Misuse & Abuse of Technology in the Hotel Industry

Misuse & Abuse Of Technology In The Hotel Industry The hotel industry is a multi-billion dollar business that is ever changing with society. Because of this fast-paced trend, hotels are changing the way they operate to better serve the guest. An establishment will do everything in its power to obtain and keep the guest clientele. Technology plays a major role in helping build, open, and operate these new beautiful and elegant hotels. How does technology play such a major role in the hotel industry? With the use of technology, the job of ten people, twenty years ago, now can easily be done with one or two individuals. The computer systems hotels use for operation allows the front desk service representative to access anything and everything from the click of a mouse. If a guest tries to check into a booked room, the computer sends a red flag instantly notifying the front desk there is conflict in rooms and that that particular room is unavailable. These systems also automatically record all information dealing with the hotel in any way. If this information is read and interpreted correctly, the hotel has the opportunity to adapt to those figures. Kim Nash, a hotel reporter, states “Tracking and analyzing customer interactions, and then using that data to invent more opportunities for customers to interact with you—and provide still more data—is the name of the customer service game”. The hotels use of these computer systems dramatically changed our perception, as the guest, of how the experience of staying in a hotel should be. Because there is this huge sociological norm that everything has to be fast and easy with high efficiency, we often take for granted how technologically advanced we really are. How does a 500-room hotel run at 90% occupancy and experience no overbooking? How can the guest charge a drink at the bar to their room with just the swipe of a card? How is it possible to book a hotel room over the internet? These are just a few examples of