JULY 20 - AUGUST 8, 2005
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Does anyone know how hard you’re working?
A recent discussion with a client’s staff highlighted the need for the unsung heroes, the techies and managers at the property level who are responsible for keeping the systems running, to remind people what else they do apart from fix printers and re-boot the system at peak check-out time.
It used to be said that the sign of doing a good tech support job was that no-one noticed. In one sense that’s still true, but it’s also a fast track to being under-appreciated. If people only notice you when they have a problem, they’ll inevitably associate you with trouble, which isn’t healthy for anyone and certainly won’t do wonders for your annual review.
The key to a good reputation is two-fold:
1. Do good things.
2. Tell people about them.
You don’t need to put out an IT newsletter; a simple weekly status report can do wonders to let people know that you’re not just sitting in your cubicle, you’re actually working hard to keep the company running. What was the system up-time this week? How many viruses were detected and blocked? How much spam? Who had a hardware/software issue, and how quickly was it resolved? What project progress was made?
These figures are relatively easy to track, and it’s always better to have quantified baselines for your review than just someone’s perception that you’re only associated with problems. CYA? Not really; call it expectations management.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- MSI promotes Marc Voirol, Ted Warring, hires Leor Levi
- Ursula Rhode promoted to Executive Vice President, Global Services at GenaRes
- Sam Fahmy joins Passkey as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management
Marc Voirol has been promoted from Senior Corporate Account Manager to Manager, Account Management Team at Multi-Systems Inc. (MSI). Prior to joining MSI some years ago, Mr. Voirol held several management positions within the Holiday Inn brand.
Ted Warring has been promoted to Chief Scientist. Mr. Warring joined MSI’s development team in 1997; overall, he has 20-plus years experience in computer science, artificial intelligence research and business automation software development.
Leor Levi has been hired as Director of Information Technology, with a focus on improving customer technology integration and solidifying the company’s infrastructure. Mr. Levi worked as a contract employee during MSI’s relocation in April, and earlier spent a year in Iraq on a government contract providing technical support for Army computer systems. He has more than 10 years experience in information technology.
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Ursula Rhode has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Global Services at GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services. With nearly 30 years of hotel and travel industry experience, Ms. Rhode joined GenaRes as Vice President, Global Services in February. She had earlier spent nine years in various vice president positions with Lexington Services and its successors VIP and Vantis, and previously served with United Airlines, Galileo, System One Travel Resources and Pegasus Solutions.
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Sam Fahmy has joined Passkey International as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. Mr. Fahmy brings 16 years of management experience, most recently as co-founder and leader of marketing, products and strategy at on-line software developer Bungo. He had earlier served as a senior executive at buyout and management specialists Japonica Partners, and started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Aleenta orders Visual One for two properties, Visual One’s first sale in Thailand
- Forbury Hotel, Reading, England orders Visual One’s PMS suite
- HIS reaffirms TierOne Hospitality Solutions as exclusive distributor in Canada
- Harris Ranch chooses Springer Miller
Aleenta Resorts and Spa has ordered Visual One’s PMS for its two properties in Hua Hin/Pranburi and Phuket/Phang gna, for installation later this year. This marks Visual One’s first sale in Thailand; modules to be installed include PMS, POS and Accounting. Aleenta plans to develop further hotels throughout Thailand over the next few years.
The 24-room Forbury Hotel and Cerise Restaurant & Bar, Reading, England has ordered Visual One’s PMS suite. Modules to be installed include PMS, POS, S&C, Web Booking and Sales Ledger; the property is scheduled to open early in 2006.
(www.theforburyhotel.co.uk, www.v1s.com)
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Hotel Information Systems has reaffirmed TierOne Hospitality Solutions as its exclusive distributor in Canada for the core, epitome and Business Intelligence products. (www.tieronehospitality.com, www.hotelinfosys.com)
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Harris Ranch has chosen PAR-Springer Miller’s SMS|Host Hospitality Management System for its inn and restaurant in Coalinga, California. The implementation includes PMS, Touch Fine Dining POS, Retail POS, Spa/Recreation Scheduling for dining reservations, and SMS |World for internet booking. (www.harrisranch.com, www.springermiller.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- BTG-Jianguo Hotels and Resorts signs with TravelCLICK
- Best Western lists with Hotwire.com
- Red Lion redesigns Web site to include reference and comparison rates
- Pegasus re-enters consumer Web booking market with Hotelbook.com
- Great Hotels launches Luxotels GDS reservation service for four/five star properties
BTG-Jianguo Hotels and Resorts has signed a multi-year agreement with TravelCLICK (through its partner, Beijing Great Consulting Co) for GDS and website connectivity via its iHotelier central reservation system. BGCC will provide ongoing customer service and support. Twenty BTG-Jianguo hotels are already on-line with iHotelier. (www.bgcc.cn, www.travelclick.net)
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Best Western International is listing inventory with discount travel site Hotwire.com.
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Red Lion Hotels has redesigned its Web site to include features such as reference rates to provide an idea of costs if actual travel dates are unknown, the ability to compare Red Lion’s rates against rates on other travel sites (including Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz), online access to a live reservation agent and ticket purchase for local events. Red Lion Hotels has over 60 properties in 11 western states and Canada. (www.redlion.com)
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Pegasus Solutions re-entered the consumer Web booking market with Hotelbook.com, which launched with 5,000 properties, mostly independent hotels. Later this year it plans to also launch a site focused on five-star lodging. Pegasus sold its earlier effort, TravelWeb, to Priceline.com in May 2004. (www.pegs.com)
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Great Hotels Organisation launched Luxotels, a European GDS reservation service for four and five star properties. (ww.luxotels.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- Pegasus offers integrated version of Open Hospitality’s interactive Web marketing services
- AH&LA members can pre-register through Aug. 26 to use ".travel" domain name
- Myrtle Beach adopts ZMail hosted email/data integration system
Pegasus Solutions is offering an integrated version of Open Hospitality’s interactive Web marketing services, including Web site management, e-mail marketing and search engine optimization. The combined Pegasus-Open system is available in North America and is in development for Europe and Latin America. (www.openhospitality.com, www.pegs.com)
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The American Hotel & Lodging Assn. can pre-authenticate and pre-register its members through Aug. 26 to use ".travel," a new top-level domain and the only custom-made search engine for the travel and tourism industry. (www.ahla.com/travel_info.asp)
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Myrtle Beach National Company has adopted ZDirect’s ZMail hosted email system to integrate guest data from MBN’s separate databases for use in targeted marketing and guest services. MBN currently operates nine golf courses and six resort properties. (www.oceanresorts.com, www.ZDirect.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- Convention Industry Council releases APEX OfficeReady suite of templates, tools
The Convention Industry Council (CIC) has released APEX OfficeReady for Meeting and Event Planning, a collection of over 200 event management and business templates including those developed through APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange). Designed to interface with Microsoft Office, OfficeReady includes tools such as the APEX Event Specifications Guide (a wizard-driven format for preparing and sharing event instructions and details), completed samples of all hard-copy APEX templates, all checklists from The Convention Industry Council Manual, 7th Edition, the ability to create PDF files for secure distribution, an automatic profile feature that inserts the user’s name, address, and event-related relevant information into new documents automatically, and an industry glossary. (www.conventionindustry.org)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- SIVA integrating CBORD’s Webfood online ordering application into iSIVA POS
SIVA is integrating CBORD’s Webfood online ordering application into its iSIVA point-of-sale software, to allow customers to place takeout, delivery, and catering orders via the Internet. Once integration is complete, Webfood will transmit those orders in real time to the iSIVA POS for payment processing and routing to SIVA’s kitchen, delivery management, and back office systems. (www.sivacorp.com, www.cbord.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- Outrigger Waikiki offers free high-speed Internet access and long-distance domestic calls
- Aruba Beach Club installing In-Systcom’s ResortLynx Infotainment System
- Hotel Carlton, Bilbao orders Otrum’s interactive video services
- GuestWare using SpectraLink phones for faster message speed over hotel wireless networks
The Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach is offering free high-speed Internet access and free long-distance domestic telephone calls to its guests from August 1. All 525 guest rooms have wired HSIA and all meeting rooms and lobby areas offer wireless connections; the service was installed by Golden Tree Communications in partnership with Cadmus Telecom. (www.outriggerwaikiki.com)
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The 131-room Aruba Beach Club timeshare resort is installing In-Systcom’s ResortLynx Infotainment System. (www.insystcom.com)
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The historic 143-room Hotel Carlton in Bilbao, Spain has ordered Otrum’s interactive video services, which include welcome greetings, wake-up alarms, in-room movies and high-speed Internet access. (www.otrum.com)
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Diversified Computer Corp.’s GuestWare software can now use SpectraLink’s Wireless Telephones to improve the transmission speed of rapid response messages in hotels. SpectraLink handsets combine office phone functionality with radio and text messaging capabilities, and send and receive messages through GuestWare using a hotel’s wireless infrastructure. Two full-service hotels are pilot-testing the interface. (www.spectralink.com, www.guestware.com)
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INVENTORY/PURCHASING
- Birch Street releases eInventory module
- Myrtle Beach contracts with Avendra for procurement services
Birch Street Systems has released its eInventory module to simplify the tracking, costing and requisitioning of storeroom or retail outlet inventory. When coupled with Birch Street’s eProcurement and financial controls, eInventory tracks true food cost, cost-by-outlet and actual-vs.-budget costs. Both eInventory and e-Procurement system are available as hosted solutions accessed via a browser. (www.birchstreet.net)
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The Myrtle Beach National Co. has contracted with Avendra for procurement services for its six hotels and nine golf courses, which include The Breakers Resort. (www.mbn.com, www.avendra.com)
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