Rajesh Chopra, Senior Vice-President, IT, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts
The Indian travel and hospitality industry is increasingly turning towards information and communication technology (ICT) to improve business processes and meet consumer demands more effectively. A number of them are also exploring new-age technologies such as big data analytics and internet of things (IoT) to provide a personalised experience to their customers. Leading travel and hospitality enterprises discuss the various ICT tools they use, the latest trends in enterprise technologies and their future plans…
What is your organisation’s IT and telecom blueprint?
The travel and hospitality industry’s IT and telecom requirements have undergone a sea change in the past two to three years. Hotels that provide internet services to guests have seen a huge spurt in usage and demand. A traveller carries 3.2 devices on average. As such, the internet consumption has gone up drastically.
The travel and hospitality industry works to personalise customer experience. Today, hotels are required to know their guests well in terms of their preferences, lifestyle and experiences from previous stays at our properties as well as other properties. This pre-arrival information is very critical and technology is helping the industry in meeting customer needs efficiently.
We have deployed the latest version of SAP-customer relationship management tools, which help us gather information about our guests. We were among the first hotel chains to introduce a tablet-based system in rooms wherein guests are provided tablets to control the ambient temperature, TV channels, internet, music, and place orders for in-room dining. We have also introduced in-room check-in, which eliminates the need to wait at the counter.
We are also in the process of consolidating our IT set-up. We removed 140 obsolete systems in one go and have brought them under enterprise resource planning. We are also working continuously towards improving our mobility and analytics capabilities.
What is the current level of adoption of technologies such as the cloud, IoT and big data analytics among Indian travel and hospitality enterprises?
The travel and hospitality industry is increasingly adopting new technologies such as cloud, big data and IoT. In fact, Oberoi Hotels pioneered the use of IoT in its efforts towards energy conservation. Even before people started talking about it, all our hotels had state-of-the-art energy management systems. With the help of technology we have been able to plug energy leakages in a big way and have been successful in saving close to 20 per cent of the energy on a year-on-year basis.
For our IT applications, we are currently undertaking consolidation. A few of our non-critical applications are already on the cloud while some will be moved to the cloud soon.
The primary target of the travel and hospitality industry is big data, which forms the basis of personalised services. For VIP guests, we collate information from various sources, including social media to understand their preferences, likes and dislikes. A pre-arrival report is sent before the guest reaches the hotel. Therefore, we are a fit case for the use of SMAC (social, mobility, analytics and cloud).
“Any technology that helps the industry in energy conservation and management efforts will see a big market in the time to come.” Rajesh Chopra
What are the key challenges that enterprises in the travel and hospitality industry face with regard to managing their IT and telecom infrastructure?
The travel and hospitality industry faces challenges on three fronts.
First, the availability of telecom infrastructure in remote locations continues to be a challenge as many of our properties are located in these areas. This also makes moving to the cloud quite tough.
Second, the size of the industry is not very large and as such, not many innovations are being undertaken by IT companies in this domain. The industry is dependent on its own efforts.
Third, the rate of obsolescence in the industry is high. For instance, we get guests who possess the latest devices. Infrastructure-wise, we have to be ready well in advance to deliver the experience that the guest demands. It is an operational issue that needs to be constantly overcome.
What are the key technology trends that are likely to be witnessed by the travel and hospitality industry?
The hospitality industry is human-driven. People look for services with a personal touch. Therefore, this industry will not deploy technologies that replace human interaction.
Technology can play a big role in energy management. After manpower, our second biggest expense is energy costs. Any technology that helps the industry in energy conservation and management efforts will see a big market in the time to come.
An emerging area of concern is information security. It is a very important factor for our industry as we have to protect the guest’s data/information that we have gathered in our systems. The hospitality industry caters to some of biggest names of the country and protecting their information is a key priority. We also need a robust security system for our IT infrastructure, especially because our properties are spread across far-flung areas, and have decentralised systems. We are currently working towards improving our system security.
