Reports

What was the Total Cost of Ownership of Your Mobile Computing Deployment? - Every Respondent To Receive Executive White Paper on the top-level study-findings

VDC, an independent technology market research firm, is conducting a comprehensive study into the total cost of ownership for mobile computing and communications solutions among users in the hospitality and leisure markets. VDC defines total cost of ownership as being comprised of, but not limited to, the following:Hardware platforms, including peripherals such as bar code scanners, touch screens, keypads, etc., software: OS licenses, application software licenses, middleware, terminal emulation, etc.,
System installation and integration (including wireless/wireline communications), and those "soft costs" related to cost of downtime related to computer failure, staff time to support your mobile workforce, etc.

Venture Development Corporation (VDC)

Gómez Hotel Industry Benchmark - Homepage Data - June 2003

The Gómez Hotel Industry Homepage Benchmark for June reveals several key trends. (1) Response time averages dipped slightly across high speed connections during the month of June. Network data center times exceeded 4 seconds, while corporate/Institutional Response times rose to 7.75 seconds.(2) Interestingly, the dial-up connection average for all hotel sites was appreciably faster compared with the previous two months. These trends could indicate decreased visitation to the hotel sites or simply fewer people concurrently attempting to access sites throughout the month. (3) The Starwood Web site climbed from number five to number three in this month's Network Data Center response time ranking.

Gómez

The "other" Relationship Managements: Process, Supplier and Systems - By: Chris Hartmann - HVS Technology Strategies

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has received a lot of attention over the last few years, and rightly so in hospitality. In addition to managing customer relationships though, technology and other business relationships need equal attention. Process Improvement, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Balanced Scorecard are all methods used to improve an organization. Although many of these methods have been used informally (and recently, more formally) by hotel organizations, it is important to understand that while a full-blown Six Sigma implementation may not make sense at a 200-room limited-service property or even at a five-star resort, there are many components and smaller initiatives that do.

HVS

Interview w/ Chris Hartmann, Chief Technology Strategist, HVS Technology Strategies Division, HVS International - Additional Comments on his article: 'Competitive Technology - Choosing your Weapons'

In this streaming audio interview, Chris Hartmann explains his article, noted above and linked below. It introduces the term 'Experience Design,' explains what it is, who has it and why you might need it. This technology expert with a Harvard education puts it in easy to understand terms for those who might be a little hesitant when it comes to the Internet and marketing your product, service or property. The interview is 12 minutes but could have been 20. Check it out!

HVS

E-rooms - A New Market Segment? - By: Elaine Sahlins - HVS International

During the past year, HVS International has performed hundreds of market studies and analyses. One of the major trends of the post-September 11th travel world that has become critically important for our analyses is the surge in the use of the Internet as a sales and marketing tool. Reservations for hotels are now almost universally booked through an Internet source, whether the source is a GDS used by travel agents, a website sponsored by a particular lodging company, or a third-party travel agency site such as Expedia or Priceline.

HVS

We Have Liftoff - The ASP Front Office System Reaches Escape Velocity - By Michael Squires

There has been lots of speculation about ASP (application system provider) systems for hotels. Are they reliable enough for a high volume front desk; who retains data ownership; are transaction speeds high enough for our industry; and are they a good value? These are just a few of the questions hotel operators have been discussing. At last year's HITEC ASP was one of the major panel topics, but this year things have changed.

Softscribe

Retail and Hospitality: Meet Me In the Lobby, The Stealth CRM Connection - By Michael Squires

Retail and the hotel business are getting together. The development trend in the hospitality industry is toward more mixed-use properties. Mixed-use hotels are the ones with a big familiar flag in front, like Hilton or Marriott, and a collection of retail stores or franchised restaurants in the lobby.

Softscribe

Revenue Management Predicts Success

With so many companies feeling the crunch of today's economic slowdown, having a technology solution in place that works to fill empty hotel rooms could make the difference in a property's success and longevity. Automated revenue management applications provide such a solution, doing their best, most valuable work when demand is fluctuating between busy and not-so-busy nights, and not just when hotels are sure to always fill up.

Hostec Events

Hotel Topics Hotels in the New E-conomy - An interview with Damian Hinds, Vice President E-Commerce Bass Hotels & Resorts

Bass Hotels & Resorts has been at the forefront of E-Commerce initiatives right since the conception of the internet. They were the first hotel company to offer guests on-line bookings, with www.holiday-inn.com launching in 1995 and www.interconti.com a year later. Anticipating the phenomenon of on-line travel, Bass set up a direct interface between their on-line reservation systems and the company's central reservation system (CRS). This meant transaction cost savings right from the word go. Many other hoteliers have not been as visionary and are at the mercy of switch/intermediary services, incurring a fee per transaction. In our interview with Damian Hinds, we wanted to learn how Bass intended to remain a pioneer in the field.

JLL

Hotel Topics Hotels in the New E-conomy - E-business - Evaluating the Return on Investment

Technology is one of the most important capital expenditure items a hotel currently faces. However, the benefits of hotel technology are often exaggerated by the vendors and when you talk to hotels that have recently installed new systems, many of their expectations have not been met. In his capacity as a specialist advisor to some of the leading hotel owners, Ted Horner explores the question "will the new technology provide a return on investment"?

JLL

Hotel Topics Hotels in the New E-conomy - Hotel Real Estate 2010

Virtuality - Disintermediation - Connectivity - Scalability. Big shiny words for the sparkling New World of the E-conomy. The headlines tell us that the E-conomy heralds the deepest lifestyle changes we have seen since the industrial revolution. That it will challenge the core of conventional business thinking. And that it could threaten the very foundations of our property industry. Rosemary Feenan examines the phenomenon of E-Commerce and its impact finally on the property and then the hotel world.

JLL

Outlook 2001: The power of IT

Information is potentially one of the most valuable resources available to the business world. As HTA looks ahead at advancing technology for 2001, it is apparent that the hospitality industry is seizing upon technology efforts that will harness this resource and transform it into translatable and actionable business tools.

Hostec Events

Electronic Comment Card Takes Guesswork Out Of Guest's Experience

Word of mouth is a restaurant's best form of advertisement — even one bad review from a customer can prevent their friends and/or family from visiting your establishment. One of the most effective means of preventing those bad reviews is to correct unfavorable guest experiences by obtaining customer feedback early and quickly responding to the issues. There are several means of obtaining customer feedback including mystery shoppers, manager visits to individual tables, toll-free numbers and comment cards. JTECH Communications Inc. has developed an electronic comment card system that doubles as a check presenter and interfaces with an (optional) pager. The system can be customized with surveys that suit your operation. Customers answer questions at their table and the manager can be notified immediately, via the pager, if the customer's answers reflect that they are dissatisfied.

Hostec Events

Technology forecast: What's Hot, What's Hype

Sifting through the technology heap can be frustrating. How do you decide whether or not to spend money on a new system and which one is right for you? If you are a corporate-owned

operation, it is likely that there is a team hired specifi-cally to make those decisions for you. But if you are an independent operation, you are probably fending for yourself. No matter what the size of your operation is, gathering information to educate yourself is usually the safest bet in differentiating between technology that will work for you and technology that is hyped to be for you. Following is a list of some of the technologies that are available now or are on the horizon for the foodservice industry:

Hostec Events