What Happens When the Hotel Tech and Finance Teams Join Forces?
The hospitality industry has recently experienced a major transformation due to the widespread adoption of innovative technologies such as contactless check-in, smart parking reservations, and mobile room keys. This shift towards digitization has made it more critical than ever for the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) to work hand in hand.
Research suggests that strong partnerships between the CFO and CIO can be highly advantageous, as they have a 39% higher chance of meeting digital budget targets and are 18% more likely to achieve business goals. So how does it play out in the hospitality industry? Let's dive in.
Design Smarter Hotel Management Strategies
By working together, hotel tech and finance teams can develop a more effective business plan that leverages the latest technology solutions while keeping finances in check.
This is because combining financial and operational data can provide a comprehensive overview of the hotel's operations, allowing decision-makers to identify areas for improvement and better allocate resources.
For instance, the CIO can use data analytics to identify which amenities guests are using more frequently, such as coffee kits, personal care products, breakfast, and fitness centers. Then the CFO can use this information to make informed decisions about which amenities to invest in or eliminate, ensuring that the hotel is developing cost-efficient methods to improve its bottom line.
Find the Perfect Tech Tools to Elevate Your Guest Experience
Incorporating cutting-edge technology into your hotel's operations is the key to success, regardless of the size of your business. But with so many products on the market, how do you choose which ones to invest in, especially if you're on a tight budget?
Well, an alliance between tech and finance teams is the most effective way forward to deciding which tools can improve the overall guest experience. Here's how.
Suppose you want to create a mobile app that allows guests to make room service orders or request additional amenities from their smartphones. In that case, tech experts can help you understand how the new product can take the guest experience to new heights while the finance department focuses on the financial impact of implementing the technology.
If the return on investment (ROI) is high, the teams can join forces to allocate funds and prioritize implementation, resulting in enhanced customer experience and growth opportunities.
Gain Access to More Valuable Insights
Hotels collect a wealth of information about their customers, including guest demographics, spending habits, what types of rooms they book, booking frequency and patterns, and whether they travel with a pet. But with so much data pouring in, information overload is inevitable.
By leveraging a variety of data analytics and visualization tools, tech and finance experts are able to turn mountains of information into actionable insights that drive growth and success.
To illustrate this, IT experts can automate repetitive tasks that are prone to human error. And accurate data enables accounting teams to identify areas of the business that need improvement, minimize bad debts, and even influence room rates.
Additionally, by collaborating with tech professionals, finance experts can implement real-time analytics capabilities. This means if there is a sudden change in the demand for a particular service or amenity, the hotel can quickly adjust its budget.
Streamline Operations
Guests often have to fill out paperwork and wait in line at the reception desk, which can be time-consuming and frustrating—especially during peak times.
A joint effort between tech and finance teams can automate the whole process and allow hotel staff to deliver the smoother experience their customers crave: 62% of guests prefer to check in and check out using a hotel app; meanwhile, 30% of them choose to use a website.
Added to that, this collaboration increases efficiency and paves the way for noteworthy cost savings for hotels. Implementing inventory management systems, for instance, can allow accounting departments to generate accurate financial reports that reflect inventory levels and costs, which can optimize cash flow. And being able to keep track of their supplies effectively helps businesses to minimize waste and ensure that they never run out of essential items.
In short, an alliance between the CFO and CIO is essential for unlocking the full potential of digital technology and translating it into profit. This is primarily because, with their combined expertise, they can create a winning hotel management strategy, invest in the right tools to improve customer experience, gain a deeper understanding of the business, and optimize operations to achieve greater efficiency.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shagun Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Skytem. Shagun is the visionary behind the product and user experience. A CPA, CIA and an experienced auditor and process consultant, she designed ART for accountants. Having gone through the broken and inefficient process various times over, she believed there was a more efficient and user-friendly way to do reconciliations. Being process-focused, Shagun injected process within ART to deliver a product that is highly integrated and process-centric. Shagun started her career in public accounting and has worked in Fortune 100 companies such as Marriott and Freddie Mac. Her work focused primarily on internal controls and risk mitigation in both, the international and domestic arenas. She has been a speaker for Fast Trac – a Kauffman Foundation program and is very passionate about entrepreneurship.