A world without Big Data or industry 4.0 is unimaginable today. Meanwhile, each responsible manager should understand the importance of this subject, at the latest since CeBit and even Chancellor Merkel has put it on top of the agenda.

Guestline's international team have seen a surge in the number of PMS and distribution installations they've undertaken across the Asia-Pacific region. With solutions in hotels across Thailand, Bangladesh and recently Laos and Myanmar, more and more hoteliers are selecting Guestline to assist them in driving occupancy and managing operations.

Newmarket® International, Inc. ("Newmarket"), an Amadeus company, the proven business solutions provider for empowering hospitality organizations to lower costs and increase revenue, while improving customer satisfaction and guest loyalty, today announced the dates and location of its annual international customer conference.

The United Kingdom (UK) is currently hosting the world's biggest rugby event: the 2015 Rugby World Cup. There is always debate over the expected impact of any major sporting event for UK hoteliers, since the demand for hotels during such periods can still be very difficult to predict.

Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announces the release of the EMV for the US Hospitality Industry white paper, produced by the Secure Payments Framework working group. The document clears up the confusion surrounding EMV and provides hoteliers with valuable information they can use to prepare for EMV at their hotels.

Sure, with an endless marketing budget, any hotel can get perfect SEO. But what about hotels with limited marketing funds? What about hostels, inns, bed and breakfasts, and other small properties? It is harder for small properties to get SEO done right. The good news is that it's possible. Here's how you start:

Newmarket®, an Amadeus company, today announced the public launch of the Newmarket Web Services (NWS) Developer Portal, enabling hospitality technology partners to accelerate application delivery and improve customer and guest experiences.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a panel discussion on Big Data in Brussels. Like at a similar conference in Dubai by HTNG (Hotel Technology Next Generation) one of the topics we discussed was what kind of data should be collected.

Guestline has launched Price Assure, a new price comparison tool for hoteliers to display live OTA prices on their website to drive direct bookings. Guests can compare the total cost of their stay on the hotel's website against 5 other online channels to give potential guests the assurance that they're getting the best rate on the market if they book direct.

Google has quietly changed its approach to the hotel industry in a big way. Separate initiatives have combined to expand Google's hotel distribution influence. Consumers no longer have to leave Google to book a hotel – bookings can be made right on the Google site via Google Instant Booking. The bookings are cutting out the middleman – the OTA's – and going straight to the hotel itself. NB: OTA's are some of Google's largest ad spend so they could indeed be canibilizing some of there revenue. Google is using a commission model rather than a merchant model. Participating hotels in the Hotel Ads Commission Program are being positioned via Google Hotel Ads and are NOT having to pay CPC.