Xylem Hotel is a competitive resort that serves locals and international visitors touring the country for various reasons. The hotel offers its clients various services, including accommodation, catering services, conferences, car rental, guided tours, gym, flower delivery, laundry, event hosting, and other essential hospitality services. The resort has a website that enables clients to book their spaces and communicate with the hotel management about the services they wish to receive. Additionally, the website indicates the range of services that the hotel offers and their cost. The hotel has a capacity of a maximum of 500 guests and is served by more than 100 employees. The hotel’s organizational structure is divided into five major departments: accommodation, human resource, catering, finance, and marketing. These departments are headed by the department managers who assign duties to employees and supervise how these duties are discharged to the clients’ satisfaction.
Current Problem
One of the significant problems affecting Xylem Hotel is the lack of a secure payment system. The hotel launched an online payment system to enable guests to pay for their bookings on time without necessarily visiting the hotel. The online payment system increased hotel bookings by 40%, from 50 to 70 bookings per day. However, this payment system has proved difficult for the hotel’s finance department to trace the transactions and verify the authenticity of the payments. The hotel started to suffer huge losses despite experiencing a high number of daily reservations. An internal audit established that some of the payments were not genuine due to the weak security of the payment system that allowed rogue clients to manipulate the system and generate fake receipts without paying. The audit report indicated that the hotel lost at least $400 per month to fraudsters.
After the persistent failure of the online payment system, the management of the hotel exterminated it and resorted to using a physical payment system. This system allows the guests to book their rooms online but make payment at the hotel’s finance department, where they are issued with an original receipt. However, despite being a secure payment method, it is slow and incontinent to many customers. As a result, the hotel has lost many customers to its rivals, especially international guests who find it easier to pay online. Besides, the hotel ratings have been significantly reduced due to clients’ dissatisfaction. The hotel experienced a 50% decline in online bookings resulting in 35 reservations a day down from 70. Additionally, the physical payment system challenges the hotel’s finance department to trace effectively and accurately record the transactions. Human error is a significant challenge that has led to inaccurate financial records that have made the hotel vulnerable to problems such as embezzlement and misuse of funds by the management.
Software Solution
Enhancing data security and improving financial record-keeping are the two major solutions that Xylem Hotel requires to address its problems. There is various software that can be employed to provide these solutions effectively. The ideal software for Xylem Hotel’s problems includes Blockchain technology and QuickBooks software. Blockchain technology is one of the most secure platforms that employ cryptography and encryption to protect data from being tampered with. This technology is essential in maintaining data authenticity, making it difficult for hackers to manipulate a website. Data in Blockchain is designed into blocks that contain transactions, thus forming a cryptographic chain. This chain allows the management of an organization to validate and verify the transactions, thus preventing fraud.
Therefore, integrating Blockchain technology into online payment enhances the security of the financial operations by preventing the fraudsters from tampering with the system to generate fake receipts. Additionally, Blockchain technology can be essential in securing the online payment system by allowing the integration of Blockchain payment software such as the Mastercard Blockchain (Pal et al.). This software allows the company to safely transact with its clients locally and internationally, making it difficult for third parties to interfere with the payment system. Blockchain data such as transactions can be exported into Microsoft Excel for storage and future references, which improves the hotel’s financial records and is essential for financial analysis and decision making.
There are various types of Blockchain technology, including public and private Blockchain technology. Many private entities, such as hotels, tend to employ the private Blockchain, which gives them control over the platform and enables them to permit the clients who want to join it. The cost of operating a private Blockchain technology is an averagely of $1500 a month, depending on the service provider (Pal et al.). The service provider provides the technical support of Blockchain technology, referred to as Blockchain-as-a-Service. Several service providers have unique support contacts, which the organization must request to address future concerns.
The second software that the hotel can employ to address the other problem of poor financial analysis is QuickBooks software. This software contains the most important financial management tools, including accounting, budgeting, payment processing, invoicing, inventory, and bank account tracking. The software works by automating financial operations and updating the transactions into the relevant books of account, thus reducing human involvement, which tends to cause errors (Fordham et al.). Additionally, the software effectively manages the number of incoming and outgoing clients to reduce confusion and congestion that can interfere with normal operations. This software allows data importation from other platforms and enables data extraction to Excel for record-keeping (Fordham et al.). In the case of Xylem, QuickBooks software will be essential in managing the problem of inaccurate financial records and difficulty in tracing financial transactions.
Accurate financial records will enable the management to make the right financial decisions and promote financial transparency, making it challenging to embezzle funds. Additionally, the financial data of the hotel will enable the management to identify the areas that are dragging the hotel behind and make the necessary adjustments. Installing and operating QuickBooks ranges on the type of services that the organization engages in. However, for most QuickBooks’ vital services, the average operating cost per month is $1000 (Fordham et al.). The operating cost can increase if the organization employs software in most of its vital operations or can be lower when the financial analysis is supplemented by other software. QuickBooks software has several technical support contacts that connect it to their clients and enable the software management to address the concerns of their clients.
Recommendation
Based on the description of Blockchain technology and QuickBooks software, I would recommend Xylem Hotel to choose the first technology because it is more secure. Additionally, Blockchain technology is ideal for supporting online payment systems necessary for attracting international guests. Although it is more expensive than the QuickBooks, its security features are guaranteed, making it difficult to manipulate the system. A secure payment system and effective financial record keeping will enable the hotel to manage its finances accurately, thus improving its financial decisions. This approach will increase the daily bookings and make Xylem Hotel competitive in the hospitality industry.
Works Cited
Pal, Abhinav et al. “Blockchain Technology in Financial Services: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.”Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing vol. 14, no. 1, 2021, pp. 61-80.
Fordham, David R., and Carol W. Hamilton. “Accounting Information Technology in Small Businesses: An Inquiry.”Journal of Information Systems vol. 33, no. 2, 2019, pp. 63-75.