1. Selecting and implementing hospitality information systems

2. “Without a blueprint or plan for the future, picking technology is almost a shot in the dark.” ---- Perter O’ Dell

3. Introduction
Identify important IT projects and plan/monitor them appropriately to reduce costs, increase revenue and customer satisfaction.
Top-down source are projects identified by top management or by a diverse steering committee.
Bottom-up source are project initiatives stemming from managers, business units, or the development group.
The payback method
Accounting rate of return on investment (ROI)

4. Strategic Alignment
Projects are much more likely to succeed if they align to organizational needs and goals
“Aligning information systems to corporate goals has emerged as the number one concern over the last five years in surveys of information systems executives”

5. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

6. Selecting IT projects

7. Steps in system selection
1) Reviewing organizational needs 2) Evaluating current systems 3) Defining budget requirements 4) Developing a request for proposal (RFP) 5) System evaluation and selection

8. Reviewing organizational needs
What is the mission or purpose of an organization?
What are the organizational goals or objectives?
What is the organizational structure?
What is the role of technology in service improvement?

9. What is the organizational structure?
4 levels of organizational activities:
front-line employees
lower management
middle management
upper management

10. Informational Pyramid
1.Level of summarization
2. Time span of summarization
High
Low
Upper
Management
Middle Management
Lower Management
1.Level of detail
2. Importance of current data
Front-line
Low
High

11. What is the role of technology in service improvement?
According to Leonard Berry, the important roles are:
Multiplying knowledge
Streamlining and personalizing service
Increasing reliability
Facilitating communications

12. Evaluating the current system
Grasp work and information flows
Identify problematic areas
Determine whether current systems address an organization’s most vital areas
Formulate information system objectives

13. Defining budget requirements
Determining whether an information management system purchase is worthwhile requires identification of investment costs and annual savings.
- Payback method
payback= investment / annual saving

14. Defining budget requirements
Alternative to purchasing an information management system – Leasing
open leasing
financial leasing
lease through ASP
On demand software
Software as a service

15. Developing a request for proposal
Property profile report
Constructing the RFP

16. Sample of property profile report
Section 1 type of facility Section 2 reports Section 3 desired function Section 4 work and staffing volumes Section 5 the layout of the facilities Section 6 the employees

17. Constructing the RFP Three rating approaches to evaluate RFP:
simple ranking
rating scale
weighted average
Report for Proposal should contain:
Property profile
Solicitation instructions and conditions
System specification

18. System evaluation Does it satisfy system requirement?
Software evaluation
Does it satisfy system requirement?
Does it have ability to interface with existing systems, as well as future systems planned to install?
Is it easy to operate?
Does it have software bugs or logic flaws?

19. System evaluation
Evaluation of customer support and vendor reputation.
RFP should include:
How long have you been in business? How does this compare to your competitors? Who do you feel are your four best competitors?
How many properties have you installed?
What is your financial status?
What has been your average growth in sales? What are your projections for the next five years?
Describe management. Who are your key personnel? What has been their length of employment?
Who are your reference?

20. System evaluation When should the training take place?
Evaluation of training and installation
When should the training take place?
What employee will be trained?
What should be covered in the training program?
Instructional system:
- User-manual On-job-training
- Computer-based training - Web-based training

21. System evaluation Hardware evaluation
Which comes first, selection of hardware or software?
What type of computer system should be purchased?
What should the hardware configuration be?
Does the vendor understand hardware ergonomics?

22. Top 10 mistakes to avoid when selecting computer systems
Mistake 1: Not using a structured process
Mistake 2: Not defining needs beforehand
Mistake 3: Hiring consultant with bias
Mistake 4: Paying too much attentions to bells and whistles
Mistake 5: Not including key users in selection process
Mistake 6: Buying more than you need
Mistake 7: Allowing vendors to drive the process
Mistake 8: Allowing the “powers that be” to choose the system
Mistake 9: Confusing the salesperson with the product
Mistake10: Not using an RFP process.
-- IT Selection Strategies

23. System selection
Does the vendor’s contract satisfy your requirements, guarantee the results you want, and accept the responsibility for failure to perform?
What is the legal effect of the various clauses commonly found in computer contract?
Who is responsible if a system fails to work properly?
Does the contract provide for an acceptance test, the successful completion of which is a condition of payment of the final portion of the purchase price?
(refer to Figure 8-7 in textbook p297 for the listing of common contract term.)

24. System implementation
Implementation steps:
Contract signed
Order forms and supplies two to three months before installation
Prepare for hardware installation two to three months in advance
Provide vendors with the necessary information to build the database one to two months before the installation
Verify conversion date and make final arrangements for equipment installation one month in advance
Two to four weeks before installation: equipment arrives; forms and supplies are received;set up training room; install and test hardware and cables
Two weeks before installation, a training schedules should be completed.
Week of installation training begins
After night audit is completed, quest folio and city ledger balances are transferred to new system
Vendor trainers monitor system and assist employees in using the system
Vendor representative counsels coordinator on implementation problems

25. System implementation
                                                     
Conversion strategies:
Direct cutover
Parallel cutover