Entrepreneurship for Hospitality Leaders

Running head: ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR HOSPITALITY LEADERS 1
Entrepreneurship for Hospitality Leaders
Name
Institution

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR HOSPITALITY LEADERS 2
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................3
Findings and Discussion............................................................................................3
Internet of Things (IoT).............................................................................................3
Artificial Intelligence (AI).........................................................................................4
Robotics.....................................................................................................................5
Impacts of the Disruptive Technology in Tourism Industry.....................5
Managing the Changes..............................................................................7
Conclusion................................................................................................9
References...............................................................................................11
Appendices.............................................................................................14
ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR HOSPITALITY LEADERS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR HOSPITALITY LEADERS 3
Introduction
Over the past few years, there has been increased technological advancements. This
disruptive technology is likely to have some, if not a magnitude impact on the hospitality sector,
specifically the tourism industry. Already, technological trends are changing the consumers’
behavior as well as expectations and in the next decade, it is expected that the impacts are going
to grow and become more pronounced. The hospitality industry is considered a dynamic
environment that is in a continuous state of progression and movement. If organizations are to
remain successful in the current landscape, they have to make use of several technological-
disruptive tools to make sure that there is approval both in the leisure and the travel business. In
the travel and tourism industry, there has never been so many individuals that have traveled as
much as they currently do. Also, travelers have become too demanding and they want everything
and want it now. The expectations of these travelers are to get speed, personalization, security,
authenticity, as well as seamlessness in the delivery of services. The aim of this report is to
identify relevant disruptive technologies that are likely to impact on the travel and tourism
industry.
Findings and Discussion
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things entails internet-based interconnectivity of an organization’s
devices, thus allowing sending and receiving of data. For instance, this disruptive technology has
been used in the hotel rooms to provide the clients with a device which connects all the
appliances ranging from lights, heaters, along with air-conditioning, facilitating all of them to be

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR HOSPITALITY LEADERS 4
controlled from a singular place (Claveria, Monte & Torra, 2015). The technology makes data
available hence making it easy for travel and tourism agencies to make informed decisions. Also,
the computers make it easy to track quality as well as products’ viability in an organization. IoT
also saves on time and money used in monitoring and maintaining supplies. Nonetheless,
technology has its disadvantages (Mazzarol, 2011, n.d.). The first disadvantage relates to
privacy, whereby the information monitored by IoT is supposed to be encrypted to ensure that
confidential information is not accessible to hackers (Guttentag, 2015). Also, there are issues
associated with the compatibility of IoT devices since there exist no standards for monitoring or
tagging using sensors. The software is also prone to hacking and personal data gets misused.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence is widely being used in the tourism industry to manage call centers.
Specifically, the technology is being used in the travel and tourism industry for the purposes of
customer service. The chatbots possess the capability of delivering rapid response times to
customers’ issues (Kobres, 2018). In addition, organizations operating in the travel and tourism
industry are also using Artificial Intelligence to sort data. Thus, this has made it possible to draw
conclusions regarding the business performance, the trends that are linked to customer
satisfaction, and manage inventories.
AI is advantageous in that it reduces errors and enhances the chances of reaching
accuracy with an increased degree of precision. Absence of emotions in the machines assist them
to think logically and make the right decisions, and they can work 24*7 without breaks unlike
the case of humans. However, artificial intelligence has its disadvantages such as the high costs
incurred when acquiring the hardware and the software. In addition, the cost is also linked to the