NAME: ASHISH ACHARYA

COURSE: SITHIND002
Student number: DC5370
ASSESMENT 2
Current and emerging products and services

. Leveraging technology to improve guest experiences

From keyless check-in and robot concierges to mobile apps and messenger-based booking,
top hotel chains are continuously experimenting with new technology to enhance traveler
experiences, from booking to check-out. These days, hotels’ mobile apps have an impressive
list of features. Check-in by phone, which has long been an option at major hotel chains
such as Starwood and Hilton, is highly valued by planners for streamlining attendees’ arrival
experiences and reducing wait times.

2. Greater adoption of green practices

Sustainability has become increasingly important to the travel and hospitality industries, as
well as their customers. With innovative practices such as installing solar-powered pool
heaters and offering locally sourced toiletries, hotels and resorts are finding more creative
and cost-effective ways to make their facilities, events and other services as green as
possible. With climate change continuing to make headlines, green isn’t going away anytime
soon.

3. Personalised services for travellers

Personalisation has become one of the biggest trends of 2016. Hotels and CVBs are using
data to personalise their services to better suit guests. Aloft Hotels has introduced voice-
activated hotel rooms that enable guests to customise temperature and lighting, as well as
explore local attractions. Another great example is Visit Orlando’s new app, which uses
artificial intelligence and augmented reality to provide personalised dining and
entertainment experiences for visitors.

4. Growth in last-minute bookings

According to Technikon, about 44 percent of U.S. business travellers in 2015 made last-
minute trips. Over the next few years, this number is expected to grow due to the rise of
globalisation in a volatile economic climate. New booking services, search tools and
applications that focus on last-minute bookings also make it easier for businesses to control
travel and accommodation costs on last-minute business trips.

5. Increased focus on health and wellness offerings

Health and wellness is not a new trend in hospitality, but it’s certainly been gaining
momentum over the last few years. Business and leisure travellers of all ages are
increasingly concerned with staying healthy and fit on the road. Generally, constantly
connected, always-online millennials crave out-of-the-box wellness options, while baby
boomers call for more relaxing, rejuvenating amenities. From healthy and locally sourced
dining options to world-renowned spa facilities, hotels and resorts are expected to continue
to boost their wellness offerings.

2.Summariasation of Current issues / and relationship between other related industries

After looking up to 35 to 45 pages there are many issues which are listed below.

Continued Technological Changes and regular innovation

 

Today, hotel guest is more tech-savvy than ever. Dealing effectively and profitably with this
savviness is one of the top management issues in the hospitality industry today. 
When they choose to stay in one hotel over the other, they expect to find free Wi-Fi, flat-
screen TVs, USB ports and so on. 
Hotels and other businesses in the hospitality industry are relying heavily on technology to
streamline their services. 
Keeping up with technology is one of the major issues faced by hotel managers, but when
dealt with properly, it is worth it.

Technology in the Hotel Industry is helping transform businesses in the current competitive
era. 
Over the past couple of decades, major Innovation in the Hospitality industry is driven by
technology.
Political and Security challenges
 

This again is one of the top management issues in the hospitality industry. 
The issue of managing the macro issues dealing with the socio-political as well as economic
challenges. 
The threat of terrorism today has changed how people travel and where they travel. 
Hotel managers are tasked with the duty of ensuring that proper surveillance systems are
installed and maintained throughout so that guests can feel comfortable and safe. 
To deal with security challenged, hotel managers must rely on high tech gadgets and
software, which can be expensive to acquire and maintain.
 . Skilled labour shortage, staff turnover and Irregular working hours
 

This is one of the major challenges in the hotel industry. 

Staff turnover in the hospitality industry is almost double the average across industries. This
can be said to the biggest management issue in the hotel industry.

In recent years, the high turnover and increasing competition have only added flame to the
issue of the skilled labour shortage in the hospitality industry overall. 
Because customers expect a lot more nowadays, employees in the hospitality industry, in
turn, are forced to deal with long and sometimes irregular working hours. 
To make sure that everything is always running smoothly, managers must find new ways to
manage their stress because they cannot afford to lose it or burnout.

According to research from Big Hospitality, salary is the most important factor to consider
for retaining the best staff in the hospitality industry.

6. Seasonality of the hospitality industry

 

Peak seasons in the hospitality industry tend to bring a lot of business but it also brings with
undue stress to the management and its staff.  
Managers are also charged with the responsibility of keeping up with the ongoing changes
in booking and pricing, which can be daunting for anyone. 
Everyone is required to make the most during peak season.

While more staff, as well as resources, are required during peak season, the percentage
drop heavily during the lean season making it difficult for hospitality managers to ensure
profitability.

Innovation, diversification and effective management would continue to hold the key in
terms of managing the issue of seasonality in the hospitality industry.

5. Booking and Revenue challenges

 
Today, guests have several options to choose from, which has forced managers to up their
marketing and advertising game. 
This has created revenue challenges whereby if managers are unable to keep up with their
competitors, they risk losing loyal customers and share of the local business.

It is thus important to understand the booking ecosystem and have the best strategic
partners in place.

Increasing cost and decreasing revenue come up as one of the key management issues in
the hospitality industry. 

work ethic required to work in the industry

As a result of the continually changing competitive environments, tourism and hospitality
organizations must come up with ways to stay ahead of their competitors other than the
conventional ways of lower prices, more services related to a sell or better products.
Nowadays most customers believe that competing services and products are reasonably
alike in terms of quality. Tourism and hospitality managers are realizing that competing
based on price alone leads to an erratic market and uneven profits. Hospitality and tourism
organizations are responding to this by creating collaborative relationships and better
partnerships with their consumers. In relation to these relationships there has been a lot of
discussion in the last few years regarding ethical practices by hospitality and tourism
businesses. Largely it has been supposed that those businesses that do what is ethical and
moral to their employees and clients generate long-term benefits (Wallace, 2008).

There is a growing concern for business ethics in the hospitality industry as hospitality
professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their daily operations. Complex and
interesting ethical issues affect this broad industry whose business ranges from restaurant
operations to tourism-based businesses. By virtue of its nature the hospitality industry
places customers and employees in tempting situations as well as attracting abuse.
Opportunities to steal arise in several occasions mainly because of the widespread cash
transactions and the sector’s vulnerability to dishonesty. Some of the ethical challenges
faced by hospitality managers today aren’t new and have been taking place for a long time.
For instance, in 1898 Caesar Ritz and his Auguste Escoffier manager and chef respectively
were discharged from London’s Savoy Hotel for accepting less weighing food deliveries and
extorting commissions from suppliers thereby using the hotel for their own gain and profit
(Fennel & Malloy, 2008).

Currently hospitality managers keep on facing these and other complex employee honesty
issues on a regular basis. Interviews with hospitality managers about the daily challenges
they face in their operations evoke numerous ethical problems between customers and
employees, employees and employer and employee and their colleagues. It is important to
note that managers face a difficult task deciding what is ethically right and may sometimes
be controversial. The increase in diversity as well as multicultural backgrounds in the
hospitality industry makes ethical issues even trickier. Managers often face accusations of
theft, harassment, discrimination based on age, gender, race and belief often leading to
complaints that may result in lawsuits. The cost of legal actions is enormous and time
consuming, no hospitality organization wishes to face a lawsuit.

3. Career opportunities
4.
Department selected: _______________________________________
Job role Duties performed by each job role
Clean and sanitise kitchen equipment and utensils, basic
food preparation, basic cooking processes
Job role 1: Kitchen hand

Prepare, cook and assemble food according to recipes

maintain a clean work environment, ensure that all
Job role 2: Cook
hygiene practices are followed

Food preparation, more complicated cooking processes,

portion and serve meals, receive and store supplies,
Job role 3: Chef clean and maintain kitchen areas, ensuring food safety
standards re maintained.

5. Compliance issues and quality assurance

  Go to the United Voice website and list the type of advice you could obtain on your
rights in the workplace:

 To participate in enforcement inspections.

 To not be discriminated against for exercising your health and safety rights. ...
 To refuse work that puts you in immediate danger of serious harm. ...
 To information on hazards in your workplace; chemicals used in your workplace;
tests your employer has done to measure chemical, noise and radiation levels.

Go to the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association website and take a look at the
“Gold Licence Accreditation Scheme” and at the “Green Table Australia” Program.
What do these offer? And what do they require from a business in terms of
compliance and quality

Gold licence Accreditation scheme offers caterers the opportunity to differentiate their
business from competitors by demonstrating their high level of professionalism ,food
,safety and workplace standards. The Gold Licence Caterer’s Accreditation is a symbol of
quality that members of the public can trust when hiring a caterer. The Gold Licence
program recognises caterers who adhere to the highest standards of food safety and work
standards within their businesses. The Gold Licence logo and a business’ Gold Licence
Number can be used on all promotional material signalling to prospective clients that the
business has met the requirements of the Gold Licence Accreditation Council.

Three technology that impact on hospitality industry

.         Cloud / Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software delivered as a service, rather than held on premise is already a mainstream
technology topic and despite being a new concept in the hospitality sector, it is already big
news.  At Infor, 85% of the queries we see from hospitality companies and hotels include a
serious look at cloud computing.  Two main factors are behind this.

Firstly, upfront investment is lower with the cloud as there are no initial hardware costs or
associated expenses such as full time, in-house IT staff to maintain the system.  Secondly,
hotels like the idea of taking the headache and distractions of IT off their site, leaving them
free to focus on the day-to-day business of looking after their guests.
As well as the low capital expenditure of the cloud and the cultural “fit”, there is also the
fact that implementation timetables can shrink from months to days, resulting in immediate
and obvious benefits in obtaining time to value.

The sum total of these drivers is that cloud technology is no passing fad: for the hospitality
sector it is the new normal.

2.         Mobility
Mobile is the new face of computing as devices such as tablets and smartphones
revolutionise the way we interact with technology.  Hospitality is no exception to this
revolution, in some cases leading the war.

There has often been the expectation that because hotels are, by their very nature, fixed
entities, mobile technologies may have minimal impact.  However, this myth has been
thoroughly laid to rest as tablets, mobile phones, smartphones and laptops have become
critical tools on both sides of the check-in desk.

These benefits are not reserved for just large international chains: the low capital
expenditure investment for mobile hardware and much reduced software costs mean that
mobile is a viable option for small independent properties, looking to develop customer
service as a competitive edge.

Integration
Hotels span many functions - from accommodation and event catering to specialised
facilities such as golf or health spas.  Each of these areas has, traditionally, operated an
individual software system.  Whilst this approach has delivered specific functionality, it has
also led to silos of information.

Integrating these systems can provide more comprehensive management information,

faster reporting and a truly comprehensive view of profitability. For example, integrating the
hotel management system with the restaurant point of sale application means that the
hotel has a comprehensive view of revenue per guest or event. The hotel can also pull
together truly holistic reports for management information and customer communication.

7. Summary

How can you use the information you have gathered in questions 1-6 in a
workplace in the Hospitality industry? Which of the information can be used
to improve your skills and performance in the workplace? How?

I believe encouraging the employee can be used to improve the skills and performance in
the workplace because if we encourage our employee, we can find 100% result from him or
her. overall, people are more motivated and productive when they feel supported, valued,
and are set up with the necessary resources to complete their tasks. Managing the
performance of employees requires an in-depth understanding of the individuals
themselves and the ability to encourage their growth and development.
Setting the tone for a happy workplace also involves cultivating an aesthetically enjoyable
environment. Allow employees to give input regarding the design of their workspace.
Maybe more light is needed, or maybe finally updating the old paint to something fresh and
bold could add positive vibes to the space. Encourage employees to take ownership of their
environment, culture, and physical space.