IT and information systems in hotels
IT and information systems in hotels
The hotels and other similar kinds of organizations organize their activities in ways that are consistent with their clients and employees. The organizing conventions may be in the form of standard procedures, records, documents, and rules of conduct that will enhance the easy flow of communication and activities in the establishment. This is what is called as the corporate information systems or the CISs, which give the organizations the methods to capture the way their organization operates by through the implementation of procedures, rules and documentation. The information systems in a hotel will manage the processes to be followed by such organization, and shall keep track of the interactions between the members of the organization with their co-workers, suppliers, and clients.
The Hotel Information System (HIS) is created not just to support the management and operations for the front and back-office of a hotel, but to manage the internal activities of the hotel including its human resource department. The management and operational functionalities of the information of every hotel should include organization of their operations including reservations, front desk guest check-in, housekeeping, telephone control and even the hiring of employees. One of the prominent features of the hotel industry is its reliance on flexible staffing policies that involve a big number of contingent workers. It has been observed that most managers hire or recruit temporary, casual workers, and part-time employees, and some ethnic minority and immigrant labor since these workers are willing to work for lower rates of pay. Another HR challenge is how to align labor supply with uncertain patterns of customer demand. The employment of temporary and casual workers is greatly dependent on the fluctuations in customer demand and the number and size of scheduled functions and events in the hotel. Most of the hotels engage most of the temporary and casual workers under agency agreement, and the pay is based on an hourly, daily, or per task basis to meet the customer’s demands. In this way, the IT and information system for human resources policy and management will be documented and easily accessed by the employees.
The information system for financial control in hotels is the most critical part of the hotel’s financial system. Setting up an IT system for financial control will ensure that the funds are being effectively and correctly used for legitimate activities for the operation of the hotel. The IT system will ensure that all expenses and disbursements will be correctly and accurately be reported. If the hotel has poor financial controls, it may lead to the risk that resources will be inefficiently used and can easily be subjected to abuse, theft or fraud. The financial control in hotels will also provide reasonable assurance that any material misstatement of accounts and loss or misuse of funds and resources will be avoided. At the same time, the IT system for financial control will also ensure that hotel is compliant with laws or regulations. By creating an IT system for financial control, it is easier to make annual budgets that have realistic estimates of income and expenditure that will fund the operations of the hotel. The system will also make sure that all cash and money received will be recorded, deposited to the bank and safeguarded against theft and loss. These controls guarantees that each payments made by the hotel is recorded, correctly authorized and given to the proper payees.
