Innovation Areas of the Hotel Industry

Innovation is one of the main determinants of competitiveness. Management, external communication, service scope and back-office are four types of representative of innovation in the hotel industry.

1."The management innovation type refers to the quality of management processes, to the ICT (information and communication technologies) applications for management, and to improvements of the organizational structure.” In the concept of management innovation, the environmental quality play an important role in the hotel's competitiveness .The information and communication technologies applications are also vital in making management processes efficient. Furthermore, the changes in the organizational structure capture the organizational innovation that is relevant in services .
2. “Innovation in external communications depicts the high information-intangible content of services products and processes in the hotel industry.” Definitely, the ICT plays an crucial role, both in generating opportunities and new services, and in revolutionizing the ways in which most of the traditional services are provided . The use of ICT is a very relevant innovation that helps increasing the competitiveness of firms because it facilitates the management of relationships with customers, through better and easier information exchange. Further, ICT can improve the efficiency of the relationships between the firm and intermediaries, suppliers and public administrations.
3. “The service scope innovation is relevant due to the importance of the service delivery for the competitiveness of hotels as in other service sectors”. Service scope innovation advises changes in the service output and the incorporation of technological assets which improve the service output and the tangible aspects of service delivery.
4. “The back-office innovation consists of the incorporation of new technological assets for the improvement in productivity and for achieving more efficient service delivery.” The process and system design and testing of a new service encompass the whole delivery process, not just the element experienced by the customer, but also often involves back-office process re-engineering.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VC4-4NMWRGX-2/2/f9346dd3e308beedbb6ec018ed605d4a

Sustainability in the Hotel Industry

In these days, the green economic revolution is a big issue of the U.S. hotel industry. One innovative leader is Ashley Carroll who directs the Environment program at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Hawaii. They offered the experiences to guests such as they can travel to see Maui’s native forests, gardens growing crops, and hear about Maui’s primitive culture and environment. This kind of trend is connected with current trends concerning the environment and how it can increase hotel’s revenue due to competitiveness of unique experience.

In addition, food grown in the hotel's native garden provides hotel guests with a healthy dining experience. In fact, the hotel's adoption of native gardening also gives guests a motivation to eat at the hotel and accounts for 15 percent of hotel’s revenue.

In this reason, while the hotel industry is down because of the recession and high fares of traveling, a hotel can make enough profit by procuring competitive advantage.

Three lessons from the green revolution's impact on the hotel industry:
1. Cost-competitive advantage: Saving green by going green is where most of today's business focus is directed. In these recessionary times, going green can make the difference in being able to compete on price.
2. Green revenue growth: This is where the green economic revolution is heading, growing revenue by going green. This is a multi-trillion-dollar global opportunity for building or cementing customer loyalty as consumers focus increasingly upon sustainability and wellness.
3. Green entrepreneurship: In every economic revolution, there is opportunity for the entrepreneur as the traditional big players struggle to adopt their legacy systems and business practices. Customers are looking for businesses that offer fresh solutions that support their quest for "going green."

http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/greencolumnistbillroth/article201838.html

Aloft and InterContinental Emerge

It is currently a relatively difficult time for the hotel industry due to the status of the economy. That being said, one particular group of entrepreneurs have worked hard to promote their “no-name” hotels in an attempt to compete with the major hotel chains such as Marriott, Westin and Hilton. These entrepreneurs strategized as to how they could compete with these well-established hotels, and decided to base their strategy on having their hotels be cheaper than hotels like the Marriott, Westin and Hilton. They also try to emphasize music and local culture, have new and up-to-date hotels, and have “the consistency, reliability and accessibility of a branded hotel.” Starwood executive, Brian McGuinness, thinks that one particular group, Aloft is so successful because they suggest to their customers that they will get “style at a steal” for their money.

Aloft currently has 42 locations and InterContinental Hotel Group's boutique-style Hotel Indigo has 36, while Hyatt has 156. Aloft and InterContinental have some work to do in order to promote their name, but it seems like they are off to a great start. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be innovative and have something that your competitors do not offer. While many hotel chains have recently renovated their existing hotels and built new ones to provide a similar experience no matter where you are, Aloft thinks that their hotels should reflect where they are located. In order to present their customers with the local feel, while still having necessary attributes like loyalty points in which the customer can develop a relationship with the chain.

The competitive landscape for the hotel industry has inevitably changed now that these entrepreneurial hotel chains are entering the industry. These hotels have taken a new stance on the hotel industry, and appear to be successful. Aloft and InterContinental need to be smart in order to maintain an edge on hotels like Marriott, Westin and Hilton, but they seem to be on the right track.
http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/2010-07-29-newhotels29_ST_N.htm