AUGUST 25 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2004
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Springer-Miller bought by PAR Technology
- On-line travel research stabilizes but bookings continue to grow
The big news of the week is undoubtedly PAR Technology's purchase of Springer-Miller, which came as something of a surprise given John Springer-Miller's long run of success as a proudly independent vendor. But the move makes a lot of sense; several sizable hotel chains have expressed interest in Springer-Miller's products but would have preferred to see a larger, more widely-established international company behind them. ParTech provides that credibility, and will be well served by the commitment of the current management team - including John Springer-Miller - to stay with the new ownership.
Parallels are easy to draw with MICROS' takeover of Fidelio many years ago - major POS vendor with strong international presence acquires successful hotel PMS vendor with international client base still run by charismatic founder - but there are differences as well. MICROS was already well-established in the hotel world, whereas ParTech, being strong in quick-service restaurants, may have more of a learning curve there. Fidelio was more strongly established internationally at the time, whereas Springer-Miller's client base is still mostly in the USA, despite some successes in Europe and Asia. It's going to be interesting to see how things develop, but overall it looks like good news.
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Travelers continue to use the Internet for travel booking in increasing numbers, albeit at a slower pace, according to a study by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), but the number using it to research travel options has stabilized. The survey reports that almost 64 million online travelers used the Internet last year for travel and destination information, and 45 million actually made at least one booking over it. However, the number of US travelers just planning trips via the Internet was stable at 63.8 million.
Most frequent services purchased are airline flights (82 percent of all online travel bookers, up from 75 percent in 2003), followed by hotel rooms at 67 percent and rental cars/RVs at 40 percent.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Doug Rice appointed Executive Director of HTNG
- Brinley Waddell appointed Director of Business Development/e-distribution at Optims
Douglas Rice has been appointed full-time Executive Director of the Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) initiative, succeeding Dr. Matthew Dunn, who had served as Acting Executive Director since early this year. Dr. Dunn will continue with HTNG in a formal advisory role. Mr. Rice was one of the original founders of HTNG and has served as an Executive Advisor HTNG since the organization was formalized. He brings 25 years of experience in travel marketing, information services and consulting, the last 15 as a consultant to senior hospitality executives through his company, Stratus Management Group. He formerly served in management roles at United Airlines and Data Resources, Inc.
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Brinley Waddell has been appointed Director of Business Development for e-distribution at Optims S.A, based at the Optims office in Bangkok. Mr. Waddell has more than three decades of sales and marketing experience in various sales positions with the airline industry, including TAA, Air New Zealand and Air Niugini.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- PAR Technology purchases Springer-Miller Systems
- Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts Group orders protel hotelsoftware for 25 properties
- Radisson launches "Express Yourself" online check-in process
- Listel Vancouver orders Northwind Maestro PMS
- Northwind completes Maestro PMS installations at three Canadian properties
- HIS releases version 3.02 of its epitome PMS
- Woodside Hotels & Resorts contracts with HIS for epitome PMS at all five properties
- HIS Users' Conference to be held Oct 19-22 at The Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach
- Hunter Mountain Resort selects RDP PMS for Kaatskill Mountain Club
PAR Technology Corp has purchased Springer-Miller Systems in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. Springer-Miller will continue to be managed by its current senior management team, operating as a ParTech subsidiary. PAR Technology is the world's largest supplier of quick service restaurant Point-of-Sale systems, with over 35,000 systems installed in over 95 countries. PAR also has a strong base in providing computer based system design and engineering services to the Department of Defense and Federal Government Agencies. (www.springermiller.com, www.partech.com)
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The Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts Group has ordered protel hotelsoftware for its 25 properties, operating in a centrally-hosted architecture based in Vienna. The first three hotels are scheduled to be on-line this year, with all 25 connected by the end of 2006; the 4 and 5 star hotels vary in size from 54 to 534 rooms. (www.austria-trend.at/en/, www.protel-net.com)
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Radisson Hotels & Resorts has launched its "Express Yourself" online check-in process, which allows guests to check in via the Web several days before their actual arrival. Guests booking via any Radisson booking process (Web site, call center, hotel direct or through a travel agent) will receive an e-mail seven days prior to their arrival inviting them to check in at Radisson's Web site and record their preferences for a specific room location, high speed Internet access or other special services. When identifying themselves at the front desk on arrival they will receive their key packet. (www.radisson.com)
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The Listel Vancouver Hotel, a high-profile 129-room boutique property in Vancouver, British Columbia, has ordered Northwind's Maestro PMS.
Northwind has completed the installation of its Maestro PMS at three other Canadian properties, the 284-room International Hotel of Calgary (also using Maestro Sales and Catering), the Stonehaven Relais and Spa in Quebec and the Severn Lodge in Port Severn, Ontario. Stonehaven Relais and Spa is the third Buena Vista property to install Maestro.
(www.listel-vancouver.com, www.internationalhotel.ca, www.stonehavenrelaisspa.com, www.severnlodge.on.ca, www.maestropms.com)
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Hotel Information Systems (HIS) has released version 3.02 of its epitome PMS, with enhanced Contacts and Events Manager modules, foreign currency processing and package plan operations, and new functionality for Back Office data extraction and Complimentary Certificates. epitome now also integrates with epitome handheld for remote check-in and with epitome Self Express Kiosk for guest self check-in.
Woodside Hotels & Resorts, an affiliation of five luxury hotels, has contracted with HIS to install the epitome PMS at all sites, starting with the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa..
HIS' annual Users' Conference will be held from October 19 - 22 at The Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach, California.
(www.woodsidehotels.com, www.hotelinfosys.com)
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Hunter Mountain Resort has selected Resort Data Processing's PMS for its Kaatskill Mountain Club, to automate its new quarter ownership program. (www.huntermtn.com/rp/kaatskill/, www.resortdata.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- HTNG formalizes Property/Distribution Solution Workgroup
- VIP partners with Buckhiester Management to offer revenue management tool set
- Carlson first to implement automatic "push" of updated merchant rates and availability to Travelocity
- Classic Hotels picks TravelCLICK's iHotelier for website reservations and GDS connectivity
- Concorde Hotels provides Web site login for travel agents and corporate clients using Pelican Systems
- Fitzpatrick Hotel Group adopts SynXis' Dashboard for revenue management guidance
- Interstate Hotels & Resorts extends agreement with Expedia and Hotels.com
Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) has formalized its Property/Distribution Solution Workgroup, with sixteen hotel companies, vendors, and consultants, plus the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA), committed to define and deliver technology solutions to improve the interoperability of property management, central reservations, revenue management, customer relationship management and content management systems, external distribution channels, and intermediaries such as switches and representation companies.
The seventeen organizations represented on the workgroup are:
· Cendant Travel Distribution Services
· IBM Travel & Transportation
· IDeaS
· Hilton International
· Hospitality Technology Consulting
· Hotel Information Systems
· Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
· Mainzer Consulting Group
· Maxim Revenue Management Solutions
· MICROS Systems
· Millennium Hotels and Resorts
· Multi-Systems, Inc.
· NoBarriers
· OpenTravel Alliance
· Outrigger and OHANA Hotels & Resorts
· Pegasus Solutions
· Wyndham International
The first meeting is planned for October or early November. (www.htng.org)
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VIP Investment Corp has partnered with Seattle-based Buckhiester Management USA to combine VIP's channel distribution and sales capabilities with Buckhiester's REVolution business process and revenue management tool set. (www.buckhiester.com, www.vipintcorp.com)
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Carlson Hotels Worldwide has become the first hotel company to implement Travelocity's latest merchant hotel platform version, and will now automatically "push" updated merchant rates and availability to Travelocity whenever these are modified, eliminating the need for Travelocity to query this information from Carlson's computer reservation system. (www.carlson.com, www.travelocity.com)
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Classic Hotels in Farmington Valley, Connecticut has selected TravelCLICK's iHotelier for website reservations and GDS connectivity. The four properties are Avon Old Farms, Simsbury Inn, Farmington Inn and Simsbury 1820 House. (www.classichotelsofct.com, www.travelclick.net)
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Concorde Hotels, managed by Singapore-based HPL Hotels & Resorts, has enhanced its online reservation system by providing login access for travel agents and corporate clients to access competitive rates and room allotments, using technology from Pelican Systems. (www.hplhotels.com, www.pelicansystem.com)
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The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group has adopted SynXis' new Dashboard to help the revenue management of its hotels in Dublin, New York and Chicago. Dashboard provides managers with a summary of relevant reservation data needed to react quickly to market changes, including competitive rates and the hotel booking pace, and includes a Dynamic Yielding Tool to let a hotel set rules-based rate and inventory triggers. (www.fitzpatrickhotels.com, www.synxis.com)
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Interstate Hotels & Resorts extended its agreement with Expedia and Hotels.com to establish direct connectivity with the reservations systems for additional properties beyond the initial 100 already covered. (www.ihrco.com, www.expedia.com, www.hotels.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- Open Hospitality partners with IDT for data-driven campaigns
- Hilton completes deployment of OnQ CRM platform across all hotels
Open Hospitality has partnered with IDT to combine its Internet marketing and reservation expertise with IDT's PMS interface knowledge and experience in designing, cleaning and managing guest history databases.
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Hilton Hotels Corp has completed deployment of its OnQ proprietary CRM technology platform across all of its more than 2,200 Hilton Family Hotels. (www.hiltonworldwide.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- VIP partners with Buckhiester Management to offer revenue management tool set
- Center Parcs UK orders Optims' City.Optims multi-property RMS for four villages
VIP Investment Corp has partnered with Seattle-based Buckhiester Management USA to combine VIP's channel distribution and sales capabilities with Buckhiester's REVolution business process and revenue management tool set. (www.buckhiester.com, www.vipintcorp.com)
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Center Parcs UK, a short-break holiday provider, has ordered Optims' City.Optims multi-property revenue management system for its 3,200 villas in four Center Parcs UK villages. Optims has teamed up with Anite Travel Systems to deliver a two-way interface between City.Optims and TourRes, the reservation system being supplied by Anite. The system will be hosted and managed from Anite's data centre in Slough, Berkshire. The four villages are in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire and Oasis Whinfell Forest in Cumbria. (www.centerparcs.co.uk, www.optims.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- Dolce picks StarCite lead management technology for new 24-hour call center
Dolce International Conference & Resort Destinations has selected StarCite's lead management technology for its new 24-hour call center for meeting planners. Call center employees will use a custom version of StarCite's RapidRFP to build and send meeting requirements to Dolce's global sales team. StarCite has integrated all leads into Dolce's sales force automation solution through Newmarket International's MeetingBroker. (www.dolce.com, www.starcite.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas installs InfoGenesis POS to cover 41 profit centers
- Margaritaville orders ASP-based Revelation for new location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- MICROS presented with Gold Medallion Award for Best Overall Vendor from RSPA
Caesars Palace Las Vegas has replaced its existing point-of sale system with InfoGenesis' Revelation system, running on over 142 IBM SurePOS 500 touch screen terminals and 44 handheld terminals. The new system manages all food, beverage and retail transactions for 41 separate profit centers.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville has ordered Revelation for its newest location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Margaritaville currently uses Revelation in its Las Vegas location and plans to install it at other sites, running in an application service provider format. At the Myrtle Beach site Revelation runs on 13 IBM SurePOS 500 touch screen terminals and interfaces with Restaurant Magic's unit software for inventory management, menu item synchronization and clock data for labor costing.
(www.caesars.com, www.margaritaville.com, www.infogenesis.com)
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MICROS Systems was presented with the Gold Medallion Award for Best Overall Vendor from the Retail Solutions Providers Association (formerly the ICRDA/SDA) at the group's annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. MICROS has received awards from RSPA the past 5 years, including the Gold Medallion in 2004, and the Gold Award for Systems/Software Vendor in 2003, 2002 and 2001. (www.micros.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- StayOnline completes largest installation date, at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa
- Hilton International and Scandic Hotels sign three-year contract with OTRUM for TV content
- Embassy Suites Hotels completes installation of high-speed internet access at its 174 hotels
- Mintek and GuestWare partner to offer guest-focused CRM with WinTrack PM
- Tropicana in Las Vegas implements GuestWare in call center, engineering and housekeeping
- New York Palace Hotel signs five-year agreement with On Command
- MHI Hotels and ANM Hospitality select Telkonet for powerline HSIA
- Telkonet endorsed by Best Value Inn, Hospitality International and National Trust Historic
- Hyatt Regency Johor Bahru implements inter-touch HSIA in guestrooms and public areas
StayOnline has completed its largest installation to date, at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, which has 1,310 rooms in two towers and 40,000 square feet of meeting space. The Waikiki property implemented a combination of wired and wireless HSIA connectivity. (www.marriottwaikiki.com, www.stayonline.net)
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Hilton International Continental Europe and Scandic Hotels AB have signed a three-year contract with OTRUM for the supply of leading TV channels to their hotels, including CNN, BBC World, Eurosport and EurosportNews. The properties have the option to offer guests access to CNBC, National Geographic, MTV, VH1, Cartoon Network, JSTV (Japanese TV) and TCM (Turner Classic Movies). A French channel, TV5, will be offered to all hotels within the Hilton brand. In the Nordic countries, a range of Nordic TV channels and Canal+ will be offered. (www.hiltongroup.com, www.otrum.com)
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Embassy Suites Hotels says it has installed high-speed internet access throughout its 174 hotels, either wired or wireless solutions depending on the property. Wireless HSIA access is available in all hotel lobbies, atriums and prominent guest dining areas, with wired or wireless solutions are available within all meeting and conference rooms. (www.embassysuites.com)
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Mintek Mobile Data Solutions and Diversified Computer Corp., maker of GuestWare, have partnered to offer GuestWare's guest-focused CRM software with Mintek's Lodging Asset Management Suite, which includes WinTrack PM for multi-property preventive maintenance management.
The 1,878-room Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, owned and operated by Aztar Corp., has implemented GuestWare in its call center, engineering and housekeeping departments to manage guest requests, track and follow-up on incidents, and generate work orders. GuestWare is already in use at Aztar's Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.
(www.mintek.com, www.aztar.com, www.guestware.com)
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The New York Palace Hotel has signed a five-year agreement with On Command for in-room entertainment. On Command will upgrade nearly 900 rooms with its video-on-demand digital in-room entertainment system, and will partner with its Hotelevision subsidiary to provide free-to-guest services. (www.newyorkpalace.com, www.oncommand.com)
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MHI Hotels and ANM Hospitality have selected Telkonet powerline communications to provide high-speed Internet access for many of their hotel properties. MHI Hotels has installed Telkonet in eight of its hotels in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; ANM has signed a contract for nine properties in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
Telkonet has also been endorsed by Best Value Inn, Hospitality International and National Trust Historic Hotels of America to offer its high-speed Internet access system to their hotel owners.
(www.telkonet.com)
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The Hyatt Regency Johor Bahru now offers Broadband Internet access in 150 guestrooms and suites as well as in its conference and banquet facilities and Business Centre, powered by inter-touch. (www.hyatt.com, www.inter-touch.com)
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BACK OFFICE
- Mandalay Resort Group implements HRLogix applicant tracking for five Las Vegas properties
Mandalay Resort Group has implemented HRLogix' web-based applicant tracking systems for all five Las Vegas properties. The implementation timeline took approximately 60 days from point of contract. The application includes automated applicant tracking via the Internet, phone based applications, and on-site kiosks as well as automation of new hire paperwork. (www.hrlogix.com)
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