These days predictions have become challenging since politicians and the pandemic (both of which are impossible to predict) are impacting our industry to an extent that has not happened before. Nevertheless, this crisis also holds great chances for those who are willing to take on the challenge. Of course, resources are a challenge these days, but this is a chance for entrepreneurs because scarce resources do not prevent change, they simply require more intelligent solutions.
And intelligent solutions are what we need. Slow adaptation or quick facelifts will not be sufficient to master the challenges ahead. What we need is true change.
The markets are shifting drastically and so are demand and consumer behavior. Not responding will ultimately lead to an involuntary market exit. The sunset of these players will lead to increased competition for those remaining.
[This blog is an extract from our latest Special Report, Re-booting Revenue: Refreshing Strategies for 2022 and beyond. Discover what industry experts from around the world think are the trends and opportunities to look out for in 2022. Download today: https://www.duettocloud.com/special-reports/rebooting-revenue-2022]
Whilst various trends are impacting our industry, technology and digitalization should be at the forefront of your change management plans.
The good news is that access to technology and the ease of implementation have never been easier. Cloud computing enables us to scale. Modern systems are more flexible and the days when you had to wait patiently for new versions to fix old problems are thankfully gone. But are we taking advantage of the possibilities we have? The answer is “not yet”. We must stop updating our historic system architecture and start to re-think from scratch. The question is no longer “How can we improve the PMS?” The question is “How can we improve our business?”
Start With The Guest Journey
Let’s stop to think of hotel IT as a cascade of systems deriving from the old PMS and embrace the knowledge about the three core processes:
- The guest journey
- Operations
- Administration
The first imperative of tomorrow’s technology is Process FIRST. Yet the guest journey is by far the most relevant one and hence the one where we must start thinking and planning. Why not build a seamless and easy-to-use guest journey and then build the rest top-down? Not only would we build a much leaner tech stack but also, we would create true value for our customers.
The second imperative is to embrace AI. There are multiple things that algorithms can do much faster, better, and more reliably than humans. Why not stop wasting human resources on jobs that the computer can do better and focus on making job roles more interesting and relevant? Automation is key to many things. However, the hospitality industry has not yet accepted the fact that the “people’s business” is no longer “only run by humans”. Data-based decision-making and quantitative optimization such as revenue management are among the first things that we must hand over to the machine. Instead of defending jobs that will not exist five years from now, we should better think of how to best combine AI and HI (human intelligence).
Duetto has a proven record here. Like a chess computer, it does a better job than 99% of the human workforce. Yes, there might still be some “Chess Grandmasters” or “Revenue Geniuses” out there, but we cannot build the future on a workforce of less than 1% of the people on our payroll. Therefore, 2022 will be a bright year for all that embrace change and are brave enough to not only re-start but to re-think our industry.
Learn how hotel revenue leaders like you are planning to optimize their business mix in the year ahead. Download our latest Special Report, Re-booting Revenue: Refreshing Strategies for 2022 and beyond.