The Robert Parker Collection, a group of six luxury hotels, have opted for Guestline's superior cloud hosted solutions in order to improve customer service, centralise operations and drive revenue across the group.

WhatsApp will now share data with Facebook following significant updates to its privacy policy. This update will in turn allow businesses to access more information about WhatsApp users and eventually send messages directly.

The luxurious four-star Lakeside Hotel, set in an idyllic location on the shores of Lake Windermere, has seen online bookings double at the property since implementing Guestline's cloud hosted solutions. Previously using a server based system, the hotel wanted to move to a cloud hosted solution to integrate all operational systems and automate processes. The hotel opted for Guestline's cloud hosted Rezlynx property management system, distribution, online booking and secure payment platforms which has helped drive direct bookings to 70%, delivering commission free, bookings throughout the property.

In just a few months since adopting the new ALICE Concierge tool, guest services at Manhattan's 314-room Dream Downtown is better able to track guest requests, respond to them quickly using a single online platform, and spend their time where it is most valuable: taking care of guests' needs directly and personally. Since implementation in January, Dream Downtown has seen an average monthly increase of 43% in concierge requests, and a 36% increase in after-hours requests, all handled efficiently under the new system.

MSI Solutions (MSI), a leading provider of mid-market property management software solutions serving the North American hotel industry, today announces the promotion of Mark Loyd to President.

Springer-Miller Systems (SMS), the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems, today announces the promotion of Robert Selwah to President and Michelle D. Young to Vice President, Sales & Marketing.

ALICE, info.aliceapp.com, announced that the Hotel Des Trois Couronnes, Vevey Switzerland, has adopted ALICE Suite - a SaaS solution that completely connects the guest to the hotel, and connects all service departments within a hotel.

What sets Millennial business travelers apart from the 'hot briefcase' travelers of other generations? When younger travelers have a chance to get out of the office, it's usually not drudgery, those trips offer frugal young travelers an opportunity to get away from the office, often mixing business with pleasure in the process.

Data has become the new gold in the Big Data era. When you look at the business value of companies such as Booking.com, AirBnB or Uber you can see the immense value of data. All these companies would have no basis for existence without the data they are generating.

Recently Google published the Google Playbook for Travel — a detailed overview of the trends and learnings of consumer behaviour while booking and researching travel. Within this Playbook, Google looks in detail at micro- moments — points in time when people turn to their device with an intent to answer an immediate need. These micro-moments are fast becoming the basis of how we research, plan and make decisions on different aspects of our lives. Below I've outlined some of the key takeaways from Google's Playbook for Travel and pulled out some best practices for hotel marketers to capitalise on these micro-moments for your hotel marketing strategy.