Managing hospitality resources - Essay Example

Managing hospitality resources The benefits of technology to the hospitality industry, notably to the hotels are immense. Hotel industry refers to a field of service that consists of restaurants, lodgings and accommodations, event planning, transportation agencies among others (Carlin, 2006 p50). The survival and economic prosperity of the hotel industry is dependent on two factors, namely the availability of leisure time for people and the possession of a high disposable income by them (Bentley, 2005 p66). This is so because; most people will go to the hotels after they have serviced the domestic needs and remain with extra disposable income, which they can use for leisure, recreation, and entertainment. Without ample leisure time however, it is difficult for them to attend to such activities. Since the industry mostly offers food service and accommodation, competition in this field is inevitable. With the advances in technology witnessed of late, the industry can take the advantage of these advances to obtain a competitive edge over its competitors. Technology can therefore be used in the industry to improve operational efficiencies, afford the hotel guests enhanced and quality services, and increase the income earned by the hotels (Lew, 2008 p415). The pace and rate at which technology is changing is too high, so that it leaves the whole industry confused in the right technology to adopt. Since a technology considered superior today might be found redundant after a few months or years, the industry has a difficult time deciding on which ones to incorporate into their systems (Erik, 2010 18). Thus, the choice of appropriate technology for the hotel industry is a paramount issue. Technology can support the management of the hotel industry through many ways. It can be used to enhance the guest experience, an aspect that will allow them visit the hotel again or recommend others to the same facility. This way, technology can be used to enhance customer services, through creating avenues that will enhance faster check- ins and check-outs, allow a timely response to any of the customer requests and enhance their stay environment through a range of entertainment and recreation activities (Bentley, 2005 p66). The other way in which technology can support the management of the hotel industry is in improving the operational efficiencies. This can be achieved through applying technology to reduce the administrative requirements, lean the staff requirement in the facility to sizeable and manageable level, and enhance the cross-functional training. Technology can also be used to centralize most of the functions of the hotel, so that they are operated from a centralized locality, while at the same time enable the management of the hotel to distribute widely its services to the point of easy access by their clients. Since customer expectations as to the services they should receive from the hotel industry are increasing by the day, incorporation of appropriate technology can enhance the possibility of meeting their requirements. Presently, customers expect to be served within the least time possible when they enter into a hotel facility. In such a case, the incorporation of advanced technology that will be used to communicate the requirements of the customers from the reception department to the kitchen and lodging department will go a long way to ensure that customers are not delayed (Lew, 2008 p412). Management can also use technology to enhance their cost control functions. Appropriate technology such as a system to procure, order, receive and store raw materials and other products required by the hotel facility can serve to reduce the cost incurrence by the hotel (Patrick, 2010 p35). For example, if a hotel lacks a good stock control system, it is likely to find itself lacking some materials while they are highly demanded. This would mean that the hotel would fail to meet their customer needs and consequently lose their loyalty and goodwill. If a hotel facility incorporates a good stock management system, it can afford to purchase in bulk and take advantage of the quantity discounts that are offered because of bulk buying. The integration of a good accounting and finance system into the management of a hotel would ensure that the chances of fraudulent activities are eliminated. This way, loses incurred by businesses, as a result of fraud will be completely covered. The incorporation of a technology advanced bookkeeping system will go a long way in reducing the bulk of stationery required to keep the hotel records. Time consumed to retrieve such records that are kept in books and files will be significantly reduced. Consequently, the cost involved in creating or renting space for use in storing books and file will be done away with (Patrick, 2010 p36). Technology can also be used by the management of the hotel industry to enhance its marketing strategies. Improved marketing serves to increase the opportunities for the hotel and helps it to attain competitive advantage (Bentley, 2005 p66). Technology presents the hotel industry with a range of sales and marketing tools, which the industry should take advantage of to flourish economically. Technological tools such as e marketing and e-commerce provides the industry with an opportunity to market and sell it products and services online. Other technology services such as online booking of food service and accommodation are some of the technology services that should be capitalized on by the management of the hotel industry. Therefore, technology can support the management of the industry through many ways. However, the application of this technology by an organization is what counts for its success (Parets, 2004 p26). There are many challenges that are involved in implementing technology, more so in the hotel industry. The adoption of a certain technology by the management of a hotel facility also comes with extra cost. These costs includes the costs of training the staffs who will be affected by the technology introduced, the initial cost of installation of the technological tools and equipment as well as the subsequent repair and maintenance activities that are required for the technology to function appropriately (Carlin, 2006 p65). Thus, the choice of suitable technology for a particular hotel facility is crucial in determining the levels of its success. No, wonder therefore, that there are some technology choices deemed necessary for the hotel industry. There are some technologies, which are a choice for the hotel industry. One-stop guest services is one such technology, which has two different applications (Lew, 2008 p419). It is a technology that involves the use of in-room television remote control, where the guest selects from a range of interactive programs and communicates to the outside services through the phone. The reason for choice of this technology is that it enhances the client host communication, ensuring that the needs and any concerns of the customers’ are responded to instantly (Carlin, 2006 p103). This goes a long way to ensure customer satisfaction, which is the basis of success in the hotel industry. This technology serves to reduce the time it would take the customer to call the hotel staff to come and address their issue or offer them the desired services. One-stop guest services technology enhances the interaction of the clients and the staffs in a real time manner, improving the services delivery to the clients. However, the application of this technology is dependent on the client’s preferences and knowledge of use. Thus, it requires that the customers to these hotel facilities are oriented to the use of this technology to enhance its applicability (Parets, 2004 p31). The staffs of the facility also need to be trained on the use of this technology, and on how to respond to the issues raised by the clients through the system. When the technology is well applied, it serves to enhance the performance of the hotel industry. This technology is meant for all types of guests audiences. Smart Card is another technology that should be applied to enhance the performance of the hotel industry. This technology allows guests to access the rooms or other hotel facilities using the card. This ensures that the customers to the hotel facility can accesses the services they need without the need to have the assistance of the staffs (Bentley, 2005 p67). For example, with the use of a smart card, the customers can open doors to recreation facilities and play games without the aid of the hotel staff. This serves to create convenience on the side of the client, while at the same time reducing the hotel staff requirements (Carlin, 2006 p108). Smart cards can also be coded to allow them be used for such activities as buying meals and charging retail items purchased by the customers from the hotel facility. The same smart card can be coded to be used as the door key (Sam, 2007 p14). This technology is meant to create convenience to both the customers and the hotel management, as the customers are granted the freedom to undertake their activities without the assistance of the hotel staff. It is a technology that is easier to use and is meant for all guest to the hotel. However, this technology needs to be used with a sense of responsibility, to avoid the misuse of the freedom granted to the customers as well as guard against loss of such cards, since they are valuable items. Video check-In and Express check-Out, a hospitality-focused technology is valuable to the hotel industry. This technology is developed meant to create stands, through which customers can check in or check out of the hotels without the need to use the front desk and reception services. While some stands are fitted with touch screens that are bio-sensitive, collecting the fingerprints of the individuals who touches them and calibrating this into full bio-data information displayed at the reception, others displays the full video image of the individuals. This way, it makes it possible for customers to check in freely into the hotels and check out at their convenience. This technology is meant to ensure that customers are guaranteed convenience, while at the same time reducing the staff requirement of the hotel, through eliminating the need for staff to check guests in and out (Bentley, 2005 p67). Touch-and-Go is one such technology. This technology targets the guests with prior reservations. The guests also need to have been provided with smart cards, which they will use as door key to their rooms. Video check-In and Express check-Out technology is also connected to the charging system, where the expenses incurred by the guest are displayed on the screen once they need to check out. The guests then use their smart card to clear the bills and then checks out without any interaction with the hotel staff. This technology is a high convenience once, but only limited to customers and guests who makes prior reservations with the hotel facility (Carlin, 2006 p120). Another technology for use by the hotel industry is the Data base marketing technology. This technology segments the database of the hotel’s customer, notes the level of frequencies and the interests of each of these customers. The segmentation helps to provide the management of the hotel with necessary information pertaining to the customers that would allow the management to device retention programs for such customers (Carlin, 2006 p72). The technology helps the hotel to target current and prospective customer and seeks to provide them with products and services they seem mostly interested in, as indicated by their historical data with the hotel facility. This technology allows the hotel to maintain a single database, from which information about the customers can be traced and used. The technology seeks to monitor the customers spending trend, and thus connects the database to the charging and payment system (Erik, 2010 16). With information concerning the spending trends of the customers at the hands of the hotel, then specific programs, products, and services can be developed aimed at specified customers. This technology serves as a unique marketing tool, addressing the unique needs of hotel clients, making them feel satisfied with the hotel’s services. This technology is targeted at specific guest audiences, who are frequenters and repeat purchasers of the hotels products and services. While utilized well, the technology provides the management of the company an avenue to create customer loyalty and attain goodwill for the hotel facility. Finally, Executive Information System (EIS) is a technology appropriate for the hotel industry that accesses valuable information from the hotel databases regarding operations as well as financial information, and presents it to the top management in a usable manner (Lundberg, 1974 p7). The information provided by this technology enables the management to analyze the performance trends of the hotel facility and use this as a basis to make managerial decisions. Since the success of a hotel is tied to the accuracy of information disbursed and the speed of its retrieval, it follows that this technology is of greater use to the industry (Parets, 2004 p30). The aid function provided by this technology to the hotel management is a significant factor that differentiates the successful from the unsuccessful business in the service industry. This technology serves to allow the management makes information decision that helps to create suitable marketing programs, which will eventually allow the hotel to obtain a competitive edge over the rest in the industry (Carlin, 2006 p98). The technology targets the management of the hotel as its audience, which in turn influences the operations of the entire hotel through suitable decision and changes meant to improve on the hotel’s performance. Thus, technology can be applied as an important tool to enable the hotel industry revolutionize its performance. However, this is greatly hindered by barriers to technological investment by the hotel industry. Lack of the willingness to commit funds to technological advancement, as well as a general resistance to change by the hotel industry has crippled this significant development. Many challenges are there, regarding the implementation of technology in the hotel industry. One of the challenges is providing data security (Wilkerson, 2003 p33). The implementation of technology in the hotel industry requires an integration of a lot of data into the system. This data concerns the hotel facility as well as the data on the customers and the guests themselves. Through the preparation of credit cards and Smart cards, there is a wide range of information that is stored in them. This information ranges from the personal bio-data, to their addresses, occupation, financial information as well as other sensitive data. Therefore, there is a great need to preserve this information against unauthorized access, tampering, or use. At the same time, there is a need to guard against loss of such crucial information or its damage by hackers and viruses. The foreseen challenge is on how this information will be protected. Avoiding normal security pitfalls will go a long way in protecting this data. This protection entails having a backup system to restore the same information in case it is corrupted by viruses (Erik, 2010 19). Confidential information should also be restricted to only authorized accesses. This is because, it is a social crime and also unethical to access confidential information regarding an individual without their consent. This follows that the administration of databases that contains information regarding guests and customers should be restricted to specific staff authorized to accesses and use such information. Measures to prevent the disclosure of such information should also be put in place. Updating the databases is yet another measure that can be applied against the damage of such information by virus. Another foreseen challenge to the implementation of the technology in the hotel industry is posed b the new world of social media (Carlin, 2006 p41). As opposed to earlier on, where information published in the media was from journalists, the world technology has advanced so much so that it has become easier for any individual to posses electronic devices and equipments that can be used to gather audio and visual information, and have it published in the media. Many guests and customers to a hotel facility may possess a digital camera, a video or audio recorder, or even an i phone, which they can use to collect information regarding the hotel facility and later have it published. This becomes more detrimental, in the event that they opt to publicize information that depicts the weaknesses of the hotel facility (Erik, 2010 13). Worse to this is the fact that avenues to legally hold such persons accountable are locked, with the advent of the social media, where individuals are free to share any information. It becomes difficult to trace who publicized such information since they can do it under different names or anonymously. Thus controlling such activities is almost impossible for the hotel industry, unless they establish rules and regulations that hinders their guests and customers to indulge in such. However, restricting guests and clients from taking videos and photographs of the hotel facility is a step towards losing the customer loyalty and goodwill. Budget reductions is another challenge, foreseen likely to affect the hotel industry. When the budget allocation for the hotel industry towards technology implementation is minimal or none at all, then it becomes very difficult for the IT professional to implement such technology needs. There is a tendency in the hotel industry where the management will invest a lot in beautification of the facility and furniture at the expense of establishing an appropriate technological infrastructure (Lundberg, 1974 p10). The global economy has also served to cripple the hotel industry IT implementation, in that as the revenues and profits earned by the hotels decreases, there is a tendency to ignore the IT function of the industry and concentrate on allocating the limited resources to other sections of the industry. However, this is in total contrast to the needs and expectations of hotel guests and customers who require that the hotel advance its technological stance as new technology is developed (Carlin, 2006 p110). Therefore, there is a need for the hotel industry to harmonize its technological standings with the expectations of customers and guests. This ensures that the hotel attracts guests and customers and provides them services to their satisfaction. Therefore, though the global economy is affecting the revenues and profitability of the hotels, there is a need to balance the allocations of the available resources between the IT function and the other sections of the hotels. This way, customer satisfaction will be attained and thus more profitability and competitive edge for the hotel industry. Works Cited Bentley, R., 2005. Where are the wires? Caterer & Hotelkeeper.195 (4401), 66-67. Carlin, M., 2006. Step Right Up: Kiosks Command Attention across Verticals. Hospitality Technology Magazine. 50-120. Erik M., 2010. Evolving Technologies to drive competitive advantage In Hospitality industry. Owen, Arthur Anderson &Co, SC. 12-20. Kasavana, L., 2005. The next big thing. The Bottom-line: The Journal of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. 20 (7), 12-13. Lew, A., 2008. Long Tail Tourism: New geographies for marketing niche tourism products. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 25 (3-4): 409–419 Lundberg, E., 1974. 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