The impact of technology in hospitality
SHENHAO WEI
316146
H621
BBA6001 Business Development and Strategy
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
“I confirm that this work is my own. Additionally, I confirm that no part of this coursework, except where clearly quoted and referenced, has been copied from material belonging to any other person e.g. from a book, handout, another student. I am aware that it is a breach of GIHE regulations to copy the work of another without clear acknowledgment and that attempting to do so renders me liable to disciplinary procedures. To this effect, I have uploaded my work onto Turnitin and have ensured that I have made any relevant corrections to my work prior to submission. ”
Introduction
Technology is one of the critical components in the world today. It is worth noting that technology has tremendously affected the various aspects of life, especially the economic and social sectors. The Internet economy has tremendously been affected by technology. Technology is dynamic because of continuous invention and innovation. The modern way of life has influenced the service industry. People in the world today cannot be separated from their wireless networks and mobile phones. It is because most people have linked modern technology to improved standard of living and quality of life. Through such perspectives, the hospitality industry has changed. Several stakeholders in the service industry believe that those online reviews will directly lead to in-store sales. Nonetheless, the development of science and technology in the hotel industry has led to the development in the hotel industry. Guests use several technological applications to access hotel services, which include booking rooms or checking in online.
Current Literature
Nowadays, the new era of technological advancement and the growth of the internet has led to earth-shaking changes in the hotel industry. First of all, there are new ways of staying in China. The individual in need of hotel services can use the hotel’s exclusive app or use some travel apps to enter their personal information. Through the inquiry of the system, a self-check-in process is realized using a QR code. The customer will show the QR code at the front desk, and the front desk staff will prepare the room card for the customer. Undoubtedly, this saves time waiting for check-in and protects the privacy of customers to a certain extent. These are factors that customers consider when choosing hotel services.
According to my internship experience, every time some celebrities or successful entrepreneurs check into a hotel, the front desk staff will unconsciously discuss these celebrities in the office. This spontaneous behavior is inevitable and difficult to contain, yet it might adversely affect the privacy of the customer. At the same time, this new model is also a signal. If such a model can be recognized and supported by the public, it will also assist the hotel industry management in implementing reforms that will change the hotel industry. The approach can reduce the pressure on front desk colleagues. Can you save some expenses from the front desk and reduce the pressure on the hotel? Moreover, it reduces the time for customers to wait for check-in, and can also improve customer satisfaction. It means that the level of customer privacy will also be improved. I found on the Canary Technologies website that “According to a survey by Skift and Oracle, 71% of the interviewed guests prefer the self-check-in process.” Just in 2018, I found “unmanned “hotels” in my hometown of Hangzhou-Alibaba’s future hotels. It was a sensation in Hangzhou at that time. The services and facilities inside were all machines. I could not find the service personnel. Only technological equipment was there to provide services. A staff member could only be been when there is a malfunction in the equipment. You can check-in by yourself. The Artificial Intelligence robot will take you to the room. At the same time, a delivery robot will deliver all ordered items to the doorstep of your room. It means that a customer has no reason to go downstairs to pick the items. The face recognition technology is applied in automatically opening the door, which is much relevant in the hotel industry. Innovation is a critical tool for entrepreneurs because it is used to change the industry through the creation of service opportunities and different dimensions of business.
Jack Ma is one of the excellent entrepreneurs who entered the hotel industry and successfully opened a new path. In recent years, with the advent of the self-media era, people have begun to pay more and more attention to the comments of food bloggers. It means that bloggers are playing a role in the hotel industry. Their vlogs and articles were forwarded and commented-on on major social platforms, and the decoration styles and signature dishes of many restaurants were uploaded to the Internet. These aspects have a huge response from social media users. In this environment, a new profession has emerged, and they are called KOLs (key opinion leaders) in communication. In China, “Food is the paramount necessity of the people. People regard food as their prime want.” is an ordinary but true proverb. Some KOL commented on the food and expressed exclusive opinions on the audience’s food and restaurants on the self-media platform. They make an impact since their comments are streamlined towards the needs of the people. Their fans may be distributed all over the world. Whenever these KOLs publish recommended videos or articles about local restaurants, these fans will have a mentality of trying to consume.
The recommendation made by KOLs tends to influence consumer behaviour. This is undoubtedly a very good marketing tool. In the follow-up development, restaurant owners will actively invite them, to try out for free, and then ask them to write a video or article about their restaurant. “They post reviews about restaurants and street food around the city. The reviews convey information that will help the customer to make the best choices. Some of the shared information includes Dishes information, and specify defects, tastes, and each ingredient. “The catering industry is now more challenging than ever. People’s impressions of restaurants are no longer limited to those in newspapers and magazines. The customers have several sources of information, which include food photos sent by friends on social media. So before deciding to go to a restaurant for dinner, the first thing people do is to check the restaurant’s menu and food on social media. In addition, some especially well-known bloggers will publish videos or articles to the public, and the boss needs to pay. This has completely evolved into a new profession since it is a marketing strategy that continues to strengthen the hotel industry. The existence of such platforms has suddenly made some restaurants became popular on the Internet. Therefore, the restaurant owner works together with the video bloggers as an advertising tool. Just like the “Yinba” on the Internet before, it relied on iconic actions to rescue its restaurants and even opened branches all over the world.
Nevertheless, online reviews are indeed endless. Some say it is delicious, while others say it is inconspicuous, similar to other steakhouses. At the same time, some bloggers will also comment on some bad comments, such as the food is not tasty, unhealthy, and so on. Such comments will adversely affect the restaurant. It will cause the restaurant to lose a lot of traffic. Some guests looking forward to dinner may not be prepared to be quests to the restaurant after seeing these reports, and some restaurants may close down because of too many bad reviews. Now it is the consumer’s preference to decide what will appear on the menu, rather than the restaurant’s owner. It means that social media and the internet have given the consumer powers to redirect restaurants on their choice and preferences. These videos and articles have raised people’s expectations for restaurant service and new dishes. For many restaurants, this means that they must keep up with the current food trends by meeting consumer needs and preferences. In addition to their high creative requirements, many chefs and restaurants use Instagram accounts and other social media accounts to keep an eye on them. Competitors in the industry, see if they have some of the latest dishes, and monitor the most popular dining styles and trends.
Conclusion
As a successful hospitality entrepreneur, continuous technological innovation has a major role to play. Continuous innovation and learning are some of the ways to stay competitive. The emergence of new social media and the emergence of new technologies will certainly make your business more successful to a certain extent. Competition is inevitable, but the best way to achieve a competitive advantage is to align services to new technology and new social media platforms. Companies need to follow the trend of the times, adopt effective ideas and countermeasures, focus on strengthening corporate brand building, and create an industry-leading, user-satisfied, as well as, publicly recognized brand image. Also, use brand advantages to enhance the core competitiveness of the company, and promote the continuous, effective, and harmonious development of the company. The best examples for the future hotel industry are Jack Ma and Steakhouse of “Salt bae”. The former uses advanced technology to make Jack Ma’s hotel a well-known hotel in the industry. Constantly innovating products is needed. It means that all stakeholders in the hotel industry should focus on technology and empress the new social media platforms.
References
Google Demo – Contactless Check-In. (2021). Retrieved 21 June 2021, from https://www.canarytechnologies.com/activation/demo/google-demo-contactless-check-in?utm_source=adword&utm_medium=medium&utm_campaign=contactlesscheckin&gclid=CjwKCAjw8cCGBhB6EiwAgOReywi4qjHOreW7t4QByqgl1uKPfOiOMcs1NMN2jTLxFCWeuB-PyWsD3hoCaToQAvD_BwE
Impact of Food Vlogging on consumers perception. (2021). Retrieved 21 June 2021, from https://www.xajzkjdx.cn/gallery/128-may2020.pdfDrucker, P. Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service.
