INTRODUCTION
The hospitality industry is one of the fastest and biggest industries around the world. This industry grew and flourished through the centuries by adapting to the changing social, business and economic environment that marked human progress. Defining the hospitality industry is not a simple matter, as it is a complex industry that made up from many different businesses, and the basic is provide products and services to their guests.
The word ‘tourism’ plays a major part in hospitality industry that it comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one year for leisure, business and other purposes. According to Kotler et al. (2002) as cited in Vantzos & Zafeiropoulou (n.d), the tourism and hospitality industry nowadays had an extensive growth around the globe and this development has been affected by Internet presentation. After the establishment of information technology, more hospitality firms took the opportunity to expand their business worldwide. Rather than traditional system that early been practiced by this industry, the revolution of information technology more helping the industry to move forward.
What is defined by the information technology (IT)? It consists of all the hardware and software that a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives. An information system can be defined technically as a set of organized components that collect or retrieve, process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in organization. Information technologies provide all functions of strategic and operational management. As information is the backbone and crucial thing of hospitality industry, ITs provide both opportunities and challenges for the industry. The enhancements in ITs’ processing power in the last decade advancing their capabilities as they constantly increasing computing speed, decrease equipment size, reduce hardware and software cost, and improve the reliability, compatibility and inter-connectivity of numerous terminals and application.
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The technological revolution has affected the hospitality industry. Both tourism destinations and enterprises increasingly need to adopt innovative methods and to enhance their competitiveness. On the demand side, the new, sophisticated, knowledgeable, and demanding consumer increasingly becomes familiar with the emergent ITs. After the penetration of the internet into hospitality industry, hotel firms obtain the opportunity to expand their business into the practical world. Originally, the differences between the traditional and the information technology firms could be clearly seen almost in all aspect as it is shown.
Comparison of the main characteristics of traditional and the information technology firm
Traditional
- Physical view of the product
- Intellectual content of product is relatively low
- Traditional 8-hours employment
- Employees are concentrated at the office
- Chain of distribution – long
Technological Information
- Intellectual products view
- Material content of the product is relatively low
- Flexible employment
- Tele-workers sitting at home
- Chain of distribution - short
It is absolute differences when comparing the hospitality industry in traditional and differences age. The development of information technology makes the industry to upgrade the traditional system to the new and modern system. Firstly, it can be look on the view of the product. During the traditional age, the product and brand that provides by the industry can only be viewed on the physical. It means the guest can view it by come to the hotel itself; it’s a lot of burden for the guest. But, when it comes to information technology age, a lot of things become so easy. Guest can have a look of the product only with their fingertips, do not need to come to the hotel to view whether it is good or not. When the hospitality firms using a web to promote their business, it become the guest can easily view the products that offered by the firms effectively and easily.
The other thing is about the working hours of the employees. During traditional age, most employees work traditionally 8 hours. The operation only valid during that times only. All of the operations such as information gathering and reservation only can be done at the working hours. It opposes during information technology age that guest can gathering data and make reservation 24 hours every day. The guest can log in to the web, reads some data and make reservation on that time. It much attracts the guest because of its easy and convenient system Then the chain of distribution of this industry, the traditional one more long and hard enough to arrive the guest rather than the new and modern chain of distribution that more short and fast.
The internet advent to the world and its impact is without a doubt the biggest in the business sectors. Internet as the ultimate future media which is going to dominate over other media such TV, radio and print newspapers giving the opportunity to simple guest through their pervasive computer and mobile phones to become a member of a unique worldwide system. Hospitality has a big part of the global business because as an industry it had a substantial growth the last years. This enormous development brought managers into a difficult situation thinking seriously about the impacts of technology on tourism and hospitality industry including the Internet. Information technology has a significant impact because hospitality information systems are based on it and through that information they create a serious advantage over competition using it to keep hospitality loyalty. The affiliation of the Internet through world wide web with hotels and their services is the best marketing tool including relationship management, which is the key to hospitality loyalty. |
After the penetration of the Internet into tourism industry, hotel firms obtain the opportunity to expand their business into the virtual world. E-commerce business development influenced deeply tourism and especially hospitality industry. Moreover, hotels expanded their strategic plans making alliances to protect and develop their business against global competition. The virtual world of e-commerce influenced so much hospitality industry. Hotels had a significant impact affected in a way by new technology which guide them to adopt and practices IT systems, making them importantly for their business operation but without knowing exactly where this technology is going to lead their business strategy. Technology is also unpredictable that makes hospitality firms should be very careful with what kind of system they are going to adopt and update it regularly using the latest antivirus and firewalls versions because security on the Internet is an important issue.
Scenario of hospitality industry development certainly includes marketing strategies and tactics followed by information technology operations. The Internet and e-commerce has lead marketing managers to expand their hotels firm’s business by practising new behaviour using the global power of the Internet. We also can say that the Internet is the ultimate marketing tool for hospitality industry and the important information that hotel marketing departments use to expand their business through it because of this industry has an important business potential worldwide. During the 90’s, the business procedures changed by the internet advanced. Marketing was highly affected by it in limited of time. Some of the reasons why more hotels presence on the Internet mostly have to do with establishing their brand and business worldwide. In addition, avoiding huge cost of intermediaries and advertising selling direct to guest by providing information with hotels online offers had a significant acceptance. Then, the other reason for their presence on the Internet was global e-commerce fashion which leads to the point that e-commerce is not just a new business direction but also a favourite for simple guest.
The most favourite website links of the hotels were:
· Link to tourist information
· Hotel resort information
· Information about other products related to the hotel or hospitality firms
· Email , contact link
· Complaints and recommendation sector
· News link
· Connected with country tourism organization for general information
Now we can claim that hotels websites have more than enough information providing them to their potential guests. With the fast development of technology, many hotels present almost all tour of their internal and external places and sites to give the prospective customer the first experience using his computer. The technological development is already here and managers are taking advantage of it. By using the global power of Internet adding Customer Relationship Management (CRM) hotels could have the ultimate business combination for firms’ loyalty. From a marketing managers view, the cost of the marketing campaign is always a serious problems because of it high cost and it can be done by the Internet that is a low cost marketing tool. The global nature of the Internet definitely helped international hospitality firms to increase their market share worldwide, and hotels can go global rather than stay local. The virtual world of hotels has the power to present all the information about hotels and send in to every house through computers connected to the Internet and this is cannot happen with any simple paper brochure.
CONCLUSION
The tourism and hospitality industry have already adopted the Internet and e-commerce nowadays because of its global power. The twenty-four and seven philosophy of the Internet is totally matched with hotels nature so that’s why most of biggest international hospitality firms such as InterContinental Hotels Group already implement it. The massive development and popularity of the Internet force hospitality industry marketers not only to practice it but also to transform into e-marketing mix. The websites of global hotel firms have enough information inside, considering it as saving because of their low cost operation and worldwide power. The fact and scenario now is the hotels increased their booking through their online booking system taking advantage of the popularity of e-commerce linking to the two big sectors that is leisure and business customers. These lead hotels to taking advantage of all their operations increasing their profit through conferences. Initially, e-commerce would have an impact on tourism and hospitality industry anyway. Marketers started trusting the Internet because strong worldwide competition involved e-commerce as a new marketing tool. This tool meets the challenges of globalisation that guiding marketing managers not only to implement it to expand the business opportunities for international hospitality firms but also to bring their firm closer to their customers. The Internet is quickly becoming the most require after amenity in hotel rooms. It provides the communication access, information, entertainment, and education. With respect to e-commerce, the Internet enables more self-service oriented transactions. In many cases, this may become the normal such as automated teller machines (ATM) are often more preferred for routine banking transaction rather than human approaches. And from a guest view, the Internet provides a new tool for shopping and product or service comparisons.
REFERENCES
Buhalis, D. (n.d). Strategic use of information technologies in the tourism industry. Working paper, University of Westminster, London, England.
Laudon & Laudon., (2000) Management Information System. Prentice Hall.
March (2003). Information and communication technologies for travel & tourism. Learning and teaching support network (LTSN)
Olsen, M. D. & Connoly, D. J. (n.d). Antecedents of Technological Change in the Hospitality Industry. Working paper, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech.
Vantzos, E. & Zafeiropoulous, A. (n.d). The influence of e-commerce on business development: a case study of resort hotels. Department of Tourism Management, TEI of Patras, Greece.
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