Combining Internal and External Systems Integration
4/1/2007
Within the industry, ongoing merger and acquisition activity has exacerbated the daunting challenges hospitality companies face in integrating their technology systems, applications and data. There's a growing recognition that this lack of integration -- between systems at existing properties and those at acquired properties; between properties and corporate-level structures; between hotels and alliance partners such as airlines, car rental companies, and restaurants; and even within the "four walls" of a hospitality property itself -- Systems integration, or the lack thereof, may seem to be a clear-cut technology issue: something for the CIO or an IT department to work on. Yet hospitality industry experts note that the industry's lack of appropriate systems integration is at least as much of a business issue as a technology issue, if not more. They identified some of the key areas where a lack of integration creates a significant drag on the hospitality business, as well as areas where integration improvements could lead to greater efficiencies and bottom-line benefits.