Information Technologies in Hospitality Businesses: The case study of La Plagne, France

摘要

Information Technology prevails the development of contemporary management and marketing transforming the best business practices and redefining the competitive advantage of each actor in the economy. In the tourism and hospitality industries information technology been under-utilised due to a wide range of reasons. The majority of the industry is subjected to an invvitable competitive disadvantage which may results on the one hand in the expanison of multinational corporations which have boththe resources and the financial backing for investing in technology, and on the other hand in the development of technology oriented enterprise which wourld serve or even replace members of the tourism industry and achieve competitive advantages withn the digital ecnomy context. This paper concentrates on ITs penetration in the hospitality organisations in the Alpine reosrt of La Plagne, France. Hospitality is provided by hotels, self-catering accommodation and tourist residence and there is a high presence by leading French Companies which operate horizontally integrated facilities throughout the country. Although the presence of ITs at the moment is limited, hoteliers appreciate the technological developments and gradually invest towards the improvement of their system. The paper examines the level of technological penetration by reporting on the existing facilities as well as analysing the future plans for technology incorporation. in particular it highlights that attitudes and beliefs of decision makers are critical for ITs adaptation and that education and training are crucial for the future competitiveness of hospitality organisation.