MARCH 9 - 29, 2005
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Travelers preference for the Internet for hotel booking increases
Travelers who book hotel rooms on the Internet are increasing their preference for this over other channels, according to a survey by Keynote Systems of 2,000 consumers as they interacted with 10 travel and lodging Web sites. Two-thirds (67%) said they are likely to book on a hotel Web site, with somewhat fewer (57%) open to booking over a phone reservation system. Only 16% reported a willingness to use a travel agent.
This compares to a similar survey last year, when nearly two-thirds (63%) reported a phone system as a typical booking channel, compared to 50% reporting willingness to use an online agency site and 59% willing to use a hotel Web site.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Lawrence Hall appointed President, Chief Executive and board member of Hotel Booking Solutions
- Christine Mantych hired as Director of Marketing at RDP
Lawrence W. Hall has been appointed President, Chief Executive and member of the Board of Directors of Hotel Booking Solutions Inc., the re-formation of Hoboobox vendors Hotel Booking Solutions LLC. Mr. Hall is a former director of worldwide hotel systems and telecommunications for ITT Sheraton, and has held positions as Chief Operating Officer of revenue management vendor Talus and Chief Operating Officer of hsupply.com. He was most recently president and chief executive of Prosero Inc.
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Christine Mantych has been hired as Director of Marketing at Resort Data Processing (RDP). A 20-year veteran of the advertising and marketing industry, Ms. Mantych most recently served as principle of TMG/Direct, a direct marketing agency.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- INNfinity closes three new orders, passes the 100 systems mark
- McMenamins orders MICROS’ OPERAXpress and S&C for all hotel and catering venues
- Holiday Inn begins testing of full-service Micros/NCR kiosk at Gwinnett Center property
- Grand Heritage Hotel Group installing HIS’ epitome for Windows at Vanderbilt Hall Hotel
INNfinity recently closed three new clients, to bring it past the 100 systems mark. The latest properties are the 130-room Falcon Ridge (Mesquite, NV) and 220-room River House Lodge (Bend, OR), both of which will go live in April, and the 274-room University Plaza (Springfiled, MO), which will cut over in May. (www.innhs.com)
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McMenamins has ordered MICROS’ OPERAXpress Multi-Property Management System for installation throughout its hotel properties and catering venues, along with the OPERA Web Suite web-booking engine and OPERA Multi-Property Sales and Catering. The properties range from 11 to 138 rooms. McMenamins also has MICROS’ 3700 POS systems in 18 of its 51 properties, is continuing its deployment at appropriate sites, and is evaluating mymicros.net as a regional and centralized reporting tool.
Holiday Inn has begun testing a full-service reception kiosk at its technology showcase property at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. The unit, developed by Micros Systems Inc. in partnership with NCR division Kinetics, lets guests check in or out, change hotel reservations and access airline systems to print boarding passes.
(www.mcmenamins.com, www.holiday-inn.com, www.micros.com)
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The Grand Heritage Hotel Group (GHHG) is installing HIS’ epitome for Windows at its 51-room Vanderbilt Hall Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island. GHHG manages operations at 11 historic hotels, and is a long-time HIS customer. (www.vanderbilthall.com, www.grandheritageinternational.com, www.hotelinfosys.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- Crested Butte Mountain Resort choses InntopiaCRS
- Country House Inns orders Ramesys Entirety PMS for three properties
- Country Hearth Inns deploys online reservation network from Alternate Image
- HotelREZ signs with SynXis for reservation and rate management services
- TravelCLICK developing FuturePACE reporting tool for competitive GDS booking data
- GetThere adds Travelocity’s booking services to its online corporate booking system
- Travelocity completes seamless two-way interface with Hyatt’s central reservation system
- Accor appoints Priceline as preferred opaque distributor for selected hotels in Europe
- Pegasus unveils Electrobug-based RateChecker service to track rates of competing hotels
- Hotelbeds contracts with Pegasus for electronic distribution and PegsTour services
- Eurostars Hotels selects Electrobug’s Rate Check pricing tool for all 29 properties
Crested Butte Mountain Resort has chosen InntopiaCRS for its call center, including the new InntopiaAir module for dynamic packaging using both negotiated and public air fares. Installation is scheduled for this summer, in advance of the 2006 winter season. (www.cbmr.com, www.inntopia.com)
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Country House Inns has ordered Ramesys Entirety PMS, Entirety-Kx Sales & Catering and Web Reservations on an ASP basis for installation at three properties in April 2005: the Upham Hotel & Country House, the Weasku Inn, and The Lodge at Riverside. The Weasku Inn and The Lodge at Riverside are also installing Mitel SX-200 ICP PBX with Mitel voicemail, provided by Ramesys. (www.countryhouseinns.com, www.us.ramesys.com)
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Country Hearth Inns has deployed an online reservation network from Alternate Image, and has provided its franchisees with their own Web sites with integrated booking engines and marketing tools. (www.countryhearth.com)
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HotelREZ has signed an agreement with Sabre’ SynXis for reservation and rate management services for its portfolio of hotels across Europe. HotelREZ recently launched its hotel representation/reservation services. (www.hotelrez.com, www.synxis.com)
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TravelCLICK announced the development of its FuturePACE reporting tool, intended to provide competitive booking data from the GDS channel as a supplement to its Hotelligence report. Weekly reports will identify future booking trends for a hotel and its local competitive set. (www.travelclick.net)
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GetThere has added Travelocity’s booking services to its own online corporate booking system, the first result of a technology sharing initiative between the companies. GetThere is targeting business travelers who frequently also book leisure travel online and appreciate Travelocity’s approach for this.
Travelocity has completed a seamless two-way interface with Hyatt Corp’s central reservation system, allowing Hyatt to automatically push updated net rates and availability to Travelocity whenever there are changes.
(www.getthere.com, www.hyatt.com, www.travelocity.com)
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Paris-based Accor Hotels has appointed Priceline.com as its preferred opaque distribution partner for a selection of Accor hotels in Europe, mainly under the Sofitel, Novotel and Mercure brands. Priceline.com recently acquired Active Hotels, a large European Internet-based hotel reservation service. (www.accorhotels.com, www.priceline.com)
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Pegasus Solutions unveiled its RateChecker service, a tool to allow Utell by Pegasus member hotels to track rates of competing hotels. RateChecker uses the Web-crawling technology of Electrobug.
Pegasus also introduced electronic confirmations for travel agents booking Utell by Pegasus member hotels. The eConfirmation service allows confirmations to be accessed immediately on www.UtellAgent.com, sent automatically by the Pegasus reservation agent making the booking, or delivered to registered e-mail addresses within two hours of making or modifying a booking.
Hotelbeds Accommodation and Destination Services has contracted with Pegasus for electronic distribution and PegsTour services to complement its existing system. Based in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Hotelbeds has 59 offices in 14 different countries and services more than 1,200 tour operators and wholesalers worldwide
(www.UtellAgent.com, www.hotelbeds.com, www.pegs.com)
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Eurostars Hotels has selected Electrobug’s Rate Check pricing intelligence tool for all 29 of its properties. Eurostars’ hotel properties are located in 5 countries and 17 cities across Europe. (www.hotusahotels.com, www.electrobug.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- Stratton Mountain Resort installs Datavision’s Golf Revenue Management Module
- IDeaS completes interface with protel Hotelsoftware
- Lindner Hotels and Resorts begins system-wide roll-out of IDeaS v5i
Stratton Mountain Resort has installed Datavision Technologies’ Golf Revenue Management Module, allowing revenue managers to view tee times by course, date, round type and market segment and to analyze REV PATT (Revenue per Available Tee Time) for any given period. (www.stratton.com, www.datavisiontech.com)
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IDeaS has completed its interface with protel Hotelsoftware; the launch property for the interface will be the Best Western Hotel-Airport Munich.
Lindner Hotels and Resorts has begun a system-wide roll-out of IDeaS v5i ASP based Revenue Optimization system, interfaced with the SynXis CRS at its new Central Reservation Office (CRO) in Dusseldorf.
(www.protel-net.com, www.lindner.de, www.ideas.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- McMenamins orders MICROS’ OPERA Multi-Property Sales and Catering
- Hyatt is first major hotel chain to fully implement Passkey GroupLink
McMenamins has ordered MICROS’ OPERA Multi-Property Sales and Catering for installation throughout its hotel properties and catering venues, along with the OPERAXpress Multi-Property Management System and OPERA Web Suite web-booking engine. The properties range from 11 to 138 rooms. McMenamins also has MICROS’ 3700 POS systems in 18 of its 51 properties, is continuing its deployment at appropriate sites, and is evaluating mymicros.net as a regional and centralized reporting tool. (www.mcmenamins.com, www.micros.com)
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Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is the first major hotel chain to fully implement Passkey GroupLink, which electronically delivers all Hyatt group reservations for citywide and single property events into the individual properties' PMS system. More than 50% of group reservations at participating Hyatts are booked online through Passkey. (www.hyatt.com, www.passkey.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Spare Time installs HSI's Profit Series point-of-sale system in eight locations
Spare Time has installed HSI's Profit Series point-of-sale system in eight locations, and has installed wireless handheld terminals in a ninth. The upgraded locations include The Corner Pocket, Daily Bar & Grill, Firehouse Grill, The Lucky Strike - Hyde Park, The Lucky Strike - Lincoln Park, Riverview Tavern, Robey Pizza Co., Southport Lanes, and Square Kitchen. The Lucky Strike - Elmhurst location installed Profit Series with Symbol 8846 wireless handheld terminals. Spare Time Inc. is upgrading all of its locations to Profit Series version 6.8 to take advantage of the new gift card functionality. (www.sparetimechicago.com, www.micros.com)
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SPA/GOLF/LEISURE
- Stratton Mountain Resort installs Datavision’s Golf Revenue Management Module
- SoftBrands releases version 5.7.5 of RIO spa/resort management system
Stratton Mountain Resort has installed Datavision Technologies’ Golf Revenue Management Module, allowing revenue managers to view tee times by course, date, round type and market segment and to analyze REV PATT (Revenue per Available Tee Time) for any given period. (www.stratton.com, www.datavisiontech.com)
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SoftBrands has released version 5.7.5 of its RIO spa/resort management system. Enhancements include full CISP compliance for credit card security, increased scheduling flexibility in 15 minute intervals, faster-responding POS screens and increased support for product interfaces, including Central Messaging Engine (CME) and Lodging Management System (LMS) Property Management System. (www.softbrands.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- Kimpton installing high-speed wired, wireless Internet access from ELEVEN at all 39 hotels
- Holiday Inn Waldorf, Maryland, installing high-speed Internet access from Wayport
- Wayport signs Wi-Fi roaming agreement with Cingular
- Telkonet appoints value-added resellers (VARs) in France and Denmark
- Hilton Garden Inn offering PowerMobile universal cell phone battery chargers at all properties
- OTRUM launches Fusion platform to bridge gap between analogue and digital TV broadcasts
- Superclick installs high-speed Internet access at 73 Candlewood Suites and 20 Staybridge Suites
- Pocket Watch Software announces ActivePrint x5 mobile print software
Kimpton Hotels is installing high-speed wired and wireless Internet access from ELEVEN at its 39 hotels. (www.kimptonhotels.com)
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The 191-room Holiday Inn Waldorf, a historic property in southern Maryland, is installing high-speed Internet access from Wayport.
Wayport has signed a Wi-Fi roaming agreement with Cingular, the nation's largest wireless carrier, enabling Cingular customers to access select Wayport Wi-Fi network hot spots in hotels and airports.
(waldorfmd.holiday-inn.com, www.cingular.com, www.wayport.net)
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Telkonet has appointed two value-added resellers (VARs) – Lakota and Holbech EL A/S –in France and Denmark, respectively. (www.telkonet.com)
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Hilton Garden Inn is now offering PowerMobile universal cell phone battery chargers for purchase in the Pavilion Pantry self-service stores in its properties across North America. (www.hiltongardeninn.com)
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OTRUM has launched its Fusion platform in the OTRUM range, intended to bridge the gap between analogue and digital TV broadcasts. It incorporates hardware to allow for full Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) reception for both TV and movie content, offering 500+ channels of digital content over a hotel’s existing COAX antenna network. Fusion can also take advantage of existing CAT 5/6 cabling, or can carry high speed IP communication data over the COAX cable, freeing existing CAT 5/6 cabling for other data applications. (www.otrum.com)
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Superclick has installed high-speed Internet access systems at 73 Candlewood Suites and 20 Staybridge Suites managed by InterContinental Hotels Group.
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Pocket Watch Software announced its ActivePrint x5 mobile print software, which allows travelers to print documents from their email enabled devices (such as PDA’s and Blackberries) as needed in the field by e-mailing them the nearest ActivePrint x5 Server. A response email returns a print job ID number which the traveler uses to retrieve their documents from the ActivePrint x5 service provider. (www.activeprintx5.com)
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INVENTORY/PURCHASING
- HTH Corp. chooses Avendra for procurement services in Hawaii
HTH Corp. has chosen Avendra for procurement services for its Pacific Beach Hotel and Pagoda Hotel in Hawaii, where Avendra now serves 43 properties. (avendra.com)
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ENGINEERING
- Onity adds interactive Energy Cost Savings Calculator to its Web site
Onity has added an interactive Energy Cost Savings Calculator to its Web site, to provide hotel owners and operators with data on implementing an energy management program at their properties. In addition to calculating approximate annual savings, the program also produces graphs and bar charts, based on the user’s input, outlining expected monthly savings, payback vs. cost, an energy cost comparison graph and a leasing graph. (www.onity.com)
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