MAY 12 - JUNE 1, 2004
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Major advances in inter-vendor cooperation and systems integration on show at HITEC
If you're reading this you probably don't need much encouragement from me, but in any event I strongly urge anyone with any interest in getting the best from their hospitality technology to go to HITEC in Dallas, June 22-24 (www.hitec.org). There's no better place to get an overview of new developments, to talk to your vendors, see what their competitors are developing and network with your peers.
While there are bound to be any number of new systems and enhancements shown for the first time on the exhibition floor, one significant aspect absolutely worth checking into this year is the number of vendors demonstrating a whole new level of cooperation and inter-system integration. Several key vendors have been working on this for some time, with encouragement from the HTNG and OTA initiatives, and the fruits of their efforts to provide better multi-vendor solutions for their clients will be on display at many booths, including that of Microsoft, making a welcome return to the show.
This really is significant. New development and integration tools from Microsoft and others certainly make it easier for systems to exchange data with more flexibility and in more detail than ever before. But without the willingness of rival vendors to work together to make the process easier and more valuable to their mutual clients this promise wouldn't be even half as well realized. Come and see what's been happening, and encourage the vendors to do more of it.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Bridget Oliva promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing at MSI
- Joan Panagos joins Merlot to lead U.S. channel partner program
- David Falter hired by Cendant Travel as President of Travelport Corporate Solutions
- Daryl Raiford hired by Cendant Travel as CFO and EVP, Finance & Administration
- Jeffrey Stephen Parker named HFTP's 2004 CHTP of the Year
- Brian Cunningham joins HIS as Director, Enterprise Systems Business Development
Bridget Oliva has been promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Multi-Systems, Inc. (MSI). Ms. Oliva was previously Director of National Sales, and has been with MSI since 1994 after starting her lodging career at the Arizona Biltmore.
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Joan Panagos has joined Merlot Communications to lead its new U.S. channel partner program. Previously, Ms. Panagos was responsible for building domestic channels for UUNET and MCI WorldCom.
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David Falter has been hired by Cendant Travel Distribution Services as the new President of Travelport Corporate Solutions. Mr. Falter was formerly Executive Director of the Center for Technology Commercialization at Northwestern University, and had earlier served as partner and practitioner for Acorn Growth Partners, a technology-focused consulting firm. He was also President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Freedrive, Inc., Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Director of New Logic, Inc., National Accounts Manager for Sun Microsystems and for Intergraph Corp., and Director of Marketing for CAD/CAM, Inc.
Cendant Travel Distribution Services (TDS) has also hired Daryl Raiford as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance & Administration. Mr. Raiford was formerly Vice President, Finance and Administration for Hewlett-Packard, and has also held financial positions at Shell Technology Ventures, and Price Waterhouse in Houston and London.
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Jeffrey Stephen Parker has been named by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) as its 2004 CHTP of the Year. The award is attributed to the individual who scored the highest score for the Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) exam in a given year. Mr. Parker is the Director of Information Systems for Magnolia Hotels based in Denver, Colo.
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Brian Cunningham has joined Hotel Information Systems as Director, Enterprise Systems Business Development. With eighteen years of hospitality technology experience, Mr. Cunningham was most recently Director of Business Development for Pegasus Solutions. He was a founding partner and Executive Vice President of Rio Systems International, and had earlier served as a Regional Sales Executive with Springer Miller Systems.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Springer Miller developing real-time interface to link to SMS|Host with Expedia
- Fitzpatrick Hotels orders Visual One's PMS suite for two properties
- Holiday Inn Sydney at Rooty Hill orders Northwind Maestro Enterprise Suite
Springer Miller Systems is developing a real-time interface with Expedia to link its SMS|Host PMS with Expedia's direct connect technology. The link will enable automated notification of Expedia.com hotel reservations within Host, and allow Host to upload detailed rate and availability data back to Expedia.com. (www.springermiller.com, www.expedia.com)
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Ireland's Fitzpatrick Hotels has ordered Visual One's PMS suite for two properties, the 69-room Morgan Hotel in Dublin (which is being expanded by a further 57 guestrooms) and the Beacon Court Hotel, which is due to open in 2005. (www.v1s.com)
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The 163-room Holiday Inn Sydney at Rooty Hill has ordered Northwind's Maestro Enterprise Suite, including Front Office, Sales and Catering, and Work Order Scheduling modules, for the main property and the adjacent Rooty Hill RSL Club, which incorporates a 1,000-seat concert auditorium. Implementation will be managed by Northwind's Australian distributor, e-clipse Computer Systems. (http://rooty-hill-au.hotels-x.net/Holiday-inn-rooty-hill.html, www.maestropms.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- Electrobug launches Group Channel Manager rate tracker for hotel corporate head offices
- Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts and InnLink sign for WizCom's Hotel Cache
- Prime, Peabody and InnLink order WizCom's EasyAccess Plus RateManager
- Shangri-La implements MICROS-Fidelio's OPERA CRS and CIS
- Pan Pacific and Stamford implement seamless next generation connectivity from SRS-WORLDHOTELS
Electrobug has launched its Group Channel Manager rate tracking tool for hotel corporate head offices. Features include a database querying and export tool, a workflow module enabling hotel scoring and issue resolution, fractal maps enabling a quick overview of issues in multiple markets, the ability to set alerts and crawls across entire markets and regional areas, and the ability to view multiple rate types. (www.electrobug.com)
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Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts and InnLink have signed on for WizCom's Hotel Cache, a buffering enhancement to the WizCom Switch that reportedly improves the efficiency of central reservation systems (CRSs) by intercepting and responding to multiple, yet identical, requests for its room inventory received during a specific time period, thus reducing the burden on a hotel's CRS.
Prime Hospitality, Peabody Hotel Group and InnLink have ordered WizCom's EasyAccess Plus - RateManager tool, which allows for the simultaneous mass propagation of rate data to all the GDSs, expanded rate value entries, rate security profiles associated with multiple rate codes, block space, blackout dates and XML interfaces to both request for proposal (RFP) vendors and the hotelier's CRS.
(www.adamsmark.com, www.innlink.com, www.primehospitality.com, www.peabodyhotelgroup.com, www.wizcom.com)
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Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has implemented MICROS-Fidelio's OPERA Central Reservations and Customer Information Systems, for a total investment of over US$3 million. The systems provide rate integrity and last room availability across multiple distribution channels, including Shangri-La's hotel direct reservations, worldwide toll-free numbers and the company's website. XML-based interfaces to Shangri-La's website and to various third party booking engines will be released within the next six months. (www.shangri-la.com, www.micros.com)
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Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts and Stamford Hotels and Resorts have implemented seamless next generation connectivity to all GDSs from SRS-WORLDHOTELS. Online bookings for the chains' hotels now access SRS-WORLDHOTELS' TRUST Voyager central reservations system directly, bypassing the GDSs. (www.panpacific.com, www.stamford.com.au, www.srs-worldhotels.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- Hyatt extends agreement with Lanyon to include all PropertyVault modules
- InnLink signs with Lanyon to provide RFPpublisher to its hotel members
Hyatt Hotels has signed a multiyear agreement with Lanyon for PropertyVault and its publishing modules, extending a prior agreement for RFPpublisher to include ChannelPublisher, HODpublisher and DRSpublisher.
InnLink also signed a multiyear agreement with Lanyon to provide RFPpublisher to its hotel members for RFP management. Initial property data loading, modifications, and relevant content changes made in InnLink's CRS are now fed automatically to RFPpublisher without re-keying.
(www.hyatt.com, www.innlink.com, www.lanyon.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Mandarin Oriental installs InfoGenesis Revelation in New York and Washington D.C.
- Grupo Alquimia D.S.C. implementing MICROS 9700 in three eco-tourism parks
- MICROS Systems launches MICROS e7, its 10th generation point-of-sale product
- TransAct Technologies releases new KITCHENjet 1000 POS printer
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has installed InfoGenesis' Revelation POS system at its properties in New York and Washington D.C., including interfaces with Mandarin's ResPac restaurant reservation system and Springer-Miller Systems SMS|Host PMS. (www.mandarin-oriental.com, www.infogenesis.com)
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Mexican theme park company Grupo Alquimia D.S.C. is implementing MICROS 9700 hospitality management systems in its three eco-tourism parks, at Xel-Ha, Xcaret, Garrafon and Canon del Sumidero. The complete system includes 85 MICROS Workstations, 12 wireless devices, scanners, three servers, and POS printers, along with MICROS's Materials Control food and beverage inventory system. MICROS-Fidelio Mexico is providing implementation and support services, and has customized the point of sale system to read barcode bracelets that identify each park customer.
MICROS Systems has launched MICROS e7, its 10th generation point-of-sale product. The e7 is aimed at the independent restaurateur, and uses MICROS' Workstation 4 (WS4) POS terminal, which is based on Microsoft's WinCE .NET platform.
(www.grupoxcaret.com, www.micros.com)
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TransAct Technologies has released its KITCHENjet 1000 POS printer, targeted at the restaurant industry. The KITCHENjet 1000 includes two color printing, and has several design features to cope with the typically harsh environment of a kitchen. (www.transact-tech.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- SuiteSpeed ranked No. 2 Fastest-Growing Private Company in Boulder County
- Two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino properties order Bartech e-fridge minibars
- Best Western Wright Patterson in Fairborn, Ohio contracts with StayOnline for wireless HSIA
- Amalfi Hotel, Chicago, goes with StayOnline for wireless and wired HSIA
- Unisys and KoolConnect jointly offer video-on-demand and interactive TV services
- Holiday Inn Golden Mile, Hong Kong add inter-touch wired and wireless HSIA
SuiteSpeed has been ranked No. 2 in The Boulder County Business Report's Mercury 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Its revenues grew 900 percent from 2002 to 2003 to achieve seven figure sales. (www.suitespeed.com)
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Two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino properties, in Tampa and Hollywood, FL, have ordered Bartech Systems e-fridge minibars. The 250-room Tampa facility opened in March and the 500-room Hollywood property in May 11. (www.seminolehardrock.com, www.bartech.com)
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The Best Western Wright Patterson in Fairborn, Ohio has contracted with StayOnline for wireless high speed Internet access, to be installed this summer. Other CWB properties installing StayOnline's wireless Internet solution during May include the Dayton Airport Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express hotels in Columbus and Marion, OH, and the Holiday Inn of Alpena, Michigan will also get the service.
The 215-room Amalfi Hotel in central Chicago, the first of Hostmark Hospitality Group's new flagship brand, has ordered StayOnline's wireless and wired HSIA.
(www.cwbpm.com, www.hostmark.com, www.stayonline.net)
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Unisys and KoolConnect Technologies are jointly offering video-on-demand (VoD) and interactive television services to the hospitality industry in a revenue-sharing model with no up-front or ongoing costs to the hotel. Features include fully digital streaming video, DVD/VCR-like functionality, a wide range of content and custom branding for the host property. Unisys will provide network design, deployment and support services; KoolConnect will deliver application, architecture and content services. Launch properties for the new solution include the 900-room Boston Park Plaza and two properties owned and operated by Capitol Hotel Group. Previous KoolConnect clients, including the W San Diego and Westin Detroit Airport, have been upgraded to the new technology platform and enrolled under Unisys support services. (www.koolconnect.com, www.unisys.com)
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The Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Hong Kong has added wired and wireless HSIA from inter-touch in its Executive Club rooms, with wireless services available from anywhere in the hotel. Access to the service is via a pre-paid card with a user ID and password. (www.goldenmile-hk.holiday-inn.com, www.inter-touch.com)
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BACK OFFICE
- Peabody Hotel Group completes installation of Aptech Profitvue, Execuvue and Webvue
- NOVA converts all Shift4 merchant dial-up connections to direct high-speed links
Peabody Hotel Group (PHG) has completed a multi-phase installation of Aptech Computer Systems' Profitvue back office accounting, Execuvue business intelligence and Webvue Internet accounting solutions, across all three Peabody-branded hotels and eight additional franchised properties, which carry Hilton, Hampton, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza flags. The Aptech solutions centralize PHG's back office accounting and financial analysis on a relational database linking the properties through a secured Internet framework. (www.peabodyhotelgroup.com, www.aptech-inc.com)
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U.S. Bancorp's NOVA Information Systems (NOVA) subsidiary announced that all 75 Shift4 merchants, POS vendors and value-added resellers (VARs) previously connecting to NOVA via dial-up have migrated to a direct high-speed connection, reducing average authorization transaction times from around 15 seconds to less than 3 seconds. (www.novainfo.com, www.shift4.com)
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ENGINEERING
- Warwick New York installs SentryWatt guestroom energy & occupancy system
The 425-room Warwick New York has installed a SentryWatt guestroom energy & occupancy system from Vancouver-based Energex Inc. The system uses infra-red technology to monitor rooms for occupancy, reducing energy consumption when rooms are empty and reporting occupancy to wireless Palm Pilots used by the housekeeping staff. The project is endorsed and partially funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which will monitor and verify the actual energy savings for up to two years from the completion of the project. (www.warwickhotelny.com, www.energexinc.com)
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COMMUNICATIONS
- ISI Telemanagement launches Total Solution for telecom cost management
ISI Telemanagement Solutions has launched its Total Solution for telecom cost management, combining software and consulting services in a unified approach. Total Solution can be deployed as a hosted application, on-site at a customer location or outsourced, and includes six modules: Invoice Management, Rate and Service Optimization, Call Accounting, Procurement Services, Facilities Management and Call Center Training. (www.isi-info.com)
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