JANUARY 10-31, 2006
TOP O' THE NEWS
- ISHC releases Top Ten Issues and Challenges for 2006
- Accuvia and HTNG to partner on integrated technology promotion at HOSTEC events
The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) recently released its Top Ten Issues and Challenges for 2006:
1. Changing Labor Conditions - shrinking labor force, union issues and escalating health/benefit costs.
2. Escalating Operating Costs – operating costs rising faster than income, including energy, insurance, labor and higher brand standards.
3. Impact of Energy Costs on Travel – travel may decline as higher energy costs hit personal and corporate budgets.
4. Escalating Renovation/Construction Costs – higher brand standards need more investment than expected as building materials, energy and interest costs all increase.
5. Havoc from Recent Natural Disasters – impact on tourism infrastructure, funds go to rebuilding, not growth, travelers choosing destinations based on level of perceived risk.
6. Growing Global Uncertainly On Safety/Security – personal safety, increased security hassles, government restrictions on visits.
7. Evolving Customer Expectations – want more personalized experiences even from chain hotels, increasingly sophisticated in use of technology to research, select and purchase lodging.
8. Condo-hotels Growing Rapidly - new risks/challenges for developers, lenders, unit owners and management.
9. Accelerating Change and Merging of Technologies – adoption of more powerful/flexible integrated systems often hampered by outdated infrastructure, so real benefits go unrealized.
10. Increasing Consolidation of Hotel Brands/Companies – increases pressure on owners to accept potentially competing sub-brand properties in same territory.
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Accuvia and Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) are partnering to promote integrated hospitality technology at the HOSTEC-EURHOTEC and HOSTEC-ASIA events. HTNG will host a "HTNG Pavilion" at each event. HTNG is a HOSTEC Association Sponsor and will participate in educational sessions and at Networking Receptions during each event. Future plans call for an HTNG Technology Thought Leadership conference to run alongside HOSTEC.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Tom Conophy joins Intercontinental as CIO
- Jeff Edwards joins Cendant Hotel Group as CIO and SVP, Global Revenue Services
- Passkey hires Rodd Herron as VP, Business Development, and Courtney Marsh and David Leitner as Regional Directors of Business Development
- Paul McGrath hired by HIS as VP Product Management, CRS & Distribution
- Tak Walden promoted to Eastern Region Sales Manager for Onity; Jeff Jarvis joins Onity as Premier Accounts Manager, North America
Tom Conophy has joined Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) as Chief Information Officer (CIO). Mr. Conophy was most recently Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer with Starwood Hotels & Resorts International. He had earlier served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Architecture for Sabre, and held senior technology management posts at Galileo International and Century Analysis Inc.
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Jeff Edwards has joined Cendant Hotel Group as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Revenue Services. Mr. Edwards has over twenty years of hospitality experience, most recently with his own consulting firm, Edwards Consulting Inc. From 2000 to 2001 he was President and Chief Executive Officer of restaurant reservations/CRM vendor OpenTable, and from 1994 to 2000 served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Micros-Fidelio. He had earlier served in various hospitality-related executive roles including, from 1984 to 1990, President and Chief Executive Officer of PMS/CRS vendor Action Software.
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Passkey has hired Rodd Herron as Vice President of Business Development, and Courtney Marsh and David Leitner as Regional Directors of Business Development.
Mr. Herron joins from Wyndham International, where he was Vice President of Sales Development.
Mr. Herron has also served as Vice President of Global Sales Programs for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and spent eleven years with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in various sales positions.
Ms. Marsh was most recently National Sales Manager for Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, and had previously held various positions at Newmarket International.
Mr. Leitner served as Director of Franchise Development for Hilton Hotels Corp., and had earlier served with Promus Hotels in various positions dealing with hospitality project development, operations, sales and marketing, and high volume call center management.
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Paul McGrath has been hired by Hotel Information Systems as Vice President Product Management, CRS & Distribution. Mr. McGrath has over 20 years of experience in product management and development, entering the hospitality industry with Utell where he was eventually Director and Vice President of Strategic Systems Development. He moved to Anasazi to direct product development efforts through the eventual acquisition by Pegasus Solutions, and was most recently Senior Director, Product Management at Pegasus.
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Tak Walden has been named Eastern Region Sales Manager for Onity; he was most recently Premier Accounts Manager for Onity's hospitality division.
Jeff Jarvis has joined Onity as Premier Accounts Manager, North America, and brings extensive sales and management gained with such companies as Cintas, Marietta Corporation and Coca-Cola.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Coast Hotels & Resorts picks Hotel Concepts CRS/PMS/Web suite for its 34 properties
- Grand Velas All Suite & Spa Resort adds third property to centralized Hogatex Starlight PMS
- Britain’s Nunsmere Hall, Cheshire, and Royal Air Force Club, London, order Visual One suite
- Morey Hospitality selects RedSky IT’s centrally hosted Entirety for five hotels in New Jersey
- Hansji Hotels implements major upgrade of Entirety suite
- Czech Hotel (TX) orders Entirety PMS
- Hawthorn Suites to standardize on MSI’s WinPM
Coast Hotels & Resorts has selected Hotel Concepts’ IDPMS product suite, including Central Reservations System, Front Office and Customer Web Interface, for its 34-property network. The system will initially be rolled out at 10 Coast locations in Western Canada starting in February 2006, before being extended to the complete chain. (www.coasthotels.com, www.hotelconcepts.com)
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Mexico’s Grand Velas All Suite & Spa Resort is adding a third property to its centralized use of Hogatex-Optims systems. The 161-suite five star Spa Resort Grand Velas and 483-room four star Velas Vallarta Suite Resort & Hotel were equipped with Starlight Front Office last September; a third property, the 84-room Casa Velas Hotel Boutique, has just been installed on the multiproperty solution. (www.grandvelas.com, www.hogatex-optims.com)
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Britain’s Nunsmere Hall and Restaurant, near Chester, has ordered Visual One’s integrated Front Office, Sales Ledger, Point of Sale, Sales & Catering and Web Bookings. The 36-room hotel was built around 1900 as the family home for Sir Aubrey Brocklebank, chairman of the Brocklebank Shipping Line.
The 82-room Royal Air Force Club, London has ordered Visual One’s integrated Front Office, Sales Ledger, Sales & Catering and Web Bookings, and will integrate it with the Club’s existing membership system.
(www.nunsmere.co.uk, www.rafclub.org.uk, www.v1s.com)
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Morey Hospitality has selected RedSky IT’s (formerly Ramesys’) Entirety Enterprise Suite to deliver PMS functionality from a centrally hosted location to its five hotels in southern New Jersey.
Orange County, CA-based Hansji Hotels has implemented a major upgrade of its Entirety suite following the recent expansion of its Anaheim-based Desert Palms Hotel & Suites, and has contracted to upgrade a second site in February.
The Czech Hotel (TX) also recently concluded contracts for RedSky IT’s Entirety PMS.
(www.moreyhospitality.com, www.hansjihotels.com, www.redskyit.com/us)
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US Franchise Systems’ Hawthorn Suites extended-stay brand will transition to Multi-Systems Inc.’s (MSI’s) WinPM system by June 1, 2006, the first time all 98 brand properties will be required to use a common PMS. Approximately half of the properties are already using the system. The standardization will allow the introduction of a Hawthorn Suites Dashboard, a uniform platform to provide properties with real-time operational statistics, STR reports, accounting and marketing tools. (www.hawthorn.com, www.msisolutions.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- Kayak.com first meta-search engine to list real-time rates/availability from Pegasus, Otedis
- PlacesToStay.com adding resort properties to its portfolio
- IXEO Interactive Travel launches IX-e private-label travel booking engine
- India’s Avenues contracts with Pegasus for Unirez and commission processing services
- Genesis’ FareSpider now includes real-time inventory from 64,700 hotel and resort properties
- Group Travel Planet releases GTPDDirect Connect technology links to CRSs, PMSs, etc.
- Amadeus announces Call Centre Solution with caller ID-customized screens
- Hotel Negresco in Nice, France becomes FastBooking’s 3,000th client
- Hilton accredits Travelweb as online distributor of merchant room inventory
- TravelCLICK adds multilingual agents to iHotelier call handling services
Kayak.com will list real-time rates and availability from Pegasus Solutions and Otedis directly from the Web sites of more than 100,000 hotels, claiming to be the first meta-search site to work with these providers. (www.kayak.com)
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PlacesToStay.com is adding resort properties to its mostly city-based portfolio as part of a plan to improve the choice and quality of its listings, and expects to have around 2,000 resort-based properties in Europe and the US featured by March. (www.placestostay.com)
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IXEO Interactive Travel is offering its IX-e private label travel booking engine to hotel groups and travel suppliers. Featuring dynamic packaging and interactive IX-concierge functionality, the booking engine allows travel companies and affiliates to offer worldwide lodging, airfare and tourism activities on their own website in a single transaction. The engine is supported by a multilingual fulfillment service from the company’s centre in Germany for ticketing, call center, credit card transactions, commission payments, voucher processing, etc. Hotel data is provided via a connection to Pegasus; destination information comes from Lonely Planet. (www.ixeo.com)
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India’s e-commerce provider Avenues has contracted with Pegasus Solutions for Unirez booking services for its ResAvenue online reservation engine. Avenues will also use Pegasus’ commission processing service. (www.avenuesworld.com, www.pegs.com)
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Genesis’ FareSpider low fare search and booking tool now includes real-time inventory from 64,700 hotel and resort properties worldwide, packaged with GDS air, web air and charter air fares from 465 GDS and supplemental carriers and 40 Web-based airlines. The company plans to add consolidator fares in the near future. (www.genesistds.com)
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Group Travel Planet LLC released its GTPDDirect Connect technology, a set of direct connections which pull group hotel rates and inventory from hotel central reservation systems, property management systems, providers of distribution management solutions and merchant hotel distributors, eliminating the need to load group rates and inventory manually. Four pilot companies have signed agreements to use the new technology; a hotel chain, a merchant hotel distributor and two distribution management solution providers. (www.grouptravelplanet.com)
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Amadeus has announced its new Call Centre Solution, which is claimed to cut call centre costs for travel companies by up to 30%. Based on Amadeus’ Vista Selling Platform, it uses a 'Dynamic Desktop' that integrates caller ID technology to present the operator with a screen tailored to the caller's location. (www.amadeus.com)
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The 145-room Hotel Negresco in Nice, France has adopted FastBooking’s online booking engine, becoming FastBooking’s 3,000th client. Founded five years ago, FastBooking’s client base has risen 50% in the last 11 months. (www.hotel-negresco-nice.com, www.fastbooking.com)
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Hilton Hotels Corp. has accredited Priceline.com’s Travelweb subsidiary as a distributor of online merchant room inventory. (www.hilton.com, www.travelweb.com)
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TravelCLICK has expanded the call handling services of its iHotelier CRS to include multilingual agents throughout the world through partnerships with call center operators including Virtual Agent Services. Italy’s Pregio Hotels is the first client to take advantage of this solution for its 38 properties. (www.pregiohotel.com, www.travelclick.net)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- MGM Grand implements IMAP’s 3D animated, interactive online property guide
- New HTNG workgroup focuses on distribution channel rich content management
- A Couple of Chicks Marketing’s Merlin Online Metrics track advertising campaigns ROI
- SoapBox Factory launches e-mail marketing tool
The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino has implemented IMAP’s 3D Interactive Hotel and Conference Facility Floor Plan & Mapping application, providing an animated, interactive online guide to its conference facilities, hotel services and features, casino area and sports arena. (www.mgmgrand.com, www.imapenterprises.com)
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Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) has launched a new workgroup focusing on rich content management for distribution channels. The initial sponsors are Cendant Travel Distribution Services, Hyatt Corp., Lanyon, Leonardo Media, Pegasus Solutions, the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) and Starwood Hotels and Resorts; membership applications from other hotel companies and technology providers will be accepted through February 8, with an initial maximum of 25 companies. The new workgroup will be the first HTNG workgroup to hold its meetings principally in Europe, where languages, distribution channels, and resort destinations make content management particularly challenging. The workgroups charter calls for functionality for hotels to manage the creation and maintenance of rich content and to ensure its consistency across all supported channels. (www.htng.org)
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A Couple of Chicks Marketing has announced its Merlin Online Metrics tool to track the ROI of online and offline advertising campaigns. Merlin Online Metrics accurately measures the revenue from all advertising channels, tracking the initial search word, print ad origin or referring website to measure the revenue generated from positioning in search engines such as Google and Yahoo, press releases, offline and online ad campaigns. (www.acoupleofchicks.com)
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SoapBox Factory has launched a new e-mail marketing tool that allows individual hotels to create and send highly targeted e-mails to potential guests at low cost. SoapBox is a 50/50 joint venture between Internet marketing company gCommerce and 689 Design, a design firm that specializes in hospitality-based design, branding and media creation. (www.soapboxfactory.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- De Vere Hotels & Leisure selects IDeaS for revenue optimization across its 35 properties
- AnyRate Software grants Hotel Marketing Solutions exclusive market rights for Italy
De Vere Hotels & Leisure has selected IDeaS revenue optimization for implementation across its 19 De Vere Hotels and 16 Village Hotels & Leisure Clubs, with two-way interfaces the properties’ MICROS Fidelio v6 PMSs and Opera CRS. (www.devereonline.co.uk, www.villagehotelsonline.co.uk, www.idealyield.com)
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AnyRate Software has granted Rome-based Hotel Marketing Solutions exclusive market rights for its competitive rate shopping products in Italy, the first European company certified to do so. The products include AnyRate Flash, which conducts rate searches upon customer request to avoid the use of stale data from cached prior searches. HMS operates the consumer travel site BookItalyHotels.com and currently represents over 130 hotels in more than 20 cities throughout Italy. (www.hmsconnect.com, www.any-rate.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- Hyderabad International Convention Center and Novotel Hyderabad install Delphi
- Two Luxe hotels and corporate offices implement Daylight ASP Advanced Sales & Catering
- Certain Software releases Version 4.5 of Register123 online registration/attendee management system
The new Hyderabad International Convention Center and Novotel Hotel Hyderabad have installed Newmarket International’s Delphi Select Multi Property Edition and Delphi Diagrams. The convention center complex includes the 4,000-seat arena and the new 5-star, 300-room Novotel Hotel Hyderabad, the first new build Novotel Hotel in India. (www.hitex.co.in, www.newmarketinc.com)
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The 161-room Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard and 88-room Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive and the organization's corporate offices have implemented Daylight’s ASP Advanced Sales & Catering application. Luxe Worldwide Hotels intends to offer preferred pricing for Daylight to its 200+ members worldwide to enable them to exchange leads and key corporate client contacts via the Internet regardless of their type of Sales & Catering system. The corporate offices are migrating from Siebel’s CRM software to the Daylight ASP. (www.luxehotels.com, www.daylightsoftware.com)
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Certain Software has released Version 4.5 of its Register123 online registration and attendee management system. Enhancements include new budgeting capabilities, the ability to create individualized documents such as agendas, custom badges and confirmation letters, Web integration links for seamless integration with Passkey and other third-party web applications, and the ability to scan a bar-coded registration code and automatically update that registration's status. (www.certain.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- SIR Corp. deploying SquirrelOne POS in 23 Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill restaurants
- Burger King designates MICROS and Par Technology as approved vendors
- DavCo Restaurants deploying MICROS RES 3000 in all 150+ locations
- Carlson selects MICROS’ e7 POS for its Country Inns & Suites and Park Plaza brands
- Melting Pot Restaurants designates ReServe Interactive as preferred reservation/table management system
SIR Corp. is deploying Squirrel Systems’ SquirrelOne point-of-sale system in its 23 Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill restaurants throughout Canada. (www.sircorp.com, www.squirrelsystems.com)
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Burger King has designated Micros Systems and Par Technology as approved vendors for systems at its 11,000+ Burger King restaurants worldwide, covering Micros’ RES point-of-sale system and Par’s ViGo and InFusion suite and services.
DavCo Restaurants, the largest franchisee of Wendy's Restaurants, is deploying MICROS RES 3000 in all of its 150+ locations. The POS suite includes the MICROS 3700 QSR POS system, Kitchen Display Systems (KDS), Enterprise Management and mymicros.net, all running on the MICROS Workstation 4 and MICROS PC 2010 touchscreen terminals. The roll-out should be complete by mid-2006.
Carlson Hotels Worldwide has selected MICROS’ e7 POS system for its Country Inns & Suites By Carlson and Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts brands, integrated with its OPERA PMS. The MICROS e7, initially developed for independent, limited service establishments, uses an all-in-one MICROS Workstation 4 (WS4) with an embedded software application based on the Windows CE .NET operating system. A 90 day pilot implementation was carried out at the Park Plaza in Bloomington, Minn.
(www.bk.com, www.partech.com, www.davcorestaurants.com, www.carlson.com, www.micros.com)
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The Melting Pot Restaurants has designated ReServe Interactive as the preferred software provider of reservation and table management software for its chain of fondue restaurants. ReServe calculates available time slots based on restaurant criteria, automates the process of taking reservations and managing guest seating while optimizing covers and maximizing service quality. The software includes an Aloha POS system interface to communicate table status automatically and to pass specific order history information to customer database files. (www.meltingpot.com, www.reserveinteractive.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- Omni switches to StayOnline for wireless HSIA at 33 properties
- StayOnline announces GuestPass Director bandwidth management tool and new dashboard Customer Reporting System
- SkyPath to provide Oxford Media digital programming to its satellite-dish hotel customers
- HFTP underwriting a Guestroom 2010 display booth at this year’s HITEC
- Threadneedles Hotel, London and Sonesta Maho Beach install Guest-Tek
- VIPdesk launches VIP Customer Connect virtual concierge services from home-based agents
- Starwood offering Yahoo!-branded Internet portal services at select Sheratons
Omni Hotels has switched to StayOnline as its exclusive provider of wireless HSIA services for the public areas and over 12,000 guest rooms at 33 of Omni’s 39 properties.
StayOnline has announced its GuestPass Director, a bandwidth management tool that lets properties allocate bandwidth appropriately for guest and back-office functions and to limit bandwidth usage when necessary. The company will also be rolling out a new dashboard Customer Reporting System enabling customers to manage utilization, guest and network issue resolution, and guest billing. StayOnline is also adding more than 30% to its staff, primarily in the areas of Customer Service and Engineering.
(www.omnihotels.com, www.stayonline.net)
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SkyPath Satellite Systems has signed a dealer agreement with Oxford Media Corp to provide its digital Video-On-Demand and Pay-Per-View entertainment to SkyPath’s satellite-dish hotel customers. (www.oxfordmediainc.com)
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Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) is underwriting a Guestroom 2010 display at this year’s HITEC conference. The booth will feature a guestroom prototype with the latest and near-future technologies for the modern hotel room. (www.hftp.com)
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The Eton Collection’s Threadneedles Hotel in London, United Kingdom and the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino, in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, are both installing Guest-Tek Interactive Entertainment OneView Video-on-Demand (VOD) service. The Sonesta will also install Guest-Tek’s high-speed Internet access (HSIA). These two agreements bring the total number of VOD rooms under contract for Guest-Tek to over 4,000. (www.theetoncollection.com, www.sonesta.com, www.guest-tek.com)
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VIPdesk has launched its VIP Customer Connect virtual contact center, offering concierge services from its home-based agents. VIP Customer Connect services include inbound and outbound customer service, customer surveys, product support, reservation and event management and fulfillment services. (www.vipdesk.com)
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Yahoo! to offer branded Internet portal services at select Sheraton properties. The Yahoo! Link @ Sheraton features free Wi-Fi and broadband access and a co-branded, locally-tailored portal website available on computers in the lounge areas and in guestrooms, with Internet printing from PrintMe. Pilot implementations are in progress at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, Sheraton Boston, Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and Sheraton Stamford in Connecticut. (www.starwoodhotels.com, www.yahoo.com)
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BACK OFFICE
- Choice Hotels converts over 3,100 properties to Shift4's $$$ ON THE NET in nine months
- $$$ ON THE NET processed nearly $15 billion in payments in 2005
- Three former Wyndham properties installing Aptech’s Profitvue back office system
Choice Hotels International has converted over 3,100 properties to Shift4's $$$ ON THE NET in nine months, claimed to be the largest conversion in the shortest time ever for the hotel industry.
Shift4’s $$$ ON THE NET web-based payment gateway processed nearly $15 billion in payments in 2005, representing over 92 million transactions for more than 11,000 merchants, more than double the number of merchants it handled in 2004.
(www.choicehotels.com, www.shift4.com)
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Three properties formerly operated by Wyndham are installing Aptech Computer Systems’ Profitvue back office system for financial accounting and decision support. The hotels are the 130-room Harbor View Hotel and 60-room Kelley House in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and the 177-room Grand Bay Hotel in Miami, Florida. (www.aptech-inc.com)
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COMMUNICATIONS
- Three properties buy Mitel PBXs from RedSky IT
RedSky IT recently concluded agreements to supply Mitel PBXs at Comfort Suites Yuma (AZ), Berry Hill Hotel (WV) and Wingate Mobile (AL). (www.redskyit.com/us)
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