MARCH 2 - 23, 2006
TOP O' THE NEWS
- A week of three good conferences provides enlightenment – and a scheduling challenge
Conference season started with a triple convergence in one week in Dallas; Res-Expo was held downtown at the Adams Mark, while HTNG’s annual meeting at the Hilton Anatole segued immediately into Lodging Hospitality’s sixth HOT (Hospitality Operations and Technology) conference.
Res-Expo continued its good record of providing updates on the overall reservations/ distribution world, with an emphasis on current marketing trends and the challenges of emerging markets such as China. HTNG’s second annual conference was well-organized and very encouraging; each of the current systems integration workgroups gave clear evidence of progress, and using multiple presenters for each emphasized the teamwork, inter-vendor cooperation and professionalism that makes this possible. One worthwhile innovation was the inclusion of Thought Leadership sessions, using several non-hospitality speakers to provide provocative and challenging views of where technology is heading. Rounding out the week, the HOT conference has matured into a small but high-quality event, with a good representation of vendors and hoteliers and an atmosphere that encourages lively interaction between panelists and audience.
All three had their highlights, and arranging them back-to-back does make it much easier for visitors to attend two on a single trip – and some brave souls managed parts of all three. But it’s also frustrating to have to choose between overlapping events, especially when they’re as worthwhile as these. The conference calendar has been crowded for some years, but interest in combining or linking events seems to be growing and it’ll be interesting to see how this shapes out next year.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Sue Lawrence joins Visual One Systems as a sales and marketing executivez
- Cliff Atkinson and Adam Werner hired by IDeaS as Regional Directors of Sales
Sue Lawrence has joined Visual One Systems as a sales and marketing executive, based in the Fetcham, Surrey office. Ms. Lawrence brings significant hospitality experience, having spent the last seven years with Micros Fidelio. She had earlier served two years with Botley Park, and eleven years with Forte Hotels.
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Cliff Atkinson and Adam Werner have joined IDeaS’ Americas based sales organization.
Mr. Atkinson has been hired as Director of Sales, Central Region; he has more than ten years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently as the Executive Assistant Manager of the Rooms Division for the Mandarin Oriental, New York. He was earlier Corporate Director of Revenue Management for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in San Francisco, and spent several years with Hilton Hotels in San Francisco.
Mr. Werner becomes Director of Sales for the Western region, joining IDeaS from Seattle’s Diversified Computer Corporation where he was a Sales Manager for its GuestWare CRM application. He had earlier worked in various management roles for nine years at the Westin Seattle.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Lapland Hotels selects MICROS’ OPERA for 9 resort hotels in Finland
Lapland Hotels has selected MICROS’ OPERA Property Management System and OPERA Reservation System for its 9 resort hotels in Finland, and myfidelio.net for its central and distribution services. (www.laplandhotels.com, www.micros.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- UNs World Tourism Organization and OTA sign Memorandum of Understanding
- The Ritz London selects TravelCLICK's iHotelier for distribution services
- Orient Express using IXeo dynamic packaging on its reservations website
- Leading Hotels and TRUST partner to launch The Private Label Company
- Groople integrates SynXis’ booking engine into its Web site
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to encourage better systems interaction for electronic travel bookings. UNWTO will provide a global forum for the adoption of OTA specifications, and the OTA will act as the technical arm of the UNWTO in the area of travel related technology and specifications. The two organizations will jointly act as stewards of unified global travel standards/specifications under WTO's UN structural umbrella, and will work to create an environment inclusive of other standards bodies and tourism organizations. (www.opentravel.org)
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The Ritz London has selected TravelCLICK's iHotelier for distribution services, including its brand website and online booking. The Ritz is an existing TravelCLICK client for its Hotelligence and FuturePACE market intelligence products. (www.theritzlondon.com, www.travelclick.net)
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Orient Express Hotels, Trains and Cruises is using IXeo Interactive Travel SA’s dynamic packaging functionality on its reservations website, for all hotels. The IX-e booking engine will allow travelers to add flights and local services to their hotel accommodation, and will also handle fulfillment, voucher issuing and cash management for all non-accommodation related services. (www.orient-express.com, www.ix-hotel.com)
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The Private Label Company (PLC) has been launched by The Leading Hotels of the World and TRUST International, to leverage their existing joint sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure and services for Leading member and non-member hotel groups and chains looking for a global presence in the luxury marketplace. Customers will be able to retain their own GDS codes and have access to worldwide voice reservations services, direct connectivity to all major on-line channels and interfaces to front-office and revenue-management systems. (www.lhw.com, www.trustinternational.com)
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Groople has integrated SynXis’ booking engine into its Web site, providing group travelers with the same access to real time hotel rates and availability as enjoyed by individuals. Groople allows non-managed group leaders to request a block of hotel rooms while permitting the individual group members to make payment and changes to the reservation. In addition, the group will be able to upload their rooming list directly to the property reservation system. (www.synxis.com, www.groople.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- Madigan Pratt launche Occupancy Optimizer CRM service
- VRX Studios launches online archive of rich media content for the cruise industry
- Grand Traverse Resort and Spa extends contract with Clairvoyix for three years
- Lodging Interactive announces CommentCards.com marketing service
- Thistle Hotels signs multi-year agreement with Lanyon for complete PropertyVault range
Madigan Pratt & Associates has launched Occupancy Optimizer CRM guidance, combining its existing marketing consultancy services with Clairvoyix, Acxiom and other technology to collect, analyze and leverage data from several different hotel system databases, including PMS, web registrations and reservations. (www.madiganpratt.com)
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VRX Studios has launched an online archive of rich media content for the cruise industry. The Cruise Archive provides coverage of each ship, with 360 degree virtual tours and interactive maps. (www.vrxstudios.com)
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The Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has extended its existing contract with database marketing company Clairvoyix for a further three years. The property includes a combined 600-plus hotel rooms and condo units, 85,000 square feet of meeting space and multiple guest activity facilities. (www.grandtraverseresort.com, www.clairvoyix.com)
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Lodging Interactive announced its CommentCards.com marketing service, which allows businesses to receive customer feedback from emails and directly through its website. The system provides customer comment card information in online graphical charts as well as permitting downloads into Excel for offline data analysis. (www.lodginginteractive.com)
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Thistle Hotels has signed a multi-year agreement with Lanyon for PropertyVault and its content management products, adding HODpublisher, ChannelPublisher and DRSpublisher to its existing RFPpublisher agreement. (www.lanyon.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- FastBooking announces FastBooking Checker Internet rate monitoring application
- AnyRate Software opens European Sales & Development Office in Berlin
- Manugistics releases system for better forecasting of unconstrained demand from third-party channels
- Driftwood Hospitality implements EZ Yield at 21st property
FastBooking announced its FastBooking Checker monitoring application to help hoteliers compare their rates with those posted by their competitors on the main Internet booking sites, the IDS and the hotels websites, on an automatic and daily basis. It also offers configuration of e-mail alerts (triggered when a competitor displays rates below a set limit, for instance), visualization of the analyzed Web pages, graph displays of results, report scheduling and data archiving. The tool is marketed on an annual subscription basis and is available in 3 versions, Classic, Pro and Expert. (www.fastbooking.com)
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AnyRate Software has opened a European Sales & Development Office in Berlin, to offer its competitive rate shopping products throughout Germany and other parts of Europe and to develop pricing-related programs to support hotels. (www.any-rate.com)
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Manugistics Group has released a new system for hotels to forecast unconstrained demand from third-party channels more accurately. (www.manugistics.com)
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Driftwood Hospitality has implemented EZ Yield at its 21st property. Driftwood owns and/or manages 26 hotels throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America. (www.ezyield.com)
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SALES & CATERING, MEETING PLANNING
- Benchmark Hospitality reports its annual Top Ten Hospitality Trends
- Kimpton deploying Delphi Select MPE in 38 U.S. properties
Benchmark Hospitality announced its annual "Top Ten Hospitality Trends for the Year" as reported by its properties, as follows:
1. Spas are the hottest trend in hotels, with strong demand from all types of business and transient guests.
2. Spending on company meetings is increasing rapidly. Advance bookings for corporate conferences in 2006 at Benchmark's properties are up from 20% to 50% over the start of 2005, and the investment per participant is also up significantly over last year.
3. The Rising Tide is floating all boats, so an emphasis on individual service and high quality facilities is necessary to stand out and capture a higher percentage of the available business.
4. Luxury is back! Guests are spending more and expecting luxury, first-class amenities and added value in return for their money. Flat screen televisions, high quality bath soaps, superior bed and bath linens are becoming expectations instead of luxuries, and service expectations are correspondingly high.
5. WiFi is expected. Guests expect to be able access email or the office at a moment's notice, wherever they are, and increasingly expect Wi-Fi access to be available free of charge.
6. Meeting privacy is important. A "competition clause" is being requested more often to preclude the presence of competitors anywhere on property while a company's executives are present. Some companies are buying up the entire hotel during their stay to control those they come into contact with. And WiFi access had better be secure hotel-wide.
7. Search Engine Optimization is essential for hotel Web sites. Web searches should show the hotel in the Top Five listings to ensure consideration by the customer, and the site must be appealing, easy to navigate, and effortless to book through.
8. Training & Strategic Planning sessions are surging again.
9. Print advertising and direct mail still matter. Online marketing is growing every year, but print's power remains a force to be reckoned with.
10. Blogs haven’t been a factor. Despite much talk of blogs in the meetings and hotel industry, customers don't mention them, providers aren't contributing much to them, and business doesn't seem to be originating through them. Maybe next year.
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Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group is deploying Newmarket International’s Delphi Select Multi Property Edition in its 38 U.S. properties. Kimpton has been using Delphi in 14 of its properties; the upgrade to the MPE version will allow the chain to manage its national sales efforts better through centralized reporting. (www.kimptonhotels.com, www.newmarketinc.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- Great Wolf Lodge implements Precision Dynamics’ RFID wristbands and POS system
- Tropical Smoothie Café picks MICROS’ RES 3000 as standard for all 180 stores
- Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort upgrades HSI Profit Series POS
- Fazer Amica Oy contracts with MICROS for chain management system for 820 restaurants
Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos, Penn., has implemented Precision Dynamics’ Smart Band RFID (radio frequency identification) wristbands and PDC Smart Kiosk RFID cashless Point-of-Sale system. At registration, guests are given an RFID wristband embedded with an RFID chip containing their encrypted data, to use for keyless entry to their guestrooms, for cashless payment options, automated access to lockers and arcade token dispensers, and more. Guests can add to the stored credit on their wristbands at Smart Kiosks or any POS station throughout the park, using cash, credit, or linked to the hotel room account. (http://poconos.greatwolflodge.com, www.pdcorp.com)
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Tropical Smoothie Café has designated MICROS’ RES 3000 as its corporate standard and has begun deployment to all stores, currently 180 across the US. The standard includes MICROS 3700 POS running on MICROS Workstation 4 touch-screen terminals at the store level, and MICROS Enterprise Management at the corporate level for enterprise-wide menu maintenance. Franchise locations will also have the option to implement the MICROS Kitchen Display System and the mymicros.net business intelligence solution.
The Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City has implemented a major upgrade of its HSI Profit Series Point-of-Sale (POS) software, to increase data security and to take advantage of a single database for point-of-sale transactions in its restaurants, bars, retail shops, box office, beauty salon and parking garage. HSI provided new file servers with Microsoft Failover Cluster for Windows 2003, external data storage and 21 new workstations; the POS application now covers over 20 outlets throughout the property, using more than 110 workstations.
Fazer Amica Oy has contracted with MICROS for a new chain management system, including the MICROS 3700 point-of-sale (POS) system, Enterprise Management, and myinventory, to service 820 restaurants in Finland and Sweden over the next 2-3 years. Fazer Amica's operations cover staff and student restaurants, department store restaurants and catering services for public institutions and schools.
(www.tropicalsmoothie.com, www.trumptaj.com, www.fazergroup.com, www.micros.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- Legendary Hotels picks Extenway as exclusive interactive video provider
- Great Wolf Lodge implements Precision Dynamics’ RFID wristbands and POS system
- StayOnline announces browser-based support reporting tool
- iTrade.biz releases mini vending machine for hotel rooms and all-in-one LCD PC Internet Kiosk
- Accor designates OTRUM as listed interactive TV supplier to 364 hotels in Germany
- Club Intrawest completes RoomLinX HSIA installations at six private resort club hotels
Legendary Hotel and Condo/Hotel has contracted Extenway Solutions to be the exclusive in-room interactive video services provider for all its properties. The pilot property is the 281-unit Emerald Grande in Destin Harbor, Florida. (www.legendaryinc.com, www.extenway.com)
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Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos, Penn., has implemented Precision Dynamics’ Smart Band RFID (radio frequency identification) wristbands and PDC Smart Kiosk RFID cashless Point-of-Sale system. At registration, guests are given an RFID wristband embedded with an RFID chip containing their encrypted data, to use for keyless entry to their guestrooms, for cashless payment options, automated access to lockers and arcade token dispensers, and more. Guests can add to the stored credit on their wristbands at Smart Kiosks or any POS station throughout the park, using cash, credit, or linked to the hotel room account. (http://poconos.greatwolflodge.com, www.pdcorp.com)
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StayOnline has announced its Customer Reporting System (CRS) support reporting tool, a browser-based software application delivering reports to hotel managers and owners on support and usage statistics. Filters can customize data down to the individual user level, including time and length of use, revenue generated and bandwidth usage; users can also generate reports of Support Calls and Incidents reported to the StayOnline Call Center. (www.stayonline.net)
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iTrade.biz Corp has released a mini vending machine for hotel rooms and an all-in-one LCD PC Internet Kiosk for the hotel lobby, business center or guest room. Both units allow guests to use coin, bill, credit card or their hotel room key-card to make purchases, using a smart chip attached in a room key-card. (www.itrade.biz)
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Accor has designated OTRUM as one of two listed suppliers of interactive TV solutions to its 364 hotels in Germany, with a total of 48,907 rooms. The immediate focus will be on the high-end brands such as Dorint Sofitel, Dorint Novotel and Mercure. OTRUM has developed an interface to allow its Interactive solutions software to operate with LG Electronics, Accor’s exclusive provider for these brands, and will begin to deliver LG screens to Accor Germany in early 2006. (www.accor.com, www.otrum.com)
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Club Intrawest has completed RoomLinX high-speed Internet installations for six of its private resort club hotels, in Blue Mountain (Ontario), Tremblant (Quebec), Whistler-Blackcomb (British Columbia), Palm Desert (California), Vancouver Wall Centre (British Columbia) and Sandestin (Florida). (www.clubintrawest.com, www.roomlinx.com)
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ENGINEERING
- Consolidated chooses Energy Eye EMS for Kahana Beach Resort in Maui
- Stafford Hospitality installing Energy Eye Wireless RF EMS in eight properties
Consolidated Resorts Management has chosen the Energy Eye EMS for installation in its 84-room Kahana Beach Resort beachfront property on the island of Maui. Consolidated operates eight upscale resorts in Hawaii and four resorts in its headquarters city of Las Vegas.
Stafford Hospitality is installing Energy Eye Wireless RF EMS in the eight properties it owns and/or manages in the Southeast and Midwest, comprising over 1.000 rooms. Pilot property is the 190-room Holiday Inn Tifton. (www.consolidatedresorts.com, www.staffordhospitality.com, www.energy-eye.com)
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COMMUNICATIONS
- Value Place names PhoneSuite PBX provider of choice for all owned properties
- Comfort Inn Northeast in Fern Park is 1,000th hotel to install PhoneSuite’s PBX
Extended-stay chain Value Place has named PhoneSuite as its PBX provider of choice for all company-owned properties. Value Place currently has 14 franchised and company-owned properties operating, with 12 more under construction and another 108 franchised and company-owned properties under contract to be built.
The 75-room Comfort Inn Northeast in Fern Park, Fla., recently became the 1,000th hotel to install PhoneSuite’s PBX. Choice Hotels International named PhoneSuite as an endorsed PBX provider in August 2005.
(www.myvalueplace.com, www.phonesuite.com)
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