Technology in Hotels Remain Underutilised as Employees Lack Skills

‘TECHNOLOGY IS a necessary evil’ said Kush Kapoor, Area General Manager, Roseate Hotels. Speaking at the BW Hotelier Smart Hotels Conclave & Expo 2018 organised at Aloft New Delhi Aerocity, sponsored by Haier, Kapoor, was one of the panellist of the session “IT & Technology, How to choose the right technology?” among others – Harish Chandra, Director, Information Technology, Sarovar Hotels; Rajat Sethi, General Manager, The Grand New Delhi; Pankaj Giroti, Vice President, Business Development & PR 1589 Hotels and Sunil Mathur, Senior Hotel Consultant.

While the moderator of the session Sagun Sawhney, Area Director, South Asia, HRS discussed the various technological upgrades in the industry, Sethi stressed on the need of upgrading technology. Kapoor, however, mentioned that by the time technology reaches the hotel it becomes outdated.  He emphasized two things – first, looking after the preferences of the guest and second, understanding how trained the people are at the hotel. Chandra considers cloud system as the only way forward. And Mathur, Senior Hotel Consultant said that hotels need to have a rapid response time.

While every panellist agreed that it is necessary to update the technology, Sethi emphasised that educating the investors and owners about the same is equally necessary. He believes that most of the technology in hotels remain underutilised due to a lack of knowledge of the employees about its usage.

Kapoor was of the opinion that technology needs to be so simple that guests appreciate it instead of getting irritated by it. “As a hotelier, I need an IT partner who helps me grow with minimum inputs and maximum outputs” he added. He argued that Indian hospitality is more about personalisation and stated that values are intact in hotels.

According to Mathur, the walls between hierarchy have now collapsed and the relationships have flourished. Agreeing with this, Kapoor mentioned that one of the most important things to be kept in mind regarding the millennial employees is engagement. It is equally important to ensure that they get the best training to make sure that they get the best of knowledge.

The panellists opined about the risk-taking attitude among the hoteliers in India. Sethi stated that the risk appetite in India is extremely low. Kapoor concluded the session by stating that the role of IT managers is transactional.