JUNE 1 - 14, 2005
TOP O' THE NEWS
- On-line shoppers continue to check fares and rates at travel agency sites before buying direct
- HITEC: Be There!
A new report from PhoCusWright highlights the continuing habit of on-line shoppers to check fares and rates at multiple-option travel agency sites before buying directly from the supplier. This habit is more prevalent with air travelers, 40% of whom buy direct after comparing, but the figure for hotel and car travelers is still 30%.
The report indicates that online travel agencies, while still processing the majority of bookings, are continuing a two-year trend of losing customers to the supplier-direct channel (which includes the supplier call center as well as its Web site), apparently influenced by low price guarantees, loyalty points, and improved Web site navigation and services.
Emphasizing how much perception affects buying decisions, despite the hoteliers’ lowest-price guarantees and the significant increase in bookers believing that they do in fact provide the lowest prices (up from 14% to 38% in the last two years), even more (45%) still believe that the online travel agencies do, and considers it far and away their most important asset.
As for which channel offers the best customer service, interestingly enough the “real-world” offline agencies, which emphasize the personal touch in making bookings, scored slightly lower (33%) than the supplier-direct channel (36%). The online travel agencies came in a distant third, at 15%.
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HITEC’s next week in Los Angeles. Since you’re reading this you probably already know that, and you probably also know that you should attend! I’ll see you there.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Dave Burroughs and Tom Castleberry inducted into HFTP Hall of Fame
- John Turato elected as Chairman of the Open Travel Alliance
- Onity hires Tiffany Chester as Marketing Manager, Matt Sheridan as Director of Customer Operations, and Greg Woodliff as Installation Services Manager
- Antoine Medawar appointed Managing Director Hospitality for Amadeus
Dave Burroughs and Tom Castleberry will be inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame at HITEC.
Mr. Burroughs is currently president of Visual One Systems, the company he founded as National Guest Systems Corp in 1977. His hospitality technology career started in 1969 when he installed Marriott's first hotel-based computer system, subsequently designing his own property management system, Datahost, and becoming vice president of Sigma Data Computing which marketed it. NGSC developed the first integrated hotel PMS and restaurant POS system, introduced his third generation system (Innstar) in 1983, a fourth generation PMS called IS4 in 1992, and the current fully-integrated Visual One system in 1996.
Mr. Castleberry, currently chairman of the board for medical claims processor El Dorado Computing, is best known for the Anasazi central reservations system. His career in hospitality technology began in 1972 as president of Micor, Inc., a subsidiary of Ramada Inns that developed both the INFO 2001 central reservation system and the MICOR property management system. In 1979 he started Anasazi, which developed central reservation system software, intelligent property terminals and credit card authorization systems. Anasazi was bought by Visa in 1983; Mr. Castleberry bought it back in 1987, helped form, develop, implement and operate the THISCO switch and expanded the sale of central reservation systems and services to major hotel chains. In 1993 Anasazi was again bought out, by First Data Corp., but Mr. Castleberry returned again in 1995 as CEO in a leveraged buyout. Anasazi merged with Reed-Elsivier subsidiary UTELL in 1997 to form REZsolutions, which in turn was acquired by Pegasus Solutions (formerly THISCO) in 2000, and continues to drive reservations services for hotel chains world-wide.
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John Turato, Vice President of Technology, Cendant Car Rental Group, has been elected as Chairman of the Open Travel Alliance (OTA), replacing Mike Kistner. Mr. Kistner had served for the last four years, and remains on the OTA Board.
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Onity has hired Tiffany Chester as Marketing Manager, Matt Sheridan as Director of Customer Operations, and Greg Woodliff as Installation Services Manager, all based at its North American headquarters in Atlanta.
Ms. Chester has over 15 years of hospitality industry experience, most recently as marketing director for General Growth Properties in Orlando, Florida. She earlier held sales and marketing positions with The Walt Disney Company, Gaylord Hotels, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Mr. Sheridan has previously held executive positions with companies such as America West Airlines, Worldwide Security Associates and ADT Securities, and brings expertise in customer service, finance, employee relations, operations, project management and business development.
Mr. Woodliff has a 15-year background in technical project and program management, installation processes and procedures, working for companies such as IBM, Radiant Systems and AutoVIN, Inc.
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Antoine Medawar has been appointed Managing Director Hospitality for Amadeus. M. Medawar was most recently (and remains) CEO of Optims, which Amadeus acquired in February; the new division combines all Amadeus and Optims hotel-related applications, including Property Management Systems, Central Reservation Systems, Revenue Management Solutions and Distribution solutions.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Abercrombie and Kent Nile Cruises orders Visual One’s PMS and POS for four cruise ships
- MICROS named a strategic reseller of Kinetics' ResortPort and CheckinHere kiosks
- Benchmark names Northwind’s Maestro as its recommended PMS
- Fairmont to install self-service kiosks in all its North American hotels, with graphical room selection
Abercrombie and Kent Nile Cruises has ordered Visual One’s PMS and Point of Sale systems for its fleet of four cruise ships. The order is Visual One’s first sale in Egypt, and was made through its Egyptian distributor Advanced Hospitality Solutions (AHS). (www.abercrombiekent.com, www.v1s.com)
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MICROS has been named a strategic reseller of Kinetics' ResortPort and CheckinHere self-service kiosks, which it had earlier announced as being available for use with its Opera property management systems. ResortPort covers check-in/check-out functions, encodes room keys and allows guests to change reservations or access additional hotel service options. CheckinHere can also print boarding passes for specific airlines. The reseller agreement is effective immediately in the United States and will be expanded to selected countries in Europe, Asia and the Pacific by the end of the year. (www.kineticsusa.com, www.micros.com)
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Benchmark Hospitality has named Northwind’s Maestro Suite as its recommended property management system. Twelve of Benchmark’s 26 properties currently use Maestro, which will now be installed in three more: the 470-room French Lick Springs Resort and Spa in Indiana, the 90-room Berry Hill Plantation in Virginia, and the 171-room North Maple Inn at Basking Ridge, New Jersey. (www.benchmarkhospitality.com, www.maestropms.com)
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Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced plans to install self-service kiosks in all its hotels in North America, starting with Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York and continuing through the year. A rollout to outfit other Fairmont properties with the kiosks will follow later in the year. The kiosks will allow guests to select their room from a graphical map of the hotel’s available rooms, based on the initial reservation and pre-confirmed preferences. Other features include the ability for guests to enroll in the Fairmont President’s Club loyalty program, obtain a boarding pass for any Air Canada flight, and for meeting planners to publish welcome messages and meeting agendas for conference delegates and meeting attendees. IBM will provide the kiosk hardware, middleware software, application development service, implementation, ongoing monitoring and management of the kiosks. (www.fairmont.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- Hilton mandates new accreditation process for third-party online merchants
- Auckland’s Skycity Grand Hotel contracts with Vantis for reservation services
- Kuoni Travel names Galileo as primary GDS for Kuoni businesses worldwide
Hilton Hotels Corp (HHC) now requires all third-party online merchant or opaque inventory resellers to be approved through a new Distribution Standard and Online Accreditation Process, effective immediately. The new standard is intended to ensure consistent delivery of Hilton’s best rate guarantee, and prevents its franchises from cutting side deals with online agencies that aren't accredited. Expedia.com and Hotels.com are the first fully Accredited Distributors; Hotwire.com, Priceline.com, and Travelweb.com have received temporary Accreditation and are working toward full accreditation status. Orbitz and Travelocity aren't in compliance with Hilton's guidelines, but are in discussions with Hilton. (www.hilton.com)
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The 316-room Skycity Grand Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, has contracted with Vantis for reservation services. Vantis will provide the hotel, which is situated above the Skycity Convention Centre, with call center, Internet and GDS services, and a customized booking engine for the property’s website. (www.skycityauckland.co.nz, www.vantiscorp.com)
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Long-haul tour operator Kuoni Travel has signed a five-year contract with Cendant naming Galileo as the primary GDS for Kuoni businesses worldwide. The deal will extend Kuoni’s use of Galileo from the UK and Switzerland to include India, Italy, Netherlands and Scandinavia. (www.kuoni.com, www.cendant.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- Cendant introduces automated request-for-proposal system using Lanyon’s RFPpublisher
- Aptech launches Targetvue enterprise planning application
- Ashford Hospitality Trust selects Aptech’s Execuvue to consolidate data from 54 hotels
- Any Rate Software releases version 2.1 of its Flash real-time rate shopping and reporting tool
- Blue Square Studios partners with “10Best” Destination Guides, Nirvana’s BookNow! and e-Touch’s web-based room service
- Electrobug released two versions of Rate Check for small independent hotels
- Kayak.com and TIG Global announce preferred marketing partnership
- Priceline.com contracts with VRX Studios for access to visual content archives
Cendant Hotel Group has introduced an automated request-for-proposal system using Lanyon’s RFPpublisher system to make it easier for the franchisees of its nearly 6,400 hotels worldwide to provide rate quotes and information to prospective clients. The system will review submitted RFPs, complete 90 percent of the response and return it to the franchisees to complete. (www.cendant.com, www.lanyon.com)
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Aptech Computer Systems announced its Targetvue enterprise planning application as part of its suite of Performance Management tools. Targetvue lets operators build flexible operating budgets, set goals for various aspects of their enterprise and link those goals to the Execuvue reporting/BI system. Execuvue monitors daily figures and provides an automated real-time display of performance vs. the budgets and goals created in Targetvue. One of the first clients signed for Targetvue is Sage Hospitality.
Ashford Hospitality Trust, a publicly traded REIT, has selected Aptech’s Execuvue to automate the consolidation of property operating data from its 54 hotels, for performance analysis, ownership reporting, and Smith Travel Research benchmarking. Installation will take place in June, 2005.
(www.sagehospitality.com, www.ahtreit.com, www.aptech-inc.com)
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Any Rate Software has released version 2.1 of its Flash real-time rate shopping and reporting tool. Enhancements include a simplified user interface, additional search selection criteria and rate filtering, the ability to shop 50% more data in a single report, and faster response times. (www.any-rate.com)
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Blue Square Studios has announced partnerships with several hospitality technology companies to expand the Web-site capabilities offered by Blue Square's Toolkit. These include the integration of “10Best” Destination Guides’ content into customized websites for hotels, Nirvana Technology’s BookNow! spa and activity booking service, and e-Touch’s web-based room service capability for hotel clients. (www.bluesqstudios.com)
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Electrobug Technologies has released two versions of its Rate Check product aimed at small independent hotels, especially in Europe. RateCheck Basic runs off of a weekly update of rates, and RateCheck Pro runs real-time searches for up to 90 days out. (www.electrobug.com)
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Kayak.com and TIG Global have announced a yearlong preferred marketing partnership, under which TIG Global will integrate Kayak into its interactive marketing plans for participating clients. Kayak’s technology permits advertisers to target marketing campaigns based on hotels’ specific need dates and travelers’ search parameters, including their dates of travel. TIG Global and Kayak will jointly develop reporting tools to track and optimize the effectiveness of the campaigns. (www.kayak.com, www.tigglobal.com)
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Priceline.com has contracted with VRX Studios for access to VRX's archives of visual content for 442 destinations and hotel chains such as Kessler, Kimpton, Sandals, and Hyatt. (www.vrxstudios.com, www.priceline.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- Optims signs four new clients with 39 properties
Optims announced that it has recently signed contracts with four new clients totaling 39 properties:
- Le Royal Hotel Group, owned by General Mediterranean Holdings and comprising hotels in Luxembourg, Madrid, Tangiers and Tunisia.
- Rocco Forte Hotels - 14 properties in Britain, Europe and Moscow
- Star Hotels - 20 hotels in Italy and one in New York
- the Crown Towers Casino/Hotel complex in Melbourne, Australia.
(www.gmhsa.com, www.roccofortehotels.com, www.starhotels.com, www.crowntowers.com.au, www.optims.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- Daylight releases version 5.0 of Daylight enterprise Advanced Sales & Catering
Daylight Software has released version 5.0 of its Daylight enterprise Advanced Sales & Catering system. Among the 100+ enhancements are more powerful e-mail functionality, an optional interface to Microsoft Outlook, different sets of automatic reminders for different market segments or booking types, more flexible access security, production and pace analysis report enhancements, automated inquiry management enhancements, and direct - not third-party - interfaces to meeting planner portals such as StarCite. (www.daylightsoftware.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Wireless Logix Group acquires North American distributorship license for Reach POS
- ReServe Interactive adds online booking to its dining reservations/table management software
The Wireless Logix Group has acquired a North American distributorship license for the Reach POS system, a Wi-Fi enabled application built for Pocket PC-based PDA devices. Developed in Vancouver, Canada, Reach POS has an established presence in Asia’s highly-wireless market. (www.reachpos.com, www.wirelesslogixgroup.com)
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ReServe Interactive has added an online booking service, ReServeIT, to its dining reservations and table management software, available as a centrally-hosted service for a monthly fee with no per-transaction costs. (www.reserveinteractive.com)
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SPA/GOLF/LEISURE
- Spa Finder adds Nirvana’s BookNow! spa/activity scheduling engine to its Web site
- Wynn Las Vegas installs PAR-Springer Miller Systems’ SpaSoft
Spa Finder has added Nirvana Technology’s BookNow! spa/activity scheduling engine to its Web site, allowing consumers to locate day or stay spas by zip code or spa type, and book a confirmed appointment for the spa treatment and therapist of their choice. (www.spafinder.com)
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Wynn Las Vegas has installed PAR-Springer Miller Systems’ SpaSoft at its spa, which has 45 treatment rooms. (www.wynnlasvegas.com, www.springermiller.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- Metromedia announces Version 5 of HotelEXPERT
- Marco Beach Ocean Resort installs Gold Key Solutions’ The Concierge Assistant
- La Quinta to offer free high speed Internet access at all 590 hotels by June 30
- Copper Mountain Resort installing Wayport high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access in six lodges
- inter-touch to offer video streaming and VOIP applications with mobility
Metromedia Software has announced Version 5 of its HotelEXPERT system. A new “Fundamentals" module allows guest preferences and experiences to automatically create service tasks for the next visit, such as specific newspaper preferences, an airport limo service or a pre-arrival housekeeping inspection to avoid a repeat of a dirty-room check-in problem. Version 5 also manages Guest/Customer profiles for condo-hotels and timeshare operations, and a Visuals-driven Engineering [VISE] module complete with CAD drawings. VISE allows users to click on a specific item of equipment on a drawing to initiate a work order. (www.hotelexpert.com)
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Florida’s 100-room Marco Beach Ocean Resort has installed Gold Key Solutions’ The Concierge Assistant to track and manage guests’ activities and preferences. (www.marcoresort.com, www.goldkeysolutions.com)
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La Quinta Corp. will offer free high speed Internet access at all of its more than 590 La Quinta, Baymont and Woodfield branded hotels in the United States and Canada. Installation at all hotels is scheduled to be completed by June 30. (www.laquinta.com)
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The Copper Mountain Resort is installing high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access from Wayport in its six condominium lodges in central Colorado. (www.coppercolorado.com, www.wayport.com)
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inter-touch has been awarded 20MHz of Wireless Broadband Access (WBA) spectrum by Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). This will enable inter-touch to expand its offerings to include the next generation of Broadband including video streaming and VOIP applications with mobility. (www.inter-touch.com)
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BACK OFFICE
- Hersha, Ashford select Aptech’s Execuvue
Hersha Hospitality Management has selected Aptech Computer Systems’ Execuvue business intelligence, Profitvue multi-property accounting and Webvue Internet-based operations reporting to automate its financial practices. Hersha Hospitality Management operates 36 properties for the Hersha Hospitality Trust REIT. Installation will be completed in the third quarter of 2005.
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Ashford Hospitality Trust, a publicly traded REIT, has ordered Aptech’s Execuvue Business Intelligence system to automate consolidation of property operating data from all its 54 hotels. Installation will take place in June, 2005.
(www.hersha.com, www.ahtreit.com, www.aptech-inc.com)
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COMMUNICATIONS
- SDD launches JAZZ Fusion internet-based call accounting and telemanagement system
SDD has launched its JAZZ Fusion product, an internet-based combined call accounting and telemanagement services system. Features include dynamic custom pricing for corporate, groups events and loyalty programs, the ability to provide automated bundled communication packages and self-administered prepay guest phone plans to compete with cell phones and pre-paid calling cards, a telecommunications analyst assigned to monitor each property’s telecom profitability, and ongoing monitoring, analysis, reports, and actionable plans. JAZZ Fusion is available for a monthly subscription fee. (www.sddsystems.com)
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SECURITY
- Dometic introduces Executive safe with a slide-out drawer
Dometic Corp. has introduced the Executive safe, featuring a slide-out drawer and LED screen. The safe can stand alone, be integrated into existing furniture or supplied in custom cabinetry, and is sized to accommodate a laptop computer. (www.dometic.com)
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