Every hotel needs its own IT helpdesk, whether it be internal, outsourced, or even both. To support the systems and applications that the hotel staff use daily and are dependent on, a helpdesk can act as a one-stop source for all of your hotel’s IT needs. Moreover, with new technologies disrupting the industry, it’s imperative that your IT helpdesk is both effective and efficient at keeping pace with industry demands as well as your competitors.
Unfortunately, some hotels still suffer from inadequate IT helpdesk management. While software and hardware manufacturers should provide excellent customer service to their hotel clients, many often don’t. Here are 4 signs that you need to rethink your existing IT helpdesk service:
Slow Issue Resolution
Hotels need immediate resolution to their IT problems. Downtime lasting several hours can spell loss of revenue, especially when it affects critical systems like online reservations. Delayed action and incompetent technicians can also leave your business at risk for diminished customer satisfaction and damaged brand image.
More often than not, when dealing directly with the software manufacturer, their customer service and support may take hours to reply to your e-mails. Even phone calls are sometimes complicated by transfers to different representatives.
When it comes to an IT helpdesk, you need someone who won’t put you on hold. Ask about your potential service providers’ first-call resolution (FCR) rate to know how well they can resolve their clients’ needs the first time they call.
Reactive Management
If your IT helpdesk is not checking and verifying your hotel staff’s satisfaction with a newly installed software or hardware, you have a problem. Your IT helpdesk should take the initiative to monitor and manage proactively to nip issues in the bud, whether with user functionality or with system problems, and prevent extended downtime.
They should be able to remind and notify hotel staff when there are software updates and technology upgrades, and offer better IT solutions even when you forget to ask. It’s their job to keep you in-the-know about the latest technology that’s popular in the hospitality industry.
No Dedicated Point of Contact
When a piece of software or hardware goes down, you’re responsible for damage control on-site to make sure hotel operations face as little disruption as possible and to keep guests satisfied. You don’t want to be bogged down by calls to multiple software and hardware companies to figure out what happened and how to fix it.
That’s why it’s extremely useful to have one point of contact that can work with multiple vendors in order to simplify accountability and support. This dedicated contact can help you manage your contracts with different manufacturers and service providers and ensure that they are complying with the service-level agreements. A professional IT helpdesk can not only save you time, but also allow you to deal with more urgent issues on-site.
Non-Customisable Services
Don’t pay for services you don’t need. A good provider should be flexible and can work with you to create a customised menu of products and services to suit your specific needs, which will scale up as you grow. As digital disruption is constantly changing the already highly competitive industry landscape, this flexibility will help you to adapt quickly to gain competitive advantage.
As an IT solutions provider, Ultima Asia Technology offers frontline IT helpdesk support in multiple local languages, as well as customisable IT products and services. Our team will sit down with you to learn about your hotel or hospitality chain’s unique needs, taking into account your guests and stakeholders to tailor a solution for you.