Travel and Hospitality
How outsourcing can transform guest experiences in the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is witnessing a surge in opportunities. However, it is also compelled to tackle the ever-increasing challenges caused by rapidly evolving business landscapes and competition. The present scenario may seem predisposed to rising uncertainty. On the one hand, demand for international travel is constantly shifting. On the other, consumer expectations necessitate constant innovation, adding layers of complexity that hospitality businesses must learn to overcome.
Outsourcing services for the hospitality industry have emerged as a critical enabler for organisations to optimise operations, transform guest experience, and sharpen their competitive edge.
Infosys BPM offers smart hospitality solutions by leveraging advanced technologies and industry expertise. These outsourced solutions for the hospitality industry streamline operations, improve efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. Infosys BPM plans and deploys the right tools and support for managing complex financial processes, optimising procurement, or safeguarding against fraud.
Business process outsourcing: A strategic lever
The hospitality industry is one driven by operational precision, constant modernisation, and a drive for service excellence. Without consistent and steady improvements, players are at risk of increasing redundancies and becoming irrelevant. However, outsourcing services have, time and time again, been an effective bulwark against shifting tides, shaping the industry’s growth.
Today, outsourcing in the hospitality industry is viewed as an auxiliary tool to align operational frameworks with institutional objectives. The objective is to ensure that resources are consistently directed towards improving the bottom line while delivering experiences aligned with customer expectations.
Areas of opportunity
Outsourcing in the hospitality industry is a time-tested response to shifting market sentiments for businesses. It has allowed hospitality businesses the room to transform how guests interact with them and experience their services.
Contact centre operations
Today, advanced business process outsourcing allows businesses to deliver round-the-clock service availability, regardless of their customer’s location or preferred channel of communication. Outsourcing customer engagement helps hospitality businesses improve accessibility and offers a scalable solution to the increasing volume of interactions. Outsourcing service providers seamlessly adopt institutional quality standards, ensuring the customer receives a consistent brand experience from the very first interaction.
Technology management
The hospitality industry has come a long way from relying solely on ledger entries to maintain business processes. Today, technology is the way-maker for operational and service excellence, and it demands robust and resilient IT frameworks. Outsourcing IT functions like network security, cloud migration, IoT integration, etc., helps organisations leverage new technologies that improve customer engagement, security, and experience.
Revenue management
Revenue management and data analytics are key components to business success in the hospitality industry. These processes mandate a zero margin of error and thorough subject matter expertise due to their complex nature. While most companies may, to some extent, retain the internal capacity to manage basic cash flow operations, a vast majority outsource revenue management due to the lack of scalability and for a more nuanced approach to accommodate market adjustments. As a result, hospitality companies can maintain a competitive pricing structure, improving the overall value offered to customers.
Core competencies
Seasoned experts would agree that the hospitality industry is ruthless and unforgiving, especially to the jack of all. An organisation that spreads itself too thin is bound to be distracted from developing its core competencies and will eventually compromise on quality and experience.
Outsourcing services help by mitigating operational complexities caused by the over-utilisation of internal resources, such that the organisation retains the bandwidth to invest in its core competencies while the other shoulders growth.
The business impact of outsourcing in hospitality
Outsourcing offers far-reaching measurable impact that extends beyond cost efficiency. Let’s take a closer look at the business impact of externalising operations processes.
Operational agility
Outsourcing allows the flexibility to regulate and manage resources in response to shifting market dynamics. For example, scaling guest services during peak travel seasons ensures no compromise on service quality. Furthermore, as the industry grows increasingly global, outsourcing businesses offer localised customer support to cater to a diverse customer profile, lengthening the client lifecycle.
Financial health
By reallocating fixed costs to variable outsourcing contracts, hospitality businesses can improve financial predictability. Outsourcing finance and accounting functions can streamline cost management, ensure compliance, and plug leakages.
Accelerated innovation
Outsourcing partners often act as innovation hubs, introducing cutting-edge tools such as AI-driven personalisation engines and blockchain-secured payment systems, IoT-enabled maintenance systems, etc. This not only drives rapid adoption of innovative technology but also highlights the businesses’ interest in improving customer experience and engagement.
Enhanced brand equity
By outsourcing non-core functions, hospitality businesses can channel their resources into strengthening guest-centric initiatives, directly impacting customer loyalty and brand value.
Outsourcing in hospitality industry is essential for businesses that want to scale in an increasingly competitive and tech-driven market. By focusing on operational excellence, scalability, and guest-centric innovation, outsourcing services enable hospitality leaders to align business objectives with evolving market demands.
