November 16, 2018
Siegel Sez
by: Rich Siegel
I love this time of year. We all get into more and more conversations about the year that will soon be behind us and then start guessing about what lies ahead. Those of us in the technology world often try to guess how technology will change, but as we all know with technology those guesses can be wrong. I love these conversations especially when face to face with others in this space. I have been fortunate recently to have many face-to-face conversations. Last week I was at the Springer-Miller Host Users Group (HUG) that was held at the beautiful Snowbird Resort in the Utah mountains. How nice that I saw my first snowfall of the season. HUG was very well attended, had great support from partners and as always was a fun event for me. I thank them for inviting me and including our latest issue of Hospitality Upgrade in the packets for all the attendees. We always pick up new subscribers throughout the year when we support different industry events. After HUG it was onto to New York for the HX Show. HX is interesting. For quite a while it has been held alongside BDNY, but it seems that BDNY is getting bigger and HX is getting smaller. There were many technology companies exhibiting at HX and all said they were happy with the event so maybe it is all about quality and not quantity. I must thank Hotel Internet Services, BeyondTV, Volara, FourteenIP and ReactMobile for inviting the Hospitality Upgrade crew to their get together on Sunday night. Where you might ask? Believe it or not it was at the recently opened Playboy Club in New York. Yes, there were some interesting conversations going on about the re-opening of a Playboy Club in this day and age, but no matter, it was a great crowd and a fun event. We ran into quite a few CIOs from our CIO Summit at HUG and HX and we all had a laugh about our creative cover for the fall issue. Some noticed and some didn’t but it was a good laugh. Yes, nothing beats face to face conversations. I have one more industry event to attend this year which will be HITEC Dubai along with HSMAI’s Revenue Optimization Conference (ROC) the day before. Last year I made it as far as the Delta counter at JFK where I was told I wouldn’t be allowed on the plane to Dubai. I hope I have better luck this year. My first time ever in Dubai and I have heard great things! We shall see.
Next week is Thanksgiving here in the States and I hope everybody can focus on the things they are thankful for. On the lighter side, I am very thankful that our miracle horse Hoboe after a year off won again on Friday before HX at Aqueduct Racetrack. He surprised us and surprised all those who bet on the race. No one expected that. Thanks to all who congratulated us. Hoboe has quite a following in the hotel world. One more race and then he gets the winter off. I should be so lucky.
Here now is the real reason we are here the latest technology happenings in the industry with comments from the always enlightening Ron Hardin. I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Happy Thanksgiving.
Rich@hospitalityupgrade.com
Introduction
by: Ron Hardin
Like many of you, I have been shocked and saddened by the death and destruction in the California wild fires. I just heard a story on the news that many evacuees are running out of money for hotels and may have nowhere else to go. Between FEMA, state and local governments, the Red Cross, etc., this should be the last thing that people still under evacuation orders, or whose homes have been reduced to ashes, should have to worry about. Just saying. I also read that many hotels in the affected areas have been forced to close temporarily, putting additional strain on occupancies already swollen by evacuees and out-of-town firefighters. Good news for the hotels still open, but what about all the hourly team members who can’t work for several days? Hopefully, some are still getting paid. Having to close down a hotel for a few days pales in comparison to having your home, your business, your entire town, leveled by fire. Last month, I wrote about the challenge of business disaster planning and recovery in the wake of a true disaster. Then I read that 39 firefighters lost their homes in Paradise alone. That fact underlies the premise that whatever disaster planning you may have in place ultimately relies on people, and people are directly affected by disaster. Way back when (not saying how far back), we used to put halon fire suppression systems in hotel computer rooms because sprinklers would ruin the equipment (and data) housed in those rooms. But they were expensive, dangerous, and didn’t always work. The outdated impression remains that sprinklers in a server room are not a good idea, but clearly the value of the equipment and data in the server room is insignificant in comparison to the value of the building and the souls housed within it. Sprinklers work and losing a server room to save a hotel is a good trade-off. Today, the trend is to have more of our systems and data residing in the cloud. One of the clear, direct benefits is having all that data safely stored out of the building in the event of a disaster. It is one less thing to lose when disaster strikes. For now, we can only hope that our governments and our industry step up to help those who have lost homes, jobs, businesses and loved ones.
http://RonHardin.TECH ConsultingRon@ronhardin.tech
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas – World’s Largest Cruise Ship – Makes Its U.S. Debut at Port Canaveral
- CIRQ+ Honored as Best New Hotel Product and Best of Show at the Hotel Experience (HX) in New York City
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Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas – World’s Largest Cruise Ship – Makes Its U.S. Debut at Port Canaveral
Port Canaveral welcomed the world’s largest cruise ship before dawn Thursday as Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas made its historic first North American port of call.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/symphony-of-the-seas
CIRQ+ Honored as Best New Hotel Product and Best of Show at the Hotel Experience (HX) in New York City
CIRQ+, a disruptive IoT technology, took top honors as Best New Hotel Product and Best of Show during the 2018 Editor’s Choice Awards at the Hotel Experience (HX) yesterday at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. The judges were editors of the leading hospitality trade magazines. All HX exhibitors were invited to enter a new product - introduced to the market since November 2017.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- SiteMinder Appoints Technology Industry Veteran as CEO
- VENZA® Appoints Josh Bergen as President
- Marriott International Names Liam Brown President and Managing Director of Europe
- Hapi Expands Management Team with Appointment of Jonathan Reynolds as Head of Product Strategy
For more Information on People on the Move for 11/16
GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Infor Partners Artyzen Hospitality Group in Improving Hotel Guest Experience
- Hospitality First: Koncept Hotels Optimizes Business Strategy in the Digital World with Infor
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Infor Partners Artyzen Hospitality Group in Improving Hotel Guest Experience
Infor, a global leader in business cloud software for Enterprise and SMB companies, announced the successful implementation of Infor Hospitality Management System (HMS) and Infor SunSystems financial management at three hotels in Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai managed by Artyzen Hospitality Group (AHG), which delivered improved guest experience.
https://www.infor.com/industries/hospitality
Hospitality First: Koncept Hotels Optimizes Business Strategy in the Digital World with Infor
Infor, a global leader in business cloud software for Enterprise and SMB companies, announced that Koncept Hotels has deployed hospitality cloud solution Infor HMS. Supporting the hotel group’s digital strategy, the application will be used to support changing customer needs and ensure guest preferences are met.
www.infor.com
REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- IDeaS Helps RLH Corporation Redefine Revenue Strategy, Transform Its Business
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IDeaS Helps RLH Corporation Redefine Revenue Strategy, Transform Its Business
As one of the fastest-growing hotel franchise companies in the U.S., RLH Corporation (NYSE: RLH) has prescribed a transformational goal for itself: build a culture around commercial revenue strategy and adopt technology that breaks down organizational silos across sales and marketing.But the company isn’t doing it alone. They’re working with IDeaS Revenue Solutions, the global leader in revenue management, to take a disruptive approach to proactively optimize revenue and create a competitive advantage.
www.ideas.com
GUEST SERVICES
- Volara and Two Roads Hospitality Partner to Bring Voice-Based Guest Experiences and Staff-Facing Solutions to Motif Seattle, Thompson Seattle and Carmel Valley Ranch
- Intelity and ALICE, Forbes Travel Guide Brand Officials, Announce Integration and Partnership
- Cloud5 Communications Partners with Roxy Speech-Enabled Concierge
For more Information on Guest Services for 11/16
MARKETING/MANAGEMENT
- Sofia Hotels Management Implements Cendyn’s eInsight CRM Across Their Hotel Group
- Continued Rapid Expansion of Demand360® International Data Providers Helps Hotels Gain Their Fair Share of Bookings
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Sofia Hotels Management Implements Cendyn’s eInsight CRM Across Their Hotel Group
Sofia Hotels Management, a Bulgarian hotel management company, has selected Cendyn to power CRM across their portfolio of hotels.
http://www.cendyn.com/
Continued Rapid Expansion of Demand360® International Data Providers Helps Hotels Gain Their Fair Share of Bookings
TravelClick, an Amadeus company, announced NH Hotel Group, a world-leading urban hotel operator with close to 400 hotels and nearly 60,000 rooms in 30 markets, joined TravelClick's Demand360® program, a Hotelligence360® solution.
https://www.travelclick.com
BACK OFFICE
- Infor Partners Artyzen Hospitality Group in Improving Hotel Guest Experience
- Hospitality First: Koncept Hotels Optimizes Business Strategy in the Digital World with Infor
- Auro Hotels Partners with ProfitSword to Maximize Data Management Efficiency and Forecasting Abilities
For more Information on Back Office for 11/16
COMMUNICATIONS/INFRASTRUCTURE
- Safety Netaccess, Inc. Establishes Resale Agreement With Phonesuite
- Beekeeper to Reveal the Secret to Guest & Employee Engagement at HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA
- Beekeeper's Operational Communication Platform Named Most Innovative Hotel Technology at HX 2018
For more Information on Communication, Infrastructure for 11/16
F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Chooses InfoGenesis® POS Providing Enhanced Visibility into the Guest Journey
- eTouchMenu announces strategic partnership with SkyWire
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Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Chooses InfoGenesis® POS Providing Enhanced Visibility into the Guest Journey
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, announced that Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino has chosen the InfoGenesis point-of-sale solution to manage the property’s food and beverage operations.
Agilysys.com
eTouchMenu announces strategic partnership with SkyWire
eTouchMenuTM (a wholly-owned subsidiary of House Advantage, LLC.) announced SkyWire as its strategic partner to provide eTouchMenu customers with a secure point of sale solution.
www.skywire.co
PAYMENT PROCESSING
-Merchant Link Completes Certification with Oracle Hospitality for OPI 6.2 operating with its Opera Property Management Solution
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Merchant Link Completes Certification with Oracle Hospitality for OPI 6.2 operating with its Opera Property Management Solution
Merchant Link, a leading payment gateway serving enterprise and independent customers, offering prospects, customers and partners access to its leading-edge cloud-based cardholder data security solutions, announces that it received its Oracle Payment Interface (OPI) 6.2 certification with Oracle Hospitality’s premier hotel software: Opera PMS.
http://www.merchantlink.com/
www.oracle.com
SECURITY
- mi-pad Queenstown Opens Hotel Doors with ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Mobile Access and VingCard Allure
- dormakaba USA Inc Comes to HX in NYC with Hospitality Access Solutions that Transform the Guest Experience
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mi-pad Queenstown Opens Hotel Doors with ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Mobile Access and VingCard Allure
mi-pad Queenstown, a newly opened property in Queenstown, New Zealand, has bolstered its reputation as the country's first smart hotel with the implementation of ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Mobile Access.
www.assaabloyhospitality.com
dormakaba USA Inc Comes to HX in NYC with Hospitality Access Solutions that Transform the Guest Experience
dormakaba USA Inc, the provider of secure Saflok™ and Ilco™ electronic door locks, will be at NYC's HX. The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA show to demonstrate its new Saffire LX and Quantum Pixel RFID BLE mobile access capable electronic locks, and the new Ambiance Access Management Software.
http://www.dormakaba.com
PIQUED OUR INTEREST
- Why Family-Owned Hotels Hold the Key To The Hospitality Industry's Future
- Study: Over Half of Gen Z Wants to Work in the Hospitality Industry
- USCB opens Hospitality Management campus on Hilton Head
- Ardern Wants Foreigners to Invest in N.Z. Hotels, Not Houses
For more Information on Piqued Our Intrest for 11/16
RESERVATIONS
- Chief French Hotel Management System VEGA Joins SiteMinder’s Network
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Chief French Hotel Management System VEGA Joins SiteMinder’s Network
As the international EquipHotel Paris trade show gets underway, SiteMinder announces it has partnered with one of France’s leading property management system (PMS) providers, Groupe QuatuHoRe, to further cement its position as the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition and connectivity platform.
www.siteminder.com
You-Know-What
And now for you-know-what … A few points to ponder ...
One day, Einstein has to speak at an important science conference.
On the way there, he tells his driver that looks a bit like him:
"I'm sick of all these conferences. I always say the same things over and over!"
The driver agrees: "You're right. As your driver, I attended all of them, and even though I don't know anything about science, I could give the conference in your place."
"That's a great idea!" says Einstein. "Let's switch places then!"
They switch clothes and as soon as they arrive, the driver dressed as Einstein goes on stage and starts giving the usual speech, while the real Einstein, dressed as the car driver, attends it.
But in the crowd, there is one scientist who wants to impress everyone and thinks of a very difficult question to ask Einstein, hoping he won't be able to respond. This guy stands up and interrupts the conference by posing his very difficult question. The whole room goes silent, holding their breath, waiting for the response.
The driver looks at him, dead in the eye, and says:
"Sir, your question is so easy to answer that I'm going to let my driver reply to it for me."