The Productivity Paradox of Hotel-Industry Technology

Despite immense investment by hotel operators in information technology, evidence of improved productivity is scant, leading to discussion of a "productivity paradox." Part of the problem with the analysis of productivity in the service sector as a whole and in hotels in particular is how to measure productivity. For this study, the authors established a number of possible productivity benchmarks, such as speed of check-ins, reservations per labor hour, and rooms cleaned per housekeeping hour. Just nine hotel chains responded to the survey, but those chains represent some 4,000 hotel properties. No single measurement or set of measurements was used by the nine respondents. The study also assessed the respondents' expectations for productivity improvements and whether those expectations were fulfilled. Ironically, respondents did not always expect productivity improvements from the technology installation and were sometimes pleasantly surprised. The authors suggest that productivity may not always be the motivating factor for installing information technology. Instead, hoteliers are installing technology to improve the guest experience.