Green sustainable tourism and hospitality

Sustainable tourism is the concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make only a positive impact on the environment, society and economy.

Why is sustainable hospitality important? The hospitality sector has a significant impact on the environment through energy and water consumption, use of consumable products, and solid and hazardous waste generation. With this massive ongoing use of products and resources there is a need for environmental action to preserve the environment and conserve resources for future generations.

6. Low budget tourism

These days, traveling is considered as a luxury for most people. However, traveling does not necessarily mean spending exorbitant amounts of money on expensive airfare and hotel accommodations. There are many low-budget options that would allow you to get to your dream destination.

· Low budget hotels

A budget hotel is the lowest category of hotel that provides the rooms and meals at cheap cost. Budget hotel offers the facilities required to fulfill basic requirements such as daily room service, telephone, television, air conditioning, mineral water, doctor on call, pick & drop facility, etc. Some budget hotels also have a multi-cuisine room and mini bar. The infrastructure of a budget hotel is not very large and usually operated by the owner and innumerous staff.

· Low budget airlines

A budget airline, also called a low-cost carrier, is a flight carrier that seeks to provide flight service at low cost, sometimes undercutting traditional airlines by more than 50%. Low cost airlines have familiarized their customers with the ease of using the internet and they tend to be comfortable constructing their own holiday arrangements via the web, booking flights, hotels and hire car online, at home. Low cost airlines have expanded and created many new markets in the last few years. This expansion is going to continue and airlines will be looking for new destinations to add to their networks.

Questions

1. What is sustainable tourism? Why is sustainable hospitality important?

2. Why do you think low-budget tourism is going to be rapidly developed? What does it involve?

3. What is a budget hotel? What facilities does it provide?

4. What is a budget airline?

Innovative technology

Technology is advancing at a faster pace than ever before, and this is changing both the expectations of guests as well as the way in which the hospitality industry conducts its business. Some of the trends in industry are leading to great improvements and savings for hospitality industry companies; while some are changing how hotel developers plan their buildings, infrastructure, management structure and staffing requirements.

New innovative technology trends that are currently being used in some hotels are the following:

· The do-it-all remote (room personalization): This allows guests to dim or turn on/off lights, control room temperature, open/close curtains, order room service, turn on the ‘do not disturb’ sign, set wake-up calls, view TV channels and movies all on the television with the click of a button on a remote.

· Self Service Concierge:This touch smart screen kiosk is located in the lobbies of hotels, which can help a guest find out information (restaurants, activities, flights) without the hassle of carrying a laptop or waiting for someone to assist them.

· Smartphone keyless room entry: Guests book their stay on their handheld smartphone. On the day of arrival, they will receive a text with their room number. Guests can then go straight up to the room and swipe their smartphone over the door handle. Guests can also check out the same way they checked in via smartphone.

· In room iPads/ tablet devices: These devices enable the guest to order room service, housekeeping service, make appointments/reservations all at one’s fingertips. Hotel managers can also use tablets in place of the original in-room guide book.

· Digital Door Viewer:This is a handy alternative to the old fashion “peephole”. A little screen that is mounted on the inside of hotel room doors, so guests are able to have a clear view of visitors while eliminating all uncertainties before they open the door.

· Touch-screen in-room consoles: They are panels that are located in hotel bathrooms, allowing guests to set the lighting, curtains and control music to indulge in an ultimate relaxation experience.

· Infrared body scanners: Infrared scanners are now also used to minimize disruptions relating to housekeeping (which is a common complaint from customers). Instead of hanging a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on doors or having cleaning staff wake up traveling guests with knocks and phone calls, hotel staff can take a more innovative approach by using infrared scanners that will detect body heat within a room and tell cleaning staff that they should rather come back later if the room is currently occupied.

Social media promotion

Social media has made a huge impact on the tourism industry. Consumers engage with social networking sites to research trips, make informed decisions about their travels and share their personal experiences of a particular hotel, restaurant or airline.

Sites such as Facebook and TripAdvisor have had a massive impact on the hospitality industry, affecting the public image and reputation of a property. Hotels that monitor and manage their online profiles are able to reach out to clients in their online space and deal with questions or complaints quickly and on a public platform. Hotels that embrace this way of interaction will find a whole new area in which to manage hotel/client relationships.

Role of social media: 78% consumers are influenced by posts made by companies on social media while making purchases; 72 % consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Questions

1. Could you name some new innovative technology trends used in the hospitality industry?

2. What kind of technology is the do-it-all remote?

3. What does Self Service Concierge technology imply?

4. What technology provides keyless room entry?

5. What is Digital Door Viewer like?

6. How do Touch-screen in-room consoles work?

7. In what way does Infrared body scanners technology help housekeeping?

8. What impact do social media make on tourism? What is its role?

Sharing economy

Sharing economy, also known as collaborative consumption, is a trending business concept that highlights the ability (and perhaps the preference) for individuals to rent or borrow goods rather than buy and own them.

A sharing economy is an economic model based on sharing underutilized assets from spaces to skills for monetary and non-monetary benefits. In hospitality industry the major players of the sharing economy are AirBnB and CouchSurfing. They are providing users spaces ranging from a simple couch to a castle in England. It is cheaper than staying at hotels.

Uber & Lyft is a convenient, inexpensive and safe taxi service. Hire a private driver to pick you up and take you to your destination with the tap of a button on your phone. The nearest driver is often at your pickup location within minutes.

E-payment

Virtual currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Hotels and travel agencies around the world are starting to accept bitcoins as a form of payment. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, created and held electronically. No one controls it. Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by people. Bitcoin’s most important characteristic, and the thing that makes it different to conventional money, is that it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. This puts some people at ease, because it means that a large bank can’t control their money.

Another e-payment method is the NFC wallet like Apple Pay or Google wallet that allows its users to score debit cards and credit cards. It uses Near Field Communications (NFC) to “make secure payments fast and convenient by simply tapping the phone on any PayPass-enabled terminal at check-out.

Near-field communication (NFC) technology is the next-generation short-range high frequency wireless communication technology that gives users the ability to exchange data between devices. Communication between NFC devices can transfer data at up to 424 kbits/second and the communication is enabled when two devices touch each other, which makes mobile payments (by touching the smart phone to a credit card) an instant, secure process. This technology is also ideal for self-check-ins by guests at hotels as well as the smart room keys.

Questions

1. What is a sharing economy? Who are the major players of the sharing economy?

2. What is Uber & Lyft?

3. What e-payment methods are supposed to be used in hotels?

4. What is a bitcoin / NFC?