Hotel Industry

There are no companies nowadays that have not questioned whether outsourcing would be an asset or not in their activity. The concern for fixed costs reduction and its flexibility, resources, and revenue optimization leads us exactly to this question.

We have all noticed that hotels and accommodation properties are increasingly flexible, adapting to the increasingly distinct business realities that have invaded our country. It is now time for them to answer back to the market by basing their core activities on what is essential and a critical success factor. In this assumption, they are based on well-known business models
like Airbnb.

On the other hand, the technological requirements of the sector require large and unbearable investments for most small properties, which do not have the necessary human resources, know-how, or other resources.

Administrative services virtualization of this type of small-scale organization can be seen as a major competitive advantage.

Transforming fixed into variable costs, depending solely and exclusively on your core business financial flow. Service Outsourcing drastically reduces risk and boosts operating income in the medium term.

Outsourcing in the hotel industry can provide an economical and logistical solution for many boutiques and luxury hotels.

Compared with in-house, established and industry-recognized outsourcing service providers often have a greater infrastructure, processes, and resources for their service delivery as they specialize in their respective services.

By focusing their expertise and resources on a singular service, outsourced providers build out their deliverables for clients, providing a more comprehensive and cost-effective solution.

Top 4 advantages of outsourcing hotel services:

• Increased resources
• Optimized processes
• High level of concentrated expertise
• Less in-house administration and operational work

Frequently outsourced tourism and hospitality roles:

• Reservations Agents
• Travel Advisor/ Agents
• Air Fulfillment Specialists (back-office ticketing)
• General Customer Service
• Data Analysts and Specialized Customer Care for VIP
• Frequent flyers
• Other loyalty membership programs

Advantages of Outsourcing in the Travel & Hospitality Industry

1. Enhanced Service Quality: Every hospitality business’s top priority is service quality and guest satisfaction. Experienced outsourcing firms are familiar with industry service standards and possess the know-how necessary to deliver services exceeding customers’ expectations.

2. Core Business: Allowing an outsourcing partner to handle certain functions within your operation allows your team to focus on growing business and delivering an exceptional guest experience.

3. Risk Sharing: Outsourced staff is employed by the partner firm, not your company, which effectively shifts legal risk associated with labor out of your organization. Additionally, your overhead is reduced as the back office expense is covered in the service fee.

4. Reduced Cost: Outsourcing can help an organization cut its operational costs by as much as 50%, which provides an overall cost advantage against competing for hospitality operations.

5. Flexibility: Outsourcing allows your operation to adapt to demand and growth in real-time and with minimal inconvenience.

Of course, finding the perfect balance between overhead investments and outsourcing expense is the key. Outsourcing the right functions can be a major contributor to your hotel portfolio’s profitability but proceed with caution.

Remember – whether you decide to outsource one hotel function or all of them (including the
front desk), your hotel operations will invariably filter down to your guests and their hotel
experience. How good or bad that experience is will invariably impact the hotels’ online
reputation and long-term success.

I.T. SERVICES

IT outsourcing is the business practice of using external providers to handle information technology functions, i.e. software development, infrastructure solutions, software support. Popular reasons to outsource are access to better skills, price to quality ratio, ease of upscaling. Companies also often outsource data storage because it is cheaper to contract a third party than to buy and maintain their own data storage devices and facilities.

By outsourcing your company’s IT tasks, you can cut down on operating costs and allocate time and resources to more productive matters in-house. Companies outsource IT to have vital computing tasks performed by the most skilled, qualified hands.

Top 10 Reasons to Outsource your IT Services

1. Massive Savings

IT personnel command high pay due to the intricacy and rarity of their skill set. For SMBs, the costs of retaining an IT staff can be prohibitive. With outsourced IT, your company can avoid the costs of retaining an in-house IT staff and allocate more money toward expanding the business. Companies that handle IT in-house are often saddled financially and time-wise by the tasks involved with computing. All that time and money spent on research and implementation in the computing area could instead be reserved for the core strengths of your company. Then, in turn, you can pass these savings to your customers in the form of lower-priced products and memberships.

2. Predictable Budgeting

Likewise, the amount of money that could be swallowed up in unforeseen computing problems is a troubling concern. Once you decide to outsource your company’s IT to an MSP, you’ll always know what you will be paying month-to-month for maximum IT functionality and security. If your computing system is small and simple, you can pay for the minimal necessities of IT and scale up as your system arsenal grows in proportion to your business. You can scale back and pay for what you need depending on seasonal trends and how they impact your computing needs.

3. All-Encompassing Expertise

Despite their wide-ranging skills, most IT staffers do have their limitations. Occasionally, an issue is liable to arise that could leave a given IT tech pro confounded. When you outsource your IT, your in-house computing maintenance needs are not restricted to the skills of whoever you may have on staff. With an MSP, your computing needs are covered on all fronts.

4. Reliable Technicians

The time it takes to train IT, applicants, on the details of your company’s computing infrastructure can drain your business of resources you could use in other areas. This can be especially draining if IT staff come and go, and the skills of those who do apply run the gamut. With an MSP, you don’t have to reserve time for in-house training or worry about changeovers in personnel and quality among an IT staff.

5. Qualified Service

For most SMBs, IT issues are a secondary or tertiary area of knowledge. Unless your business is directly involved in the IT industry, how can you really gauge the skill level of an IT applicant, let alone train that individual on the ins and outs of your in-house computing system? When you outsource IT tasks to an MSP, you never have to be distracted by these confusing questions. Some of the world’s largest corporations keep their IT departments in-house simply because they have the money to hire the best talent in the field. The majority of SMBs, on the other hand, lack the resources to hire top-level IT talent. With IT outsourcing, the playing field is leveled because MSPs are staffed with the caliber of talent demanded by big companies. Best of all, MSPs offer top-of-the-line expertise at rates affordable to SMBs.

6. Active IT Experience

In the world of computing, new issues and challenges emerge every day. An isolated IT employee who has spent years in the same office will typically have a knowledge span limited to the problems known to that company. By contrast, the staff at an MSP will be experienced in a much wider range of computing issues, having serviced companies across the private and government sectors. MSPs take IT extremely seriously and are on-the-ball nonstop regarding all matters pertaining to the field. When you outsource to an MSP, your company receives IT service with utmost discipline.

7. Maximize Productivity

When IT responsibilities are outsourced to an MSP, your in-house staff can focus on the more pressing day-to-day concerns of business. Even if you have local IT personnel, an MSP can handle the heavy lifting and allow your computing staff to focus on more immediate concerns, free of maintenance troubles. In-house productivity becomes far more efficient and streamlined. With an MSP at your service, your team can focus on their core strengths and leave IT tasks to qualified, off-site personnel whose own core strengths cover the full range of IT-related issues.

8. Immediate Implementation

Whenever your company needs to have a program implemented, an MSB can perform the task instantly and have the whole thing up and running with network-wide compatibility. If you keep these tasks in-house, the steps that involve program implementation and network adaptability could leave your operations in limbo for weeks on end. With outsourced IT, you don’t have to pause your regular operations waiting for implementations.

9. Improved Customer Service

An MSP works behind the scenes from an external location to serve you on an ongoing basis. As this is happening, your business could regularly witness improved customer satisfaction thanks to the virtual elimination of service interruptions and downtime. With outsourced IT, your company will rarely, if ever, be beset with problems such as downed customer-support lines and unresponsive online sales portals.

10. Reduce Risk

When you have an MSP working behind the scenes on your side, you virtually eliminate the possibility of downtime or cyber-attacks. The problems that could set a company back and damage its reputation, such as long periods of website inoperability or breaches of credit card information, are taken off the table when you outsource IT to third-party specialists. Some of the more troubling aspects of computing technology involve compliance issues and changing laws and regulations at the national and international levels. Part of the job for an MSP is to keep on top of these developments to ensure that you are always in compliance.

Without complicating or confusing you too much, take a look at a list of the most common IT outsourcing services for your business:

Remote Monitoring: The hiring of third-party businesses or consultants to provide a variety of information technology roles needed for your business.

Technical Support: Technical support is a business, department, provider, or staff which offers help with managing computer technology. Technical support can be in many forms, including desktop, application, mobile, networking, hosting, website, and IT security. Many businesses build an in-house team of experts to handle IT support for their company in these areas. By identifying the right outsourcing vendors, you can off-load these duties to take advantage of the cost savings with minimal capital outlay. This is especially true for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that are managing growth. Also, outsourcing IT allows a business to tap into more substantial business technology resources and expertise while staying focused on their core business objectives.

Training: Not taking the time to train employees on the technical aspects of your business is a huge mistake many companies make. IT outsourcing professionals can train you and your employees on IT best practices because of their experience and expertise in the industry. Security, Virus Protection, Data Backup, And Recovery: Data loss, accidental or by theft, is one of the most significant concerns for businesses. IT outsourcing services offer complete protection with a secure firewall, servers, malware, and virus protection. Intensive data security service stops thieves, hackers, and criminals in their tracks. Proactive security and 24/7 monitoring of your network help eliminate attempted cyber-hacks from happening, as well as anti-virus patches and other software updates to be done quickly. Business Continuity: Business continuity is the ability to continue to deliver services and products at a minimally predefined service level after a business disruption (natural or human-
made disaster.)

Disaster Recovery: Every business should have a disaster recovery plan so that in case there is a major system outage or issue. A little preparedness can go a long way. Each and every employee should know their support role to get back up and running as quickly as possible.

Technology road mapping and planning: With the help of an IT outsourcing services team, you can create technology plans to future-proof your business. Make sure to keep a focus on your business goals with the technology you’re currently using and how you plan to grow with new technology as it emerges.

Virtual CIO (vCIO): A vCIO, also known as a Virtual CIO (Chief Information Officer). The vCIO may be a consultant, third-party, or business that offers a service (part-time person) to fulfill the role as a current CIO. This service helps businesses that can’t afford the salary and benefits for a full-time executive. A vCIO usually works remotely and provides support in developing a technology roadmap, review, and maintenance of IT infrastructure, vendor management, new technology, and recommendations.

Helpdesk: An IT outsourcing helpdesk troubleshoots your IT issues as they occur and can help boost your business. A Helpdesk can simplify management, reduce costs, increase productivity, provide you with tracking and reporting, and the availability to communicate with you as needed. Application and Database Development: The more up-to-date your software and computer applications are, the easier your life is going to be. An IT outsourcing service can provide you with the right software applications to ensure your business is using the most updated technology. It can also develop new software specific to your business needs and job duties.

Network Management: As your business grows, your network grows. IT outsourcing services help manage the maintenance, security, downtime, productivity, and costs of the technology at your business.