 In This Issue
March 2008 |
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| Magazine Sections |
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| Cover Story: |
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| Dunkin' Runs on Innovation |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Abigail A. Lorden |
| As buzz words go, "innovation," has racked up serious mileage in the information technology industry. The word appears on nearly every industry conference agenda in 2008 (HT owns up to its share) and continues to be a prime directive for many top IT leaders. But beneath all the next-gen talk and the innovation task forces, successful innovation in the quick-service industry requires a dedicated focus on three things: accuracy, speed and simplicity.
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| Platforms: |
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| HT Online is All New |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Abigail A. Lorden |
| If you're anything like most users of the Internet, you employ a tactical approach when searching the Web.
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| Front Burner: |
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| Four Seasons, Texas Roadhouse Tops in Customer Engagement |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Abigail A. Lorden |
| When it comes to customer engagement, the Four Seasons Hotels and Texas Roadhouse achieve the highest ratings in the hospitality industry according to a new study by PeopleMetrics, a customer and employee research firm.
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| On Property: |
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| Integration Update Where are They Now? |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Mary L. Carlin |
| System integration is a key pain point for any lodging operation given the vast number of systems that any one property runs and the number of vendors required to install, service and support those systems.
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| IP Convergence Success |
| 03/03/2009 |
| Author: Lisa Terry |
| Talk to anyone who has ever pursued a fully converged IP network and they will reveal that this complicated process requires more footwork then many hoteliers are prepared to handle. HT reveals the five most important questions that all operators should ask prior to installation.
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| Point of Service: |
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| Market Update: POS Vendors |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Bradley Schmidt |
| In June of last year, Panasonic Information Systems, a division of Panasonic System Solutions Company ( www.panasonic.com/pos), expanded its presence in the QSR and hospitality markets with the introduction of purpose-built stand, alone software, geared for independent hospitality operators.
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| Peer POS Review |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: William Atkinson |
| Are you in the market for a new point of sale system? A sneak peek at Hospitality Technology's 10th annual Restaurant Technology Study tells us that one in five restaurant operators will look to replace their POS system within the next 12 to 24 months, with a keen eye to systems that can offer accounting and financial solutions, labor management, and business intelligence capabilities.
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| Service Systems: |
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| Keeping Kitchens Humming |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Lisa Terry |
| A well-managed kitchen with a seasoned staff can be an operational wunderkind. At Bone Daddy's House of Smoke, a three-unit Texas BBQ chain, the kitchen has been known to pound out $10,000 in lunch sales in one four-hour shift.
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| In-Room Advantage: |
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| High Definition Demystified |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: George Koroneos |
| For years, hotel operators have taken comfort in the fact that their boxy old rear-projection televisions (the ones tucked inside the armoire) would last at least five to seven years. If one broke, they simply swapped it out for an inexpensive newer model. Not anymore.
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| Intelligent Biz: |
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| Work Smarter |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Julie Ritzer Ross |
| Information has become the essential ingredient to success in the increasingly cutthroat hospitality industry. However, actionable data cannot be properly amassed - let alone leveraged - without the implementation of sophisticated business intelligence systems that enable enterprise-wide data gathering, storage, analysis and communication.
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| Killer Apps: |
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| Town & Country Resort Streamlines Group Reservation Process |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Dominique Zavradinos, Atlas Hotels |
| Town & Country Resort & Convention Center, owned by Atlas Hotels and located in San Diego, is the largest privately-owned convention and meeting hotel on the West Coast. With groups and conventions driving more than 80 percent of revenue, it's critical that meeting planners have the tools necessary to execute events down to the last detail.
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| Claim Jumper Centralizes Hiring Processes for Bottom Line Results |
| 03/03/2009 |
| Author: Tanya Corners, Director of Human Resources, Claim Jumper |
| Ask any restaurant operator and they will tell you that a poorly selected staff has grave repercussions on store efficiency and customer satisfaction. Claim Jumper is taking its hiring processes up a notch by ensuring that the right employees are in the right positions thanks to applicant screening technology.
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| Last Words: |
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| Reversing Restaurant Failure |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: Cihan Cobanoglu |
| In the summer 2003, American Express aired a commercial with celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito purporting that "nine out of 10 restaurants fail in the first year."
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| Vantage Point: |
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| An IT Team of One |
| 03/10/2008 |
| Author: George Rinell |
| If you're like many IT managers in the hospitality industry, the title "manager" means you're managing yourself. IT resources are scarce, and more often than not, it's just you and no one else.
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