Aeijaz Sodawala, CEO, eZee Technosys, talks to BW Hotelier about the transformative role that technology has played during the pandemic and the innovations brought about by the company.

Tell us a little about your market penetration in South Asia in terms of number of customers, revenue and profit?

Aeijaz Sodawala: In South Asia, we are predominant in Malaysia. Out of 22000+ global customers, 12000+ are nestling in South Asia, contributing significantly to our revenue and profit. 

Over the last two decades, South Asia has become a global tourist hotspot, thanks to its scenic locations and cultural diversity. As the industry recovers from the severe impacts of the pandemic, we strive to empower South Asian hospitality businesses with our cutting-edge hospitality technology ecosystem. Besides our stronghold in India, Malaysia and other countries, we plan to empower small to mid-sized hotels across the globe through our experience and awareness. We wish to extend our reach to other continents where the hospitality businesses are keen on upscaling their processes. 

What according to you is the hotel industry’s perception of automation?

AS: Mid-size hotels and other budget hospitality properties were not particularly striving for automation until last year. They were hesitant to adopt technology beyond necessity. So, until now, only the luxury properties were utilising technology in the best way possible. However, the Covid-19 pandemic altered the hospitality industry’s scenario entirely. Contactless services became a new normal in conducting hospitality businesses, and the demand changed drastically. Today, hotels are trying new ways to upscale on-premise customer experience along with exceptional attention to their health security. Automation in operation through technology has empowered the hospitality industry to adapt to the unprecedented situation, overriding its perception of automation. Thus, going digital has been transformed from being a luxury to a necessity in the present times.

Can you tell us more about the long-term return on investment of digitisation?

AS: At eZee, we shifted our attention to developing digitised services way before the pandemic. Our goal was diverse for digitisation. Covid-19 pandemic underlined the necessity and possibility of digitised hospitality. Today, with touch-free service as the new normal, eZee offers a series of software and services, working exceptionally, precisely delivering the most crucial of demands. For instance, we launched eZee Panorama digitally to address the ever grown needs of websites for hotels and restaurants. Another notable example is the self-service guest portal which is a part of Hotel PMS. It lets the guest check in, stay, check out without any physical interaction. 

The ROI is guest safety, guest engagement, brand reputation, unique guest experience and touch-free hospitality. The ROI of digitisation for both hospitality technology providers and consumers is exceptional. It’s the digitisation that has helped hospitality survive the pandemic and develop confidence in travellers. With the ever-evolving Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning (ML), and robotics invasion in the sector, the standards of hospitality have been set high. Digitisation has further helped properties to enable automation in interlinked day-to-day operations. Moreover, its role in performing multidimensional data analysis on user data has helped hoteliers in extracting user behaviour and their choices. And that is the most significant return on investment of digitisation. 

How the Covid-19 pandemic impacted eZee Technosys? Has there been an increase in the demand for automation? Are there any innovations you have brought in as a result of the pandemic? 

AS: At eZee, we dealt with the situation in the best way possible through a positive mindset and our technological prowess. We worked together with the motivation to help our customers in these challenging times. Indeed! The demand for automation naturally surged upwards. We were ready to transform our ideas into digitised reality, and the pandemic served us as a chance to fulfil the distinct demands and need for the same. Innovation has been the backbone of eZee. It has consistently driven us to perfection. Contactless Hotel Services and Hotel Revenue and Marketing Management Services are the most eminent innovations launched digitally by eZee Technosys. Apart from our exceptional lineup of products, we can now equip our customers with these ingenious services. For eZee, customer feedback and expectations are fundamental factors to focus on when it comes to delivering exceptional user experience and satisfaction. We draw inspiration from our customer experiences and outcomes of periodic market analysis to stay ahead of the curve. 

Briefly, what are the hotel technologies offered by eZee Technosys?

AS: Since our foundation in 2006, we have persistently been working to develop and improve our offerings to facilitate ease of operation for lodging units. Our software solutions include:

1. eZee Absolute: An on-cloud PMS that automates front-office, bookings, accounting, guest check-in/check-out, and other necessary day-to-day hotel operations.
2. eZee Frontdesk: An on-premise PMS that manages reservations, group booking, housekeeping, and much more.
3. eZee Reservation: It is an online hotel booking engine that helps hotels acquire commission-free direct bookings from their website.
4. eZee Centrix: This channel management system automates a hotel's entire inventory distribution and rate management on OTAs and other connected channels.
5. eZee Optimus: An Online Restaurant POS that manages on-site and online orders.
6. eZee BurrP!: A comprehensive on-premise Restaurant POS that seamlessly manages orders, billing, payments and more for eateries.
7. eZee Panorama: A hotel and restaurant website builder solution with additional features like hosting, SSL certificate, dedicated web designer, and more.
8. Critique - Online Review Management Software: This software helps you collect, manage and respond to reviews from online platforms like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking.com and others.
9. Revenue and Marketing Management Services: With property assessment, demand forecast, and other parameters to aim at visibility optimisation, experts maximise revenue and performance of the property.

What innovative suggestions would you like to give the hoteliers on how to keep business afloat and survive the pandemic-led recession?

AS: The adoption of contactless technology is one of the crucial innovations I would like to suggest to the hoteliers in the current situation. It is the need of the hour and capable of transforming their business into a flourishing one to combat the loss caused via pandemic-led recession. Automated operations through the highest degree of technological involvement are the crucial way for hoteliers to stay competitive and gain guest confidence. More personalised options, compliance to safety and health protocols and a digitised approach will help them in keeping the businesses afloat, as it is what the present-day hotel customers seek.

It might be taxing for hoteliers to overlook cloud technology, which has the highest potential to take over the industry in coming years. This shift may seem challenging at first, however switching to it now will make them stay up to date with the pace of the industry. The future of the hospitality industry needs an enforced shift to digitisation and adopting innovative ways will only make hotel businesses flourish with changing times.