Abstract: Digital operation is an important engine for promoting modernization and a strong support for building competitive advantage. Accelerating digital operations is of great significance and far-reaching impact on the development of the country and the progress of society. At present, in terms of hotel operations, digitalization has been put on the agenda, and strengthening hotel digital operations has become the core work in the hotel field. Based on this, this paper first analyzes the significance of hotel digital operation, then makes an in-depth analysis of the problems existing in the digital transformation of hotels, and finally puts forward some constructive suggestions on how to realize hotel digital operation based on the development trend of digitalization.
Digitization is to use modern science and technology as a means to convert intricate information into usable units of measurement, that is, numbers, data, numbers, numerical values, etc., and then use these units to establish digital models that are easy to control, and transform them into a series of binary ** into the computer, play the functions of calculation, storage, transmission, interaction and so on. With the further development of computer technology and network technology, digital operation has become an important trend in the development of the current era [1]. Combined with the requirements of the "Overall Layout Plan for the Construction of Digital China" such as the efficient connection of digital infrastructure, the accelerated improvement of the scale and quality of data resources, the effective release of the value of data elements, the positive progress in the construction of digital ecological civilization, the major breakthrough in digital technology innovation, the improvement of the digital governance system, and the opening up of a new situation in international cooperation in the digital field, the informatization and intelligence of the hotel, especially the digital management, have also received extensive attention. From a technical point of view, digitalization is a stage of the information age, and informatization, digitization, and intelligence are a process of gradual development and improvement in hotel operations, which requires hotels to actively innovate and follow up [2].
1. The significance of hotel digital operation
Hotel digital operation is to transform the traditional operation mode in the management of the hotel's assets, planning, organization, personnel, operation, budget and finance, use various data and intelligent tools for modern management, formulate content with data as the center, and clarify the development direction of the hotel through data analysis and summary. Improving hotel operation efficiency through data technology and data capabilities not only reduces manpower, reduces costs, and improves operational efficiency, but more importantly, it is more important to use new technologies to help hotels make correct decisions, make hotel management more realistic, provide users with stable and high-quality services, and meet user needs and solve related problems in a timely manner [3,4].
(1) Digitization of information
The digitization of hotel information refers to improving the user access rate and enhancing the user's value recognition and service dependence on the product through refined operation. Information digitization is the basic guarantee for hotels to achieve modern operations, such as various PMS systems, opera, Neusoft, Green Cloud, etc., which are widely used in the industry, which can enter various events in the process of users from booking to checkout into the information system in the form of data. The digitization of information has become more and more extensive, from the initial front office and guest room catering field, to the marketing field, human resources field and engineering field, and the data collected by these systems has provided convenience for hotel decision-making and operation.
(2) Business digitalization
Business digitalization is essentially data business, through the integration of data resources, upgrade the amount of business information, strengthen the business sector, and rely on digital advantages to carry out business promotion according to the needs of products, the use of data intelligence, data innovation in operation, the former uses big data technology to improve user experience, such as satisfaction collection, Credit rating, etc., the latter expands business according to data-oriented, subdivides user needs through the establishment of a user stratification system, understands user business preferences and consumption habits, diagnoses business processes, effectively transforms various business links, and enhances user value. At the same time, through the overall user needs and product value and demand to meet the evaluation and positioning of business operation direction, guide business innovation, such as using the data collected by PMS to achieve personalized services, thereby improving the revenue per guest, using sales data to do a good job in revenue management and improve profits, and reducing hotel energy consumption costs through data in the field of engineering [5].
(3) Digitalization of management
Advanced management methods can not only enhance the competitiveness of the hotel, but also promote the long-term development of the hotel. When industry management reaches a certain stage, there will be a transformation and change in the operation management model. This change has taken place in the fields of finance, e-commerce, logistics and other fields, and the organizational structure and operation model of related enterprises in these fields have undergone great changes in the past ten years, while the organizational structure and management model of most hotels have basically not undergone major adjustments from the reform and opening up to the present. In the process of management digitalization, the hotel's previous business management model will be reconstructed by digital innovation, and an operating model suitable for the digital era will be generated. At the same time, the hotel's research and judgment of the market, the formulation of room rates, customer information management, service quality management, human resources, energy consumption control, etc., will be updated and improved in the digital management environment.
2. Problems existing in the digital transformation of hotels
With the development of science and technology, the scope of the digital environment has been further expanded, and a series of digital technologies such as digital programming, digital construction, digital ecology, and digital industry chain have begun to be popularized and applied. Informatization to digital transformation is the trend of the times, and the full realization of digitalization is also the trend of hotel operation. In recent years, hotels have made great strides in digital operations, but there are also some obvious shortcomings.
(1) Lack of overall planning and insufficient understanding of the connotation of digital operations
Managers need to have a deep understanding of the connotation of hotel digital operation and have a clear plan for the development goals and development direction of the hotel. However, many hotel managers lack overall planning, do not understand the connotation of digital operation, and mistakenly believe that as long as they purchase a management system, they are equivalent to realizing digital operation. At the same time, the basic expectation of hotel managers for digital operations is to realize the digitization of information, or further business digitization, and then under the guidance of this expectation, to build a digital information system that is in line with their own interests. In the process of information data management, managers cannot choose cost-effective products according to actual needs, which affects the healthy operation of hotel digitalization.
(2) Focus on front-line operations and light on data analysis
In the early days, hotels used PMS to improve the efficiency of front-line operations, and when managers discovered the benefits of the information system, they continued to promote it in various fields. However, when the marginal effect of PMS reaches an extreme value, hotel managers will find that they cannot achieve further improvement by purchasing a new system or introducing a more advanced system. In reality, most hotel managers only focus on front-line operations and do not pay attention to data analysis, and many hotels do not have the potential to develop existing systems. For example, the Opera system provides various functions in the profiles section, but the administrator does not take the time to study it carefully, and often just records the necessary information and puts it aside. At the same time, managers don't dig deep into customer resources, making the system that costs a lot of money to buy not really work. Many systems actually provide very rich reporting functions and data analysis functions, but the hotel does not make full use of them, which not only wastes resources, but also brings greater pressure to the economic operation of the hotel.
(3) The advancement of digital organizations is slow
The rigid organizational structure makes the development of hotel business processes slower. Most of the operation and maintenance of the hotel information system is managed by the engineering department. Historically, the IT department has not had much say in the hotel, and while this format is constantly changing, the new IT department still does not play a leading role. Most of the employees in the IT department are from engineering backgrounds, which also determines that it is very difficult for the hotel industry to realize the digitalization of management, and finally use digital technology to force the transformation and transformation of the operation and management model of the entire industry. The fundamental purpose of hotel digital operation is to improve operational efficiency and reduce operating costs without affecting guest service, while the introduction of new systems, data collection, data integration, data analysis and other work content are relatively slow, which affects the service and management process of the entire hotel.
3. The path of the hotel to achieve digital operation
Digital operation is an operation model that promotes products and services in a convenient and fast way through digital network technologies such as the Internet, Internet of Things, communication networks, and digital interaction platforms [6]. With the rapid development of science and technology, digital operation methods are constantly evolving. In the realization of digital operation, the hotel should keep up with the pace of development of the times, actively use new technologies and new models to create a digital operation matrix, and pay attention to the following aspects on the basis of achieving full user coverage and all-round digital operation.
(1) Analyze their own needs and clarify their positioning
In recent years, the digital operation of hotels has been comprehensively developed. The digital intelligent hotel can make customers feel the progress of science and technology, especially the intelligent multi-first, wireless application, automatic temperature control and so on in the control system to provide customers with high-quality services. At the same time, the digital operation of the hotel has also improved the level of hotel management, which not only improves the efficiency of the hotel, but also saves time and costs, and has become an important part of the hotel's intelligence. In order to survive and develop in the fierce competition, hotels should clearly understand the development direction of the times, clarify their own positioning and goals in digital construction, and form digital thinking.
In the face of information digitization in the initial stage, group hotels generally have their own more mature solutions, while independent hotels need to choose carefully. The digitalization of the front-line core business is the first business direction chosen by most hotels, and it is also the core function of PMS, which mainly completes routine operations such as guest reservation, registration, room dynamic management, guest checkout and departure, etc., which are very common in hotels. It should be noted that at this stage, a clear operation process and specifications should be formed to ensure the integrity and accuracy of these key data. In fact, although many hotels have advanced customer information systems, they are still unable to distinguish and mine customer value. It can be seen that relying on the system alone cannot change the service quality and operation level of the hotel, and only by focusing on the existing solutions can the hotel operation be taken to a higher level.
(2) Establish a coordination mechanism to maximize the value of digital
In order to ensure high-quality hotel digital operations, it is necessary to establish and improve the coordination mechanism, solve the problems existing in digital development, realize cross-departmental cooperation and upper and lower collaboration, implement every work, and maximize digital value. In digital operations, there will be more and more data, and this data must be filtered and integrated to support management in making key decisions. Even in the initial stages of digital operations, it is advisable for hotels to choose a PMS system with a complete set of solutions to prepare for later data integration and mining [7].
The digital operation of a hotel is not something that can be completed by one department or one system. Hotel managers will find that breaking down the information barriers between systems and achieving data integration will cost more. A hotel may have many systems that contain member information, such as reservation system, WeChat platform, hotel wifi, catering system, PMS, etc., whether the member information in these systems can be connected is a problem that hotel managers need to think about. In various service scenarios, the problem of identifying customer member information will be encountered, which will not only affect work efficiency and customer experience, but also bring difficulties to the determination of customer value. In actual operation, it is necessary to strengthen the collaboration and linkage between systems and break down information barriers in order to realize the digitalization of hotel business and maximize the value of data.
(3) Ensure financial and talent support to achieve digital transformation
It is the top priority to promote the healthy operation of hotels in the direction of digitalization and to ensure funds and talents. First of all, the combination of industry and finance, strengthen the supervision and use of invested funds, make full use of resources to support the development of digitalization, actively guide idle capital to participate in digital construction, and build a scientific digital operation system. Second, strengthen the talent team, improve the digital mindset of leadership, management and service personnel, and improve digital awareness and skills. Finally, it is necessary to introduce and train digital backbone talents to ensure the digital operation of the hotel [8].
Digital transformation is only possible when business digitalization matures. The strategic business transformation at the enterprise level formed by technological change will affect the fundamental organizational structure and business processes of the enterprise. At present, the development of the hotel industry is still some way from achieving true digital transformation, but there are also some hotels that have implemented digital transformation in many areas and have achieved certain results. The digital transformation of hotels is optimizing the management and operation system of hotels from multiple dimensions, such as the digital transformation of sales channels, which is conducive to reducing commission costs and increasing operating income. From intelligent construction to digital transformation, the hotel industry cannot stop innovating. In the process of promoting the technological transformation of the industry, there is a difference between hotel intelligence and digitalization [9]. Hotel digitalization should use digital technology to systematically and integrally change the hotel's business model and operation mode, and pay attention to the empowerment of digital technology to the organization as a wholeUse digital means to explore customer needs and improve service quality, so as to create greater value for the hotel;Build a digital system within the group to reduce operating costs and improve operational efficiencyEffectively apply smart equipment, improve products and services, enhance user experience, further enhance the market competitiveness of the hotel, and inject vitality into the development of the hotel.
IV. Conclusion
In the new era, with the wide application of science and technology, the contact points between hotels and digitalization are still increasing, from the popularization of smart devices to the creation of new intelligent scenes, from the upgrade of management systems to the digital presentation of omni-channel operations, the transformation and upgrading of hotel digitalization will inevitably show a new development trend in the future. To achieve digitalization in hotels, it is not only about buying high-tech software, but also about comprehensively improving technology, cognition and practice, including understanding the nature of technology, mastering the characteristics of digital, screening useful digital service decisions, realizing changes and upgrades in organizational form, corporate culture, leadership, etc., and doing a good job in the ecological integration of technology and services, so as to truly change the status quo and realize the long-term development of hotel digital operations.
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About author:TIAN Wenying (1977-), master, lecturer. Research interests: digital operations in the tourism industry.