HT-NEXT Insights From Amazon Web Services
How can hotels best leverage technology right now to meet the challenges of the pandemic and economic downturn?
We’ve been inspired by how hotels are utilizing technology to meet current challenges. The first way we’re seeing this happen is hotels finding ways to save costs as everyone is trying more than ever to do more with less. And hotels companies who run on AWS are better able to link demand to costs. AWS allows customers to trade capital expense for variable expense, and only pay for IT as it is consumed. And, the variable expense is much lower than what customers can do for themselves because of AWS’s economies of scale. Melia Hotels who is on AWS was able to save 58% in the face of the pandemic by better linking demand to cost. We describe it as similar to flipping a switch for getting electricity and only paying for what is used.
We are also seeing companies innovate during this time to meet changing consumer expectations. Cloud allows customers to innovate faster because they can focus their highly valuable IT resources on developing applications that differentiate their business and transform customer experiences instead of the undifferentiated heavy lifting of managing infrastructure and data centers. We are seeing customers react to shifting trends to quickly roll out things like contactless solutions, chat bots, cloud-based contact centers – all while enabling remote working. Technology in general, and cloud technology in particular, is at the heart of these innovations.
How should hoteliers start thinking beyond the pandemic as they chart their tech roadmaps for the coming years?
A recent study of the travel and hospitality industry showed that 78% of respondents now think digital transformation is more important than before. That quantitative research mirrors what we’ve heard anecdotally from our customers. We talk a lot about the need for customers to build resiliency for the long run. That means creating organizations that can adopt and innovate to not only meet the challenges we’re experiencing right now – but also the ones in the future, too. Hotel companies are of course looking to be able to scale their infrastructure up and down as demand changes. They should ensure they have a good view of their data that they can turn that data into valuable insights. They should look to innovate to meet changing consumer demands around health and safety, personalization, sustainability and more. And they should look to take advantage of emerging technology like machine learning and IoT to help them do all this and more.
AWS has been proud to play a role in helping brands like Best Western, Choice Hotels, G6, Hyatt and more do just that, but our work – and the amazing work of hotel companies -- is never done. We’re certain game-changing innovations born out of disruption will impact and improve the way we stay and experience our world. And as challenges evolve, we’re sure to see many more innovative solutions coming from the travel and hospitality industry as it looks to rebuild, recover, and thrive. For a deeper dive, I invite you to check out Scott Strickland, CIO of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts speak at our premier event of the year: AWS re:Invent about how his organization is building resilience for the long run. For the first time re:Invent is 100% virtual and 100% free -- so register and then sign up for session TRV202.