SHIFT + DEL! Do we need a massive reset?
22 experts shared their view
From the days of holidex, Fidelio v6 and Micros 2700 we have for the last 30 years been adding technology upon technology in hospitality. In my last classes with my students (online), one reoccurring question was always, "why is there not one solution that can do everything". Once we discussed this more (language requirements, local fiscal reporting, support, etc…), the students got the complexity of using software and systems to run businesses. But moving forward, future managers are going to want their hospitality software to behave more like WhatsApp, Instagram or Snapchat. Download, install and work. No training or massive configuration to be done. So, where does this leave the hospitality industry? Do we keep on going with our "Lego" approach or do we need to say hold on, that's enough? Let's restart from scratch and what would that look like and how could we conceivably even do that.
I personally think that the “Lego” approach would continue to exist although most of the functions that the current numerous hospitality software solutions perform would probably be well integrated into the PMS. If a company needs to develop a hotel software that covers all the needs of the hoteliers, that would require a lot of time, expertise and would be a costly solution. Furthermore, if hoteliers use software from one supplier only, they will find themselves in a vendor lock-in situation – it would be very difficult to switch to another software supplier. The “Lego” approach provides greater flexibility. It allows hoteliers to use to solutions they want. It also creates competition among software companies that stimulates innovation but also allows software companies to focus on their core competencies. However, to increase the value of the different software solutions, they need to communicate smoothly with each other and be integrated into the interface/dashboard of the PMS. Hence, the PMS should serve as the platform that integrates the various software solutions into one hotelier-friendly ecosystem. If that is the case, will hoteliers care who is the supplier of a particular application?