Information Technology Implementation in UK Hospitality

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INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
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Executive Summary
Implementation of information technology is a process through which new technology can be
implemented within the organisation. To gain more profound insights about modern technology,
Hilton Tower Hotel is being selected. Initially, in the study, the structure has been discussed. In
addition to that role of IT in the hotel, the organisation has been critically analyzed. Further,
types of network have also been discussed.
On the contrary, the challenges of IT have also been put forward in this study. An ethical and
social problem of IT has also been discussed in this study. Lastly, deduction of the findings has
been focused in conclusion.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
Ethical and social issues faced by the organisation while running the Business.............................6
Different types of networking technologies....................................................................................8
Analysis and discussion.................................................................................................................10
Findings.........................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................13
Appendix: Rate of customers believes in an online review...........................................................15
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Introduction
In the UK the hotel industry is facing a cut-throat competition because of which their primary
motive is to improve the quality of service so that their competitive advantage can get promoted.
In addition to that, in the UK the rate of outbound tourists has been increased by 3% because of
which the customers need to experience rush during peak time. However, the hotel industries
have launched an online booking system so that the customers can book their accommodation as
per their convenience level. On the other hand, the hotel organizations are facing challenges
while keeping track of the customers. Therefore, they have launched a big data system so that
they can store the information in one place. In the present study, the role of Information
technology in the hotel industry has been discussed.
On the other hand, the challenges related to Information technology have also been critically
analyzed. Further, different types of networking system used in Hotel industry has also been
here. To explain the importance of Information technology in the Hotel Industry, Hilton Hotel
Tower Bridge has been selected.
Literature Review
Role of IT for the success of hotel Industry
As per the literary underpinnings of Erdem and Jignag (2016), presently due to the advent of
technology the management of the organisations uses Information Technologies so that they can
provide quality service to the customers. In addition to that launching of IT technologies within
the organisation also helps them to manage business activities smoothly. As per the report
presented by Fraj et al. (2015), after launching of technologies such as CRM software and big
data within the hospitality industry their profit rate has been increased by 10.2%. The report has
further stated that after launching of modern technologies within the hospitality industry can also
enhance their customer’s retention rate up to 4% by 2020. Role of IT for the success of the hotel
industry have been discussed below:
Better service to the customers
As per the opinion of Fraj et al. (2015), implementation of IT in hospitality industry helps the
management been improving the quality of services. The administration of Hilton Hotel Tower
Bridge has launched mobile application so that the targeted customers can book their rooms as
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per their convenience. Thus, it can mention that implementation of technology helps to increase
customer’s retention rate. In addition to that, they have also AI enabled chat box so that the
number of direct booking on their website can get increased. On the contrary Jones et al. (2016),
has mentioned that implementation of technology can also affect the privacy of the organisation
because professional hackers can hack the data. Moreover, Hilton Hotel Tower Bridge has also
implemented the in-room technology so that the guests can use the web application to avail the
room service, through E - dinning internet site.
Better communication
As per the literary underpinnings of Jones (2016), implementation of technology within the
hospitality industry can enhance the connection between the management and the customers so
that the competitive position of the organisation can get improved. For instance, the
administration of Hilton Hotel Tower Bridge has launched mobile communication so that they
can keep their customers up to date with their offers. However, if some of the bookings get
cancel, they inform the customers with the help of mobile communication. The management of
Hilton Hotel Tower Bridge has also launched the system of GPS tagging system so that new
customers can easily find the location of the hotel. Lastly, also use an instant messaging
application like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger to promote their offers, among the targeted
customers. As argued by Kabra and Ramesh (2016), customers retention rate also witness a
downfall after implementing modern technologies due to technical lack backs.
Figure 1: Rate of social media usage in the hospitality industry
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(Source: Katou and Budhwar, 2016)
Successful management of business activities
As per the comment of Mao et al. (2016), implementation of modern technology helps to
manage the business activities efficiently so that the profit margin can be enhanced. For instance,
after implement technology within the organisation, the management of the organisation has
earned 2.4% profit. However, in the year 2016, the rate of profit has been marked at 1.3%. On
the other hand, the Hilton Tower Hotel has launched a centralised data system so that they can
store the information of the customers under one umbrella. However, the competitors of Hilton
Tower Hotel like Hyatt, and Marriott tries can try to hack the information of Hilton Tower hotel.
After analysing the function of IT in the hotel industry, it has been noted that it helps to improve
the service of the organisation along with the customer's communication. Thus, the
implementation of Information technology is beneficial for hospitality organisations.
Ethical and social issues faced by the organisation while running the Business
Moral and social problems faced by the organisations after the implementation of modern
technologies have been discussed below:
Social challenges
Digital divide
As per the comment of Mason (2017), the digital divide is a process through a difference is
created among the employees due to the usage of internet inside the office premises. In
hospitality organisations, the digital divide is being created among the employees because of lack
of technical knowledge.
Moreover, due to the digital divide the employee turnover rate also increases. In UK hospitality
organisations the employee turnover rate has been increased by 25%. Therefore, it is suggested
that the organisations need to train the employees so that their technical skills can get enhanced.
Moreover, the employees need to treat equally so that employee retention rate can be improved.
As per the comment of Xiang due to the digital divide, the salary of the employees also gets
affected. For instance, in the Hilton Tower Hotel, a housekeeper is being paid 6 pounds for an
hour. On the contrary, an official is being paid 36 pounds for an hour.
Privacy issues
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Application of modern technologies also affects the privacy level of the organisations. At times
the information that is being stored within the centralised data system gets hacked by the
professionals who in turn change the competitive advantage position of the organisation. As per
the data privacy act (1998), the organisations should not use the information of the customers
and employees for official purpose. Further, it has been noted the management of Hilton Hotel
has launched one drive so that they can store the information of the customers and the employees
effectively. Thus, it can be mentioned that the management of Hotel Hilton abides by the
provision of data privacy Act, 1998.
Unequal treatment
The management of the organisations provides incentives to employees who effectively use
modern technologies. Thus, biases among the employees take home. On the contrary, the
management of Hilton hotel conducts training sessions for the employees so that the technical
skills of the employees can be improved. They have also hired IT, students, to manage their
websites and mobile application.
The pressure of the IT employees
The management of the Hilton Tower hotel has recruited the software engineer so that their
internet service, social media pages and mobile application can be maintained adequately. As per
the literary underpinnings of Ravichandran et al. (2015), The IT team of the hotel operates 24
hours to cater to the recruitment of the customers and to maintain the technological devices. This
24 hours service increases the work pressure among the IT department which further affects the
level of perfection
The ethical issues related to the application of IT in Hospitality organisations
Security issues
After the use of technology in the hospitality organisations, hackers easily hack the devices and
information, like the data system, mobile app and emails with the help of IP address. At times the
competitors of the organisations cut the cookies so that they can track the service information to
affect the competitive position of the organisations in the market. Further, the hackers hack the
banking information of the parent organisations along with their customers so that they can
transfer the liquid cash on their name. As per the comment of Melián-González and Bulchand-
Gidumal (2016), hacking the banking information of the organisations affect the competitive
advantage in the market.
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Unique Global Identification numbers
The Global unique identifier of the hotel industry gets hacked by the hackers which further
spread the official information of the organisation among the competitors so that the market
position of the organisation can get affected.
Supporting the guests with a disability
After hacking the information of the hotels, the competitors manipulate the data of the hotels
such as a variety of service, hotels tariffs, and discounts so that the customers can be misguided.
Moreover, if the targeted customers are missing guided by the management, then the overall
customer’s retention rate will witness a downfall.
Different types of networking technologies
As per the comment of Melián-González and Bulchand-Gidumal (2016), implementation of
modern techniques within the organisation helps to speed the service of the organisation so that
the customer's satisfaction rate can be enhanced. On the contrary, Mason (2017) has mentioned
that due to technological glitches the quality of services gets affected which in turn reduces the
satisfaction level among the customers. Presently, the hospitality organisations have used
modern technologies because of the networking policies. The types of networking technologies
used within the hospitality organisations have been discussed below:
Wired Ethernet Network
As per the comment of Ravichandran (2015), Ethernet technology is being used when the fibre
optic cables are being connected with the devices within 10 KM. As asserted by Mason (2015),
for the functioning of the Ethernet interface cards need to be installed within the tools so that
their speed can be enhanced. The Ethernet cable is being connected to a central switch so that
information can be transferred from one device to another. In the Hilton Tower Hotel Ethernet is
being used to connect the fax machine, printers and scanners so that data can be conveniently
shared between the machines.
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Figure 2: Ethernet communication
(Source: Melián-González and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016)
Wireless Ethernet
Wireless Ethernet doesn't use any wires to connect the machines. In addition to that, the wireless
Ethernet uses radio waves for two way communication between the devices and the switches.
Ethernet connection consists of Ethernet ports, switches and Hubs. As per the literary
underpinnings of (), wireless Ethernets are essayed to be used because they are flexible. On the
contrary, Xiang (2015) has mentioned that wireless Ethernet needs extra care for configuring
security.
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Figure 3: Wireless Ethernet
(Source: Xiang et al. 2016)
Analysis and discussion
Benefits and Drawbacks of investing in IT sector of the organisation
As per the comment of Mason (2017), the organisations need to invest in technology so that they
can effectively manage the activities. In addition to that, it also helps to improve the quality of
the service so that the competitive advantage of the organisation can be improved. The benefits
of investment on technology have been discussed below:
Managing the service
Presently, the level of competition within the hospitality management is high. Therefore they
need to launch modern technology within the organisation to increase customer’s retention rate.
Management of Hilton hotel has implemented centralised data system so that they can store data
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of the organisation like profit rate, the price of service provided, the rate of guests visit and
discount provided for future growth of the organisation.
On the contrary, the drawbacks for investing in technology have been discussed below:
Expenditure on the organisation
Investing in technology is not beneficial for the organisations because it increases the overall
spending of the organisation which further decreases the strategic position of the organisation.
Findings
The finding of the study has been discussed below:
● Technology improves the service quality of the organisation
● It helps to maintain the business activities of the organisation
● However, it affects the privacy of the organisation
● It enhances the communication between the management and the customers
● Further, it has been noted that 93% of the guests use the review of the customers before
booking a hotel. On the contrary, 53% does not book a hotel if no online survey is present
(Refer to appendix).
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Figure 4: Guest Journey Mapping
(Source: Melián-González and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2016)
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