How Info-Communication Technologies Change Hotel Room Reservation

Info-communication technologies, or rather better known as ICT plays a vital role in the global economy and on society. It allows users to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technologies.

It helps businesses run, facilitates the daily lives of household users. Hence, ICT has a great impact on how today's economic system works. The world is getting smaller and there's no demarcation to who may receive information as long as the hardware and technologies required are in place.

As the title implies, this blog is specially dedicated to the study of ICT's impact on hotel room reservations and how it changes the hospitality industry and society.

We based our studies on websites such as ctrip.com, asia.travel, hotels.com, asiarooms, octopus, zuji.com, expedia, bookings, accomline and holidaInn.com as indicated in the outline of the project requirement.

Below will be the outline of our study:

• Hotel Reservations Then
• Hotel Reservations Today
• Impact on Hotel Industry
• Impact on Society
• Suggestion for Improvement

Some advantages & disadvantages of information technology in our daily lives

Advantages	Disadvantages
1)     Globalization - IT has not only brought the world closer together, but it has allowed the world's economy to become a single interdependent system. This means that we can not only share information quickly and efficiently, but we can also bring down barriers of linguistic and geographic boundaries. The world has developed into a global village due to the help of information technology allowing countries like Chile and Japan who are not only separated by distance but also by language to shares ideas and information with each other.	1) Unemployment - While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed.
2)      Communication - With the help of information technology, communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous response. The internet has also opened up face to face direct communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of video conferencing.	2) Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge.
3)      Cost effectiveness - Information technology has helped to computerize the business process thus streamlining businesses to make them extremely cost effective money making machines. This in turn increases productivity which ultimately gives rise to profits that means better pay and less strenuous working conditions.	3) Lack of job security - Industry experts   believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure.
4)      Bridging the cultural gap - Information technology has helped to bridge the cultural gap by helping people from different cultures to communicate with one another, and allow for the exchange of views and ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing prejudice.	4) Dominant culture - While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.
5)      More time - IT has made it possible for businesses to be open 24 x7 all over the globe. This means that a business can be open anytime anywhere, making purchases from different countries easier and more convenient. It also means that you can have your goods delivered right to your doorstep with having to move a single muscle.
6)      Creation of new jobs - Probably the best advantage of information technology is the creation of new and interesting jobs. Computer programmers, Systems analyzers, Hardware and Software developers and Web designers are just some of the many new employment opportunities created with the help of IT.

Extracted from: http://www.smallbusinessbible.org/advan_disadvan_informationtechnology.html

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