The speed with which technology is moving in the hospitality industry is amazing, everyday there is something new and exciting on the market. Suppliers are working together with hoteliers to provide the best service possible from technology and service, IP is the solid foundation which enables convergence for many of the hotels.
Before there were always separate systems for the PBX, PMS , CRM etc, now it is a one stop shop which may seem difficult but convergence is making it all possible.
Before the wow factor was when a guest could view their bill on the television, today it takes a whole lot more to get the wow factor from the guest. Technology plays a big part today in contributing to that wow factor, after all the guests are expecting more than what they can get at home or in the office when they enter that hotel room. while hotels can use technology to reach the guest outside of the room, via online registration and loyalty club points, the hotel room remains the most important.
Vendors must be willing to work with hoteliers in providing this support, if they are not then the lifespan of their company would be very short."Hoteliers have always been concerned with getting heads in beds. Solution providers must concern themselves with keeping those heads satisfied." Both hoteliers and solution providers have to enter into a business relationship that will be advantageous to them both.
Reading the articles really brings it home as to how much technology is changing the industry. Now less is better, which can be a good thing, getting more done with less systems in place. However, they must be careful and ensure that they do have a backup plan in case something goes array. The next time I visit a hotel I will inquire/ look at their system and see how far along the hotel is.
Phillips, D (2006, March 01). Bring Them All Together - How the WOW the Guest. Retrieved April 13, 2007 from , Web site: http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=63
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4 comments:
Andrea's article and reflection illustrate an interesting aspect of hospitality IT- the convergence of technology and providing guests with the "wow" factor in innovative ways.
The hospitality industry has finally adopted many different forms of technology, technological applications that once were seen as innovative are now commonplace. Both technology vendors and hospitality leaders must strive to find new and innovative ways to serve guests, providing services that lead to that coveted "wow". This is potentially a daunting challenge that must be addressed and budgeted for in the future.
Technology convergence is also an area of attention. Merging multiple, more advanced technological applications and functions will continue to be a focus in the future. Convergence will allow for a more streamlined use of technology and illustrate to the guest the hotel's commitment to technological advancement.
As guests become more technologically savvy, hoteliers and technology companys must constantly strive to find new and innovative ways to converge the current technologies and create new innovative ways to improve the guest experience technologically.
This article discusses the importance of the "wow" factor in relation to hospoitality and technology. She mentions that the wow factor used to be recieving your hotel bill through the televsion, but with today's technology, the "wow" factor can much exceed that.
There used to be seperate systems. PBX, PMS, CRM... Today all the systems are convereged into one IP address. This converegence helps give the hotel a heads up in technology.
Hotel companies and their vendors are constantly facing new ways to implament up and coming technology to give the guest a brand new "wow" each time they visit.
I agree with the points mentioned in this article regarding the convergence of technology and trying to find ways to satisfy guests. It is true that when guests go to hotels they are looking for in-room technologies that surpass those in their homes and offices. Hotels really do need to come together with vendors and try to come up with creative new technologies that could wow a guest and make them want to return to a specific property. It is true that technologies that were popular before are getting old and starting to be expected so new technologies need to be put in place ASAP. The hospitality industry should be about going above and beyond to serve a guests so technologies should not be an exception. They also need to "wow" a guest. I am excited to see where the industry will go next in terms of technology.
I think Andrea's article makes a very valid point about how hotels have "raised the bar" with technology, and are continuing to evolve as technology changes everyday. The recent "less is more" idealogy is predictable and popular due to the ease of finding technolgies to combine PBX/PMS/CRM into one system. Now that the common guest requires a bit more of an element of surprise to get the "wow factor", hoteliers must work harder to ensure that their technology is up and running reliably. There will certainly be more emphasis on attention to supplier relationships as this trend continues to grow.
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