How info-communication technologies change hotel room reservation services?
In the Past
Hotels have been around for a very long time, using various methods of keeping records.
Historically, hotels have kept paper records in filing cabinets. However, hotels are much
larger now with many customers to keep track of with regard to types of accommodations,
whether low budget, luxury, or somewhere in between, as well as smoking or non-smoking
preferences. Keeping track of large customer bases and all their attendant details would
require an inordinate space for file cabinets, not to mention the time employees would spend
going back and forth to file cabinets looking up each client’s information.
Remember in the past when online booking is not so flustering, how do people go about making reservation of hotel room?
You typically got two choices. Either to go down or call a travel agent to make a hotel room booking for you which you does not have many choices of hotels and nevertheless the room. Then you have to make payment upfront first and if you happened to cancel your booking before the actual date, the payment that you have made could be partially or sometime fully forfeited.
The other choice is to call the hotel yourself and make the reservation over the phone. Sometimes if the days that you intend to book happen to be their peak season, most hotels will be fully booked. This means that you will have to call all the hotels you know to check for the availability of rooms. This could be very tedious and frustrating at times when you are in an urgent need to book a hotel room.
Now
Now when we want to book a hotel room, it is just one click away. Yes, just one click away and you have lots of choices to choose from, the hotels, the rooms, the rate of the hotel rooms, the location of the hotel, the facility and the services provided in the hotel. Pictures of each hotel rooms are shown on the website so customers can have an idea of how the room actually looks like. Room amenities and prices are also stated clearly to allow customers to do comparison and find one that fits their budget and needs. You can choose to either make a reservation directly to the hotel or through a hotel agent online. It’s all about making choices now. There are even extra tools and information such as Google map and review sites where customers feedback on their stay with the different hotels. These help us make informed decision on booking the perfect hotel room for your trip. Most online agents and hotels, for example, Asiatravel.com, Asiarooms.com and HolidayInn.com show you the availability of their hotel rooms. This actually helps to save a lot of time when it comes to booking hotel rooms during peak season. Payment through credit card is also secure and convenient. Promotions are frequently updated at the websites and this allows customers to search for worthwhile deals. Some hotels even link up with airlines to provide a one-stop service, for example, Ctrip.com.
One more value added point of the hotel reservation nowadays is, for certain hotels and agents you do not have to make any payment upfront and you can cancel your reservation anytime without worrying about the forfeit of your payment.
All these value points actually help to make a good start of a holiday trip.
Why the Difference?
ICT, information communicating technologies make the difference. People in the organization use, produce and communicate information through technologies such as computers, databases and communication network to aid in operation, supervisory and management processes and roles , to optimize the form resources, maximize profits, increase availability, bridge distances, remove language barriers and time different. This can be seen in the various hotel and agent website. Language are never a problem on the cyber space as website user can chose the language that they are most comfortable in as they visit the website. For most of the Chinese websites, Google offers translation services. Geographical distances no longer post a threat to both the business and the consumer. Consumers and businesses can now reach each other from all over the world with just on click away due to the information communication technology. Making a room reservation in other country take not more than thirty minute as all information are being captured and send over to the business and clients at the other side within seconds and all payment can be make online. With the help of ICT, the businesses can now cut down on their costs as they can save on marketing expenses and many other expenses like transaction cost etc. This will in the end worked down to benefit both parties, the business and the consumer. ICT also help in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the business process. For example, the needs of the hotel customers are understood right before they actually turn up in the hotel. This is done at the point of time when the customer makes a booking of hotel room online. Any special request can be made beforehand by the customer. This helps the hotel to be better prepared to serve the customer.
What other improvement make in Hotel operation?
ICT also helps to improve the hotel operation in both the front and back end of the hotel.
For example, at the front desk ICT comes into help when the customer service officer tries to track down on the information of the occupant of the hotel room such as the time that the customers check in and out, the name and some personal data of the customer, and the availability of the rooms in the hotel.
At the back end of the operation, for example, the amenities in the hotel rooms can be checked and manage through ICT. This can be done by understanding the timing where amenities are being cleared and replaced and it could be done by which employees. This could also help to better manage the workforce and ensure efficient operation processes.
Information technology (IT) also impacts on the service management and transaction costs aspects in full service hotel firms. IT has helped such firms to lower operations-related transaction costs.
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