The amount of data generated throughout today’s manufacturing process – from product development to production and post-sales support – is astonishing. That said, the capabilities to utilise such data volume is not yet catching up. For instance, an oil-exploration company was able to collect more than 30,000 pieces of data from one single drilling rig. Most of that data, however, was wasted.

More people travel now than ever. In a study conducted by Amadeus, 83 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that “People will view travel as a right rather than a luxury and consider it an increasingly important part of their lives.”

It is estimated that by 2020, the world will have more than 20.4 billion connected devices, creating one enormous intertwined network called the Internet of Things (IoT). In hospitality, IoT can be the key to achieving a complete personalised guest experience at an optimised operating cost. Embracing IoT’s endless possibilities can certainly help hoteliers create a good head start in their digital transformation journey.

Modern travellers expect a seamless journey, from destination research to hotel booking, flight confirmation, and local hangout suggestions, up until when they reach their homes. However, the hospitality industry has been slow in adopting new technologies. Hotel solutions are neither intuitive nor capable of making full use of the abundant customer data. Will the hospitality industry continue relying on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to bring in more revenue? Or there will be service providers confident enough to take on the challenges that hotels present?

Sustainability has been top of mind among hoteliers in recent years as tourists are increasingly concerned about the environmental issues. In fact, green practices adopted by hotels may soon become critical factors for travellers when choosing and booking accommodation to stay in.

The democratisation of technology and the transformation of society that it facilitated are impacting virtually every major industry. In high tech manufacturing, the trends are causing an upheaval. No matter how innovative, flashy, or anticipated a product might be, high tech companies can also get punished in the marketplace if those products don’t measure up to quality. 

The lines have been increasingly blurring between high tech and non-high tech manufacturing—in large part due to the proliferation of technology into everyday consumer and business products. This has major implications for how high tech manufacturers operate today and how they’ll need to operate in the future. The first step in managing this transition is to understand the forces driving the integration of high tech manufacturing and other industries.

Business intelligence tools have evolved from useful to critical to help hospitality organisations thrive in a highly competitive marketplace. Armed with the right information, today’s decision-makers can better understand risk, performance, and the impact of decisions at property, region and group levels.

Upgrading revenue management capabilities means not only implementing the right technology solution and integrating the right data sources — ones that have been shown to improve forecast accuracy and pricing decisions — but also putting the right organisational resources in place and creating a revenue-focused culture. Following are a few recommendations for hoteliers to keep in mind. 

The demand for next-generation revenue management solutions has increased with the proliferation of online travel agencies (OTAs) with differing pricing and commission structures, shrinking booking windows, ever-more intense hotel competition in high-demand destinations and ever-increasing pressure to drive profitable growth.