This is awesome!
I remember when palm pilots were the thing. You could download a software to turn your palm pilot into a remote control..what fun!
I did try & experiment with sharing the map (first mumbai, then chandigarh) with guests over bluetooth. Conceirge were given a bluetooth enabled handset & printer and guests could sync up.
But this is brilliant!
Using Google Earthtechnology, Intercontinental Hotels Group’s guests can plan and book their travel anywhere in the world in just a few simple clicks. visit earth.ihg.com
Sheraton officially launched a new lobby lounge that provides wireless Internet and computers for guest use as. The upgraded lobby now stands in about 100 of Sheraton's properties and is expected to be in 300 hotels worldwide by the end of this year.Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure business subsidiary of Emaar Properties PJSC, has introduced Passion Plus, a new system of standards and procedures to enhance the guest experience, at all its properties including hotels, serviced residences and leisure clubs.
Passion Plus aims at Click here to read full story>
TravelCLICK's quarterly results indicate healthy growth for the hotel industry in the fourth quarter with GDS revenue growth of 17.7 percent and Internet growth of over 23.6 percent .
Based on a proprietary data from its eMonitor and eTrak reports, TravelCLICK estimates GDS related transactions at 56 percent of total 2007 electronic revenue with the Internet driving 44 percent, with over half of that coming from direct web bookings.
Key observations for the market based on this latest data include:Click here to read full story>
Click here to readmore>
Marriott’s QuickGroup booking site on Marriott.com
The site allows small group customers to enter dates and city locations and check availability around the world for group room blocks between 10 and 25 rooms for up to seven nights.
Customers can Click here to read full story>
Click here to readmore>Microsoft Products and Services Will Keep Guests Connected at
Sheraton’s Newly Branded Signature Communications Hub:
“Link @ Sheraton Experienced with Microsoft”
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Microsoft Corp. announced today a partnership to implement products and services at the “Link @ Sheraton,” its signature communications hub rolling out in Sheraton lobbies this year. Under the agreement, Sheraton will also co-brand and rename the space “The Link @ Sheraton experienced with Microsoft.” The partnership is Click here to read full story>
In an effort to further enhance the already outstanding guest services at their hotels and resorts, two Florida companies have turned to Vertical Systems Inc. (VSi) and are now offering the VSi BoardEZ™ airline boarding-pass printing system.
Orlando-based Millennium Technology Group, a subsidiary of Rosen Hotels & Resorts that is the IT arm of that hotel group and provides IT services to other hotels, and LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels, Boca Raton, both now feature VSi BoardEZ™ stations at many of their properties—and are considering adding more.
Sunnyvale-based VSi is Click here to read full story>
Editor| Finally. With all the ease of setting up a web-page and group page available out there it was time someone thought of it.
Finally, Hilton has.
IDeaS today committed to helping hospitality organizations achieve a sustainable revenue management culture through the establishment of a powerful new consulting division called, IDeaS Advantage.
In recognition that not all companies are prepared or able to implement sophisticated revenue management systems, IDeaS Advantage has been established to Click here to read full story>
More on Hospitality Technology
Disclaimer| I haven't used the product myself nor is this a paid review!
OK. Now anyone who has been a conceirge or managed one, knows it all about the details and memory ofcourse.
Most of the ones who become synoymous with brilliant conceriging (Its a word I made up!) are the ones blessed with a super memory and an even greater sense of managing the information picked up over a number of years.
Unfortunately the knowledge walks out the door with the staff.
Now most have used either the PMS database or a stand alone database to store, retreive and make sense of all this information, but I have yet to find a fantastic solution to it all.
Here is one that tries.
Some of the features I like:Click here to read full story>
 | Crowne Plaza - 'The Place to Meet' is the first hotel brand to adopt Passkey brand-wide |
| IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [Lon: IHG, NYSE: IHG], the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced that meeting planners booking group events at IHG hotels will be able to do so with greater ease and efficiency through a web-based group reservation solution provided by technology company Passkey. During 2008, IHG will implement the capability in over 250 hotels across the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza brands in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in some select Holiday Inn hotels. read the full article, click here | |
ExaDigm, Inc, the leading innovator of wired and wireless point-of-sale (POS) terminal solutions, today announced that Best Western International will deploy the XD1000 Countertop Payment Solution at hotel properties nationwide for card-based payment acceptance including traditional credit and debit cards, as well as the Best Western Travel Card®.
As part of an overall program to improve front desk operations and increase customer satisfaction
Best Western reviewed the customer experience associated with the on-premise payment process. With the majority of guests making payments using credit, debit, or Best Western’s gift cards, the hotel chain required a solution that would marry the applications for credit/debit transactions and Best Western Travel Card® transactions capable of operating on a single dual communication terminal. In addition, with an aggressive timeline for deployment, completion of all software development and application integration would need to be completed cost-effectively, in a short time frame.
ExaDigm’s XD1000 Countertop Solution was selected for nationwide deployment by providing franchisees with a single terminal capable of processing all card-based payments. The terminal’s PC-based platform, running a Linux operating system, enabled ExaDigm to complete all application development and integration in less than 6 months, a process that typically takes 2-3 times that with competitive products. Built as an IP terminal from the ground up, dual communication is standard incorporating the latest in high speed Ethernet and dial modem technology.
“Best Western’s decision to replace its existing legacy terminals with ExaDigm’s XD1000 Counter Solution highlights the real benefits that a Linux-based system has over comparable terminals from other manufacturers, all of which continue to utilize inflexible, development intensive, proprietary operating systems,” said Michael Mulcahy, CEO of ExaDigm. “We are pleased to have been able to deliver Best Western a customized payment solution that will ultimately improve their customers experience by streamlining the payment process.”
Featuring an innovative countertop design delivering unparalleled performance, reliability, security, ease of use and return on investment; the flexibility and upgradeability that comes with having a PC-based architecture; and the highest levels of security with VISA CISP PABP validation and up to 1024-bit SSL encryption at the time of card swipe; the XD1000 delivers Best Western an advanced, cost competitive countertop solution fully customized to their business needs.
With a nationwide rollout of the XD1000 already in progress, it is anticipated that the deployment to all participating Best Western properties, with terminals fully operational, will be completed by the end of July 2007.
source
Newmarket International, Inc., the leader in sales and catering solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced that Hyatt Hotels Corporation selected its Daylight ASP (Application Service Provider) solution for its ability to seamlessly integrate with Hyatt’s own proprietary sales system, Envision. The integrated solution will help update Hyatt’s operations and deliver the best in customer service. With the implementation, data will be exchanged between Daylight and Envision with Daylight serving as the primary sales and catering system for catering and convention services users.
Know more>>Click here>>
So what's the personalization of tomorrow?
You can choose the view out of your hotel room.
Or sit in a chair with lights that project onto flat-panel computer screens
"If we can make a chair comfortable to work in and integrate video conferencing right within the chair, I think it would just be a fantastic innovation,” Swindler said.
Also, you also might start to rethink your home security system after seeing what your hotel room can do. Just press this button, and you can see what’s going on in your room.
Know more... click here
JDA® Software Group, Inc. announced it has signed a ground-breaking agreement with to implement a cutting-edge Revenue Optimization platform to increase asset value and profitability for Carlson franchisees.
The first phase of the implementation enables Carlson to develop strong forecasting capability using JDA software, driving optimized rates and higher revenues at its more than 900 properties.
Carlson operates in 71 countries under the brands Regent Hotels & Resorts; Radisson Hotels & Resorts; Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suitessm; and Park Inn®.
Know more... click here
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Hotel rooms that can access everything from your favorite food to your musical preferences- while running on technology that's clever enough to repair itself-might sound like a page torn right out of a pulp sci-fi novel. It isn't.
Hotels are doing it today, and many more are on the verge of implementing these innovative technologies. If you're a guest at one of these forward-looking properties, get ready for a completely different kind of experience-one in which technology anticipates your every need and gives it to you without you ever having to ask.
Here are the five biggest technology trends in the hospitality industry... click here
A tiny computer chip placed in the pouring spout of each liquor bottle, monitoring exactly how much and what kind of alcohol goes into a drink.
Click here to readmore>The days of weighing and marking liquor bottles at the end of a shift are coming to an end.
know more...click here
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