ASSESSMENT OF HOW TECHNOLOGY IS RESHAPING THE

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Introduction

Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the

movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for
personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors
(which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and
tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure
(United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2008). At the same time,
the industry began a massive technological shift as increased internet use
revolutionized travel services. Through the 2000s, online travel bookings grew
exponentially, and by 2014 global leader Expedia had expanded to
include brands such as Hotels.com, the Hotwire Group, trivago, and Expedia
Cruise Ship Centers, earning revenues of over $4.7 million (Expedia Inc., 2013).
Offline ticketing businesses and travel agencies are shutting down at a fast pace
and the reason is being irrelevant to the market that is in; a market whose
consumers rely heavily on tech. ‘Offline’ is not even on the radar as the term
‘OTA’ stands for Online Travel Aggregators and travel counselors/ agents are
being replaced by curate content which is available online. The reason being a
traveler’s psyche is a lot different compared to what it was a few years ago, solo
trips and group of friends trips are becoming the norm, as the trends show a
steady decline in conventional family trips.  

Technological advances have changed the way people travel, and these
new developments promise an even more interactive and exciting experience.
Today, nobody doubts that technology and travel are the perfect combination.
This joint force also plays a crucial role in the way we travel: from the vacation
destination we choose, all the way to what we do once we're there and even in
the time after we've come back from our adventure. Technology also helped
tourism and hospitality industries replace expensive human labor with
technological labor. This helps reduce labor costs, but also helps avoid customer
service issues. For example, Information Technology has played an important
role in the hospitality and tourism industry over the last decade. Technology has
helped reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and improve services and
customer experience. Both customers and businesses can benefit from improved
communication, reservations, and guest service systems.

Objectives of the Study

A research study designed to assess how technology is reshaping the
hospitality industry had the following general and specific objectives:

General objective: To identify factors why most of hospitality industry today

revolves around technology.

Specific objectives:
 Specify the relation of tourism and technology
 Understand the tourism business when it goes electronic
 Change in approach since technology started in tourism industry
 Provide an overview of the economic and social impacts of technology in
hospitality industry worldwide
 Classify the importance of social media and internet in hospitality industry
 Gain knowledge about the tour information and guiding systems
 Analyze the value of travel websites and apps
Review of Literature
This part presents a review of literature and studies that are relevant to the
topic to give more knowledge to the subject matter. These are presented for the
readers to gain an understanding of the previous work that has been done in the
area of the assessment of how technology is reshaping the hospitality industry.

 Tourism and Technology

Technology is something that is constantly changing and getting better
every day. The same can be said about travel technology, which offers the
traveler various flexible and innovative features that continue to improve. This
makes us all wonder how new travel technologies will impact changes in the
travel industry. (Hawkins, 1988)
The most striking effect of the positive relationship between technology
and tourism is certainly the diversification of the proposals. For years tourism
almost always meant travelling to a hotel near the sea, in the mountains or a city
of art. The most popular destinations remained the same for several years and
players in the industry did not have to try too hard to attract customers. But things
have changed, and people have begun to choose how to travel, as well as
where. They save paper by showing the boarding document on their
smartphones, listen to their podcasts anywhere with blue-tooth headphones, find
the most hidden coves thanks to the GPS and, surely, they are more satisfied as
a whole. (Haupt, 2019)

 Tourism Business Goes Electronic

For obvious reasons, this development is part of the general structural
change in tourism (as in other industries and in society as a whole) on the
other hand, the technological development also provides a new and
prospective basis to tackle structural change aggressively. As an example
one may take the increasing use of IT for destination marketing and recently,
direct sales and booking, thus establishing electronic tourism markets (Schmid
1993; Schmid 1994). As a matter of fact, tourism information systems, operated
by destination management organizations, like the Tyrolean Information System,
help to improve downstream information flows with respect to quality,
content presentation, speed, and accessibility and – as has been recognized
generally – offer a vast potential for improving effectiveness and efficiency of
virtually all transaction phases (Werthner 1993).

However, IT already played an important role in previous phases of

the development of modern tourism. Computerized Reservation Systems
(CRS), developed and operated by airlines in order to cope with the increasing
volume of passengers and the related logistic and operational problems, were
among the first worldwide applications of information technology, leading to
systems with several ten-thousand participating companies. At that time,
similar applications could only be found in the financial sector. Today tourism is
among the most important application domains in the World Wide Web (WWW).
Estimates state that between 33% and 50% of Internet transactions are tourism
based (Strassel 1997). This represents an empirical proof of the thesis, that
tourism and IT fit well. Another one is the growing number of conferences dealing
with that topic such as the ENTER conferences and others. As social media
continues its meteoric rise, travel firms can no longer solely rely on traditional
media (print, radio, TV, etc.) to enforce public perception of their product. The
changes in the manner in which tourism and travel products are distributed have
been attributed to the advancement of the Internet and the subsequent change in
consumer behaviour and attitude (Werthner and Klein, 1999)

 Change in Approach
According to Sripad Vaidya, travelers don’t want to take guides anymore,
or so seems to be the trend. More and more travelers believe in ‘authentic’
experiences rather than the fixed itinerary of the old. Immersing into the local
culture while seeing everything there is to see is the top priority now. If tourists
already haven’t visited a place once, there is no way of knowing ‘authentic’
experiences. Technology builds the bridge here. Social media and travel
blogging websites are the number one source for researching the places people
are about to travel to. The percentage of travelers aged 18-50, getting a go, in
general, is upwards of 60%. These are the main catch of the sea, the ones who
are able, fund trips or even tour on their own. They make the bulk of the market.
Given the technology is right with the age group at the discussion, it’s easy for
one to conclude there is no way bypassing tech in travel. “An adult has to use his
mobile phone for at least one booking on the trip”. Unless one is completely
spontaneous or a hippie, the internet is a friend while on the road.

 Economic and Social Impacts of Technology in Hospitality Industry

Worldwide
Talking about the Tech – IT relationship, startups in India eying into the
travel market, hit jackpot when they didn’t have to go overseas for development.
This meant a win-win situation for everybody in the picture, low-cost skilled work
for the companies and a fantastic end result for the users to enjoy. User interface
goes a long way in roping in a customer. Exceedingly great front fascia coupled
with seamless back-end algorithms getting bookings done to exact precision has
resulted in hassle-free experiences for everybody. This has been purely dealt
with the quality of tech development present in-house and the constant ability for
restructuring by the day has got travel tech to where it is now. Asia leads its way
when it comes to mobile booking, surpassing Europe and the Americas, largely
due to the stern competition and constant development the OTAs of the
Southeast, middle east and the subcontinent has kept themselves in.
Spokespersons say the booming travel tourism in these regions and the great
consumer responsibility the locals have shown overall is key. (Vaidya, 2018)

 Social Media and Internet

 The internet has a powerful impact on hospitality and tourism. A
customer’s first experience with your business is a visit to your website. This
includes looking at pictures and reviews from past guests. It is vital for a business
to effectively utilize online advertising, social media, blogs, and online purchasing
to help convenience their customers, especially when your competitors are doing
the same thing. (Entre, 2018)
Social media and the internet had to play its part. The most obvious fact
being, the internet is needed for all these techs to work. A non-relative subject
became more and more a subsidiary for the online travel space, has become a
market of its own. Today, apart from TV ads forcing to take the Buy one get one
offer for hotel rooms even if there is no absolute need, Social media content and
Travel blogs give the most authentic, subtle hints to take that next trip. Brands
including OTAs, Hotels and even airlines use influencers and bloggers for their
luscious and alluring content and subtle brand placement in the same has made
more people pack their bags than ever.  There is no exact number but the
number of people getting ‘influenced’ for good to travel has reached to a great
extent. (Vaidya, 2018) The technology was invented to be the augmentation.
Tech into anything makes lives easier. Augmentation of technology has changed
and influencing everyone even remotely concerned about travel. It has made
everything faster and slowly but surely, we are positive that the travel and
tourism industry will be made everything technology and robots, perhaps.

 Travel Websites and Apps

There is a plethora of online travel sites and apps, which can be used for
many different purposes. Travelers can search online websites like individual
vendor websites, third-party booking sites, and online travel publications
provide information, reviews, and price comparisons for travel products,
including transportation, accommodation, excursions and car rental. People
who prefer to not work with a travel agent can easily complete necessary
research and select the vendors with the best prices. Both travel agents and
consumers alike can book travel online, without ever having to speak to a
vendor representative

Travelers can now check in regarding their flight status via a website or a
mobile app. In addition, many airlines now provide updated flight information via
text or automated calls. In addition, family and friends can also use online
systems to track the arrival of their guests. Many airlines and hotels offer loyalty
point programs. Apps and websites allow loyalty point program members to
check their status and redeem points as they wish. Travelers have been able to
check-in to their flights online and to print boarding passes from their computer
some time now. These days, however, travelers can simply add a boarding
pass to their mobile phone wallet and skip the printing process. Mobile tablets
and smartphones have replaced large desktop computers, making them
virtually extinct. This is helpful, because many travelers take some type of
mobile device with them on a trip. This helps hospitality businesses keep
customers advised of changes and delays to their reservations, offer deals, and
advertise by using GPS tracking. (Entre, 2018)

Apps like Airbnb connect travelers directly with homeowners and others
with temporary space to rent, bypassing traditional services like hotels. Google
Maps, and similar online mapping systems, now allow user input. Consumers
can add favorite restaurants, museums and other tourist sites to a local map
and even see the sites added by circle of friends. When things go wrong while
traveling, it's essential to to be able to communicate with people who can help,
such as customer service representatives and travel agents. Some travel
agents use apps to make themselves available to travelers who may need to
reschedule a missed flight or book a new hotel. In addition, some resorts are
also using smartphone apps, which enable guests to bring problems to the
attention of management, so that they can be sorted out right away. (Petersen,
2019)

 Tour Information and Guiding Systems

 New technology allows individuals on group or self-guided tours to get the
information they need as they view historical landmarks, architecture and
artifacts. Travelers can download an app to their smartphones, which provides
expert commentary as they move through a museum exhibit, attraction or
neighborhood. During a conventional group tour, guides sometimes struggle to
make themselves heard. As a result, members of the group get jostled about, as
others close in, so that they can hear what the guide has to say. New technology
now allows a guide to wear a microphone and transmitter. The guide's words are
broadcasted to members of the tour who are wearing earpieces tuned into the
transmitter. This not only ensures that everyone can hear the guide, but also
allows tour members to move around freely while taking in what the guide has to
say. (Petersen, 2019)
New technology also played an important role in helping the growing
sector of museums and attractions deal with the increase in visitors. The ‘radio-
guided audio tour’ was born. According to Wikipedia, the Stedelijk
Museum in Amsterdam pioneered the world’s first museum audio tour in 1952.
This new sound technology, while cumbersome and expensive, began reshaping
the visitor’s museum experience and was soon part of the response to crave for
Cultural Revolution during the Sixties. This technology worked using a shortwave
radio broadcasting system, in which the amplified audio output of a tape recorder
operated as a broadcast station, transmitting commentary via a loop aerial fixed
to the ceiling of the gallery. Visitors with a receiver could hear specific
commentary when inside the loop. Smaller museums, pilgrim sites and
attractions on the other hand, often could not afford to purchase the audio-guide
equipment, or hire specialized guides who were able to offer guided tours in
different languages
Many of the bigger museums around the world thrived as technology
advanced further with the development of the audio-guide device. This was
basically a small cassette player with headphones which visitors carried around
their tour, which provided pre-recorded information about the exhibits in various
languages. Though generally pleased with their patrons’ responses to these
audio tours, museum administrators found that hosting them could be expensive,
time consuming and the human touch of a qualified tour guide was missing.
As the numbers of tourists and pilgrims increased, churches and religious
sites also had to deal with mass tourism and specifically the noise pollution that
came with this. The race was on to find a solution to this problem; fortunately,
new technology again came up with a solution, the radio guide.
Methods
This represents an empirical proof of the research, that tourism and IT fit
well. In the literature the importance of on-line services in hospitality industry is
underlined by many authors. Reinders and Baker (1997), for example, report that
55% of the respondents to their questionnaire agree with the statement that
more than half of tourist used technology for business travel, 57% agree that
more than a quarter of the package tours and 57% support that more than a
third of single component will be sold through on-line services. Similar numbers
are reported by Schuster (1998) based on a Delphi study with 40 participants
from the German speaking countries. It is estimated that within the next 10 years
30% of the tourism business will be Internet based. In Jung and Baker (1998),
84% out of 32 NTO managers agree with the statement that the Internet is
important for their business and that it is an effective marketing tool,
however, more than the half of them state that they have changed their view
within the last year.

The real volume of Internet bookings can only be estimated. Verified

numbers are not existing, on the contrary, several contradicting estimates
from market research companies, Internet newsgroups and company press
releases exist. The discrepancy of the forecasts is caused by three factors: (i)
the Internet itself is a rather chaotic media with no central control and accounting
structure; (ii) companies are sensitive with their real transaction volumes,
publishing only limited information; (iii) interest from academia is still rather
low. In consequence, existing surveys have limited value and the numbers
reported are also contradictory. Thus, the following numbers have to be treated
with some care, all showing, however, an increasing trend. It is estimated
that in the year 1997 the volume of Internet tourism booking reached nearly
the number of one Bn USD (Standard 10 July, 1997). Though this number
seems to be relatively high, it has to be compared with the 444 Bn USD
of international tourism receipts in total.

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