ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the implications of digital technology advancements, digital transformation, and digital business for the hospitality and leisure industry and for the practice of hospitality and leisure management. It explains the role that hospitality managers can play in leveraging digital technology advancements to enable their organizations to simultaneously pursue efficiency, guest experience, adaptability, and agility so as to gain a competitive edge today and also to guard against disruption tomorrow. The book discusses the nature of digital technology advancements and how they drive digital disruption, the threats and opportunities of digital disruption, and the digital business and digital transformation imperatives. It also discusses how hospitality and leisure organizations can leverage digital technologies to thrive in the digital era and what roles this requires hospitality and leisure managers to play.
