Veteran hotelier Giovanni Angelini, who’s been in the hospitality industry for more than five decades, listed five reasons why hoteliers were not responding fast enough to digital disruption.
One, bureaucracy and silos. “We are a labour intensive industry and we have created too many departments and functions. Do we really need these functions, maybe we could do with 30-40% less at the corporate office?” said the Italian hotel executive who was the former CEO for Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.
Giovanni Angelini calls on hoteliers to “embrace evolution” and “avoid stagnancy”.
Two, not good at aligning whole team “especially with the younger generation coming into the industry, it depends who is giving instructions and directives, we are not consistent and we are not good at alignment”.
Three, tendency to make decision on gut instinct. “We are not good at using data. We make decisions based on what we know and what we think we know, we need to spend more time analysing data and put that into practice.”
Four, forecasting. “We tend to look at the past, our experience but when it comes to forecasting the future, we are not good. This is why OTAs have become so successful at our expense. Selling our rooms is our job.”
Five, forseeing the future. “We are so intent on the budget. When we don’t make budget, say we are 10% off near the end of the year, we cut when that’s when we should spend.”
WIT Hospitality debuts in Hong Kong on March 22.
Speaking at WIT Hospitality in Hong Kong yesterday, Angelini said the hotel industry has been sleeping and that’s why it is a sitting duck, “easy prey for the hunters like the OTAs”.
He said the industry needed to engage better with hotel owners who were paying the bills.
Referring to the panel of startups which had earlier flagged resistance by hotels to integrate their services such as tours & activities into their list of offerings, Angelini, who’s worked with some of the most prominent hotel owning companies in Asia, said, “Global management companies are asset light. If you want to implement, you have to go to the owners.”
His advice? “Don’t fake it, don’t try to be smart. Do your homework. What does he need? What does it really do?”
He cited a statistic he had picked up that “only 20% of new technology being put in hotels is being used”.
He called on hoteliers to “embrace evolution” and “avoid stagnancy”
Hospitality, he said, creates real value – for employees, guests and shareholders.
“People come first but we do not do a good job in taking care of people. We don’t pay enough which is why we don’t attract the top talent, and that is another reason why we are not responding fast enough.”
