The Use of Information Technology In the Delivery of Hospitality Services - Essay Example

?The use of Information Technology in the Delivery of Hospitality Services By Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 References 10 Introduction A large number of experts and professionals from hospitality industry believe that information technology (IT) is one of the simplest and useful ways to bridge the gap between potential customers and the business. Additionally, modern tools and applications supported by the information technology can play a significant role in facilitating professionals from the hospitality industry to have knowledge of customers’ preferences and choices, living styles and shopping patterns, and the ways they adapt to live in hotels, in order that services can be additionally improved and customized by making use of these data and information. In fact, these wonderful opportunities and facilities offered by modern information technology for hospitality firms force all kinds of hospitality firms to sensibly take benefit of these latest tools and technologies that can be useful in providing their firm significant excellence in forms of employee competence and higher customer satisfaction. Up till now, a large number of researches and studies have been performed with the purpose of identifying the ways IT can be used hospitality industry in the delivery of hospitality services. For instance, a study conducted in Australia by (Lee et al., 2003) demonstrated that the IT play significant role in improving the capabilities of hospitality firms by supporting their employees by means of innovative tools and techniques, increasing efficiencies, allowing them to gain competitive edge, improving service quality, efficiently building and maintaining relationships with business stakeholders particularly the customers, and increasing overall firm efficiency (Galen et al., 2003; Karadag & Dumanoglu, 2009; Lee et al., 2003). The basic purpose of this research is to outline the potential impact of information technology on hospitality industry. In this scenario, this paper will present an analysis of the IT tools and applications that are being used by the hospitality industry to manage their business operations. This paper also discusses the advantages gained by the hospitality industry from these information technologies. Impact of Information Technology on Hospitality Firms Without a doubt, in the past few years from entertaining visitors or guests and creating menus to monitoring staff members, information technology has significantly changed and modernized the way the hospitality sector works at the present time (Pandey, 2010). In the past, the hospitality firms have used cards, physically, or paperwork at the front desk with the purpose of keeping up a communication with old and existing customers. In this scenario, hospitality firms were for the most part at the compassion of the needs of guests to get there, as well as on their own efforts and staff to be there for possible surges or extended deficiencies of tenancy. On the other hand, in the absence of IT supported tools and applications hospitality firms were facing serious business issues. In their article, (Nikolis, 2008) outline a variety of significant areas of the hospitality firms where IT tools and applications are being used to offer services. For instance, one of the basic reasons that IT has turned out to be critical is its helpfulness for the billing section of the hospitality firms, which has been significantly improved with the emergence of IT. In fact, manual data entry and traditional paper-based was slow, time-consuming and unproductive, and it did not offer effective support in letting the hospitality firm know what is the current status of their firm. On the other hand, in order to deal with these issues the advancements of IT in the form of state-of-the-art record keeping systems keep in mind a hotel owner to keep up to date with what they have with good grace available, how much investment it will take and how much time it will take (Nikolis, 2008). In addition, in order to make effective use of information technology a hospitality firm should be capable of implementing it successfully. In view of the fact that efficient use of IT tools and applications allows the hospitality firms to get access to an excellent platform and management of bookings where they can efficiently manage their assets and resources, as well as can determine in advance when large groups or lean times are approaching, hence, the management of a hotel can develop plans which can allow them to hire staff for the short-term, good times to modernize or expand their business, or other aspects, for the reason that they can measure the condition of their hotel at present and for the next couple of months with simply a small number of mouse clicks on the computer. Though, the developments and advancements in information technology have expanded a great deal beyond booking. In fact, there are presently a large number of IT applications being used by hospitality firms. For instance, the Internet facility has turned out to be one of the basic needs for vacationers or travelers (staying at hotel) who want to contact those in their house, as well as for those who are on a business trip and they are required to stay in touch with their office/organization (Baines, 1998; Nikolis, 2008; Bulchand-Gidumal et al., 2011). Applications of Wi-Fi technology in Hospitality Firms A large number of researches conducted to determine the impact of IT on hospitality firms have acknowledged Wi-Fi technology as a fundamental need for the hospitality industry since 2003. On the other, the majority of studies and surveys demonstrate that Wi-Fi is the most modern technology customers’ care most about. This survey was conducted to determine the acceptance of Wi-Fi in hospitality firms where more than 82% of respondents agreed to the presence of Wi-Fi in hotels. Similarly, in their research (Greif, 2010) also discuss similar results however their survey encompassed responses of more than 53,000 guests. The result of their survey revealed that, Wi-Fi is the vital hotel amenity. In addition, a number of researchers also have the same opinion that in many cases, customers like to pay additional charges for getting internet access for the reason that it is trustworthy and provide reasonable throughput, a point of view that is at the present old-fashioned. Additionally, seeing the increasing interest of their customers in Wi-Fi internet services, a large number of hospitality firms have started Wi-Fi service free of cost as a useful initiative for increasing customer satisfaction and even taken for contracts by customers is an amenity that will almost certainly turn out to be the standard till 2015 (Baines, 1998; Bulchand-Gidumal et al., 2011; Nikolis, 2008). Impact of the Internet on Hospitality Firms and Customers Many academic researchers and industry practitioners have started focusing on the significance of internet applications in a different perspective for the hospitality industry. The use of the Internet can be beneficial for both the hospitality firms and the customers. For the hospitality industry, the internet can provide a way for them to put up for sale their products and services to worldwide customers devoid of facing any geographic or time limitations. In this scenario, the driving force for hospitality sector to build and implement their web sites comprises minor supply and delivery expenditures and as a result more advantages and increase profits, and a huge possible marketplace. On the other hand, customers can search for their required information and directly stay in touch with their service providers anywhere and at any time (Law & Hsu, 2005). In their research paper (Gilbert et al., 1999) discuss the importance and the benefits of using a web site for the promotion of a hotel. According to various researchers, creating and implementing a Web site is reasonably priced since associated costs are fairly low. In this way, it makes the products of a hotel easy to reachable to the new worldwide marketplace as well as can also decrease the need for physically attending a business and consumer shows. Also, the results of a survey which was carried out by travmag, a UK travel Web site collected viewpoints from almost 3,000 Web visitors, shown that more than 89% of the web visitors are making use of the websites to search for information and more than 28% of them are searching for information specific to hotels (Gilbert et al., 1999; IP et al., 2011). Current and Future Applications of IT in Hospitality Firms In the future, a wide variety of innovative and most modern IT tools and applications are also expected for the hospitality industry. Even, many international hotels from all over the world have already been making use of these technologies to enhance their business effectiveness. There are many instances of these latest technologies and one more commonly seen technology is client server technology (CST), which offers a lot of benefits to hotels chains. Basically, they let the owners efficiently put together dispersed or disconnected hotel operations such as multiple computer platforms or software, collections over the years. In this scenario, they make simpler the process of report creation and MIS (management information system) facility, making these operations more well-organized and smooth. These days, many hotels have started making use of information systems to improve their data collection process. This data and information later on support them in decision making. Actually, hospitality firms use this data to extract interesting facts and patterns for instance, how they can increase their sales, what services should be improved and how they can attract more customers towards their hotels (Law & Lau, 2000; Pandey, 2010). Moreover, additional technologies consist of Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud computing and pay as-you-go services, where software applications like that ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems are made accessible to others on request over the Internet and owners of the hotels are charged with a monthly fee depending on the nature and time of use. These all technologies have also come out as an additional gainful method of handling data and operations over the Internet. In addition, companies can take a huge share by efficiently decreasing their system maintenance and protection expenditures. Additionally, green technology is another choice, hospitality firms can take a look at. In fact, it is helpful in improving sustainability in regions like energy efficiency through the utilization of solar power for water heating or cooking. In this scenario, some of the other green technologies include solid waste management, rainwater harvesting, plastic and paper recycling machines and water efficient technologies. If they are adopted effectively, hotels and restaurants can reap long-standing benefits, along with scoring high on atmosphere friendliness and brand image enhancement, among customers. It can give a hotel a competitive edge over other hotels (Pandey, 2010). Some Uses of IT in Hospitality Sector The use of the information technology has offered a lot of benefits and opportunities for the hospitality industry. In their research papers, (Victorino et al., 2005), (Ip et al., 2011), (Buhalis & Law, 2008) and (Camison, 2000) discuss some of the important uses of the information technology for hospitality industry which are outlined below: Customer signaling, for instance in-room modems and online booking Facilitating management, for instance management email Facilitating workers, for instance voice mail Customer service revenue add-ons, for instance interactive TVs and ATM Customer service value add-ons, for instance internet facility and in-room fax machines Wireless technology, for instance curbside check-in, voice recognition, and smart cards Internet marketing for business promotion and customer communication Conclusion At the present, information technology is playing a significant role in every walk of life. Our lives are always surrounded by the information technologies. Seeing the ever-increasing importance of information technologies hospitality industry has started making use of information technologies in different forms. This paper has presented a detailed analysis of some of the important uses of information technologies in the hospitality industry. This paper has summarized the viewpoints of other researchers. At the present, the Internet is playing a significant role in the hospitality industry. The majority of hotels is adopting this tool for marketing purpose. Many hotels use their web sites to communicate with their customers and receive their feedback. The information technology has also helped the hospitality firms to automate their manual or traditional business processes. This paper has also discussed some of the latest technologies which can be adopted by hotels in order to get a competitive edge over other hotels and get the attention of more customers. However, it depends on an organization how effectively it makes use of information technology. A hospitality firm should keep in mind the interest of their customers and offer facilities on the basis of their interests. References Baines, A., 1998. Technology and tourism. Work Study, 47(5), pp.160-63. Buhalis, D. & Law, R., 2008. Progress in informationtechnology and tourism management: 20years on and 10yearsafter the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Tourism Management, 29(4), pp.609-23. Bulchand-Gidumal, J., Melian-Gonzalez, S. & Lopez-Valcarcel, B.G., 2011. Improving hotel ratings by offering free Wi-Fi. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 2(3), pp.235-45. Camison, C., 2000. Strategic attitudes and information technologies in the hospitality business: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 19(2), pp.125-43. Galen, R.C., Tarun, M. & Cihan, C., 2003. Hospitality Information Technology. 5th ed. 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