Executive Insight

Finding ways to understand what guests want and deliver that in a way that is meaningful to them is one of the keys to having a successful loyalty strategy. Jay S. Rein, Practice Leader, Travel & Hospitality, for Cognizant Business Consulting, offers a roadmap for hospitality operators to follow in order to create compelling rewards programs to drive loyalty and appeal to next-gen customers. Sponsored.

Effective use of reporting tools is key to making better business
decisions. Spartan Computer Services shares how-to insights. Spartan Computer Services' web developer, Jennifer Fink and account manager Charlotte Reid, discuss the wealth of business potential that comes from fully utilizing reporting systems including making better business decisions and improving day-to-day operations. Sponsored.

The same digital technologies that enable freedom-of-choice can be used to build lucrative guest loyalty. NCR's Sherry Shirah, director of consumer engagement solutions, offers guidance into how the same technologies that empower consumers – mobile, social and location-based – can also help restaurants build loyalty. Sponsored.

In March of 2014, Calgary, Guest-tek finalized its acquisition of major rival, iBAHN for $13M. For nearly two decades the companies competed as providers of network technology and interactive solutions for the global hospitality industry. With the acquisition, Guest-tek has effectively doubled in size and its customer base to more than 3,500 hotels in 85 countries. As the acquisition proceeds, HT talks to Arnon Levy, CEO of Guest-tek, about how the company will manage merging operations, and what products and services hoteliers can expect.
(Sponsored)

In business there is now a clear realization that customer engagement,loyalty and innovation are intertwined and Influence over technology spending is transitioning rapidly from the CIO to the CMO. Dean Houden, CMO for TASK, talks about the role that marketing executives are playing in IT decisions. (Sponsored)

As hotels expand the functionality of their networks to improve the guest experience, they are presented with increased security challenges. These challenges span regulatory changes, new technologies and changes in operational processes. Managing the security component of these changes is complex, time consuming and requires a specialized skillset. In this executive Q&A, Charlotte Baker, CEO of Digital Hands, talks about some of the latest challenges hotels face in protecting their networks, their guests, and their businesses.

Smaller restaurant operators aren't typically able to finance robust technology roll-outs. In this Q&A, Lee Leet, Founder & CEO of QSR Automations, talks about DineTime, the company's new mobile app that has right-sized robust guest management tools for smaller, independent restaurants.

Restaurants have traditionally prioritized operations and service over technology investments. Now, two major trends — mobile and cloud — have opened up synergies that are encouraging restaurants to embrace technology across front- and back-of-house environments. In this Q&A, HT speaks to Larry Abramson, CEO of Red Book Connect about this disruptive innovation, and the capabilities now available via an open-systems architecture and mobile tools.