All businesses have technology challenges, but those faced by the hospitality industry are especially unique.
Here at Hyper Networks, we have several large hospitality customers. We understand the day-to-day challenges faced by the tech teams at those companies, and we have the knowledge and expertise to be an effective partner. Take a look at some of the technological challenges we see facing the hospitality industry today.
Complicated business model, finite resources
Most hospitality companies operate under a complicated business model. They have several teams simultaneously managing yield and inventory, sales and marketing, customer service, legal and compliance, and more, not to mention technology.
What’s more, larger companies generally have hundreds of properties managed by a corporate team. The sales and marketing team and inventory management teams usually ensure that all properties have a consistently high occupancy rate. Because that occupancy rate is so critical to their bottom line, it’s difficult for hospitality businesses to put money into technology that doesn’t provide a direct benefit there.
So it’s little wonder technological advances sometimes become an afterthought. But that means underfunded IT departments are left with the often insurmountable task of keeping up with both business and customer demands. In many cases, hospitality tech teams end up managing just the essentials: property management and compliance and security.
Remote or hard-to-access locations
Unsurprisingly, many hotels and resorts are located in picturesque but remote locations. As a result, those beautiful island resorts and lovely mountain retreats present some serious technological challenges. For one thing, these locations usually don’t have the infrastructure to support effective network connectivity. It can also be difficult to find skilled personnel and even to get the right equipment delivered. Any way you look at it, getting the proper technology up and running in remote locations is a costly and complex undertaking.
Old, big buildings are difficult to retrofit.
Technology has become a big part of modern life, but it’s a relatively recent addition to the day-to-day routine. No other industry has had to deal with this predicament more than hospitality. A large percentage of existing resorts and hotels were built more than a few decades ago. As you’d expect, these buildings don’t have the conduits and other technological provisions required to support the needs of the businesses or their guests.
You may not realize, however, that even many newer buildings are built without technological needs in mind. That leaves technology teams scrambling to come up with creative solutions that overcome the limitations of outdated or inadequate physical structures.
Large acquisitions and mergers make compatibility a challenge.
In an era of large acquisitions and mergers, hospitality is no exception. Most large hospitality companies are constantly acquiring smaller companies to enlarge their portfolios and customer base. It is also common for large hedge funds to purchase hospitality companies, then merge them together to sell for large profits.
Changes like these usually require IT teams to figure out how to manage network environments comprised of completely different systems. These systems might include several types of hardware, different software platforms, and proprietary property management systems. That’s not even taking into account the security, compliance, and regulatory challenges that stem from the global reach of these large companies. To say it’s challenging is an understatement.
The right partner can make all the difference.
The hospitality industry faces unique issues when it comes to implementing technology solutions. Obviously, IT teams in the industry have to stay well-trained and up-to-date. But a technology partner, like a managed service provider (MSP) can help take on some of the demands of managing a network and keeping up with ever-changing security and regulatory demands.
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