Speakers at a meeting on the use of technology in the hotel industry held yesterday in HCM City. — VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep
The hotel industry in HCM City should take advantage of technology to improve management, offer more conveniences to customers and increase profits.
Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy director of the city’s Department of Tourism, said that disruptive technology was changing the face of the country’s hospitality sector.
Hospitality start-ups and technology firms had great potential to tap into the hotel industry in HCM City, she said at a meeting in HCM City this week.
“The (traditional) hotel industry is under pressure because it is using outdated business models and has had to adapt and change much more than many other asset classes."
Booking platforms and social media were all working to disrupt the industry. However, the application of IT in the hotel business was still limited and inconsistent, lowering business efficiency, she said.
“Application of technology will change the tourism industry, including tourism promotions, modes of travel, travel experiences at the destination, and the hotel sector,” Hoa said.
For the hotel sector, technology improves management, promotes marketing and responds to guest opinions, as well as enhances payment methods for customers.
“In addition, it helps increase professionalism and competitiveness with other hotels,” she said.
At the meeting, technology firms introduced tech solutions to improve management capacity and customer interactions during booking or paying.
Nguyen Duy Phuc, business director of ezCloud Global Technology Ltd, said in recent years the tourism industry had grown but become more competitive, which requires businesses to constantly innovate.
At the conference, domestic and foreign suppliers introduced a variety of technologies for business activities in the digital age. Technology solutions for managing and selling hotel rooms include CMC Telecom, Conera, Neolock, and Gotadi platforms, among others.
The company’s platform ezCloudhotel supervises all activities of the hotel, such as number of guests, revenues, reservations, room availability, and check-in and check-out activities, Phuc said.
It also features integration with smart locks and direct connection with online booking channels, as well as other essential utilities such as Point of Sales (POS), email marketing and mobile applications.
In addition, it offers real-time reports with statistics about arrivals, departures and revenues, and supervises an access hotel management system via mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
HCM City has more than 2,320 accommodation establishments, of which there are about 20 five-star hotels and about 120 hotels of three or more stars, according to the Department of Tourism.
The event was organised by the department in collaboration with ezCloud Global Technology Ltd.
Created in 2013, EzCloud aims to assist hoteliers simplify management and business. It provides a hotel business management platform in Viet Nam with more than 4,000 customers, according to Phuc. — VNS