Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Walgreens is now working with Alphabet’s Wing to test drone delivery service . Beginning in October, Walgreens’ pilot program will use drones to deliver on-demand food, beverage, and over-the-counter non-prescription medications to customers within minutes. Currently, Wing’s drones can deliver packages of about three (3) pounds and within a six-mile (6-mile) radius .    Competing in drone delivery Walgreens is not the only retailer who wants to use drones in delivery. Major retailers and courier companies have also responded to consumer demands for faster and more convenient delivery. Amazon, for example, announced in June that the company planned to roll out free one-day drone delivery to its Prime members in North America. Amazon’s delivery drones can carry a package that weighs five (5) pounds or less and fly up to 15 minutes. Using drone delivery, Amazon Prime members can receive their orders within 30 minutes aft...

Many consumers love  ordering food online  to have it delivered to their home. Food delivery has become a big business for  restaurants  and  grocery stores . Others, like me, are still feeling skeptical about delivery food despite its convenience. First, there is no guarantee that the delivery drivers won’t touch the food. A study cited by  Newsweek  reveals that more than one in every four (28%) delivery persons has tasted the food from an order. 54% admitted that they were often tempted by the smell of the food for customers. Also, I do not think my food would taste fresh or as good after it was sitting inside a container for a good amount of time. Lastly, most food being delivered is stored in containers that are not made of  sustainable materials . It was not until I heard of  Zume Pizza , a startup in the Bay Area, that I saw myself ordering food online in the future. Zume Pizza stands out from other restaurants by  com...

Marriott is set to introduce dynamic pricing to its Bonvoy reward travel program. Effective in September, travelers will need to spend 14 – 33 percent more reward points in exchange for an award night when a hotel is busy. Meanwhile, travelers may also receive a discount on an award night when a hotel has low occupancy.   Dynamic pricing   Dynamic pricing is a common tactic in revenue management (also known as yield management ), allowing service firms to respond to consumers’ fluctuating demand for the perishable inventory with a fixed capacity. In other words, a service provider will increase the price when the demand goes up and lower the price when the demand goes down. Dynamic pricing turns out to be a very effective way to maximize a service firm’s revenue performance. It is hence not surprising to see more travel companies are now introducing dynamic pricing to their reward programs. For most consumers, however, dynamic pricing often means th...

I met with the hospitality team of the NEC Global Enterprise Solutions at NEC Corporation ’s headquarter in Tokyo last week. The team gave me a brief introduction of what services NEC provides and a tour of the NEC Future Creation Hub, an interactive showroom for the company’s latest tech products. The trip to NEC’s headquarter was, in fact, a follow-up visit after I met with the company’s hospitality team at the HITEC 2019 in Minneapolis in June. Through a sneak peek of what NEC offers, I wonder whether the tech firms or the hospitality companies are the force that drives the transformation of the industry . Dr. Linchi Kwok and the NEC's Hospitality Team The traditional business solutions offered by NEC NEC Corporation was established in 1899 as a telecommunication company, which later introduced the first PBX (private branch exchange) system in Japan. Even though PBX is not as crucial in hotel operations of today, NEC remains to be a top service provide...