Information and data about hotels.
The way clients order and pay for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions continues to evolve. While many SaaS offerings are available on a month-to-month basis, many solutions involve hardware and are multi-year contracts. This practice, which is common in the industry, can often present a financial challenge for upfront cash or a payment — particularly for companies recently hit hard by Covid-19. As a result, financing SaaS solutions is only advantageous and becoming more common. Why is this happening? Most businesses have financial constraints. Your business is probably facing budget pressure. You may need a strategy to manage or even shrink expenses while you simultaneously pursue growth. One of the arguments in favor of financing SaaS and related hardware is its ability to eliminate the upfront capital investment in hardware/software (CapEx) and replace it with ongoing operating expense (OpEx) payments — helping clients better manage cash flow. Managing cash flow and matching costs to anticipated benefits are essential to delivering a strong return on investment in your IT initiatives. How can you tackle this challenge? One approach Monscierge offers clients is the option to finance the hardware and SaaS solutions they deliver. For example, let’s say you’re a boutique hotel, and you …
We’ve talked often about hotels using technology to enhance the guest experience through personalization. I wanted to highlight a few restaurant apps who are using their apps to delight guests with custom offers, drive sales with tailored menu items, and remove pain points with increased efficiency and precision. Can you talk about restaurant apps without mentioning Dominos? The pizza chain has been on the forefront of innovation in marketing and technology since their “we’re sorry for making bad pizza” campaign in 2009. They also came up with ordering via Tweet and emoji. Unlimited pizza customization aside, one of the best features of their app is the “Dominos Tracker”, which allows customers to know exactly what their pizza is up to every moment from being ordered to being placed in their hands. Nobody likes to wait, but it’s easier when you know where your pizza is. The Starbucks app took awhile to work its way into a permanent spot on my phone. They had a few security issues in the beginning but quickly caught up to the technology by being one of the first to offer phone payments and location-based services. My favorite feature of their app is that it remembers …
The EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) takes effect May 25. This change, designed to protect data privacy, applies to any organization collecting data on EU citizens, no matter the location of the organization. Compliance is mandatory and will include strict protections on all technology that can collect data, staff training on privacy protection, and protocol in place in the event of a security breach. New consent standards include the right for persons to withdraw their consent at any time. Sensitive data (personal preferences, beliefs, and biometric data) will require explicit consent from the user. No longer allowed to be buried in Terms and Conditions, companies must provide a full disclosure of the following: What data is being collected Who is collecting the data The purpose for collection How long data will be stored Companies will also be required to report data breaches, and those that engage in large scale systematic monitoring or processing must appoint a Data Protection Officer.
We covered the basics of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the last post. This week we will be covering which types of data are protected and some of the basic requirements of the GDPR. This is important for hotels even outside the EU, because the regulation includes every organization that collects personal information on EU residents. Types of data protected are any that can identify an individual. That can include a vast number of items and context can change everything. For instance, a first and last name may not identify a specific individual, but it can if it’s accompanied by additional information. This can include digital information such as cookies, email addresses, mobile location data, and IP addresses. It also includes hard data like names and identification numbers as well as biometric data. The regulation outlines important rights for consumers including the right to be forgotten and right of access to and portability of their data. These consumer rights create more transparency and accountability for organizations that collect any of the protected data. Companies will also be required to report data breaches, and those that engage in large scale systematic monitoring or processing must appoint a Data Protection Officer. …
The EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a significant change aimed at safeguarding data privacy for EU citizens. It was approved on April 14, 2016, and came into effect on May 25, 2018. The regulation applies to any organization that collects data on EU citizens, regardless of the organization’s location. Compliance is mandatory for any entity that processes data on EU citizens to sell goods or services, make it especially relevant to the travel industry. Hotels, in particular, are significantly impacted by this regulation as they often store consumer data in multiple locations and receive it from various sources, such as OTA bookings. As a result, compliance will involve implementing stringent protections for all technology used to collect data within a hotel, conducting staff training on privacy protection, and establishing protocols in the event of a security breach. Our Monscierge team has plans to ensure a smooth transition for our clients. In the coming weeks, we will provide more information about what this entails and how to comply.