Transcript Session_5_Internet

Hospitality Information
Systems and
Technology
The Internet, Marketing & Web
Page Design
The Internet
►A
special type of network
► Links computers & users all over the world
using common communication protocols
► A massive network of computer systems
► Not a single network, a series of networks
Early connections used a
process called Direct Connection
Tied up phone lines
Packet Switching
► Cuts
the transmission into a series of
packets
► Each packet is:




Numbered
Contains destination and return addresses
Transmitted as capacity is available
Forwarded separately
Each computer using the
internet must have IP software
Has an assigned IP address
Uses an IP datagram
IP Datagram
IP datagrams have two parts


Header information
Data
Header Information





1) Total length of packet
2) Destination IP address
3) Source IP address
4) Time to live
5) Error checking information
IP addresses are in a 32
bit format
Four sets of numbers
separated by three
periods
Dotted Decimal Notation
Example: 128.135.130.201
The World Wide Web
 A graphic overlay on top of the other
Internet services
 Hypertext versus Linear Fashion
Three Components
 1) HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
 2) HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
 3) URL: Uniform Resource Locator
HTTP
 A set of rules for exchanging information
 Request message (Get)
 Request line
 Header
 Body containing data
 Response message (Post)
 Response line with code containing the
requested file or error message
 Header information
 Body containing the HTML of the requested file
HTML
 Hypertext Markup Language
 Language used by the browser to display
the text and graphics on a web page
URL
 Uniform Resource Locator
 The address to a web page
 Three parts
 The internet protocol used (HTTP or FTP)
 The address or name of the server
 The location and name of the file on the server
Sample
 http://www.myhotels.com/reservation
(1) (2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
 1) Internet Protocol
 2) Name of server
 3) Target file
 4) Domain Name
 5) Specific address
FTP
► File
Transfer Protocol
 Basically a tool for exchanging files over the
internet
 Difference in HTTP & FTP
►HTTP
is WYSIWYG
►FTP: Must download the file to your computer & use
a separate application to view it ( ie:Adobe Acrobat)
Sample Domain Names
► .com
Commercial users
► .net
Network providers
► .edu
Educational institutions
► .org
Non profit institutions
► .gov
US government
► .mil
US Military
► .travel Travel industry
Internet Security
► “Trust
everyone, but brand your cattle”
► Information
asset
– a company’s most valuable
A Computer Survey
Institute Report
interviewed 538
corporations
The results?
 85% reported computer security
breaches in the past 12 months
 186 companies were able to quantify the
loss at $366 million
 70% reported their internet connection as
a frequent point of attack
Types of attacks
 1) Worm: An independent program that
makes copies of itself in different
computers in a network
 2) Virus: Code that attaches to an
existing program
 3) Trojan Horse: A program that appears
to perform one task but actually performs
another malicious task
How do you protect your
system?
 Passwords
 Single Key Encryption: Swap one
character for another
 Public Key Encryption: Uses a public key
& a private key
 Secure Socket Layer
Other Protections
Firewalls



Packet filters: limits inbound or outbound
packets based on either their IP addresses or
port
Proxy server: prevents IP address on
company computers from becoming known by
an intruder on the internet
Stateful filtering / inspection: Allows access
based on a set table of IP address
Web Site Designing
We are in the age of information overload
Therefore, your web site has to break
through the clutter
A successful web site must take
advantage of the special nature
of the web
An informative, navigable site
can be an asset to any business
A poorly designed site could
possibly send business away
Topics for marketing on the web
1) The nature of the web
2) The purpose of the web site
3) Who is your audience?
4) What content will you provide?
5) Best practices for web site design &
content
The nature of the web
1) It is non-linear
2) It is interactive
3) It is active on the part of the user
4) It is fast
5) It is usable
Interactivity
The best sites allow the user to make
some kind of interaction
Hyperlinks
Immediate results
The user is active
The user is in control of their destiny
A personalized experience
Fast
Users have short attention spans
Responses must be immediate
KISMIF
Usability
HOMERUN







1) High quality content
2) Often updated
3) Minimum download time
4) Ease of use
5) Relevant to users needs
6) Unique to the online medium
7) Net-centric corporate culture
What is the purpose of your site?
Good sites require lots of planning
Keep under consideration how to keep the
user there once the site is found
The site must have a distinct purpose
Who is your audience?
Need to ensure that the site contents
match the needs of who you want to
attract
Design your site with the primary
audiences in mind, but keep the
secondary audiences in mind also
What content will you provide?
Non-linearity – Each page should have
your name and/or logo
Interactivity – The more the user can
interact with what you offer, the better the
chance to close the sale
User activity – Direct the user to what you
want them to do a quickly as possible
Fast medium – Use short pages, minimal
downloads
Best practices for web design and
content
Turn surfers into guests
Turn guests in repeat guests for life
Turning shoppers into guests
Download quickly
Cool is not always convenient
Communicate the values of your brand
immediately
Communicate emotional benefits
Avoid the wallpaper trap
Establish a unique presence
Turning shoppers into guests
Make it easy to browse
Don’t sacrifice convenience for cleverness
Give them a reason to book
Enable customization
Make it worth their while
Make the reservation process as easy as
1-2-3
Turn them into guests for
life
 Actively manage guest relationships
 Identify your best and loyal guests and
reward them
 Exceed guest expectations
 Make your guests a part of your team
Web sites that work and
don’t work
 Web sites performance should be based
on five separate areas of performance,
design and functionality





Accessibility
Objective design criteria
Subjective design criteria
Customer interactivity
Technology used
Criteria
 1) Accessibility
 Measures a site’s ability to be accessed without fault
 2) Objective design
 Specific site features such as FAQ’s, help, store locator,
mapping, secure transaction capability
 3) Subjective design
 Navigation functionality, clarity, consistency, core design
concepts, ease of navigation
 4) Customer interactivity
 Sites that allow customers to provide input & obtain feedback
 5) Technology
 Effective use of audio and/or video
Group Assignment
• View some hotel, restaurant,
resort, etc site on the web. If
possible, see how easy it is to
make a reservation
• Pick one web site, evaluate it on
the five criteria. Plan to display
the web site in class and
discuss you viewpoints.