A study on the use of information systems and their applications in the hotel industry: The example of 5 star hotels in Istanbul

The aim of this study is to research the increasing role of information technology in a globalized world and the extent to which the hotel industry uses this technology. It also aims to present information about the effects, usage areas and various systems of the increasingly diversifying field of communication technology in the hotel industry. This study intends to reveal the effects and shortcomings of these systems. A literature review of both Turkish and international sources was done in this study.In the first part, data obtained from sources in the areas of information technology and management information systems are used to present the characteristics, advantages and application areas of information systems. The second part includes the types of information systems used in businesses. The third section contains developments in the application areas of information systems within the hotel industry. In the fourth section, the results and findings of a survey are interpreted. In the data collection portion of the study a survey created by Çilan et al. (2006) was conducted to 40 hotels and the resulting data were analyzed and compared to the 2006 findings.The findings indicate that in comparison to 2006, the use of Marketing Information Systems, Front Office Information Systems, Housekeeping Information Systems have increased while Decision Support Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Mining are not being utilized sufficiently. Alongside this, it was found that managers do not use mangement information systems and decision support systems much in the hotel industry. The results found in light of these data indicate that the heavy use of information systems can enable hotels to gain competitive advantages, reach the end consumers quicker and carry out marketing activities. In the management of hotels, the use of management information systems facilitates quicker communication and information flow among all departments.