COUNTRY FOCUS: KUWAIT
Anita Lobo, named as IT Person of
the Year at the 15th Hotelier Middle
East Awards, talks to Intelligent CIO
about how the latest technological
trends are benefiting customers in the
hospitality sector.
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Hospitality: Transforming
to meet customer
requirements
A
nita Lobo is an award-winning
IT expert who has built a strong
reputation for creating a resilient
environment that has the capabilities to deal
with the requirements of the future as well
as the demands of current customers.
She is the Cluster Manager at the Crowne
Plaza and Holiday Inn, one of Kuwait’s
most-popular destinations, part of the
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) which
employs 10,000 people worldwide and
operates 5,800 hotels.
Lobo’s contribution to technology has not
gone unnoticed. At the 15th Hotelier Middle
East Awards she was named IT Person of
the Year in recognition of her work in the
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INTELLIGENTCIO
hospitality sector and her ability to utilise new
technology for the benefit of hotel guests.
In an exclusive interview with Intelligent
CIO, she discusses how current IT trends
are impacting on the hospitality sector as
it strives to adopt to the ever-changing
demands of customers.
What IT trends are currently
influencing the hospitality sector?
What technologies are hotel
operators looking at?
Our industry is extremely competitive. It is
imperative to keep up with the latest trends,
technological or otherwise, to deliver an
excellent customer experience.
I think every industry is catering to the
Millennials and so is ours. Though the
current majority of our guests today are
tech-savvy travellers, this demographic
group are the early adopters of technology,
who want personalised interactions, fast
communication with easy check-in and
great experience.
Social media channels are a key factor in
this group choosing a hotel. There is no
doubt that a millennial that has had a
great experience at a hotel, would in return
promote a business on these channels.
One of the interesting phrases that has
come up associated with the Millennials is
the ‘Bleisure’ traveller, wherein a traveller
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