As 2013 starts off, Hospitality Technology magazine’s editors take a look back at the stories that had people talking in 2012. If you missed these headlines the first time around, make sure you check them out now.

 

Recent research by the global IT services provider Freeborders found ten technologies that will put the travel industry on the fast lane 2012 by enriching the overall customer experience and simplifying operations. The technologies highlighted here, have the greatest potential to increase the competitiveness of hospitality companies this year. In 2012 mobile technology, locations-based services, near field communications, social media, and BI will create more direct and personalized touch points with customers and provide more targeted marketing and branding opportunities. 

 

It’s not uncommon today to find restaurant chains using a mix of POS systems as varied as their menus: old and new, open source and proprietary, cloud and on-premise. This whitepaper outlines six factors to consider in choosing the POS approach that is right for your restaurant.

 

Daniel Burrus, founder/CEO of Burrus Research notes that the mobile revolution is upon us, and its impact on the hospitality industry will be huge. Therefore, when it comes to your company, you have to ask yourself, “Do we have an enterprise-level mobility strategy to accelerate growth?” Hospitality organizations must embrace a broader view of what a mobility strategy really looks like.

 

 

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), has published a customized fact sheet outlining how merchants can securely accept payments using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.

 

More than 1,000 respondents were asked in a survey conducted in October by customer intelligence firm, PeriscopeIQ whether they use online incentives for hotels and/or restaurants and the vast majority said that often or occasionally do.  Almost three quarters (71 percent) say online incentives and rewards are becoming increasingly important elements of hotel and restaurant customer loyalty and selection decision factors, according to the 2012 PeriscopeIQ T&E Intelligence Study. More than a quarter (29 percent) said that they rarely or never capitalize on these online rewards.

 

Business for Black Angus Steakhouse looked a bit like a bucking bronco over the past decade, with its fair share of recession-induced ups and downs. Technology, and in particular an investment in e-commerce initiatives, has been an important part of the company’s turnaround. Hospitality Technology (HT) talks to CEO Merry Taylor about the new sports bar concept, their e-commerce efforts, and why OpenTable is a particularly good partner for Black Angus.

 

In this first-of-its-kind research report, HT reveals the results of a comprehensive survey of hotel and restaurant operators’ use of customer engagement technologies, including mobile, social, digital and location-based applications. Find out current and planned implementation rates for things like tablet-based ordering, social media-POS integration, and more. Plus, this research reveals the perceived impact these applications are having on generating customer engagement, and on improving the overall business.

 

6 Property Management Predictions that May Impact Your Next Buy
As technological capabilities expand, however, so too do the wish lists of hotel operators who see a future where the next generation of PMS will provide customized service to guests and deeper levels of business intelligence to owners. This is leading to big changes in property management, and the impending metamorphosis is evident in the increasing capabilities that property owners are seeking — and expecting — in next generation systems.