Globalization, increased industry competitiveness and the need to differentiate and strengthen brands means hospitality providers must use every advantage they can find to battle their competitors. Guests are becoming increasingly technology-savvy and expect to have access to the latest technology when staying at a hotel or making a reservation. Hospitality executives can no longer consider business strategies in isolation from the technology infrastructure required to deliver those strategies.
Technology adoption by hospitality companies varies significantly, particularly between the basic and luxury segments. Generally, hospitality has tended to lag other industries in technology adoption - however, there are significant exceptions. For example, casinos are major users of technology for security and guest services, as well as for highvolume transaction processing functions that resemble the operations of a financial services institution.
Overall, hospitality firms use technology primarily in three areas: first, for direct guest use, such as via in-room phones, pay-per-view TV and other in-room services; second, to support facility operations, including front desk, back office and supplier management; and third, to manage sales channels, including central reservations, travel agents and demand-generation programs (outbound call centers, advertising, promotions, etc.).
