Technology has affected many sectors over the last decade, one among them is the Hospitality sector, it has given the hospitality sector a boost but has also paved way for competing companies who implement the innovations to challenge the status quo. Over the last ten years of progressive growth, we have witnessed large companies making use of different revenue source through a number new offering. The 21st century is experiencing the 4th and last industrial revolution, which is the tech revolution.
In 2019, Marriot, a mega hotel group acknowledged that they would be venturing into the premium home rental market in a bid to carve out their own position in AirBnb’s territory, who introduced their new authoritative model that aggressively took on the hospitality sector without constructing new hotels. This competition among the giants barely scratches the surface; companies in the hospitality sector are compiling information and technology to enforce change at an alarming rate.
Information adoption curve
The changes that have happened over the last ten years in the hospitality industry are easy to forget, the initial hotel booking apps came out in 2009, before that, travelers had to go to an agent or use a newspaper to attain a hotel booking, personalization was achieved manually. The hospitality industry has been among the last to incorporate technology, but lately, they have been fast followers and looking to outperform the previous ten within the next three years.
Founded in 2010, HotelTonight was among the earliest companies to identify such a gap. HotelTonight simplified the way one would book, using a few easy swipes that got it done. In 2017, they sold for a remarkable 400 million dollars to rooms giants Airbnb. The inspirational aspect is that after several years, Airbnb, owning no assets, has accrued a valuation of $31 billion, this makes companies such as Starwood seem insignificant. Starwood hotels sold to Marriot for $13 billion at the end of 2016.
Hotel companies are proving to be innovative with the information they have about their customers; they indicate that they can positively harness it. Digitization is one of their primary focuses to be able to optimize their customer’s journey. Re-imagination has been made possible by technology by enabling check-in, check-out process, for example, the guest has a relations manager in Beverly Hills at the Peninsula where check-in begins at the airport. The relations manager will have their names, their key and registrations ready.
