Technology poses challenges hoteliers need to overcome - AAHOA Update

We've become a technology-driven society. It seems every day there's a new or improved gadget to buy, a new game to play, a new must-have of the moment. In business, it's the same. Technological advancements abound.

However, these new consumer conveniences also can prove challenging for business owners who must abide by the changing standards.

The hospitality industry has never been quick to adopt new technology. Nonetheless, we're being forced to relearn how to conduct business. More specifically, online booking systems are changing the landscape of the lodging industry, and many of us are struggling to keep up.

While the benefits are yet to be proven, we continue investing in technology that quickly becomes obsolete when a new and improved version is released months, sometimes weeks, later. This can be a costly cycle because most technology agreements require a substantial amount of capital for new hardware and software. Often, however, the benefits are not delivered fully before the technology changes, and the hotelier is forced to reinvest.

And the costs don't end there. Rate integrity and consumer confidence are being compromised by inconsistent rates found on online booking systems. I was planning a trip recently and found three significantly different rates online for the same property on the same dates. This drives low rates lower and encourages travelers to wait until the last moment to book a room.

My first instinct is to look for guidance from my franchisor, but it might not understand the technology and its potential to damage the industry. And if it does, it might be as troubled as the rest of us about what to do.

The only thing I can do is take a step back from the stirred-up sense of urgency to get the newest, fastest product the moment it appears on the market, investigate it and make sure I'm not investing in technology that's redundant or soon-to-be obsolete.

As an industry, we can take charge of the systems. Setting rates falls to us. Online booking systems can't publish rates we won't accept. There should be brand and industry standards and guidelines established. There should be more interaction between the online booking agents and the hoteliers or even the hoteliers and their potential guests.

The age of technology has brought about countless conveniences. However, as businesspeople, we need to make sure we're not overrun by these technologies. No matter what solution or compromise we find as an industry, technology shouldn't be driving us. We should be driving technology.

hmm@advanstar.com

Hitesh Bhakta, the 2003 chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn., practices law as a real-estate and business litigation attorney in Southern California. A second-generation, multi-property hotelier, Bhakta owns and operates a number of hotels in California and Texas with his family.

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