Business Intelligence (BI) is not a new term, but as BI is heard more regularly in the Lodging Industry it is still a mystery to many Hoteliers.
Business Intelligence means gaining business knowledge through the use of technology and turning this data into useful information for your business. Having the ability to report on data from multiple systems and having access to this information by way of consolidated reporting, with the ability to drill down to analyse information further, enables Hoteliers to make informed business decisions.
Property Management System Vendors are offering their clients better tools to collect data from single, and multiple properties while providing the reporting capabilities required to analyse and review this information.
Business Intelligence in the Hospitality Industry is improving as systems from multiple vendors are integrated. A good example of some systems that we are seeing integrated are Property Management Systems, Employee Time Clock Systems, Spa Systems, Point of Sale Systems, Catering Systems and Golf Systems. The ability to use one Business Intelligence Tool to get current information from all systems when you need it is quite powerful. Providing Hoteliers with the information quickly, helps to make timely decisions instead of having to wait for the information from each system to be manually compiled.
The integration of unrelated systems is fully dependent on the Business Intelligence Tools available and the different system vendors working together to provide solutions for their customers.
The key to Business Intelligence tools is that they access information that is stored in a database format and the use of databases is now quite common in a wide variety of Hospitality Systems. With the availability of more, and better Business Intelligence Tools being accessible to the Hotelier, business intelligence is a term we will hear more of in the Lodging Industry.
The results provided by Business Intelligence Tools are only as good as the data that is available to be captured and reported upon, so it is imperative that Hotel Managers ensure that the correct information is going into their Hotel Systems or the end result will not be effective.
RECAP
Decisions are made by people. Data or information is entered
into computer systems for most part, by people. Business Intelligence Tools provide the
means to access, sort, and report on this information. The
information is useful when it makes sense, is accurate, and is
accessible in a timely manner. This information is analysed by Hoteliers so they can make better business decisions.
Jeff Sefton
Recent Comments