Arbor Lodging Management is Emerging Strong from Pandemic with Aptech Financial Solutions
Prior to the 2020 pandemic, Arbor Lodging Management made a critical financial decision; the hotel management group operating Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and InterContinental Hotel Group brands partnered with Aptech, the industry standard for hospitality financial management. With 12 new hotels entering its system in January 2020, Aptech’s Execuvue business intelligence solution and Targetvue budgeting and forecasting system would help the multi-brand operator onboard these assets and assist its existing full-service, select-service, and extended stay properties with analyzing data, building reports, writing formulas, combining information from multiple sources and more.
When COVID-19 hit, the world shut down, but thanks in part to Aptech, Arbor Lodging Management and its hotels stayed open. The company used the time of low occupancy to train on Aptech systems and learn how to navigate the new normal using the robust forecasting, budgeting, and expense tools within Targetvue, and leverage custom reporting and data gathering within Execuvue to make smarter business decisions using analytics to help management budget more accurately for 2021.
“By the end of 2019, we realized that we needed to retrieve better data in real time and have the ability to make more informed business decisions that would positively impact our profitability,” said Kaitlin Defilippo, Arbor Lodging Management Corporate Operations Manager. “Aptech provides the customization and reporting we lacked through IBM Cognos; this is crucial to our growth.
“Aptech tools are driving data in a timely manner, enabling us to make quick changes to market fluctuations and keep our investors up to date,” she added. “I especially like how Execuvue provides a baseline for data to be compared equally across the portfolio; for the first time we can actually compare apples to oranges easily. No other business intelligence system had this capability. With Targetvue, we can forecast through various scenarios and navigate the impact market adjustments make for us. This enables us to react within our operations. Both Execuvue and Targetvue give us the ample resources we need to continue to grow. Aptech has given us a smooth path to recovery coming out of COVID.”
Through Aptech’s onsite and online training programs, DeFilippo said she and her team were able to learn Execuvue and Targetvue quickly. The company participated in a three-day onsite training seminar mid pandemic, and weekly DeFilippo said she receives one-on-one training with Aptech Vice President Cam Troutman to ensure that she is has fully grasped all functionality.
Execuvue® is Aptech’s IBM Cognos-based ASP business intelligence application. In 2020, Execuvue was redesigned to make the customized reporting and data gathering tool even more intuitive. It helps operators make smarter business decisions and answer questions on the fly using analytics. It features a new and improved “Dashboard” tool delivering stunning images of financial and operational data to deliver actionable insights. The drag-and-drop environment with predictive analytics creates visualizations based on data entered.
Targetvue is Aptech’s hospitality-driven budgeting and forecasting solution. Aptech joined forces with PROPHIX to develop a totally new budgeting and forecasting application fully integrated with Execuvue. Targetvue eliminates the need to correct and recombine multiple spreadsheets for consolidating and reporting.
“We are delighted that Arbor Lodging Management is such a satisfied Aptech customer,” Troutman said. “They are using Execuvue and Targetvue in sync to quickly respond to changes in revenue and expenses and identify trends that will better position each of its assets for growth and profitability. Hoteliers are reliant on data more than ever to help them navigate the future. With limited staff and leaner budgets, Aptech continues to help brands and management companies like Arbor Lodging Management do a lot more with a lot less. The scalability, flexibility, and integration capabilities of Execuvue and Targetvue truly set Aptech apart from other providers of hospitality financial management solutions.”
For more information on Aptech solutions, visit www.aptech-inc.com.