How info-communication technologies change hotel room reservation services?

Introduction

Information and communication technologies or ICT, refers to the convergence of telephone networks with computer networks through a single link system. This symbiotic relationship between the networks has enabled the use of the Internet, making information readily available from anywhere across the world.

The Internet has become an essential tool with the advent of globalisation and the
advancements of technology across several mediums has resulted in an almost "borderless" world. With this, comes a systematic way of obtaining detailed information, without us having to leave the comforts of our home. This may come in the use of online booking for plane tickets as well as making hotel reservations in the holiday destination of of our choice.

In the following, we will delve into past practices of how hotel reservations were made, and how times have changed since then, with the focus being on ICT and how it has made planning a holiday so much less of a hassle now.


Past Processes of Hotel Reservations


Consumers’view
In the past, before ICT or internet technology sprung up, bookings for hotel rooms’ reservations are done through travel agencies or phone bookings to the respective hotels. Snail mails are used in much of the earlier times when domestic phone lines are not widely available.

This have caused much inconvenience for consumers without the help of technology. In many of the situations, making reservations through phone might cause information distortion and thus not to be brought across correctly, thus miscommunication will lead to further misunderstandings. Consumers will have to find out the appropriate locations of the hotels themselves as well. Moreover, it is considered rather expensive in those days to make an overseas call.

In those times where snail mails were used, the process time is very long and there is always risk of having lost mails.  Making reservations through travel agencies seems to be the best option in the past but there will be extra fees charged for each of the service rendered. In addition, consumers need to make trips down to the travel agencies personally to make sure that their bookings are done efficiently and effectively.

Consumers will have to make reservations in advance to secure accommodation. Last minute changes will not be entertained as it would be hard for hotels to substitute guests and the process will be troublesome and costly as well.


Hotel’s view
In a hotel’s point of view, it is rather cumbersome as they would have to take their bookings manually and human errors could be made as all information was done in pen and paper. Processes were also slow and inefficient. It will be costly in a way as division of labour was needed and more workers were employed to do work in their specific areas.


Present Processes of Hotel Reservation  



The ICT and the internet technology have definitely simplified the procedures of hotel reservations and travelling is now easier than ever. In this paperless era, manual work and costs of labor are greatly reduced and the internet provides a wonderful platform where related services can join hands to achieve competencies.   

Now, hotel reservation is made effortless. Let’s see why.


Simplified Online Booking Procedures

Step 1: Availability/Price


Fastbooking.com

Step 2: Reservation summary

Fastbooking.com


Step 3: Guarantees

Fastbooking.com


Final step is just to confirm and proceed with payments when you reach the hotel.

Wow factor:
  • Saves time, money and effort for both consumers as overseas calls maybe very costly and miscommunication may occur.
  • Hotels can save cost as they do not need extra human resource to proceed with the manual bookings as most bookings can be readily done online.
  • Connecting systems from the intermediary website to the partnering hotels – hotels can just obtain the particulars of the customers without the need to re-entering them.


ICT and Internet – Platform for B2B

Other than hotels, intermediaries like Agoda.com, fastbooking.com can now work closely with other companies like Google, iphone, facebook, twitter, tripadvisor etc. Collaboration between companies gives them a competitive edge as the additional applications and features bring benefits to consumers also.

In fastbooking.com for instance,
  • A good example of ICT is the Iphone application allows more convenience for consumers as they can do booking through their mobiles. Sixty-seven percent of travellers and 77% of frequent business travellers with Web-enabled mobile devices have already used their devices to find services (e.g. lodging) and attractions. Hence it will definitely introduce more sales to partnering hotels.
  • Popular features like Facebook contribute to information cascades which also indirectly influence potential customers to choose their website and may in turn means possible reservations for partnering hotels.
  • Consumers can also enjoy cheaper prices as hotels may view that they can advertise their service and attract more customers eg. No booking fees



  • Google map provides essential information about the surrounding location of the hotels to help consumers in decision making.


Conclusion

ICT has changed the way hotel reservations are made and the focus has changed from "spaces of places" to "spaces of flows". ICT has enabled a more systematic and efficient way to obtain information, that would otherwise cost money and time in the past.

We are able to plan our holidays with much less hassle, bringing about convenience to us; the consumers, as well as to the hotel companies who are able to utilise ICT for their everyday business needs, achieving much more with less time.

On the other hand, there is a need for more vigilant security on the Internet for the smooth flow of information from the companies to the consumers. This can be done through surveillance and maintenance of the websites, so that the websites used for online booking are not susceptible to online hacking as well as spamming.

In conclusion, ICT is not without its flaws, but its advantages far outweigh its limitations. The future outlook of ICT is bright as technology is in a state of flux, and businesses are always striving to improve customer services to gain the competitive edge over rivals in the industry. Hence, there will always be room for further improvements through technological research.

by Amir/ChaiY/Geraldine at 8:30 AM |

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home