Competitive Advantages of the Adoption and Use of Technological Systems in Hospitality Marketing: The Case Study of Croatia

Abstract

Variable economic conditions, new forms of customer buying behavior and in particular new technology is likely to cause the emergence of new or growing existing hospitality markets. In developed European economies, all the more attention is paid to studying the role of new technologies in the field of hospitality marketing. Research focus will be directed towards the usage of technological systems in marketing of hospitality. Internet, as one of the most significant technological phenomena of our time, provides hotel managers completely new competitive opportunities, of which the most significant opportunity to provide immediate and always open access to information throughout the world. According to latest researches, Croatian hotel managers usually use these technological systems: Own web site, System to access the Internet, Points of sale (POS), System of calculating the telephone calls, Local area network (LAN), Uniform system of accounts for lodging Industry (USALI), Intranet system, Central reservation system (CRS), Marketing information system (MIS) and. Object management system (PMS). Modern hotel managers want to achieve automation of marketing strategies and interactive communication with potential guests. However, certain hotels are still not developed a marketing strategy through the Internet pages. Adjustment trends must be timely and possible, so it is necessary to intensify investment in that direction. As a result, it is assumed that the possibility of information and purchase via the Internet to stimulate the future purchase of tourists and change their previous spending habits. To make hotel companies improve their e-marketing strategy, the research shows insufficient usage of the following Web 2.0 tools in Croatian hospitality market: Instant Messaging, Internet Relay Chat, Internet Forums, Social Network Services, Social Guides, Social Bookmarking, Social Reputation Network, Web logs, Social Citations, Peer-to-peer Social Networks, Virtual Presence, Virtual Worlds & Massively Multiplayer Online Games, VOIP -- Internet Telephony and Mobile Internet. Establishing relationships and technological innovations significantly affect the shortening of business cycles and thus the importance of creating competitive advantages in the hospitality industry of Croatia.