The world today moves fast. Really fast. Technology is always updating, innovating, and adapting to the challenges we face every day. It is hard to keep up, and often we find ourselves wondering where the time went. In their struggle with the constant changes, 90’s kids claim things that only they will remember, seniors complain about how complicated their remote is, and the rest of us do the best we can to learn how to use the newest thing. Though keeping up is hard, we all manage to do it, because we have to. Hotels that best implement new technology are rewarded, and all would do well to take their lead.
There is more to staying modern than just a connection to the internet. In truth, staying modern involves constantly adapting to the current thing. New technology can be tough to learn, but if you refuse to learn or change you will be left in the dust. Blockbuster used to rule weekends in the United States, but their inability to adapt to the changing market has left them with just one store left. Hospitality is unlikely to change as drastically as the movie rental business did, but the principle remains the same. Those who adapt first are rewarded, and those who are reluctant to change will lose to their competition until they adapt.
Though there is more to keeping your hotel modern than Wi-Fi, it illustrates our next point. Wi-Fi has basically become the most important thing in the functionality of our lives. Whether for school, work, or simple entertainment, a connection to the internet is a necessity. A bad connection is not just annoying, it can prevent you from meeting important deadlines. A bad connection can also be the reason a guest won’t come back to your hotel. In your attempts to stay modern, don’t do anything halfway. If you are going to do something, do it well. Have a good connection, learn the newest thing, and learn it well.
All of this new technology can teach a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, sometimes expertise in the old can feel wasted. What is perhaps more important than learning the new thing, is learning how to learn. If you know how to learn, you will be better at adapting to the changing world. You can stay at the head of the pack because you can learn, and you can learn quickly. So, stay on top of things and learn how to learn. You don’t want to end up like Blockbuster.
