When trying to sell hotel stakeholders on the need for cloud technology, there's always the "carrot-and-stick" approach.

Incentivizing with a "carrot" is easy, because cloud provides a host of benefits, including reducing IT costs, accelerating innovation, and improving productivity – just to name a few.

And applying the proverbial stick? That's almost not necessary, because in today's marketplace, adopting cloud isn't a choice.

"It's nonnegotiable. This is where we're headed," said Scott Strickland, executive vice president and CIO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Four years ago, his company still owned and operated physical data centers; in another year, 100 percent of its workload will be in the cloud.

Strickland's opinion was resoundingly echoed by his peers from Sonesta International Hotels, Melia Hotels International, and Jumeirah Group during a CIO panel session that kicked off the second day of Oracle Hospitality Virtual Connect on Sept. 14. The three-day webinar brings together Oracle Hospitality's top executives, customers, and partners to discuss Oracle solutions' role in reinvigorating hospitality business.