SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: SOME
4.10 CONSTRAINTS EXPERIENCED BY THE HOTELS IN ADOPTING AND ADAPTING NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Ability to change in the hospitality industry depends upon many factors, viz. sophistication, competence and most importantly its history of action
with technology adoption/adaption. Change often requires a reinterpreta- tion of basic operational rules. Additionally, the hotel also requires time to publicize, carry out and adjust to new criterions, procedures and recom- mendations. Assimilation of new technologies often requires redefinition of roles and processes. This may act as a threat to (a) current business practices, and(b) individual roles and positions. It may also require (a) additional finan- cial expenditure, and(b) prompt political maneuvering. Additionally, to func- tion efficiently, clean technologies need large spaces, long gestation periods and knowledge of the subject, besides training and investors. Investors on the other hand find absence of innovative ideas a big constraint in the renewable energy and energy efficient sectors of clean technology (Ghosh, 2013).
A study conducted by National Research Council (US) Committee on En- hancing the Internet for Health Applications in 2000, identified two barriers viz. internal barriers and external barriers, that are responsible for an orga- nization accepting or rejecting new technologies. Later authors likeKurup- puarachchi, et al. (2002) and Chan (2008) have found them to be true in the case of hospitality industry also. According to them both internal and external barriers may affect the technology adoption and adaption in the industry.
4.10.1 INTERNAL BARRIERS
According to NSCC (2004), internal barriers often impede efforts to carry out required change in an organization. Referred to as organizational inertia, this phenomenon is characterized by lack of responsiveness to internal and external environment, lack to competency and self-awareness and is marked by a reluctance to change. Especially in hotels with a long historical lineage, this inertia is due to (a) maintaining their heritage (b) large size, and(c) com- plicated internal hierarchies.
4.10.2 BARRIERS TO IT/EMS ADOPTION AND ADAPTION In the case of IT adoption, although many hotel managers admitted that IT offered many direct and indirect benefits, they preferred to maintain control rather than increase efficiency(Leung and Law, 2012). Additionally, in case of IT as well as EMS adoption/adaption, because of limited exposure, internal politics, cost of implementation within the company, perceived difficulty in managing data and security threat, and lack of knowledge and adequate train- ing mechanism and low support by senior management, most employees are reluctant to endure major changes in terms of adapting and learning that may
accrue once processes relating to information technology or EMS are imple- mented. This stands true in the event where technology or EMS adoption is dependent on consensus building within the organization. Consensus building can take more time than it is required. This can become a barrier given the rapid pace at which technology changes. Constraints also develop because of genuine concerns about the new technology, as well as due to organizational apathy. Secondly, conflict often arises when management wavers between adoption of technology at local level or throughout the hotel chain.
4.10.3 OPERATIONAL BARRIERS
Majority of hotel buildings have been built during the periods when neither IT nor being Green were a priority. Converting these structures into IT en- abled and Green buildings, therefore takes immense effort in terms of man- power, resources and cost layouts. Availability of (a) ecofriendly innovative materials, which are high-priced and difficult to source, and(b) vendors and experts who could translate the existing infrastructure into IT enabled and or ecofriendly building without shutting down the hotel are expensive and rare.
Most hoteliers are therefore not comfortable in earmarking resources and ef- forts on IT and Green enabled practices, which except in few areas, have long gestation periods and therefore show no immediate results. Assuming that the desired changes are made, paucity of competent engineers, housekeepers, IT experts, vendors, contractors, landscape maintenance staff and managers that understand environmental systems, procedures and products hinder the smooth running of the operations.
4.10.4 FINANCIAL BARRIERS
Hospitality industry and hotels in particular often have to face stiff finan- cial barriers while upgrading their existing infrastructure. Lack or readily available finance affects a hotel's innovation capacity (Gorodnichenko and Schnitzer, 2010). It further limits the capacity of large and small hotels to invest in technology. This aspect is especially true for domestic hotel groups and companies, who, as compared to the international hotel companies, face difficulties in their innovation activities because of costly and problematic access to external finance. Numerous reasons are cited for this anomaly, main being, careless financial records, unclear titles of the property, confusing data
about future projections and unclear understanding of the firms capacity vis- à-vis the external environment
4.10.5 HUMAN RESOURCES BARRIERS
Advent of Web 2.0, technologies have increased the travelers’ access to mul- tiple data sources (Buhalis, 1998). This has further complicated the already complex situation for the hospitality industry, who is struggling to adopt and adapt the new technologies on various fronts. Web 2.0 brings with it a complex web of social media interactions, which if efficiently managed can enhance the image of the property and at the same time make it the chosen destination of travelers. Harnessing the social media expertise, and also further enhancing the capabilities, of the employees, especially those falling into the category of Gen X, can improve efficiency and bottom lines of the hotel.
Additionally, the challenges HRM faces in this flux can only be described as mammoth. The industry is striving to develop articulate and adaptable em- ployees who can deliver the brand promise and at the same time be technolog- ically literate and in-sync with the expectations of the tech-savvy customers.
Law and Jogaratnam(2005) in the context of Destination Marketing Organiza- tions have said that until tourism-related managers fully understand innova- tive technologies and have the ability to use them…can these communication tools be effective for destination promotion.
Although nearly all of the top managements in the industry are aware of the possibilities of the new technological advancements and what it can do to improve the efficiency and the hotel bottom line, this information seldom percolates down to the frontline workers at all the levels of the organizations, resulting in zero awareness about the need to know and understand new tech- nologies (Lee and Wicks, 2010). Scant attention is paid to upgrade technologi- cal skill set of the employees at the work place. Additionally, no opportunities/
encouragement is given to the employees to upgrade their skill levels, relating to emergent technologies at their own initiative (Lee and Wicks, 2010). Stras- smann(1990) and Sigala, et al. (2001) have tried to identify possible reasons for ‘low familiarity of technology’ by the employees and the ‘reluctance of the management in adopting new technologies.’ Employees perceive that all forms of technology are difficult to use/learn and, therefore work-involving technol- ogy should be left to the experts in the area. Management, especially those of small and medium enterprises, on the other hand, perceive new technologies as an additional cost, besides lack of qualified instructors and paucity of funds
inhibit small and medium hotels to develop their own off-the-job training pro- grams.