Tech Talk

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Definitely Doug 3/24/23: Is This a Real-Life Hotel Innovation Lab?
Posted: 03/24/2023

This week I want to focus on an emerging tech-forward hospitality company that is pushing the envelope of innovation. Most of its technological developments service its own unique needs in a market that has yet to emerge. But several of its core technologies could well be applicable in mainstream hotels. My crystal ball is not clear enough to say which ones, how soon, or who will find success with them, but to me they are well worth watching.

One of the key challenges facing today’s hoteliers is that of high tech vs high touch. Does technology conflict with personalized service? Is it possible to offer both during the same visit? And can hotels that utilize technology in favor of human interaction achieve guest loyalty?

Business travel is picking back up and families may be taking their first or second real vacations since the pandemic cancelled so many plans just a few years ago. To ensure that guests have the best on-site experience possible, hoteliers are increasingly looking to new technologies to make their stay more comfortable than ever. With an advanced property management systems (PMS) and integration platforms, hoteliers can increase operational and staff efficiency, but also meet changing guest expectations for a high-value but relatively low-touch experience. We looked ahead to see what changes we expect to see sweeping the hospitality industry this year.

Long-term readers of this blog know that I rarely focus on a single company or product. My goal is to help readers understand new and emerging technologies, when and why they might be useful, and what to consider if you are buying them.

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The Future of Hotels
Posted: 02/21/2023

Hotels have always been a high-touch low-tech business. Today, and into the foreseeable future, hotels are moving away from the pure ‘people serving people’ model towards a more high-tech low-touch business, and doubling down on digitalization. In the paragraphs below, I envision ways in which tech can innovate and enhance the guest experience throughout the guests’ 6 stage hotel journey: Imagine-Book-Stay-Report-Recommend-Return.

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Obtain an Updated SSL Certificate to Boost Your Website's Traffic

09/12/2018

by Nimesh Dinubhai

The competition between hotels and the OTAs has never been higher. Travelers prefer to book their stays through online as it is a convenient way of booking. That's why, it becomes very crucial for every hotel owner to own a website. By owning a site, you can encourage tourists to book your rooms from any part of the world. However, most internet-savvy people are cognizant and apprehensive of a potential data breach.

Keeping this issue in mind, the major search engine Google has come up with a significant update for the users of Chrome. Websites having SSL certificates will be marked as secured. This update is significant for all sites, but for a website collecting sensitive data, such as credit card information, passwords or personal data.

If you don't have an up-to-date SSL certificate on your hotel site, then it may impact your bookings. Google Chrome will display a 'not secure' status in the address bar. It will be a warning for guests that your website is not safe for browsing. As the result, it may reduce inquiries, traffic and potentially drop online bookings.

What is an SSL Certificate – Exactly?

SSL (or Secure Socket Layer) is a kind of security protocol which encrypts the data which is being sent between server and computer. The information can be the user's password, credit card details, email or home address. With this certificate, you can make your website 100 percent secured and ensure your customers that your website is secured. Just by checking the browser's address bar your customers will know that your site has an up-to-date SSL certificate.

But how to make sure that a site is fully secured? If a site is secured with an SSL certificate, the Chrome browser will show a green padlock icon in the address bar. However, if it shows a red padlock icon, it means that you have a broken or outdated certificate. What's more, an info icon will be displayed, if there is no certificate on the website.

Significance of Having an SSL Certificate

By having this certificate, the website owner can avail a host of benefits:

• Get higher ranking of your website in search engines

• Drive uninterrupted traffic to the site

• Give great satisfaction to your customers

• Enjoy more online bookings

• Earn higher revenue

Where to Get an SSL Certificate?

Presently, there are hosting providers available all over the world to help webmasters obtain an SSL certificate. So, if you don't have SSL setup yet, you should approach a hosting provider. To obtain the certificate, you will pay an annual fee. Once you pay the fees, the issuing authority will verify your business identity. The first step is to approach a trusted hosting provider.

About The Author

Nimesh Dinubhai
President
Websrefresh

Nimesh Dinubhai completed his studies in 2003 and launched Websrefresh to help businesses grow their ROI. He also owns two Arizona hotels, one of which earned the Historical Hotel Award in 2014.