CRS Front and Center
From the reservations book to Web-booking, central reservation systems (CRS) technology has continually evolved to suit the changing needs of the hospitality industry. The current reservation systems are following suit by adapting to the high volumes of reservations being made online -- a trend that is bound to stick around -- by making it easier for hoteliers to keep track of group bookings, rate changes, and travel websites for real-time control over distribution channels.
Having global reach
Barbara Walters, general manager of The Island House Hotel, in Orange Beach, Alabama, has experienced first hand the changes in reservations technology over the past decade. When it opened its doors 10 years ago, the hotel only had two computers at the front desk. Now it has 10 in the guest services area alone. The hotel is using Maestro (www.maestropms.com) ResEze, which it purchased through Northwind.
"They had everything we needed, from an excellent presentation addressing our needs and concerns, to reliable and strong references, to training programs after installation, to support when required,ÃÆ’® explains Walters. "But most of all, the Maestro programs offered us the management tools we needed to insure maximum booking opportunities to increase our occupancies on a daily basis. However, we do face the challenge of getting people to our website since we are an independent property and not tied to major chain reservation booking engines."
Laurel Point Inn and Paulis Motor Inn, located in Victoria, British Columbia, have found a way to reach out to a world of people by using the ASP-based (application service provider) Synxis Agent. Since November 2001, Synxis (www.synxis.com) has partnered with VIP International (www.vipintcorp.com), to offer small boutique hotels seamless connectivity to the four major Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and third party sites.
"With Synxis I can manage all booking channels through one secure Internet site," notes Avril Matthews, revenue manager for Laurel Point Inn and Paulis Motor Inn. "The growth that we have seen as a result of the online exposure has been enormous. From 2001 to 2002, our online bookings increased 28 percent and room nights increased 24 percent. This accounts for roughly $250,000 increase in room revenue." Plus, through Synxis Agent, Laurel Pointis after hours call center, which is manned by VIP agents, can access all available inventory and rates.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, based in Hong Kong, has no problem reaching an international audience, but by using a booking system called X-Vibe from HubX (www.hubx.net), they get maximum exposure. Christoph Oberli, e-commerce manager for Mandarin Oriental, states, "X-Vibe provides solid reservation capabilities, as well as integration capabilities between our website, the property PMS and the distributed content management system."
The company has been using X-Vibe for over two years. Oberli enjoys both the direct interface that provides real-time rates and availability that maximizes sales up to the last available room, as well as the easy to use front-end system that increases customer usage. "It's so easy to book special rates," exclaims Oberli. "One can even book transfers, which is relatively unique."
Customized features
Boca Resorts is planning to offer HubXis X-Vibe for leisure and GDS bookings, while continuing to use its Passkey (www.passkey.com) BLU--bulk load utility--solution for group reservations. Jon Carres, Boca Resort's chief information officer, reveals that Boca uses the one-page booking engine for leisure reservations from HubX. It uses the Passkey Web-booking engine on the group side.
Boca Resorts has been using Passkey since January and they've decided to stick with it because Carres says it can satisfy everyone. "From the resorts side, we can establish a website for the group and allow them to book farther out and delay the call-in volume until it is closer to the group's cut off date. This solution will enable our convention reservations people to focus on the group that is coming in over the next few weeks and have a solution in place for dealing with future groups that are not arriving for three to six months or longer," explains Carres.
"Everyone is happy, and the meeting planners can have access to reports 24/7 without having to go through their resort contacts. They can immediately tell if attendees have booked with the resort and not registered for the conference."
Micros Systems (www.micros.com) provides several special features that keep its clients happy and coming back for more. In addition to recently partnering with Wyndham to manage online booking and property reservations via Opera Reservation System (ORS), now all 75 Red Lion Hotels and WestCoast Hotels, owned, managed, and/or franchised by WestCoast Hospitality are using ORS.
"Operais Oracle platform and its XML connectivity make it easy to integrate with our existing systems," explains David Barbieri, vice president and CIO at WestCoast Hospitality. "That, coupled with enhanced reporting, enables us to react very quickly to marketplace pricing dynamics. The system has also significantly reduced costs in both our CRO operation, as well as our proprietary Web-booking channel, and it has improved our customer service levels in every distribution channel."
Little America Hotel and Towers chose Sceptre Hospitality Resources (www.esceptre.com) for its reservation system connection to the GDS and as the booking engine for its hotel website. "As an independent hotel, we rely on Sceptre to properly display our inventory through the GDSs," says Steven Combs, director of revenue management for Little America. "Sceptre provides seamless availability to the travel agency community as well as many of the leading Internet retailers. In short, it puts our brand in the eyes of the consumers at the time they are willing to purchase."
Combs enjoys the varied reporting options of the Sceptre reservation system. They allow him to compare booking trends and production at the account level with a variety of parameters he can define. Another feature is the ability to customize not only the look and feel of the booking engine for the website, but the way rates and inventory are displayed.
It's the customized relationship that Nikko Hotels International, Tokyo, Japan, has with Pegasus Solutions (www.pegs.com) that keeps them satisfied. Using Pegasus Solutionsi Rezview CRS and Netbooker for its website, is convenient and cost effective for the international chain, says Barbara Miyao, manager of global distribution for Nikko.
"Pegasus has provided us with a range of services, from reservation call centers to our Web-booking engine," insists Miyao. "Plus, our cross-sell program with Le Meridien Hotels has enabled us to increase our bookings and marketing by cross-selling each otheris properties at each of our respective call centers."
Technology in the works
Marriott International has rolled out to over 2,600 of its hotels a solution by WorldRes (www.worldres.com), which will now be available and bookable on WorldResi entire network, including PlacesToStay.com, through a new XML link. The XML link provides a direct connection to Marriottis CRS, automatically updating hotel availability, rates and inventory for a seamless customer experience. It is also the first XML link between a hotel chain and a distributor, in accordance with the most current version of the Open Travel Allianceis (OTA) XML standards for the travel industry. Marriott hotels are also bookable on the WorldRes network of travel websites such as AOL, Verizon SuperPages and Yahoo.
Lexington Services, is working on its new LexBook (www.lexres.com), its hotel website booking engine that enables hotels, resorts, and management companies to manage and control inventory and increase revenues through their own website. Through LexBook, Lexington hotels can increase bookings by allocating room inventory, rates and booking restrictions to their property's website with total integration into Lexingtonis central reservation system. One special feature of LexBook is that it offers a dynamic language feature that allows guests to select from their choice of 12 languages, and a real-time currency converter that allows for quick translation of multiple currencies during the booking process.
Also new are the three services introduced in 2002 by Secure-Res.com (www.secure-res.com), including Virtual Brochures, search engine optimization and website design and hosting. "We have grown from $12,500 per month in online bookings to $164,000 a month in a short period of time," states Tom Brady, president of marketing for The Destination Group, who manages the Roney Palace Resort in Miami Beach, Florida. "We attribute this growth to the ease of use factor in the Secure-Res.com booking system and marketing tools."
Cendant Travel Distribution Services (www.cendant.com), is in the deployment phase of its "Next Generation Seamless" program for its hotel and travel clients. With its Trust International Voyager (www.trustinternational.com), central reservations system platform key European clients such as SRS-WorldHotels, Small Luxury Hotels and M-venpick Hotels already have use of the program on Amadeus. The remaining three GDS companies including Cendant-owned Galileo International (which will be introducing Next Generation Seamless through an enhanced new high-speed connection) will have the program implemented in the coming months.
"We are pleased that Cendantis Voyager CRS is able to provide the hospitality industry with this service," says Claudia Hammerstein, vice president of operations at SRS-WorldHotels. "Not only will it help us significantly boost our bookings, but it will also help to increase our bottom line results as well." And in the end, that's really what reservation systems are meant to do-- increase the bottom line.