Houssem Tasco - Tumblr

An accomplished Los Angeles hotel executive, Houssem Tasco has broad experience in the areas of hotel real estate investment, sales strategy, and luxury hospitality leadership. Since 2021, Houssem Tasco has served as the managing director of Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, a 160-key property with more than 200 employees. In this role, he led property-wide renovations and recruited top talent to stimulate company growth. Before joining Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, Mr. Tasco spent five years with the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. During the hotel’s pre-opening period, he oversaw the hiring and training of staff and helped the hotel earn a Forbes Five-Star rating in its first year of operation. The hotel has continued to receive the accolade every year since then. Mr. Tasco holds a bachelor of science in hospitality management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has completed continuing education with Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Since 2020, he has served as a member of the Customer Experience Advisory Board with the University of California, Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education.

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Arabian Travel Market Opens Its Doors

The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is an international travel and tourism event designed to connect inbound and outbound tourism professionals. It unlocks businesses' potential within the Middle East by uniting tourism destinations around the world in Dubai, where they can exhibit and showcase their brand with renowned airlines, accommodation and hospitality businesses, travel technology providers, and other leading tourist attractions and destinations. In 2022, the ATM opened its doors for its 29th edition, themed “The Future of International Travel and Tourism.” During the pandemic, in 2021, ATM launched its first hybrid event, and the 2022 edition was also hybrid, with ATM Virtual taking place for the people who could not travel to experience the show in person. In the 29th edition, the event attracted representatives from 158 destinations, 1,500 exhibitors, and 20,000 attendees, making it 85 percent larger than the previous year's edition. While ATM 2021 focused on post-pandemic recovery, ATM 2022 tackled future opportunities in worldwide tourism, its investments, and finance strategies. The event also showcased countries willing to appeal to new tourism markets. There were annual attendees from European nations such as Germany and Greece, and countries participating for the first time, including Jamaica. According to the director of Spain's tourism office, Daniel Rosado Bayon, ATM is an excellent opportunity to promote national tourism to the world. He also mentioned Spain as a destination that features experiences that are not limited to the summer, but can be had throughout the year and across the country, ranging from beaches to ski resorts. During the event, representatives of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, said that they expect overall traveler numbers to exceed pre-pandemic levels, reaching 4 billion in 2024. The ATM exhibition director, Danielle Curtis, said that the number of new products on the show floor illustrates this positive data. Some new businesses and products showcased during ATM 2022 included startups specializing in electric-powered aircraft, such as Xwing, which aims to make standard aircraft capable of flying safely without pilots. Xwing’s CEO, Marc Piette, said that his business is building the future of aviation to transform commuting by air into a cheaper and more efficient way to travel. Other exhibitors were in the categories of accommodation, adventure travel, education tourism, religious tourism, space travel, sports tourism, venues, weddings and honeymoons, and youth tourism. Additionally, there were exhibitions from numerous companies and services in airline ground handling, business travel management, consulting, destination management, golf travel, press/media, private travel, real estate, spa and wellness, travel insurance, and travel technology. The 30th edition of ATM will take place in May 2023 in Dubai and will explore the new industry trends, innovation, opportunities for growth, and effective recovery again. ATM website features some tips for first-time visitors, which include registering online to avoid any onsite registration fees. Moreover, visitors should plan their visit using the ATM website, which lists the seminars and presentations that will take place during the event and provides a map of the floor plan. The ATM website also publishes the official ATM preview with information about the event, and includes seminar updates for speaker announcements, session synopsis additions, and more. With the event, exhibitors have the opportunity to generate new sales leads and network with industry decision-makers while gaining the latest insights by hearing from experts in the industry.

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University of California Irvine Offers Embedded AI Continuing Ed Class

Established in 1962, the University of California (UC) Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) serves the lifelong learning and career development needs of the community. Offering a diverse array of more than 80 educational opportunities, certificates, and specialized studies programs, the DCE helps people advance their careers and fulfill their personal goals.

Recently, the DCE began offering a certificate program in artificial intelligence (AI). Called Developing Embedded AI Systems, the program helps students prepare for lucrative career opportunities in the AI field.

Currently used to manufacture robots, map diseases, and perform natural language processing, AI has even greater potential. According to Thomas Jannett, instructor for the UC Irvine AI certificate program, embedded AI will open a new realm of next-level AI applications.

These advancements are possible because embedded AI allows “smart” decisions to be made either at the device level or within the network, without having to rely on cloud computing to process large amounts of data before sending it back to the device. With the ability to make decisions locally, embedded AI can analyze data and make decisions much faster, allowing the system to produce quicker responses to unique local events.

The Developing Embedded AI Systems certificate program at UC Irvine is designed to prepare students for success as AI technology takes a major leap forward. The curriculum is designed to expand career options for embedded systems professionals, including software, data, and electrical engineers; data and computer scientists; and more. Students will experience hands-on learning opportunities that expose them to specialized frameworks, technologies, and platforms, such as real-time signal processing methods and machine learning models, which are essential for creating next-generation AI devices.

In addition, students in the embedded AI program will gain a strong foundation in deep-learning neural networks and programming in Python, C++, and C. As part of the course, students have the opportunity to apply what they have learned to build a prototype for an embedded AI application.

With embedded AI skills, technology professionals will have the power to create innovative consumer, commercial, and industrial applications that can intelligently and independently process video, audio, motion, and other information. In the future, we may see embedded AI enabling self-driving automobiles to converse with the driver while managing all the vehicle’s functions, as well as “smarter” household robots that have the ability to learn the preferences of individual family members and select comfort settings or entertainment options accordingly.

In addition to a faster response time and increased functionality, embedded AI also has the potential to strengthen security and privacy and lower the cost of using AI. In addition, embedded AI may transform the supply chain as we know it, enabling robots to complete last-mile deliveries and other manufacturing tasks automatically. Experts also see the potential for embedded AI to gain the ability to see, hear, and speak to us on levels we haven’t seen yet.

Career prospects in the field of embedded AI are strong. According to Electronic Manufacturing Services Industry data, more than 66,000 job openings exist in AI-related fields, with an expected growth rate of 5 percent or more through 2029. Median annual compensation for AI roles is $119,000, with some highly experienced professionals earning as much as $180,000.

Learn more about UC Irving’s Developing Embedded AI Systems Specialized Studies Program at https://ce.uci.edu/areas/engineering/embedded-ai.

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Meeting at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel

The Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel is a delightfully spacious premier hotel located at 11461 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, at the crossroads of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Brentwood. It sits on over seven acres of land atop a hill overlooking the busy Los Angeles landscape. Blending the exclusivity of bespoke luxury hotels with the leisureliness of a world class resort, Luxe Sunset Boulevard has a bright open lobby, 160 elegant guest rooms and suites, comfortable sitting areas, and exquisite dining options. It also has expansive gardens and grounds, offering visitors a calm and serene respite from the bustle of Los Angeles. Because of its convenient location, Luxe Sunset Boulevard is perfect for business meetings. To facilitate them, the hotel has over 13,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor venues, including a majestic ballroom and a number of smaller meeting rooms. The Luxe Hotel Ballroom is its signature venue for business conferences. Designed by architect Ray Kappe, the ballroom encompasses 4,500 square feet, enough to seat 300 guests. It features 14-foot ceilings and can be split into four separate venues, all equipped with video conferencing technologies. Adjacent to the ballroom is a beautifully landscaped 1,500-square-foot Mediterranean garden complete with water fountains and olive trees to bring a sense of tranquility to business meetings. The space can also be used for cocktail celebrations. Luxe Hotels’ Getty Level Lot is another suitable space for outdoor meetings. The expansive 10,000 square foot outdoor space can seat 800 people in an outdoor luncheon or dinner. It can also be converted into a movie theater. For guests who would like to hold their meetings in smaller rooms, Luxe Hotel has an array of options. First is the Brentwood Room and Patio, an indoor/outdoor venue for luncheons and corporate meetings. The space can accommodate an 80 person conference, and is adjacent to an oasis with a fountain. Other suitable spaces are the Malibu Room, Santa Monica Room, and Palisades Board Room. The Malibu Room measures 600 square feet and is a private space for board meetings. It can host conferences of 26 people. The Santa Monica Room can host 24 people, while the Palisades Board Room is an executive board room that can host 10 people. Other meeting options at Luxe Hotel include the Sirocco Dining Room and Poolside. All meeting venues at Luxe Hotel have cutting-edge audio-visual technology, including LED screens, drop-down screens, and video conferencing. Other perks that meeting guests enjoy include 24-hour valet parking, printing services, WiFi, and exclusive limousine and shuttle transportation. To support people with disabilities, the hotel has elevator access to all floors, accessible guest room bathrooms with handrails, hearing impaired kits at meeting rooms, lever handles on doors, and lobby wheelchairs. The hotel offers corporate discounts and meeting incentives, including group rates on accommodations. It has versatile accommodation offerings, with options ranging from Superior rooms measuring 525 square feet, Deluxe rooms (585 sq. ft.), and Family suites (700 sq. ft.). All rooms have pillowtop beds, flat screen TVs, Chromecast entertainment, designer bath amenities, and in-room dining. Luxe Hotel can also tailor packages to meet business’ needs. To schedule a meeting at the hotel, guests can email [email protected].

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The Customer Experience Certificate Program at UC

One of the fastest growing and most critical areas of any organization, customer experience (CX) involves how the customer interacts with the company. When a customer’s experience is positive and memorable, the company builds loyalty and retention, generates more referrals, and increases revenue. Particularly with the evolution of social media, where consumers can share their experiences with millions of users in an instant, companies must prioritize CX through the employment of trained customer experience professionals. While CX roles may previously have been filled by marketing and sales professionals, employers are increasingly focusing on customer interactions through the creation of new, interdisciplinary CX divisions. The Customer Experience Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine, Division of Continuing Education, aims to train a workforce that will help executives and companies increase customer loyalty and profitability. Through interactive sessions with industry leaders, students explore customer experience methodologies and solve real-world problems via various simulations. Rather than sitting through lectures, students work across disciplines to understand the customer experience and collaborate on team problem-solving projects. Instructors facilitate exercises that utilize industry standards and best practice methods to teach key skills. The online program also allows students to participate in discussions and projects with peers and teachers. Comprising eight modules, the program first introduces students to what a customer-centric organization looks like. In addition to creating a strategic CX plan, they develop critical goals and incremental steps to reach them. Students learn the value of a Customer Experience Journey Map, which aligns the company’s brand with specific CX goals and can be used in communications, management, analysis, and planning. Journey maps help capture customer interactions with the brand through multi-channel touchpoints, allowing the company to cultivate cultural empathy and make decisions that positively impact consumers. Other modules emphasize the importance of leveraging data to improve systems. Empathy techniques help CX professionals gain insights into the customer’s needs and develop creative strategies that add value. The program offers practical tools to help CX professionals create a customer-first culture that integrates sustainable processes into the company’s existing culture. Rather than rebranding completely, these creative tools invite organizations to rethink their visions and goals to optimize both employee and customer experience. The Customer Experience Certificate Program recognizes that business culture has never been more competitive, and that organizations must keep up or get left behind. The program focuses on customer-centric leadership skills that can help executives take their companies to the next level, inspire change, and navigate the quickly evolving business market. Designed to accommodate working professionals, the program’s online format allows students to work through material at their own pace, as well as replay video presentations and review modules as many times as they prefer. At the end of the program, students complete the CX Capstone, the Customer Experience Strategic Plan, which they can use to support discussions with senior management at their companies about implementing customer-centric strategies. Additionally, graduating students receive a Professional CX Portfolio with various resources and tools that can be immediately implemented in their organizations. For more information about the Customer Experience Certificate Program at the UCI, Division of Continuing Education, visit cx.ce.uci.edu/uci-academic-overview.html.