Enable your guests to pay on the move with mobile POS systems. Enable your guests to pay on the move with mobile POS systems.

The Pitfalls of Emerging Technologies
POS technology is an exciting and fast-moving area, but hoteliers should remain cautious about investing significant funds into any emerging technology.

A thorough financial assessment will soon reveal whether a new POS system could streamline your operations and free up valuable resources in other areas of the hotel.

“Technology is the means to an end; it is not an end in itself,” remarked Chandrasekar.

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“When it comes to newer technologies, it seems that every company wants to push it down the customers’ throat, but it has been observed that newer technologies have higher acquisition costs and they also take a longer time to achieve their return on investment.

“It is therefore prudent to fully understand the TCO and ROI before deciding to invest in any new POS technology.”

With a plethora of new developments in POS technology expected in the next few years, hoteliers may also feel the pressure to upgrade their existing provision.

For some brands reaching out to the iPhone generation, such an investment may be more than justified, but operators should closely examine their motivations and understand their business requirements in advance.

Hoteliers should also be mindful that, due to the pervasive nature of POS technology in a hotel context, an upgrade could trigger a number of unexpected costs, as Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek’s director of IT, Asif Minhas concluded.

“When it comes to upgrading POS technology, hoteliers should closely examine what additional functionality and features the upgrade will contribute. Is the existing hardware compatible with the upgrade? Can the historical data be easily migrated?

Have the staff training needs been identified and planned for for the upgraded system? Will it achieve its predicted ROI, either financially or operationally?

In the current economic climate, it’s important to identify whether the proposed POS upgrade is nothing more that a handful of new features or an absolute necessity.