Michael D. Olsen

The Internet as a Distribution Channel

The internet is both an opportunity and a challenge for hotel marketers. The opportunity lies is reaching customers directly through internet sites. The challenge is to get the guests attention long enough to tell your story.

Experience-based Travel How Technology Is Changing the Hospitality Industry

Two broad-based think tanks, sponsored by the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), examined the future of information technology in the hospitality industry. A chief theme emerging from the think tanks is that the successful hospitality purveyor of the future will be the one that can use technology to meet the customers needs on the customers terms. That means supplying disparate information relating to the customers travel desires and being able to do so instantaneously—whenever the guest decides to make the inquiry. While hospitality firms will not be able to count on blind loyalty, they will be able to use technology to learn enough about their customers to continually meet their changing needs and desires. Since customers will be able to find nearly any kind of information via the internet, intermediaries will need to develop ways of packaging information to make it more valuable to customers. Likewise, destination-based companies will have to assemble a portfolio of potential experiences and match those to the experiences desired by a customer. All of this will require not only technology, but excellently trained employees who know how to use the technology to add value to the customers travel experience. Lacking that value-added feature, hospitality purveyors risk being relegated to commodity providers competing only on price-a gloomy scenario that can be avoided with judicious application of information systems.

Research in strategic management in the hospitality industry.

Abstract This article considers research in strategy in four main areas – strategic planning, competition and competitive advantage, internationalization and strategic implementation. In reviewing the literature, it is clear that it is grounded in the classical view of strategy as a highly rational process. In reality, strategy is a highly complex, multi-dimensional construct requiring more interdisciplinary approaches to its research. In the hospitality industry, this is further complicated by the necessity to consider the impact of international operations.

CEO Perspectives on Scanning the Global Hotel Business Environment

Reports on the first survey of chief executive officers of multinational hotel chains, sponsored by the International Hotel Association. The purpose of the survey was to assess the environmental scanning practices in those hotel firms and to learn how their executives view the uncertainty of the global business environment.

Marketing Challenges for the Next Decade

A 1998 think tank that examined marketing issues facing the hospitality industry for the next decade concluded that the information-technology function should be merged with marketing. The idea wou...

Concept of service in the hospitality industry.

Abstract The discussion in this paper of the traditional service experience is summarized in Fig. 1. The entire service experience is a complex process subject to all the factors that have been reviewed in this article. While the hospitality industry has been successful in fine tuning some of the mechanical parts of service such as table setting and order taking, it has not yet been able to establish a technology of service sufficient to achieve excellence in the minds of the consumer. The concepts presented in this paper are essential to the development of a service technology for the hospitality industry and in subsequent articles will be employed in the further development of these important issues.

The antecedent factors influencing entry mode choices of multinational lodging firms.

Abstract This is a multiple-case study to explore relationships among the antecedent factors and entry mode choices of multinational lodging firms as they plan expansion into existing and/or new international markets. The data was collected utilizing interviews and secondary resources regarding five multinational lodging firms. The findings from this research included fifteen propositions that explain the above relationships. These propositions were used to create a framework to illustrate the antecedent factors which may support the entry mode choices of the multinational lodging firms.

A Case Study Approach To Understanding the Impact of Information Technology On Competitive Advantage in the Lodging Industry

The lodging industry, along with most parts of the service sector, is making significant capital investment in information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of its business processes for the purpose of gaining competitive advantage. This study investi gates the impact of information technology on competitive advantage in the lodging indus try. This research uses a case study methodology to measure competitive advantage from information technology. The results indicate that the overall strategy of the lodging firm in fluences the impact of information technology on competitive advantage. More specifi cally, the asset holding and managing companies achieve a different type and level of com petitive advantage through information technology as compared to franchising lodging firms.

An environmental assessment of how technology is reshaping the hospitality industry

Leading strategists suggest that the key to winning the future is to develop industry foresight and to stake ones territorial claim before anyone else. Following this advice, however, is not as easy as it may sound, especially when one takes into account how quickly things change in the era of high-tech. Each day, the seeds of change are sown. By using disciplined approaches, these seeds can be spotted early on as they germinate, sprout and grow into something big. To help the hospitality industry develop foresight in a disciplined manner, identify the antecedents of change and prepare for the future, the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) called together over 160 people worldwide from various organisations, industries and geographic regions to participate in a series of Visioning Workshops and Technology Think-Tank sessions. Collectively, these sessions define the forces shaping change and identify what is in store for the industry as the future draws near. The findings to date suggest that information technology is the single greatest force affecting change in the hospitality industry. Everywhere one looks, one can find evidence of how technology is reshaping the industry and changing the very dynamics of competition and customer/employee interaction. Going forward, technology will be the most important competitive weapon for any hospitality company. If hospitality organisations want to compete successfully, they must do so by using technology to drive value to both the customer and the firm. What follows is a detailed summary of the proceedings from three Technology Think-Tank workshops held in Singapore; Nice, France; and Vienna, Austria from 1997 to 1999.

Environmental Scanning and Its Effect Upon Firm Performance: An Exploratory Study of the Foodservice Industry:

The chief executive officers and members of their top management teams of 65 foodservice firms were surveyed to ascertain the extent of environmental scanning in support of the firms intended strategy utilizing Hambricks (1979) scales of frequency and interest; and, Porters (1980) industry structure model for environmentaltraits. The effect of scanning activity on performance was determined; as was the difference in scanning levels of high versus low performing firms. Significant differences were found.