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Cloud computing is an important tool which has revolutionised the
hotel industry and will continue to be vital moving forward. That is the opinion of Claudia Harris, event manager of new trade show Hospitality Technology EXPO, who knows a thing or two about its applications. She said that those hotels which have adopted the technology have found that it makes their operations easier to manage and their businesses more profitable.
Ms Harris told Big Hospitality: "
Cloud technology has revolutionised every aspect within the hotel industry, from hosting the property management system to all sorts of other software solutions, its biggest benefit is it takes all the hardware out of a hotel, which makes such a big difference." Cloud computing is particularly useful in hotels which are quite large in size or are part of a wider chain.
What it means is that information which would traditionally have been held on an individual computer or in paper form can instead be housed on the cloud. This means that multiple people can access at any one time and make amendments to it which are saved automatically and updated so everyone can see them.
All those in the hotel industry are bound to be able to see the benefits of this, as well as customers who are likely to receive a more efficient service as a result. There is also no reason why other factions of the
hospitality industry cannot benefit either, with
restaurants and pubs also able to take advantage of the cloud. With more and more people using smartphones and tablet devices they are used to getting what they need quickly and by themselves. This means that as a minimum hotels should be equipped with
Wi-Fi, but the cloud goes one step further, allowing tech savvy customers to get the best out of technological advances.
Ms Harris said: "There has been so much reliance on
mobile devices, which offer so much more now, that some people don't want to go to the concierge or front desk for help, they want it through their smartphone." Whether it is managing bookings, updating operational issues such as cleaning or showing what the day's specials are in the restaurant, the applications are infinite.
It is vitally important that the hospitality industry moves with the times and keeps up-to-date with the new technology trends, services and devices available to them. Just as social media changed the way that many
hospitality businesses marketed themselves and interacted with clients, the cloud should also be embraced. As a concept it is not a difficult one to understand and does not have to be expensive to implement, so there is no reason why the hospitality industry should not get onboard. Many other sectors have successfully made the transition and are reaping the benefits that the cloud has to offer, so hotels and restaurants should not lag behind.
