Summary
Today the country is in pretty bad shape. With a recession looming, increases of foreclosures, and increasing prices for food and necessities, restaurant and hotel owners must be careful and choose wisely for where they would like to place their next business venture. There is a device on the market called location mapping solutions. They detail the positives and negatives of the area discussing demographics, land quality, and other necessary information for deciding where to build a new restaurant. Sagittarius brands is a new company that is introducing this concept a little further. It can now detail the competition in the area and their pros and cons. It can compare your concept to the existing restaurants in the area. It can also tell you exactly what streets would be perfect for your store as well as where it would be crucial to advertise based on the demographics to be successful. The systems get their information from census and demographics but it is also helpful for a company to already keep information about their customers to make the system more useful. Some information is gathered from existing POS systems. These systems make it easier to locate a place where your business would profit.
Reflection
I think that this system would be really beneficial to narrow down places that you would like to start your business. I don't think this system can be used by itself because you always need that personal touch. However, considering the failure rate for restaurants this will help immensely. Knowing how your advertising campaign should work based on the demographics can help an owner who is lost or new to the game. It is a good base to start the rest of your research, especially because the information is at your fingertips. You don't need to do research for the basic information. I would definitely use a system as a restaurant owner to narrow down options of streets and locations for my restaurant. I wouldn't completely trust the system and would do my own research and make the final decision, but it is definitely a good first step. This will also be interesting to see what happens to companies who do this research and in depth STAR reports. We shall see if this system is more reliable than STAR reports when it comes to competition.
Koroneos, G (2008, April, 22). Get smart about location growth. Hospitality Technology, Retrieved April 30, 2008, from http://www.htmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=3E19674330734FF1BBDA3D67B50C82F1&tier=4&id=FCE766CEF22546BC99FA612A838AA75E
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Hilton's New Concierge is Interactive TV
Summary
Hilton has rolled out a new concierge service that is just beginning to make it big in the hotel industry. They are flat screen TVs! These TVs will be placed around the hotel in public places such as lobbies as well as in guest rooms. They are first being added to a hotel in Beijing for the upcoming Olympic Games. These systems allow for guests to be able to view the hotel and see the amenities being offered. It will show layouts of the rooms for those thinking of holding an event at the hotel. The concierges will be on Samsung's large-format-display 570DX video screen. They will display the hotel's services so that the guest can become more familiar with the hotel quicker. For example they will feature Hilton's Fitness room by Procur, or for business travelers the e-tools and business centers located in the hotel. Hilton wants to have this program out by the Olympics but they want to make sure it is flawless. They want guests to feel comfortable with this technology and have the majority of their possible questions answered. Hilton has said that they do not want to tie the concierge services with check-in or a reservations system just yet. The systems may also help the guest find what sights they are most interested in the nearby area. They have come up with many possible questions that a guest might ask and given informational answers. This technology is called WAVEscape technology and Hilton believes it will be the "wave" of the future.
Response
I think this is a great new system and that Hilton should be proud. I think this system won't be too intrusive for the guest like some mandatory self service check-ins are. Since it is available, but not the only game in town it should be very popular. It gives the guest a chance to see what services are available in the hotel. I know with many stays at hotels I didn't know they had a pool or fitness center until it was too late. This way guests can get the most for their stay. Especially for business travelers they will know what amenities are available and what the business center offers. It will also be great for restaurant recommendations and sights to see in the cities where the hotels are located. I'm sure a regular concierge will still be used because some people do want that human touch when asking for recommendations, but this is a great alternative. It will definitely change the face of sales because when people want to book a room for an event they can now use this touch screen to view the room and its requirements when it comes to maximum capacity and how the room can be laid out. If a potential client ends up talking to a sales or catering manager they will already have some background in a room's capabilities and maybe a probable idea of how they would like their event to take place.
Harler, C (2008, March, 18). Hilton's new concierge is interactive tv. Hospitality Technology, Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://www.htmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=3E19674330734FF1BBDA3D67B50C82F1&tier=4&id=FCD2F7DAADC8438E926C98968EDAE530
Hilton has rolled out a new concierge service that is just beginning to make it big in the hotel industry. They are flat screen TVs! These TVs will be placed around the hotel in public places such as lobbies as well as in guest rooms. They are first being added to a hotel in Beijing for the upcoming Olympic Games. These systems allow for guests to be able to view the hotel and see the amenities being offered. It will show layouts of the rooms for those thinking of holding an event at the hotel. The concierges will be on Samsung's large-format-display 570DX video screen. They will display the hotel's services so that the guest can become more familiar with the hotel quicker. For example they will feature Hilton's Fitness room by Procur, or for business travelers the e-tools and business centers located in the hotel. Hilton wants to have this program out by the Olympics but they want to make sure it is flawless. They want guests to feel comfortable with this technology and have the majority of their possible questions answered. Hilton has said that they do not want to tie the concierge services with check-in or a reservations system just yet. The systems may also help the guest find what sights they are most interested in the nearby area. They have come up with many possible questions that a guest might ask and given informational answers. This technology is called WAVEscape technology and Hilton believes it will be the "wave" of the future.
Response
I think this is a great new system and that Hilton should be proud. I think this system won't be too intrusive for the guest like some mandatory self service check-ins are. Since it is available, but not the only game in town it should be very popular. It gives the guest a chance to see what services are available in the hotel. I know with many stays at hotels I didn't know they had a pool or fitness center until it was too late. This way guests can get the most for their stay. Especially for business travelers they will know what amenities are available and what the business center offers. It will also be great for restaurant recommendations and sights to see in the cities where the hotels are located. I'm sure a regular concierge will still be used because some people do want that human touch when asking for recommendations, but this is a great alternative. It will definitely change the face of sales because when people want to book a room for an event they can now use this touch screen to view the room and its requirements when it comes to maximum capacity and how the room can be laid out. If a potential client ends up talking to a sales or catering manager they will already have some background in a room's capabilities and maybe a probable idea of how they would like their event to take place.
Harler, C (2008, March, 18). Hilton's new concierge is interactive tv. Hospitality Technology, Retrieved April 14, 2008, from http://www.htmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=3E19674330734FF1BBDA3D67B50C82F1&tier=4&id=FCD2F7DAADC8438E926C98968EDAE530
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