It is safe to say that technology is the fastest growing trend that the service/tourism/hospitality industry has ever seen. Technology is slowly taking over from the basic human interaction and creating a faster, easier, cheaper, and almost instant way for the customers get to the desired product.
Anything is at reach on the internet today. Weather is getting a pizza, getting tickets for a concert or booking a vacation, you can find it on the internet and get it with very little effort and without interaction with another person. The internet has become such a big part of our lives and most people carry a device at all time that has access to the internet. The power that the internet has in the tourism and hospitality industry is tremendous. Businesses uses the internet long before the costumers get to their website/business, with advertising, promotions and photos on social media, apps etc. The costumer is then directed to websites, blogs, online booking sites etc. that will get them a taste of the product and get them hooked and convinced on choosing their product.
Online booking and reservation systems saves the costumers and businesses time and money. It allows customers to compare prices and give them a sense of control over the buying process. Businesses save money by reducing call volume and staff hours, thereby increasing revenue. As seen on the picture below from World Travel Markets Global Trends Report from 2016, we can see that online booking is a big trend and the use of the internet in the service industry is expected to grow in the future.
Furthermore, technology is a big money and time saver, not only for businesses by cutting down staff hours but also for customers. Saving time and money has become a key thing in the world today. The costumers are basically getting more responsibility. Instead of staff helping them make decisions and guiding them, customers spend their own time finding the right product and booking it themselves. For most people this has become the best way because they can control everything themselves.
Businesses like hotels are using more technology such as better, faster, and more advanced reservations and check in systems, smart keys and even robots in some parts of the world. Some hotels have databases that allows them to keep track of visitor’s preferences of room choice, beverage choice, temperature in room etc. which can help the visitor have a more personalized next stay at the hotel. Other things like in-room technology such as IPads makes it possible for the guest anything from making dinner reservations to controlling the room environment. Hotels who uses this can increase in-room spending by using flash promotions though the IPads.
One thing that cannot be left unmentioned is the role of social media – one of the fastest growing tools for internet marketers. A survey from “worldwide social network” from 2013 showed that about 25% of the worlds populations was using social media daily. Because so many people carry smartphones, IPads or laptops at most times, social media is always on the hand. It is therefore necessary for any businesses to stay visible on social media and a great way promote your business. But there is a disadvantage to marketing on social media. It does allow customers to express their opinions or complain about the product in a public setting and marketers must be ready to answer to their products and services.
Where are we going with all this technology? While technology in most situations is a helpful tool one could wonder where it is taking us. Things like Wi-Fi is has become a necessity, interaction between people are being replaced by machines and robots and the costumers needs and expect are becoming higher and higher. Will technology eventually take over the service industry and fully replace interaction between people? I think that is the direction we are going in – but only time will tell.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-used-hospitality-tourism-31033.html
http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/30008-technology-in-travel-and-tourism/
http://www.besthospitalitydegrees.com/faq/how-does-technology-affect-the-hospitality-industry/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/qa-how-will-technology-transform-tourism
http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284414567
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Statistics_on_ICT_use_in_tourism
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