The characteristics of IT investment decisions and methods used in the US lodging industry

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine and to compare the most utilized information technology (IT) investment decision methods between hotels with centrally managed IT, and hotels with locally managed IT. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were collected via a structured questionnaire from hotel managers in the USA. Findings – The key findings of the research are that evaluation activities for hospitality IT investments have not been performed widely and consistently. Although sophisticated evaluation methods have been developed over the years, they do not appear to have provided a satisfactory answer to improve IT decision‐making practice. In this study, significant differences were found in how IT investments are evaluated in hotels with centrally managed IT as compared to hotels with locally managed IT. The hotels with centrally managed IT tend to use more financial and non‐financial evaluation methods since all investments are expected to show a positive return on investment. Practical implications – The research findings highlight the importance of the use of IT investment evaluation techniques in hotels and the major differences between hotels with centrally and locally managed IT. Originality/value – The literature on IT investment evaluation methods in the lodging industry is limited. Being one of the first studies in this area, these research findings are particularly valuable for practitioners and researchers.