There is reason for optimism in the hospitality & tourism industry. The 2010 Soccer World cup is expected to bring a flood of tourists to South Africa. The intense media interest will stimulate tourism. This will in turn translate into a cash injection for the hospitality industry. This bodes well for IT investment in this cash-constrained industry. For the IT supplier, it is useful to understand the factors that influence the IT usage patterns in the hospitality industry.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Patterns of IS Adoption in the Hospitality Industry - The Impact of the Number of Stars, Management Type and Chain Affiliation

The hospitality industry is far from homogeneous, in fact the demographic characteristics of hospitality enterprises differ widely in terms of size, quality, customer base and the degree of product sophistication. The question follows whether the characteristics of the firm impact the rate and extent of IT adoption, or whether IT innovations are homogeneously absorbed by the hospitality establishments across the board.

Orfila-Sintes, Crespi-Cladera & Martinez-Ros (2005) identified the following three main hotel characteristics:
- The number of stars. It should be noted that there is a correlation between the hotel size and the number of stars. Smaller hotels have fewer stars.
- Management type (hotel management under franchise contract, owner management, etc)
- Chain affiliation.

Orfila-Sintes concluded that:
- Larger hotels make more use of IT innovations.
- Chain affiliated hotels make greater use of IT innovations.
- Professionally managed hotels make greater use of IT innovations.

This article and the one authored by Siguaw, Enz & Namasivayam (2000) make a compelling case for the inclusion of these variables as independent variables in any empirical study in the hospitality industry.

References
Orfila-Sintes F, Crespi-Cladera R & Martinez-Ros E. (2005). Innovation Activity in the Hotel Industry - Evidence from the Balearic Islands. Tourism Management, 26:851-865.
Siguaw JA, Enz CA & Namasivayam K. (2000). Adoption of Information Technology in US Hotels - Strategically Driven Objectives.Journal of Travel Research, 39:192-201.

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