Al Jaber Group to build first robotic car park in Abu Dhabi

WAM Abu Dhabi, Jan 23rd, 2011 (WAM) -- Al Jaber Group will be commencing the works on the first robotic car park in Abu Dhabi. The new car park will be located next to the Traders Hotel in Qaryat Al Beri Resort.

This Project is the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi with a capacity to handle 325 cars; it will be located next to the Traders Hotel and will have the same finishing and building specifications and height of the Traders hotel to fit in with the gorgeous architectural environment of the development.

The new robotic car park is based on a very sophisticated mechanical system that works via small robots which are placed on steel pallets. The robots pull, rotate and stack the cars in their parking bays. The whole mechanical process of parking the car and retrieving it does not take more than 50 seconds, which makes parking cars a smooth and quick process for the visitors of Qaryat Al Beri Resort.

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When Is A Franchisee’s IT Obsolete?

It just got a lot tougher for franchise chains to crack the whip when it comes to IT mandates. A Florida judge has said Burger King can’t immediately shut down several franchisee stores for missing a deadline to purchase new POS systems. The $2.5 billion chain will now have to go though more legal proceedings and possibly a trial. Or it can settle what has become the most visible case in a set of messy disputes over IT upgrades that should have been installed by the end of 2009.

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Carl Wilson, Marriott CIO, to Retire, Succeeded by Bruce Hoffmeister as Global Chief Information Officer

Marriott International, Inc. (Hospitality Business News) announced today that Carl Wilson, executive vice president and chief information officer at the company since 1997, will retire March 31. Bruce Hoffmeister, a 22-year Marriott veteran, will succeed him as Global Chief Information Officer on April 1.

Mr. Wilson was instrumental in managing the critical nexus between technology and business strategy as the company’s lodging portfolio grew to encompass 3,500 properties in 70 countries worldwide.

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Spotting corporate espionage

From the top of the Gherkin building in London, Crispin Sturrock points out an anonymous-looking office block in the swirling snow below. “There’s a device in there,” says the chief executive of White Rock Defence Systems, an information security consultancy that helps companies protect themselves against spies. “They’re not clients of ours, but whenever we scan for transmissions in nearby buildings, we pick it up. It’s been there for ages, just streaming information out.” The building in question is bugged with an electronic device transmitting information about one of its tenants. In the era of WikiLeaks, it is tempting to view all leaks as news headlines. But in general, corporate leaks tend to be of interest only to a very small group of people – an organisation’s competitors or potential buyer. “The reasons people engage in competitive information gathering are usually financial gain and leverage,” says Mr Sturrock.

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Free wireless internet is a make or break deal for business guests in UK hotels

 Even though most will be able to claim any expenses from their employers, business travellers are highly averse to the idea of paying for wireless internet access in a hotel.

Indeed, according to new research, not only is the way in which some hotels in London and elsewhere in the world continue to charge their guests to get online an irritant to corporate guests, it can make or break a deal.

That is, while in the past free wireless may have been viewed as a nice extra, it is now regarded by a majority of both business and leisure travellers as a right, up there with complimentary tea and coffee and towels and, as such, consumers are starting to vote with their feet by boycotting establishments that have the nerve to charge them for internet use.

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NFS Launches New iPhone App for Aloha Point of Sale

(Hospitality Business News) HERTFORD, UK - 23 December, 2010: NFS, provider of the world-class Aloha point of sale software suite, announced the launch of TIM - an exciting new iPhone app for the Aloha Point of Sale solution.

TIM allows the user to do everything the Aloha Point of Sale system can do - and more. Unlike other mobile solutions, a server using TIM can work an entire shift without having to resort to an actual Point of Sale terminal, meaning more time on the floor serving guests.

This no-nonsense application will run on any iPhone / iPad and has a user interface designed to allow servers to work quickly and efficiently, optimising customer service. All a restaurant needs to gain the full benefits from the TIM app is a good Wi-Fi infrastructure with the correct security measurements in place. There is no need for additional storage and no training is required.

This revolutionary new app has many unique features, all designed to help a hospitality operation give the best customer service they can, at minimal cost, and in the least time.
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Robbing a restaurant? There isn't an app for that

NEW LONDON, Conn. — An accused would-be restaurant robber had a change of heart Wednesday, after cooks at the establishment grabbed knives to defend themselves.

Police said Jerome Taylor, 20, wore a mask as he entered the Northern Indian restaurant on State Street Wednesday afternoon.

He pulled what the cooks thought was a gun and demanded money, according to police. But the cooks grabbed knives and said they weren't handing anything over.

At that point, Taylor became apologetic and told the cooks he was only kidding and that he needed money for his child, police said.

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Chinese restaurant hires robot waiters

The owner, Zhang Yongpei, is hoping that his robots will prove to the world that China is on the global front line of technological development.

Inspired by space exploration and robot technology, each of the seven robots costs nearly four thousand pounds each, and they are wired to perform a specific duty within the restaurant.

As diners enter, they are met by a female robot equipped with batting eyelashes and a mechanical "welcome". They will later encounter receptionists, waiters and even dancing entertainers.

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TCS partners with Hilton on IT strategy

MCLEAN, Va. & MUMBAI, India--(Hospitality Business News)--Hilton Worldwide, the leading global hospitality company, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540) (NSE: TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, today announced a multi-year agreement to help accelerate and enhance Hilton Worldwide's technology strategy as part of the Hilton Worldwide Innovation Collaborative.

The Innovation Collaborative will evolve Hilton Worldwide’s technology infrastructure and accelerate innovation across the company’s portfolio of ten brands. TCS will leverage its extensive experience in running large transformational initiatives and modernizing legacy systems to help develop a platform that keeps Hilton Worldwide in the forefront of the business and technology landscape.
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CCTV cameras to monitor Nassau streets next year

Image via WikipediaAN INTEGRATED network of CCTV cameras will start to monitor the streets of Nassau next year in the first wave of a new initiative to assist police in the fight against crime.
Plans formulated by the National CCTV Steering Committee with guidance from American consultants Hudson Sterling LLC are expected to be implemented in six to nine months time as 85 cameras across New Providence are linked by a national control centre.
The network funded and operated by a public-private partnership effort has been spearheaded by the committee formed two years ago by the Ministry of National Security.
And once the first phase has been launched in Nassau next year, it is expected to roll out across the country as it expands technologically and geographically to cover Grand Bahama and the Family Islands in future.

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iPad POS use rising among restaurants

A growing number of operators, from independents to franchisees of major chains, are using Apple's iPad as part of their point-of-sale systems.
Restaurant operators recently shared how they've incorporated iPads into their ordering process, from arming servers with the handheld devices to installing them on the counter.
Configurations vary
iPad users are running the terminals in a variety of POS system configurations, including those centered around remotely hosted software running at so-called “cloud” data centers, to which store-level devices communicate via wireless Internet connections. Such users include Trio Restaurant & Bar in Mount Airy, N.C., which runs Lecere Corp.’s FIRMS POS software, and Fish and Chips Restaurant in Sausalito, Calif., where Revel Systems is the software-as-a-service POS supplier of choice.

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Wells Fargo mobile payment pilot ready for roll out

Wells Fargo & Company is rolling out a Visa microSD mobile payment pilot that will include 200 Wells Fargo team members who are users of specific BlackBerry and iPhone models. The pilot features DeviceFidelity's In2Pay technology.
BlackBerry smartphone users will directly insert the In2Pay microSD card into the slot in their device, while iPhone users will receive the protective In2Pay Case for iPhone with the In2Pay microSD card. To make payments, users open the Wells Fargo Mobile Banking application, select "pay with phone" and wave the phone in front of the contactless reader at the point of purchase. The reader will light up and beep, indicating that the payment has been received.

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Hackers Steal McDonald's Customer Data

McDonald's is working with law enforcement authorities after malicious hackers broke into another company's databases and stole information about an undetermined number of the fast food chain's customers.

McDonald's has also alerted potentially affected customers via e-mail and through a message on its website.
"We have been informed by one of our long-time business partners, Arc Worldwide, that limited customer information collected in connection with certain McDonald's websites and promotions was obtained by an unauthorized third party," a McDonald's spokeswoman said via e-mail on Saturday.

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A new way to accept credit cards

(Hospitality Business News) December 12, 2010 - - Square is a new system that allows anyone to accept credit cards. Square works with any US-issued credit, debit, pre-paid, or gift card with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover logo. Perhaps the US only restriction will be a hindrance in some major cities so you should be aware of this.

Square's card processing fees are:

·          2.75% + 15¢ for swiped transactions

·          3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in transactions

There are no activation, gateway, monthly, early termination, or hidden fees.

Square can currently be used with the following devises

Apple iOS

·         iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4

·         iPod touch (2nd generation or later)

·         iPad

Google Android

·         Motorola Droid, Droid X

·         HTC Nexus One, Droid Incredible, Evo, Desire, Hero (With Android 2.X)

·         Samsung Galaxy S Series, Intercept

·         LG Ally

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Shell Vacations Investigating Credit Card Breach

Shell Vacations, a company that operates a chain of resorts across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is currently investigating a possible security breach that resulted in credit card details being compromised.

An announcement posted on the Shell Vacations Hospitality and Shell Vacations Club websites, the company’s two subsidiaries, reveals that the suspected incident occurred between June 2010 and October 2010.
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Foreign Hacker Suspected in Seattle Restaurant Data Breach

Federal authorities now say the recent Seattle cyber attack was a much bigger crime than first believed. A U.S. Secret Service agent says more than 1,000 credit and debit cards may have been compromised.
The attack happened in late October, and the forensic trail leads overseas, officials say. Card data was stolen on Oct. 22 in a one-day attack by what authorities say for now was one hacker. The Seattle Capitol Hill area restaurant, Broadway Grill, appears to be ground zero for the attack. Secret Service agent Bob Kierstead of the Seattle Electronic Crimes Task Force says the overseas hacker who was able to access the network through Broadway Grill's system appears to have been able to leapfrog from the restaurant's access to a critical server in the transaction process, where account information was available.

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A gaze into the future of what travellers’ hotel experience will be like in 2020

A major new report, Hotels 2020: Beyond Segmentation, reveals the emerging behaviours and demands of the future hotel guest and what this means for the types of hotels we will see in the future.

The study commissioned by the chosen technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, Amadeus and carried out by Fast Future Research reveals that the industry faces three major impacts in the next decade which it has to respond to:

·         The long-term impact of the recession on travellers’ budgets

·         The changing demands of an ageing Western population

·         The shift of demand from Europe to emerging markets of Asia and beyond

The report also recognises the industry’s need to innovate and paints a picture of a future hotel featuring such innovations as intelligent furniture, personalized nutrition plans and responsive technologies that cater to individual guests needs. It highlights the new hotel models that may emerge such as invitation-only hotels, hotels co-branded with luxury brands, white-label hotels and catch-all hotel chains that will deliver one-star budget to six-star luxury hotel properties.

As well as looking to a future where increased choice, control and comfort are commonplace, the report acknowledges that the industry must respond to the demographic and economic changes in their guests circumstances.

With an ever aging population globally, hotel groups must consider layout, access issues and facilities to cater to the requirements of older holidaymakers. Additionally, it is predicted that there will be an increase in multi generational holidays, which will bring with herald its own set of requirements.

In addition to this, the report may have some good news for 2020’s business travellers. While currently hotels charge high rates for internet access, far from viewing it as a revenue stream, hotels may well be offering free wifi as standard in order to attract guests.

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Google Hotpot challenges Yelp's restaurant rater

Google is getting into the restaurant rating biz, with its new launch of Hotpot, a sort of Yelp/Foursquare/Facebook mash-up linked to Google Places.
Google maps already aggregate ratings from other rating websites like Citysearch and OpenTable, but Hotpot is more personalized. It tailors its recommendations based on places that you, and others in your social network, have rated highly. (It's similar to Facebook Places, but instead of just "like"ing a place, the user can give a rating somewhere between Love and Hate.) After Yelp rejected Google's purchase offer last year, might this competing product be considered an act of revenge?

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BankServ and BirchStreet Systems Partner to Speed and Simplify Procurement Payments for the Hospitality Industry

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwire - November 17, 2010) - BankServ and BirchStreet Systems, Inc. today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership to package remote check capture capability with BirchStreet's award-winning procure-to-pay platform. Under the terms of the deal, BirchStreet clients will gain the option to use BankServ's DepositNow online check deposit and receivables management system to speed and simplify payments related to the global procurement-to-pay process.

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Credit Cards With Computer Chips: Coming to a Wallet Near You This Month

We’ve been hearing the refrain for years: the US is losing the credit card technology race. In Europe they have microchips. In Asia, people pay with their phones.
You’d think it’s only a matter of time before the US dumps its ancient magnetic stripes and joins the 21st century.
“The US started deploying magnetic stripe readers in the late 60s,” says Jeff Mullen,CEO of Dynamics, Inc. According to a leading maker of credit card terminal parts, GAO Research, there are over 10 million magnetic stripe readers in the US today.


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