IT IN HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL, AND TOURISM

IT IN HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL, AND TOURISM

Question 1

Job description for lodging manager

Job Title: Lodging manager

Educational requirements

A bachelor’s or a master’s degree in business, hospitality management or hotel management is required depending on the size of the hiring hotel. A liberal arts degree in combination with long term experience in the hospitality sectors is an added advantage for such candidates.

Other qualifications

Lodging managers must have people skills, in the sense that they must be able to get along with different people in different situations. In addition, they must have the ability to address problems in a timely manner, possess effective communication skills, and effective organization skills in order to make sure that thing are done in a right way.

Responsibilities of the lodging manager

Lodging managers have the responsibility of ensuring hotel profitability and effective execution of the hotel operations. Depending on the hiring hotel, lodging managers may undertake responsibilities associated with house keeping, office administration and management, record keeping and overseeing other hotel activities.

How technology is used in this job position

Technology plays a role in job aspects such as tracking guest bills, monitoring reservations, assignments of the rooms and special events. Computers are also for report preparation for the owners of the hotel and the top management team. Presently, hotels are offering intensive computer bonuses such as free internet and communications, the lodging manager must ensure that they function properly.

Question 2

How does information technology affect the hospitality industry? Provide examples of how information technology impacts two of the following: a hotel’s customer service, its marketing strategy, its business efficiency, its communication between departments, or its customers’ quality of stay

Information technology normally revolutionizes the way things are done, and the hospitality industry is not an exception. IT is becoming a core skill requirement for any hospitality manager and executives in the present times. It affects the hospitality industry by providing a framework for the achievement of competitive advantage. This can be achieved when IT is aligned with the business strategies, goals and objectives. IT is a vital tool for the establishment of competitive advantage in the current hospitality industry. IT normally integrates to all the elements of the hospitality industry such as sales, marketing and management. This implies that IT is becoming a critical tool in the realization of competitive advantage by players in the hospitality industry. Specific areas that IT has significant impacts are the marketing strategy and business efficiency. With respect to the marketing strategy, the deployment of IT can be used to offer marketing frameworks such as online advertising, effective customer and corporate communication (Nyheim et al, 2005). With respect to business efficiency, IT offers a framework through which business processed can be executed effectively, when IT is aligned with the core strategies of the business. For example, IT can foster effective records management, which in turn can foster effective management.

Question 3

How has the hospitality industry changed over the past 20 years as a result of technology? How has technology changed the reservation process? Which three hospitality departments; for example, housekeeping, marketing, and food and beverage, do you think have been impacted the most by changes in technology? How have they been impacted?

IT is dynamic, and so are its impacts on the hospitality industry. The onset of IT presented an opportunity to revolutionize the hospitality industry. A significant impact of technology to the hospitality industry is the improvement in efficiency of hospitality industry operations such reservation process, reduction in business costs, enhanced customer satisfaction and effective management functions. It is arguably evident that technology provided an opportunity to enhance the efficiency of the core business functions in the hospitality industry such as management, sale, marketing and finance (Nyhei et al, 2005).

Technology has revolutionized the reservation process through offering avenues for booking reservations on an online platform. This has enhanced the effectiveness of the reservation process through elimination of cases of double reservations. Technology also provided an avenue for automation of the reservation process, implying that hospitality firms can significantly reduce the labor costs associated with the reservation personnel. The reservation process has also benefited from technology through ensuring that customers have timely information regarding the reservation process compared to the traditional approach to reservation. It can be inferred that technology improved the overall efficiency of the reservation process.

The marketing element of hospitality has been the most affected by technology in the sense that it increased the avenues for accessing information by potential customers such as the internet that facilitated online advertising.

Reference

Nyheim, P., McFadden, F., & Connolly, J. (2005). Technology Strategies For the Hospitality Industry. New York: Prentice Hall.