Accompanying the
technological revolution of the 1990s there are many new opportunities and
challenges for the hospitality industries. Since hospitality, global industry
information is its life-blood and technology has become fundamental to the
ability of the industry to operate effectively and competitively. Poon (1993)
suggests that the whole system of information technologies is being rapidly
diffused throughout the tourism and hospitality industry and no player will
escape information technologies impacts.
Understanding the effects, both good and
bad, of innovative technology in today?s hospitality industry. Whether we
are keen on the technological gadgets introduced into the workplace or not, we
need to adapt because technology is improving and expanding daily
in an attempt to make our lives easier. In this day and age, there is a technological device or software
used by a device for every operation in the hospitality world, such as
reservation systems, security cameras, point of sale systems, property
management systems, mobile communication, meeting matrix, energy management
systems, key card encoder, etc. By incorporating the use of such devices into
the workplace, it has changed the way we conduct business while saving time and
money as it dismisses many time-consuming tasks.
The wide range of innovations will
continue to assist hotels in keeping up with their competition. Although
gadgets will bring lots of benefits to the workplace, it will bring some hotels
to an all-time low for the reason that they may not be able to keep up with
such investments and competitors. Regardless of what is brought to the table,
the whole point will always be to meet and exceed the needs of guests.
New innovative technology trends that are
currently being used in some hotels are the following:
The do-it-all remote (room
personalization) ? This allows guests to dim or turn on/off lights,
control room temperature, open/close curtains, order room service, turn on the
do not disturb sign, set wake-up calls, view TV channels and movies all on the
television with the click of a button on a remote. However, understandably,
some guests may be somewhat queasy at the thought of touching a remote that has
been in the hands of so many others, after all, it is a hotel room. There is an
easy alternative for guests who feel that way, to still take advantage of the
in-room technology from their iPhone, iPad or Android. They can just simply
download the app called Lodge net and sync their Smartphone with the TV, which
will then give access to all the functions the remote has to offer.
Self Service Concierge ? This touch
smart screen kiosk is located in the lobbies of hotels, which can help a guest
find out information(restaurants, activities, flights) without the hassle of
carrying a laptop or waiting for someone to assist them.
New hospitality technology trends will
play a key role in delivering a personalized experience and help in better
managing operations, maximizing overall performance, enhancing the
effectiveness of sales and marketing approaches, increasing efficiency and
reducing costs.
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This report gives an insight into the
importance of the application of technologies and the use of the Internet in tourism
hospitality industries. This paper also aims to show how technological innovations
and information systems can be beneficial for hotel companies.