Of course it may be just another sign of misalignment that the hospitality industry took so long to grasp the value of frequency programs in the first place. Though major hotel chains have offered frequent-stay rewards for more than a decade now, they are still several years behind the airlines. Instead of taking the lead in the early 1980s, the hotels sat back and watched the airlines pioneer the concept, leaving them far behind. Another indication of alignment is the increasing use of the Internet for supply chain management. Global hospitality chains are already taking initiatives toward automating this process.
Hotels face unique obstacles in automating their supply chains.
As Anderson explains, it's easy to consolidate and automate the purchase of nonpersonalized products like toilet paper, vacuum cleaners and towels. Distilled spirits and wine will also be tough because of varying state laws around alcohol. Meanwhile, IT executives will continue to struggle for a strategic voice if they don't start to do a better job articulating just how their proposals will help. Anderson, who spent a dozen years as president of the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego and comes from a marketing and management background, speaks from the business perspective when he says CIOs and technologists often hide behind techie lexicon. Demystifying the technology would help.