4 Tips To Help Market Your Brewery

/0 Comments/in , /by

Marketing your business involves creativity, communication, and a lot of dedication and hard work. Customers and potential customers are not only looking for a great product, but they’re also looking for a great company that wants to earn their business and loyalty to their brand.

Here are 4 tips to help market your brewery.

 

Tell a great story

Everyone loves a good story. And even if it’s a simple one, your customers want to know what they’re buying and about the company they’re buying it from.

By sharing your experiences online – like how your business started, your inspiration behind the brand, or how you got to where you are, your customers may connect with you better and feel free to share their experiences and appreciation of your brand as well.

 

Create trust

Part of telling your story is being honest and open, and building trust with your customers. They’re buying your product because they enjoy it, and they want to know that what they’re investing into is something of value and substance.

If you make a promise to your customers that you will continues to use only the highest quality ingredients, make sure to keep it, and they will repay you by sticking around as loyal customers.

 

Stand out from the rest

Image is important. Creating a brand includes creating an image that will be memorable for your customers and something they should associate with how great your product is. Think carefully about how you brand yourself, and once that has been established, make sure to stay true to that image.

 

Stay consistent

Part of standing out from other breweries is staying consistent throughout the branding process. It’s hard to follow a brand that continues to change all of the time, and it’s important to realize that your customers and potential customers are looking for something great they can recognize.

 

 

3 Ways Unified Communications Can Help Your Hotel Succeed

/0 Comments/in /by

Good communication is crucial for the success of your hotel. You need to be able to communicate effectively with everyone within your company as well as with your guests, to ensure that everything is running smoothly, and your guests have a memorable experience.

 

Here are three ways unified communications can help your hotel succeed.

 

Save Money

Your staff and office team need the tools that will enable them to communicate quickly and effectively, so they can meet your guests’ demands.

But business communication technology can be a pricy investment, including the bulky hardware and expensive software that is sometimes required.

With several unified communications options available, you can lower the costs of your existing communications infrastructure with more affordable solutions, including virtualized servers, and using more cost-effective software.

 

Improve Communication

With the help of unified communications, your staff can be highly mobile with technology that will allow you to reach them anytime regardless of location, allowing you to offer superior service to your guests.

We help you implement SharePoint 365 because of its ability to increase hotel staff internal communication. SharePoint sites provide the members of your hotel team access to the guest’s needs and hotel plans so that nothing gets missed

With the help of unified communications, you can avoid slower work production due to ineffective communication with your staff, and improve communication with your guests to ensure they are satisfied with their experience at your hotel.

 

Make Your Guests Happy

With the help of unified communications, you and your hotel staff have immediate access to the hotel’s plans, documents, and critical hotel announcements so they can remain informed and productive without any issues.

When your staff is communicating effectively and have all of the correct information at their disposal, they are able to accommodate your guests more quickly and effectively.

And with this improved communication system, your staff can provide your guests with the information they need much faster, and offer the amenities they want, in order to make sure they have an amazing and carefree experience at your hotel.

3 Top Advantages of Having a Digital Curriculum

/0 Comments/in , /by

In our digital society, everyone communicates, learns, and explores across countless technological platforms.

The 21st century student now has access to several online tools including digital textbooks as well as ways to map out their digital curriculum effectively, in order to suit their learning needs. Here are some of the advantages of this progressing technology:

 

eBook Initiatives Bring Higher Attendance Rates

Lugging around heavy textbooks can be a great workout, but it doesn’t exactly provide the mental and physical motivation needed to make it to class on time, if at all.

Studies show that learning with laptops and the option to utilize eBooks has several positive educational outcomes. An evaluation of the North Carolina 1:1 Learning Technology Initiative has revealed greater attendance, graduation, and teacher retention rates, as well as improved testing and writing scores for students with access to more educational technology.

 

eBooks Save Money For Students

Not only are many textbooks cumbersome to pack and carry throughout the day, but they are often expensive, or even out of stock at certain stores.

Replacing textbooks with digital content is extremely beneficial for both schools as well as students and their families, helping them save as much as 60% on textbook costs.

 

eBooks Are Up-To-Date

Pluto isn’t technically a planet anymore – it’s a dwarf planet. If you didn’t already know that, then your textbooks may be a bit outdated.

That may seem exaggerated, but it can actually take traditional textbooks up to two years to print, so some of the content may have changed or re-classified once the actual textbook is published.

Digital content is easier to update as more information is discovered, and provides students and teachers a cost-effective way to quickly download new versions of eBook to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information available.

 

Tips for Improving Guest Experience at Your Hotel

/0 Comments/in /by

Let’s jog through the hotel booking process. These days travelers are pulling up their smartphones, choosing the specific benefits they want, pining for the best deal, and reading reviews before they even pull the credit card out. What sets a 4-star and 5-star reviewed hotel apart from all of the others? One answer—customer experience. In the hotel business, you are accommodating a variety of travelers with various demands, so how do you make the experience memorable for everyone?

 

Five Tips for Improving the Experience

When you are developing a strategy to improve your guests’ experiences, remember that the experience begins as soon as travelers begin searching for a hotel and continues right through checkout. Focus on all aspects of their search, stay, and checkout.

Give them what they want

If you are going to embrace the technology model, make sure you provide your guests with the opportunity to do so as well. What do guests want? They want free Wi-Fi and internet access. If you cannot offer something that simple, your hotel will be the first to be deleted off the list. If your hotel does offer access, make sure it is safe, secure, swift, and always accessible.

Keep it clean

Cleanliness can make or break a guest’s experience. We have all seen the undercover footage of shady cleaning practices, if there are any at all. Make sure you are using the correct chemicals and equipment, and ensure everyone who works at the hotel is properly trained and actually sticking to the plan. Technology assists hotels in effectively monitoring employee tasks.

Make sure training reflects your hotel’s image

Staff training and customer service execution must align with the hotel’s brand and image. Your guests should feel they are welcomed, accommodated, and cared for. Encourage your staff to step out of their traditional roles to ensure the hotel guest is cared for and acknowledged every time he/she is on the hotel grounds. A smile, a greeting, and a quick check in to make sure the guest’s needs are being met are easy and effective ways to improve the guest experience. Often, training and workshops are delivered with gusto, but they fall flat when employees leave. Training should be frequent and standards must be enforced. Managers can take the time to get out into the hotel and observe employees tasks and interactions, offering advice and improvement strategies to ensure the hotel is offering the best service and experience possible.

Be consistent

Consistency is a major part of the guest experience. Whether your hotel is a local establishment or international brand, the experience and expectations must be consistent. Online interaction, booking, check-in, the stay, and checkout must all be cohesive, painless, and efficient. Do not let technology blunders and poor guest interactions tarnish your hotel’s image. Your hotel’s level of service must be consistent if you want to attract loyal guests and encourage new travelers.

Embrace technology to improve the experience

Hospitality cloud is an excellent way to save money while improving your guest experience. Hotels that embrace hospitality programs can increase the number of bookings, reduce the amount of energy used by the hotel and its existing infrastructure, gain and maintain PCI compliance, and eliminate costly downtime.

How To Handle Negative Hotel Reviews

How To Handle Negative Hotel Reviews On Social Media

/0 Comments/in , /by

As a member of the hospitality industry, you probably understand the importance of social media for marketing purposes. It has the ability to quickly and efficiently connect you with new customers, while helping you retain the loyalty of previous guests.

Social media allows your guests to communicate with you directly to praise you for your excellent customer service, or to give you positive feedback after a memorable experience.

But it can also be a method for guests to share a negative experience and any issues they may have encountered during their stay at your hotel.

Social media is a powerful marketing tool, and it’s important to know how to handle the bad feedback with the good.

Here are a few tips on how to handle negative hotel reviews on social media.

 

Be Responsive

If a guest leaves negative feedback, it’s very important to respond quickly to address their concerns.

A good manager should approach the customer directly and with sympathy, and by politely asking the guest to call or email you directly, it will help by:

-Reassuring your guest that you are taking their issues seriously and will try to help them in any way possible.

-Allowing you to move the conversation out of a public forum, eliminating the possibility of a messy public dispute.

If the guest declines, it’s still important to continue a dialogue and respond to them until you have helped to resolve their issues.

 

Provide a Solution

When addressing guest complaints via social media, it is crucial for you to avoid confrontations and try to provide a constructive solution.

While some guests may be near impossible to please, some customers simply need help resolving their problems as soon as possible. For instance, if a client has an billing issue, instead of assuming the guest has made an error, let them know you’re going to check your records, and offer them a detailed list of charges billed to them. This way the guest can feel confident knowing you are working with them, rather than against them, and that you are taking their feedback seriously.

 

Keep Your Word 

Some hoteliers make promises (to provide better service, cleaner rooms, better amenities, etc.) to appease guests after receiving negative feedback.

And while many guests are not able to return to the hotel after their last visit to verify that these changes have been made, several potential guests who have read these reviews and responses will expect that these changes have been made.

Make sure to keep your word if you make any promises, as this will inevitably affect the experience of your new guests, the credibility you hold with them, as well as your future profits.

 

Do you have any more tips for how to handle negative hotel reviews? Let us know in the comments below!

schools save money with technology

5 Ways Schools Save Money with Technology

/0 Comments/in /by

Regularly, decisions are made to cut funding for schools. According to a recent study, Kentucky has cut at least 11.4 percent between 2008 and 2015 school years, but it isn’t the worst state. Oklahoma has cut investments on education by as much as 24 percent per student. We are a country of innovation and recovery, but declines in education funding are a disturbing trend. Is there a compromise? Schools are tasked with cutting budgets and reducing costs, so many new technologies have emerged to support school districts with saving money, without compromising educational quality. Schools are embracing technology in many ways to accommodate cash-strapped budgets.

1. Virtualization support

Many schools have embraced the concept of virtualization—access to all from a single, remote location. Virtualization delivers maintenance and interactive services for a low monthly rate. Schools are benefitting from remote support that has the ability to service and maintain multiple platforms, in many buildings, and used by multiple users. The complete IT infrastructure within the school can be managed from a remote location, without requiring individual tech teams to travel from room to room or school to school, installing multiple versions of software or having or evaluate a single device.

2. Encouraging device use

Many more schools are embracing the various devices available on the market: smart phones, mobile devices, laptops. Institutions are expanding beyond the traditional desktop and encouraging all users, including administrators, teachers, parents and support staff, to keep in touch with their own devices. For a successful virtual interaction, users need a smooth, safe and secure experience. Educational IT solutions provide IT staff with controls and school-specific platforms to make the school-wide interaction online easier and stress-free. The security system permits approved users and blocks access to unauthorized outsiders.

3. Embracing VoIP solutions

Everyone in the district needs to stay in touch, but comprehensive communication systems can be expensive. The alternative is installing a VoIP system where a broadband connection is available. VoIP maximizes communication, safety and efficiency, school- and district-wide.

4. Reducing paper and printing

Schools are embracing cloud services in an effort to increase communication and productivity, while reducing what needs to be printed and copied. Schools rely on paper, but many paper and printing expenses can be reduced with cloud technology. If the school suffers a loss or it needs to track down a paper trail, a cloud system ensures easy access and swift data recovery. It also encourages students, teachers and administrators to collaborate and communicate more effectively.

5. Installing interactive software

Educational apps are allowing students, parents and teachers to access educational materials from school or home, and while on the road. As long as there is internet service, teacher productivity and student learning can continue outside of the classroom walls. With the nationwide implementation of Common Core standards, interactive digital software, apps and cloud services is giving users a platform to discuss, collaborate, learn, and comply with all things Common Core.

cloud computing

How Cloud Computing Can Help Your Hotel Save Money

/0 Comments/in /by

When you’re working in the hospitality industry, you’re often focused on your guests. You probably already know – their happiness can determine whether or not your hotel fails or succeeds.

Your potential guests may be considering your hotel, but what if they’re unsure of whether or not your hotel meets their needs?

Good news: with cloud computing, you can not only better meet your guests’ needs – you can SAVE money at the same time!

Here’s how:

Decreased electricity costs

Without cloud computing, you’re stuck with a data center that includes servers. Those servers require maintenance and care – and that can REALLY run up your electricity bill. When you transition to the cloud, your data is stored offsite, so you can cut your energy use in a major way! That means, your electricity bill will be lowered considerably.

Avoiding capital costs

With the cloud, you avoid any upfront fees for equipment and staffing to implement your technology. You can also take advantage of the latest technology to make sure your guests are happy and served efficiently.

Reduction of downtime

If you move to cloud-based IT support, you gain engineers that are available to help you around the clock. No more waiting until the next day to resolve an issue (which can be frustrating for both you and your guests!). You can feel confident knowing that your IT problems can be resolved quickly and at any time and knowing that reduced downtime is helping you save money.

Overall, if you’re looking to save money at your hotel, cloud computing is a no-brainer!

Here at LIMOTTA IT, our cloud computing solution is called Hospitality Cloud Plus. Not only does it offer you all of the above benefits – it also helps you drastically improve the guest experience, expand your property’s bookings, and reach your goals more quickly.

We want to get to know YOU, discover your hotel’s specific needs, and provide you with the best cloud solution possible. We’re experts in hospitality infrastructures, so you can rest assured that we’re equipped to make it happen.

So, let’s talk! Contact LIMOTTA IT today, and let’s work together to improve the guest experience at your hotel using technology.

 

office 365 in schools

Ways Schools are Using the Cloud-Based Office 365

/0 Comments/in /by

The All New Microsoft Office 365

Office 365 is the latest release of “office suite” software from Microsoft. In years past we used Microsoft Office, however this latest release is vastly different. Office 365 brings a variety valuable features for school and students, and is going to be a major game changer for teachers and students. Here are some basics about Office 365:

  • Office 365 is not being distributed traditionally. This means that in order to use this software you will have to download it from the internet. It is not available on disc.
  • Office 365 has a built in feature which allows you to store your files on the cloud by using a SkyDrive account.
  • In regard to home use, instead of buying the software and using it as you wish, the new Office 365 is available as a subscription. This means you have to renew the subscription yearly and pay a yearly price.
  • Once you have purchased your subscription, you will have a license to download Office 365 on up to five machines.
  • Office 365 is touch screen friendly.

Office 365 Offers Exciting Educational Opportunities

When it comes to how Office 365 will be used in the classroom, much of the same rules apply – except in the case of educators, the software is free for the students and teachers to use. The software is installed on school computers, and each student is given their own cloud storage. Office 365 includes cloud based e-mail and instant messaging for students along with a calendar feature and a place to store contacts information.

  • The use of Office 365 will bring some major changes to the classroom. Educators will be able to utilize Office 365 in a variety of ways which serve to improve classroom productivity and better educate our children.
  • Students will be well trained on the application, which provides real world education that students will need to succeed once they leave school.
  • Students will be able to work on school projects from home by accessing their school cloud account.
  • Office 365 will help save money for schools to help with budgeting
  • Teachers can connect with children who are out of school due to illness

Office 365 Support and Management

The only true obstacle that Office 365 poses is that the hardware for the cloud based storage is a burden that the school will have to carry. Not only that, but it can be a time consuming to manage the application and keep it updated. Oftentimes it is cost efficient for schools to outsource this instead of employing an in house team. At LIMOTTA IT we have put together a specialized program to address educational cloud support and options using Office 365. We excel at helping organizations implement Microsoft Office 365.

pci compliance

PCI Compliance and Why Your Hotel Can’t Ignore It

/0 Comments/in , , /by

You’re probably already aware – PCI Compliance is a set of checks and measures that credit card companies require certain businesses to comply with. Not only that – PCI Compliance is absolutely necessary for your hotel.

Don’t believe me? Let’s think about a few consequences you could suffer if you AREN’T PCI Compliant:

  • Losing your customers’ trust and business – Think about it. If your customers don’t believe that their personal data is safe with them, do you REALLY expect them to continue doing business with you? Probably not. Put yourself in their shoes – no one wants to feel like their data is at risk.
  • Facing costly government fines – You could face up to $500,000 in fines if you aren’t PCI complaint. Yes, you read that right – 5 zeroes in that figure! That’s a LOT of money to lose for your hotel, especially over something so easily preventable.
  • Dealing with a huge hassle – If you are found to be non-compliant, you’ll first get a letter from a credit card company that informs you of the security breach. Next, you’ll have to respond with the appropriate documentation. Then, you’ll have to follow the steps in a packet you’re sent, which can include an analysis by a third party forensic company. You will also likely face fines and you must ensure the credit card issuer that no more issues will occur. Overall, it’s a big hassle that will cause you to become distracted from your job and less productive.
  • Increased card processing fees – If you aren’t complying with the PCI standards in your industry, certain credit card companies may increase your processing fees.
  • Bad publicity and tarnished reputation– Think about it. Can you remember a recent news headline that talked about how a major retailer compromised customer data? Probably so – it isn’t really a rare occurrence. And you know what the next headline involving that retailer will probably state? How they’ve lost profits and business due to the security issue. Don’t become the next headline – become PCI compliant and STAY that way.

 

Not sure if your hotel is PCI compliant? That’s okay – we’re here to help. Our experts at LIMOTTA IT want to protect your hotel by providing you with the solutions you need to become PCI compliant and stay PCI compliant.

You’ve worked hard to propel your hotel toward success – why not take one simple step to STAY successful?

Contact LIMOTTA IT today, and let’s talk about it.

blended learning ipad in classroom

Blended Learning: Why Technology is Important in the Classroom

/0 Comments/in /by

The term “blended learning” refers to the idea that classrooms are beginning to integrate computers in how they teach children. We have used computers at home and at work for a long time. We are seeing computer technology being used in the classroom more and more. Here are some examples for where you will find technology in the classroom:

 

  • Using iPads and App programs
  • Tests given using computers
  • Lessons given using Powerpoint
  • Reading Programs that track progress

 

Is Blended Learning Effective?

Is blended learning really changing anything? Teachers do report that blended learning is beneficial. Using computers in the class room help teachers to use their time more efficiently. Students are more likely to remain attentive. Since children use computers at home they report that the children enjoy using them in the classroom. This means that lessons are often easier when teachers use technology, or at the very least, students are more willing to cooperate and interact with the lesson.

 

Challenges of Blended Learning

Integrating technology in to the classroom does not come without a few draw backs. Here are a handful of challenges that teachers have when it comes to using blended learning:

 

  • Helping students who have not been taught how to use computers
  • Making sure children resist the urge to just play around
  • Making sure lessons are interactive.
  • Deciding which lessons are best taught traditionally

 

Importance of Blended Learning

Even though there are a handful of hurdles for teachers when it comes to blended learning, it is extremely important that technology is included in the classroom. Every state uses standardized testing for many different reasons. States are beginning to use computers to make standardized testing easier to implement. Therefore, it is important that students can easily navigate a computer.

 

Preparing For The Future

Not only are computers important for classroom use, they are also important once students graduate high school. Here are a few examples of how blended learning helps students once they join the work force:

 

  • Computer skills are necessary for job searching
  • Skills like typing, email and browser navigation are desirable
  • Students should be able to assemble a resume to apply for jobs
  • Computers are necessary to be successful in college

 

Home Integration

Clearly, the argument for blended learning is strong. The use of computers and the internet are necessary outside of the classroom, so it makes sense to bring those elements into the classroom. Many times teachers can feel as though they are sacrificing traditional teaching methods when they integrate blended learning, and some are hesitant. There are many teachers who have utilized programs which children can then access at home. By using individual student log in information, they can practice different lessons at home to further their learning and understanding of the subject matter. This helps teachers and families both feel comfortable with how technology is being used in the classroom.