded me of the monster ball in Pokemon. In Pokemon, the monsters pop out from the monster balls. One does not know which monster will pop out next.

Google Chrome was something like the monster ball. You do not know what Google will invent next.

After learning about Google Chrome in class, I downloaded the software to see what it was like.

It was more convenient than I thought it would be. The websites I had visited previously showed up on the first page. If you do not like this, you can simply erase the pages that you go to: the secret mode.

The best part about Google Chrome for me was that it does not shut off all the pages when there is an error. My computer is very slow, so it shuts down whatever it can when there is an error. With Google Chrome, it only shuts down the page that has an error; not everything I have been working on with the internet.

Google Chrome was definitely faster than Internet Explorer. It is simple and fast. There are no tool bars and menus that normally show up on a web browser.

Google has made a new marketing strategy to satisfy customers. I hope it will exceed my expectations in the next version,