My technology journey has been just as much about what I don’t know as opposed to what I know. As the saying goes, there are things that we know that we know, things that we know that we don’t know, and things that we don’t know that we don’t know. Before we start any journey, we must recognize that our knowledge (or lack thereof) consists of these three and that we need to research and have a map. It all starts by knowing where you are, where you want to go, and why.
I have been fortunate to grow my hotel career during the most active period of technological advances in the hotel industry ever. I started my career in 1994, at the same time as booking.com was born, thus making it a 30-year journey to-date. I have seen more technological advances in the last three years than compared to the previous 27 years, making the current speed of change breathtaking, and it will only increase. This begs the question, how can we ever get ahead, if we can’t even keep up with the pace?
Bottlenecks to Success
- Knowledge
- Resources
- Existing infrastructure
- Lack of strategy
- Day-to-day-operations
- Calculating ROI on technology investments
According to Britannica, the definition of technology is “the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.” I would also add, “for the betterment of the human environment.” This makes it a very broad area and not just the IT sphere, as we usually assume.
Depending on where you are in the hotel life cycle, you’ll have different technology needs and technology in one phase must support the consecutive phases, or in the very least not hinder. The key is to properly map where you are and clearly define where you’re going and why. Don’t try to do everything, all the time. Be good at something.
People, Hardware, Infrastructure and Ownership
Nothing else will slow your speed of technology adaptation more than these four (this does not mean that they are bad).
Let’s start with “People” first—should you do everything in-house? The technology requirements and skill levels needed are ever-increasing, so by the time you build the team skills, will they already be out of date? Can you even find and afford to hire them? And, if you hire them, do you have the management skills to lead and manage them? These aspects must be considered before you start. In-house or outsourced options have pros and cons, but the bottom line is that technology providers will probably keep up better and move faster than you do, and if you no longer need them, they are easier to remove.
Hardware, infrastructure and ownership are all intertwined. The more hardware and infrastructure that you own, the harder it will be to change and upgrade. Do you really need to own something? This goes towards software, cloud-based solutions and the equipment that you use. The less you own, the faster you can change and upgrade it. The less it’s attached to something physical (i.e., cloud-based), the easier you can upgrade, enlarge and connect it.
In this respect, we should always add the replacement costs to the purchasing price and then compare it to the leasing option before buying anything. All hardware becomes outdated at some point, so why own it if there are other options? This has an important secondary effect—it keeps you focused on your core business.
Leadership and Management
Leadership is about where you’re going and why, while management is about making sure that you get there. Ask yourself the following question: how much do you really know about all the technologies that you use every day? The key question then becomes how can you lead and manage the adoption of technologies if you’re not a subject matter expert?
We must, at the very least, understand what the technologies are used for, what it can achieve for us and what’s needed for it to work. Without this knowledge, it’s highly unlikely that we can lead or manage any of them. For this to work, we must allocate responsibility and make sure that those in charge are up to speed and accountable. If they’re not, then we must either spend on education in order to get them up to speed, make them accountable and/or change them. There’s simply no other choice.
As, the old adage goes, "if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it." Many technology projects have been stopped before they came to fruition because nobody could properly measure the benefits or due to unrealistic expectations that have not been met. Both come down to how we measure and set expectations. It’s better not to start, if we have not done these two properly. However, nothing breeds success like expectations that have been correctly measured and met. Trust and predictability drives technology adoption more than anything else.
Implementation of New Technologies
What’s best, one bird in your hand or 10 on the roof? Chains and larger organizations can probably handle more than one “bird” or technology project, at the same time, but independent hotels will struggle. It’s therefore best to concentrate on a volume that you can handle and to do them well. "Everything, everywhere" is not a strategy.
The simpler it is, the higher the chance of success. It’s therefore very important to make the implementation process as simple as possible. And, expect hiccups along the way.
Analyze, set SMART goals, implement and monitor continuously; once the change has become operational and starts producing the right results, then you can move on to the next challenge. But, you must have reached success before you do, which means that you must know what success looks like. Remember, it’s about creating results and not a specific way of doing things, so be flexible and adapt where necessary, and be relentless.