Blog #2: The Sky is the Limit

Link to Article: http://www.htmagazine.com/HT/archive/0605/0605_2.shtml

Wireless property management systems (POS) are becoming more and more prevalent throughout the hospitality industry today.

In my article, “The Sky is the Limit,” George Koroneos informs the reader that the possibilities with wireless technology in the hospitality industry currently seems endless. The benefits are many when it comes to wireless technology, and while the drawback may be serious, they are few.
Wireless technology in the hospitality industry today saves time as well as improves critical service and efficiency. It also allows service to be provided in areas where service would otherwise not exist. For example, waiters and waitresses are able to take orders on hand held ordering units and transmit these orders wirelessly to the kitchen.
Wireless may be used by some establishments simply because they can use nothing else.
Another benefit of wireless technology is that even during wireless downtime, credit card numbers may be held in a queue in the systems cache and later be charged when the internet if functioning again.
In one restaurant in Brazil, the Nakombi the change from paper to wireless hand held units provided cost reductions of 90 percent caused by operational mistakes and a 15 percent cost reduction in payroll. This faster service ended up increasing the restaurant's turnover by 20 percent.
I think that wireless technology is great and a huge part of the future of the hospitality industry. With the implementation of these innovative new systems, restaurateurs will begin to see changes in their revenue and turnover because their waiters and waitresses are able to work faster and more efficiently than was previously possible with the outdated pen and paper system. Servers may now cut down trips to kitchen and spend more time serving the customer and making their experience a memorable one, thereby bolstering repeat guests and creating a much larger customer base.
I foresee many restaurateurs turning to this technology in the future to stay ahead and keep their completive advantage. They need to make sure that their wireless networks are secure, however, as hackers can easily steal information such as credit card numbers from an unprotected wireless network.
One thing that I am worried about is that technology is taking the place of human employees and people them out of work. This is shown by the 15 percent cost reduction in payroll. With waiters and waitresses being more efficient and doing more business quicker than ever before, the need for many servers is lessened.