New book by Ira Vouk
Now available! On all major platforms in 60+ countries all over the world in print and digital.
Launch partners
In partnership with Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, SDSU
What is this book about?
The hospitality technology space is a very convoluted environment that is hard for hoteliers to navigate. So, when making a decision to upgrade their tech stack and trying to select the right solutions from a dazzling mosaic of vendors, hospitality companies have had 2 options:
- Spend big bucks on consultants
- Give up
And that is because until now, there were no comprehensive resources or publications that illustrated the dynamic complexity of the hospitality tech ecosystem and translated it for everyone into 5th-grade English. Sure, there are myriad websites and diagrams (including mine, which I like the most), but there wasn’t a single source of information that one could consume to grasp the crazy world of hotel tech. So it remained a mystery for the overwhelming majority of people in our industry.
Who is it for?
This immersive manuscript was written for everyone who wants to better understand the complex realm of hospitality technology. Whether you’re a tech executive, a starry-eyed student, or a hotelier still trying to figure out what “API” stands for, I’ve got your back.
It is for any industry professional who aims to become more successful in the hospitality business: owners, operators, students, lecturers, consultants, investors, tech founders, and other employees of technology companies in travel and hospitality, including product managers, sales, marketing, and customer service teams.
So in short: this book is a must-read for everyone in the industry, regardless of the role and years of experience.
What’s in it?
The goal of this book and the supplemented diagrams is to help you make sense of the digital chaos, aiding industry professionals in gaining a clearer understanding of how our tech ecosystem functions.
I poured years of insight and observations into these pages but I made sure everything is clear and easy to understand, even for someone with next to no experience in the industry. Visualizations used throughout the book will help make complex relationships clear and easy to comprehend.
Here are the key concepts I aim to address:
- How to view our industry from a 360-degree perspective and understand key players and stakeholders. This includes an explanation of the industry’s composition, which affects technology adoption (fragmentation, stakeholders, main categories of decision-makers).
- How to easily navigate the complex layout of the hotel technology ecosystem.
- Integration dependencies and how they affect technology adoption.
- All things AI, related to travel and hospitality.
Why do I think this book will make a big impact on our industry?
Well, it’s simple. This is the first-in-the-industry publication that comprehensively describes our complex technology environment.
But to me, this isn’t just about dropping knowledge bombs; it’s about igniting a revolution.
This book aims to not just shed light on the subject but align all stakeholders, and ultimately drive innovation in our industry. It will enable hoteliers to understand how to navigate the complex world of hospitality tech and make optimal tech investment decisions. But at the same time, it will assist tech vendors in better understanding our industry, including their relationships with other players in the market, so they can be more efficient in scaling their products. Additionally, this book will play an important role in getting investors on the same page. They’re the ones who ultimately vote with their wallets, directly affecting the evolution of technology in our industry. It’s essential for them to understand how to make investment decisions that will yield optimal results and significantly improve technology adoption rates thus finally dragging our industry by its ears into the 21st century.
I truly believe this publication will help many hospitality companies learn better ways to succeed in the new Hospitality 2.0 environment. Many problems that hospitality businesses face can be overcome with the right knowledge. If you have the knowledge – you have the power to succeed.
What I describe in this book is the ecosystem that I have organized in my head over the last 20 years of being active in the industry: as a hotel operator, technology founder, lecturer and consultant, having worked with numerous technology providers and various types of hospitality companies, and having held hundreds of conversations with brilliant industry masterminds. I have successfully applied this knowledge in real business environments on many occasions. As you can tell, I have a lot to say on the subject and I’m very excited about this opportunity to share my knowledge with hospitality professionals who are interested in becoming more successful in our industry.
I hope you enjoy the read.
Best,
Ira Vouk
Diagrams referenced in the book: