The digitization of business brought with it a diversity of offers that would be impossible without the new information and communication technologies. The emergence of services as popular as streaming, that is, the transmission of video and sound via the Internet; the development of vehicle rental and accommodation platforms, among others, represent important challenges for traditional commerce.
We are facing industry 4.0 and everything indicates that the speed with which the modes of production are transformed will be faster each time. The digital economy is an essential part of human life, from financial services to food ordering and telemedicine services. Artificial intelligence is just a consequence of the development of technology on a scale unimaginable a few years ago.
Tourism, an activity that was traditionally contracted through travel agencies or by calling hotels directly, today faces the development of platforms that successfully compete in the offer of accommodation. It is, therefore, a new reality that marks a line in time. Before it was done in one way and now it is in another. The development of Airbnb, for example, has forced the traditional hotel industry to rethink its business model, forcing it to be more competitive and creative.
Many times tourists prefer to live an experience closer to the communities, which is why they prefer to rent an apartment or room, even if this implies having to prepare their own food or take care of some daily tasks that do not represent any concern if the lodging is in a resort. Living the experience is the added value that many tourists are looking for today.
It is no secret to anyone that platforms like Airbnb represent real competition for hotels. The options in sight, because it is already happening more frequently, is to join or ride the wave so as not to succumb.
The traditional hotel industry, as it has been known for more than 200 years, has had to adapt to changing times. Since you have the possibility of accessing online reservation platforms, with the possibility of comparing prices, hotels are faced with something that previously went unnoticed: the evaluation or rating of users.
Undoubtedly, the new economy, the one that exists in the digital world, has forced hotels to implement drastic changes to adapt to the demands.
Luckily, Dominican tourism has understood it.