2014 will see a strong shift away from servers and workstations, and to apps and wireless services in the cloud.

　　Jeff Edwards, columnist and Head of Global Hotel Business at Amadeus discusses the future of tech and what it means for the industry.

　　1. Personalisation will become more prominent:

　　It’s no secret that individuals are unique. Tom likes golfing. Mary might enjoy a day at the spa. Bob may want pillows that are suited to those with allergies.

　　New technologies are allowing hotels to offer a greater focus on these individuals, meaning they can better cater for personal preferences. This happens as hotels move from segmentation to personalisation. For instance, technology that integrates with social media allows customer-facing personnel to manage and track the entire guest experience. This means Bob, Tom, and Mary’s needs will all be recognised in advance and met.

　　2. This personalisation will mean good things for hotels:

　　The tools that allow each individual to get what they need from a hotel will also allow the hotel to have additional insight. We will see this in action in the move beyond traditional RMS to dynamic pricing tools. These tools will take everything into account – particularly the individual.

　　This means hotels will be able to recognise the needs of certain customers. Let’s say Robert, a business guest, were to arrive for the weekend with his family. The hotel would be able to offer both family entertainment and business benefits. This makes Robert happy and more likely to come again.

　　This trend is about enabling hoteliers not just to tailor offers to the user’s preferences, profile, and behaviour, but also to their ‘context’, or what they’re doing. This not only transforms online conversion rates – it also dramatically improves the overall customer shopping experience.

　　3. Hoteliers are getting ready for the age of the smartphone and tablet:

　　Because tablets are low-cost and so easy to carry around, they make excellent property tools for hoteliers.

　　But it’s not only in the hotel that things are changing. Consumers are connected constantly, primarily through their smartphones. A consumer-friendly experience will be expected in business as well as leisure travel.

　　Increasingly we will see hoteliers prepare for this trend with cloud-based property management systems (PMS) that will give them greater control, allow them to take advantage of location-based promotions, and more.

　　4. The IT framework is integrating and getting cloudy:

　　2014 will see a strong shift away from servers and workstations, and to apps and wireless services in the cloud.

　　This is part of the push toward convergence. PMS, CRS, and other key hotel IT components need to be integrated, mixed together like the different parts of a pie to make something even tastier.

　　A converged hotel IT platform gives hotels more control over their product management. Hotel revenue management is typically based on historical data and current data – how many rooms are left in a property at a precise moment in time determines their value. But this data is not enough: At midnight, a hotel’s rooms reach their sell-by date and turn into pumpkins. Being able to predict demand to ensure inventory is not left on the shelf is vital for a hotel. A converged platform also means hotels and hospitality companies can work smarter, from housekeeping to maintenance to guest services.

　　Additionally, the nature of cloud means hotels have access to highly efficient processing and solutions that are modular and easier to deploy. Cloud provides room for more advanced, flexible, and scalable products and services. There is no question that future hotel technologies will move in this direction. In part, this is why we’ve just acquired Newmarket – to meet this trend.