Monday, July 28, 2008

Google Tools

You owe it to yourself and your business to check out the assortment of FREE Google Tools.


Trade up from your old NB Tel email with it's limitations and sign up for a free GMAIL email account. Lots of storage, ability to receive and send lots of attachments. Lots of valuable user names left.

Which do you imagine is easier for a consumer to remember "nb.nbnet.com" or "gmail.com", or even "hotmail.com"? Especially if they are coming from outside New Brunswick! And that goes double for "nb.aibn.com" - lots of opportunity for typos with that one.


Embed a GOOGLE CALENDAR into your site. If your operation depends on the tides or a certain departure time, enter that data into a Google Calendar - a benefit of your new Gmail email account - and then publish it to your website. Or have your developer help you embed the code into your website. Google provides the code!


Setup GOOGLE ANALYTICS on your website. The easiest and most informative website statistics package out there - and it's free! Google provides the code and you get your developer to insert it on your website. You can configure it to send you weekly reports to your email account - and since you're now using Gmail you can keep weeks worth of reports.

And that's not all.

There is plenty of freeware out there that can make you more efficient and put more information about your tourism operation into the hands of the online consumer.

Check it out at http://www.google.ca/intl/en/options/

Regards,
Beth

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Paperless Hotel

Given that I work in the technology field I thought this article from a recent travle mole newsletter was very interesting...

Fontainebleau announces first (almost) paperless hotel

When it opens this fall, the famous Fontainebleau Resort’s $1 billion makeover will include what it is calling the first paperless hotel room -- with one exception.
With an Apple iFB system, guests at the famed Miami hotel that has deteriorated in recent years are given a personalized introduction screen with their names and the weather and other information. From there, they can access local information, dining and entertainment options, recreation and relaxation suggestions and, of course, the Internet.
This new in-room computer system allows for Fontainebleau to cut back on half a million newspapers every year, according to the company.
One paper product remains, however. That is what you usually find in the bathrooms.
The new technology will debut later this year at the grand re-opening of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and in the forthcoming Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a $2.9 billion, 63-story destination resort and entertainment complex set for opening in 2009. Report by David Wilkening