How info-communication technologies change hotel room reservation services?

Over the years, as more people get educated and our economy is improving, we experienced a drastic change in our life. In the past, our only resources are the human beings and some basic tools; this was how we get our things done. However as years goes by, invention and advancement of technologies entered our era.  It has revolutionized the way we live our lives. Today with the help of ICT, we are able to get our things being done quickly and efficiently.

ICT is an umbrella term for information and communication technology.  It  includes any communication devices or applications such as radio, television, mobile phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. 

INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY

ICT allows consumers to have greater access to the information they need without much effort.  When consumers want to make a reservation of any hotel rooms, they will want to know more information about the hotel such as cleanliness of hotel and the services provided by them.  In the past, such information is not easy to obtain. Thus, they will have to travel down personally to the travel agencies or by the word of mouth from family and friends. However, today with the creation of computers and internet, such information are readily available worldwide. For instance, websites such as hotels.com provides us the essential information of the hotel rates, types of room available and facilities it has. Hence, this enables us to get our information at a faster pace, low cost/no cost and at anytime, anywhere.

We can even get feedbacks left by consumers who previously stayed in the hotel. So amazing!

Google Maps

Once consumers have planned out their budget and where they want to stay, the next thing they would want to know is the surrounding of the hotels. In the past, when consumers want to make a reservation, all they will receive from the travel agency are photos and location of the hotels. However, with the aid of advanced technology, we are able to know the exact location, environment and surrounding of the hotel. For instance, a hotel can provide five stars services, but if it is situated in a place where there are a lot of clubs and pubs, then it will pose unhealthy influence to the children. 


Now, we can receive in depth information on hotels through the use of Google maps and its street view function. Google has made a collaboration of cameras and satellites to produce a real time maps for people like travelers.  It provides panoramic views of the hotel surrounding.

E-booking

E-booking of hotel room reservation services empowers consumers to identify, customize and make their reservation pertaining to their own taste and preferences. The comprehensiveness of such e-business models and the ability to provide tools for customization brings about customers’ satisfaction which will boost the sales of the organization. For example, consumers can just go to www.hotels.com to choose the type of room they would like to stay in, be it single; double or suite, the number of days they are staying and how many people. 


In addition, they can even decide if they need breakfast coupon to enjoy the delicious breakfast provided by the hotel at additional cost. 


Moreover, they can even state what kind of additional services they would like to have under the special remark. For example, if they need an inter-linked room, they can send in their request to the hotel under the special remarks section and the hotel will process their request. 


Besides this, the website has the option of providing different languages thus, reaching out to a wide group of sophisticated target audience. However, the less IT savvy consumers may still prefer to go down personally to the travel agencies to get their holiday booked with the itineraries. It all depends on the individual preference.

E-Payment

ICT has made payment much easier and convenience. This is because consumers are allowed to make their online payment once they have confirmed their hotel reservation booking. Hence, this saves them the hassle from carrying huge sum of money to the hotel front desk and makes payment which in turn would pose great danger such as being robbed while travelling. The implementation of debit/visa/MasterCard has enables consumers to make their transaction online at a much faster and efficient rate. This can be simply done so by entering the visa/MasterCard number stated on their card. However, despite allowing them to do so, it does pose some dangers such as viewing of unsecure website during the transaction process and hence allowing the third parties to view their information therefore, misuse the information for other unwanted transactions.

In conclusion, the use of successful ICT requires management to constantly review developments and adopt suitable technological solutions in order to maximize organizational competitiveness. This is extremely crucial in the ever changing tourism industry. Another point to note is that despite expensive initial investments, ICTs can reduce administration costs by the integration of internal data and processes, as well as distributions costs as consumers can now serve themselves online.

done by:
anna chen shihui
bernadette chee hui ting
tan sok leng

class code: F2