Hotel Data Security - Incorporating Tokenization to Protect Hotel Guest Information
Situation Status – Hospitality Industry Attains #1 Rank for Data Breaches
Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and targeted in their attacks, finding what works and repeating it over and over again with the “low hanging fruit”. According to Trustwave’s Global Security Report 2010, they’re going after the hospitality industry in a big way. Thirty-eight percent of all attacks in 2009 were against hotels and resorts last year, making the hospitality industry the #1 target for breaches. Ninety-eight percent of all 2009 breaches involved credit card numbers.
There’s little doubt that hotels are particularly vulnerable to today’s savvy cybercriminal. Consider the number of payment channels used by hotels—web, telephone, in-person and mail order. And consider the number of reasons hoteliers need to store cardholder data for guests’ convenience—reservation hold, incidental expenses, loyalty programs and charge-backs—to name just a few examples. If the cardholder data is not protected within all applications and databases, data breaches will continue to occur at an alarming rate.
Yahoo picks Expedia to provide Travel Booking Engine on its European Travel Websites
On 12th August 2010, Yahoo! announced a partnership with leading online travel experts Expedia, who will provide a travel booking engine on Yahoo!’s sites across Europe (UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Through the partnership Yahoo! Travel users will enjoy access to more than 123,000 hotels and 450 airlines making it easy for them to find the right deal for their holiday.
For the first time, Yahoo! users will be able to view deals for hotels, flights and car hire, using Expedia’s dynamic ‘e-packaging’ search technology, which offers travel combinations to provide even greater savings for consumers. This coupled with the easy to use filtering system and hotel reviews from Expedia guests it will provide the perfect accompaniment to Yahoo!’s premier travel which is experiencing an increase of users of 115% month on month *. Users will also gain access to a new ‘Deals Module’ with offers that are updated in real-time.
Speaking of the partnership Mark Rabe, MD and VP Sales, Yahoo! UK & Ireland, said: “We’re excited to announce our deal with Expedia. Travel is a cornerstone product for our users and Expedia helps us enhance the experience via greater functionality. Ultimately, this supports Yahoo!’s ambition to be the centre of users’ online lives.”
You've simply got to love this song...and the flash mob received quite an accolade at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino (a Sheraton branded property at the time) both when this happened and subsequently on YouTube... the video has clocked nearly 2 million views to-date and shows no signs of slowing down.
The song was so popular that the guys who came up with it actually released the official music video recently...watch it below:
Flipboard iPad App making waves - create your own social magazine
A new iPad application called Flipboard has been making waves recently...so much so that the company is struggling to cope with demand for the app. The app allows users to link to their social networks and pull in related content to create a rich visually appealing "social magazine"... watch the video to learn more:
Revisiting Hotel Internet Marketing Predictions for 2013
I came across a piece I’d written about 17-18 months ago on the future of hotel internet marketing. The article talked about 5 broad tech trends that I thought would radically alter the way we approached digital / internet marketing for hotels back at the end of 2008. I thought it’d be fun to take a re-look at the article and see how far we’ve actually come in the last year or more and if those predictions still hold water… here goes:
1. Choice is king.
The clear winners of the online distribution race will be suppliers and 3rd parties that provide the most choice to the customer. “Experience building” will become key to the looking and booking process online. This will mean that successful suppliers (hotels) will have to break down elements of their inventory like rooms, dining, sports, spa and supporting services into individual units that can be booked and packaged both internally and externally. The more elements you provide to what I like to call the “Experience Engine”, the better the choice available to customers to personalize and tailor their experiences. This creation of experience units will also allow tourism industry suppliers to collaborate more effectively online, as well as spur the evolution of 3rd party providers who provide superior experience engines, taking destination marketing to a whole new level.
Take a fresh approach to Hotel Guest Satisfaction and Web Analytics
I want to share two very simple but powerful ideas that could radically transform the way the hotel industry utilizes measures like the hotel guest satisfaction index, web analytics, etc.
1. Taking ‘measurement’ beyond just numbers
We all know that to be truly hospitable, one must go beyond just providing the necessary physical comforts that hotel guests and travellers demand. More often than not, what keeps guests coming back again and again are not the features and amenities…but the relationships and memories (after all, human beings ARE 80% emotion and 20% intellect). So perhaps it is time to step beyond the easily quantifiable attributes of a stay and start measuring actual guest ‘happiness’. When was the last time you asked a hotel guest about what made them really happy? Guest satisfaction scores and indexes often fail to consider the true value that employee-guest relationships bring to the table. Plus, since guest satisfaction depends on your employees being happy…how many hotels do you know that actually go beyond the typical corporate HR mumbo-jumbo and actually understand what makes their people tick? Why do they come to work? What makes them happy? What would they like to achieve…and can we help them get there?
What ties Facebook, Organ Donation and Boiling Frogs together
Now that I have your attention with my intriguing post title, allow me to explain just what I mean… and boiling frogs and organ donation do indeed feature in this little blog post!
All the recent furore over Facebook privacy has shown no signs of abating…and for good reason. Privacy, after all, is a sensitive and important issue. Or is it?
There’s no doubt that Facebook has made a startling entrance in the online world and taken over our browsers and mobile screens rather quickly. Official stats from Facebook claim that 400 million users currently use the service and almost half log on every day. Globally it appears that people now spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook…an enviable record for any platform.
Just in time for summer Westin Hotels & Resorts is introducing a selection of SuperFoods-inspired Mojito cocktails at more than 70 properties across North America. Created exclusively for Westin Hotels by Francesco Lafranconi, Director of Mixology forSouthern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., each handcrafted cocktail is made with key SuperFoods ingredients including blueberries, ginger, green tea and honey. The brand's new SuperFoods Mojito offering joins a host of other signature Westin offerings specially designed to help preserve wellness on the road.
Each participating property will feature a classic Cuban Mojito made with fresh mint, rum, and fresh lime alongside additional SuperFoods-inspired Mojito creations such as the Blueberry Mojito, Pineapple and Ginger Mojito, Spicy Apple Mojito, Green Tea and Honey Mojito, Strawberry Kiwi Mojito, and the Brazilian Cure Mojito made with Brazilian rum and VeeV Açai Spirit, a powerful superfood liquor.
Movenpick Hotels and Resorts Award GM Mehdi Othmani with Best Growth Team Trophy
Möevenpick Hotels & Resorts, the Swiss-based upscale hotel management company, recently held its annual general managers conference at the Möevenpick Hotel Cairo-Media City. Themed “Africa the New Horizon 2”, the three-day-conference was headed by Jean Gabriel Peres, President & CEO Möevenpick Hotels & Resorts and attended by all Africa region General Managers together with the Regional office for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Africa.
Big Day Survey of Consumer Hotel and Amenity Preferences by Hilton Garden Inn
The Hilton Garden Inn Big Day survey was designed to provide insight into consumers’ biggest days, patterns and preferences while traveling. Opinion Research Corporation conducted the survey by phone to 1,020 adults between January 29th and February 1st, on behalf of Hilton Garden Inn.
Key Statistics
Did You Know…
· Sixty-seven percent of people admit to taking things from hotels, though most of the items could be considered “complimentary.” However, almost a quarter (19%) admit to taking less conspicuous things like towels, bathrobes, pillows, lamps and alarm clocks
o Shampoo, conditioner or lotion (52%)
o Pens, paper and notepads (34%)
o Towels or bathrobes (8%)
o Liquor from the mini-bar (5%)
o Pillows, comforters, blankets or sheets (3%)
o Iron, alarm clock, lamps or artwork (2%)
o The bible (1%)
o None (33%)
Some Practical Internet Marketing Strategy Tips for Hotels
Despite unpredictable economic conditions, one truth endures for the hospitality industry – there is always room for improvement to the guest experience. In tough economic times, improving the guest experience is a worthy investment because the seeds of loyalty blossom into a strong relationship when the spending freeze thaws. In ideal economic times, competition peaks and the key differentiator guests evaluate when determining where to spend their time and money is the experience. Positive statements about “improving the guest experience” are a constant in marketing meetings – but how? When resources are scarce, but investment in the guest experience is paramount, an efficient and accountable approach is vital. The most modern, effective, and accountable approach for improving the guest experience is found in direct digital marketing.
Direct digital marketing is a digital marketing method that delivers relevant marketing communications that are addressable to individuals through the primary online channels of email, Web, and mobile using an email address, a Web browser cookie, and mobile phone number, respectively. Hotel guests value personalized, relevant interactions whether they are on property, reading an email, booking a stay online, or reviewing a text message.
Video - Marriott International shares Hotel Industry Outlook
Arne Sorenson (Marriott International President and COO) talks to CNBC and shares his views on the state of business for the hotel industry and Marriott:
Most people would prefer a great nights sleep to great you-know-what says Westin Study
A GREAT NIGHT'S SLEEP TRUMPS GREAT SEX IN NEW WESTIN HOTELS SLEEP STUDY: In Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Heavenly Bed, Westin Surveys Travelers' Sleep Habits; More than half of travelers prefer a great night's sleep to great sex. Westin Hotels Partners with the renowned National Sleep Foundation to Launch (888) TIME-4-SLEEP Hotline to help People Get a Good Night's Sleep
Video - A lesson in what makes for true hospitality - Guaranteed to make you smile
A short movie about positivity and the impact it has on our lives...and those of others! A true lesson in hospitality for all of us... enjoy:
"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival, Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film, Winner - Crystal Heart Award, Best Short Film & Audience Award, Heartland Film Festival, Winner - Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award, Williamstown Film Festival, Winner - Best Comedy, Dam Short Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Film, Sedona Int'l Film Festival.
Winning in a Downturn – Tactics to Survive and Thrive in Turbulent Times
A number of strategies and tactics that businesses of all sizes can implement to survive the current turbulence and secure the future, from Rohit Talwar, CEO of FastFuture:
Use scenarios to plan for an uncertain future
In this uncertain and turbulent economic climate, businesses no can longer rely on a single business plan or set of assumptions. Instead the most successful are tackling the uncertainty by using scenario planning to prepare for a wide range of possible outcomes and to identify the opportunities that could arise even in the worst case scenarios. At the same time, they are asking themselves tough questions under each scenario:
- Which market segments and aspects of our business would be most at risk?
- What would the implications be in terms of products, pricing and who our key customers would be?
- What resources should we keep or let go?
- Which actions should we be taking under any financial climate?
