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Karen O’Neill | November 07, 2019
By Karen O’Neill, President Americas at Knowcross
The writing is on the wall: In all industries today, it just isn’t profitable to resist change. Not only do customers, or in the case of the hospitality industry, customers expect more from the brands they do business with, but staff also expect more. For hotel staff, their work is entirely governed by service provision; their role is to help the establishment to function better, while ensuring that each guest enjoys their stay. In many cases, this can be a complex job. Customers are increasingly demanding, expectations about requests are rushed, and critical touchpoints are often exacerbated by manual failures or limitations.
In a hotel landscape so heavily influenced by emerging technologies and heightened guest expectations, hoteliers are often faced with a series of important considerations. What matters most to guests? Which platforms can best improve customer service? Is there a single management solution capable of optimizing all departments adequately? Are legacy systems doing enough? If not, how much will it cost to update existing technology infrastructure?
Understandably, updating the property-wide platforms can seem like a complicated and expensive process. Hoteliers keen to allocate their budget carefully to a few select updates may find themselves struggling with the decision: will waiting to invest in a new service model save money? While the most glaring question may seem like “how much is it going to cost,” I urge you to consider this from a new perspective: how much will it cost to continue to rely on outdated technology? Let’s see why an update in hotel management technology has become an essential requirement.
The real cost of obsolete technology
You may be surprised to learn that it is often more expensive to keep legacy systems than to update to more modern and agile hotel management platforms. With the build-up of security risks, loss of staff productivity, outdated reporting methods and increasing costs, allowing management platforms to exist beyond their expiration date is not only expensive but detrimental to the customer experience. Most experts agree that organizations that are reluctant to refresh their devices and migrate to newer technology will face security risks and high costs. And in our industry, it’s just a risk hoteliers can’t afford to take.
What is state of the art today may become obsolete tomorrow. As legacy systems age, they are increasingly prone to malfunctions, slow processing time, and require frequent manual updates, while not having the ability to work seamlessly with software programs and newer and more efficient applications. They also often require expensive on-premise management compared to modern, cloud-based and cost-effective SaaS solutions.
Older devices often don’t have the ability to run multiple apps or provide mobility or assistive software, reducing productivity in the workplace. The strongest message is that the cost of your technology is more than what you spend to make it work.
Manual processes cannot follow
In order for hoteliers to keep pace with the expectations of modern travelers, they need to find a way to make menial administrative tasks quick and easy. Hotels that still rely on manual processes for their day-to-day operations are simply unable to support their staff the way they need them. Why? Because staff are likely distracted and engrossed in those manual, menial tasks that could be better conceptualized and simplified within a modern, automated platform. “Work smarter, not harder†should absolutely be the dominant mindset when creating your operational framework, using management technology.
After all, hotel staff can’t be expected to “wow” guests if the property’s outdated processes or legacy technology stand in their way. When your operational processes (reporting, inter-departmental communication, prioritization of tasks, etc.) become a daily source of frustration for your staff, wasting precious time and constantly interrupting work flow, your organization’s performance comes at a cost. long-term.
Integration is the key
The goal is quite simple: to wear and install the hotel technological platforms which were created specifically to optimize operations, reduce costs, improve staff productivity and ultimately achieve the highest level of service. But costly challenges arise when these systems don’t interface effectively. Legacy system vendors see integrations as revenue opportunities, charging high fees for connectivity that are often anything but transparent.
Integrations with other software currently in use can be of tremendous value to any hotel. Modern cloud applications developed with open APIs enable wide compatibility with other mission-critical applications that improve customer service, ensure staff safety, and more.
The hotel industry is constantly evolving, and your software must be able to be flexible and scalable. If not, you will be forced to adapt your business to your old system, which will slow down your ability to grow your business.
Service quality management
Previous studies indicate that, on average, only 22% of hotel guests are fully involved in the hotel they visit most frequently, and only 21% of guests strongly agree that the hotel they they visit more often takes care of their well-being. In a YouGov survey of 1,219 hotel guests38 percent said one source of frustration was that the front desk took too long to process requests, while 31 percent were irritated by delays in service. Clearly, there is room for improvement in the area of ​​attentive service levels.
With room rates often not rising fast enough to compete with the rising salaries of hotel workers, hoteliers must look to new technology to ensure that all of their resources are productive, working smarter, not more. strong. Staff should have the same savvy digital processes that customers demand as well.
This is where an advanced quality optimization application can truly transform a hotel’s service offering by moving away from manual spreadsheets and legacy systems. Employees across all departments can benefit from automating and tracking customer inquiries, housekeeping, complaints, assets, inspections and maintenance work. Most importantly, proactive task management, custom triggers, real-time reporting, status updates, and follow-ups lay the foundation for a more responsive and in-depth service framework.
Impact on net income
In the case of hospitality, rising labor costs, utilities, lost productivity and maintenance expenses are often the the biggest operating costs. In fact, one of the highest expenses for hotel organizations is labor, typically between 20-25 percent overall costs (excluding executive salaries) with labor costs on the rise for the third year in a row in 2019. And when it comes to property maintenance, only one leaking toilet can cost up to $ 840 per year or more.
The challenge for operators is to find that delicate balance between maintaining service standards with all these rising costs while empowering their staff. Not only does the big picture of the guest experience have a direct impact on a hotel’s bottom line, hoteliers need to gather actionable insights every day to strategically optimize, identify areas for improvement, and take action. sound business decisions. Having a finger on the pulse of every aspect of customer service, across diverse teams, and even properties, acts as a catalyst for cost savings and increased profits.
Without a modern hotel management platform in place to effectively manage these critical areas of operations, the hotel’s profitability is threatened. To meet demand, hotels must focus their investments on innovation, not on maintenance. The benefits for any property of staying on top of technology outweigh the costs and risks of using outdated systems.
How does your existing technology align with your business goals, increase your efficiency, and make you more competitive?
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