The hospitality industry is an ever-growing sector of the economy. In addition to generating monetary value for an economy, the hospitality industry employs a large number of people and can be the source of livelihood for a wide variety of other businesses which though not in the hospitality industry, are nonetheless dependent on it for income generation and business opportunities. As such, the hospitality industry is one in which even small incremental gains in efficiency can translate to immense benefits for the industry and society.
Information Technology can transform the hospitality industry and allow it to reach ever new heights in the following ways:
Advertisement through IT
As the disposable income available to the people increase, they increasingly become willing to spend it by traveling and looking at the various tourist sites in the world. The key to attracting such travelers and tourists to one’s own business may be advertising through Information Technology services.
Easy accessibility of information via digital media for potential visitors coupled with prompt query redressal can be the proverbial final straw, which may trigger the potential visitor’s decision to visit a particular place.
With the widespread adoption of smartphones, social media, and accessibility to digital services worldwide, a robust presence in the digital space is assured to give widespread viewership to the advertisements, which will attract more business opportunities.
Payment through IT portals
For the various services rendered to the customer, billing through a computerized system and paying the bills through the available digital transaction modes can be a very lucrative option for the customers. Customers have an inbuilt trust for the automated billing systems wherein each statement is delivered directly to their emails, enhancing transparency and accountability in the billing system.
The business also has an advantage in this scenario. The concern accounts are digitized and stored securely with multiple backups, thus facilitating fast and easy reporting for the management and the ability to flag the areas where the business may exercise financial accountability and prudence.
Online booking
In the past few years, the hospitality industry has seen a significant change. Gone are the days when hotel rooms were booked via phone calls. Now everything is online.
Starting from searching for rooms to booking a cab to flight tickets, everything is done online. And not only that, nowadays everything is connected to one another. Be it a leisure holiday or a business trip, the client expects the hotels to offer them everything – from camp bookings, sight-seeing packages, shuttle to and from the airport and everything in-between, on a platter and that to on competitive rates.
With everything based on artificial intelligence and automation, the hospitality industry needs to have state of the art it infrastructure. This enables them to cross-sell additional services at competitive rates and gain clientele.
Cross-selling and up-selling
The hospitality industry has traditionally relied on cross-selling and up-selling. Whether tied up with sight-seeing services, cab services, travel booking, or other arrangements, hotels had always had those things as a part of their service.
In this digital age, nothing has changed. Customers prefer to stay in those hotels where they have access to everything they need. And once everything is digitally connected, IT services become the backbone.
IoT
IoT or the internet of things might be relatively new, but the hospitality industry is one of the early adopters of this technology. IoT is the idea of connecting various devices and gadgets to automate various basic operations. Hotels like Le Meridian and Marriott have been pioneers in using IoT.
Some basic examples can be keyless entry, switching off the AC when the guest moves out, setting the room temperature to a specified degree as soon as the guest enters the hotel premises, etc. Not only are these fancy and helpful, but they also cut costs to a large extent for the hotels. And for this, robust IT is a must.
Cost-cutting and automation
In the recent global crisis, this industry was the worst-hit industry. And that sadly meant cost-cutting and layoffs. But it is a business and has to make a profit. For various reasons, hotels are now moving towards automation of multiple aspects with minimum human intervention.
There are many benefits of the same – less human contact and social distancing, fewer chances of human error, less requirement of employees, and faster service.
Since more and more players in the hospitality industry are moving towards automation – IT is essential.
Conclusion
With the scope of the tourism and hospitality industry growing every day, a seamless connection is the need of the hour. It has evolved from luxury to necessity. IT acts as a double-edged tool to benefit both the customers and the businesses. It helps to streamline all the different aspects of the hospitality industry, effectively saving both the time and money of the company, leading to memorable customer experiences.