IoT, cloud computing to help hoteliers innovate
dubai — Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing will play a vital role in helping hoteliers keep up with the pace of innovation that is sweeping across the hospitality industry, experts at the HITEC Dubai 2018 exhibition and conference said.
The event was officially inaugurated on Wednesday morning by Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), and drew the participation of several of the world’s leading hospitality experts and technology providers.
Speaking during the opening session Laurent A. Voivenel, SVP of Operations and Development at Swiss-Belhotel International, said that the hospitality industry has seen massive disruptions over the past few years. “The hospitality industry has witnessed various disruptions that include an increasing rate of digitisation, the rising share of online travel agents (OTAs), the emergence of Airbnb, changing customer demographics, the rise of emerging markets like China, India, and Africa, the mergers and acquisitions of several big brands, and an explosion of new brands including local hotels. We will see more change in the next 10 years than what we saw in the last 250 years. The disruptors are growing at a rate of 10–30 per cent per year, while the hotel business is growing by three to five per cent.”
The challenge, he said, is for hospitality brands to keep up with the pace of change. This will be especially critical in Dubai, as the city gears itself up to host the Expo 2020 event.