Platforms

Through its 20 year history, MURTEC has endured as the event for peer-to-peer interaction that fosters insightful conversations between operators and technology suppliers. From humble beginnings with only a couple hundred attendees to today's attendance that numbers 500+, MURTEC's growth mirrors the explosive changes and opportunities happening in restaurant technology.

Software has become a necessary tool in competitive differentiation, and it's invaluable to creating a unique hotel experience. As more data points are used to gather guest information, hospitality must look to developing the "problem" of gathering as much data as possible. Having this data will lead to more pressure on software developers to enable easy access and analysis.

In a time when technology is moving so quickly, operators that own their technology profile can be a core factor in creating competitive advantage. This will be particularly important as companies adopt a mobile strategy quickly. While companies may choose to outsource certain layers of technology, it's important to have technology that is unique to the organization.

A new year means a time to identify new goals. Investigating the areas of most interest in hospitality reveals that focus on payments is reaching a fever-pitch, with the emergence of more mobile payment options. Also trending up is location-based technology but the one common denominator is mobility.

Solving the ROI challenge should be a key objective for technology and marketing executives in 2015.

Hotels and restaurants are both looking for ways to truly connect and engage in meaningful ways with guests. Rewarding loyal consumers doesn't come without cost, however, and for that reason it's critical to reward the right population.   

As the restaurant industry continues to struggle with POS integration, perhaps operators should look to the hotel space where some progress has been made in integration between multiple systems. The next generation of point of sale must address the latest technology capabilities in addition to providing the data that will help restaurants be truly competitive.

As the demand for constant connectivity rises, so does the need to bridge the gap between business, technology and marketing. With this has come the emergence of a new executive – the chief digital officer – which is rapidly becoming a commonplace title next to CIO and CEO.