Hospitality
The hospitality
industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. This is a multibillion dollar industry that
solely depends on the level of customers in the facilities. A hospitality unit
such as a restaurant, hotel, or an amusement park consists of multiple
functional groups. Facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers,
porters, kitchen workers, and bartenders), management, marketing,
and human resources etc all contribute to the customer level of a company in
this specific industry. The usage rate, or its inverse "vacancy
rate", is an important variable for the hospitality industry and it has a
direct impact on business. Just a hospitality business owner would try to
maximize the number of customers at all sectors. Therefore, servicing plays a
significant role in retaining existing and attracting new customers.
The
growth of hospitality industry
The
global hospitality sector – riding a broad wave of growth, innovation and
demand – is in a strong position to make further gains during 2015 as the number
of industry participants increases and creates an attractive atmosphere for
acquisitions. Hospitality is one of the most favorable industries in the US
which fresh capital will take into consideration in the first place. As you can
see in below diagram, it indicates that the workforce in this industry in US
has been increasing over time since 2006.
The
impact of hospitality on our global economy is growing. Across the world,
today’s travel and tourism industry represents 266 million jobs, and
contributes 9.5% of GDP globally. With growth in the travel and tourism
industry expected to increase by 3.9% in 2015, the sector will be increasingly
recognized as a key driver of economic growth at the local, regional and global
level. But, as global travel increases across all segments – leisure, corporate
and group travel.
Both
business and leisure travel have steadily improved in recent years, rebounding
from the global slowdown immediately following the 2008-2009 financial
collapse. The infusion of fresh cross-border capital and innovation in both
properties and concepts will be the key drivers of growth in hospitality in
2015.
How
cloud computing impacts the hospitality industry (hotel)
Saving Money
Since
cloud services can be purchased based on a demand basis, a specific sector in
the hospitality industry such as hotel can avoid upfront costs because one only
pays for the cloud storage and computing power that is needed. Expenses such as
maintenance costs and extra manpower are eliminated. Other expenses such as
hardware costs and energy costs are also being cut as well. These costs are
significant to hotels. (Limotta It 2014)
Saving time
With
cloud computing, there is no time constraint in the deployment of the systems.
It is ready to do once the service is purchased. An in-house software system is
always complex which means training is required to maintain and operate the
system. Having a cloud, all technical issues are handled by the provider and
the system reduces the time and effort which the staff put in to. The time of
hotel staff can be freed up so that they can concentrate their time and energy
for the most important purpose – serving the guests.
Increased
flexibility
The
cloud provides an opportunity to work anywhere. All you need is an internet
connection and a computer or smart device. Most of the hotel staff work
remotely therefore having the cloud will speed up their work and enhance
productivity (Maansi Sanghi 2013). This is an essential tool in critical
situations as well such as decision making regarding customers.
Improved
customer engagement
Cloud
computing can improve the interaction between staff and customers by reducing
the downtime which staff can be more responsive in a quicker and more efficient
way (The International Hotel School 2013). A good example of this would be a
hotel staff checking on this device to know about a specific customer’s
favorite cuisine so that arrangements can be made in advance. This is one of
the benefits cloud can offer in retaining customers.
Impact
and opportunity of globalization
With
cloud computing, all parties can have access to information anywhere and
simultaneously. Companies in different sectors can be benefitted by sharing
information with each other with any time gaps. Therefore, communications are
centralized and streamlined as a result of this (Xath Cruz 2013). However,
there are also risks when taking the operations to emerging markets overseas. Companies
need to ensure they are cultivating adequate policies that either translate
well to other markets, or are separate altogether for each country data will be
transferred in (The Scalar Blog 2012). The privacy of data is another concern
to consider about.
Conclusion
Hospitality
is a huge and growing market. With the adoption of cloud computing in the hotel
industry, time, costs, and effort are reduced so that the staff can focus on
servicing and facilitating the company’s biggest variable – customers. However,
there are still potential risks yet to be justified when emerging with markets
overseas such as security and privacy issues. In adopting this innovation, a
company should evaluate the how worth the system is to the company and
carefully evaluate the pros and cons.
Reference:
Limotta
It (2014), '4 Ways Cloud Computing Benefits The Hospitality Industry', Limotta It, 20th November 2014,
Maansi
Sanghi (2013), ‘2013: The Biggest Year Yet For Cloud Computing in Hospitality’,
Capterra, retrieved from
The International Hotel School (2013), ‘Technology driving innovation in
the hotel industry’,The International Hotel School, 10th June 2013
The
Scalar Blog (2012), ‘Cloud computing's impact on IT, globalization’, The Scalar
Blog, 12th November 2012
Xath
Cruz (2013), ‘Opportunities for the Hospitality Industry in Cloud Computing’,
Cloud Times, 17th April 2013
