24/7 Software Blog

“Imagine driving alone in your car, but instead of sitting behind the wheel, you're dozing in the backseat as a computer navigates on your behalf. It sounds wild, but former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz says that scenario isn't so far off the mark,” writes Terry Gross in their recent NPR article entitled “The Revolution Will Be Driverless: Autonomous Cars Usher In Big Changes.”

"I was a New York City cab driver back in 1968, and I watched transportation evolve over time. I have never seen anything as rapid as what has happened this decade. Autonomous vehicles are coming," Schwartz says in the piece.

“While Schwartz doesn't know exactly what the autonomous vehicle of the future will look like, he notes that it may not look anything like today's cars. It might not have a steering wheel or brakes, he says: ‘It could be a room any size; it could be a conference room," according to Gross.

“Beyond aesthetic differences, Schwartz predicts that driverless cars will transform roads, job and economies. He notes that while repair shops, trucking companies and car dealerships may lose business, other industries — including the advertising industry — stand to flourish with a captive, backseat audience,” Gross explains.

So, what do you think?

It’s fascinating that autonomous cars are a topic right now.

Of course, many people expected to be zooming around in flying cars.

But, let’s start with one thing at a time.

It’s just like Proactive Operations.

You can usher in significant change that affects your property, customers, and every other stakeholder in the industry.

But, you’ve got to take steps.

Sometimes baby steps.

Agree?

You can’t jump to flying cars without going through a proper evolution – whatever that might involve.

All we’re saying is that advancing your property is important, but you need to do it in phases.

You need to be meticulous and get things right.

You won’t achieve the changes you need without building every aspect of your operation with purpose and a methodology.

You’ve got everything handled.

It’s a science to you.

Your property regularly runs proficiently without a hitch.

Open parking gates, close parking gates, turn on escalators, complete this, and get that done.

It’s business as usual.

And you’re the genius behind all of it.

But, what happens when you host a special event or there is a drastic increase in customers coming to your property?

Tasks change, and the number of tasks increases.

It’s not business as usual anymore.

Agree?

From consolidating alcohol kiosks to reversing escalators, to the unexpected things that need to get done, you have tasks to coordinate based on these new requirements.

This influx requires a lot of your team’s attention.

How do you manage task requirements for these scenarios?

It’s a great responsibility.

But, you’re running a proactive operation – you can handle it!

And we’re here to help you.

It’s time to utilize task management software and watch your performance scale as the demands of your operation do too.

“In one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history, Marriott International said Friday that information on up to about 500 million of its customers worldwide was exposed in a breach of its Starwood guest reservation database dating as far back as 2014,” writes Avie Schneider in their recent NPR article entitled “Marriott Says Up To 500 Million Customers' Data Stolen In Breach.”

“The world's largest hotel chain said it learned of the breach on Sept. 8,” Schneider explains.

According to the article, “The company said the Marriott hotel network was not affected. ‘The investigation only identified unauthorized access to the separate Starwood network,’ it said. Marriott acquired Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016.”

“For 327 million of the affected guests, the compromised data includes ‘some combination of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest ("SPG") account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date, and communication preferences,” the company said in Schneider’s article.

“For some customers, the information ‘also includes payment card numbers and payment card expiration dates, but the payment card numbers were encrypted,” Marriott added in the NPR piece.

Your personal data is yours to provide how you deem suited, whether it’s your date of birth or critical payment information.

Agree?

And whether you’re running a hotel or any other property, anything related to your customers must be a top priority.

We know you agree with that.

That’s why we thought it necessary to provide insight into what you could do to decrease your property’s chances of any form of a breach.

Let’s get started!

Your staff has been hired.

You have supervisors, managers, team leads, or all the above.

You have people that are professionally trained and ready to deliver a first-class experience for your customers.

Right?

On the other hand, there’s a good chance that’s not even close to being true.

How do you know the difference?

Are you able to adequately measure whether your team is ready or even able to execute your processes when it’s time?

Hard truth: you’re teaching your staff a lot of information just before they begin working a full shift.

They need to be able to protect your customers, your property, and anyone else.

That’s a huge responsibility.

Do you currently train them and then have the expectation that they’ll know what they’re doing or be able to wing it well enough for no one to notice the difference?

If so, you’re setting your operation up for disaster.

Here’s how:

Your staff cannot remember every aspect of your emergency management plan or protocols immediately following their training curriculum.

In fact, field-tested research shows that it takes someone about 20 hours of acting out a single skill before they’ve learned it enough to perform without assistance.

Even worse, they’re going to miss things in the heat of the moment.

What happens when you need them trained up for your next event tomorrow, or you’re short staffed and need a warm body to fill a role now?

Your staff’s inability to effectively execute protocols to handle according to your operational requirements is how your incident management might be broken.

“A big car company is going small. Ford is buying electric scooter company Spin,” writes James Boubek in their recent NPR article entitled “Why Ford Is Getting Into The Scooter Business.”

According to Doubek, “Ford and Spin won't confirm the price tag, but reports put the purchase price at $100 million and an overall investment from Ford of $200 million.”

“The acquisition, announced last week, marks the first time a carmaker has seriously invested in the bike and scooter-sharing sector, which is typically the realm of tech companies,” the article continues.

Doubek explains that “Automakers are trying to broaden their business — to become "mobility" companies rather than just selling cars.”

"All the automotive companies are looking for ways to manage the future,’ says Bruce Belzowski, the managing director of the Automotive Futures Group and formerly of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. ‘In the past, they managed the future by just designing and building vehicles that people really wanted to buy. And now they're confronting a potential future that's different from that," shares Doubek later in the article.

“Belzowski says legacy car companies aren't necessarily counting on being profitable when they throw money at new technologies. But these companies don't want to be left behind,” the NPR piece continues.

You don’t either.

Agree?

Technology is moving fast.

You need to get started on the implementation of software.

It’s no longer a nice to have.

You need it.

Your customers expect it.

That’s why this article hit home for us. We don’t want you getting left behind.

We want you getting into the Proactive Operations business that way you can maintain your status as one of the world’s greatest properties.

Does responding to incidents before they escalate have a significant impact on the wellbeing of all aspects of your property?

You should be thinking this.

Hopefully, it’s a key concern for you too.

Because, not taking the proper measures to protect your customers, staff, and property will eventually catch up to you.

Your team will look underqualified for the job.

Your property will suffer financially.

You, well, you’ll be on early retirement.

We don’t want that for you.

In fact, we don’t want that for anyone on your team or at your property.

It’s a good thing that incident management solutions exist to defend you from the obstacles you and your team might face.

But you don’t have much time to waste. (Any time for that matter!)

So, let’s get started.