Analysis

 Technology continues to develop in a very rapid pace. It may be difficult for hotels to keep up with technology innovation happening so quickly. It may even be hard for them to see how new technology may benefit their business. The amount of new technologies being developed create many new opportunities for the Hotel industry. Comfort Inn was able to see how important it was to integrate  new technology into their business. To help improve the way the hotel was ran Comfort Inn decided to use SAP Hotel Management software. This software is designed specifically for a hotel’s needs, so it will generate the best results. 

Business Processes

Comfort Inn operates 24 hours a day. To operate successfully all departments have to communicate and work together to create quality customer service to guest. Comfort Inn employees have many daily processes to perform so they can provide a great experience for guest.

The front desk is a key part to the hotels operations. Front desk staff speak to potential guest on the phone and greet guest upon check in. The front desk is operating all day, taking reservations, fulfilling check ins and check outs, addressing guest issues, provide guest information, and is the center of communication for other departments. Front desk employees are able to input check ins and check outs, and new reservations into the SAP hotel management system.

Housekeeping is a essential part of the hotel's operations. The housekeeping staff keeps guest rooms and common areas clean throughout the day. Housekeeping is able to monitor all check outs through SAP hotel management. Upon check out, a guest room is thoroughly cleaned. Housekeeping also uses SAP hotel management to keep track of all inventory necessary for cleaning, whether it would be sanitizing equipment or fresh linens.

Comfort Inn also has a maintenance staff that takes care of all facilities. The staff includes mechanics with the expertise in plumbing, electrical, and other mechanical issues. The maintenance staff is also responsible for maintaining the hotel grounds such as, landscaping, the swimming pool, and keeping the parking lots clean.

           





The hotel also has a breakfast center and convenience center where food and beverages are provided. The SAP system is able to manage all food and beverage supplies.

Silos

A Silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation information with others. Refers to the lack of communication between departments in an organization that cause lack of ideas from other departments with a minimum of expenditure on inventory creating feelings of confusion and disappointment. Silos reduce efficiency because cooperation and communication are essential among the business of companies. In addition, silos restrict the capabilities of the applications which manage world’s structure information. It is difficult to make a timely coordination and communication among departments. Silos limit productivity but also provide a greater security lapses. Comfort Inn does not have a problem with silos. It is very difficult to maintain a hotel with silos because it is necessary to share information between the departments of human resource, security, the front office, housekeeping, etc. to obtain an excellent service to their customers, something that Comfort Inn manage accurately.

Information Systems Components

There are five components to a system, hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. This five components combined together create an information system. These components allow Comfort Inn to operate successfully.              
                        
Hardware:

The hardware currently housing Comfort Inn’s wide customer information database is housed in an internal server. Comfort Inn computer servers are stored in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access. Personal information that is used to book rooms online are encrypted with the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Comfort Inn also has an intranet network/internal Internet that is closed off from the Internet that guests use to connect to the hotels Wi-Fi. Employees are able to browse the Intranet and use company specified websites and perks without the threat of exposure to people outside of the company.

Software:

Comfort Inn uses a variety of different software products throughout their day-to-day operations. The computers, which are used by the employees in the hotel, use Windows XP, an operating system created by Microsoft.  Windows XP is responsible for hosting the main ERP system that Comfort Inn uses which is SAP Hotel Management. SAP Hotel management provides services for operations, sales and marketing, finance, food/beverage management, distressed hotels, human resource, and development.    

Data:

Comfort Inn is responsible for sensitive data that is inputted into their information systems which pertains to their guests, employees, inventory system and hotel accounting. Data that Comfort Inn deals with on a day-to-day basis ranges from guest names, addresses, phone numbers and most importantly credit card information. This data is used to create information onto the SAP Hotel Management information system, which can he later retrieved for returning guests or new guests. This information is also used for Comfort Inn’s privileged members who earn points based on the amount of times a guest has stayed with the Comfort Inn’s chain. This data is saved and each privileged member is given a username and password as well as a member ID number. Most importantly this data is secured for only hotel personnel because of the information associated with each privileged member.

Procedures:

As a hotel chain that is located throughout the country with thousands of guests each year, guest identity safety is a big concern. To cope with the large customer demand, each employee has a login code to help prevent identity theft and ensure accountability for each employee and the information they view. Other procedures that the hotel follows are state mandated regulations such as the N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 act. This requires a full inspection of building safety, building security, occupancy and fire safety for each hotel every five years in the state of New Jersey.

People:

The people of Comfort Inn may be the most important part of the success, which the franchise has had. The employees are the people that the guests are first greeted by upon arrival. It is their duty to make each guest feel as if they are staying in their home and to make them feel as welcome as possible. Staff members have the obligation to maintain a clean and professional environment for each guest from check-in to checkout. Without the employees the Comfort Inn has, the hotel would not be able to function properly considering the amount of work that has to go into everyday planning for each hotel room. The business clientele is a key reason in why the success of the Choice Hotels franchise has grown over the years. To make each business guest or any guest feel welcome, employees are at the front of the scene to have not only the hotel rooms prepped and ready for use, but other hotel amenities such as fitness centers.

Social Media:

Comfort Inn in Somerset NJ has their own Facebook page. On their page provide information about the hotel such as their amenities. The page also gives a brief description of the hotel and provides many pictures. These pictures are very important because they give customers/guest an idea of what they can expect. Comfort Inn also uses the page to showcase different promotions or hotel awards they have won. For example they received the 2013 certificate of excellence from tripadvisor. The Facebook is fairly new so there is little customer interaction. Comfort Inn still plans to use the page as a way to communicate back with guest. For example if a previous guest had a poor experience at the hotel, Comfort Inn can respond to hopefully remedy the situation. Also if a guest had a great experience it would be beneficial for them to be able to comment on it on the Facebook page. This would act as brand promotion, or word of mouth. Comfort Inn could further use this to their advantage by thanking happy guest, which could create a customer relationship and loyalty.