Brad’s Laws for Good Hotel IT Products
I’m going to start with a caveat:
An old, jaded and cynical hospitality software developer wrote this post.
I think in terms of return on investment. If you think that hotels are gilded palaces to guest experience, then this post is not for you.
You are cordially invited to stop reading now.
Still here? Okay. Good.
Here is the underlying premise to Brad’s Unwritten but Logical Laws for Successful Hotel IT: Hotels are businesses.
They exist for the sole purpose of making money for their owners. Period. The End.
If you think differently, then this post is not for you and you are once again cordially invited to stop reading.
Still here? Wonderful.
You are hearty stock and shall be rewarded generously with the following knowledge. Here are the laws. Read More »
Even Elephants Can Innovate
The economy was soft and the travel industry had never really recovered from 9/11. New project dollars were tough to come by and the level of innovation on display year over year at HITEC showed it.
Now, a couple of years later we’re seeing a proliferation of new start ups and companies moving into the hospitality space. Hospitality and travel are even popping up as viable subjects for venture capital, with mainstream VC’s like Ignition Partners taking a substantial position in Hipmunk.com and the creation of specialized travel and hospitality funds like Thayer Venture Partners.
In this new environment where the puppies are nipping at the heels of the establishment players, I thought I’d take a visit to a few of the old guard and see 
what — if anything — is new.
I’m going to state right here that I was blown away. The level of innovation coming from the historically (ahem) ponderous companies of hospitality is nothing short of amazing.
My first visit was to Micros Systems.
Let’s face it kids, some people think of Micros as the 800-pound dinosaur that left a footprint in the soap dish…or something like that. They hold lots of market and they know it. For a while, I think they thought they didn’t need to innovate.
Well, somebody ate their Wheaties, because Micros has come to play in the new reality that is ecommerce. Read More »
