Nearly half of all online hotel bookings worldwide are preceded by a click on a mobile device. 94% of travellers utilise a combination of mobile, tablet, and desktop when planning their trips. The most astounding fact of all is nearly 80% of last-minute bookings are done via mobile¹. It is therefore inevitable for hotels to adopt a mobile-first, cloud-first approach.  

CHECK SCM is a comprehensive supply chain management, procurement and cost control solution trusted by many world's renowned hospitality businesses in over 60 countries, suitable for a single boutique hotel or an internationally dispersed chain alike.

Hospitality businesses have increasingly realised the massive benefits a hotel-specific property management System (PMS) can offer. According to a study done by Software Advice, a combined 62 per cent¹ of the respondents seek to replace their outdated legacy systems. Unsurprisingly, cloud-based PMS is a fairly popular choice among independent and chain hotels alike.

At the rate technologies accelerate today, every luxury hotel, resort, boutique hotel, and bed & breakfast is being disrupted. According to Aeijaz Sodawala, CEO of eZee Technosys, “almost 75% of the hotel industry comprises small and independent hotels who aren’t technology-savvy and have for a long time avoided adopting automation tools like a Cloud PMS.”¹ 

The majority of travel bookings today are done online. The dramatic shift caused by the internet has enabled small and mid-sized hotels to gain more opportunities to compete in such a robust, internationalised market. Hotels now have to compete not only against each other but also against other online travel agencies.  

Digital and the reliance on data have continuously disrupt the hospitality industry in various ways. Those who know how to leverage the power of emerging technologies to extract actionable insights will stand a higher chance of earning customer loyalty in today’s age of personalisation.   

The hotel industry handles loads of sensitive data on a daily basis, from the customers’ reservation information to their flight details and payment records. Having all these private data on hands makes hotels the prime targets for cyber-attacks. In the case of internationally recognised brands that house F&B and retail outlets within the hotels, it’s even more challenging to resolve the data issues. To effectively safeguarding not only your customers but also your employees’ personal data, hoteliers need to first identify the elements that roadblock your ways to success.

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?