In the hospitality industry, keeping up with trends and technological innovations is not only a must, but the key to surviving in such a competitive environment.
Concerns,Challanges and Impacts
Change is rarely easy. New generations of travelers arise along with different demands and expectations and new hotel tech is developed and perfected every day. In hospitality, you either adapt to change or you risk to become obsolete. We talked to an expert on the matter, Mike Steinberg, who is TrustYou’s Project Manager for Enterprise Services and is in charge of the change management process of our biggest clients. Here’s what we had to say:
Naturally, there are various concerns that come with changes in software and processes within the hotel industry. I’d say the main concerns are the gap in productivity that can occur due to the adaptation to a new software and the learning period, as well as the increased complexity. Another big concern that I have noticed is in regard to integrations: hoteliers want to be certain that previous existing integrations will work seamlessly with the new acquisition and the fear of it not performing as expected can hold them back.
The challenge lies in communicating transparently across the entire organization and ensuring that the transition and adoption phases are as smooth and as fast as possible. I’d say that overall, honest communication between provider and buyer is crucial.
Due to automation and the possibility of seamless integrations, the hotel industry is now trending towards efficiency in terms of hotel management. Data needs to travel fast, to transform, to be turned into actionable insights, and this can only be done with the aid of multiple solutions. My advice would be to always keep in mind the connectivity options between PMSs, CRMs, RMSs, ORMs, channel managers, and IBEs – these are the pillars of a solid hotel network.
The Transition Process
Hoteliers can ensure a seamless transition from one system to another through a change management culture. A culture that is open to change (e.g. through trainings, workshops, open communication) eases the adoption process of new technologies and this is something that pays off in the long term because changes are and will always be necessary.
TrustYou’s Aproach
We think there is no “one size fits them all” approach towards change management. Every business is different, everyone expects and needs different things. We take it step-by-step and make sure that we support our clients during every single stage of the change process. Here’s a short overview of how the change management “project” works within TrustYou: Research, Transition, Implementation, Constant support.