Sertifi, a Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced it has achieved Oracle Validated Integration of Sertifi with Oracle Hospitality OPERA, eliminating paper authorization forms and the manual entry of payments into OPERA altogether. The new integration automates the payment and authorization process for front desk, reservations and sales and catering groups, while minimizing PCI scope with PCI compliance and validating payments in real time at the time of online capture.

With unemployment at an all-time low - 4% across all industries as of June 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - employee retention is top of mind. The proliferation of available jobs in hospitality has sparked even more competition among hotels to attract and retain employees. An additional dollar per hour or free daily lunch is proving to be enough of an incentive for hourly employees to leave one property and move to the next.

At the recent, CHAT 2018 (China Hotel and Tourism Forum) in Shanghai, Kevin King, COO of Shiji, was invited to deliver a keynote speech on "Hotel Operation Technology". As one of the largest hospitality conferences in China, CHAT aims to explore new ideas for hospitality industry future development with trade professionals.

Amadeus has agreed to acquire TravelClick from Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm, for USD $1.52bn. 

Infor, a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, today announced that Alila Hotels and Resorts has deployed Infor Hospitality Management System (HMS) and Infor Revenue Management Solution (RMS) for its hotel operations in Kuala Lumpur to increase business agility and further enhance efficiencies.

ALICE spoke with Chief Concierge of the Jung Hotel and Residences of the New Orleans Hotel Collection, Claudette Breve, about the impact of technology on the concierge profession, the current challenges that face the industry, and where she sees the see the profession going in the coming years.

World-famous rock climber, Catherine Destivelle, and Portuguese National Radio Host, Carla Rocha, will be keynote speakers at the 2018 HTNG European Conference held on 22-24 October at the Penha Longa Resort just outside of Lisbon.

Cloud5 Communications, the leading communications technology and services provider for hospitality, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Mark Holzberg as President and Chief Executive Officer. Holzberg previously ran Cloud5's technology products business unit and now will also manage its services business, including contact centers, overseeing the entire 450+ person Cloud5 organization that serves thousands of hotels and millions of guests with superior hospitality communications solutions.

Lightstone is a national real estate investor/developer with 28 hospitality properties nationwide. The company's current portfolio emphasizes select services hotels, branded by Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Starwood. How big do you think its asset management team is?

The Clarendon Hotel and Spa, a four-star boutique hotel in the heart of Phoenix, has partnered with OpenKey, the industry standard for universal mobile access in hotels. Hotel guests will be able to bypass the front desk during check-in and access their room with mobile keyless entry. Integrating OpenKey's innovative technology will support the hotel's guest-centric approach and help deliver an experience expected from today's traveler.