Hotels, hospitality and Food
"Information Technology - Future Trends in Hospitality"
by Anand Mittal
Anand Mittal 
The concept of availability of access to the right information at any time, anywhere allows for a quantum leap in enhancing efficiency of hospitality operations. The old system of limited focus on a particular application area has to give way to a new one which allows seamless integration of data and a better understanding of its implications and value. A lot of experimentation is required and is bound to happen by the hotel industry leaders of the country. Some approaches will work, some discarded in an effort to reach a more effective way of doing business.
Currently a virtual revolution is taking place in the following areas -
Internal networking of computers (Local Area Network).
Development of Hospitality softwares with custom purposes.
Growing use of wireless communication and Wide Area Networking.
Growing use of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - Larger ones with the keyboard (hand held) and smaller ones with touch screens (palm sized).
The recent price wars between mobile phone companies clearly indicate that the mobile phone is on the path of massive growth spurt in India. Use of internet enabled phones, Palm Pilots, pocket PCs and other plug-and-play wireless data network devices are inevitably bound to follow sooner or later. The convenience of carrying a tiny portable device capable of pulling data out of the air anywhere is bound to become a necessity eventually. No waiting for the system to boot up as these devices depend on Random Access Memory and Read Only Memory rather than on the hard disk. Nor dialing a network connection but just lifting the antenna to get connected to the world!
Futuristic Applications - Department wise.
Front Office
Check-in and check-out could take place with the help of a PDA incorporating a magnetic stripe unit (as shown in the picture) that can read a credit card and record an access code onto a guest room key card. A lightweight printer on the user's belt will let them generate a registration card or payment receipt. This combination will allow for totally mobile check-in and check-out functions from anywhere within communication range of the property. Besides this, totally online booking will bring in added revenues.
House Keeping
Requirements of the staff are - up to the minute knowledge of house status, ability to receive notification of urgent cleaning requests and to report room readiness and maintenance faults needing attention.
Management
Besides everyday appointments, things to do list, the management requires key operational data customised to particular needs and focus. Mobile access to house count, guests lists, reservations data, VIP check-in or group cancellation, etc, will contribute greatly to management flexibility and effectiveness.
Food and Beverages
Imagine a wireless server taking a customer's order on a sleek touch screen handheld unit. The order is then transmitted to the kitchen / Bar area for preparation. The server in turn is notified when the order is ready for service. On demand the server produces the guest check from his wearable printer. He then settles the account and closes the check right by the guest's table. Quickly accessible guest history and preferences can allow a Food and Beverage operator to give the guest a very personalised service. Running around is cut down by transmitting information to the kitchen, Bar, cashier and the Front desk. Staff performance records, duty rosters, menu histories, costs, recipe bank, inventory monitoring, etc are some areas needing attention by the Information Technology. Development in this area will enable managers to perform several front and back office functions, coordinate staff efforts and monitor sales activities from a palm held device.
Purchase, Receiving and Stores
Ready access to Standard Purchase Specifications, stock and par stock levels, supplier comparisons, latest market rates and trends, expiry date reminders, mechanised ordering procedures, etc will spare enough time with the departmental managers to concentrate solely on quality and cost effectiveness.
Similarly Human Resource Development, Public Relations, Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Security and all other hotel departments would tremendously gain by the use of PDAs and WAP.
Related Hospitality Applications
Mobile travel assistance in the form of maps, guides, car renting, air and railway timetables, weather, hotel search, reservations etc may become accessible on a Palm Pilot. Amenities, prices, discounts, availability, ratings, promotions, etc may also be available.
Thus increased focus in service is bound to have some resistance and pitfalls.
Providing a highly efficient and personalised service to the guests will raise the guests expectations and consequences of failure will be increased manifold.
The recent slowdown of Indian economy and non availability of finances may delay development. Despite this a good start has been made in many areas and as more and more users will experience benefits, widespread adoption may become inevitable.
On 4th of April this year, Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary of UK was heard saying, "Computer hacking may pose a greater threat to the national infrastructure than military attack."
Jun 21st 2007 06:13
The concept of availability of access to the right information at any time, anywhere allows for a quantum leap in enhancing efficiency of hospitality operations. The old system of limited focus on a particular application area has to give way to a new one which allows seamless integration of data and a better understanding of its implications and value. A lot of experimentation is required and is bound to happen by the hotel industry leaders of the country. Some approaches will work, some discarded in an effort to reach a more effective way of doing business.
Currently a virtual revolution is taking place in the following areas -
Internal networking of computers (Local Area Network).
Development of Hospitality softwares with custom purposes.
Growing use of wireless communication and Wide Area Networking.
Growing use of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - Larger ones with the keyboard (hand held) and smaller ones with touch screens (palm sized).
The recent price wars between mobile phone companies clearly indicate that the mobile phone is on the path of massive growth spurt in India. Use of internet enabled phones, Palm Pilots, pocket PCs and other plug-and-play wireless data network devices are inevitably bound to follow sooner or later. The convenience of carrying a tiny portable device capable of pulling data out of the air anywhere is bound to become a necessity eventually. No waiting for the system to boot up as these devices depend on Random Access Memory and Read Only Memory rather than on the hard disk. Nor dialing a network connection but just lifting the antenna to get connected to the world!
Futuristic Applications - Department wise.
Front Office
Check-in and check-out could take place with the help of a PDA incorporating a magnetic stripe unit (as shown in the picture) that can read a credit card and record an access code onto a guest room key card. A lightweight printer on the user's belt will let them generate a registration card or payment receipt. This combination will allow for totally mobile check-in and check-out functions from anywhere within communication range of the property. Besides this, totally online booking will bring in added revenues.
House Keeping
Requirements of the staff are - up to the minute knowledge of house status, ability to receive notification of urgent cleaning requests and to report room readiness and maintenance faults needing attention.
Management
Besides everyday appointments, things to do list, the management requires key operational data customised to particular needs and focus. Mobile access to house count, guests lists, reservations data, VIP check-in or group cancellation, etc, will contribute greatly to management flexibility and effectiveness.
Food and Beverages
Imagine a wireless server taking a customer's order on a sleek touch screen handheld unit. The order is then transmitted to the kitchen / Bar area for preparation. The server in turn is notified when the order is ready for service. On demand the server produces the guest check from his wearable printer. He then settles the account and closes the check right by the guest's table. Quickly accessible guest history and preferences can allow a Food and Beverage operator to give the guest a very personalised service. Running around is cut down by transmitting information to the kitchen, Bar, cashier and the Front desk. Staff performance records, duty rosters, menu histories, costs, recipe bank, inventory monitoring, etc are some areas needing attention by the Information Technology. Development in this area will enable managers to perform several front and back office functions, coordinate staff efforts and monitor sales activities from a palm held device.
Purchase, Receiving and Stores
Ready access to Standard Purchase Specifications, stock and par stock levels, supplier comparisons, latest market rates and trends, expiry date reminders, mechanised ordering procedures, etc will spare enough time with the departmental managers to concentrate solely on quality and cost effectiveness.
Similarly Human Resource Development, Public Relations, Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Security and all other hotel departments would tremendously gain by the use of PDAs and WAP.
Related Hospitality Applications
Mobile travel assistance in the form of maps, guides, car renting, air and railway timetables, weather, hotel search, reservations etc may become accessible on a Palm Pilot. Amenities, prices, discounts, availability, ratings, promotions, etc may also be available.
Thus increased focus in service is bound to have some resistance and pitfalls.
Providing a highly efficient and personalised service to the guests will raise the guests expectations and consequences of failure will be increased manifold.
The recent slowdown of Indian economy and non availability of finances may delay development. Despite this a good start has been made in many areas and as more and more users will experience benefits, widespread adoption may become inevitable.
On 4th of April this year, Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary of UK was heard saying, "Computer hacking may pose a greater threat to the national infrastructure than military attack."
Jun 21st 2007 06:13
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Comments
Any innovations to make the lives of us hotel employees more bearable??? Just kidding.... We are quite happy as it is...
Jun 23rd 2007 07:15