Tag: Hospitality IT

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5 London Hotels That Are Above the Curve on Technology

5 London Hotels That Are Above the Curve on Technology

The hotel industry is only just starting to embrace the latest tech. London hotels areis working hard to make guests feel like they are right at home during their stay. But when does a hotel stay feel like home?

The latest technology has made it possible to set up the room just the way you like it. From choosing the right room, lighting, temperature, music – everything can be controlled and set up in advance.  London hotels have started picking up on the need to personalise every guests’ stay and invest in new technology to make this possible.

Here are five of the London hotels innovating technology in their offering to guests: 

1. Eccleston Square Hotel

Named London’s most high-tech hotel, Eccleston Square Hotel is a unique blend of historical elegance and exciting new technology. 

The hotel’s very own app that guests can download to their device acts as a digital concierge and lets you set up everything just the way you want for your arrival. 

Each room has access to free and fast Wi-Fi, and comes equipped with free smartphones that guests can use for international calls and free data while roaming the city or conducting business.  

The in-room pads let guests control every single aspect of their room – light, sound, and temperature – and they can also browse the menu, order room service from the restaurant, and select the time of delivery. 

The bathroom glass walls can be toggled between see-through and frosted with a simple touch of a button. The best part is that the “Do not disturb” sign can be activated from the touchpad, too! 

2.  Radisson Blu Edwardian, Berkshire

Radisson Blu on oxford Street never stops innovating to offer the very best guest experience. While staying at the Edwardian on the Bloomberry St, guests will be able to use their very own virtual assistant called Edward. 

Edward will help throughout the whole stay and help them with check-ins, checkouts, and requesting anything guests might need. Each room has fast Wi-Fi for an unlimited number of devices, and guests can even stay up to date thanks to their digital news app. 

3. South Place Hotel, London

The South Place Hotel also realised that guests want full control of their room setup, so every guest can control lighting and electronic blackout blinds, and enjoy crystal clear sound thanks to the Bang & Olufsen media centre and a library full of free on-demand movies and shows. 

The bathrooms are equipped with a TV and speakers too, and those who get tired of movies can head to the hotel’s games room.

4. Amba Hotel Marble Arch, London 

Also located on Oxford Street, Amba Hotel Marble Arch lets guests have full control over every aspect of their stay. They can choose rooms themselves during booking, and the Mobile Valet app lets guests explore the hotel and all amenities, order room service, and set up express checkout easily. 

Every room is equipped with USB sockets next to beds and super-fast unlimited Wi-Fi. There’s also a tablet in each room that guests can use as they like, and Smart TVs they can link their own devices with and connect to their favourite services.  Plus, you can keep your tech secure thanks to the in-room laptop safe which is a great addition for business trips.

5. CitizenM London Bankside

The CitizenM London Bankside offers their guests compact rooms filled to the brim with technological gadgets that make the stay comfortable and futuristic. Starting with ‘one-minute’ check-in kiosks, the guests are guided to a room that they can adjust as they want. 

Guests will have their own tablet “mood pad” that gives them control over all the aspects of the room. Coupled with lightning-fast Wi-Fi, it’s really like being portalled to the future. 

Today, a personal touch and focus on guest preferences is what it’s all about. The very best hotels focus on the guest experience by making it easy to check in and out, order, and connect to personal and business accounts and services right in the room.

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6 Hospitality Businesses Who Faced Data Breach Fines

hospitality data breach fine

Contrary to popular belief, the hospitality industry is an excellent target of cybercrime because of the sheer amount of personal and sensitive data held. In fact, there are several businesses that have already faced data breach fines.

Every day, hotels, hostels, and restaurant chains handle credit cards, emails, contact preferences, home addresses, and other sensitive data from millions of customers, and hackers want to get their hands on that information.

A data breach can go undetected for quite a long time, as some of the cases below demonstrate, which would only increase the GDPR fine nowadays!

Here are 6 hospitality businesses who have recently faced data breach fines, and the cybercrime that caused them.

1. Hilton Fined $700,000 After Taking 10 Months To Notify Customers of Data Loss.

Back in 2014, Hilton hotels were a victim of a data breach, followed by another breach during 2015, which resulted in the data loss of over 360,000 customers. The data that was stolen held sensitive information like credit card numbers, names, addresses, and more.

The biggest issue is that Hilton failed to inform its customers about the breach in a timely manner. It took them ten months after they learned about the breach to inform their customers. This resulted in a $700,000 fine for lack of adequate security and failing to inform customers about the breach. If this had happened recently, their fines would be much higher under GDPR –  they would probably have to pay around $420 million.

2. Radisson Hotels Face Potential GDPR Fine

Radisson Hotel Group faces fines under the newly adopted GDPR. The breach was discovered in 2018, with Radisson claiming to have promptly informed the EU regulators within the 72-hour timeline. It was detected in the Radisson Rewards database, and some members of their Rewards programs were compromised.

Apparently, credit card or passwords were not stolen. Stolen data included names, addresses, email addresses, company names, Rewards member numbers, and frequent flyer numbers. As a result, the hotel chain might be facing a €10 million fine.

3. Trump Hotels Pay $50,000 After Not Informing Customers About Breach

Even Trump hotels aren’t spared of data breaches. The hotel chain suffered a data breach back in 2014 when over 70,000 credit card numbers and other personal data were stolen via the payment processing system that was infected. The now president Trump agreed to cover the $50,000 fine that was issued because the hotel chain didn’t bother to inform their customers about the breach even though they knew about it for months.

4. Wendy’s $50 Million Settlement

Restaurant chain Wendy’s had to pay a hefty fine because of the data breach that happened in 2015 and 2016 when 1,025 POS systems used at their locations were infected with malware that led to a lot of stolen credit card info. It is reported that over 18 million cards were compromised in the breach.

Many of these cards were used to commit fraudulent online purchases. As a result, Wendy’s had to face a class action lawsuit from affected financial institutions and consumers. Wendy’s reached a settlement that required them to pay $50 million by the end of 2019.

5. Zippy’s Restaurant $725,000 Data Breach

Zippy’s restaurant chain based in Hawaii suffered a data breach in November 2017. They first discovered the breach in March 2018. All cards used during that time might have been affected. The compromised information included credit card numbers, expiration dates, names, and security codes.

There is no information about how many customers were affected, but a class action lawsuit was filed against FCH Enterprises, the owner of Zippy’s Restaurant. It’s worth noting that not only the restaurant chain was affected. The other franchises held by FCH – Napoleon’s Bakery, Kahala Sushi, Pearl City Sushi, and Pomaika’i Ballrooms. FCH reached a settlement and agreed to pay $725,000.

6. The $915Million GDPR Marriott Case

Probably the case that got most traction is the large data breach that occurred with the Marriott hotel chain. Personal data and credit card details, even passport numbers and dates of birth of more than 500 million of their customers were stolen. The Marriott group includes hotel chains such as Sheraton, Westin, W, Le, Meridien.

The breach was first discovered in September 2018, while detailed investigation revealed ongoing unauthorized access dating back to 2014. They did encrypt sensitive data such as credit card information. However, the group stated they cannot be sure that encryption keys were not stolen too.

The most concerning part is that this was ongoing for four years, meaning security monitoring profoundly failed. The fine: $3.5 billion dollars plus $915 million from ICO GDPR.

With the rising risk of data breach and rising prices of fines, make sure you protect your customers’ sensitive data. This is especially true with the GDPR in place. By doing so, you avoid fines and ensure your guests rest easy knowing their personal information is safe with you.


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5 Reasons Hospitality Businesses Get Hacked

hospitality business hacking

The last several years have revealed that hospitality businesses are vulnerable to cyber attacks. Many major hospitality players being victims of cybercrime that was in some cases undetected for years. In a separate post, we have cited six hospitality businesses that faced data breach fines resulting from hospitality business hacking.

Hackers are becoming increasingly innovative in ways they gain access to secure hospitality systems. In contrast, the hospitality sector is lagging behind in security measures. Businesses often don’t treat cybersecurity as a priority but prefer to focus on customer experience only, which can have far-reaching consequences in case of a breach.

The most common factors that contribute to hospitality business hacking and data breaches include the following:  

#1 The Number of People Involved

It is the nature of the hospitality industry that makes hospitality businesses such targets – there are so many customers and staff involved that hackers easily benefit from those numbers.  Sooner or later, somebody will make a mistake and click on a malicious link delivered into their inbox from a spoofed email address, and that one click is often enough to get access to everything.

Once inside, hackers will easily find employee credentials to get access to sensitive information, such as customer names, emails, addresses, current residence, credit card information, loyalty programs and points, and more, and use all that information for monetary gain or to sell it on the dark web.  

Another big issue that contributes to the high vulnerability of the hospitality sector is the current hospitality retention rates. Retention rate in the hospitality industry is quite low in comparison to averages or other industries. In the UK, the annual staff retention level is just over 70%, which is concerning since the average retention is usually around 85%. Not only are staff usually less interested in the long-term protection of the business, but frequent changes of users and passwords often leads to bad practices like sharing or logging in for each other.

#2 Unsecured Networks Result in Hospitality Business Hacking

One of the easiest ways hackers are able to access guest and employee data is through Wi-Fi networks that are poorly secured and unsecured. While it’s hard to make sure a Wi-Fi network is 100% secure against attacks, hospitality businesses can do a lot to minimise the risk.

First of all, a network should never be unsecured. While it might seem like a great perk – use your network easily without having to ask for a passcode – this also means that anyone can access it, hackers included. The passcode should always be complex to avoid hackers simply guessing it. Businesses should avoid setting up “12345” or the business name as the passcode.

In addition to the right encryption settings for all the networks, it’s important to separate them too. Guests should always have a separate network for all their devices. Sharing the same network for business devices and guest devices is a recipe for disaster. Some of your guests may not be as innocent as they appear. They may be accessing your internal systems and data whilst also enjoying your coffee.

Why It’s Safer to Tether Your Internet Than Use Public Wi-Fi

#3 Lack of Understanding

Another fault of many businesses in the hospitality industry is their lack of understanding of cybersecurity. Hotels are now interconnected digital systems that compete for customers by introducing new digital experiences. As such complex systems, they have a large number of endpoints – like the above-mentioned Wi-Fi networks, but also HVAC systems, Points of Sale (PoS), electronic door locks, smart devices – through which customer data is accessed and stored.

It’s true that they do adopt new technology and software to streamline their operations. But their outdated security measures don’t cover new security threats. You see, each of the endpoints used can also be an entry point for hackers to steal data. Sometimes, it’s enough to delay updating your PoS system for hackers to get a successful entry.   

Because hospitality businesses deal with such a large amount of sensitive data daily, it’s of utmost importance that they also understand the risks that come with the benefits of new software and tech solutions.

11+ Ways to Improve Your Email Security Today

#4 Cybersecurity Isn’t Their Focus

Most hospitality businesses will agree that customer satisfaction and the overall experience with their brand is what matters most. The competition is fierce, and it’s very easy to lose customers. In their battle to retain customers, they will often prioritise to spend their money on user experience. As a result, they streamline all their internal operations towards this goal.

Providing a seamless experience in every single one of their locations require interconnection of all hotels from the same chain. For this reason, they are able to easily share their data on customers between locations. This way, the customer’s preferences when it comes to rooms and suites and other data that help make them feel welcome is accessible at any time, no matter which of their hotels the customer walks into. Such data sharing happens within the hotel chain national network, which all hotels have access to.

This interconnectedness can have far-reaching consequences – just one breach into a single hotel from the whole chain is enough for hackers to quickly gain access to their whole system and steal information from central data points.

#5 Lack of Education Lead to Hospitality Business Hacking

With a lack of understanding of why security systems are crucial for all the digital systems in the hospitality industry, cybersecurity is often put into the back seat. This, in turn, results in a severe lack of education for staff members and partners.

If employees working in hospitality do not know how to spot risks, the chances of hospitality business hacking skyrocket. Not all employees are tech-savvy or IT professionals. Some of them don’t know how to spot a phishing attempt. However, with the right training, you can greatly reduce the chances of being hacked.

The best approach here would be to have cybersecurity staff that will take proactive measures to keep all systems secure. Therefore, it’s not a bad idea to appoint a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) who would oversee all security-related operations. The CISO ‘s responsibility includes setting up a plan in case a breach happens.

12 Warning Signs Of A Phishing Email

The Right Measures Help Detect a Breach Quickly

The hospitality industry will remain a high-risk target for cyber attacks, and there will always be a risk. However, taking the right countermeasures will minimise hospitality business hacking. This ensures that if a breach does happen, there are rules in place that will help detect it quickly. Consequently, businesses take the right course of action.

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IT Managed Service Providers vs In-house IT Teams For Hospitality

IT Managed Service Providers vs In-house IT Teams For Hospitality feature image

As businesses are undergoing digital transformations, IT is becoming a critical part of their business success. With consumers expecting hospitality to match the digital era with new customer experiences, it’s often one of the things that are left behind!

So whilst basic IT knowledge goes a long way in hospitality, having a dedicated IT expert is still the best solution. Most business owners are now faced with a critical decision: to choose between an IT managed service provider vs in-house IT team.  How are they different? Which one is better? How safe is it to let someone else take care of your IT needs?

The choice between an IT managed service provider vs in-house IT team often boils down to the size of the company and its specific needs. Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of each option.

In-House IT Team: Pros and Cons

In-house IT staff usually handle day-to-day IT operations and requirements. Startups and small and medium businesses will often start with a single IT expert who will handle their IT needs. As they grow, however, they will also need more than one IT expert to keep track of everything.

Pros

It’s not that in-house teams are without benefits:  

  • They will have intimate knowledge of your operations and know your infrastructure in and out.
  • They can be immediately available when you need them.

On the other hand, having a full in-house IT team is often limited to large enterprises only. A full IT team when you’re a small or middle-sized business is just not possible financially. Not only would they eat up resources but you need a place to put them day-to-day too!

Cons

The cons of in-house teams seem to be more prevalent when it comes to IT requirements of most hospitality businesses:

  • The costs run high: They will be your full-time employees, meaning you will have to cover their salaries, benefits, training, NI, and other expenses.
  • The emergencies increase costs even more: The cost of intervention often goes up considerably in case of emergencies that happen overnight, and you have to pay overtime.
  • Team members are not bound to your company: If they decide to leave for what they think is a better opportunity, they are free to do so. When they leave, they will take all their expertise with them and you’re stuck with tech you don’t know how to run, unless you employ a team – which is even more expensive!
  • In-house teams can rarely keep up with all the latest IT developments or industry trends, meaning that parts of your IT infrastructure will inadvertently become outdated. It’s their job to keep things running, not constantly innovate!
  • Often limited to reactive interventions instead of proactive IT strategy development.

Is an IT managed service provider better than in-house IT teams? Let’s see what they can offer.

IT Managed Service Providers: Pros and Cons

Business owners are often wondering how is an IT managed service provider better than in-house IT teams. It seems logical that hiring a third-party provider to take care of your IT needs would be less efficient.

But this is a common misconception.

Managed service providers actually improve efficiency. They deliver higher quality services because IT is their speciality; it’s all they do. They are experts who continuously improve their knowledge by following the latest developments.

Pros

When a business hires an IT managed service provider, they will reap the following benefits:

  • Paying a lower price for hiring them than you would for keeping an in-house team. Their services are available for a flat monthly rate, which makes budgeting for IT super easy. You benefit from economies of scale here, because ultimately, you won’t be the service provider’s only client – but that means they are more affordable!  
  • They are available around the clock and can monitor your systems at all times.
  • Your operations will rarely be disrupted: Managed service providers have service level agreements (SLAs) that are legally binding. They guarantee to provide the highest possible uptime and service quality. It also means that should you move to someone else, they should provide you with all the procedures and documentation necessary to ‘hand-over’ your day-to-day.
  • Managed service providers also have access to the latest technological solutions, software, and industry contact. This means that all your IT needs will be up to date as soon as there’s one available.

Cons

Of course, there are also some disadvantages of managed service providers:

  • Finding the right fit for your business needs takes time. Sometimes, trial and error is the only option to find a managed service provider who has everything you need.
  • Sometimes, service packages can be arranged in such a way that you might need to pay for some services you don’t really need. Still, many managed service providers will happily let you make a fully custom package.
  • The biggest concern is their on-site availability. Your MSP should always be able to provide some level of physicality! Particularly for 1st line support which often involves users directly.

IT Managed Service Provider vs In-House IT Team: Who Wins?

Is an IT managed service provider better than in-house IT teams? Our verdict is a big fat YES because they can offer everything an in-house IT team does, and more! Ultimately, you pay for a ‘service’ rather than a person when it comes to an IT managed service provider and therefore you know you’re always covered!

Comparing an IT managed service provider to an in-house IT team shows that you will ultimately save more money by opting for a managed service provider.

Having up-to-date software is also a crucial point – it ensures you are well protected against cybersecurity threats and attacks that are becoming more elaborate over time. Your IT managed service provider will make sure all your security definitions are up to date, that they never expire, and that your business and customer data is secure.

IT managed service providers free up the time you would otherwise spend on the challenging tasks related to your IT. They are not just your IT support, they are the technological catalyst for your business. Working with you to develop the right strategies to acheive your your long-term goals.