Stage 3: Sketch out for a fictitious business

@2020 hotel

@2020 hotel is a high-tech hotel awaits you. Perfectly, located in the most prestigious destination in Bangkok, Thailand, which is Siam square. The hotel is surrounded by business, shopping and IT centers. The hotel welcomes you with modern technologies and legendary service. @2020 is opening soon……


Currently, there is a high competition in this industry. Hence, we intend to offer the best service to guests by technology systems on the inside of the hotel. We are the different hotel, which using IT strategic plans insert into any section of hotel operation. Sample of technology systems are following:

1. Television Mirrors Technology: every mirror is television and can control by touch screen and voice.
2. Flyte Systems' Solutions for Airline Travelers: we will develop the ability of the machine in order to be able to booking, cancellation, confirmation and support all needs of traveler about airline.
3. Intermec RFID System to Boost National Transport and Logistics Capacity: we will apply this system to be a core part of the hotel such as Food delivery, Laundry delivery, luggage delivery to anywhere in the hotel.
4. IQware Launches Integrated Online Booking Engine: To support online booking systems and reach to customer easily.
5. Direct order systems: Guests are able to order directly to any section in the hotel without waiting and leaving the room. By video conference internal hotel, the guests also are able to interact directly to each staff as well.
   

Explaining the main steps in the strategic process;


Stage 1: Where are we?
As a beginner, we analyze the hotel situation by SWOT analysis.

S-Strengths:
· Being as a leader of high-tech hotel
· By technology systems, we are able to safe labour cost
· Good location
W-Weaknesses:
• Training staff to be specialization take a long time
• Higher capital than other hotels
O-Opportunities:
• Presentation new service
• Unique service
• Unique target group
• Beyond competitors in technology
T-Threats:
• External factor of this industry is always highly effect the hotel performance and cannot control, such as infection disease and political situation.
• High competition


Stage 2: Where do we want to go?
Hotel’s visions are:
• To get payback period within 8 years
• To be a leader in high-tech hotel
• To provide the best service
• To gain online customer
• To offer room with reasonable price
• To be a fascinating hotel that traveler want to visit again and again


Stage 3: How do we get there?
In order to achieve the business’s goals
• Creating web site for E-commerce to advertise and inform the hotel
• Using the web site as a announcer to the world wide
• Using IT strategic plans to motivate customer’s needs
• Using IT strategic plans to battle the competitors
• Training staff to familiar with those new technologies in the hotel
• Updating new technologies daily



Stage 4: How do we know we got there?
• Monitoring the processes that staff are following strictly
• Improving the business performance by feedback from clients
• High occupancy rate
• Measuring and evaluating the return by financial tools
• Checking rating from community surrounded the hotel
• Checking rating of customer’s satisfaction by survey


To conclude, we expect that the IT strategic plans would influence effectively the business performance.

Stage two: the effectivness or value of the strategic management plan

Recently, organizations have realized the importance of technology which is a significance of strategic plan in to the business. Technologies develop dynamically with different factors which also includes information and communication technology (ICT). Buhalis (2003) stated that “ICTs include not only the hardware and software required but also the groupware (communication tools) as well as intellectual capacity (human ware) to develop program and maintain the equipment” to gain the competitive advantage such as differentiation and premium pricing.

In order to compete with other rivals in the same business, it is necessary to use measure the effectiveness or value of a strategic management plan for information systems in the tourism and hospitality management sectors. To the competitiveness of organization, the management of strategic must be process. The strategic management processes and tools are as follows:

1. Where are you now? – A competitive analysis for the situation of organizations.
2. Where do we want to go? – For their long-term development, beginning with the organization’s boarders direction (the mission statement)
3. How do we get there? – Setting implementation plans to provide the ways for achieving the strategic objectives.
4. How do we know we got there? – The feedback and control stages. The stage points at organizational change in the external environment.

To apply and measure the effectiveness or value of a strategic management plan for 4 stories of strategic plan as mentioned before:

Television Mirrors Technology

Strength

• Go beyond the competitors in value
• Attraction to technologists
• Utilization the limited space of accommodation

Weakness

• High expenditures
• Difficult in terms of repair and maintenance
• The room rate may too high for the clients

Flyte Systems' Solutions for Airline Travelers

Strength

• Convenience for flight passengers
• Real time flight schedule
• Save time in terms of flight delay (passengers are able to know before departure)

Weakness

• Should have more software for other alternative such as booking, confirm or cancel flight
• The design looks like the ATM
• Maybe more complicate for low-tech consumers

Intermec RFID System to Boost National Transport and Logistics Capacity

Strength

• Safe time

• Reduce error mistakes for people
• For long-term, less wages

Weakness

• High costs for repair and maintenance
• High costs for setting system
• Unsuitable for small and medium businesses

IQware Launches Integrated Online Booking Engine

Strength

• Useful for staff and customers

• Global center of businesses and clients
• Visitors can choose the best choice

Weakness

• Rivals can know details and promotion of the business
• Problems can occur when many people use this system at the same time

Reference:

Buhalis, D. 2003, eTourism: Information technology for strategic tourism management, Prentice Hall, England.

IQware Launches Integrated Online Booking Engine

Reservation is one of the most important parts in hotel service with information system. The practicality and operability of the reservation system are very essential to any customer and reservation staff.

IQware integrates with clients' web sites and empowers customers to make their own reservations through an easy-to-use, interface seamlessly integrated with IQware's Global Property Management System.

Moreover, some more benefits and bottom-line features are summaries:

• Integrated solution promotes each property and all amenities and packages
• Secure reservations
• Direct integration with the IQware Global PMS allows immediate online inventory delivery
• Focuses entirely on the user experience by dramatically increasing the speed and ease-of-use of the online reservation process
• Displays rooms, availabilities and rates in real time -- based on defined occupancy priorities and yield management strategies
• Provides multi-language support
• Handles advanced inventory scenarios including: Multi-properties, Condo/Vacation Rental, Group, Timeshare/Vacation club and Travel Agent booking.

New Bangkok International Airport Selects Intermec RFID System to Boost National Transport and Logistics Capacity

Suvarnabhumi Airport was the newest and largest airport with the central air traffic hub in Southeast Asia is located in Thailand. In other word, many technologies were used in this airport for convenience and comfortable.



Therefore, the Suvarnabhumi Airport applied RFID, New Bangkok International Airport(NBIA) were a core part of the IT system for the Cargo Custom Free Zone.



The Airport of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) decided to install Intermec RFID technology in the Cargo Free Zone was to make the flow of goods faster, more accurate and more efficient.



For more information please click here

Flyte Systems' Solutions for Airline Travelers

Flyte Systems's Solutions for Airline Travlers and Hotels' Guests



Flyte Systems is a new technology that many hotel use as a startegic plan, which is very useful for travellers and the hotels' operation. This systems provide Airprort travel information displays and digital signage by a kiosy in a lobby wall. In addition, its furnish real-time flight arrival and departure information.

As Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Downtown has just installed its FlytePass real-time airline flight information and boarding pass printing solutions in a built-in lobby wall to help hotel guests with travel plans.

The guests are able to check their flight information and print boarding passes before they depart by Guests print boarding passes machine at the hotels' lobby.

The systems provide the convenience to the guests, who needs help about flight information. The guests are able to check flight status directly to manage or solve their travel plans. Moreover, it is very valuable to the hospitality industry in terms of ability to post accurate, real-time airline flight information.

Flyte Systems is an innovation that many hotel use it to increase revenues, as well as, to assist distressed travelers.

For more information click here

Reference:

Hotel Industry news: Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Flyte Systems' Solutons for Airline Travelers. Retrieved November, 1, 2009, from http://hotelnewsresource.com/article41660.html

Television Mirror

Nowadays, there are many new technologies which are launched in different industries. One is hotel business; Elysian hotel in Chicago presents a high-tech amenity that is television mirrors. This will be a prominent point of the hotel in order to attract clients.

In Chicago, Elysian Hotel is using a new technology to bring mirrors to life. This technology appears to be an elegant looking mirror. When you turned it on; the LCD television picture floats on one of the two mirrors. When you turned it off, the LCD vanishes, leaving behind a normal-looking mirror. The mirrors combine mirror reflection with vanishing technology which allows the LCD television picture to completely disappear leaving what appears to be a standard mirror. Imagine watching your favorite channel while brushing your teeth.

In addition, this hotel has the rooms which also have other technology such as touch-screen Voice-over-IP telephones with supportable national calling. Moreover, they utilize the intelligent energy control systems that adjust lighting and temperature levels according to activity in the room.

Although, the television mirrors technology is very attractive and exciting but with technology like this, don't expect anything affordable due to this technology is quite expensive in this recession.