Hospitality Upgrade 2014 Summer

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Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 1

publishers' letter

Summer2014

Twitter: @HospUpgrade

During the Executive Vendor Summit our group
attended a New Orleans Pelicans basketball game.
The group had a lot of fun and there was a little
harrassment. Yes, Rich was continuously getting
harassed by the Pelican cheerleaders who were
betting to have their picture taken with him. Yes, he
fnally relented, but he drew the line at autographs; that
was a little too much, even for him. It was a great event
and a great game with the Pelicans winning in the fnal
seconds against the LA Clippers.

Someone once told me it isn’t what you know, it's who you know. Is that really true? I am a believer
that knowledge is power; the more you know the more you can share. I bring this up because I do know a
lot of very smart people in the industry and they inspire us to share their knowledge with you. We get lots
of feedback from readers every issue – most of it very positive – but then there are occasional questions as
to why we do some of the things we do. Of course we appreciate both types of feedback. The one thing we
have consistently done every issue is address a trending technology topic in our feature article as we did last
issue with Big Data. This issue we decided to try something new, and when I read the article I learned a lot.
Love them or hate them, consultants whose success is based on the knowledge they have of the industry
technology initiatives and developments are Hospitality Upgrade’s lifeblood. We receive many accolades
about the quality of our editorial. We also get some funny feedback on a few of the more creative things we
do, but you be your own judge. This issue we dipped into the technology consultants’ pool and asked John
Burns, Jon Inge and Jeremy Rock to sit down with us to share their views of the past, the present and what
lies ahead. These are experts in the felds of distribution, property technology and infrastructure, and I loved
how they shared their concerns, suggestions and how to position yourself for the future. The hotel industry
has a habit in many cases of resisting change too quickly, and their comments regarding this are valuable.
Change is inevitable in life and we all have to change to survive and thrive, which is why as a business we
never hesitate to try something new. Our feature article is very different and we hope you will fnd value in it.
I wonder how many are reading this Publisher’s Letter while getting ready to attend HITEC or are already
at HITEC. It is the one event that brings everybody together, and when you have been around the industry as
long as I have it is half business and half social. We live in a world of email, skype or many other ways to
communicate, but nothing will ever beat face to face. If you are not going to make it to HITEC, we promise to
bring a review of all we learned in our next issue, via Hotel-Online.com and hospitalityupgrade.com, where
we will have the annual Siegel Sez HITEC overview video with Jon Inge. Along with the sold-out exhibit hall
there are great educational sessions being offered throughout the event, and if you are a vendor I would
encourage you to also attend these for the subject matter and because there are so many hoteliers normally
in the crowd. When I was a vendor back in the 80s I always went to the sessions. It was amazing who you
would meet. This year the one session I look forward to the most will be when Barry Shuler is inducted
into the HFTP Hall of Fame. I remember the years Barry attended our CIO Summit when he was the chief
technology offcer at Marriott. He is a worthy addition to the Hall of Fame.
Speaking of the CIO Summit, this year our event will be held in Milwaukee, Wis. Initially the feedback was,
why Milwaukee? Nobody holds events in Milwaukee – which is exactly why we are going there. Then after
a bit of research on this city, anyone who was questioning the choice fgured it out and is now just as jazzed
about visiting as we are. Let’s see how much beer and cheese we can overwhelm them with! If you have any
questions about the CIO Summit, please send an email to me. We set the bar pretty high last year so we look
forward to raising it even higher this year. Yes, we love the pressure.
If you are at HITEC, please come by and visit us. We will be in booth No. 1640. We hope to see you there.
Thank you for all the great feedback, inspiration and thoughts that motivate us to make every issue better than
the previous one. I think we did a great job with our big HITEC issue this year; we hope you agree!

Publisher
RichaRd Siegel
[email protected]
SVP, Managing Editor
geneva RinehaRT
[email protected]
Twitter: @genevarinehart
Associate Publisher
MaRiTa KahleR
[email protected]
Editor
KRiS BuRneTT
[email protected]
Media Manager/Assistant Editor
KaTheRine daRSie
[email protected]

Special Thanks:
Cindy Taylor and Fiona Zimmermann
contributors:
John Burns, Jon Inge, Jeremy Rock, Michael
Schubach, Cindy Estis Green, Scott Warner,
Jeffrey S Parker, Trevor Warner, James
Lingle, Kris Burnett, Michael L Kasavana,
David Durko, Mary Siero, Ryan Ward, Mark
Munger, David Atkins, John Atkins, Emily
Culclasure, Kelly McGuire, Suneel Grover,
Geoff Griswold, Dan Phillips, Diane Estner,
Randy Dearborn, Danilo Molaschi
cover design: george Opryszko
cartoons © 2014 T. Brian Kelly
[email protected]

HOSPITALITY UPGRADE is printed three
times a year for and about the hospitality
and foodservice industries. There is no
charge for qualifed subscribers within the
United States and Canada. All international
subscribers will be billed $25/year for
postage and handling. Postage paid in
Virginia. All contents submitted to this
publication are believed to be accurate. SCI
or its agents assume no liability for any said
information that is misrepresented. Product
and company names mentioned herein may
be trademarked and/or service marked of
their respective owners. Reproduction and/
or distribution of any part of this publication
without the written consent of SCI
is strictly forbidden.
© 2014 Siegel Communications, Inc.
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To subscribe or update your subscription
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Share us with a friend or colleague.
2 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Siegel communications, inc.
70 Mansell Court, Ste. 225 Roswell, GA 30076 678.802.5300 Phone/ 678.802.5309 Fax
www.hospitalityupgrade.com / [email protected]
Magazine Associaton of the Southeast Member: GAMMA Gold Award Winner

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Summer2014

columns
144
162
132
136
140
164
167
26
38
156
166

asset management
A Pain in the Asset, Mark Munger
big data
Foster an Analytics Culture, Samuel Ayisi
data security
The Road to Compliance is a Rocky One for
Hotels, the Wyndham case, David Durko

the state of the hospitality
technology industry:

12

Roundtable
discussion
with a panel
of experts

advancements,infrastructure,wi-fi, etc.

Cyber Insurance, The Right Time to Buy
Mary Siero
Tips for Password Security that Actually
Work, Ryan Ward
digital signage
Trends in Digital Signage, Randy Dearborn
gaming
The Role of Regulator in the Gaming
Environment, Bill Geoghegan
general information
Getting Aggressive – Guest Service
Michael Schubach
The 'Puter Path – Still Perilous, Still Full of
Pitfalls, Jon Inge
Notes from an IT Service Shop
Geoff Griswold

34
42
46
48
52

patent trolls
Returning Trolls to Myth: The Rise of
Patent Troll Claims, Scott Warner
room automation systems
I R.A.N., I R.A.N. so far away... ,
Jeffrey S Parker
Introducing Google's Chromecast,
Trevor Warner
5 GHz – Is It Worth It?
James Lingle

EVS 2014 Review, Kris Burnett

Re-establishing the Roman Empire
Danilo Molaschi

departments

158

hosted telephony
Is Hosted Voice Finally Ready for Prime
Time? Dan Phillips, Diane Estner

124

internet of everything
Connecting the Unconnected
Michael Kasavana

60
62
64
118
168
170
172
174
175
178
182
183
184

30

marketing, social media & SEO
Here Be Dragons – Dangers and
opportunities in the Digital Marketplace
Cindy Estis Green

148

The Best, Best Practice, Digital
Benchmarking for Hotels
David Atkins, John Atkins

152
154

Social Media Suicide, Emily Culclasure
The Path to Personalization
Kelly McGuire, Suneel Grover

4 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

On the Bookshelf {book reviews}
Pipeline Index
{Pipeline}
Recent Installs
Property Spotlight
Who's the Reader
Ask the Guest
TECH&Health
Siegel Sez Picture Pages
HFTP pages
Find the reference guides online
Advertiser Index
Junk Mail Corner
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

SHARE YOUR STORY
AT HITEC 2014
June 23 - 26, 2014
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Editor’s Note

@genevarinehart

every issue of HU goes to the printer, I am always
so proud of the incredible amount of innovative
information it includes. Our staff hears me proclaim, “This is the
BEST issue ever!” as each issue goes out the door. Well, I’m saying it again about the issue you are reading – and this time I am
confdent that we have outdone ourselves. Sure, after more than
20 years we know our audience, but the real kudos goes to our
rock star group of reputable contributors – these are the true experts in the hospitality world. They really don’t work for us – they
work for you, providing you with the knowledge and expertise to
make your business successful. Our roundtable interview on The State of Technology brings
together three of the most respected people in the biz. They don’t hold back their opinions
on the topics you want to know about…topics that will change the way you are working
operationally, how you deal with mobile and what specifcally you need to do to futureproof for the next generation of guests. And, if you like it you can listen to the interview in
its entirety on our podcast. (pg 12)

As

(Or go to layar.com)

Last year we introduced our What's on the Bookshelf column. Over the years, we've
had so many interesting conversations, and often we'll hear facinating things about people
that you wouldn't expect based on the last book he or she read. Check out the Book Review
(pg 60) and see what Mandarin Oriental's Monika Nerger, Marriott's Page Petry, HOSPA's
Carl Weldon and Digital Alchemy's Don Hay have on their bookshelves.
One of the additions I'm particularly proud of this issue is the new Tech&Health
column (pg 174). Technology isn't just something that permeates our work, play and school.
It affects our HEALTH, and after sitting through enough sessions with Dr. Roy Siegel we
thought it was high time we shared this information – there is the right way and the unhealthy way to use technology. Let's break a few of these bad habits together. It might be a
little awkward at frst but you'll thank us later.
Our summer edition continues to be honored as the Exclusive Affliated Technology
Publication of HFTP, the producers of HITEC, and will be distributed to attendees of HITEC
and HSMAI’s ROC this month. So if you ever wonder who else is reading HU besides you,
take a good look around all of the conference rooms and exhibit foors. Our readers include
so many executives at all levels and just like you they are buying infuencers.
Is it obvious that we want you to stay on the cutting edge of your hospitality business? As publishers, we want to do the same. That is why we incorporated augmented
reality (AR) into our editorial to further engage and interact with you. If you have not used
it yet, download the free LAYAR app to your tablet or smartphone and check out the extras
we have added to the pages that have the HU bug.
If you are an advertiser, it is so easy to make your ad interactive using AR. Take a
look at the list of advertisers below who are incorporating AR to further engage our readers. Please have fun scanning their ads to fnd the innovative things hidden in the layer
under the printed page. It is like a treasure hunt within our pages.

Find HU at:

Check out these AR pages:
Teledex - pg 161
Flip.to - pg 153
NEC - pg 129
Teradata - pg 40
NAVIS - pg 31
INNCOM - pg 13
Rainmaker - pg 11

PODCAST ALERT!!!
AR ADDS MORE!

Look for photo gallery picts from recent
events like the New Orleans Pelicans Game.

The feature article roundtable (pg 12) is available
online. If you would like to hear the interview in
its entirety, please visit our podcast by going to
hospitalityupgrade.com/
11TechnologyTrendsInTheHospitalityIndustry

Visit HU at HITEC Booth No. 1640
6 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Contributors

In this issue we tried something different and assembled a panel of three
well-known, industry experts: John Burns, Jon Inge and Jeremy Rock.
Each expert brings a unique perspective from his specific industry focus.
We discussed trends and the state of technology in the industry.
This is a must-read for HITEC. (page 12)
John Burns

Jon Inge

Jeremy Rock

Scott Warner, pg 34

Michael Schubach, pg 26

Michael Schubach
likens guest service
to car buying in
his column for
this issue. He
says everyone
in hospitality is
required to be
aggressively
hospitable, and that
includes you in the
IT department.

Cindy Estis Green, pg 30

In "Here Be
Dragons," Cindy
Estis Green shares
with us the dangers
but also the vast
opportunities
that the digital
marketplace
holds for the hotel
industry.

Patent trolls have
become a distraction (and nuisance)
for many companies, both big and
small. It has caused
so much disruption that even the
courts and U.S.
Congress are getting involved. Scott
Warner shares a
plan to "Return
Trolls to Myth."

Jeffrey S Parker, pg 42

Jon Inge, pg 38

In our Summer 2000
issue of HU, Jon
Inge wrote "The
Perils and Pitfalls
of Technology." Jon
shares what has
stayed the same in
this updated 2014
version of "The
‘Puter Path."

In a section we have
cordoned off for
room area networks
(RAN), Jeffrey Stephen Parker writes
about creating the
perfect RAN, and
in turn, how guests
will run to your hotel
property.

Scan this
page using

Michael Kasavana, pg 124

Trevor Warner, pg 46

In the second
article of the RAN
series, Trevor
Warner introduces
Chromecast
from Google
and discusses
the impact of
entertainmenttoting guests to
the guestroom
experience.

James Lingle, pg 48

In the final article
of the RAN series,
James Lingle
discusses the
age-old dilemma
of bandwidth.
He specifically
discusses the
benefits and
challenges of
deploying a 5 GHz
network.

8 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

There is a trend
in the industry. In
"Connecting the
Unconnected,"
Michael Kasavana
defines the Internet
of Everything,
discussing its
premise, challenges
and what it means
to the hospitality
industry.

David Durko, pg 132

In our data
security section,
David Durko shares
lessons from the
recent FTC filings
against Wyndham
and what the
results could mean
for the hospitality
industry.

Android

Scan the code
to download the
magazine to your
mobile device.
Apple

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Contributors

Mary Siero, pg 136

Mark Munger, pg 144

Emily Culclasure, pg 152

Mary Siero shares
the importance
of considering
a cyberliability
insurance policy.
The No. 1 reason
many organizations
do not purchase such
a policy is because
it is believed that
the IT department is
providing adequate
protection.

Asset management
is an overlooked but
extremely necessary investment.
Mark Munger looks
at the companies
that bring these
applications to the
hospitality industry.

In "Social Media
Suicide," Emily
Culclasure shares
five no-nos of social
media to avoid at all
costs so your hotel
can thrive online.

Kelly McGuire &
Suneel Grover, pg 154

"In the Path to Personalization," Kelly
McGuire and Suneel
Grover discuss
the significance of
personalization in a
highly competitive
hospitality market.

Ryan Ward, pg 140

Passwords are a
way of life. Changing and maintaining
the plethora of
company and staff
passwords can be
costly and time
consuming. Ryan
Ward shares seven
tips to secure your
organization with
password management.

Geoff Griswold, pg 156

In our Notes
from the IT Shop,
Geoff Griswold
reminds us about
the importance of
warranties and
service contracts
and who is
responsible for
each.

Dan Phillips &
Diane Estner, pg 158

Dan Phillips and
Diane Estner ask
several industry
providers and
operators to answer
the question, "Is
Hosted Voice Finally
Ready for Prime
Time?"

David Atkins &
John Atkins, pg 148

A common question
all companies ask is
how they compare to
other organizations
in a competitive
set. David and John
Atkins share with
HU, "The Best, Best
Practice: Digital
Benchmarking for
Hotels."

Randy Dearborn, pg 164
Samuel Ayisi, pg 162

Continuing his
in-depth discussion
on Big Data from
our spring issue,
Samuel Ayisi
writes about
how a successful
analytics initiative
always starts
with "Fostering an
Analytics Culture."

In keeping a global perspective of the
technology industry for hospitality, we
asked Danilo Molaschi to talk about
bringing products to market in a mature,
well-saturated Old Continent market.
Danilo Molaschi, pg 166
10 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

In 2014 digital signage includes more
than information
boards and menus.
MGM Resorts International’s Randy
Dearborn and other
hospitality operators
define what they
look for in digital
signage.

Bill Geoghegan begins his series on "The
Role of Regulators in the Gaming Environment." In this first part, he describes the
history behind the regulatory agencies.
Look for Bill's HU TechTalk blog with more
history, which posted in June.
Bill Geoghegan, pg 167

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 11

state of TECHNOLOGY

Hospitality Upgrade Managing Editor Geneva Rinehart assembled a distinguished industry panel discussing some important trends in
hospitality technology and the state of the industry during a recent podcast. Joining HU were John Burns, Jon Inge and Jeremy Rock, each
with a specific point of view within the industry. Mr. Burns is our resident distribution expert, Mr. Inge focuses on property systems and Mr.
Rock specializes in infrastructure. While these areas overlap and intersect, each expert has a unique perception on the current state of the
industry. We started our discussion with some overall observation questions.
The podcast is available for download at: hospitalityupgrade.com/11TechnologyTrendsInTheHospitalityIndustry

Q1

From your perspective on the industry, what technology is available
today with the potential to significantly improve operational
efficiency and guest satisfaction? What is the industry overlooking?

John Burns: I don't so much see systems that are not implemented, but rather systems and technologies hotels have on board
already that are being under used. For the
most part awareness of the existing systems’
capabilities is far below what it should be.
How can we train staff so that these features
are used on a consistent basis?
Second, a comment about hotel websites. In many cases, the information is currently unappealing, with lackluster descriptions of the hotel and of the individual rooms.
We ask travelers to select our hotel but in too
many cases, there isn't a strong, compelling
reason to do so, not at least in terms of appealing photographs and persuasive phrasing
on the website. In too many cases, the same
photo is used for every room type. There
isn't a strong differentiation between one
room type and another to suggest to people
that there is merit in moving up to a more
expensive room.

12 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Jon Inge: There is so much functionality in every system that never is explored; we
really could make a difference by exploring
what is available. All the same, there are definitely lost opportunities in staying with older
systems well beyond their most effective use
date. Newer systems give much more comprehensive and accurate views of their guests and
the operation as a whole.
This in turn leads directly back into
guest service; having an accurate guest picture
and then really catering to his or her needs
makes a big difference.
The other thing that has changed, or that
people don’t look at enough, is the impact
of good user interfaces. Older systems can
be really awkward to use; many modern

The world is changing.
We need to focus more on
social media and how we sell
our properties.

SCAN this
page to listen
to podcast.

systems have more thoughtfully designed user
interfaces that guide the staff through what
they are doing and present just the right data
at the right time for each particular guest
interaction. It’s not just the more complete
data presented in the right context that makes
the difference in guest service, it’s also the
added confidence the staff gains from being
able to trust it.
Jeremy Rock: We often keep older systems on board from habit instead of looking
at something that's newer, more efficient and
more interactive.
The world is changing and we need to
include more mobility and the ability to interact with guests through different channels
and technology. It used to be just the younger
generation that was using mobile devices, but
now it's really across all generations. We need
to focus more on social media; how we sell
the properties is just different these days.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 13

state of TECHNOLOGY

Q2

What is one of the most significant developments or advancements in your
area of focus over the last several years?

John Burns: The remarkable growth in
use of mobile devices is where I would begin,
also I would include social networks and the
impact they have had, in particular TripAdvisor, in bringing transparency to the hotel
industry, in revealing the best players. But at
the top of the list I would put the emergence
and strengthening of online travel agencies.
I think this has been a quiet but significant
revolution for hotels – and not one that we
have fully acknowledged or dealt with very
successfully.
The reality is that online travel agents
and now metasearch engines (and maybe
Google as well with its steadily increasing
hotel shopping functionality) have fundamentally changed the hotel sales marketplace.
These organizations have been very good at
convincing the traveling public that there are

Q3

better places to look and reserve than the hotel company's brand website. This is a seismic
change with huge implications.
Jon Inge: From my viewpoint, one
of the most dramatic things has been the
improvement in interface capabilities between
systems, based on XML messaging. This
has made a massive difference in how we
exchange data across a property’s multiple
systems and how we can better accumulate it
to build a more complete and more accurate
picture of the property and of the guests'
activities.
I'd put the development of better screen
design in there as a significant change as well.
There has been some excellent work in learning where users need to get the information,
how much they can use at any one time, and
how it should be presented so that they can

grasp it quickly and use it to interact with the
guest in front of them.
Jeremy Rock: Internet access has
become the No. 1 driver within hotels. If you
don't have it, it's a big issue. The number of
devices that are now being connected within
the room and the complexity of the in-room
technology has placed greater demands on
bandwidth requirements. Additionally there is
the issue of the converged network requirements driven by the need to leverage the hotel’s IP network. We have to make it seamless
for new systems and devices to communicate
over these networks. In order to satisfy the
guest, we must have the right infrastructure in
place and a significant amount of bandwidth
available. Another area of focus is cloudbased applications and providing the ability to
connect to them.

Let's continue to talk about infrastructure.
How can hotels keep up with the insatiable Wi-Fi demand?

Jeremy Rock: The old wireless
networks just don't have the throughput
and capacity to handle the demands being
placed on them today. Density and coverage
requirements have increased to accommodate
greater demands by users and applications.
Many people thought that we would be moving away from provisioning hardwired cable
in buildings, but the reality is, you need the
cable to support a robust wireless infrastructure, not only for the guests, but in order to
run mobile applications for administrative
and operational teams.
The other side of it is making sure the
property is equipped with an infrastructure
capable of providing an ever-increasing
amount of bandwidth. It's a question of designing the network correctly, selecting the
right partners, and engineering on the front
side to make sure you have the wherewithal
to address the needs going forward. You're
going to start to see more offloading of network traffic from the cellphone companies
onto the wireless networks. Hotels represent
a good opportunity for the cellular companies as partners. Given this scenario I think
most hotels are going to have to invest in
14 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

upgrading their infrastructure and wireless
networks.
Jon Inge: Infrastructure is critical
here and I think for new-build hotels, the
fundamental approach has to be a fiber
optic network around the hotel. Copper has
expanded its capabilities extensively over the
years and it's amazing how far it’s progressed,
but every improvement now is incremental
and progressively more expensive. Going to
fiber, at the moment, is about the same cost
as going with copper and it has far more
potential for handling future demands than
copper will ever have. Wi-Fi coverage and
bandwidth are critical; you've simply got to
have Wi-Fi everywhere.
Jeremy Rock: While the access points
may themselves have an increasing ability to
deliver bandwidth and wireless connectivity, you may be limited in delivering enough
throughput to them via the rest of the active
equipment and other infrastructure constraints – not to mention limitations on the
amount of bandwidth coming into the hotel.
There is a great deal of talk about bringing fi-

ber to the room, especially with the new focus
on GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network),
but the cost of the various components and
other construction-related costs need to be
carefully considered too.
Jon Inge: Hotels need to constantly
upgrade infrastructure to keep up, to take
advantage of newer technologies that do improve bandwidth and coverage. Second, some
sort of tiered pricing will be an inevitable
outcome to support those guests who want to
stream movies in the hotel room as opposed
to guests who just want to check email. Maybe
in 10 years the technology will have advanced
to the point where we won't even think about
this issue at all, that Internet access will be
available as universally as electricity or hot
water in hotels, but we’re not there yet.
John Burns: I sympathize with hotels
with respect to the cost of these ongoing
upgrades and the difficulty in estimating just
how much bandwidth is going to be required.
That said, I think bandwidth is mission critical. The lack of good strong Wi-Fi service is a
deal killer for hotel guests.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

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state of TECHNOLOGY

Who owns the network and who owns
the issues that are affecting
the deployment of converged
networks?

Q4

Jeremy Rock: This is a big problem
right now. I see many wireless service providers actually supplying the network and in
most cases, hoteliers are trying to save money
by using it as a converged network. I know
that the directives from some of the corporations, flags and brands are to have separate
networks, but in reality, that's not really
what's transpiring.
All the in-room technology that needs
to be connected, from online electronic door
locks to energy management systems and
guestroom automation, is all connecting to
the same network, and in many cases, communicating through the wireless network as
well. It's very important that we understand
who is actually deploying the network, who is
designing it, and who is supporting it.
In most cases, that's turning out to be
the wireless provider. I would encourage hotels to make sure the network is engineered
to their specifications, taking into account
all of the security measures, PCI compliance,
etc., because of all the devices being carried
and connected to the network including not
only the guest Internet access but also rapid
response systems, point of sale and PMS connectivity, etc. We need to be cognizant that
this is probably the most important part of the
infrastructure in the hotel, and hoteliers need
to spend the time, effort and research making sure they're fostering the right solution
provider.
Jon Inge: In addition to the wireless
providers, companies such as door lock
system providers or guest request application providers can provide their own Wi-Fi
networks throughout the hotel for their own
products. While that can be an attractive
installation option for the property, it leads to
all kinds of complications, as to who actually
is responsible for maintaining it and what
other services can run on that network.

16 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Q5

Let’s talk for a moment about
some issues that are affecting

everyone; the challenges being

faced by the sunsetting of
Windows XP this year and
then Windows Server 2003
next July.
Jeremy Rock: Some people aren’t concerned about the fact that Windows XP is no
longer going to be supported and are planning to upgrade over a period of time. Others
have been kicking it into gear, upgrading and
replacing their XP computers right now. One
of the key fears is that the delivery of security
patches for Windows 7 and 8 was scheduled
for release in May, and thereafter may provide
hackers with clues to where deficiencies still
remain in Windows XP. Several interface computers and other key workstations attached
to the network may still be running XP and
could be vulnerable.
The next milestone to be concerned
about is Server 2003. There are certain key
point-of-sale systems and other systems and
networks may be affected by its scheduled
sunsetting in July 2015. These properties will
either need to upgrade the operating system
or move/upgrade to another application.
Jon Inge: This feels a bit like Y2K all
over again, but it's not as cut and dried as that
was. There was no doubt when Y2K came
around that some systems would not work
properly and would not report dates properly;
in this case, we're just looking at potential
breaches and potential risk. As we've seen
with the slow rate of PCI adoption, a great
number of people are waiting for something
to trigger a need to upgrade away from XP.
Even if they do, of course, it's no guarantee
that they won't get breached some other way
in the future.
It’s really a question of risk management. I think we really need to focus on
raising awareness of the risks and making
the migration path as smooth as we possibly
can. Fixing Y2K made the problem go away,
once and for all, which is one reason people
were motivated to do it. This isn't the same
situation; this is not going to take away the
problem, although it is going to reduce the
risk significantly.

We touched a little bit
on mobility, and that
is a very hot topic. When do
you think that guests will be
able to use their cellphones as
door keys, to control anything
within the guestroom or to be
part of an all-in-one amenity
during their stay?

Q6

Jeremy Rock: It's going to be a little
while. For starters, cellular technology is
currently not standardized across all manufacturers, let alone countries, and then there are
security considerations and other costs. Most
phones operate on different protocols and
different standards; even the RFID components
on them, for example, would need to be standardized for some of the technology to work
effectively.
Jon Inge: You can already do a lot of
these things on your phone now, but not in
any unified way. Many apps will handle guest
requests both before they arrive at a hotel and
while on property, looking for room service,
etc. These apps really need to be interfaced
into the back-of-house systems to provide the
best outcome, and there are so many different ones in different hotels that it becomes a
complex challenge. It is the same thing with
controlling the room lighting, the thermostat
and the drapes. It's certainly doable but with
so many different systems in the hotels there's
still no common interface; guests can’t yet
download one app that will work in multiple
properties.
I think what we’ll see is a move to a different, more universal approach to this kind of
technology. It will probably be Bluetooth-based
for device communications because Apple®
is not going to put NFC on the iPhone®, and
that immediately locks out half of the traveling
public. We may see more interface devices
that will take whatever messaging is required
in a particular property and convert it into a
universal set of commands that can be used by
a generic app on people's phones.
The door lock situation will improve over
time but there is a great deal of retrofit rewww.hospitalityupgrade.com

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state of TECHNOLOGY
quired on existing door locks, most of which
are still mag stripe. They will require some
sort of adapter to use Bluetooth or maybe
a 2-D bar code scanner as used for airport
check-in.
John Burns: I would zoom out on this
question a bit and think less about the specific technology and more about the competitive differentiation opportunity for hotels who
are aggressive in empowering people to use
their mobile devices. Everyone has a mobile
device. Increasingly they can be used as wallets, as GPS, as photo albums, music libraries,
personal assistants, deal locaters, you name
it. It can track your flights and do a thousand
other things.
I think there is an opportunity for the
hotels who are aggressive, who are going to
spend the money to differentiate themselves
as technologically in the lead, attuned to
guests, attuned to the people who are the
early adopters. Actually, these are now more
in the mainstream and they are anxious to use
their mobile device as an appliance of real
convenience. It's to the hotel industry’s detriment if we say we're not going to replace our
door locks until the handles fall off. That’s a
risky position.

Q7

What advice would
you give to properties
who are trying to incorporate
mobile?
John Burns: When hotels are talking
about traveler or guest interaction, they should
stop thinking about the PC as the primary
interface. We need to reverse it, to take it from
PC first and mobile device second to thinking
first and foremost about how our presentation
and value proposition appears on tablets and
mobile devices. If we do those two areas well,
we'll be more than adequate on PCs.
Jon Inge: A recent survey reported that
the conventional wisdom that people only use
their phones to book hotel rooms at the last
minute isn't actually true. They are using cellphones more and more to book further ahead,
which makes it absolutely imperative that you
have the right presentation on the phone to
make this easy – easy to find a room, easy to
book it. This design discipline is also really
good for the rest of the industry; make sure
that you are thinking what you want the user

to do with the app on each device and focus on
providing enough information in an appealing
way to make that simple. This applies to the
admin systems as well; there's so much you can
do with mobile devices. Obviously tablets are
good for mobile check-in around the lobby or
up in the room, as long as you can work out
how to get the keys to the guest, which is still an
ongoing challenge.
Two things are really important if you're
going to provide apps to help your staff interact
with the guest. One is make sure that the information presented on that app is a useful data set
for that particular guest interaction, one that’s
focused and doesn't try to compress everything
that you know about the guest onto one small
screen. The other is to train the staff in the
value of eye contact; otherwise, as far as they
know you could be checking Facebook. Interaction with the guest means exactly that; training
is as important as providing the tool itself.
Jeremy Rock: I'm seeing a lot more interest in the use of hand-held tablets and mobile
devices in operations for a number of different
areas and reasons. But newer technologies
coming out within the next six months promise
to be a lot more effective. I think we're going to
see quite a game change in some of these areas.

Miraval Resorts Focuses on Guests' Mobile Booking Experiences
Earlier this year, Miraval Resorts launched a new responsive
website. Wanting to optimize all available real estate, Miraval did not
want content blocks to be too large or cumbersome for the user to
read. With its partner Interactive Sites, they created multiple column
layouts, accordions, sliders, and a use of negative space to imply
structure, advanced jQuery and JavaScript techniques, the teams were
able to achieve a modern look while keeping an organic and fluid user
experience. These techniques were implemented to keep site speeds
fast, and site performance high – all while keeping in mind that browsers, screens and devices are not created equal.
The site was designed to allow users to quickly find the area of
the resort that would speak to them and assist them in planning their
journey.
The desired results of the redesign were to increase engagement, online revenue, SEO optimization and recognition, and allow guests to efficiently
find information about the Miraval experience. In the first 60 days after launch,
Miraval saw results that exceeded initial estimates. Overall revenue increased
on every device, and in many cases more
than double. Most notably, a 79 percent
18 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

increase in desktop bookings and 50 percent increase in booking
revenue was realized. Additionally, tablet user rates also increased
and bookings and revenue increased 52 percent and 29 percent respectively.
Purposeful placement of content and the combination of inspiring
photography has proven to keep the guest on the site, reducing the
bounce rate by 10 percent.
Additionally, Miraval increased its brand presence by redesigning the PLAN YOUR STAY area of the website. This new section now
provides guests with a one-stop shop to finding and researching all
there is to do at the resort. The website gives the user an organic and
exploratory approach to engaging with the site. With Miraval’s wide
range of activities and services, the
user can quickly research and review
each area of the site without being
overwhelmed by content. Miraval
has found this approach to be most
successful and has increased its user
duration on the site.
Knowing that the site was built
with a long-term scope, Miraval can
focus on enhanced website capabilities and integrations.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

state of TECHNOLOGY

Q8

Some new requirements are coming in October 2015
and there's a concern about some of the proposed
solutions that will be available or are available now. What is
your advice around securing personal data, and what concerns
should properties and hotels be aware of in the coming year?
Jeremy Rock: EMV or chip and PIN is
being mandated for October 2015 and could
have a financial impact on the merchant.
Depending on the extent of the solution this
could prove to be expensive. What is concerning given the time frame is that I don’t think
we as an industry have an effective game plan
that has been widely vetted by the various
point-of-sale providers, the primary systems
affected by this requirement. I wonder about
the number of systems needing to be changed
out; what’s the solution, how is it going to
operate, how is that going to affect the operation?
Also, we have PCI 3.0 coming. This
promises to be more restrictive and will have
an effect on the use of mobile technology as

it focuses on emerging technologies and
mobile payment security guidelines.
John Burns: In talking about data
security we tend to think about PCI and
credit cards, but I believe we need to
broaden our focus and think also about
what’s known as PII, personally identifiable
information. We hold a remarkable amount
of this in our hotel systems, most of it unencrypted, some of it with relatively weak barriers to access, and we need to think more
seriously about securing it. I suspect at some
point we are going to have a PII incursion
that grabs a great deal of that data and will
be a significant problem for the hotel brand
that suffers it.

Jon Inge: I think that the PCI viewpoint
with credit card data has been addressed reasonably well, given that hospitality is no longer
the No. 1 target for attacks. I am also seeing
activity from point-of-sale vendors improving
the security on mobile devices and bringing
in EMV certification. The whole PII issue is
extremely thorny for the hospitality industry,
which needs this information on guests to
recognize them and give them the service
expected. Keeping that information secure
without hampering the hospitality aspect of
what you're doing is going to be incredibly
challenging.
Even if it’s regulated, there’s still the
industry’s adoption rate to think about. Canada
has had chip and PIN technology on credit
cards for years, and yet it's still only in the
last year that credit card and hotel technology
companies have developed interfaces that will
handle those cards in credit card transactions.
There doesn't seem to have been a demand
from the hotels to implement that technology

How Sweet It Is

Dolce finds real benefits
from modern mobile apps

Submitted by Jon Inge

With an interesting and diverse mix of 21 hotels, resorts and
conference centers across North America and Europe, Dolce is
always looking for ways to try out new technology where it can
see a potential operational advantage. This paid off remarkably
well recently when it was the first hotelier to try out MICROS’ new
Front Desk Mobile for OPERA 9 at its Aspen Meadows Resort.
“We first saw an opportunity for remote check-in at Aspen
airport, which is just 10 minutes away from the property,” said
John Edwards, Dolce’s VP of IT. “We stationed an agent there to
meet incoming flights, carrying the pre-assigned room keys for
the expected arrivals. They were checked in, given their keys
and could then go directly to their rooms when they reached the
property. It worked well, the tablets proved to be reliable and affordable, and we now have them in seven properties.
“Tablets are not going to replace our main systems, but they
supplement them very well,” Edwards said. “Given their affordability we’re able to keep a couple at the front desk for use as
and when needed, and soon found other ways to use them to
make hotel operations more effective. For example, at our Napa
property we use them for remote check-in at our evening wine
tasting receptions on the front porch, which makes for a good,
low-stress arrival for our guests. If we have a heavy conference
group checkout scheduled, we’ll take two tablets and a printer
down to the area outside the group’s breakfast room, and check
20 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Aspen Meadows Resort
delegates out as they go to their
first morning session. This really
helps housekeeping get an early
Front Desk Mobile for OPERA 9
start on room cleaning.
“It helps that we have strong Wi-Fi coverage throughout all
our properties as a corporate standard, which encourages us to be
flexible in where we might use tablets. But it’s not just the mobility
that helps; the new user interface has also made quite a difference.
Front desk training has dropped from two days to 2 to 3 hours for
new hires. Further, if we have a heavy group turn in the morning,
we can give a tablet to a bellman or van driver with a few minutes
to spare, pop up the list of due-out rooms, ask them to quickly go
and check each one, and if it’s vacant, mark it as checked out. None
of them have needed more than a couple of minutes training, and it
makes a real difference to housekeeping.”
So what’s next? “We already have Delphi and HotSOS running
on the tablets,” Edwards said. “The next step is to find the right tablet solution for F&B, so we can take charge payments at the remote
cash bars we use for outdoor receptions. Once you have a good,
reliable and flexible platform, the possibilities keep expanding.”
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

state of TECHNOLOGY
until quite recently, even though their guests
may have been carrying the cards for a long
time. I fear that it is going to take a severe
data incursion to wake people up to the
problems and really drive adoption. It's an
ongoing challenge; I don't see us ever getting
totally on top of it, and it’s something that
we'll have to address continuously.
Jeremy Rock: PCI 3.0 is going to be
more restrictive in what it does and what
it requires. As for PII, we also need to be
cognizant of the rules and regulations within
not only your local ordinance or the state, the
federal requirements, but also internationally. It's going to be a little bit of a challenge
for those companies that deal with a lot of
international guests to be able to standardize
this particular issue.
Jon Inge: I see the challenge here as
managing the privacy requests of individual
users, who may want to restrict the use of
their information using some kind of generic
app they might have on their phone. They
might want to share only some travel information with some companies under specific
circumstances for a defined period of time,

data that might be very useful in support of a
travel itinerary, but doesn’t need to be shared
outside that immediate event. Reconciling that
with the demands of marketing folks and hospitality operations companies that really want
all of that information to help drive their own
business and provide good service is going to
be very interesting.

Q9

What are the critical
factors that you see in
making CRM work?
John Burns: There are so many
components in a successful CRM operation.
We need to think in terms of disciplined data
entry. It starts at the reservation process with
getting the required data and making sure that
its entry is consistent with hotel and brand
data format policies. Then the challenge
becomes aggregating that data, de-duping
it, cleansing it so that it becomes a series of
usable guest profiles that we can put in front
of staff. Once achieved, if it can be achieved,
it also becomes a huge resource within digital
marketing, enabling very targeted contact with

people who are receptive to our messages.
Finally comes delivering the appropriate
recognition on property. We need to make sure
that we are accumulating and stewarding good,
clean information that we can use successfully
in our CRM and guest recognition programs.
Jon Inge: CRM is probably the most strategic system that any hotel operation can have,
given that it holds all the information that it
has on all its customers. It takes a great deal of
training and incentives to encourage the staff to
get the data in as completely and accurately as
they can. It is a constant exercise, but essential.
It's relatively straightforward to accumulate
information, de-dupe it, clean it, and keep it
accurately, centrally. It's much harder to get
it back out into the field in front of the people
who are actually interacting with the guest.
Jeremy Rock: We are collecting all this
information, and it just becomes unwieldy
to use. I think that most hotels, especially
independents, don't do anything with it.
There’s also information we are accumulating
in digital format from other systems such as
CCTV and security systems. This can impact
things if it gets into the wrong hands. We need

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state of TECHNOLOGY
to be sensitive across the board, not just to Big Data.
Jon Inge: It's so important to keep data clean and accurate.
People now expect you to know a certain amount about them and
their preferences. If you get it wrong, the impact is much worse than
if you didn't try to do it in the first place, because you've built people's
expectations for better service. Misspelling their name or getting their
birthday wrong are critical errors.

Q10

If you were to offer just one piece
of advice, what would it be?

John Burns: I'm going to go back to my distribution focus
and repeat that it is to provide an even more intense focus on the
website of the hotel. We do a poor job of communicating the reasons
why someone should stay at our hotel, and of incorporating local
information. People don't come to stay at the hotel just for the hotel.
They come for the community. The hotel is the portal to the local area.
There is an important strategic opportunity for hotel operators.

Jon Inge: To reference Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy,” don't panic. Things are changing fast, we are seeing an
awful lot of interesting technology developments and it can seem overwhelming, but it can make a great difference to operations, too.
Seriously though, my core advice is to focus on infrastructure. We
don't really know what applications are going to be coming down the
pike. We do know that they are going to need to communicate with each
other. We don't know how much bandwidth they're going to need, but
they'll need a fair amount. If you have anything to spend on technology at the moment, put it into the infrastructure of your hotel. That will
allow you to add new applications and new interconnections between
those applications as they become available. It's absolutely fundamental.
Jeremy Rock: Infrastructure is key. Guests and hotel operations are targeting wireless technologies and so everything within the
guestrooms, everything the guest is carrying, and the way we are actually
operating throughout the hotel is turning to a wireless environment. Unless you future-proof your property, you won't be able to keep up with
technology. We know that technology is ever changing, we know that
that there are all sorts of new technologies that are going to be deployed
in the coming years. However, it’s all going to require some kind of
platform for it to operate and be deployed effectively, and this is where
having the right infrastructure is key.

Q11

What might we see in your area of
expertise five years from now?

John Burns: I see something that is potentially disturbing to the
hotel industry, and that is a change in our business model. I think if we
stand back and look at the impact that online travel agencies and metasearch engines, and the search engines themselves, especially Google,
are having on our marketplace, it's not impossible that in five years we
will have moved even more profoundly to a wholesaler/retailer model in
which hotels give the vast amount of their inventory to retailers – online
travel agencies and their peers. I think there is a very real possibility that
online travel agencies will move from somewhere around 10 percent of
our sales, to a significantly higher proportion. That has many implications, not least of which revolve around the ultimate profitability of hotel
operations.
Jon Inge: I foresee consolidation in this industry and the adoption
of more widespread, more fully integrated systems. In five years, maybe
we won’t be very far down that road, but we’re definitely going to see a
trend toward it. I see pretty much every system being delivered from the
cloud; there are just too many issues with trying to maintain them on
property. People will by default go there for their integrated solutions,
either from one vendor or multiple vendors.
Jeremy Rock: From my standpoint everything is tied into wireless
communication. I think most applications are going to reside in the
cloud, and the infrastructure within the hotels, the amount of services
and the space required are going to dissipate down to almost nothing.
It's all going to rely on solid bandwidth coming into the hotel and good
infrastructure. Five years really isn’t that long, though.
We’re likely to find out that the existing legacy, infrastructure and
lengthy decision processes will hamper it, but I do see it as the trend.
HU: Thank you to our panel of experts. We appreciate your thoughts
on these questions.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Technology Insights

by Michael Schubach

GETTING AGGRESSIVE
A Subtle Message for
the Hospitality Industry
In my eternal quest for truth I am compelled to do a little
myth busting. The frst myth is that old people are unnecessarily
grumpy. As a younger person, I would have told you this was an
indisputable, self-evident truth – the elderly are a cantankerous
lot. I believe it stems from their shared belief that humans need
only endure a reasonable amount of general nonsense, social and
political dysfunction, gross negligence from their peers and the
apathetic bumbling from the upcoming generation. Somewhere
around age 60 their tolerance threshold is irreversibly crossed
and the elderly feel that after a lifetime of playing nicely, they
may now say and do just exactly as they please. They exempt
themselves from the practice of social etiquette and common
courtesy, and “grumpy” becomes a living, breathing euphemism
of understatement.
Now that I’ve irreversibly crossed that threshold, I take exception to the use of the word “unnecessarily.” Elderly Americans
are grumpy for good reason – in fact, for many good reasons.
Worse than your typical elderly American is one who has spent
many years in the hospitality industry and therefore possesses a
heightened sense of what service is supposed to be, which brings
me to the second myth: a car dealership is a place where you are
waited upon intensely – perhaps too much so – until you make a
decision. Why pick on the automotive industry? No reason other
than a recent personal experience where an irresistible myth No.1
encountered an immovable myth No.2.
Quite innocently, and with love in my heart for my fellow earthlings and the exotic foreign automobile I was seeking
to purchase, I entered a car dealership. I presented myself to
the receptionist, bid her a pleasant afternoon, and requested a
brochure for the car I wanted to buy. She walked me to a nearby
table where she briefy examined the piles stacked there and announced the result of her meager attempt: “Sorry, we don’t have
any.” Having discharged her obligation of minimum effort, she
returned to her station to await her next opportunity to underperform. I remained undaunted. I took to opening the doors of
cars on the display foor that were wildly beyond my price range.
Nothing summons a car sales representative to your side faster
than the fear that an obvious member of the underclass is attempting to befoul a European luxury vehicle. To my utter amazement, I was left alone and unattended as I slammed glove boxes
26 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

and trunks, and then took to rolling car windows up and down
and testing the emergency fashers. My cries in the showroom
wilderness went unanswered.
Clearly they were just waiting to see how long I’d last before
I got bored and moved on to a domestic car dealer. Trying to play
“Triumph of the Will” with an elderly person is a very bad idea
because “stubborn” goes hand-in-hand with “grumpy.” I retired
to a lobby chair, determined to sit with an annoyed look on my
face until someone asked if he or she could help me. I sat for
fve minutes before I hit pay dirt. An obvious salesperson came
up to me looking helpful and anxious to please. He smiled at me
and asked, “Are you Richard?” When I told him no, he glanced
around the room, spotted another likely candidate and managed
to emit one solitary word as he moved on: “Sorry.” So was I.
I spent another 30 minutes in that chair, now just waiting
to see how bad the bad impression I had already formed could
become. Short of sending up a fare, it had to be obvious that
I was there to part with a good deal of money. Nonetheless, my
behavior was entirely too subtle for this dealership. There was
no shortage of employees who passed me by; logoed team shirts
were the dead giveaway. I fnally returned to the receptionist and
politely inquired if this was indeed a place where cars were sold.
She assured me that it was, and I asked how I might go about
qualifying to participate in the process. I was fnally introduced
to someone who took the time to try to sell me not what I wanted
but what they had in inventory. I was once again reminded that
for those of us who want a new or different car, the acquisition
experience is more obligation than opportunity.
But why am I telling you this? With Hospitality Upgrade in
hand or on screen, it’s a statistical surety that you’re neither a car
dealer nor likely to become one. I tell you this sad tale because
it reminded me of a technique that service providers could use
to evolve into something more benefcial to the human condition
than simply grumpy. During my tenure at a world-class destination golf resort, we had a general manager who was devoted to
customer recognition and assistance. We were already noted for
our southern hospitality, but easy-going charm wasn’t suffcient
to fulfll his vision of excellent guest service. We were coached
to be “aggressively friendly,” to acknowledge, to greet, to assess
the guest’s situation and to take immediate action if there was
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Technology Insights
anything we could do to improve the guest
experience.
Aggressive friendliness is a skill that
requires you to take affrmative action
before you know for sure that any such
action is required. The rules are simple but
very effective: when you move around your
hotel, resort, casino or car dealership, you
walk with your eyes forward – never down,
never vacantly self-absorbed and never
glued to a phone or tablet. You look for
and at anyone headed your way. Ten steps
before you come face-to-face with another
person, you acknowledge his, her or their
presence by smiling or nodding. Your
intuitive self assesses the guest situation:
are they strolling or struggling? Did they
stop to smell the roses or are they lost? Can
you provide genuine assistance or merely
brighten their day with a warm greeting?
(Those are your only two options.) When
you’re within fve steps, you’ve prepared
your greeting. As you approach, you deliver.
If you harbor even a vague doubt about
your assessment of the guest’s situation,
you stop to ask if there is anything you can
do. Imagine how my car buying experience might have changed if just one of the

dozen-or-so employees (and I mean all of
them, not just the obvious salespeople)
who walked by and ignored me had been
aggressive enough to ask if I needed
anything.
I should also mention that my
tenure at this legendary golf resort was
as a member of the IT team. There is no
shortage of IT professionals who come to
hospitality from more mundane industries,
and they are often startled by our peculiar
belief that the geeks are required to be as
friendly, helpful and responsive as the rest
of the staff. (I was going to say “the service
staff” but the spirit of aggressive friendliness is that everyone in every position is
a part of the service staff. Take that, you
disinterested car dealership receptionist.) I feel compelled to remind my fellow
technicians that our tendency toward

Single View of Guest
One Platform
Global Solution
Modular

Michael Schubach is a regular
contributor to Hospitality Upgrade
and can be reached at [email protected].

There is no shortage of IT professionals who come
to hospitality from more mundane industries, and
they are often startled by our peculiar belief that
the geeks are required to be as friendly, helpful
and responsive as the rest of the staf.

Your Wish...
Is Our Command
..
..

technical arrogance is more real than many
of us may realize, and that ignorance of
hospitality operations is no excuse for a
lack of participation. If you’re wearing the
team shirt, then you’re on the team.
Remembering my fondness for being
aggressively friendly has made me less
aggressively grumpy. Sadly, I still remain
elderly and reasonably – as I see it – stubborn. And by the way, I do have one fnal
piece of advice: buy American. I did, and
in doing so parted with a good deal of
money I was prepared to spend on another
more exotic choice. Take that, you disinterested European luxury car dealership.

..
..

Real-Time Segmentation
Personalization
Single View of Data
Today's
Lower TCO

special

PMS/POS
CRS/CRO
Loyalty
Spa
Web Development
CRM
Booking Engine
Mobile Solutions
Budgeting, Forecasting
Financial Accounting
Reporting
Supply Chain Management
Workforce Management

( 3 0 5 ) 3 7 3 - 7 7 4 9 / w w w. i n d r a c o m p a ny. c o m
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

28 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Marketing

by Cindy Estis Green

HERE BE
DRAGONS

Dangers and Opportunities
in the Digital Marketplace

The digital marketplace is ever changing with constant
disruption. Newspapers, digital photography, retailers and
financial services have undergone massive changes as a result
of consumer behavior. The hotel industry is no exception. Hotel
selection happens much deeper in the sales process because
consumers are gathering travel information on aggregator sites
like online travel agencies, Google and TripAdvisor well before
narrowing down to a shortlist. By the time the consumer decides
to make a hotel purchase, he or she may have touched seven to
10 sites and been directed or diverted by the search or information site based on which hotel(s) have a more prominent listing
or a higher ranking for the destination.

Managing Acquisition Costs – the Marketplace
The bifurcation of brands in hospitality into booking brands
and stay brands has been a driving force behind the escalation of
customer acquisition costs. Hotel operators along with corporate
and regional teams, have to navigate the digital marketplace with
a new imperative to modify revenue performance evaluation.
Supplementing the traditional methods of tracking operating
margins and market share, managing gross margins (revenue –
cost of sales) may prove to be a key to success in a dynamic and
turbulent online arena.
What does this mean for hotels going forward? Some argue
that third-party aggregators and search engines will ultimately
control the consumer path and hotels are going to be commoditized and passive recipients of business as they pay third parties
for traffic and then pay again to compete with each other on the
stay experience.
The first industry study examining customer acquisition
costs was completed in 2014 for the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA). HAMA collected data from almost 500
member hotels for the period from 2009 to 2012, and found that
commission costs for the hotels were rising at two times the rate
of revenue growth.

30 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

A Kalibri Labs study conducted on 2012 data in New York
City indicates the estimated range in acquisition costs (retail and
wholesale commissions, transaction fees and sales/marketing
expenses) in the North American market as ranging from 15
percent to 25 percent.
By contrast, the airlines have a “maniacal” focus on distribution costs as described by Tom O’Toole (CMO, United Airlines;
ex-CMO, Hyatt), speaking recently at an industry conference. He
said if the airlines spend $1, they feel that is $1 too much (not
figuratively, literally). Tom shared the anecdote that the airlines
are like the guy who had two near-fatal heart attacks and decided
to start exercising and completely alter his diet, and by comparison hotels are like the guy who casually decides to make a new
year’s resolution to try to go to the gym a little more and cut back
on potato chips and french fries.
The hotel industry’s triple threat for increased dependence
on third parties is brand dilution through commoditization of
hotel rooms, increased costs with little control over the shopping
and buying process and a diminished relationship with the customer. Brands have a dual challenge: generate demand for their
hotels without duplicating third-party costs, while at the same

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 31

Marketing
time managing to differentiate the brand
booking and/or stay experience in the eyes
of their consumers.
Beyond brand strategy, there are
tactical issues in the world of rising acquisition costs. Many would like to think they
can price optimize their way out of higher
acquisition costs. While rate and inventory
levers are important, a successful hotel
will have to do more; it will have to fnd
ways to effciently deploy resources to
achieve an optimal channel mix – not just
invest in brand.com (including mobile),
but also business triggers (including
social and metasearch) that can be tapped
to infuence not only brand.com, but also
voice and other direct channels. Conversion, retention and ancillary revenue will
also play into a hotel’s results as well as
closely managing traditional wholesalers.
What changes are needed? Legacy
sales and marketing infrastructure is
due for a fresh evaluation. Piling on
incremental new opportunities, however
compelling, may push costs to a level that
is unsustainable. What can be eliminated
without diminishing the foundation of any
given hotel’s demand? Establishing a cap
on acquisition costs will be essential and
will vary based on the hotel’s position in
its marketplace including factors such as
physical condition, brand (large, small or
independent), the intensity of competition
and location.
You can only manage what you measure. The industry knows how to manage
operating and labor costs and now it’s
time to put a maniacal focus on acquisition costs. Here be dragons. It’s time to
face down the danger in this new territory
we call the digital marketplace and
pursue the opportunities.
Cindy Estis GrEEn is
CEO and co-founder of Kalibri
Labs, a company that ofers an
analytcs platorm that enable
hotels to plan and monitor
proft contributon by channel and segment. A 35-year
veteran, she is co-author of the
industry bestseller, "Distributon Channel Analysis: A Guide
for Hotels," published by the
HSMAI Foundaton and AH&LA.

32 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Cost Comparisons to Other Industries
The biggest difference between the travel sectors is ownership of the assets – the
major brands in air and car directly own and control pricing and availability of the
majority of their supply.
Airlines report costs for customer acquisition and retention at approximately 5
percent to 10 percent, with some of the most proftable examples like Southwest at the
low end of this spectrum because they control distribution so tightly, and use many
ways (like seat selection) to induce customers to book directly on their proprietary
sites. The airlines have also made a practice of controlling the inventory available for
redemption in their loyalty programs to limit saleable seats that are affected.
Rental car companies operating in the United States own most of their inventory
and can control both pricing and availability. Total customer acquisition and retention
costs are similar to airlines, although their loyalty programs are considerably smaller,
so their costs are at the lower end of that spectrum, between 4 percent and 8 percent.
(Source: Company statements and investor presentations).
As a result of the ownership of most of their inventory, airlines and car rental
companies don’t hesitate to use availability as a tool. That means that if a commissionseeking distributor comes to them asking for non-standard compensation, they can
generally say no, even if it means not being sold by that distributor.
*A second study was done by the HAMA in 2014 and authored by Frank Camacho,
an industry consultant with 30 years of senior executive experience in various sectors of
the travel industry.
Source: HAMA Study 2013

Hotels, airlines and rental car
companies share many dimensions:
• Large capital base – buildings,
aircraft and cars
• Perishable inventory – an
unsold room, seat or rental can’t be
carried over
• Primarily sold with reservations
– walk ups exist but are generally
a minority
• Global distribution – all are
present in the GDSs
• Heavy online – it is the largest
reservations channel for all three

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Legal - Patent Trolls

by Scott Warner

Activity at
All Levels
to Stem
the Rise of
Patent Troll
Claims
There was a time not too long ago
when the defnition of trolls was limited to
mythical, cave-dwelling beings in folktales,
children’s books, fantasy or science
fction. No longer. The most common
reference now seems to be in connection with non-practicing entities (NPE)
that purchase rights in patents (as well as
other forms of IP) and monetize their investments through licensing and litigation.
But if the White House, Congress, courts
and others have their way, trolls may once
again be relegated to myth.
NPEs are a real problem for large
and small businesses alike. They are also
a problem for their customers. According
to recent studies, NPEs fle the majority of
patent litigation; the number of NPE lawsuits increased by 11 percent in 2013, and
the total costs of NPE patent suits exceed
the societal benefts of patent ownership.
This does not represent the entire story,
as it does not refect the vast majority of
claims that never ripen into litigation.
Moreover, a study by Robin Feldman in
October 2013 titled, “Patent Demands and
Startup Companies” indicates that such

34 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

claims have a negative impact on startups
and may even discourage venture funding.
What’s Being Done?
On Feb. 20, 2014, the White House
provided a status report on initiatives
started in the previous June and announced a variety of additional steps
designed to improve patent quality and put
pressure on patent trolls. These included
crowd source prior art, providing a toolkit
of information for companies accused of
patent infringement (http://www.uspto.
gov/patents/litigation/index.jsp). This
toolkit answers common questions about
patent claims and requirements and
establishes a database of demand letter,
and rules designed to increase transparency in patent ownership (http://www.gpo.
gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-24/pdf/201401195.pdf).
There is activity in the U.S. Congress
as well. The House and Senate both have
bills under consideration that would make
it more diffcult for NPEs to bring infringement suits. For example, H.R. 3309 and
S. 1720 would both make it a deceptive

practice to send cease-and-desist letters
demanding payment with vague and unspecifed claims of infringement. Both would put
a stop to claims against consumers who
purchase products from manufacturers, and
H.R. 3309 would make NPEs shoulder the
costs of litigations if they do not prevail.
On Sept. 27, 2013, the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) announced that it
planned to undertake a study of the business
practices of what it described as “Patent
Assertion Entities,” but which, in substance,
are essentially the same NPEs that have
caught others’ attentions. The FTC proposes
to use its power to get answers from 25 designated companies on how they run crucial
aspects of their businesses. In theory, the
FTC has sweeping powers and could take
action against specifc NPEs if the study
concludes that such action is necessary. But
therein lies the rub. The agency has much
on its plate, and even when the study is
completed there is no specifc timetable for
follow-up enforcement action, if any.
The United States Supreme Court took
up the issue of fee shifting in Octane Fitness,
LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc. this spring.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Legal - Patent Trolls

What Can You Do?
Seek counsel. Studies indicate
that the majority of demands do not ripen
into litigation. Still, that does not mean
they should be ignored. Upon receipt of a
demand, seek legal counsel. Your counsel
can suggest a variety of strategies to respond to infringement claims (if appropriate) and establish defenses to them.
Examine the claims. Often the
frst contact contains nothing more than a
claim that your use of some technology or
process may infringe an unspecifed right.
While there is usually a list of the allegedly
infringed patents, there is often no claim
chart showing exactly how your use of
the technology or process infringes those
claims. You need to see this and, more
specifcally, you need to demand it from
the NPE. If the NPE doesn’t provide it, that
may be the end of the interaction. Even if
they do, NPE claims charts are often less
than helpful. You may want to have them
examined by independent patent counsel.
Also, you may want that patent lawyer to
be different than your litigation lawyer, so
as to preserve the possibility of having the

patent lawyer give a favorable opinion that
you can publically rely upon.
Contact the manufacturer. A common tactic is for an NPE to send cease-and
desist letters to end users of technology.
In this case, contact the manufacturer. If
the manufacturer has been sued or taken
action against the NPE, you may be able to
stay any proceeding against you pending
the outcome of the manufacturer’s action.
Also, you may learn that the manufacturer
already has a license to the invention in
question, which may cover you as well.
And, as part of this review, look at your
manufacturer purchase agreement. It may
contain an indemnity from the manufacturer. Hint: Always try to include an
infringement indemnity in your purchase
agreements.
Do your diligence. Investigate
the owner of the patent. Determine how
active they are, the status of other cases
they may have fled and how those may
have been resolved, and identify other
companies that may have received similar
letters. With this information in hand, you

are in a much better position to plan a
defense and, perhaps, enlist the aide of
others in defending or negotiating a better
resolution of the claim. In this regard,
beware that in at least one case (Cascades
Computer Innovation LLS v. RPX Corporation et al), the NPE successfully argued
that the concerted activity between end
users in connection with the negotiation of
licensing terms raised anti-trust issues.
In some (relatively rare) instances,
you may want to fle your own lawsuit
against the NPE seeking a declaration that
the patent at issue is invalid and/or that
you do not infringe it. This is not the rule –
litigation is expensive and generally to be
avoided if at all possible. However, there
are situations where it can make sense.
Some examples of these are included
at this webpage: (URL). Again, walking
into court can be an expensive endeavor.
However, it is sometimes the only action
that will make an unreasonable NPE wake
up and smell the lower license fee, or better yet, stop the next one from banging on
your door with its hand out.

This decision could make it easier for
District Courts to award fees to prevailing
parties in patent cases. At the same time,
courts around the country have increased
pressure on NPEs by awarding sanctions,
and in at least one case, forced it to go to
trial and explain its “sham operations” to
a jury.
Individual states have not been sitting
idly by either. Several states, including
Kentucky, Oregon, New York, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Nebraska, Minnesota and
Alabama have taken action to stem the tide
of NPE lawsuits, including giving the accused infringer a claim against the NPE for
bad faith assertions of patent infringement.
The bottom line is that there is a
growing interest and activity addressed
to the patent troll problem, but until they
bear fruit, what should a restaurant, hotel,
tour operator or other company do if it
receives a cease-and-desist letter from
an NPE? The following are some suggestions which, separately or combined, may
improve your chances of success.

The troll problem persists, but as
noted, it is not going unnoticed. With luck,
some of the changes above will be implemented soon and businesses that have
been the subject of these claims can turn
their attention back to what they do best:

innovation. Until then though, caution and
intelligent pushback are the watchwords
of the day.

36 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

ScOtt Warner is an atorney
with Greg Duf and Company.

“OK…ignoring the patent troll guy is defnitely out. Any other brilliant legal
strategies you might have missed…?.”
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Room Area Networks

by Jeffrey Stephen Parker

I R.A.N.,
I R.A.N. so far away...
As I sit in my room in Barcelona, I want to catch up on
SportsCenter (European sports seem to be all about sailing and
soccer). I try to hook my streaming device into the HDMI port
of the TV, and I am amazed to fnd that the HDMI ports have all
been locked down. I might understand this in a hotel trying to
prop up pay-per-view (PPV), but that is not true at this hotel.
They seem to have just locked out the ports to spite me as a
traveler.
For the most part, traveling internationally is fun, but
often the downside is the television content in the room. There
are few if any English-speaking channels, and if there is one,
it is always CNN International. If I have to hear one more time
about African micro-entrepreneurs…let’s just say content is
a problem. This is not just an American abroad issue; it is a
problem for travelers even in their own countries. As hoteliers
we can never deliver the right amount of content at the right
time to the right guest, and it is time we enable our guests to
deliver it themselves.
Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and AppleTV are just
a few examples of devices that have become so easy to carry,
simple to use and inexpensive that they are becoming issues for
hotels. They are issues because guests are befuddled as to why
they cannot use these devices in the same manner as they use
them at home.
The buzz words are BYOD, BYOE, BYO. The problem is
the same: how do hotels deal with the proliferation of devices
(from iPads® and Galaxy S®5s to PlayStation® 3 and Xbox One)
that our guests are bringing into our rooms. How do we deal
with the shift from the Internet primarily being used as a business tool to it being more about social and entertainment?
I am not about to argue the more-bandwidth-vs-morecontrol vs. tiered pricing here. There have been several great
pieces on all aspects of these points in this magazine over the
years. I want to focus on what is happening in your rooms, on
your networks inside the gateway of your guest networks.
Millions of Chromecast sticks and Roku players have been
sold and Amazon just released Fire TV. Xboxes and PS3s have

Potential Problems

1) We are still trying to hold
on to a PPV model, partially because
diamond and star ratings still include
this, and partially because some
brands require it, but mostly because
we still think we are offering an
amenity to our guests they really
want. While the case might be they
only use PPV because we have
disabled other options.
42 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

been seen on our networks since they were released. Most
laptops come with HDMI out, and a quick search of Amazon or
EBay will yield hundreds of HDMI to whatever device you carry
dongles.
I know this is not headline news, but pay-per-view is dead.
I see you in the back of the room with your hand up, and I
am sure you are the one hotel that is actually making tangible
monies off of your system, or one of many vendors that has
a great ROI spreadsheet; but those are rare exceptions. PPV
is not able to deliver the content our guests want, or we have
been forced by studios and partners to price content so high
that our guests balk at the price.
With Netfix and Amazon, guests have access to hundreds
of thousands of titles, many for free with subscription, and we
simply cannot compete with that, nor should we. Hotels will
never know what episode of “24” room 102 is watching to
catch-up before the new season, or have that quirky Nicolas
Cage flm he did during his artsy phase. (BTW, I am two episodes into season three of “24” and prefer Nick in movies with
a little more action.)
Licensing is a big hurdle, and I do not have an answer
that will help our solution partners jump over it. Studios
are protecting a model that is no longer working. Until they
have the epiphany that guests are going to fgure out a way to
stream (legally or illegally) content to the hotel room, they
are not protecting anything. They are only putting us in a
position to say no to our guests. That leaves us in a position to
enable our guests to use the devices they have to watch what

2) We are challenged by
supporting devices hooked up
to our TVs, so we lock down the
ports or make it impossible to
access them. This is not new. We
did it with component video and
S-video, we seem to be stuck in this
philosophy as an industry.

3) To address security
concerns years ago, we isolated
each device network session,
protecting guests from each other.
This now is biting us in the back
side, as guests are bringing in
equipment that needs to talk to
each other over our networks.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Room Area Networks
they want. I have seen many a system promise to stream content
from my guests’ devices, whether they be tablets or laptops,
phones or cameras, but I have yet to see an elegant, simple
in-room (versus in-lab) solution. Hoteliers need to push for this
and vendors need to really fgure it out beyond the demonstration foor.
The answer is our networks, and this is something we can
monetize if we do it right and set appropriate guest expectations.
You already know WAN, LAN, PAN; it’s time to deploy RAN, room
area networks, and set it up so your guests can do it on the fy as
an upgrade. A RAN will let guests create a VLAN bubble for them
to share content among different personal devices. A RAN is a
value proposition to guests. A RAN can be sold.
In my perfect hotel room of the future, I would get a splash
screen that offers free Internet, higher speeds for a price, and
my own room area network that would allow eight devices
that can all talk to each other and a bucket of bandwidth. The
dream gateway would then create a custom RAN for the family,
room 208 RAN or Jeff’s RAN, as part of the connection process,
with its own SSID and key, and the frst device would move over
to the RAN automatically, with instructions for connecting all
the other devices. The best part is: once the RAN is created, the
other devices just need the SSID and a shared key to connect,
because many devices that stream do not have browsers to
authenticate with.
I know some HSIA partners are working on building
RANs, particularly to deal with Chromecast. This needs to be
simple for our clients, and that is a challenge. The current gate-

44 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

way technologies don’t have the intelligence to move a device
to a new network seamlessly. Basically what has to happen on
the back end is similar to some of the apps that are doing this,
switching networks on the fy. The app for my scale at home
can do it, and my washing machine app can do it, it has to be
possible for our networks. I have to believe you can innovate
something that makes the handoff easy. I hit a button on my
phone and it fnds the nearest pint of Guinness, there has to be
a way. In the short term, give them some easy-to-use instructions to make the switchover.
For families, it’s a value as everyone has one or two
devices. The parents can hook up an entertainment streaming
gateway to the TV and change to channel 16, which is mapped
the easy-to-access HDMI port, and stream whatever content
they have at home on their tablet or even on one of these new
USB drives that stream. This works for the business person
that is catching an out-of-market White Sox game or using the
screen to work on a presentation. If done right it can allow for
that video call back home.
There is money to be made here, so it is self supporting,
you can pay for it, or at least offset some other costs. You can still
offer free Internet; this just becomes part of the tier system.
We are in the business of improving the guest experience.
I believe if we can perfect the RAN, our guests will continue to
run to our hotels.
JEFFREY STEPHEN PARKER, CHTP, is the vice president and Chief Funologist for Stout Street Hospitality.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Room Automation Systems

by Trevor Warner

Introducing

Google's Chromecast
Adapting services to refect the guest habit.
The decline of video on demand
was not a surprise to many people in our
industry. Technology changed, habits
changed, and society became on demand.
The need to wait for a specifc show at a
specifc time, or to pay for media content
that could only be watched on one screen
at that moment, was replaced by the
convenience of on demand on my device
on my time.
Convenience is the key word when
any analyst looks at consumer trends.
Society is a creature of convenience.
Consumers quickly moved their
media consumption to the most convenient device they carried with them.
It might be the laptop, tablet or smartphone, but it was ultimately the consumer
device accessing the cloud.
We see the same trend in free-toguest video. So much network content is
online that guests have content to current
shows, eliminating the need to DVR or
tune in at a certain date and time. HBO
viewership is now estimated at less than
2 percent of occupied rooms. The downfall of live HBO was the introduction of
HBO GO®. Live programing has become
less convenient in our busy lives.
Hotels have the biggest, best screen
in the room, but the guest is willing to
watch his or her content on a tablet
because it’s more convenient. Guests want
to use the guestroom TV but we don’t
have an affordable option to display their
content. There are several companies who
have conquered the challenge of allowing
guests to display their content on the hotel
TV. TV manufacturers have built in smart
technology with preloaded apps. IPTV providers and integrators can install hardware
that allows for guest connectivity. However,
the cost model is still very expensive and
46 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

it is still a work in progress. The questions
remain: do we provide the technology to
allow the guest to use the guestroom TV or
do we allow the guest to bring in their own
technology?
Multiple products are hitting the
market addressing in room entertainment.
The most notable is Google Chromecast.
This device is the size of a USB stick
and allows the user to access his or her
content in the cloud connecting through
HDMI to the TV. Chromecast is a device
that bridges the gap between bringing in
personal media content and fnding a way
to easily move the media to the big TV in
the room. The genius of Chromecast is
that it is a hardware device. A hardware
device that overcomes the primary hotel
technology issue: guest user error. It uses
the guest’s device and settings, and is
already confgured and ready to deploy.
Early adopters of Chromecast ran
into two primary issues. First, Chromecast was not confgured to work in the
hospitality format. Chromecast requires
a Wi-Fi connection to authenticate but
had no ability to open up a splash page
or bypass a splash page. Guests quickly
learned that setting up a quick hotspot
on their phone or through a mobile Wi-Fi
device defeated the problem. Of course,
to avoid heavy usage charges from mobile
Wi-Fi, the guest had already downloaded
the content. Rumors are Google will
launch an upgrade that allows Chromecast
to connect to a third-party network like a
hotel. With this change, we would be one
step closer to seamless integration.
The second and more prominent
issue was the hotel TV. Typically, hotel
TVs are locked down, meaning they don’t
allow the user to change the input. The
exceptions were hotels that had installed

jack packs or had TVs that were not locked
down. This is the next step in the evolution
of inroom entertainment. How do hotels
allow guests to use the TV without causing
operational issues?
While Chromecast, the Roku Streaming Stick and others may not be the fnal
solutions they are a major step forward in
the evolution of entertainment and media.
Hotels must adapt services to refect the
guest habit. In the long run, this is a signifcant change in the favor of the hotel.
Now hotels must provide free-to-guest
HDTV service at a cost of between $9 to
$30 per room per month. With this evolution, the cost will go down signifcantly
and eventually go away. More importantly, it’s one less technology service the
hotel has to manage without the on site
expertise to manage the product. There is
nothing more frustrating than dealing with
a guest issue without the expertise to solve
the problem.
TREVOR WARNER is the president of Warner Consultng group.
He can be reached at trevorwarner@
warnerconsultnggroup.com.
There are four components that make
Chromecast a game changer:

1
2

It is very small making it easy to
pack and carry.

It is already configured with all of
the user’s settings and ready to go
once plugged in.

3

It has a common connection (HDMI)
so no adaptor or retrofit is necessary.

4

It’s easy-to-use, plug-and-play
capabilities allow the non-technical
to be savvy.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Room Area Networks

by James Lingle

5 GHz
– Is It Worth It?

You would think that after more than a decade we’d fnally
be able to stop talking about Wi-Fi. The truth is, Wi-Fi is the
industry problem that won’t go away. For all the attempts at
future proofng (a concept I don’t really believe in), you would
think that we would fnally get past the issue.
Here’s a news fash that won’t surprise anyone – it’s not going to happen. We try to fx this problem that has existed for years
with technology that is on its way out and is inadequate to meet
the needs of our guests today, much less in the future. We convince ourselves to do the minimum necessary only to fnd in a
year that we are facing the problem yet again and have to answer
that age-old question: Didn’t I just pay a lot of money to fx this?
That doesn’t mean, though, that we shouldn’t be trying. I
said earlier that I don’t believe in the idea of future proofng.

However, I do believe in the idea of future preparing. This is
where I believe that we make our biggest mistake. We don’t take
the long view. We are trying to solve the problem that we’ve had
for years with a technology that is already on its way out (albeit
slowly). In order to have a great guest experience you must have
two essential components – great bandwidth and great infrastructure. Bandwidth is a topic for another day.
There are challenges to deploying a 5 GHz network. Wi-Fi
solution providers are just beginning to offer 802.11ac solutions.
Have they had the opportunity to test it in their labs and work
out the kinks? What is the brand position? How do you explain
the technological advantages to the non-technical people?
Let’s not forget the cost – it is the single biggest challenge
to this whole idea. Due to the smaller coverage area of 5 GHz,

The long view is 5 GHz.
In a nutshell here’s why:

Better networks will allow us
to deploy new technologies
that provide new guest experiences (Apple TV, anyone?),
and mobile operational tools
that allow our teams to be
more effcient in their jobs
and their guest interactions.

1

Open airwaves – Try as
you might you probably
cannot create a comprehensive list of all the devices that
use the 2.4 GHz spectrum.
Bluetooth, ZigBee, cordless
phones, hotspot devices, microwaves and our own wireless access points are just a
few of the 2.4 GHz devices you
are likely to fnd in hotels today. Much like 4G/LTE when
it was introduced, the 5 GHz
band is relatively free of detritus and provides for a better,
faster experience. No, it won’t
last forever, but it will last

long enough to allow devices
and technology to take advantage of the open airwaves.
Device density and
capability – The average person carries 2.8 mobile
devices into a hotel. Most
of the world’s most popular
mobile devices now support 5
GHz coverage. While not all of
them support the AC standard,
it’s coming. The bottom line
is that our guests are using it
already so let’s enhance their
experience by building a better network.
New guest experience
opportunities and
operational effciencies –

2

3

48 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

4

802.11ac – The AC standard was fnally ratifed in
January of 2014. Now many
of the hospitality-centric providers of equipment have introduced their frst products
to service providers and they
are beginning to fnd their
way into the sales stream.
802.11ac offers many advantages to address the concerns

that our industry faces particularly device density. AC access
points are also backwards compatible if needed for older guest
technologies or heart of house
mobile technologies.

5

Dual band APs – One of
the greatest advantages of
designing a 5 GHz network is
that you don’t have to abandon
coverage of the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Even if you don’t deploy AC
access points, your 802.11n access points can still cover both
the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz spectrum. This still allows you a network design that will lower the
cost of deployment when you do
decide to move to 802.11ac.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

WHAT HAPPENS
AFTER CHECK-IN
CAN MAKE OR BREAK
YOUR REPUTATION.

HOSPITALITY EXTENDS BEYOND “WELCOME” WITH VIDEO, VOICE, DATA, AND MANAGED SERVICES.
A good guest review puts your property at the top of the list for travelers. We customize property-wide wireless Internet access,
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IWGUVU9KVJQWTRTKXCVGN[QYPGFOCPCIGFCPFOCKPVCKPGFPGVYQTMYGCTGCNYC[UCEEQWPVCDNGYJGPKVEQOGUVQQWTUGTXKEGU
sLWUVCU[QWCTGYKVJ[QWTIWGUVU1WTVGCOQHVGEJPKEKCPUGPIKPGGTUCPFOCPCIGOGPVCTGCNYC[UCXCKNCDNGKPRGTUQPCPF
on the phone, so we can ensure the “just like home” experience your guests expect.
We take our role in providing a positive guest experience seriously – we want your guests to be happy as much as you do.

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Room Area Networks
a signifcantly larger number of access
points is required. If you add 802.11ac to
the mix, the cost goes even higher. Factor in the additional cabling and network
infrastructure, and all of a sudden it begins to feel like the costs are getting out
of control. Any smart owner, asset manager or operations leader will bring up
the cost issue frst. You will be asked to
provide an ROI on the additional cost and
that is a diffcult nut to crack on the best
of days. We work in an industry where
cost trumps many things. It is up to us to
make the sale.
In order to validate the cost of any
project, not just Wi-Fi, you need to focus
on three key areas – return on investment,
guest experience and brand standard.
Return on investment is the hardest
to validate for Wi-Fi. No one has to validate the need for hot water, it’s simply the
price to be in business. Today, Wi-Fi is
the new hot water. It helps to quantify lost

Today, Wi-Fi
is the new hot
water.

business (particularly group or major
accounts) or customers that have indicated they won’t return due to their Wi-Fi
experiences. If the owner is holding the
asset for a while or there is construction
in play, the ROI comes from doing it now
and not later, thus avoiding increased additional costs. It’s cheaper to do it once
than to do it twice.
Guest experience is the single biggest selling point. The consensus is that

Wi-Fi is the No.1 issue in hotels and often in the entire chain. It ranks above
nearly every complaint you can think of
– bad mattresses, not enough towels, thin
walls, no hot water and noisy neighbors.
A well-designed and deployed network
will move this far down the list of issues,
bring higher guest satisfaction scores and
giving hotel operators a No.1 problem
that isn’t technology related.
So – is it worth it? Everyone is going
to have a different opinion. If you focus
on the short-term answer or the money,
then probably not. If you take the long
view, probably so. We will eventually
need to be there. I happen to believe that
there is here and now.
James LingLe is the an independent consultant, formerly the
CiO and VP informaton technology for Sage Hospitality. He can be
reached at [email protected].

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Front row (L to R): Michael Buckham-White, Agilysys; Greg Pesik, Passkey; Larry Hall, PAR Springer-Miller Systems; Seth
Christian, Knowcross Solutions Pvt Ltd; Richard Corso, InnLink/TravLynx; Bruce Bensetler, Data Plus Hospitality Solutions;
Mark Holzberg, Hospitality Technical Services, LLC (HTS); Sean O’Neill, Newmarket International; St John Murphy, NTT
DATA Inc.; David Chestler, SiteMinder; Vivek Bhogaraju, IDeaS - A SAS COMPANY; Steve Gelb, MaximRMS; Susan Gregory,
Ponterra Business Advisors; Connie Rheams, Indra; Lisa Israelovitch, Umapped; Trevor Warner, Warner Consulting Group;
Second row (L to R): Don Hay, Digital Alchemy; Kristi White, Flip.to; Jay Troutman, Aptech; Mark Swanson, Immersion
Companies Inc.; Mark Jarman, Guestware; Stewart Applbaum, Infor; Ron Dressin, RedRock Software; Mark Loyd, MultiSystems, Inc.; Rod Jimenez, Sceptre Hospitality Resources; Cindy Estis Green, Kalibri Labs; Sherry Marek, Datavision; Arthur Waller, PriceMatch; Bryan Williams, B.Williams Enterprise, LLC; Third row (L to R): David Shaw, Postec, Inc.; Ursula
Rhode, Genares; Ron Peterson, Blueprint RF; Evan Brown, ENG Infotech Corp; Hayes Thomas, ZDirect, Inc.; Jacob Dehan,
NORTHWIND Canada Inc.; Jon Inge, Jon Inge & Associates; Barrs Lewis, TimeManagement Corporation; Chris Hemmeter,
Thayer Ventures; John Burns, Hospitality Technology Consulting; Back row (L to R): Jeff Venza, Venza Group, Inc.; Chris
Ruff, UIEvolution; Michael Waltman, Interactive Sites, Inc.; Peter Altabef, MICROS Systems, Inc.; Mike Gray, NEC; Alex Alt,
Sabre; Mike Schmitt, Clairvoyix; Cris Davidson, FCS Computer Systems; Michael Garvin, RoamingAround Mobile Solutions;
Greg Duff, Garvey Schubert Barer; Patrick Bosworth, Duetto; Not pictured: Bob Magliozzi, CENDYN; Frank Wolfe, HFTP;
Josh Keatts, Ponterra Business Advisors; John Rovani, Ponterra Business Advisors

-ARCH 
 s.EW/RLEANS ,OUISIANA
52 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

SCAN this page for a
video from the CIO panel
summarized on page 56.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Review by Kris Burnett
It is hard to believe that the Executive
Vendor Summit is in its 10th year. When
Richard Siegel, publisher of Hospitality
Upgrade, first came up with the idea to
bring the C-level executives from the
technology providers together for two
and a half days each year, many thought
he was nuts. Who knew that in its 10th
year, the vast majority are repeat attendees and come not only to take part in the
educational sessions, but to brainstorm
and network with the very companies
with whom they compete, yet many
times whom they compliment.
“There is no conference like this where
you interact with your peers; you
have the opportunity to listen to other
people’s point of view or competitors of
yours in some cases,” said Sean O’Neill
of Newmarket International.
This year’s event was held at the Omni
Royal Orleans in New Orleans, La. The
conference began with the annual golf
tournament, which was held at the English Turn Golf & Country Club, one of the
few properties that was able to operate
immediately after Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. The crosswinds proved highly
challenging, but at least afforded quite
a few laughs. To show how challenging
the course was (we will just blame the
course and the wind), the winning score
was an even par. First place went to:
Jay Troutman of Aptech, Susan Gregory
of Ponterra Business Advisors, Michael
Buckham-White of Agilysys and Mike
Gray of NEC. The longest putt made was
also by Gregory, and the closest to the
pin was a shot by Michael Waltman of
Interactive Sites. It was already a tough
course, and the wind, with gusts up to
25 mph, made it even tougher, but fun.

Session 1: The 5 Stars
Legacy: The Leader’s Role
in Driving a Culture of
World-Class Service
In the first session, Bryan Williams, chief
service officer of B. Williams Enterprise,
LLC, described some of the tools and
perspectives to not just meet, but to
continually exceed your customers’ expectations. He stressed the importance
of teams being not only exceptional, but
consistent. Most importantly, he emphasized how leaders have an important
role in driving a culture of world-class
service and encouraging a service-driven
team.

Session 2: Legal Corner:
Successful Contracting in
the Lodging Industry
After a very productive examination
of leading five-star service teams and
developing effective leadership tactics,
Greg Duff, owner, Garvey Schubert
Barer, led a discussion on contract terms
as they apply to technology companies
in the lodging sector. Topics covered
included contract structure, service level
agreements (SLAs), indemnification,
privacy and data security, cloud-based
services and statements of work. Duff’s
presentation opened quite a bit of discussion over indemnity across borders
and the continuing concern over data
security.

Session 3: Real World M&A
Deal Experiences: Investor
and Seller Perspectives
Familiar face, John Rovani of Ponterra
Business Partners, covered the current
trends in mergers and acquisitions, and
was joined by panelists Chris Hemmeter, co-founder/managing director,
Thayer Ventures; Barrs Lewis, former
CEO, TimeManagement Corporation;
and Sean O’Neill, chairman, Newmarket
International.
Rovani opened with, “It has been a very
successful year.” And, his panelists were
just two examples of many large acquisi-

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

tions within the technology sector in the
last year. (TimeManagement Corporation
was bought by Agilysys and Newmarket
was acquired by Amadeus.)
As Rovani mentioned, private equity
has been extremely aggressive in the
industry, and now private equity groups
are eying this space because they see
the enormous potential. Another point
he noted was that “India is a market
that is exploding.”
O’Neill agreed that many have taken
notice of the industry. “I think it’s a great
time to be in this industry,” he said.
“There is a lot of interest (within it).”

Bryan Williams:
“People who feel
underappreciated will either
quit and leave, or they will quit
and stay… Whenever
you bring down your
expectations, you demotivate
your hardest workers.”

On the financial/venture
capital side, Hemmeter explained what his company focuses
on when looking at companies like
these. “It is way more about growing the
business and getting behind great teams
than financial engineering,” he said.
Lisa Israelovitch, Umapped founder and
CEO, asked Hemmeter, “When you are
investing in a company and you know
you accept a risk, what are two characteristics of companies you invest in?”
Hemmeter pointed to the companies
themselves and their teams’ focus.
“There is this incredible magic about a
team or leader who is willing to micro
pivot in pricing policy and this sort of
mandate of focus. The ability to pivot is
so vital,” he said. “The most important
thing is the magic.”
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 53

Bryan Williams:
“It’s never OK to intentionally not do
your job… The last person I serve at
the end of my shift should not feel like
they are the last person you served on
your shift. Consistency is the key.”

From the audience, Cindy
Estis Green of Kalibri Labs asked
what effect the sale of TravelClick would
have on the hotel industry. (Venture
capital firm and majority owner Genstar
sold the company to private equity group
Thoma Bravo for $930 million recently.)
Rovani said, “There is an enormous
amount of new competition in the space
from companies like SiteMinder. I don’t
think TravelClick will be able to raise
prices because of that… The track
record of B2B players going public (with
a few exceptions in this room) has not
been that great.”
Hemmeter agreed with Rovani and said,
“Hotels will have choices; there is more
competition.”
Regarding acquisitions themselves, both
Lewis and O’Neill cited the importance
of having a third party, especially since
many of these relationships deal with
businesses your company has most
likely dealt with before or still does.
“It’s great to have a plan,” O’Neill said.
“You need to think about getting an advisor… Someone who knows the industry
and knows the players.”

SCAN
this
photo.

Who Am I?
This attendee has been to 10
consecutive Executive Vendor Summits.
Can you guess who this is?
54 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Lewis agreed, “What I needed was
knowledge, knowledge in a very
particular place.”
When asked by John Burns of
Hospitality Technology Consulting
about how you prepare for sale,
O’Neill said, “You
have to look at what
kinds of things not to
do. You have to look at
financial reporting… If
you haven’t been looking at
your business that closely,
that’s a good place to start.
Know your audience, try to
be realistic.”

Deitemeyer, president of Omni, was at
a panel discussion and he made this
statement for Omni Hotels: ‘No keyless
entry systems, no self-service devices,
no mobile check-in at any Omni Hotels.’
And I took notice; that was an interesting statement to make.

Lewis agreed and added,
“It’s an arduous process, but
it’s a fun process.”
Lastly, Rovani asked the panelists if
there had been any pain points.
Lewis recommended that companies
have discipline on their team; an
example is that the financials have to be
consistent between different meetings.
O’Neill stressed doing the right things
and keeping a moral compass. “You
want to wake up the next day and be
able to face your team, (and feel the
same as you did the day before),” he
said.

Session 4: Seizing
Opportunity
After a quick break, Larry Hall, president and CEO of PAR Springer-Miller
Systems, moderated an open session
focused on seizing the opportunity –
the pitfalls and potential benefits. Hall
led a lively discussion with the audience covering emerging technologies,
resource allocation and speed to market,
as well as the decision process, nurturing innovation, adoption curves and
human capital… and is mobile actually
overrated? To see what the audience
thought, here is an actual excerpt from
the session:
Larry Hall said,
“At (a conference) this January, Michael

“…First let’s put out some statistics:
9 percent penetration rate for mobile
check-in for the hospitality industry in
the U.S. Only 53 percent of the U.S.
population has mobile phones (smartphones). So is Michael right? Is this
mobile thing overblown, overrated? Are
we all kidding ourselves? Or is Michael
wrong?”

John Rovani:
“You have to have a
relationship with and
trust the people you
work with.”

Kristi White of Flip.to said,
“...I think it depends on the caliber of the
hotel, and a hotel of this caliber, I would
suspect that most customers, while
probably more tech savvy, don’t want
the mobile check-in; they do still want
that personal interaction. If I had a lower
caliber hotel where I don’t necessarily
expect the higher level of service, then
it might be OK. The other piece of it
would be, do I have to download an app,
because if I’m a one-time guest at your

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Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 55

hotel, I’m not going to download
an app to do mobile checkin and eat up space on my
phone. I think we’re a long
way from people doing that
as a regular basis, because
(as part of the) service industry, I expect a certain level of
service.”

their future technology plans,
and their visions and strategies for the year ahead.
Greg Duff:
Richard Tudgay, vice presi“The Amazons and Microsofts of the world
dent, technology, Omni
(if you look at their terms); they can do
Hotels & Resorts moderated
the panel which included
whatever they want with your data….
Mike Blake, CIO, Commune
Many vendors require people not use
Hotels & Resorts; Page
Microsoft for that reason and request
Petry, CIO, Americas, Marsmaller cloud-based service providers.”
Connie Rheams of Indra said,
riott International; and Greg
“I don’t know if it’s overrated
Taylor, vice president technolor underrated. As an industry,
ogy and chief information officer,
at this point, you’re just replacing
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Be
Larry Hall said,
a process, and as a guest, what
sure
to view the view clip and see what
“What Deitemeyer added during
do I get out of that? I don’t have to
they
said about working with technology
his remark, he said, ‘We can solve the
stand in the line, that’s what I get out
vendors.
check-in problem operationally better
of that today, right? But, if there was
the old fashioned way than with mobile.’
some added value and I could see all the Think about what he is saying. If I
rooms, the largest rooms, and pick my
(preregister) you and cut your key, there’s
room number and find some incentives, I nothing faster than walking up to the
think the guest would be more incented
front desk, showing them who you are,
to use this kind of technology. I think
and grabbing a key. You can’t do checktoday it’s just so basic, we’re trying to
in any faster than that regardless of your
cross off one little piece of getting into
device. And that was really the point
a hotel, when in fact when I check in,
he was trying to make: no enhanced
I hope to charm the front desk agent,
operational benefit.”
and get a really nice room. I think that
interaction may pay off and that’s why I
Mike Gray of NEC said,
go stand in that line.”
“… I have a 36-year-old son and an
Jacob Dehan of NORTHWIND Canada,
Inc. said,
“I really give a lot of credit to the young
generation, and if a person like me
would make a statement about what
they think is right, I’ll be wrong, but why
don’t we ask the new generation what
would they like. So my comment would
be he would be wrong every year more
and more as the young generation becomes the consumer of the hotels, and I
think we just have to cater to them.”

80-year-old mother. My son has devices
in each hand and doesn’t talk to anybody. My mother, who has more money
than my son, she picks up the phone
and dials zero. And the hotel or chain
needs to be prepared to deal with both
of those wide scenarios if they have any
hope of staying relevant.”
For a full transcript of this highly interactive session, please go to:
http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/
EVS2014_Hall_SiezingOpportunity

Session 5:
The Year Ahead
Straight from
the CIO’s Mouth
The last day of the conference, one of the most popular sessions of the summit
focused on a panel of CIOs
who were willing to share
their current challenges,
56 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Here is an excerpt from the session
opening:
Richard Tudgay, moderator said,
“It’s interesting that as CIOs, we
definitely compete against each other,
our hotels definitely compete… but
we all talk all the time. We talk a lot;
we bounce things off each other, and
one of the things we talk a ton about is
vendors. There’s no question about it….
Something we all talk about is, ‘Well
how did the installation go?’”
Mike Blake said,
“I want to allay some of your concerns;
when we talk amongst ourselves,
seriously… we never talk about price.
We never, we kind of draw the line on
a lot of things, and we never talk about
price. So we never say, oh we’re getting

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

“John Rovani and his team, as
industry specialist investment
bankers, provided us with immense
strategic insight, value and
contacts to help us grow and sell
our business.”

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running your business while we land you
the right deal with the right buyer at the
right price.
Our team’s clients are our best advocates. Find out
why many of your travel and hospitality technology
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Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 57

US +1(855) 205-2500 | Int. +1(703) 565-2177 | UK +44 (0) 203 318 5720 | France +33 (0) 9 75 18 37 31 | ponterra.com | [email protected]

changes in the industry, his business and
in the hiring process.

this and such and such, what are you
getting. We make sure that there’s a fine
line between – I think it’s rather a black
and white line – between that which we
can talk about and that which we don’t
talk about. We do have various venues
and opportunities where all the CIOs do
get together and we do talk, and it’s a
double-edged sword. If you have a great
product and we have a great experience, it’s fantastic. But if we happen to
have a rough install or something crazy
happens, that kind of gets around pretty
quick...”
For a link to the video recording of the
panel session in its entirety, please go
to: http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/
EVS2014_CIOsTheYearAhead

Session 6: You’re Hired!
Now Don’t (Ever) Leave
The final session was led by 10-time
summit attendee, Jay Troutman of Aptech Computer Systems, who discussed
the challenges of finding, hiring and
keeping good people in the industry. As
a company that has been in business for
40 years, Troutman has seen his share of

Sean O’Neill:
Regarding setting a moral
compass: “You are
representing every single
person in the business.”

58 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

“We find it’s worth
the effort (investing
in our employees),”
he said. Not only
does his management
team share regular
updates with the staff
members, but Aptech
also splits the profits
within the company each year: one-third
goes to the owners, one-third goes to
the employees and one-third goes back
to the company.
Ursula Rhode pointed out the benefits
her company, Genares Reservation
Services, has gained by developing a
team of older and younger employees to
create a mentor/mentee relationship where they can learn from
each other and help the company
in many areas.
For a viewpoint from outside the
company, Troutman also cited the
benefits of having an advisory
board from an accountability
perspective.
Bruce Bensettler of Data Plus Hospitality Solutions added that some from the
industry may only advise in a limited
capability though. “The more sophisticated people who could contribute the
most were no longer willing to do so
because of the liability,” he said. “(But)
they were willing to serve as part of a
board of directors.”
When asked how bumpy the road was
over the years when creating a profit
sharing program, Troutman said the
bumps were worth it. “After all those
things came into play… now I think
the culture is very solid.”

Many of the event attendees appreciate
the opportunity to meet others in their
field, and many enjoy the educational
sessions. Peter Altabef of MICROS
enjoyed both and said, “Hospitality Upgrade (hosts) a tremendous conference.
The team here has put together a great
group of panelists, a great group of
participants, and the interaction is open
and flowing, and it’s learning... what I
really appreciate from the best conferences is the ability to learn. Networking
is important, but learning is special, and
this conference gives you both.”
O’Neill, a repeat attendee as well,
agreed, “I say the same thing to Rich
every year and I always mean it... Each
time I leave (the Executive Vendor Summit), there is no question I’ll be back
next year if I’m invited.”

Chris Hemmeter:
“This is a seller’s market and
it’s going to be for a while.”

From watching the Nola
Pelicans beat the L.A. Clippers
in the final minutes of the game, to
enjoying the result of a bananas foster
cooking class, ideas were shared, new
contacts were made, and many vowed
to return again for next year’s Executive
Vendor Summit.
Special thanks to 2014 Executive Vendor
Summit sponsors: Garvey Schubert
Barer, Ponterra Business Advisors, HFTP,
and our own Hospitality Upgrade and
Hotel-Online.

As Troutman said, it’s very hard to
find good people, but his company has
been able to create consistent growth
of 20 to 25 percent year over year for
quite a while – a trend, he wouldn’t
mind continuing.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com


  






 






 

  
 
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 59

[What to read]

What's

[

on the BooKSheLF
over the years, we’ve had numerous conversations with industry leaders and often one of the
topics that we discuss is the latest book read. We thought it would be fun to share some of these
booklover conversations with our readers. here are what our industry leaders are reading.

The SecoNd MAchiNe Age
By erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

[Review by Monika Nerger,
global cio, Mandarin oriental
hotel group]

If you are a fan of Ray Kurzweil, Isaac Asimov
and opportunity vis-a-vis the way we live and experience
or William Gibson, The Second Machine Age: Work,
the world. The authors defne a number of simultaneous
Progress and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Techadvances – Moore’s Law, the connectivity of people and
nologies will confrm everything you have read that
things, and the notion of “recombinant ideas” in which
robots will replace the drudgery of human labor, and
previous discoveries in technology can be reused and
that artifcial intelligence combined with the digitizacombined to create further innovation – which are expetion of everything will provide exponential progress for
diting technology in unimaginable ways. From Google’s
humanity.
Chauffeur Program (driverless cars) to Baxter the Robot,
According to the authors, two MIT professors with a cautechnologies which were predicted to be impossible for decades or
tiously optimistic view of the future, the invention of the steam
more have become reality in a short period of time.
engine was the defning moment which led to the entire Industrial
Brynjolfsson and McAfee caution that whilst these rapid develRevolution – an era in which humans overcame
opments in technology will usher in a new period
the limitations of muscle power. The steam engine Now comes the
of well-being for society, not everyone will beneft
substantially improved productivity in manufacturing,
equally. They offer thoughts on how to mitigate
second Machine
subsequently spreading to innovation in transporthis increasing divide, from reforms in education
Age, in which
tation – most notably the steam engine and the
to encouraging entrepreneurship. They further
a number of
steam ship, which changed the way the world was
identify the risks associated with an increasingly
connected.
signifcant advances connected world and present a sobering perNow comes in technology will
spective on the potential dangers. Despite these
the second
again bring us to an caveats, they conclude with a relatively positive
Machine Age, in
view of what lies ahead.
which a number infection point of
This is not just a book for science fction
tremendous change. buffs. This is a book about technology as it is
of signifcant
advances in
evolving – the Internet of Things, Big Data, 3-D
technology will
printing, robots and more – and the exponential
again bring us to an infection transformation we are about to experience. For any technologist, I
point of tremendous change
suggest putting this on your must-read list.

What's on your bookshelf?

Is there a book you would like to share with HU readers?

60 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

]

Share with us:
[email protected]

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

[What to read]

So many great books.
cLASh oF eMPiReS:
The gReAT Siege, By William Napier
[Review by carl Weldon,
chief executive, hoSPA]
It is always more interesting to read
about somewhere that you have just visited
and that has real history. I didn't realize just
how much my recent trip was steeped in
history.
After a long weekend at the Corinthia
Hotel in Malta, I picked up this book about
the Great Siege of 1565 when the might of the
Ottoman (Turkish) Empire was ready to take over the rest of the
world. All of the events that are described in the book took place
on the island I had just explored. A small set of 500 Knights of St.
John (also known as the Knights Hospitaller) defended the island
and its main harbours with some soldiers and inhabitants against
a hugely superior force – defending the harbour forts of St. Elmo
and St. Angelo – and the gateway to the rest of Europe.
It was bloody and brutal, and this book provides an excellent
fctional version of what could have happened to a young English
defender caught up in the events. You fnd yourself holding your
breath waiting for the siege to start, rushing through the main
heroic defence of St. Elmo and both cheering and sad at the end –
knowing that this may just have been what happened.
You end up appreciating the sacrifce – and the history. I
had not realized that the main town of Valetta (named after Jean
Parisot de Valette – the Grand Master and
Commander) that now guards the main
harbour was only built after this siege because
the island survived and needed fortifying for
the future.
If you like history at its most vivid –
about the sacrifce of the few for the greater
good – and then want to visit the location –
then this book is for you!

UP The oRgANiZATioN
by Robert c. Townsend and Warren Bennis
As shelves full of new business books vie for the reader’s
attention, an old friend continues to infltrate their ranks: Up the
Organization. This classic, frank and engaging guide to business
still rates the attention of readers today. The challenges Avis faced are
the challenges that every business faces today: Start-ups can become
institutions, vendors can grow complacent, and executives can lose
sight of their core business in pursuit of quarterly earnings.
Townsend had a business to run – Avis – and it had to try harder
because it wasn’t No.1. Instead of trying to brush that fact under the
rug, Avis embraced it, and it became the corporate rallying cry for
change. The motto, “We’re No.2. We try harder!” helped Avis grow
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

eLeVeN RiNgS:

The SoUL oF SUcceSS, By Phil Jackson
[Review by Page Petry, cio, Americas,
Marriott international]
If you are a basketball fan you will enjoy this book. If you
never watched a basketball game in your life, this book may well
get you to a game. If you are a leader looking for inspiration on
how to move your team forward you might fnd that this book
will provide the jolt you need.
In Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, Phil Jackson shows
he is more than a storied basketball player and coach; he is a
successful leader. With the gift of storytelling he shares with us
his leadership style through a journey to 11 NBA championship
titles. Six times with the Chicago Bulls and fve times with the Los
Angeles Lakers, Phil motivated his players, capitalizing on their
individual strengths and competitive nature to drive them to win.
Phil never waivers from his management
beliefs but shows us that he is susceptible to
missteps along the way – all of which require
thoughtful recalibration to get back on track.
This is a humbling experience for even the
most experienced of leaders.
Managing owners and players with
strong personalities, varying skills, personal objectives that are not aligned with the
franchise and sometimes just not wanting
to work sounds like the challenges leaders face every day. Phil
shows us how having faith in your players, leveraging individuals strengths, the ability to identify and grow
talent, along with having a strong sense of
purpose can all come together to achieve a
cohesive winning team.
It is time to download this to your
e-reader, take some time out for yourself,
and get a dose of Phil Jackson and his
philosophy of coaching.
[Review by don hay,
President, digital Alchemy]
more than 400 percent and surpass Hertz. Townsend's management style was bold and cut-to-the-chase; his writing style and
the organization of the book is the same.
Townsend never wasted a word. He painted the picture that
appreciated employees produce more and
stay longer. Given opportunities to grow within
the company, employees are generally more
productive and more loyal to the company.
His biggest warning was how easy it is for
people at all levels of management to lose
sight of their core business.
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 61

Pipeline Index
Property Management
Agilysys
Cenium
Infor
iTesso
MICROS Hotel Solutions
Multi-Systems, Inc. (MSI)
NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS
PAR Springer-Miller Systems
ResortSuite
Sabre Hospitality Solutions

Pages
64, 118
64, 118
65, 120
66, 120
67, 121
67, 121
68, 121
69, 121
70, 122
71

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Cenium

77, 118

Guestroom Technology, Internet, Other In-room
Services and Wireless Technology
Blueprint RF
Chetu
Eleven Wireless, Inc.
Guest-tek™
Hospitality Technical Services (HTS)
Hotwire Communications
PhoneSuite®

76
78
83, 119
88, 119
92, 119
92, 119
102, 121

Inventory Control/RFID/Purchasing
Back Offce
Data Plus Hospitality Solutions
RHR Systems, Inc.

81, 118
106

Business Intelligence and
Data Warehousing
Aptech Computer Systems, Inc.
Clairvoyix
Datavision Technologies, Inc.

74, 118
80, 118
82

Channel Management
ChannelRUSH
eRevMax

78, 118
84, 119

CRM and Guest Relations/E-marketing
CENDYN
Digital Alchemy, LLC
Flip.to
Guestware®
HeBS Digital
Vizergy®
ZDirect, Inc.

77
83, 118
87, 119
89, 119
90
114, 122
116, 122

Distribution/CRS/Internet Reservations
Amadeus IT Group S.A.
Genares Worldwide Res. Svcs.
InnLink/Trust International
Passkey International, Inc.
Sabre Hospitality Solutions
Sceptre Hospitality Resources
SiteMinder

73, 118
87, 119
94
102, 121
107
108, 122
109

Adaco, Inc.
Clear Sky Software, Inc.
InvoTech Systems, Inc.
Moreton Bay Technology Pty Ltd
RedRock Software
TrackIT, LLC

72
80, 118
95, 120
100, 121
105, 121
112, 122

Mobile Solutions
FCS Computer Systems
HandHeld Hospitality™
RoamingAround, LLC
StayNTouch Inc.
Vocera Communications, Inc.

86, 119
89, 119
106, 122
110, 122
115, 122

Payment Processing
Merchant Link
Shift4 Corporation

99, 120
109, 122

Point of Sale
Agilysys
MICROS Food & Beverage Solutions

72, 118
100, 120

Response Management
FCS Computer Systems
Guestware®
Knowcross Solutions
tracNcare

86, 119
89, 119
96, 120
113

Revenue Management
Infor Hospitality, EzRMS
MaximRMS
The Rainmaker Group

93, 120
98, 120
104, 121

Sales and Catering
Newmarket

101, 121

Electronic Locks and Safes
Kaba
VingCard Elsafe®

62

Hospitality Upgrade

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Summer 2014

96, 120
113, 122

Spa and Recreation
Book4Time

76, 118

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Agilysys

North America; Europe;
Middle East; Asia Pacifc

• Fusebox Tokenization (Elavon)
• Brif3 Tokenization (Servebase)
• Konami Casino Gaming interface

Agilysys Insight™ Mobile Manager
agilysys.com
See also page 118
POS, PMS, Spa, Golf, S&C, Self Service, Condo Acctg.,
Inventory/Purchasing, Document Mgmt.
Agilysys is a leading developer and marketer of
proprietary enterprise software, services and solutions
to the hospitality industry. The company specializes in
market-leading point-of-sale, property management,
inventory and procurement, workforce management,
analytics, document management and mobile and
wireless solutions that are designed to help hospitality
operators create lasting connections with their guests
by streamlining operations, improving effciency and
enhancing the guest experience. Agilysys serves
casinos, resorts, hotels, restaurants, foodservice
venues, stadiums and cruise lines.

Property Management Solutions
Agilysys Lodging Management System®
Agilysys Lodging Management System (LMS),
recognized as one of the hospitality industry’s
premier property management solutions, automates
every aspect of hotel operations, from reservations
and credit card processing to accounting and
housekeeping. LMS runs 24/7 and links customers'
gaming accounts to hotel accounts for evaluating
comp decisions. It's Web-enabled, with a versatile
foundation that supports a Hotel Technology Next
Generation (HTNG) standard application programming
interface (API).
Agilysys offers Check In-Out from It Just Works
Software, which allows for line-busting features from
an Apple® iPad®. Some of the features include:
• Locate guests arriving today
• Verify guest information
• Capture guest signature and check-in
• View room cleaning status
• Add/change guest services information
• Process room upgrades
• Process charge differences
• Cashier ID tracking/user tracking
• Display guests departing today
• Display guest folio, email folio and checkout

Agilysys Visual One™ Suite
With interfaces to leading global distribution
systems (GDSs) and other Agilysys products, Visual
One™ PMS offers a reliable, scalable software solution
for full-service hotels and resorts. Add any mixture
of modules to create the ultimate propertywide or
chainwide management solution, enabling improved
guest relationship management, enhanced business
performance analysis and increased proftability.
New integrations include:
• Enhanced Delphi XML interface
• IDeaS Rate Recommendations
64

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Available for both Visual One PMS and Lodging
Management System (LMS), Insight™ Mobile
Manager is a mobile dashboard application that
allows hotel managers to view key information
about the property, quickly and easily, from a
mobile device. The solution contains panels of
strategically organized data elements, including
remaining arrivals, remaining departures, VIPs,
total guests, rooms, house status, housekeeping,
revenue, groups, group rooms remaining and
reservation summary. Users simply tap on each
panel to drill down and obtain more details.

Document Management Solution
Agilysys DataMagine™ is a document
management solution that transforms paper
records into electronic images that are then
archived for on-demand access. Increase security
and functionality while realizing organizational
process improvements. The software’s U.S.patented imaging module seamlessly integrates
with business applications, linking critical
documents to key transactions.
The DataMagine DocFlow module provides
electronic routing for enterprise document
approval and processing. Automate business
processes by routing documents electronically,
capturing approvals and other critical information
for processing. Users then approve documents
via email. The result is a complete packet of
documents ―captured at different stages ― linked
together with common indexes.
For more information about Agilysys hospitality
solutions, visit www.agilysys.com or call (877) 3696208.

Cenium

Las Vegas, Nev.
cenium.com
See also page 118
ERP, Financials, PMS, POS Rest./Retail, S&C,
Procurement, Activities, Spa, Golf, Homeowner
Acctg., CRS, CRM, Loyalty, BI
The Cenium Hospitality ERP product can be a
centrally hosted or premise-based solution that
provides a complete integrated IT infrastructure
for hotels, casinos and other complex operations.
This technology platform eliminates the need for
properties to purchase, interface and upgrade
myriad software systems for full propertywide and
enterprisewide communications and reporting. It’s
one solution, one database, all Microsoft.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Award-winning Rollout
Cenium is based on Microsoft Dynamics™, a line
of fnancial, customer relationship and supply chain
management solutions that helps businesses work
more effectively. The system replaces all peripheral
property software while providing interfaces to all
key hardware devices, including phone systems,
electronic locking systems, energy management
systems and television/in-room entertainment
solutions.
While hospitality groups were busy collaborating
on how to more easily integrate, deploy and support
products from multiple vendors, Cenium was
rolling out its ERP solution to more than 246 hotels
internationally.
• “Having evaluated numerous solutions and
undertaking a rigorous selection process,
Cenium’s ERP solution is delivering a completely
new and refreshing solution to the hospitality
market. The richness in the product suite,
coupled with the strength and industry expertise
of the Cenium team were the driving reasons for
our decision.”
– Ken Fasnacht, CFO of Silver Reef
• “The biggest opportunity we see with Cenium is
long-term cost reduction. Cenium delivers a very
quick ROI. And, if we want to do a resortwide
initiative, we can do it at 20 percent of the cost
because we aren’t involving four to fve different
vendors. In addition, development time is
considerably reduced. Cenium delivers custom
functionality overnight vs. three to six months
for other vendors to produce the same thing.
Cenium is the absolute best solution for Blue
Mountain Resort and it's available today at a
fraction of the cost of what we have been paying
to multiple vendors.”
– John Gowers, director of IT, Blue Mountain
For more information contact Cenium at (877)
6Cenium or email [email protected].

Infor

New York, N.Y. (Global HQ)
infor.com/hospitality
See also page 120
PMS, RMS, CRS, Financial Mgmt., Workforce Mgmt.,
Asset Mgmt., Digital Marketing Mgmt., Business
Intelligence/Analytics, Mobile, Cloud

A Better Experience for Everyone
Infor Hospitality applications enhance business
with a unique 360-degree approach to experience
that focuses on both employees and guests.
Beautiful, intuitive user interfaces power integrated
suites to simplify work processes from back offce
to front desk, so staff can serve smarter and faster.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Infor’s breakthrough technology helps: focus on
the service details that build brand loyalty; get
insight into decision-making patterns and spending
behaviors to drive topline growth; and implement
end-to-end effciencies to improve bottom-line
performance.

Hotel Management
With Infor HMS organizations can manage
critical functions such as operational tasks, online
reputation, social media interaction, in-context
business intelligence and alerts that push relevant
information to specifc users so they can take
immediate action. Plus, users can defne the system
interaction to match the way they do business with
customizable screen design and process fows. Infor
HMS offers mobile applications and cloud or onpremise deployment that fundamentally changes the
way work is done.

Call Center Management
Whether reservations are delivered through
third-party agents, channel booking partners or a
call center, the solution integrates and distributes
data about guests, inventory and rates across the
company.

Financial Management
Grow revenue and cut costs with Infor
SunSystems and Infor Infnium fnancial
management systems for hotels and casinos. Users
get a reliable view of hospitality-specifc fnancial
performance across their entire organization,
and are able to adapt to challenging business
environments. Plus, they easily comply with industry
regulations and best practices.

Budget Automation, Strategic Reporting and
Analytics
Infor Dynamic Enterprise Performance
Management (d/EPM) is one of the industry's frst
and only platforms for truly real-time, in-context
decision making. Analyze key metrics such as
occupancy rates and proftability by outlet, and
increase proftability with analytics built to meet
the unique needs of the multifaceted hospitality
industry.

Revenue Management (EzRMS)
EzRMS™ is a fully automated revenue and yield
management system, available and affordable
for large international hotel companies and the
independent hotelier. Developed using the latest
business forecasting and optimization technologies
and delivered in a SaaS model, EzRMS provides
enhanced functionality with a simple and practical
implementation not featured in competitive
solutions.

Workforce Management
Control workforce costs, increase revenue
and adapt to changing conditions on the fy with
Infor WFM (Workbrain). Get the right skill, in the
Hospitality Upgrade

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65

right location, with the right shift and rotation.
Stop spinning wheels on tactical scheduling and
compliance issues today.

Enterprise Asset Management
Proactively manage assets and maintenance
activities to identify key trends and anomalies,
forecast performance issues and make forwardlooking decisions that improve labor productivity,
equipment availability and warranty cost recovery.

Better Data, Faster Service and a Stronger
Bottom Line

Enhancing profts may seem at odds with pleasing
guests. Yet more than 14,000 hotels, resorts and
gaming properties worldwide are able to manage
their reputation, build customer loyalty, streamline
operations, deliver exceptional guest experience and
maximize revenue potential – with Infor Hospitality,
one of the only hotel software solutions that
manages every area of the business from a common
platform.
For more information call (800) 260-2640 or visit
www.infor.com/hospitality.

iTesso
Atlanta, Ga.

itesso.com
See also page 120
PMS, POS, Back Offce/Acctg., Condo Mgmt.,
Enterprise Systems, Camp/Retreat/Conference
Center Mgmt., Group and Event Planning
iTesso has its roots in the hospitality business,
where many were frustrated with the PMS and CRS
options available, so the team at iTesso created
its own – one that they know works. The resulting
system is much more than just another PMS or CRS.
It’s hospitality technology the way hoteliers need it –
with both guest-facing and staff-facing mobile apps,
and dashboards with relevant information to support
critical decisions.
The iTesso Enterprise Lodging System is a
revolutionary new concept in hospitality software.
There’s no hardware or software to purchase or
install, allowing for quick and easy replacement
of legacy PMSs/CRSs. iTesso leverages the power
of the cloud to work equally well for independent
properties as it does for global hotel chains with
multiple properties. In addition to comprehensive
functionality, iTesso delivers additional benefts
including:
• Multiple data sources – iTesso created software
that fulflls users’ needs, without forcing them to
abandon the systems they’re happy with. iTesso
will not merely interface with the software and
data that stays in place, but integrates with those
systems.

66

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• Cloud-native software – Provides scalability
and high availability. With iTesso, there is
no investment in servers and maintenance
contracts, no downtime for system updates and
no local backups.
• Browser-based software – This means no new
hardware is required on site. The system can
be managed from any current PC or Mac with
Internet access, as well as from tablets and
even smartphones.
• Intuitive – iTesso has made sure that all
screens are as user friendly as possible, to
minimize staff training and associated costs.
• Software as a service (SaaS) – Rather than an
upfront capital investment, iTesso is offered
as a service at a convenient and affordable
monthly operational cost.
• All-inclusive pricing – One affordable monthly
fee includes the software license, support and
maintenance fees, a Web reservations module
for the hotel website, a number of standard
interfaces and e-learning training.
• E-learning – iTesso has created brief e-learning
courses, which staff can take between tasks in
preparation for the switch to iTesso. Traditional
classroom training can also be provided.
• Minimal on-site presence – An iTesso account
manager will visit the hotel a few days before
going live and will remain until after the
switch. Additional training can be provided and
interfaces are taken live. This typically requires
no more than four days on site.
• Proactive helpdesk – iTesso carefully monitors
each installation to identify any potential issues
before the user even notices, and contacts the
property with a solution.
• Channel management – iTesso also includes
channel management functionality, allowing
the hotel to connect directly with distribution
channels such as OTAs and the GDSs. This
provides a single image inventory, and
reservations are created automatically within
the system, eliminating manual input.
• GDS representation – iTesso can represent
a property on the GDS using its own chain
code TS so the user can manage rates and
restrictions for its GDS channel directly from
iTesso.
The iTesso system may be used as a CRS or as a
distributed multiproperty PMS with links to iTesso or
a third-party CRS.
For more information, please visit www.itesso.
com or call (404) 687-0040.

Don't miss the recent
installations on page 118.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

MICROS Hotel Solutions
Columbia, Md.

micros.com
See also page 121
PMS, CRS, Business Intelligence, S&C,
CRM, Yield & Revenue Management
The MICROS team is happy to announce that
the popular food and beverage inMotion application
will be expanding to the hotel world. Now MICROS
inMotion will give hoteliers access to essential
current hotel data and analytics at a glance. Key
performance indicators (KPIs) such as arrivals pace,
departures today, ADR, REVPAR and occupancy
will be fed directly from MICROS and OPERA to the
inMotion application at regular intervals. Use the
housekeeping screen to measure and track the
team’s daily progress, view the number of departures
and arrivals remaining for service and adjust staffng
as needed. Keep an eye on the critical sales and
KPIs for today, month to date and year to date all
from a mobile device.
In addition, the MICROS OPERA Mobile
application has been expanded to include
comprehensive information for in-room attendants
and guest service agents. In-room attendants now
have even more visibility to key guest information
including traces and wake-up call information,
allowing for more synergy between front desk and
housekeeping. In-room attendants are also provided
with an easy assist button, giving them instant
response in case of an emergency or if general
assistance is required. Guest service agents can
now further assist arriving guests by easily and
instantly recognizing if they are a return guest or if
they are a new guest to the property. Additionally,
they can quickly confrm if the room is on queue.
Guest reservation information now easily displays
any association with a company, travel or source
and airline loyalty programs, including their member
level. The check-in process with OPERA Mobile is not
only swift with the new Walk In feature but also more
secure with the introduction of the new encrypted
credit swipes.
This summer, in collaboration with Microsoft
and Intel, MICROS will release the newest addition
to the MICROS mTablet family of mobile solutions.
The MICROS mTablet E-Series blends affordable
hardware and extended battery life with all of the
enterprise-grade capabilities provided by MICROS
software. This sleek yet durable solution will be
available in two convenient sizes: an 8-inch handheld version designed with on-the-go hotel staff in
mind, and an 11-inch version that is both fully mobile
and fully compatible with the MICROS mStation base
for the added fexibility of a workstation option with
full peripheral connectivity.
MICROS has also introduced the revolutionary
MICROS Engagement Feature, which is a rich user

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

interface featuring an ultra-modern look and feel with
interactive live tiles. This feature introduces a fuid,
beautiful touch experience to the highly customizable
tool while providing advanced capabilities that will
signifcantly raise the bar on what a modern hospitality
interaction should be. When using the MICROS
mTablet combined with the MICROS Engagement
feature, staff members will be able to perform multiple
activities from one device, including making guest
interactions and transactions extraordinary.
For more information about MICROS’s latest
product releases, please visit www.micros.com or call
(866) 287-4736.

Multi-Systems, Inc. (MSI)
Phoenix, Ariz.

MSISolutions.com
See also page 121
Guest Management, Property Management, CRS,
Payment Processing, Mobile Solutions,
Sales and Catering, Loyalty

Company Overview
MSI’s hotel cloud solutions are modern, reliable
and trusted by thousands of properties. MSI hotel
cloud technology is simple to use, accessible anywhere
and uniquely integrated. MSI’s superior customer
service and support, combined with innovative and
competitively priced guest management solutions,
have successfully served hoteliers for more than 23
years.
MSI TrūCloud™ is a suite of modern, cloudbased hotel solutions for independent hotels and
small to large hotel chains. Unique in its design, MSI
TrūCloud™ combines a world-class PMS, CRS, CRM,
sales and catering, mobile, secure payment services
and chain management functions under one umbrella.
The intuitive, true cloud services require no hotelbased infrastructure or any special networking needs
such as VPN, and provide overall solutions for most
hotels’ technology needs.

Claim to Fame
MSI succeeds by placing highest priority on
associates and customers. The company delivers
frst-rate customer service and quality products
from its core of hotel and technology experts. MSI
associates center their work ethics on ingenuity, loyalty
and gratitude. MSI guiding principles incorporate
partnerships, open communication and fun, with a
team passionate for excellence.

Key Customers
MSI solutions are brand mandates for Extended
Stay Hotels, InTown Suites, La Quinta, Oxford Hotel
Group and Value Place. MSI solutions are brand
preferred or approved solutions for Americas Best
Value Inns, Best Western, GrandStay Hospitality,

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Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Hyatt Place, Hyatt
Summerfeld Suites, Kelly Inns, Pomeroy Group, Vantage
Hospitality and Wyndham.

MSI TrūCloud™ Hospitality Solutions
Hospitality solutions include:
• MSI CloudPM™ true cloud GMS employing
exclusive MSI CloudConnect™ and MSI CloudSync™
technology to ensure users are always online;
accessible anytime, anywhere.
• MSI CloudCRS™ fully integrated central reservation
services and channel management.
• MSI CloudPay™ Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standard (PCI-DSS) approved solution;
provides secure, compliant credit card authorization,
processing, electronic funds transfer and point-topoint encryption (P2PE).
• MSI CloudCRM™ Guest Loyalty management
system; provides loyalty programs, online loyalty
guest portal, chainwide full guest history and crossbooking functions.
• MSI CloudCRM™ National Sales management
system; provides national company tracking, policy
management, PMS integration and online national
company portal for national companies.
• MSI CloudSAM™ sales and marketing management
providing integrated sales and marketing for guests,
companies and events.
• MSI CloudMobile™ mobility for MSI CloudPM™
operators and guests in relation to check-in,
checkout and operations-oriented, task-based
messaging.
• MSI CloudSync™ uninterrupted connectivity in
Internet disruption. All transactions automatically
synchronize to the cloud; added security provides
for hotelier’s data safety and recovery.
• MSI WebRES™ online booking solution; allows
guests to book Web reservations directly into MSI
CloudPM™ and WinPM™.

Other Property Management Solutions
Other property management solutions include:
MSI WinPM™ and MSI WinSAM™ comprehensive
GMS for select to full-service hotels. WinPM integrates
with MSI solutions and interfaces with industry guest
service systems, third-party CRSs and GDS services.
MSI NiteVision™ fexible, easy-to-use PMS solution
that supports a wide array of industry-standard
interface services, CRSs and GDSs, and has strong
extended-stay features.
For more information, please visit www.msisolutions.
com or call (800) 331-7890.

Put your news in front of
over 25,000 readers
for $175 on Hotel-Online.
Email [email protected]
or [email protected].

68

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NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS
Markham, Ontario, Canada
MaestroPMS.com
See also page 121
Multiproperty PMS, S&C, CRM, Web Booking, POS,
Big Picture Analytics, Dynamic Yield, Spa, Activities,
Loyalty, Owner Mgmt., Membership, GDS
NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS, founded in 1978, is
a preferred property management system of leading
independent hotels, resorts, conference centers and
multiproperty groups.
Maestro provides 21 integrated modules on a
single image database that may be implemented
on premise or hosted. Maestro gives operators a
360-degree view of guests and operations at every
touch point. NORTHWIND-Maestro delivers business
solutions and management services that help hoteliers
maximize productivity, proftability, drive direct bookings,
personalize service and engage guests.
Maestro is PCI certifed, supports HTNG standards,
and may be hosted on the Web or deployed on property
via various options, including Windows, Linux, VMware
and terminal services.

Maestro: Multiproperty Integrated PMS for
Independents
Features include:
• Front offce
• ResWave booking engine
• Dynamic yield
• Big picture & best bus. data
• CRM/e-CRM
• Smart e-messaging
• Central reservations
• Gift card
• Two-way GDS
• Housekeeping
• Work order/inventory
• iPad® check-in/out
• Web PRO (Pre-reg. online)
• Guest exper. measure. (GEM)

• Sales and catering
• Spa and activities
• Membership
• Loyalty
• Online group mgmt.
• POS
• Table reservations
• Resortwide ID card
• Condo/timeshare
• Golf
• Marina slip mgmt.
• Maestro cloud
• SMS messaging

Maestro’s New Enhancements
Web Maestro. Full-featured Maestro PMS with its 21
modules is now available as a cloud-enabled, browserbased platform option. Users may also use Maestro
locally via browser access on the same database in realtime for one or more properties.
Direct Help and Online Tutorials. NORTHWIND
provides a new e-learning website with instant user
access from any Maestro PMS feld. It gives users
real-time, in-depth video training for optimized system
utilization and staff productivity.
Enhanced Guest Engagement Tools. Maestro
now offers enhanced iPad mobile communication for
housekeeping. Staff can remotely update room statuses
and provide guest convenience by text messaging
guests when their room is ready.
Expedia Direct Connect. It reduces operators’ online
booking costs and provides reservation delivery, rate
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

setting and availability controls. Channel-based
dynamic yield strategies allow independent yielding
controls for each channel.
WebPRO (Pre-registration online). WebPRO
makes it convenient for guests to self-serve their
registration via online/mobile. It speeds check-in
and provides pre-arrival information to hotels for
planning. WebPRO is an effective guest-engagement
touch point that also stimulates ancillary spend.
ResWave2 Booking Engine – Lower Cost
Real-time Direct Bookings. ResWave 2 is mobile
optimized for real-time booking of rooms, activities,
dining and spa on all channels. It has also been
enhanced with new guest request options for
rooms and amenities to ensure guest booking
satisfaction.
Industry-leading Diamond Plus Service. One
of the most comprehensive support and services
programs in the industry, Diamond Plus Service
ensures Maestro is working optimally and keeps
property staff fully trained for maximum productivity.
The service includes North American-based 24/7
support; on-demand, expert training remotely or on
site; eLearning website; Help Direct (eLearning and
Knowledgebase directly from Maestro menu); live
webinars; and version upgrades.
Management Services to Maximize Productivity.
NORTHWIND provides management strategies;
productivity audits; data mining, business analysis;
database confguration; and revenue best practices.
Web Connection Services to Drive More Direct
Bookings. Web Connection Services include group
and promotion landing pages, mobile websites,
Google Analytics integration, booking pages
customization, e-marketing and best practices.
For more information about NORTHWIND, please
visit www.maestropms.com.

PAR Springer-Miller
Systems
Stowe, Vt.
atrio.com
See also page 121
PMS, Enterprise, CRS, Internet Res.,
Club/Spa, Condo/Timeshare, Tee Time, POS

The Embassy Suites at the Chevy Chase
Pavilion Moves to the Cloud with ATRIO POS
The Embassy Suites Hotel at the Chevy Chase
Pavilion, a Destination Hotels & Resorts property in
metro Washington, D.C., has successfully deployed
the built-for-the-cloud ATRIO POS.
With this deployment, PAR Springer-Miller
achieves a signifcant milestone with the expansion
of the ATRIO Hospitality Technology Platform and
secures its reputation for technology innovation.
ATRIO POS, the next-generation point-of-sale
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

system, reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) for
hoteliers and management companies by embracing
true cloud computing, minimizing on-property
technology and reducing implementation and training
costs to increase staff effciency and productivity.
Located on the doorstep of Washington, D.C., The
Embassy Suites Hotel at the Chevy Chase Pavilion
prides itself in delivering a thoughtful, upscale hotel
experience. Welcoming touches like a cooked-toorder breakfast and evening manager’s reception,
showcase the dedication to exceeding guest
expectations for service and value.
“The transition to ATRIO POS was quick and
smooth because it is innovative and the navigation
is similar to what you would see on a smartphone.
That made it a lot easier and a lot more comfortable
for our staff,” commented Jeff Brainard, area general
manager for The Embassy Suites. “The team has
been unbelievably responsive and positive. I have
another hotel in (Washington) D.C. and I plan to
install ATRIO POS.
“Our staff needed almost no training to use ATRIO
POS,” said Brainard. “The system minimizes the
learning curve and prevents new user frustration by
being so easy to use. We’re very comfortable with the
online product support, it’s like using social media.”
“ATRIO POS represents an essential module in our
ATRIO suite of products and we’re thrilled with the
success of the Embassy Suites installation. The team
from the Embassy Suites did a great job supporting
the product launch,” said Larry Hall, president and
CEO of PAR Springer-Miller. “The property team
helped exercise our objective of ‘zero training’ with
our true cloud-based ATRIO products.”
By leveraging the multibillion dollar investment
Microsoft made in Windows 8 and its Windows
Azure platform, ATRIO POS delivers value with its
purpose-built-for-the-cloud architecture. ATRIO POS
eliminates the need for costly on-premise servers
and complicated setup. It is also built to support
operations in an offine mode; should the Embassy
Suites lose connectivity to the internet, outlets can
continue service uninterrupted.
ATRIO POS builds upon the successful
implementations of ATRIO Guest Experience
Management, representing the true promise of
feature velocity and the expandable ATRIO platform.
PSMS utilizes agile development methods to expedite
the release of new modules, such as ATRIO POS, as
well as frequent releases of product enhancements.
New features are delivered in weeks or months as
opposed to years.
Read the complete case study about The
Embassy Suites Hotel at the Chevy Chase Pavilion
and ATRIO POS online at ATRIO.com.

See what's new at
www.hospitalityupgrade.com.
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ResortSuite

Enablez Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
resortsuite.com
See also page 122
PMS, Spa/Activities, F&B, S&C, Club, Golf, Ski, Retail,
Concierge, Web, Dashboard, E-marketing, Mobile

A New Leader in Integrated Hospitality Software
For more than a decade, ResortSuite has managed
guest information and streamlined operations
for some of the most prestigious hotels, resorts,
spas and clubs in the world. Unlike other available
hospitality software, ResortSuite is built on a guestcentric technology platform. This enables properties
to manage their businesses more effciently and
provide exceptional guest service. HTNG and PA-DSS
certifed, ResortSuite extends its guest-centric design
with data mining capabilities and integrated one-toone e-marketing, social marketing, Web and mobile
user experiences. ResortSuite is built on Oracle, an
industry-leading database software and provider of
business-critical information systems. Complemented
by a rich development methodology and powerful
architecture, each application is consistent, well
designed and easily confgurable.

Engaging the Massive Mobile and Social
Networking Audiences
Extending a property’s brand to millions of mobile
device and Facebook users, ResortSuite’s MOBILE and
SOCIAL applications create interactive experiences
that provide an unprecedented level of simplicity,
convenience and customer engagement. They allow
businesses to promote their services, customize their
messaging and generate additional revenue while
harnessing the phenomenal reach of mobile devices
and Facebook activity worldwide.

Improving Guest Communication
Arriving through a partnership with leading
e-marketing technology provider, ExactTarget,
ResortSuite CONNECT is an integrated e-marketing
tool that offers email capabilities, facilitates viral
communication and delivers personalized, targeted,
timely, measurable and revenue-generating email
messages.

New Paradigm in the Reservations Process
ResortSuite WEB is a high-performance,
customizable and automated online booking engine.
Fully integrated with PMS, spa, golf and retail gift
cards, WEB performs real-time seamless transactions
against live inventory requiring no costly third-party
tools or manual entry. Guests fnally enjoy a one-stop
shopping experience for all reservations.

Driving Business Decisions
ResortSuite DASHBOARD is a business intelligence
application that helps guide businesses by providing
real-time insight into KPIs, data and metrics.
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Supporting daily decision making, DASHBOARD
monitors performance and indicates potential
opportunities and/or issues at a location or
enterprisewide.

PA-DSS Certifcation
ResortSuite has been PCI PA-DSS validated across
all modules. By using tightly integrated modules,
with no interfaces required, it eliminates many of
the connection points where security holes and
exposures to breach can occur. ResortSuite also
uses tokenization technology from Shift4 so that it
completely eliminates the need to store any credit
card numbers in the Oracle database.

Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG)
Property Web Services Product Specifcation
ResortSuite works closely with the HTNG
community and supports the association's
industrywide initiatives around standardization. In
2009, ResortSuite was able to successfully certify its
solution against open HTNG specifcations. In 2012,
Frank Pitsikalis, ResortSuite’s founder and CEO, was
appointed vice-chair of HTNG’s frst vendor advisory
council.

Full-service Luxury Hotels, Resorts and
Boutique Hotels
ResortSuite eliminates many system interfaces,
enabling hotels, resorts and boutique properties
to run its entire single or multiproperty location(s)
via one database server. This elicits tremendous
advantages for all departments, including, the deep
customer knowledge stored and accessible via the
single guest record/profle and viewable propertywide.

Private and Public Clubs
ResortSuite’s customer relationship management
approach is well suited to the needs of a diverse
operation that has to manage memberships, room,
retail, activities, golf, dining and events.

Destination and Resort Spas
Designed to manage any size spa, the SPA solution
satisfes the multifaceted needs of a destination,
hotel or resort spa. Powerful guest profling,
multidimensional scheduling and booking capabilities
optimize resources and minimize booking time.
For more information please visit www.resortsuite.
com.

Be sure to check out
the reference guide section
in the digital edition
for contact information
on all the vendors
listed in the pipeline.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Sabre Hospitality
Solutions
Southlake, Texas
sabrehospitality.com
PMS, CRS, Online Distribution, Booking Engine,
GDS, Internet Marketing, Website Design,
Online Media, RFP Solutions

Streamlined Property Operations
Sabre PMS is Sabre Hospitality's fully integrated,
robust property management system designed to
enable the user to provide superior service to the
guest's stay. The property management system
features an easy-to-understand and navigate room
board – giving instant access to the information that
a front desk clerk needs for any aspect of the guest
stay. To this end the thoughtfully designed Sabre
PMS software anticipates the needs of staff and
guests.
This fexible, yet function-rich property
management system allows the single property
owner to manage operations with custom
confguration, and the multiple property owner to do
the same with top-down enforcement of branding
standards.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

As a cloud-based system, the need for property
IT hardware, software and IT staff becomes largely
unnecessary.
Sabre PMS is fully integrated with SynXis CRS
and features:
• On-board training video and role-based user
groups and permissions that ensure staff is fully
trained.
• Modules that include housekeeping,
accounting, profles, reporting and revenue
management.
• A single platform for cross-selling between
hotels for property confguration and rate
management for multi-unit property owners.
Contact Sabre at [email protected] to learn
more about the Sabre PMS and see a product
demo.
Hospitality Solutions provides distribution,
operations and marketing solutions to the hotel
industry. Delivered primarily through a softwareas-a-service (SaaS) model, Hospitality Solutions is
used by more than 18,000 properties around the
world. Its integrated reservations systems, property
management system, distribution and marketing
services help hotels increase revenues, identify
savings and improve customer service.
For more information, visit www.sabre
hospitality.com.

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Adaco, Inc.
Norwalk, Conn. USA;
London; Singapore

Adaco Mobility –
Moving with Industry Trends

adaco.com
Procurement, Recipe Mgmt., Foodservice Mgmt.
Systems, Inventory & Cost Control, Supplier Mgmt.,
Food Cost Analysis, Supply Chain Mgmt.

Adaco Analytics – a Powerful Business
Information Tool for Hospitality Operations
Building on the data-rich platform of Adaco.NET,
Adaco Analytics provides new levels of reporting and
visibility for hospitality operations. Using a powerful
data analytics engine, combined with industry-specifc functionality, Adaco Analytics offers customers
a greater insight into their procurement and inventory operations to drive further effciencies. Adaco
Analytics offers a set of industry-specifc dashboards
and key performance indicator reports. By identifying relationships between different activities and
costs, these can be further tailored by Adaco or the
customer.
Steve Mansfeld, chief sales offcer, Adaco, said,
“Many of our customers experience great effciency
gains when moving to a platform like Adaco.NET. Our
new Analytics tools give immediacy of data and allow
much greater analysis of patterns and trends to drive
even greater return on investment.”

Adaco North America –
Moving with Industry Trends
Adaco continues its major drive with software as
a service (SaaS) in North America and a signifcant
amount of new properties and upgrades completed.
In addition to bringing immediacy of data and insight
through analytics to the customer base, development
work has been completed to provide industry-leading
data management tools and enhanced electronic
links to suppliers for purchase to pay including catalog management, invoice matching and electronic
supply chain – complimented by PDF invoice recognition. Smaller suppliers simply save the invoice and
email in a PDF format and it can be read in the same
way as major electronically linked suppliers. The supplier requires no special software at its end.

Adaco.NET – a Global Solution
With 50 percent of its customers now outside
North America, Adaco continues to strengthen its
position as a solution of choice for full-service, international hotel groups. Recent wins in Europe and the
Middle East include prestigious properties such as
The Dorchester, London; One Aldwych in London; a
number of new international brand properties in Turkey and the Middle East and the European properties
of The Shangri-La Group.
“Our ability to handle multiple currencies and
languages, as well as provide effective data man72

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agement tools, implementation and support across
Europe and the Middle East adds to the rich functionality of Adaco.Net,” said Mansfeld.

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Recognizing the hospitality sector’s desire to
adopt mobile solutions, Adaco has continued its development of mobile procurement and inventory solutions. Using durable platforms such as the Motorola
ET1 tablet, users can access inventory, purchasing
and requisition functions of Adaco.NET with or without an Internet connection. This provides important
fexibility for larger properties and resorts. Items
can be scanned and data synchronized with master
inventory data later, delivering greater fexibility when
managing food, beverage and hospitality operations.
For more information, contact sales at (203) 8383700.

Agilysys
Hospitality Solutions
North America; Europe; Middle East;
Asia Pacifc
agilysys.com
See also page 118
POS, PMS, Spa, Golf, S&C, Self Service, Condo Acctg.,
Inventory/Purchasing, Document Mgmt.
Agilysys is a leading developer and marketer
of proprietary enterprise software, services and
solutions to the hospitality industry. The company
specializes in market-leading point-of-sale, property
management, inventory and procurement, workforce
management, analytics, document management and
mobile and wireless solutions that are designed help
hospitality operators create lasting connections with
their guests by streamlining operations, improving
effciency and enhancing the guest experience.

Analytics
Agilysys Analytics™
Agilysys Analytics 2.0 is a reporting and
analytics subscription service that leverages the
data in InfoGenesis POS to help users gain critical
operational insights. Dashboards deliver the key
performance information needed. Reports can be
created on the fy to answer ad hoc questions, and
then distributed automatically across the enterprise.
Features in Agilysys Analytics 2.0 include:
• Cross-enterprise reporting for InfoGenesis™ SaaS
• Reporting for check sales, discount, item sales
and tenders data
• Dashboards to integrate multiple reports into a
single source of insight
• Mobile device support
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Point of Sale
Agilysys InfoGenesis™ POS
Agilysys InfoGenesis POS is a comprehensive
point-of-sale solution for food and beverage
operations that require fexible enterprise
confguration, market-leading offine forgiveness and
superior scalability. The systemÕs service-oriented
architecture (SOA) enables extensive interfaces to a
wide range of host systems. InfoGenesis POS version
4.4.4 features include:
• InfoGenesis Flex Ð full POS terminal functionality
on a Windows¨ 8.1 tablet
• InfoGenesis Mobile Ð optimized for guest-facing
order taking and pay-at-table scenarios, on a
7-inch Android tablet
• Signature capture on terminal or via MSR
across InfoGenesis Flex, InfoGenesis Mobile and
InfoGenesis stationary terminals
• Certifed on Microsoft¨ Windows Server¨ 2008
R2 and Microsoft SQL Server¨ 2008 R2
• PCI and PA-DSS compliant, SSAE16 Type 2
assessments and full point-to-point encryption
(P2PE) for both online and offine modeP2PE

Inventory and Procurement Solutions
Agilysys Eatec® Software

The Agilysys Eatec¨ system provides core
purchasing, inventory, recipe, forecasting, production
and sales analysis functions, and is unique in
offering catering, restaurant, buffet management and
nutrition modules in a single Web-enabled solution.
Version 3.5 contains the following highlights:
• Sustainability tracking, recipe approval and RQA
process
• Increased automation in features such as
batch production requisition, school calendar
requisition generation and PO generation from
cycle plans
• Pre-validation of variance, cycle counts, desktop
access to EatecExchange bid import task

Agilysys Stratton Warren System (SWS)
Agilysys Stratton Warren System (SWS) is an
industry-leading inventory and procurement software
solution that manages the entire supply chain
process at one location or across multiple properties.
Recent enhancements include:
• Auto bids scheduling
• Ability to send standard reports via email
• Combine cross-company purchase orders or
receivers to one vendor invoice
• SWSDirect portal v. 2.1 with RFP functionality,
dynamic vendor selection at line level, bid
comparison grid and usability enhancements to
the registration wizard

Workforce Management
Agilysys Workforce Management Solution™
(WMx)
WMxª is a feature-rich suite of workforce
management tools that helps hospitality
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professionals improve decision-making, reduce
labor costs and empower employees. Tools include:
• Performance-based scheduling
• Dynamic labor forecasting
• Employee self service
• Multiple time capture solutions
• Seamless integration to numerous POS, PMS,
inventory and payroll systems
• Affordable Care Act schedule compliance
For more information about Agilysys hospitality
solutions, visit www.agilysys.com or call (770) 3696208.

Amadeus IT Group S.A.
Madrid, Spain
amadeus.com/hotels
See also page 118
CRS, PMS, RMS, E-commerce, Distribution,
Content, Call Center, Business Intelligence
Amadeus believes the future of travel requires
Amadeus and its customers and partners to work
together to deliver a travel experience which will
be connected, personalized and sustainable.
Amadeus' purpose is to shape this future of travel
in collaboration with its customers and other
industry players.

Amadeus Hotel IT
Amadeus offers solutions for next-generation
hotel management focused on delivering a single
view of rates, inventory, reservations, content and
guest information plus enhanced distribution and
merchandising tools. Built to enable hotel business
and brand transformation, AmadeusÕ solutions
are based on open technology and offered as
a software-as-a-service model (SaaS), which is
less expensive and more fexible than traditional
solutions for hoteliers. Its solutions allow hoteliers
to be more agile in delivering innovative guest
services, generating new revenues and responding
to market changes. In 2013 Amadeus reinforced its
vision and position in the hotel IT business with the
acquisition of U.S.-based Newmarket International.

Amadeus Hotel Distribution

Complexity continues to defne the hotels
sector Ð both the fragmentation of the selling
channel as well as changing guest preferences
driven by major geographic shifts and attitudes.
Amadeus brings value to both the hotelier and the
seller by providing the content and the technology
to meet the needs of todayÕs guests. By working
in partnership with hoteliers, Amadeus is able
to ensure travel agents and travel management
companies remain relevant by giving them what
they require to deliver customer value when it
comes to hotels. The key to Amadeus' advantage is
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having visibility of the total spectrum – hotelier, seller
and guest – which allows it to drive complexity out of
the industry, a key requirement to ensure innovation
fourishes.
Amadeus connects some 300 of the world’s
leading hotel providers with its global community
of travel agencies. Via its various hotel reservation
channels and solutions, Amadeus gives hoteliers
the possibility to target and sell their rooms and
rates to business and leisure travelers globally. In
addition, Amadeus offers high-value marketing and
promotional solutions and services for hotels to
reach the right booker with the right offer at the right
time. Amadeus gives its booking customers access
to 235,000+ unique hotel properties and 690,000+
hotel shopping options, via custom-built reservation
applications which are effcient, effective and tailored
to the way its business partners operate.

Amadeus LinkHotel
Through Amadeus LinkHotel, Amadeus connects
independent hotel properties and small to mediumsized chains to the multi-GDS and online travel
community, and offers a range of marketing services
to help member hotels automate their distribution
and promote their offers worldwide. Additionally
LinkHotel provides full commission consolidation
and handling services to member hotels and booking
agencies, ensuring that all hotel commissions are
paid and received effciently and on time. This
service, together with booking automation, increases
travel agency confdence in booking smaller and
independent hotel brands. Amadeus LinkHotel
gives any hotel, anywhere in the world the ability
to distribute, market and sell its rooms to a global
audience.
For more information about the global Amadeus
Hotels offer visit www.amadeus.com/hotels.

Aptech Computer
Systems, Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
aptech-inc.com
See also page 118
Business Intelligence, Budgeting and Planning,
Enterprise Back Offce Accounting

HRI Lodging Selects Targetvue Budgeting
and Execuvue® BI to Simplify Reporting
at 17 Hotels
Aptech Computer Systems is an IBM Software
Premier Solution Provider and Value Plus Partner.
Aptech is one of the only providers of a fully
integrated enterprise accounting, business
intelligence (BI) and planning ecosystem for the
hotel industry. Its solutions create standardized
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operating data from multiple systems for one or
more properties that enable fast, intelligent business
decisions.
HRI Lodging, LLC (HRIL) will install the Targetvue,
Execuvue® and Proftvue® systems for its 17 hotels.
HRIL selected Aptech’s systems to simplify property
reporting, data collection and budgeting/forecasting
for its expanding portfolio. Aptech will host HRIL’s
systems from its secure data center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Execuvue and Targetvue are More Cost
Effective than Other Systems
In mid 2013, HRIL expanded via a joint venture
with MetWest Terra Hospitality to operate six
additional hotels. “MetWest had its own fnancial
systems, as did HRIL prior to the joint venture,” said
Alan Baer, senior vice president fnance for HRIL
and CFO of MetWest Terra Hospitality. “Our team
visited Aptech offces to assess capabilities and the
company’s culture.
“We selected Aptech because it has extensive
experience with growing multiproperty, multi-PMS
operations like ours,” Baer said. “Aptech’s Targetvue,
Execuvue and Proftvue solution suite is also more
cost effective than upgrading our existing systems.”

Execuvue Jump Start Reports will Track
HRIL’s Financial Processes
Baer said HRIL will take advantage of Execuvue’s
pre-confgured jump-start report packages for
faster goal achievement. “We do lots of reports for
ownership. Aptech’s integrated platform for Targetvue
budgeting and forecasting, Execuvue business
intelligence and Proftvue back offce will automate
our fnancial processes,” Baer said. Aptech will
also provide a mobile-ready dashboard so HRIL can
remotely oversee performance for all properties.
Execuvue is an IBM Cognos-based ASP enterprise
hospitality business intelligence application that
enables faster goal achievement for large and small
hotel companies.
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
its Proftvue accounting and Execuvue business
intelligence systems. Targetvue eliminates the need
to correct and recombine multiple spreadsheets for
consolidating and reporting.
Proftvue is a widely used, thin-client, Internetenabled enterprise back offce solution that easily
handles single or multiproperty and multicompany
accounting, and incorporates accounts payable,
general ledger, statistics and fnancials. Proftvue is
available as an ASP service or on a licensed basis.
Webvue is a Web-based extension of Proftvue
that supports property accounting and reporting.
Webvue is designed for limited-service hotels and
scalable to large enterprises. It enables properties
to quickly and easily send and access fnancial and
statistical data and generate reports online. The
system provides real-time access to fnancials at any
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Ready. Set. Grow!
Aptech tracks and reports financial and operational data
on the fly for business decisions, your way.
• Be proactive, not reactive operationally and financially.
• Get your team up and running effortlessly with the Industry’s
largest selection of hosting, pricing and product solutions.
• Make quick, accurate decisions across multiple properties.

Are you ready to grow?

Business Intelligence
Integrate, organize and analyze
data across multiple systems with

Execuvue

Budgeting and Forecasting
Automate and integrate planning,
budgeting and forecasting with

Targetvue

Back Office Accounting
Customized, web-enabled solutions to fit
virtually any operating environment with

Profitvue

APTECH

www.aptech-inc.com | 800-245-0720 | [email protected]

Call today to learn how Aptech’s software solutions can increase your profitability.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

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time from any location, and is centrally controlled
and fully secure.
With more than 3,200 property clients, Aptech
recognizes that each professional in the hospitality
industry views accounting differently. The company
delivers customized, Web-enabled solutions that can
ft any operating requirement.
Aptech has led the hospitality market for 40 years
by leveraging change, valuing human relationships
and applying technology to solve complex business
problems. Experienced hotel industry professionals
support all of Aptech’s applications seven days a
week and 24 hours a day.
For more information about Aptech and its
products, please contact Cam Troutman at (800)
245-0720 or email [email protected].

Blueprint RF
Norcross, Ga.
blueprintrf.com
Managed Network Solutions, Business Centers,
Guest Internet Services, Wireless Technology,
Dashboards, Kiosks & Remote Check-in

Blueprint RF
What’s in a name? Blueprint RF. In this company
name the “RF” stands for radio frequency. Blueprint
RF is an expert network services company with a
strong background in wireless design and support.
Blueprint RF provides integrated network
solutions specifcally tailored to hospitality – fully
managed guest access and connectivity, back offce
and business center workstations and printers.
Blueprint RF network services are turnkey (site
survey and design, complete installation – including
structured cabling and 24/7/365 support services).
Blueprint RF features a technology-forward,
comprehensive and single seamless platform
featuring circuit aggregation, content prioritization,
guest access control (brand standard portal pages),
premium bandwidth packaging and a variety of PMS
interfaces for guest folio billing.
Blueprint RF’s dashboard gives hoteliers realtime network performance metrics including daily
guest use statistics, device uptime, detailed call logs,
circuit consumption reports, guest logs by traffc
type and more. The dashboard’s graphical design is
easy to use and understand, enabling hoteliers to
quickly pinpoint any issues that may impact guest
satisfaction levels.

Network Platform
Blueprint RF views a hotel’s network as its central
nervous system.
At the hotel network core, Blueprint RF introduces
a modern controller, Dominion – a single, seamless
appliance delivering a comprehensive list of network
management features including:
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• Multiple circuit aggregation and load balancing –
up to 1gbps throughput
• Gateway functionality for guest access control,
portal pages, guest folio billing and guest
premium bandwidth packages
• Policy-based packet shaping and Internet traffc
prioritization (by traffc type)
• Cloud-hosted dashboard for network activity
monitoring (including call ticket details, user
number, sessions length, network health
monitoring, individual and aggregate circuit
utilization and categorized Internet traffc
reporting)
Dominion is designed for stability and
optimization. Cloud-hosted central data storage and
exchange, systems backup and global management
functions support each Dominion device, allowing
it to operate very effciently and greatly reducing
local storage and processing (local congestion) that
can otherwise cause periodic server overloads and
failures.
Blueprint RF adds to its advanced network
management platform with quality equipment from
distinguished manufacturers including Cisco, HP,
Ruckus and Motorola.

A Growing Enterprise
Founded in early 2011, BlueprintRF has
experienced rapid growth through strong customer
referral, and by achieving various hotel brand and
airport certifcations (e.g., Marriott, Starwood, IHG,
Great Wolf Lodge, Bluegreen Resorts, Atlantic
Aviation and many more). Professional references are
available by request.
For more information, call (866) 931-9722, email
[email protected] or visit www.blueprintrf.com.

Book4Time
Markham, Ontario, Canada
book4time.com
See also page 118
Scheduling, Club/Spa, Enterprise, CRM, Mobile,
Web Booking, E-Marketing
Book4Time is a boutique, world-class purveyor
of cloud-based activity scheduling and revenue
management solutions for leading beauty and
wellness brands in hotels, resorts and day spas in
more than 35 countries. With a market reach of
more than 20 million consumers, managing in excess
of $1 billion in annual transactions, Book4Time, a
privately funded Canadian company, is the solution
of choice for some of the world’s largest and most
prestigious companies on a global scale.

Cloud-based and Scalable
Book4Time is deployed on one of the world’s
largest and fastest growing clouds, Amazon EC2.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Book4Time’s cloud solution is cost effective,
maintenance free and scalable – designed to meet
the demands of high performance and availability.

A Feature-rich Solution
The Book4Time solution is feature rich,
providing everything from appointment scheduling
to email marketing, and online booking to mobile
functionality.

Integration and PCI Compliance
The Book4Time solution is PCI compliant
and features an open API platform for thirdparty integrations with a wide range of property
management and payment gateway solutions
including: OPERA, HTNG, LMS, MICROS, SIX Payment
Services, Shift4 and Elavon.

Simple and Intuitive
Book4Time is simple and intuitive; the solution is
user friendly, easy to use and train on, and provides
a single database platform for multiple revenue
centers and locations for independent hotels and
corporate-owned chains.

Personalized One-on-one Training and 24/7
Support
Book4Time provides personalized one-on-one
on-site and online training to ease the stress of
conversion and implementation. Each client of
Book4Time also receives a dedicated account
manager as a single point of contact and access to
24/7 live customer support.
For more information call (905) 752-2588, email
[email protected] or visit www.book4time.com.

CENDYN

Boca Raton, Fla.
CENDYN.com
Business Intelligence, CRM, Data Integration,
Data Warehousing, Marketing, Marketing Automation,
Website Design/Hosting
Cendyn/ONE provides hotels and resorts with
a fully integrated software and services platform
that leverages data to drive a signifcantly higher
marketing ROI.
Creating a single integrated view of guest history,
value, behavior, desire, intent and engagement,
Cendyn/ONE’s cloud-based software and services
platform allows marketers to capture, store and
analyze a hotel or brand’s unique data to make it
actionable, creating new and compelling ways to
drive a more proftable marketing outcome.
Cendyn/ONE’s team of data integration, analysis
and optimization experts seamlessly combine frst
and third-party data sources to create dynamically
generated, one-to-one marketing across all digital
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

channels: email, Web, display, mobile, video, social
and search.
For more information about Cendyn/ONE and
how to increase your revenue with ONE cloud-based
software and services platform, please contact Lori
Light, sales manager, at (561) 419-2065, llight@
cendyn.com or visit www.cendynONE.com.

Cenium

Las Vegas, Nev.
cenium.com
See also page 118
ERP, PMS, POS, CRS, CRM, Financials,
Ski and Resort Operations

One Solution
Cenium is an integrated system of modules
that can be used separately or in combination to
form a total information platform for a hospitality
business. Cenium is fully integrated and optimized
with Microsoft Dynamics. This unifed approach
to information management provides the industry
with a single solution where all accounting and
operational data is integrated. Information fows
seamlessly from one module to the next and allows
simultaneous access by all users through a common
visual work environment.

Complete Overview and Data in Real Time
Fresh and relevant information can be a decisive
factor in the survival of a company with today’s
ever increasing competition. Few frms can tolerate
inconsistencies in their information systems.
Cenium delivers fresh, relevant and up-to-thesecond information. Managers have live status of
their business and can easily monitor what is going
on throughout the property. Cenium offers special
management overview features that help managers
run their properties.

Elimination of Interfaces
Today systems can all be described as interface
oriented. Most hotels are using various systems on
separate databases with several interfaces so the
systems can run together. This calls for numerous
service partners and possible conficts if something
goes wrong. Cenium delivers a totally integrated
system. Properties only need one service partner
and one service number. Cenium has been certifed
as a Microsoft Dynamics add-on product that
assures total integration to other Microsoft Dynamics
products.
Successfully proven by chains and individual
hotels globally with offces in Las Vegas, Toronto,
Hong Kong and Oslo, Cenium is a Gold awarded
development center and partner in the Microsoft
Dynamics community.
For more information, visit www.cenium.com or
email [email protected].
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ChannelRUSH

Chetu Inc.

channelrush.com
See also page 118

chetu.com

Orlando, Fla.

Channel Management, Distribution Services

New from ChannelRUSH
ChannelRUSH continues to offer new products
that provide reliable solutions for online distribution.
ChannelRUSH is evolving with the hotels’
distribution and inventory management needs
of streamlining rate, restriction and reservation
delivery. The highly successful pioneer product,
ChannelRUSH channel manager, is now joined
by ChannelRUSH PMS/CRS interface for one-way
distribution as well as two-way distribution and
reservation delivery with inventory adjustment. This
enables properties to adjust rates for all of their
online distribution channels from their property
management systems, reaching more customers
with live adjustment of inventory as rooms are sold
and reservations are delivered directly into the
property management systems.

Who ChannelRUSH Is
ChannelRUSH is a U.S.-based company, with
sales and support offces in North America,
Germany, Austria and Scotland/United Kingdom.
ChannelRUSH provides a Web-based hotel channel
management system for hotel revenue managers
that allows them to maintain their hotels’ rates
and availability distribution across numerous
online travel agency (OTA) sites, as well as global
distribution systems (GDS) from one interface.
Most recently, ChannelRUSH has expanded its
product offerings to include one or two-way interface
solutions with PMS, CRS and GDS partners with
reservation delivery. Since 2005, ChannelRUSH
has provided exceptional, reliable and affordable
channel distribution products and services. The
hotel client list has expanded to more than 1,000
hotels in North America and Europe, with more than
300 leading global online travel agencies, as well as
global distribution and central reservation systems.

Product Solutions
ChannelRUSH product solutions include channel
manager, PMS/CRS interface and reservation
delivery with inventory adjustment. ChannelRUSH
provides OTA, CRS and PMS companies the ability
to push and pull data quickly and accurately to
meet the hotels’ evolving needs regarding their
distribution strategy.
For more information call (866) 720-6808 or
(407) 624-4016, email [email protected]
or visit www.channelrush.com. Please feel free to
contact ChannelRUSH to learn more about how it
can increase your distribution and sales presence.

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Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Tech. Svcs., Guestroom Tech., Kiosk and Remote
Check-in, GDS, Spa/Recreation, PMS, CRM, ERP,
Business Intelligence, Mobile Websites
Chetu is a 14-year-old software development
frm that specializes in creating custom solutions
for hotels, casinos and restaurants of every favor.
Although Chetu counts several Fortune 500
companies as clients, every member of the Chetu
team is committed to delivering high-quality software
development services to each client, regardless of
size or project scope.
The name Chetu is derived from the Sanskrit word
chetna which means consciousness of mind.
The Chetu development team features specialists
in every programming language and software
technology available to date. Chetu developers keep
ahead of the curve by ensuring they are up to date on
the latest developments in their areas of expertise.
Chetu is a U.S.-based company, headquartered in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with offces in Nashville, Dallas,
Las Vegas, Tampa, Chicago and Amsterdam. The
company’s 800+ development specialists work out
of the two development centers in New Delhi, India,
owned by Chetu.
In addition to extensive technical expertise,
Chetu offers a refreshingly unique take on traditional
outsourcing by incorporating the concept of local
or on-site project management, depending on the
client’s preference. Chetu’s developers work in the
client’s time zone, which ensures communication
and development occur in real time for the client.
Chetu understands that when it comes to IT
solutions, one size does not ft all. Chetu's solutions
are tailor-made based on the organization's budget,
needs and requirements with the capability to scale
up as the collective needs grow. Project managers
proactively suggest improvements, new tools to use
and new technologies that can boost a customer’s
return on investment while reducing long-term cost.
Such suggestions are made with the long-term
beneft in mind rather than as a reaction to a shortterm technical desire that may not be benefcial later
on.
Chetu offers a two-week, no obligation trial period
to all new clients. If the client is not satisfed with
Chetu during this trial period, they can cancel the
contract to receive a full refund.
Chetu offers software solutions for clients in a
wide range of industries including retail, fnance,
gaming, e-learning, healthcare, pharmaceutical,
travel and golf.
For more information call (954) 342-5676 or visit
www.chetu.com.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Clairvoyix
Henderson, Nev.

clairvoyix.com
See also page 118
Guest & Prospect Mktg. Database Mgmt., CRM,
Campaign Mgmt., Data Mining, BI, Creative Svcs.,
SaaS, Video & Email Mktg., Guest Loyalty

Clairvoyix – Its Robust Transactional Data
Meets the Online World
Clairvoyix has been delivering Internet-deployed,
Web browser-accessed guest marketing systems
since 2003, and it continues to evolve its Big
Data database marketing platform, the Clairvoyix
Knowledge Factory.
Clairvoyix continues to improve its database
marketing platform through an innovation strategy
that ensures its clients are maximizing the ROI on
their marketing technology investments. A quantum
leap in marketing campaign effectiveness is being
announced through a recent integration with a
leading consumer data company that has solved the
problem of matching transactional (e.g., stay) data to
the online world. What does this mean for hospitality
marketers?

When Transactions Meet Online Data and
They Both Meet Consumer Propensity Data
Imagine a marketing world where the behavior
of a past guest is matched to online behavior,
that for example would be indicative of a person
planning a vacation. Knowing their preferences, say
for an ocean front suite in the Caribbean, allows
a marketer the ability to target the consumer with
messaging (including offers) that is personalized and
relevant to the current search. This is a true datadriven approach to targeted marketing that has not
previously been available to hospitality marketers.
Working with a leading consumer data company,
Clairvoyix is announcing the ability to leverage its
wealth of guest past stay and related information
to drive the highest possible ROI on its client’s
direct marketing investments. Furthermore, it is
now possible to apply propensity models to further
determine the likelihood that a given consumer
will respond to an offer. The team at Clairvoyix has
always believed that the science of direct marketing
complements the strategy and creative, and with this
new integrated solution, the science just got a whole
lot better, to the beneft of Clairvoyix’s hospitality
clients.

Hospitality-specifc Database Marketing and
Marketing Services Solutions
The Clairvoyix marketing database integrates with
all signifcant customer touch points such as PMS,
POS, spa, golf, survey and prospect data, and will also
import a simple spreadsheet of contact information.
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Supporting true cross-media targeted marketing
allows for detailed knowledge of how a guest prefers
to communicate with a property or hotel/resort
organization.
The Clairvoyix agency model complements its
leading marketing technology platform by providing:
• Cross-media campaign strategy
• Full media-specifc creative including email, direct
mail, mobile and website/landing pages
• Template approach to e-newsletters and
promotional messaging
• Guest survey design, delivery and capture
The Clairvoyix platform is a no development
hospitality CRM application that eliminates the need
for custom software development. Housed in a highly
secure facility, the Clairvoyix solution is based on
an Oracle back-end database and a Microsoft .NET
development platform, thereby meeting the most
stringent user IT requirements for stability, security
and performance.
Clairvoyix’s ability to scale up and down is
important when delivering a packaged approach to
hospitality-specifc database marketing systems. It
has clients with fewer than 100,000 past guests in
their databases to clients with well over 30 million
unique profled guests. This assures applicability
with all clients – from the largest chains down to the
smallest independent hotel.
For more information call (877) 866-8693, x709
or visit us at www.clairvoyix.com.

Clear Sky Software, Inc.
Charlotte, N.C.

clearskysoftware.com
See also page 118
F&B, Inventory Control, Purchasing,
Event Management

Back Offce Food and Beverage Inventory
Management Systems

Clear Sky Software provides back offce food and
beverage inventory management systems that help
hospitality organizations control inventory, reduce
labor, lower costs and increase profts. Ultimately,
users have access to better information, thus
supporting smarter purchasing decisions that affect
an organization’s bottom line.
Clear Sky Software represents a complete
inventory control solution that includes software,
interfaces to third-party systems, bar code scanning
equipment and support programs. The company’s
software is continually updated mostly through
customer-requested enhancements.

Food and Beverage Inventory Control
Two systems – Clear Sky FOOD and Clear
Sky BEVERAGE – can be purchased together
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or separately. These twin systems address the
inventory management needs of food and beverage
departments, will beneft organizations of all sizes,
and help reduce the tremendous paperwork and
labor employees encounter when trying to manage
food and beverage inventory. Features include:
• Orders/procurement
• Receiving
• Storeroom requisition
• Issue, return, transfer
• Physical inventory
• Interfaces to POS, foodservice providers and club
software
• Inventory reports by date range, vendor, location,
product mix
Clear Sky FOOD & BEVERAGE, available as a basic
order/receive/count system or a complete perpetual
inventory system, uses existing product bar codes but
can generate system-assigned bar codes for products
that don't have them. The company’s software allows
users to see where products are going and track
costs by location. These systems capture changing
product costs, issue the oldest costs frst, and
report exact inventory values rather than averages.
Physical inventory can be completed in record time
and problem areas are identifed automatically. Key
benefts include:
• Automatically create orders based on established
pars and order points
• Identify receiving discrepancies
• Calculate exact product costs not averages
• Track all inventory movement from purchase to
consumption
• Rich and fexible reporting system
• Report food and beverage costs, usage,
shrinkage, slow-movers and fast-movers

Improving the Bottom Line
Food and beverage can be a revenue-generating
department but is often plagued by high labor and
inventory costs. Manual systems are cumbersome,
labor intensive, prone to error and fall short
of delivering reliable information. Since most
organizations are required to control food and
beverage inventory, the beneft in automating this
area is cost containment. Completing the same tasks
manually simply requires more labor and time.

Why Clear Sky Software
Clear Sky Software offers complete inventory
management solutions designed specifcally for
hospitality and backed up by superior customer
support. To help customers speed up go-live dates,
the company offers a variety of installation, data
import assistance and training programs. Most
customers begin effectively using Clear Sky systems
immediately at the conclusion of user training.
Deliverables include:
• Clear Sky FOOD & BEVERAGE Inventory
Management Software
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

• Interfaces to POS, foodservice providers and club
software
• Mobile and fxed bar code scanning devices
• Touch-screen computers for kiosk installations
• Installation and data import assistance
• On-site and Web-based training
• Software maintenance programs
• Equipment repair service amd loaner equipment
• Software upgrades and enhancements
For more information on Clear Sky Software and
its inventory products visit the company at www.
clearskysoftware.com or contact them at (704) 5685544 or [email protected] to discuss your
requirements.

Data Plus Hospitality
Solutions
North Chelmsford, Mass.
dphs.com
See also page 118
Enterprise Back Offce Accounting

Bringing it all Together in the Back Offce
To meet the unique needs of each customer, Data
Plus has developed a work fow concept of system
integration that allows each property to create a
solution that best matches its requirements and
budget. While there are many advantages to having
one system for all users, it is not always a practical or
appropriate solution. This unique approach to system
design has evolved since 1986 into a complete suite
of highly tailorable modules combined with more
than 150 separate interfaces with the other software
systems used in the hospitality industry.
Three distinct product groups are used to provide
a solution that can scale to any number of properties
hosted by the user's network or the Data Plus Private
Cloud. Each one can be used in combination with
one another or with other solutions to best manage
and distribute accurate actionable data for the entire
organization.

DPFinance

DPFinance is a hospitality-specifc fully integrated
back offce solution with payables, general ledger,
bank reconciliation, purchasing and inventory
control. Manage an unlimited number of daily or
period budgets for any dollar or statistical measure
desired for information regardless of source. Use the
checkbook accounting feature to monitor expenses in
real time. Interfaces include PMS, POS and time and
attendance, as well as online procurement systems
such as Birchstreet and BuyEffcient.
Data Plus’ goal is to allow the customer to use
whatever systems best meet their needs and then
ensure that the data is combined and stored in
one easily accessed database. Approaching each
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installation from a work fow perspective, combining
Data Plus software with an open policy on working
with other vendors results in a best-of-breed total
package.

DPDocs
Now in its second generation, DPDocs is the
Data Plus document management system. Allowing
the attachment of any electronic fle or image to a
transaction or database record nets large savings
in manual fling and retrieval. A scanned invoice or
receiving document can be viewed online by anyone
with system access in order to support whatever
business processes an organization desires. Scan
locally or scan remotely; all documents are securely
stored in the Data Plus database.

DPAnalytics
DPAnalytics was created to meet the desire
of users to make their data available in Excel
without the use of costly third-party solutions while
eliminating the time and complexity of traditional
business intelligence tools. Seamlessly extracting
data in real time from the users' database and
presenting it as an Excel workbook or pivot table
allows the use of a tool that the user already knows
to analyze and manipulate data without learning a
new language or complex set of instructions. Use
the many supplied templates or use standard Excel
functions to create one customized for the user.

DPOnline
DPOnline is available as a Web-based, softwareas-a-service (SaaS) solution accessible from
anywhere on the planet via an Internet connection.
A secure login allows access to the Data Plus Private
Cloud at its SAS70-certifed hosting site where each
customer's data is stored in its own database. Both
centralized and decentralized operating styles are
benefting from the fexibility and cost savings offered
by DPOnline. With extremely low upfront costs, this
is an ideal solution for management companies
regardless of size.
For additional information, visit www.dphs.com or
call (978) 888-6300.

Datavision
Technologies, Inc.
Miami, Fla.

datavisiontech.com
Data Warehousing, CRM, BI, Rev. Mgmt.,
Budget/Forecasting, Corporate Consolidation,
Payroll Control, Dashboard
Intelligent decisions are made with Datavision.
Datavision extracts key information from all
production systems at the property or corporate
offce (PMS, POS, payroll, spa, CRES, ski, golf, sales
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and catering, ticketing, HSIA, competitor bookings,
back offce, etc.) into a single consolidated database.
Datavision can be used for comprehensive business
intelligence at single properties or at corporate/
regional offces, where users can view consolidated
information from all properties. Users can access the
warehouse via Microsoft Excel™ or dashboard tools
to slice and dice the data, create complex automated
reports or from within a Web browser.
Datavision’s customers include prestigious
resorts such as Pebble Beach Company, Kohler
Resorts, Sea Island Company, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
and Biltmore Estate, among others. Multiproperty
resort companies such as Mandarin Oriental Hotels,
Aramark Parks & Destinations, Intrawest Resorts, Vail
Resorts, KSL, Great Wolf Resorts, Tarsadia Hotels
and others use Datavision worldwide.

Dashboard
Pictures paint a thousand words. Turn data
into action with key colors of red, green or yellow
stoplights, 3-D pie charts or multilayer dashboards on
the desktop or mobile devices.
Powerful and fexible, the dashboard helps users
achieve goals in the following business areas:

Revenue Management for Rooms, Spa, Golf,
Ski, Function Rooms and Ticketing, STR or
Google Analytics
Analyze the business on the books, spot booking
trends by market segment, channel or booking
sources. Streamline the forecasting process.

Corporate Consolidation
Integrate data from multiple properties to create
a master data warehouse at corporate or regional
offces. Consolidate information across properties,
run intra-property comparisons or spot companywide
occupancy and booking trends.

Payroll Control
Combine detailed payroll data with PMS, POS,
budget and forecast data to generate comprehensive
daily payroll reports showing regular vs. overtime
pay, cost percentage of revenue and productivity
information such as cost per occupied room and cost
per cover.

Forecasting and Budgeting
Integrate data from PMS, POS and payroll and
general ledger systems into a single data warehouse.
The system allows department heads at each
property to forecast their areas using Excel, and
provides the controller with the ability to run instant
proft and loss statements. An additional feature for
multiproperty sites, the data is synchronized between
the properties and corporate, enabling corporate
users to run consolidated reports for the entire
company.

Flash Reporting/Night Audit Streamlining
Since Datavision can deliver key information
integrated from all systems, users can mix and match
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data from the PMS and POS on the same report.
Daily fash reports and income journals can easily be
created and exported to the back offce.
For more information, please visit www.
datavisiontech.com or call (954) 433-3633.

Digital Alchemy, LLC
Fort Worth, Texas

digital-alchemy.com
See also page 118
CRM, E-Marketing, Business Intelligence,
Mobile Solutions
Enhancing the guest experience by providing
exceptional communications for hotels, resorts
and spas, Digital Alchemy remains a leader in CRM
and B2B digital marketing solutions for the global
hospitality industry since 1999. By offering business
intelligence tools with power-packed feature sets,
Digital Alchemy drives more revenue for its hospitality
clients by delivering digital communications,
collecting guest feedback and tracking marketing
data, ultimately leading to more satisfed guests and
increased property revenues.
With interfaces to every major property
management system (PMS), Digital Alchemy provides
the conduit for guest profling and relevant data
analysis that in turn provides insight to hoteliers,
managers and marketers. Through its unique
customer dashboard, clients can access and interact
with data analytics, guest communications and
survey data in real time. Digital Alchemy’s expansion
into the EMEA market last year has resulted in the
success of seeing several new properties reaping the
benefts of the company’s robust and dynamic digital
marketing services. From its offce in London, Digital
Alchemy provides European clients a way to fne tune
and integrate the products and services at a local
level. With further growth and breakthroughs into
the spa industry, Digital Alchemy is providing spas
around the globe with the same advantages, leading
to the discovery of more revenue opportunities and
client retention.
Digital Alchemy products and services include:
eRelationship™ – Setting an industry standard,
Digital Alchemy’s CRM suite is designed to craft
long-term guest retention. From confrmations to
pre-arrival marketing, eRelationship is flled with
opportunities to drive revenue for properties of all
sizes. Mobile-friendly communications and onproperty messaging add multiple levels of value to
every guest’s stay.
eSurvey™ – Digital Alchemy’s complete online
survey system is designed to help hotels identify
strengths and resolve challenges directly correlated
to a specifc reservation.
TripAdvocate™ – Dramatically raising the hotel’s
ranking on TripAdvisor and other social sites,
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TripAdvocate is so effective that most hotels using
this service are in the top 10 of their market.
eCampaign™ – Thoughtfully crafted campaigns,
targeted recipient lists and accurate quality
assurance help properties and spas maximize
incredible ROI with Digital Alchemy's eCampaign
suite. This email marketing solution has advanced
hospitality-centric analytics that intuitively break
down campaign ROI results and it offers full or selfservice options.
eDevelopment™ – Digital Alchemy's dedicated
creative team works with existing integrated
services to take digital marketing to new levels of
effectiveness. Mobile solutions such as Mobile Life
(www.digital-alchemy.com/mobilelife) are designed
to seamlessly connect a property’s brand and
online experience. Social media integration, website
development and mobile apps are all components of
the larger digital landscape. Digital Alchemy believes
in connecting guests to the full brand experience
while driving more revenue for the clients it serves.
For more information, please contact Digital
Alchemy at (817) 204-0840 or visit www.DigitalAlchemy.com.

Eleven Wireless, Inc.
Portland, Ore.

elevenwireless.com
See also page 119
Business Centers, Guest Internet Services,
Guestroom Tech., Mobile Device Tech.,
Communications Tech., Tech. Svcs., Wireless Tech.
Eleven delivers compelling software that powers
the online guest experience in hotels, with two key
product lines: ElevenGC and ElevenOS, both of which
run on Eleven’s cloud-based platform. Combining
rock-solid software with cutting-edge technology
to wow guests, Eleven is a standard for guest
technology.

ElevenOS: Manage and Monetize Guest
Internet
High performance guest Internet is the No. 1
requested amenity in hospitality today. ElevenOS is
one of hospitality's only cloud-based guest Internet
platforms that manages the online guest experience
across multiple devices, locations and network
service providers. ElevenOS gives hotels and network
providers complete control over the guest experience
to include hotel branding, look and feel, and unique
service offerings, such as tiered bandwidth, usage
times and much more.
Through a common platform, users can centrally
manage their login screen content, create a host
of different guest and staff accounts, track usage
and revenue and more. From single hotels to
large multiproperty chains, ElevenOS provides an
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83

intuitive and fexible interface for easy guest Internet
management.

eRevMax
Orlando, Fla.

ElevenGC: Give Guests an Eleven Experience
ElevenGC is a family of fve-star guest computing
solutions fexible enough to be deployed in business
centers, lobbies, suites, club lounges and more.
The ElevenGC product family is one of hospitality’s
most comprehensive and fexible lineups of guest
computing solutions with the choice of Lenovo or HP
computers running Windows 8 or Apple Macs running
both Mac OS and Windows, along with enterprisegrade printers and multifunction devices. Billing
options range from complimentary to for-charge to
meet business objectives. ElevenGC helps hotels
drive substantial revenue with little to no investment.
Countless customers have driven more revenue from
Eleven GC’s for-charge systems than from any other
guest computing provider.
The ElevenGC product family includes:
• ElevenGC Premium: charge to guest or hybrid
pricing, full desktop functionality, guest
authentication and registration, premier support,
zero capital cost with revenue share for qualifed
hotels
• ElevenGC Pro: free-to-guest or hybrid pricing, full
desktop functionality, guest authentication and
registration, premier support for a fee, revenue
share available
• ElevenGC Lite & Kiosk: free-to-guest pricing, clickand-go functionality, desktop with boarding pass
zone, remote support for a monthly fee

Guest Technology Management Platform
The Eleven platform fuels the online guest
experience, including ElevenGC and ElevenOS,
through a simple and dynamic Web interface.
Designed with an open architecture for easy
integration with hotel systems, application services
and websites, the Eleven platform provides a
seamless and robust online guest experience. The
Eleven platform also makes it easy to manage
multiple hotel properties, which is especially
important for management groups, network service
providers and brands.
The Eleven platform integrates with a wide
range of hardware and software and is available
through various leading service providers; no more
proprietary hardware or software from service
providers is necessary. Leverage a single software
system to deliver Internet, guest computers and
other online services.
Eleven software is backed by an experienced,
professional support team, which allows hotels to
focus on their guests rather than the technology.
Rest easy knowing the guest technology is proactively
supported and monitored by a world-class support
team, 24/7.
For more information call (503) 222-4321,
email [email protected] or visit www.
elevenwireless.com.
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erevmax.com
See also page 119
Channel Mgmt., Comparative Price Intelligence, Online
Distribution, Connectivity, Rate Shopping, Reservation
Integration, Reputation Mgmt.
eRevMax is a leading provider of online distribution,
channel connectivity, market intelligence and revenue
management solutions for the hospitality industry.
The company delivers its premium hotel channel
management product suite RateTiger, Web-based
solution SimpleDistribution and its real-time enterprise
connectivity gateway Connect, to the hospitality and
travel industry.
Established in 2001, eRevMax has achieved full
PCI compliance and ISO 27001:2005 certifcation; the
company serves more than 7,000 customers and is
being used in more than 55,000 properties worldwide.

Product for Hotel properties: RateTiger
RateTiger offers a product portfolio that includes
Shopper, an online real-time rate shopping tool for
competitor analysis; Channel Manager, an online
distribution tool to manage rates, availability and
reservations in real time across travel websites;
and Review, an online guest review management
tool with semantic technology. Reservation Delivery,
is a subscription-based service for hotels to pull
reservation data from eRevMax-certifed travel agents,
delivered directly to the their PMS with reservation
roomtype.
Managed Reports Service provides high quality rate
data from various channels for the hotel site as well as
for the competitor set on pre-set frequency, eliminating
dependency on hotel system or rate shopping software
for rate shopping data.
RateTiger helps hotels improve their online sales
presence and revenues through integrated rate
and inventory management. It comes with built-in
safeguards to prevent overbooking and provides email
alerts and notifcations of OTA channel performance
and availability for the property.

Product for Hotel Chains/Systems: Connect
by eRevMax
Connect is an electronic distribution XML gateway
for the hospitality industry, which provides connectivity
for rate, inventory and reservation delivery to
current hotel systems. It has been designed for hotel
companies, distribution partners and system providers
to transmit pricing, room allocation and booking data
instantly between third-party vendors and the hotels.
Utilizing eRevMax’s superior XML connectivity with
OTAs and integrations with RMS and PMS, Connect
provides two-way ARI and reservation data transfer so
hotels can respond to market conditions faster than
ever before.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

FURNITURE • LOCKING & SECURITY SYSTEMS • TABLE LINENS • SOFTWARE • FITNESS & POOL
EQUIPMENT • HVAC • MINIBARS • BEDDING • MOBILE • LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT • GREEN DESIGN •
MENUS • TELCOM • ENERGY MANAGEMENT • SIGNAGE • TELEVISIONS • FOOD & BEVERAGE • FLOOR
COVERINGS • POS SYSTEMS • TABLEWARE • IN-ROOM SAFES • LIGHTING • MEETING ROOM
EQUIPMENT • CLEANING & MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS • WINE & LIQUOR • PMS SYSTEMS • SOLAR
SYSTEMS • UNIFORMS • TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS • DINNERWARE • IN-ROOM AMENITIES •
SECURITY & SAFETY • GUEST AMENITIES & SERVICES • TEXTILES • COOKING EQUIPMENT • TABLES
AND CHAIRS • SOCIAL MEDIA • RESTAURANT FURNISHINGS & DESIGN • WATER CONSERVATION •
TABLE ACCESSORIES • GUEST TRANSPORTATION • FRONT OF HOUSE • CRM SYSTEMS • BATHROOM
EQUIPMENT & FIXTURES • CUTLERY

•

GUEST TRANSPORTATION • GLASSWARE • FABRICS &

DRAPERY • TABLET APPS • WALL DÉCOR • FIXTURES • AUDIO-VISUAL • WALLCOVERINGS • WASTE
RECYCLING

•

DECORATIVE

ACCESSORIES

•

REFRIGERATION

•

HARDWARE

•

VIDEO

&

ENTERTAINMENT • COFFEE/TEA/ESPRESSO/CAPPUCCINO • SOUND SYSTEMS • BAKED GOODS •
VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS • SERVE & BUFFET WARE • FURNISHINGS & DESIGN • WIRELESS •
RESTAURANT CONSULTING • TABLE LIGHTING • FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • FINANCE
& MANAGEMENT SERVICES • TABLE LIGHTING • REVENUE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS • BEER & ALE •
DAIRY PRODUCTS • INNOVATION • GREEN CERTIFICATION • BACK OF HOUSE • DESSERTS •
PREPARED FOODS • FURNITURE • LOCKING & SECURITY SYSTEMS • TABLE LINENS • SOFTWARE •
FITNESS & POOL EQUIPMENT • HVAC •
MANAGEMENT • SIGNAGE •

MINIBARS • BEDDING • MENUS • TELCOM • ENERGY

• FOOD & BEVERAGE • TELEVISIONS • FLOOR COVERINGS • POS

SYSTEMS • TABLEWARE • IN-ROOM SAFES • LIGHTING • CLEANING & MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS •
WINE & LIQUOR • SOFTWARE • • PMS SYSTEMS • UNIFORMS • TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS • IN-ROOM
AMENITIES • SECURITY & SAFETY • WALL DÉCOR • GUEST AMENITIES & SERVICES • TEXTILES •

It's all here.

Source a better guest experience at IHMRS, the largest and most

RESTAURANT FURNISHINGS & DESIGN • FRONT OF HOUSE • • • • CRM SYSTEMS • BATHROOM
comprehensive trade fair for the lodging and foodservice industries.

EQUIPMENT & FIXTURES • • FABRICS
& DRAPERY
• TABLET
APPS
• FIXTURES
AUDIO-VISUAL
•
With
more than 600
exhibitors
grouped
by product•category,
a
WALLCOVERINGS

•

DECORATIVE

ACCESSORIES

•

VIDEO

&

ENTERTAINMENT

•

lineup of educational sessions and five dedicated divisions to
LEARN MORE diverse
COFFEE/TEA/ESPRESSO/CAPPUCCINO
•
BAKED
GOODS
• HARDWARE
• GENERAL
FURNISHINGS &
Operations, Kitchen
Design,
Green, Tabletop
and Technology,

AT IHMRS.COM

there’s no better place to discover what’s next in hospitality.

HOSPITALITY’S GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, MOTEL + RESTAURANT SHOW
NOV 9-11, 2014 | NOV 8: HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP FORUM

JACOB K. JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER, NEW YORK CITY

Co-located with

Product for Corporate Business Intelligence:
Corp
Corp is a high-performance market intelligence
data solution, designed for anyone in need of an
overview of hotel rates, to better monitor, control,
budget and optimize business. The product is best
suited for hotel group headquarters, online travel
agents (OTAs), corporate travel managers, event
planners and travel management companies (TMCs).

Product for Budget Hotels:
SimpleDistribution
SimpleDistribution is eRevMax’s Web-based,
entry-level channel manager which helps small
properties and budget hotels to sell rooms online
and generate revenue through OTAs. Innovative and
value driven, SimpleDistribution is a perfect solution
for hoteliers to avoid rate errors and increase
online bookings through effcient management of
special events, immediate closeout and reopen for
availability and quick update notifcations. These
built-in safeguards allow hoteliers to optimize room
revenue while preventing overbooking.
For further details, please visit www.erevmax.com
or email [email protected].

FCS Computer Systems
Cumming, Ga.
fcscs.com
See also page 119
Response Mgmt., Mobile Solutions, Mobile Device
Tech., Guest Incident Tracking, Rapid Response,
Housekeeping, Preventative Maint. & Engineering
Founded in 1982, FCS is a comprehensive
hospitality solutions and services provider, with an
extensive portfolio of integrated products used by
more than 4,000 hotels with 8,000+ installations in
32 countries. FCS also provides solution architecture
for integrated resorts, international hotel chains and
luxury hotels with centralized solutions and across
multiple vendors.

Putting Hotel Services in the Palm of a Hand
FCS i-Guest is a guest self-service mobile app
running on guests’ own mobile devices, allowing
them to send pre-arrival notifcation for express
check-in requests, access hotel information,
view room reservation details, local attractions,
restaurants and other amenities. After check-in,
they can also make service requests, listen to voice
mails left in their rooms, see text messages from
the front offce, place in-room dining orders, view
their membership points and the recommended
redemptions and perform express checkouts without
having to wait in line at the front desk.
Additionally, FCS has partnered with OpenWays
to integrate Mobile Key with i-Guest, enabling guests
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to skip the traditional check-in process and open
their room doors using their own mobile devices.
Most important, its Master i-Guest module supports
multibrand and multiproperty, so hoteliers can deploy
mobile apps for all their properties via one single
master app.

Are Hotels Serving Their Guests with the
Following Innovative Technologies?

FCS Hotel Operation Applications consist of fve
Web-based guest-serving applications to streamline
the daily operations of different departments:
• e-Connect – a centralized call center job
dispatching system for guest service requests
and inter-department work orders that sends jobs
via various hand-held devices and/or printers.
• e-Engineering – an asset management system
for preventive maintenance, general engineering
work orders and energy management.
• e-Housekeeping – a dedicated system for
the housekeeping department to streamline
the entire room cleaning and inspection
assignments, maintenance process, inventory
control and lost and found.
• e-Concierge – a professional concierge system
that automates the daily functions and processes
of handling guest profles, itineraries, restaurant
and transportation bookings, baggage and parcel
delivery management, as well as lost and found
for hotel guests and other visitors.
• e-Recovery – an advanced glitch management
system that tracks the status and costs of
complaints and incidents for hotel guests, visitors
and staff.
All these applications will be available in a cloudenabled environment. Most important, they can be
extended to run on feld staffs’ smart mobile devices,
allowing them to take immediate actions and better
serve hotel guests.
These applications all seamlessly integrate with
the hotel’s PMS and other third-party systems via
the FCS Gateways products, Unicorn and Phoenix.
Unicorn is a gateway for data which interfaces with
all major PMSs, PABX and third-party systems, as well
as processing all billing and guest information. It is
also cloud-enabled, giving Unicorn the ability to be
installed onsite, privately hosted by the customer or
publicly hosted by FCS in a SaaS model. FCS Phoenix
is the gateway for voice with guest and administration
voicemail solutions running on analog or SIP
platforms.
For more information, visit www.fcscs.com, email
[email protected] or call (678) 8525911.

Follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/HospitalityUpgrade

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Flip.to

Genares Worldwide
Reservations Services

Maitland, Fla.
fip.to
See also page 119
Social Media Marketing, Marketing,
Internet Reservations
Flip.to is a brand advocate platform that helps
hotels turn their guests into engaged advocates
to boost brand awareness and drive Web direct
bookings. The platform is designed to reach travelers
around the world and generate signifcant return on
investment for hotels.
The process starts at the point a customer
makes a reservation on the hotel’s website. A simple
incentive entices the guest to share into his or her
personal social network, placing the marketing in
front of hundreds of new people.
Next, friends and family see the post about
the guest's upcoming stay. Within the post is a
personalized link that directs readers to the hotel
website. When friends and family click through to
visit the website they have a chance to claim an offer
towards a future stay.
After checkout, the hotel can use the Flip.to
platform to capture short, positive quotes from the
guest about his or her experience at the hotel as well
as photos that were taken during the stay. These
quotes and photos can then be used for marketing
on the hotel website, on its social media pages and
even pushed into other distribution channels.
Every part of the Flip.to platform is designed
to drive potential guests to the hotel website while
encouraging them to book a future stay. A typical
hotel will turn 18 percent of its guests into brand
advocates. Those guests will reach tens of thousands
of people on a monthly basis. This will drive new,
more qualifed traffc to the website and create new
bookings for the hotel.
All of these metrics are tracked within the Flip.
to system, helping hotels monetize social networking
in a quantifable way. And it all starts with your own
guests.
For more information visit www.fip.to.

Visit our video page for:
• CIO Speaks
• Industry Events
• Cool Technologies
• Chats with Rich
• Product Videos
• and more from the HU team!

www.hospitalityupgrade.com/HUTube

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Irving, Texas
genares.com
See also page 119
Central Reservation and Distribution Services,
GDS, IDS, Voice, Web and Mobile Booking Engines,
Business Traveler Marketing Programs
Genares prides itself in its innovative technology,
and is constantly striving to pioneer competitive
products and form partnerships that drive revenue
growth and industry trends. Its software has been
developed with the ever-changing needs of the
hospitality industry in mind and designed in such a
way that it will enhance the booking experience of the
consumer and simplify the role of the hotelier, both
independent and at the brand/chain level.
Genares’ solutions begin with gReserve, a central
reservations system built by software developers
with substantial industry experience focused around
today’s technological climate. Each of its products
and services are seamlessly integrated to work
together and drive revenue growth. In addition to its
distribution platform, Genares provides a wide range
of services that include:
• Connections:
- Real-time distribution platform with full
management of rates, availability and content;
multiple rate structures; and group bookings
- Hotel and mobile booking engines that are
customized and include revenue-enhancing
functionalities with add-ons and upselling
- Extensive PMS integration
- Genares’ channel management tool
• Solutions:
- Hotel website development and hosting
- Integrated Web services
- Two 24x7 U.S. call centers
- Experienced client care management
- BT Advantage – business travel hotel program
(www.btadvantage.net)
- RFP and consortia programs
- Travel agent commission processing via Perot
and WPS
As a global leader in electronic distribution,
Genares provides the most distribution options and
is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions
to hotels looking to maximize their opportunities
in fercely competitive markets. Its platform was
designed to enable a hotel to optimize its distribution
by offering the capability of managing all distribution
including GDS, IDS, IBE, PMS and emerging channels
– all from a single real-time connection. Genares
does not believe in a one-size-fts-all approach with
its customers and would work to design the most
far reaching distribution plan to match business
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goals with a single image inventory view designed to
eliminate manual intervention as much as possible.
Genares applies a back-to-basics strategy that
focuses on:
• Increasing ADR
• Increasing LOS
• Increasing occupancy
• Lowering your overall distribution costs

functionality to conference attendees and other
groups, linking them to other members, schedules
and targeted marketing opportunities
The OneView System Dashboard is an innovative
monitoring tool that lets staff see current and
historical guest cases, trouble tickets and network
status in real time. Guest-tek’s converged network
is tried and tested to support both front and back-ofhouse applications.

For more information, call (817) 722-2800, email
[email protected] or visit www.genares.com.

Voice Solutions

Guest-tek

™

Calgary, AB, Canada
guest-tek.com
See also page 119
Tech. Svcs., Guestroom Tech. & Telephones,
Svc. Provider, Wireless Tech., Mobile Device Tech.,
TV Programming, Network Gateway Solutions

Company Information
Since 1996, Guest-tek™ has prevailed as a
leading provider of broadband technology and
interactive solutions for the global hospitality
industry. Guest-tek has experienced signifcant
worldwide growth since its acquisition of iBAHN in
March 2014.
Guest-tek’s OneViewTM platform offers converged
data, video, HSIA, voice and mobile applications, all
managed from one source. Guest-tek is a preferred
technology provider to hotels due to its network
design, procurement, implementation and ongoing
customer service.

Overview
OneView delivers a superior in-room guest
experience, giving hotel properties that unique
competitive edge. Combining fast, reliable Internet
with interactive services, OneView keeps guests
informed and entertained while motivating them
to order more of the hotel’s services. With its
customized content and versatility, OneView
strengthens brands and delivers one of the only
connections needed to meet the demands of today’s
hospitality industry.
Guest-tek’s OneView features a robust menu
and communications platform. Imagine providing
guests with in-room features like interactive TV, HD
free-to-guest, IP telephony, HSIA, mobile device and
smartphone applications and above-property voice
solutions, all managed from one source. OneView
will run on a property’s networks whether they are IP,
Ethernet or coax based.
OneView was designed specifcally to exceed
guests’ expectations for in-room entertainment and
communications, providing that elusive wow factor.
Guest-tek allows users to extend their branding
to every guestroom and customize messages to
each type of guest. Users also provide special UI
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Guest-tek designs, installs and supports
functional and cost-effective voice systems. For
instance, Guest-tek’s OneView Voice iACT Solution
offers a cloud-based system with more features than
many PBX systems on the market, and at a lower
cost with less equipment and power required of the
property.

HSIA
OneView Internet is a cornerstone of IP services
for business and leisure travel. With more than
14 years of perfecting service to hotels, Guest-tek
delivers HSIA over multiple platforms and meets all
guest needs with one of the most customer-oriented
feature sets available.

Enhanced FTG
OneView Media IPTV provides more choices and
fexibility with a rich portfolio of premium channels,
an interactive program guide (IPG) and a full range
of standard-defnition (SD) and high-defnition (HD)
content.

Guest Interactive On-demand Video
OneView Media provides a simple, yet inviting
on-demand solution that extends a hotel brand into
every guestroom. Users have complete ownership of
the system and control over movie selections, music
and pricing.

Mobile Applications
Bring a new level of interaction to hotel rooms.
Guest-tek’s myAway allows guests to access OneView
Media System features through their own personal
electronic devices while myAway TV lets them stream
content, including music and video, from their
devices to the guestroom TVs.
For more information, call (866) 509-1010, email
[email protected] or [email protected], or
visit www.guest-tek.com.

Visit www.Hotel-Online.com for the
latest news on the hotel industry,
and view its exciting new design and
innovative new features!

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Guestware®
Seattle, Wash.
guestware.com
See also page 119
CRM, Loyalty, Rapid Response, Marketing,
Preventive Maintenance, Guest Incident Tracking,
Mobile Device Tech., Surveys & Guest Response
Guestware CRM software is the revolutionary
hotel guest experience management system
that collects, manages and reports on all guest
information, enabling hotels and resorts to track
the guest experience while enhancing operational
effciencies in a single database application to
deliver outstanding WELCOME INTELLIGENCE™
service. The WELCOME INTELLIGENCE advantage
allows for better engagement with guests to
anticipate their needs and guarantee prompt
service, maintains a high quality facility and
informs staff and management about guests’
desires both in real time and for future visits. The
result: Users have the information it takes to be in
tune with their guests’ every need. And that means
happier guests.
Behind the scenes, the WELCOME
INTELLIGENCE technology delivers actionable
information to the right people by complementing
and enhancing existing property management
systems, hotel operations and marketing to help
hospitality companies share information and
realize departmental collaboration – all with the
goal of improving the overall guest experience.
Functionality includes:
• Incident tracking
• Rapid response
• Preventive maintenance
• Mobile inspections
• Workfow automation
• Mobile request work order dispatching
• Enterprise reporting
• Guest loyalty programs
• Guest recognition
• Pre-arrival planning
• Post-stay communications
• Email marketing
Guestware CRM software is installed and
actively used at more than 900 hotels and resorts
worldwide, and is well suited for international hotel
groups where extensive language preferences are
needed.
Based in Seattle, Wash., Guestware CRM
software has been focused on elevating the guest
experience in the hospitality industry since 1993.
Guestware welcomes companies interested in
partnering with it to enable hotels to deliver the
highest levels of guest satisfaction.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

For more information, call (888) 50-GUEST or visit
www.guestware.com.

HandHeld Hospitality™
Vienna, Va.
handheldhospitality.com
See also page 119
Mobile Device Technology, Guest Management,
Mobile Solutions, Loyalty, Marketing,
Business Intelligence, Analytics
HandHeld Hospitality™ is a hospitality technology
company leading the way with new, affordable and
easy-to-use mobile apps for hotels, clubs, tourism
destinations and residential communities that
increase facility usage and engage guests.
SmartGuest™ is HandHeld’s frst mobile app
for hotels. It allows guests to receive instant
notifcations, make and confrm restaurant and
activity bookings and have up-to-date hotel and area
information at their fngertips.
The SmartGuest app flls a void by enabling guest
engagement not just before and after their stay, but
especially during their stay. The app went live during
the frst quarter of this year and several hundred
hotels are already making plans to go live with the
app to increase revenue per guest stay and to keep
guests on property.
New this year at HITEC is SmartGuest’s guest
request functionality, which allows patrons to ask for
a variety of services and items prior to arrival, as well
as during their stay. The app’s back end allows for
complete fulfllment and monitoring of each request.
The new Guest Request functionality comes in
addition to the already popular Guest Notifcations
and Hour-by-hour Things to Do feature.
SmartGuest is not only easy to implement and
download, it is also priced to be affordable for hotels
and chains of any size.
HandHeld Hospitality enhances the guest
experience and revenue growth of its hospitality
clients. It delivers engaging, market defning and
high quality mobile application solutions which can
be sustained in a highly competitive marketplace
while generating data for continuous improvement in
customer loyalty and average spend per guest.
For more information call 1-877-331-3777 or visit
www.handheldhospitality.com.

Subscribe to Hospitality Upgrade at:
www.hospitalityupgrade.com.

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HeBS Digital
New York, N.Y.

hebsdigital.com
Marketing, Website & Mobile Website Design/
Hosting, Search Engine Marketing and Optimization,
Social Media Marketing, Digital & Internet Mktg.
HeBS Digital is a full-service digital technology
and marketing frm dedicated to driving revenues
through the direct online channel. The company
helps hoteliers turn their website into the hotel’s
main and most effective distribution channel.

Full-service Digital Marketing
HeBS Digital has developed comprehensive
digital marking services that effectively reach travel
consumers and drive high ROIs. Services include:
• Account management
• Campaign management
• Search engine marketing
• Copywriting and SEO
• Multichannel digital marketing
• Email and mobile marketing
• Social media
• Linking strategy
• Online media planning and buying
• Retargeting/behavioral targeting
• Online branding and PR
• Campaign tracking, analytics and reporting

Competitive Edge
HeBS Digital is one of the only frms to offer direct
online channel consulting coupled with full-service
digital marketing and focus exclusively on hospitality.
It offers solutions to help recover abandoned
bookings, a CMS built with hoteliers in mind and ROIgenerating marketing opportunities affordable for any
hotelier. All of HeBS Digital’s services are performed
in house.

Success Stories
• SEM: A historic luxury hotel in Midtown
Manhattan worked with HeBS Digital on search
engine marketing/paid search as one part of the
digital marketing budget to achieve maximum
revenue from the property website in 2013. The
company analyzed business needs, including
occupancy, seasonality and ad hoc needs. Based
on the analysis and projections, they created a
campaign consisting of more than 50 ad groups
and 10,000 keywords to address the business
needs and ensure a high return on investment.
Throughout the year the message was adjusted
based on marketing conditions, promotions and
local events. The end result was a ROAS of 2010
percent.
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• Website revenue optimization consulting: An
independent hotel in Monterey, Calif., wanted
to increase direct online bookings, meetings
and weddings leads via the website and
overall website traffc. Additionally, the hotel
wanted to improve the user experience on
its desktop and mobile sites, and have more
control over its online content via a content
management system. HeBS Digital managed
search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns
and implemented SEO strategies to increase
overall online revenue production. In addition,
the hotel website underwent a design refresh
and upgraded to HeBS Digital’s CMS Premium
product. The property’s dedicated HeBS Digital
account manager provided monthly reports and
conducted conference calls to discuss website
and campaign performance, status of production
projects and latest industry trends and best
practices. The end result was a total ROI of 1,553
percent with website revenue up 24 percent YoY
and leads up 62 percent YoY.

Awards
HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the best
practices in hotel marketing, social and mobile
marketing and direct online channel distribution. The
company has won more than 250 industry awards
in website design and digital marketing campaigns,
including:
• Adrian Awards
• Davey Awards
• Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards
• Interactive Media Awards
• Summit International Awards
• Travel Weekly Magellan Awards
• WebAwards
• Webby Awards
• W3 Awards
For more information call (212) 752-8186, email
[email protected] or visit www.hebsdigital.
com.

A humorous interlude, perhaps...
A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and
the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake
hands. He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside.
The preacher said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!"
My friend replied, "I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Preacher."
The preacher questioned, "How come I don't see you except at
Christmas and Easter?"
He whispered back, "I'm in the secret service."
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Technical
Services (HTS)
Hebron, Ky.
htsnow.com
See also page 119
HSIA, Guest Internet Svcs., Wireless Tech.,
Help Desk/Svc. Desk, Digital Satellite TV Systems,
Bus. Ctrs., Mobile Device Tech., Guestroom Tech.

Expert HSIA and Converged Network
Design/Installation/24x7x365 Support
Hospitality Technical Services (HTS) has a unique
perspective on the rapidly evolving technology
dynamics of the hotel industry, as it was formed in
2007 by CTO Bill Yung. As a member of a prominent
industry family that owns and manages hotels
across the United states, Yung literally grew up in
the hotel business. Prior to forming HTS, Yung was
vice president of technology at Columbia Sussex
Corporation, where he also had technology oversight
of Tropicana Casinos and Resorts.
In late 2013, Mark Holzberg joined HTS as CEO
to facilitate and manage the company’s growth.
Holzberg is an industry veteran with more than
20 years of experience in positions including CFO
of TravelClick; CEO of Lorica Solutions; managing
director of hospitality at XETA Technologies and
Windstream (ISG); and, most recently, vice president,
the Americas and global managed services at
Swisscom.
HTS combines the insights and perspective of
a hotel owner and operator with broad technology
and management expertise. It offers experience,
nimbleness and creativity not associated with
bureaucratic organizations, and has the depth and
resources to deliver and scale. HTS is a true trusted
advisor and long-term partner to its hotel customers.

HTS Approach and Technology
HTS services range from complete HSIA and
converged network installations and upgrades to
taking over guest support with simple non-CAPEX
gateway swap-outs. In all cases, providing a cost
effective guest HSIA experience that is second-tonone, with resulting GSS to match, is its objective.
Whether the application is guest email from a PC,
streaming “House of Cards” on Netflix via a tablet
or hotel staff communicating over Wi-Fi on mobile
devices, HTS provides some of the most robust
and reliable network solutions at some of the most
reasonable value points.
HTS utilizes best-of-breed equipment, from
such companies as Cisco, HP and Ruckus, and it
doesn’t outsource its gateway/portal technology or
support. The HTS gateway offers one of the industry’s
most reliable solutions with its dual redundant
configuration, which means if there’s a failure the
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outage is measured in seconds not days. Developed
and supported by its internal R&D team, the HTS
gateway provides some of the most up-to-date
functionality, including tiered bandwidth, flexible
billing and zone coverage options, conference service
features and custom splash page and redirect
capabilities. The company’s developers constantly
advance the solutions to meet the increasingly
demanding needs of the industry and the guests
that it serves. HTS works with its customers on the
solutions they require… no outsourcing of the core
technology… no homogenized products.

Managed Services and Support
HTS maintains its 24x7x365 network operations
center and help desk just outside the greater
Cincinnati International Airport. HTS’s customer
care agents and engineers are all employees of the
company and are highly competent technically as
well as in their ability to empathetically address the
needs of hotel guests and staff. The solution center
provides around-the-clock guest and staff help desk
support, proactive network monitoring, diagnostics,
software maintenance, issue remediation and root
cause analysis as well as reporting.

HTS Customers

HTS’s customers include properties flying the
flags of such brands as Marriott, Starwood, IHG
and Hilton – from very large, full-service hotels and
resorts to select-service properties – throughout the
United States and Canada. HTS is a fully certified
Marriott GPNS provider.
For more information, call (859) 689-6958 or
email [email protected].

Hotwire Communications
Philadelphia, Pa.
hotwirecommunications.com
See also page 119
Tech. Services, Guest Technology, TV Programming,
Guest Internet, HSIA Network, Wireless Technology,
Guest Phones, Telecom, Service Provider

Full-service Telecommunications Provider
for Hotels
Hotwire Communications is a private cable
operator specializing in delivering fiber-to the-room
(FTTR) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology in
hospitality and multitenant environments. Through
its Fision Stay, Home, U and Work divisions, Hotwire
Communications provides customized services
to more than 8,000 hotel rooms, 200 residential
communities, 10,000 students and more than 50
million square feet of commercial office space.
Using its private fiber optic network, Hotwire
Communications delivers turnkey solutions and

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

specializes in designing, building and providing
state-of-the-art technology to hotels.
Fision Stay was created to offer hoteliers a
full-service telecommunications experience. The
ability to provide bundled services offers hoteliers
discounted pricing, a single point of contact and
ensures the highest level of integrated services.

Fision TV

Fision’s private fber optic network provides a
variety of crystal clear free-to-guest and in-room
entertainment options for hotels of all sizes.
Echo TV, the IPTV platform powered by Ericsson
Mediaroom, gives guests advanced features like
Replay TV, Instant Channel Change, real-time fight
status and the ability to order room service.
Cloud TV is an optimal choice for hoteliers that
want fexibility while providing an exceptional inroom guest experience. With Cloud TV, hoteliers can
provide crystal clear IPTV with an interactive user
interface to smart TVs without the need for a set-top
box.
Both Echo and Cloud TV offer a fully
customizable in-room user interface, allowing hotels
to meet brand standards while offering an easy-touse online compendium of services. Guests can use
their in-room TVs to check in and out of the hotel,
view their folios or read messages from the front
desk. All in-room entertainment solutions integrate
into the property management system, offer video
on demand with revenue share and do not require a
server onsite.

Fision Internet and Wi-Fi
Fision Stay can deliver up to 10 Gbps to
hotels, providing guests with the Internet speed
and reliability they expect when traveling. With
bandwidth on-demand options, hotels have the
ability to instantly upgrade dedicated bandwidth
to accommodate for conventions, meetings and
events which provides an additional revenue
stream without affecting the guest network.
Wireless services include robust wireless Internet
to guestrooms and common areas, using wireless
access points, Internet gateway supporting up
to 5,000 devices and a hotel branded Wi-Fi
authentication portal.

Fision Voice
Fision’s managed IP-PBX solution utilizes a rich
feature set, high availability hardware/software, call
accounting with adjustable rate tables and full PMS
integration to deliver a world class IP-PBX platform
that will exceed customer and staff expectations.
The Fision IP-PBX solution is backed by Hotwire’s
world-class hospitality installation, support and
after-sales service.
For more information, visit Hotwire
Communications at HITEC booth No. 1354, call
(800) 40-WIRED, email [email protected]
or visit hotwirecommunications.com.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Infor Hospitality, EzRMS
New York, N.Y. (Global HQ)
infor.com/product_summary/
hospitality/ezrms/
See also page 120
Revenue/Yield Management

Global Specialists in Hospitality Revenue
Management
Infor Hospitality’s EzRMS is an industry-leading,
revenue and yield management SaaS solution.
In addition to automatically calculating demand
forecasts for each future use of hotel rooms, Infor
EzRMS recommends appropriate selling strategies
such as open/close rates, stay controls, open/
close room categories and overbooking levels –
maximizing yield and proft.
Historically, most revenue optimization
algorithms have simply managed room price. But
EzRMS also considers ancillary spending that takes
place in spas and restaurants, on the golf course
and in other extra-revenue areas.

Infor EasyRMS’ Fully Integrated Additional
Modules
Ez-QUOTE™ evaluates the opportunity to accept
or deny day-to-day group requests and proposes
alternative periods of stay and sales conditions for
the quoted group.
Ez-BUDGET™ is a decision support and
simulation module that provides a mathematical
approach to preparing and evaluating the different
scenarios possible with sales budgets of individual
properties.
Ez-REGION™ provides the ability to dynamically
defne specifc regions with multicurrency
conversion options to enable global reporting in a
singular accounting unit, as well as single-entity
forecasting and optimization for multiple properties,
with a unique single-view calendar for focusing on
specifc property hotspots.
Ez-COMPETE™ is a unique competitor analysis
module set to receive market data as often as users
wish, listing Web (including GDS) rates for their own
hotel(s) and those of their chosen competitors.
Ez-CONTRACT™ is designed for evaluating any
kind of contracted business that a user had in
the past, currently had in the hotel or is looking
to take in the future. The module will analyze and
calculate the value of each contract based on not
just the production of the contract, but on additional
occupancy and revenue generated by this.

Clients and References
Infor EasyRMS current clients include: First
Hotels, New Century International, Far East
Hospitality, Accor Worldwide, Toga Hospitality, The
Peninsular Excelsior Hotel Singapore, Trump Ocean

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Club International Panama, Hotel Lutetia Paris,
Montage Beverly Hills and Rydges World Square
Sydney.

Integration
Infor EzRMS™ offers integration to the following
products:
Property management systems including:
Infor HMS v3.6, MICROS-Fidelio: OPERA V2.5, V3,
V4, V5; Fidelio: V5, V6, V7.11, V7.14, V8, Xpress;
SoftBrands: Medallion, Portfolio; MSI: WINPM,
Nitevision; Amadeus: HOTIX, Starlight; HIS: AS400/
Paragon 2, Epitome, LodgingTouch 3.0; PAR
Springer-Miller Systems: V12, V14, V15, V17;
Easysoft: Sirocco; RDP; GEAC; Protel; LANmark;
Citadel; Brilliant; LMS; Tesipro; FOLS; EngiSoft;
ResortSuite; Virtual Matrix; NORTHWIND Maestro;
Hotel Concepts; RoomMaster; Realta; CM Soluções;
Agilysys V1; Cenium 5 & 6; Jazotel; Gubse; HNA;
CSHIS; and Silverbyte.
Central reservations systems including: TRUST;
SynXis; Pegasus NetRez; EngiSoft WebCRS; TARS;
and OPERA ORS.
Conference and banqueting systems including:
Newmarket Delphi.
Channel managers including: EZYield;
TravelClick ChannelDirect; Availpro; RateTiger;
FastBooking; SiteMinder; RateGain: ChannelGain;
Passkey; and ChannelRUSH.
Rate shoppers including: Rubicon/Marketvision;
RateTiger; TravelClick: RateVIEW; Benchmarking
Alliance; D2O: Performance Management
Intelligence (PMI); Cascade RM Services; Eclerx;
and RateGain: PriceGain.
Call (800) 260-2640 to speak with Infor’s
industry specialists or visit www.infor.com/product_
summary/hospitality/ezrms/.

InnLink/
Trust International
Hendersonville, Tenn.

InnLink.com;
TrustInternational.com;
NexusWorldServices.com
CRS, Internet Reservations, GDS,
Online Distribution, Booking Engines, IDS,
Website Design & Hosting
Driving incremental revenue and value
for lodging clients is the passion and focus of
International Hospitality Services’ (IHS) companies.
The industry-leading brands include central
reservation service (CRS) providers InnLink and
Trust International, sales management and RFP
services provider Nexus World Services and the
hotel representation company Worldhotels.

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As sister companies, InnLink and Trust
International provide independent hotels and hotel
groups with revenue solutions tailored to their
unique needs.
InnLink’s state-of-the-art booking technologies
deliver real-time, cloud-based reservation revenue
solutions for independent and boutique hotels.
InnLink’s best-in-class TravLynx technology platform
achieves bottom-line return on investment backed
by one of the industry’s strongest 24/7/365
customer service guarantees.
Trust International understands, supports
and simplifies the complex distribution needs of
hotel chains. With its advanced multilingual CRS
application, yourVoyagerhotel groups increase
net revenue with fully customized solutions for
the distribution process including financial and
operational services. Chain clients specify the
design and functionality for guests and staff to
integrate seamlessly people and technology.
Each company addresses its target market with
complete reservation services, including:
• Internet booking engine (IBE) – Web-based
booking technology on a hotel or chain
proprietary website. Hotel inventory reaches the
corporate and leisure traveler through the most
cost-effective, booking-friendly experience.
• Global distribution systems (GDS) and online
travel agencies (OTA) – Comprehensive
connectivity to all GDS and alternate
distribution system (ADS) channels. Merchant
contract management and ancillary services
through the GDS drive additional revenue
opportunities. Continually expanding the
distribution reach and enhancing the
reservation process ensures hotel rooms are
booked at the optimum rate and at the lowest
cost.
• Global voice services – Advanced Web-based
global call centers support 12 languages and
answer as an extension of the hotel’s staff.
External quality assurance and comprehensive
training sustain a best-in-class performance
rating. The software solution is also available
for a property’s in-house reservation center.
Nexus World Services delivers a comprehensive
suite of simple-to-use products with one goal in
mind – make life easier for hotel sales teams so
sales people can spend more time selling. Total
sales management for hotel companies includes
account management and sales planning,
corporate and consortia RFP processing, group lead
management, program and activity organization,
business qualification and integration of data with
central reservation systems.
Applications are available as stand-alone
modules or as a fully integrated suite of solutions.
For more information, visit www.InnLink.
com, www.TrustInternational.com or www.
NexusWorldServices.com.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

InvoTech Systems, Inc.
Encino, Calif.

invotech.com
See also page 120
Uniform & Linen Management, Inventory Control,
Laundry Management, Security Mgmt. Systems

InvoTech Expands Globally – UHF-RFID Linen,
Laundry and Uniform Systems Implemented
by Resorts World Sentosa Singapore and
Palace Resorts in Mexico
InvoTech Systems provides advanced linen
management, uniform and laundry systems that
integrate the latest RFID technology to increase
proftability for hotel and casino operators. InvoTech
is recognized globally for its systems that save
companies time and money.
Resorts World Sentosa Singapore implemented
InvoTech’s UHF-RFID Uniform System to protect and
manage more than 200,000 valuable uniforms for
its six hotels and multiple dining and entertainment
outlets. Resorts World Sentosa is on Singapore’s
resort island of Sentosa and is home to Universal
Studios theme park. InvoTech provided UHF-RFID
portable hand-held readers to take physical inventory
and perform other functions. To control accountability,
InvoTech also installed UHF-RFID equipment on the
White Conveyor U-Pick-It System to automatically
record which uniforms are on conveyors and which
have been retrieved by employees. The extensive
Resorts World Sentosa uniform operation completed
its system installation and training in less than a
month.
Palace Resorts, with seven fve-star ocean-front
resorts in Mexico, recently installed InvoTech’s MultiProperty, Multi-Lingual, RFID Linen and Laundry
Systems for automated linen and laundry control
and cost reduction. Palace Resorts implemented the
InvoTech Linen System at all resort properties and
installed InvoTech’s Laundry System at the Palace
Resorts laundry distribution center. The InvoTech
Systems provide Palace Resorts with complete control
over linen inventories and establishes more effcient
operations.
InvoTech also implemented its UHF-RFID Laundry
System at the Systematic Laundry in Singapore.
Systematic Laundry provides laundry services
to Resorts World Sentosa and other businesses.
InvoTech’s Laundry System enables highly accurate
and effcient tracking of property uniforms and linens,
enables accurate billing and eliminates losses by
electronically tracking and recording all items.
Domestic InvoTech clients include MGM Resorts
International, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott, Hilton
Hotels, Universal Studios Florida, Wynn Resort Las
Vegas and Macau, Madison Square Garden, MSR-FSR
Laundry, Empire State Building, Loews Hotels and
Mandarin Oriental. InvoTech’s international customers

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

include the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel; MGM
Grand Macau; Four Seasons Macau; Grand Hyatt
Shanghai, China; Burswood Entertainment Complex,
Australia; and Sheraton Seoul, Korea.

InvoTech – Systems for Effcient Operations
to Increase Proftability
Invotech Systems include:
• Uniform system: Manages uniforms, monitors
employee use, delivers a 20 percent savings in
labor costs and a 10 percent reduction in ongoing
purchases.
• Linen system: InvoTech’s UHF-RFID technology
monitors and controls linen movement
throughout a property and to/from its laundry.
It provides 100 percent reduction in non-theftrelated losses, cuts labor costs by 50 percent and
provides control of outside laundry charges.
• Laundry system: On and off-site laundries
use InvoTech to track all items in a facility. It
eliminates shipment discrepancies and billing
errors between laundries and customers.
• Security system: InvoTech’s Security System
manages multiple security department
responsibilities from one application. The
comprehensive design enables clients to select
only the modules needed for operations. Modules
include:
- Keys/inventory tracking
- Patrol manager
- Security logs
- Incident reports
- Lost and found
- Lockers and locks

Commitment to Customer Satisfaction
InvoTech’s leadership is a result of its focus on
customer service. InvoTech provides professional onsite installation and training that includes personal
instruction, classroom seminars and management
training. InvoTech also provides 24-hour customer
support and ongoing software enhancements.
InvoTech was founded in 1992 and serves the
worldwide hospitality industry with installations
throughout the United States and 21 countries.
For more information, call (818) 461-9800, email
[email protected] or visit www.invotech.com.
InvoTech will be in booth No. 240 at HITEC.

Be sure to check out
the reference guide section
in the digital edition
for contact information
on all the vendors
listed in the pipeline.

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95

Kaba

Orlando, Fla.; Montreal, Quebec, Canada
KabaLodging.com
See also page 120
Hotel Locking Systems, Electronic Locks,
RFID Locking Systems

Kaba Announces New Mobile Access NFC
and BLE Solutions at HITEC; White Lodging
Implements Kaba RFID Door Locks at 30
Properties
Kaba Mobile Access Solutions
At HITEC Kaba will demonstrate the advances
of its corporate Kaba Mobile Access Solutions
group. The group is an innovator in NFC, BLE and
other technologies that enable the issuing and
management of mobile credentials. These secure
digital credentials may be issued across Kaba’s
line of RFID access control products for safe and
convenient entry to hotel rooms and other secured
areas. Kaba offers a variety of mobile credential
solutions to ft specifc property needs.

Kaba SecureShift Advanced Remote Security
Kaba SecureShift Advanced provides
comprehensive remote security management with
an easy-to-use touch-screen terminal. The system
lets operators encode, modify and deny RFID
keycards. For greater fexibility, operators access the
SecureShift system via a Wi-Fi connection or a wired
property-based platform. Operators may remotely
change guest/keycard access check-out dates on
locks, read lock entry logs and quickly update guest
RFID keycard and door access to simplify room
changes.

White Lodging Selects Kaba as Best
Product, Service and Price

White Lodging implemented Kaba’s Safok brand
Quantum and RT RFID guestroom door locks at
more than 30 Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and other
properties. “We selected Kaba locks after a thorough
evaluation of the three major lock providers. Kaba
was the best lock system on the basis of product,
service and cost,” said Thomas D. Riegelman, vice
president of engineering and facilities management
for White Lodging. “The current agreement covers 30
existing properties and we expect to add additional
Kaba properties in 2014 and 2015, both existing and
new construction.
“We have an excellent Kaba project team
managing our implementation,” Riegelman said. “We
are replacing our mag stripe locks with the latest
fully interfaced RFID locks. We are also planning to
implement a number of systems integrated with the
property’s guestroom energy management system to
maximize guest service and energy savings.”

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White Lodging has standardized on RFID lock
systems for its retroft projects and for all new
construction. Riegelman said, “We have 10 hotels
opening this year, and all of them will have Kaba
locks. I expect White Lodging’s strong relationship
with Kaba to continue well beyond these current
lock system replacements. Kaba has remained an
excellent choice for White Lodging.”
The Kaba Safok Quantum II brand RFID lock
offers an attractive two-piece modular design that
combines a contemporary appearance with Kaba
reliability. Quantum locks provide online capability
with Kaba’s Messenger™ system that converts
stand-alone, battery-operated door locks into bidirectional communication devices for greater guest
safety and operational convenience. The Kaba
Safok RT brand is a rugged contactless lock that
offers RFID technology to enhance the guestroom
access experience and streamline operations. The
full-body RT lock is a perfect retro-ft option for
replacing existing mechanical or electronic door
locks throughout a facility.

Kaba Confdant RFID Attractive
Retroft Lock

Kaba’s Confdant brand RFID lock offers
a beautiful plug-and-play retroft solution for
properties that want to upgrade existing locks easily
and cost effectively. With the Confdant upgrade,
only the front lock housing has to be replaced.
Kaba’s RFID technology provides enhanced security
and guest convenience, and better staff monitoring
with stronger user accountability.
For more information on Kaba and its products,
please contact Dena Reyes at (800) 999-6213 or
email [email protected]. Kaba will be in booth
No. 513 at HITEC.

Knowcross Solutions
Newport Beach, Calif.
knowcross.com
See also page 120
Rapid Response, Guest Incident Tracking,
Mobile Device Technology, Housekeeping,
Preventive Maintenance & Engineering
Knowcross Solutions provides a mobile-based
multiproperty suite of software applications to
improve guest service and operational effciencies.
The solution is deployed at the world’s leading
hotels in more than 35 countries.
Knowcross Mobile gives hoteliers the freedom
to manage their hotels from anywhere, allowing the
management of guest requests, complaints, service
glitches and operational functions such as minibar
posting and housekeeping as well as enabling
the view of detailed guest profles, arrivals and
departures lists from the PMS.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Scan this page for a video
from The CIO Summit

September 3-5, 2014-Milwaukee Marriott Downtown
Yes, you read that right. The CIO Summit is in Milwaukee! Located on beautiful

Lake Michigan and with atractions and amenities that rival top-tier destinations, Milwaukee is easy to
get to, easy to get around, easy on the budget and has an easy atitude.
For the 13th year in a row, technology leaders from major hotels, casinos, cruise lines, management
and timeshare companies come together at The CIO Summit. From a driving adventure to an authentic
Miller Park tailgate and Brewers baseball game to a program created by CIOs for CIOs--the networking
will be our best yet. For more information, email Event Manager Charlote Somers
[email protected] or visit www.theciosummit.com.

Knowcross’ guest service management module
automates handling of guest requests, complaints
and maintenance jobs. It is highly rated by users
for the range of features it offers and its ease of
use compared to other such systems. The system
supports 180 languages and allows multiple
languages to be used in the same hotel. Its
communication module allows two-way messaging
via email, SMS, DECT and IP phone systems.
Glitch is an invaluable service recovery tool to
manage service breakdowns and guest complaints.
It allows users to track guest complaints and ensure
proper guest issue follow-up and closure. It also
provides management with analysis and reporting to
identify weak areas needing additional training.
The Knowcross housekeeping management app
helps hotels maximize their return on investment
by automating cleaning priorities and management
dynamically and in real time. It also helps hotels
go green by enabling them to set up and manage
environmentally friendly cleaning programs based on
guest preferences.
Checklist lets hoteliers conduct all their
inspections from a smartphone or tablet. MOD
inspections, food and beverage checks, routine
maintenance audits and the like can be set up in a
matter of minutes. When checklists are submitted,
the software automatically mails out the reports to
pre-designated recipients. The system allows users
to set up lists with standard or custom felds and lets
them capture photographs and save them with their
checklists.
Knowcross Solutions interfaces with a variety of
property management systems, including MICROS’
OPERA. The HTNG interface greatly enhances the
hotel’s ability to personalize guest service and
extends the functionality of the PMS and information
to the staff’s pocket. It enables hotels to tailor room
setups on the basis of the known guest preferences
and deliver amenities, welcome drinks and other
services automatically. The system also writes back
guest preferences, glitch and complaint information
into the guest profle in the PMS.
Through its cutting-edge work in mobile
applications, Knowcross is helping the industry to set
new standards for the next generation of hospitality
technology.
For more information call (866) 601-5669, email
[email protected] or visit www.knowcross.com.

Find out how Hospitality Upgrade
can help you reach the major hotels,
motels, brands, cruiselines, casinos
and management companies.
Email [email protected].

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Maxim Revenue
Management Solutions
(MaximRMS)
Chicago, Ill.

maximrms.com
See also page 120
Yield & Revenue Management
Maxim® Revenue Management Solutions
(MaximRMS) provides one of the easiest to use
and most effective suites of revenue maximization
systems available to the worldwide travel and
hospitality industry today.

Exciting Updates – Global Reach
• Coming Soon: Global hotel data provider will
soon be announcing a series of advanced
hotel data products powered by Maxim
Technology and that will allow hotel operators
to understand their competitive position in
real time and take action to improve it in ways
never possible before.
• IDS RezNext, a global leader in ERP and
total technology solutions for the hospitality
and leisure industries, has partnered with
MaximRMS to provide a custom-tailored
version of e.FLEX RMS for three-star, fourstar and fve-star properties throughout India,
Middle East and Southeast Asia.
• Hyatt Hotels continues to replace competitor
RMSs with the advanced MaximRMS systems
throughout Asia, India and LAC.

Advanced Technology Made Simple
The power of MaximRMS e.FLEX enables its
customers to:
– Improve RevPAR from the frst night of use
– Speed response to competitive actions
and changes in consumer behavior
– Increase decision-making effciency
– Improve proftability across all brands
MaximRMS e.FLEX is designed and built
from the ground up for large international hotel
organizations with multiple brands and complex
segmentation, yet can be effectively used by
smaller, limited-service and extended-stay, two or
three-star properties down to 50 rooms.
MaximRMS is powered by advanced patented
mathematical algorithms. These evolved from the
most successful proft maximization technology
used by airlines, car rental, cruise lines, shipping
and the entire travel and transportation industry
for three decades. MaximRMS e.FLEX has the
unique ability to dynamically respond to emerging
travel trends, price-sensitive distribution channels,

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

competitive position and complex customer
segmentation.
MaximRMS clients have documented
increased revenues of 8 percent to 18 percent and
measurable increase in competitive position.

Fast, Effcient, Targeted Results Used
Throughout Customers’ Organizations

MaximRMS’ systems have the fexibility to
satisfy power users who dig deep and analyze
data nuances, users who have only a few minutes
to review performance and address high-priority
actions, and regional revenue managers who
control many properties each day.
Easy-to-use multiproperty dashboards drive
effcient business practices, providing at-a-glance
performance, alert-driven actions, and the ability to
instantly drill down to detailed analyses.
MaximRMS applies advanced predictive
analytics and patented non-linear optimization to
hotels' internal data combined with competitive
performance, rate and demand data. Because
of the extent of data captured and the detailed,
accurate long-term performance forecasts, many
hotels use the systems as the following:
– A key budgeting and planning tool
– Direct input to their fnancial systems
– The source for additional data mining and
analysis.

Custom Deployment, Quick Payback and
High ROI
MaximRMS rolled out a customized version
of the e.FLEX revenue management system to an
entire extended-stay hotel brand, addressing:
• Simplifed, focused features and more than 99day full pattern length of stay controls
• Complex IT infrastructure for data capture and
delivering rate recommendations
• Customization to support unique business
processes of the brand and properties
• Low operating costs with superior results
leading to payback within months and 2X to 10X
ROI.
For more information call (773) 665-1400,
e-mail [email protected] or visit www.
maximrms.com.

Merchant Link
Silver Spring, Md.

merchantlink.com
See also page 120

cloud-based payment gateway and data security
solutions. In 2006, Merchant Link began tokenizing
cardholder data, and a few years ago it introduced
point-to-point encryption. Merchant Link’s solutions
are live and in production at some of the world’s
largest lodging and restaurant brands.

TransactionShield®: Point-to-point
Encryption Solution
Working with industry leaders and dedicated
partners to encrypt sensitive credit card
information, TransactionShield protects data in
fight at the point of interaction and as it travels
through an IT environment. Decryption occurs within
Merchant Link’s hosted payment gateway. This
cloud-based decryption reduces risk and eliminates
all unencrypted data from an environment.

TransactionVault®: Tokenization Solution
TransactionVault manages risk by storing guest
data away from the property, keeping it safe from
hackers. TransactionVault technology works through
the Merchant Link infrastructure, at the point of
sale, so the PMS never sees or stores sensitive
credit card information. Cardholder data is captured
and stored in a secure, hosted “vault.” The data is
replaced with tokens that safely live inside the PMS.

Next-generation Payment Gateway
The Merchant Link Payment Gateway™ is a
trusted, processor-neutral gateway that provides
merchants with a single interface to all major
payment providers. The gateway establishes a stateof-the-art connection betweena business and its
processor, offering streamlined support, a fast and
secure network and value-added services that save
time and money. By moving to Merchant Link’s 100
percent hosted architecture, hoteliers can move
away from a premised-based credit card interface,
improving data security and removing local systems
from PCI scope.

E-commerce Solutions
Merchant Link offers e-commerce solutions
that provide all the security and fexibility needed
to process payments online and in card-not-present
environments. Its hosted payment form option
enables secure routing of sensitive cardholder
data directly from the checkout page to Merchant
Link for authorization and tokenization while
preserving the look and feel of the website. It also
signifcantly lowers risk and eases PCI compliance
efforts by blocking merchant access to cardholder
data.

BizPortal™ Web-based Reporting
Payment Processing

About Merchant Link
For more than 20 years Merchant Link has
removed the risk and hassle of payments, with

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

BizPortal is Merchant Link’s feature-rich
reporting module available to all payment gateway
customers free of charge. Merchant Link offers
complete installation services and best-in-class
support, 365 days a year.

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Added Benefts for Hoteliers

Added benefts include:
• Duplicate Transaction Prevention System: Helps
prevent expensive chargeback fees.
• Offsetting Transaction Prevention System: Reduces
errors and prevents them from showing up on
customer statements.
• Choice of batch settlement or real-time settlement:
Gives the user control over which options work best
for his or her business.
• High-speed transactions (under three seconds):
Speeds up check-in lines, resulting in improved
guest experience.
• Proactive batch monitoring and recovery: Ensures
funds are delivered accurately and consistently.

VAR Partnerships: Integrations Made Easy
Merchant Link continues to expand the number of
payment devices and systems it connects to. Its team is
committed to going above and beyond to make things
easy, with hands-on support during implementation
and ongoing to capitalize on sales opportunities.
For more information call (866) 853-3845 or email
[email protected] to learn more.

MICROS Food and
Beverage Solutions
Columbia, Md.

micros.com
See also page 120
POS, B/O Acctg., Enterprise, Casino, Wireless,
Hardware, Online Ordering, Bus. Intelligence, Labor,
Kiosk, Inventory, Commerce, Guest Engagement
MICROS continues to provide new and innovative
solutions that focus on streamlining business through
its leading mobile technology that empowers the
hospitality industry. In February, MICROS released
Simphony Enterprise Solution’s largest and most
feature-rich version to date, and this summer will
release the newest addition to the MICROS mTablet
family of mobile POS solutions.
MICROS Simphony Enterprise Solution’s new
features help improve the guest experience and allow
restaurateurs to manage their systems more effciently.
Customers can now book table reservations using
their favorite mobile devices with the latest release
of the MICROS myreservations Online Reservations
System with direct integration to the MICROS Table
Management System (TMS). New table management
capabilities allow oversight of reservations made by
phone or online, waitlist management, order and loyalty
tracking and meal pace projection through the MICROS
Kitchen Display System (KDS). For guests this means
better and faster service, and for MICROS clients
it means increased labor effciency, elevated guest
satisfaction and increased return on investment.
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Another addition to MICROS Simphony, condiment
prefxes are helpful preparation instructions which
eliminate confusion upon order entry and meal
preparation. Prefxes like “no,” “add,” “sub,” and
“extra” can now be added to let the kitchen know
how the item has been modifed, lowering food cost
by providing the kitchen with better prep information
and improving overall ordering accuracy. In addition,
the newly added autofre feature allows staff to enter
an order into the system up to two years in advance,
ensuring that future orders are prepared at the
appropriate time. These are just a few of the more than
30 new features and enhancements that the MICROS
Simphony Enterprise POS can bring to operations.
This summer, in collaboration with Microsoft and
Intel, MICROS will release the newest addition to the
MICROS mTablet family of mobile POS solutions. The
E-Series line of tablets blends affordable hardware and
extended battery life with all of the enterprise-grade
capabilities provided by MICROS software. This sleek
yet durable solution will be available in two convenient
sizes: an eight-inch hand-held version designed with onthe-go restaurant staff in mind, and an 11-inch version
that is both fully mobile and fully compatible with the
MICROS mStation base for the added fexibility of a
workstation option with full peripheral connectivity.
When running MICROS Simphony on Windows
8.1 Embedded Industry, the E-Series tablets will
have the option of running the revolutionary MICROS
Engagement Feature, a rich user interface featuring
an ultra-modern look and feel with interactive live tiles.
This feature brings a fuid, beautiful touch experience
to the highly customizable tool while providing
advanced capabilities that will signifcantly raise the
bar on what a modern point-of-sale system should be.
When using the E-Series tablets combined with the
MICROS Engagement Feature, staff members will be
able to perform multiple activities from one device,
including making guest interactions and transactions
extraordinary.
For more information about MICROS’s latest product
releases, please visit www.micros.com or call (866)
287-4736.

Moreton Bay Technology
Pty Ltd
Willoughby, NSW, Australia
mbtcheck.com
See also page 121
Procurement, Inventory and Cost Control, Food Cost
Analysis, Recipe Management, Supplier Management,
Foodservice Management Systems
Since 1990 Moreton Bay Technology (MBT) has
specialized in comprehensive cost control solutions for
the hospitality industry. Its CHECK branded solution
meets the requirements of individual hotels and

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

multinational hotel chains. MBT has clients in
more than 70 countries and works with some of
the world's largest hospitality management groups.
Clients include Hilton, IHG, Harbour Plaza, ShangriLa, Banyan Tree, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons,
SWIRE, SSP and HKJC, Sunway and many more.
MBT is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with
regional offces in Beijing and Manila. A partner
network supports its clients in Europe, Middle East,
Africa and the Americas.
The fundamental features of CHECK are
purchasing, inventory management and food and
beverage cost control. It is a globalized solution
supporting multiple languages, taxes and currency
with 60-plus current localizations. For effcient
supplier collaboration, CHECK offers many
e-business capabilities that include supplier portal,
open/closed tenders, automated supplier catalogue
and price-book upload and electronic order. For hotel
groups, CHECK offers a groupwide multinational
procurement platform, supporting central control of
product, supplier and price, and enabling spend and
performance analysis.
MBT's approach and CHECK'S current and future
development is enveloped in a unique framework
that will help its clients become more competitive.
To manage cost effectively, businesses need a
system that allows them to plan, control and monitor
their performance, and accordingly, fne-tune their
strategy to realize continual process improvement
and cost reduction. CHECK makes this possible
through its unique features that allows clients
to categorize with purpose, budget to monitor
performance, purchase with control, account for
stock and report with clarity.
MBT is now supported by its newest and largest
distributor Infor, which is authorized to distribute
CHECK products worldwide. Headquartered in
New York, Infor is a leading provider of business
application software serving more than 70,000
customers and offering deep industry-specifc
applications and suites engineered for speed,
and with an innovative user experience that is
simple, transparent and elegant. Infor Hospitality is
designed to address the specialized requirements
of hotels, resorts, casinos and government lodging
agencies. With a full suite of fnancial and operations
applications that help organizations manage the
online and guest experience, Infor Hospitality
solutions let employees focus on improving guest
service and enhancing the bottom line.
MBT will release its new version 5 at HITEC using
new technologies developed with MVC (Model, View
and Controller) using MSSQL 2012, Razor View
Engine and Telerik controls, and the new controls
for the menu, grid and page layout are designed to
provide a better user experience.
As well as the new version 5, MBT will release
several new features and modules such as a fullfeatured budget module for inventory and capital
purchasing, cube reporting with analytics and
dashboard reporting and much more.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

To see these features and more please visit MBT
at HITEC booth No. 407 or www.mbtcheck.com.

Newmarket
Portsmouth, N.H.

newmarketinc.com
See also page 121
CRM & Guest Relations/E-marketing, S&C,
Response Mgmt., Mobile Device Tech., Mobile Sol.,
Preventive Maint., Guest Incident Tracking

Newmarket, a Trusted Partner for Hospitality
Technology
Newmarket International, Inc., an Amadeus
company (Newmarket), is dedicated to delivering
industry-leading solutions that keep hospitality
organizations productive, fourishing and successful.
The combination of Newmarket's expertise and
exceptional customer service with Amadeus’ scale
and global reach results in the delivery of integrated
high-value products and services. Both companies
have long-term experience in the hospitality market
and recognize that ultimate success is driven from
customer satisfaction. As a result, the industry will
continue to see a strong commitment from the entire
Newmarket team to providing innovative technology
products and services while moving forward in
exciting directions.

An Industry Standard for Sales, Catering,
Groups and Events
Delphi sales and catering remains an industry
standard for empowering hotels and venues
worldwide to increase revenue and bookings, lower
costs and improve guest satisfaction.
Delphi 2013 and Delphi+ on the Microsoft
platform, feature the Newmarket mobile app, N2GO,
which allows sales professionals to use mobile
devices to access Delphi functionality such as
account and contact lookup, availability views and
activity creation while on the move. The Spring 2014
edition of Delphi+ includes package functionality with
package quoting as well as settlement and check
features.
Delphi.fdc, built on the Force.com platform,
enables global or centralized sellers to distribute
prequalifed RFPs to their entire portfolio of
properties and venues. On property, Delphi.fdc
manages the entire group events process from
sales to event scheduling, ordering of function
items and distributing banquet event orders (BEOs)
and banquet checks. The Spring 2014 edition of
Delphi.fdc provides integration to the Newmarket
MeetingBroker and eProposal solutions, together with
an enhanced pace and performance feature.

Connecting Event Planners and Venues
Meeting the demands of today's event planners,
iPlan, MeetingMatrix and eProposal present meeting
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spaces in engaging and interactive ways by combining
online software and services. Recent enhancements
to iPlan include a new search engine, improved
usability, HTML 5 responsive design, Google Analytics
and Google Maps & Attractions.

Service Optimization Solutions
From helping housekeeping run more effectively
to improving workfows and inventory accountability,
solutions such as HotSOS, REX and PMWorks optimize
hotel services, increase staff productivity and reduce
costs while creating better guest experiences and
loyal customers. The release of HotSOS Mobile gives
managers knowledge about operations in the palm
of their hands, with general availability scheduled for
Summer 2014.

Group Distribution Channel
MeetingBroker enables venues of any size and
complexity to capture and win new business from
multiple channels, including above-property sales,
sister properties and public online lead channels.
This distribution and content solution eliminates
sales bottlenecks, prioritizes responses to preferred
accounts and optimizes customer communications,
resulting in increased bookings and revenue while
delivering exceptional service. The Spring 2014
release includes improved collaboration, proposal
enhancements, admin location controls, setup
value mapping utility, turn down workfow focus and
notifcation enhancements.
What does the future hold? Learn more about
Newmarket and keep current with exciting news at
www.newmarketinc.com.

Passkey International, Inc.
Waltham, Mass.

passkey.com;
lanyon.com
See also page 121
Meeting & Event Planning, Booking Engine,
Internet Reservations, Technology Services
With more than 100,000 events, 10 million
reservations and $5 billion in group revenue
processed each year, GroupMAX has a proven track
record of maximizing group occupancy and generating
signifcant ADR lift for groups while helping hotels offer
exceptional service levels to their meeting planners
and guests.
GroupMAX is considered an industry standard in
group bookings and is now deployed across hundreds
of major hotel brands, independent hotels, resorts,
casinos and destinations.
At the heart of GroupMAX is the ability for hotels
to create a personalized online booking experience
for each group in seconds. This drives 50 percent or
more of their bookings online, while maximizing their
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revenue for each event from the sale of room upgrades,
extended stays and hotel add-ons to group guests.
Meanwhile, meeting planners enjoy the convenience
of live dashboards and email alerts that help them
maximize their room blocks and ensure attendee
satisfaction.
The technology also features one of the industry’s only
PCI-compliant room list tools, helping hotels secure their
guests’ personal and fnancial information, and avoiding
the risks associated with non-PCI compliance.

Hotels Gain a Competitive Edge with
GroupMAX™
The GroupMAX technology provides hotels a powerful
competitive advantage by equipping them with timesaving tools proven to improve service levels and
maximize their revenue and proft potential. A few specifc
tools include:
• Customized event booking websites
• A scientifc method to upselling
• Built-in email marketing
• Live event dashboards
RegLink is an integration tool that lets planners
seamlessly connect their preferred registration systems
to GroupMAX’s booking website, creating a more effcient
registration and reservation process. This helps planners
accelerate booking pace, increase reservations within
contracted blocks and mitigate attrition risk.
For more information on GroupMAX’s powerful
solution, visit www.passkey.com or call (866) 649-1539.

PhoneSuite®
Broomfeld, Colo.

phonesuite.com
See also page 121
Hosted Voice Networks, Guestroom Technology,
Guestroom Telephones, Call Accounting, Telecom,
Voice Mail, Wake-up Services

Hospitality Voice Solutions
PhoneSuite® has leveraged its expertise in
communication technology to provide a full range of highquality, energy-effcient, cost-effective phone systems
exclusively for the hospitality industry for more than 15
years.
Meeting the needs of all brands and hotel types,
PhoneSuite offers solutions from small economy
motels to large, upscale and luxury properties. Its
new Voiceware® platform can be imbedded into a
legacy analog system, can operate as a premisebased service or can be provided as a hosted solution
(SaaS) – whichever approach best meets the property’s
infrastructure, needs, budget and tech philosophy. CapEx
weighted or OpEx weighted – the property chooses.
PhoneSuite is proud to have installed more than
4,200 hotel phone systems in properties ranging from
B&B’s to 600-room franchise hotels throughout the
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

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United States and Canada. Its products, combined
with nationwide dealer support and engineering
expertise, create reliable communication solutions
that meet or exceed all brand requirements.
PhoneSuite is an approved, endorsed or preferred
vendor for most major hotel chains, an allied
member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association
(AH&LA), a founding sponsor of the Asian American
Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and a member of
Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG).
Voiceware by PhoneSuite was recently named
Approved for Global IT by InterContinental Hotels
Group (IHG).
At PhoneSuite, they consider themselves
hoteliers frst, voice technology experts second.

Voiceware®
Voiceware is a SIP-based, full-featured hospitality
IP-PBX – all encompassed in a software service. This
means that no matter what constraints are placed
on the hotel voice solution – analog or SIP, premise
or cloud based, turnkey (proprietary but complete) or
open-standards – Voiceware can drive it.
The Voiceware Browser Console is a game
changer at the front desk and operator stations,
streamlining the ability to answer and transfer calls,
set wakeups and alter the defned set of incoming
call answering positions on the fy. For a fraction
of the cost of the outdated front desk console,
properties can have any number of virtual Voiceware
Browser Consoles running.
The same powerful Voiceware solution with
multilanguage support, advanced wake-up features
and reporting, reliable 911 handling and alarming
and 24/7/365 cloud-based factory monitoring is
running every PhoneSuite IP-based installation,
including:
• All-SIP guestrooms, SIP admin phones and SIP
trunking
• Hosted (SaaS) solution with third-party SIP
standard gateways
• Legacy analog guestroom/common area phones
• Legacy analog or T1/E1/PRI trunks
• Packaged hybrid Voiceware/analog all-in-one
rack mountable PBX

Series 2 V.IP
The Series2 V.IP (Voiceware Integrated Platform)
was designed to bring legacy analog phones and
trunks together with modern, SIP-based voice
communication – at whatever level the hotel is
comfortable with. Take advantage of what VoIP
and SIP have to offer, including inexpensive SIP
phone lines and the OpEx-focused SaaS delivery
and payment method, without making a major shift
in technology nor investment in new property-level
voice system infrastructure.
For more information or a free VoIP/hosted voice
stress test, stop by booth No. 413 at HITEC, email
[email protected], visit www.phonesuite.com or
call (800) 245-9933.
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The Rainmaker Group
Atlanta, Ga.
LetItRain.com
See also page 121
Yield & Revenue Management, Analytics, Business
Intelligence, Casino, Consulting

A Market Leader in Revenue Management
and Proft Optimization Solutions
The Rainmaker Group is a market leader in
proft optimization software and services for the
hospitality industry, including the gaming sector.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Rainmaker is a threetime winner of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing
privately held companies in America and has been
on the distinguished list of the Georgia Fast 40.
Rainmaker leverages cutting-edge research to
bring customers the most sophisticated solutions
to their revenue management challenges. Serving
more than 150 properties worldwide, Rainmaker
software provides clients a strategic advantage
in achieving the highest proftability from their
assets.

A Pioneer Challenging the Status Quo
Rainmaker has earned its leadership position
by challenging conventional thinking and
traditional models of revenue management. In
doing so, it originated and continues to refne
the application of the distinctive concept of total
revenue management and total guest value. Since
its debut 13 years ago, this unique methodology
has helped boost gaming and non-gaming
revenues at numerous established casino-hotel
properties from 5 percent to 15 percent.

GuestREV®: Industry’s Go-to Revenue
Management Application for Accurate
Forecasts and Optimal Results

Rainmaker’s fagship product, GuestREV®,
is a go-to revenue management application for
gaming properties. It recommends pricing for
more than 150,000 rooms at leading casino-hotel
organizations and hospitality companies. Info-Tech
Research Group’s “Vendor Landscape: Revenue
Management Systems” report listed GuestREV as
the 2013 Trend Setter Award recipient, calling it
“the perfect system for cutting-edge casino-hotels
looking to make decisions based on total guest
value.”

GuestREV’s Extended Reach
GuestREV has extended its reach to include
non-gaming resorts and hotels that have also
experienced the benefts of the system’s unique
functionality and demonstrated incremental
revenue capability. It is operational in more than
50 hotel full-service/resort hotel properties.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

GroupREV®: Hospitality’s Hidden Gem for
Empowered Group Sales
GroupREV® is a sophisticated, yet simple-to-use
sales empowerment tool for group forecasting and
pricing. It enables sales managers to respond faster
to customer inquiries and prospect opportunities,
and do so with greater confdence because quoted
prices are based on specifc market and competitive
conditions. Sales managers are able to replace
instinct with sophisticated algorithms and quote
group rates much more quickly. GroupREV can
be confgured to address a hotel chain’s unique
business plans and sales goals for its diverse and
varied individual properties.
This price optimization software uses a scientifc
modeling and elasticity-based approach that goes
well beyond displacement analysis to solve the
longstanding challenges associated with group
pricing.

ReelREV™: Improving Slot Performance for
Casino Operators
ReelREV™, Rainmaker’s newest innovation, is a
hosted solution that improves the slot performance
of today’s dynamic casino environments. It achieves
its mission by monitoring, scrubbing, formatting,
standardizing and normalizing datasets, and then
diagnosing and prescribing opportunities to improve
slot performance to guide operator execution to
yield the whole foor.
This new slot foor solution earned Rainmaker
a spot on the Technology Association of Georgia’s
list of prestigious Top 40 Innovative Technology
Companies in Georgia. It is operational in several
casino environments.
For more information call (678) 578-5700 or
visit www.LetItRain.com.

RedRock Software
Las Vegas, Nev.

redrocksoftware.com
See also page 121
Supply Chain Management, Procurement,
Recipe Management, Food Cost Analysis,
Inventory and Cost Control
RedRock Software was created by hospitality
professionals with more than 200 years of
experience in hospitality materials management. Its
revolutionary source-to-pay product was developed
from the ground up using Microsoft.Net and SQL
server technology. The Sourcing and Materials
Management System (SAMMS) offers all the
necessary procurement and cost control means
specifc to hospitality using Web-based technology
and offering a wide variety of options for large or
small enterprises. The system is designed with APIs
to interface to any accounting system and to the
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

major point-of-sale systems. The following are some
of the key features:
• Hosted or client-hosted environment
• Single or multiple property
• Centralized or de-decentralized for multiproperty
• Customizable home portal page by user
• Dynamic menu security specifc to job roles
• Report output to Word, Excel and Adobe PDF
The PROCUREMENT module supplies the
electronic approval work fow beginning with the
purchase requisition to include purchase orders,
contracts, receiving and single-step invoice
processing and reconciliation. Only authorized users
are able to create and maintain the disciplined item
catalog to include F&B, OS&E, MRO, FF&E, CAPEX,
services and sundry to ensure accurate inventory.
Features of the PROCUREMENT module include:
• Approval work fow with vacation bumping
• Receiving
• Contracts/BPOs
• Electronic bids
• Invoice reconciliation
The CAPITAL PROJECTS module offers
budgeting, commitment and expenditure tracking
and drilldown reporting to the document and line
item detail. Paperless work fow is available for the
redistributions of funds.
Features of the CAPITAL PROJECTS module
include:
• Paperless work fow to transfer funds for
redistribution
• Drill down to capability for documents
The INVENTORY module is a full-function
perpetual inventory system with wireless bar code
functionality. It provides full cost distribution to
the general ledger for inventory departments and
non-inventory cost centers within a single property
or among multiple properties. The module is fully
integrated with the purchasing module, providing
automatic update of inventory for pricing and
quantities upon receiving and/or upon invoicing.
Features of the INVENTORY module include:
• Perpetual inventory
• Automated replenishment
• Requesting product from inventory
• Transfer product from venue to venue
• Physical inventory
• Real-time inventory balance inquiry
The RECIPE and menu module consists of
the analytical tools to provide food and beverage
management with the decision support to improve
proftability. It includes easy-to-use recipe creation
and maintenance for Chefs. Interfaced to point-ofsale systems to provide daily food cost reporting.
Recipe costs are updated daily based upon receipts
of the ingredient items.
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Features of the RECIPE and menu module
include:
• Easy recipe creation by commodity level
• Global ingredient fnd and replace
• Copy feature
• Extensive COGS reporting
• Automated sales price from POS
The RESTAURANT module is a SAMMS
crossbreed to allow functionality from a single
portal. Simple one-step ordering and detailed food
cost analysis for a stand-alone restaurant or chain.
The RESTAURANT module includes:
• Single portal for all ordering and inventory
processes
For more information, please visit www.redrock
software.com or call (702) 204-9087.

RHR Systems, Inc.
Ogden, Utah

rhrsystems.com
Back Offce/Accounting, Procurement
Originally developed by hospitality industry
veterans for the unique demands of hotels and
restaurants, RHR Systems presents RHR2. The
automated, Web-based purchasing solution allows
users to establish and control budgets for single or
multiple properties, departments and categories.
Armed with this information, users have a true
checkbook accounting process. In order to maximize
effciency, users can inventory and track items
on the property using hand-held devices and its
proprietary software. Staff can generate and scan
bar codes on any item, either an internal label or
the vendor’s UPC label. With RHR for Purchasing
it becomes possible to generate a very accurate
inventory in about an hour.
RHR Systems brought together three teams with
unique expertise to make the purchasing solution
a best-of-breed choice for hospitality enterprises.
The company’s internal software development team
and senior executive leadership have many years
of experience in creating solutions for the uniquely
demanding hospitality universe. Properties already
using RHR Systems’ solution in its earlier version
formed a users' group that helped to develop and
test its functionality. RHR Systems brought in a third
team of software developers with expertise in Webbased solutions to help turn complex functions into
easy-to-use features.
RHR for Purchasing is applicable for virtually all
hospitality IT environments including:
• The system runs on Microsoft SQL Server and
ODBC-compliant database platforms. Smaller
properties take advantage of Microsoft’s SQL
Express.
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• Web-enabled software runs on the worldwide
Web externally or on an internal browser,
corporate intranet or local area network (LAN).
This means that properties or entire companies
warehouse their own data and are not required
to use a third party.
• Designed for Microsoft Internet Explorer.
RHR for Purchasing is a complete purchasing and
materials management system that handles every
product or service that a hospitality unit can buy,
from food and FF&E, to offce supplies and sales
services. When users tie hand-held capabilities to
automated purchasing functionality, they get real cost
containment. Purchase order information is sent to
the hand-held device. Users can verify that product
arriving at the receiving dock is charged correctly and
the correct quantity of goods was received.
RHR for Purchasing provides valuable benefts for
the hospitality business manager including:
• Tracks the budget process − users can write
checks within their approved budget levels. As
budgeted items are purchased, RHR matches the
items and amounts consumed against what was
budgeted. Managers can see instantly if they are
staying within budget for everything they use.
• Enables online, paperless requisitioning, routing
and approvals of requisitions and purchase
orders.
• Generates purchase orders via email, electronic
data interchange (EDI), fax or conventional mail.
• Controls payments for food, beverage and other
supplies based on what is actually received, not
what is invoiced by the vendor.
• Converts supply costs accurately to recipe and
menu pricing functions.
Hotel managers using the RHR for Purchasing
solution have much greater freedom in creating their
own reports and tying their purchasing budgets and
inventory system to point of sale, back of house and
vendors’ systems.
For more information on RHR for Purchasing go to
www.rhrsystems.com.

RoamingAround, LLC
Danvers, Mass.

roamingaround.com
See also page 122
Mobile Device Technology, Telecom, Trade Show,
Meeting and Event Planning, Social Media Mktg.,
Surveys and Guest Response, Loyalty

RoamingAround: Mobile Solutions for
Hospitality
RoamingAround provides a suite of technologydriven solutions designed for the hospitality industry,
corporate events, trade shows and promotions. These
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

solutions allow RoamingAround’s clients to become
a thriving part of the growing mobile ecosystem to
open new horizons for their business.
RoamingAround strives to help clients
differentiate themselves while increasing
occupancies for hotels, generating new revenue
channels, strengthening customer loyalty and
positively impacting the consumer experience for
its clients. When people think mobile, they think
RoamingAround.

Mobile Engagement: Creating Personalized
Mobile Experiences
Effective mobile engagement solutions will
transform the way RoamingAround’s clients interact
with their customers, gather and analyze information,
observe trends and predict behavior and promote
their products and services.
Mobile Engagement combines 32 different
technologies in unique ways to create a personalized
consumer experience that generates the reaction
the client wants; whether it’s a new purchase,
redemption of a mobile offer, responding to a market
research question or becoming a brand advocate via
viral marketing.

Mobile Photo Share: Take Events Beyond the
Limits of Time and Location
Mobile Photo Share is a personal way to engage
with attendees at events and leverage mobile
connectivity by instantly delivering branded photos to
their mobile phones. Each photo features a custom,
digitally branded frame designed to promote the
event. Within seconds of a photo being taken, the
image is sent via SMS text message to the photo
subject, who can instantly upload the image to his or
her Facebook and Twitter profle using the embedded
links in the text message, effectively expanding the
reach of the brand using social media. Mobile Photo
Share software provides analytics to help measure
the effectiveness and track the added exposure
of the event for managing marketing and brand
promotion initiatives more effectively.

Mobile Key: The Mobile Device Becomes the
Room Key
Mobile Key, powered by OpenWays, is one of
the world's leading technology solutions allowing
any mobile phones to act as a guestroom key and
allowing hotel guests to use their mobile devices
(any smartphone or any cellphone on any network) to
unlock their door securely. Mobile Key enables hotels
to offer their guests the convenience of bypassing the
front desk, eliminating check-in lines and providing a
no waiting in line guarantee.

RoamBoost: Cellular Signal Enhancement
Solution
Cellular networks are an integral part of modern
communications. However, cellular signals can be
relatively easily blocked, thus making access to
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

cellular voice and data services troublesome or
impossible. RoamBoost is a distributed antenna
system (DAS) solution that uses an exclusive
technology to enhance a weak or nonexistent cellular
coverage inside buildings.
All guests would rather spend their time and
money in a hotel that allows them to stay connected
through voice and data on their cellular devices. The
importance of cellular connectivity is so much that
customers expect to have cellular coverage as much
as they expect a clean room. Weak or nonexistent
cellular coverage will lower customer satisfaction
and result in guests switching to other hotels.
RoamBoost will also help the hotel staff and
management be more productive through reliable
communications.
For more information about RoamingAround call
(978) 777-8787 or visit www.roamingaround.com.

Sabre Hospitality
Solutions
Southlake, Texas
sabrehospitality.com
CRS, Online Distribution, Booking Engine, GDS,
PMS, Internet Marketing, Website Design,
Online Media, RFP Solutions
Sabre Hospitality Solutions provides distribution,
operations and marketing solutions to the hotel
industry. Delivered primarily through a softwareas-a-service (SaaS) model, Hospitality Solutions is
used by more than 18,000 properties around the
world. Its integrated reservations systems, property
management system, distribution and marketing
services help hotels increase revenues, identify
savings and improve customer service.

Distribution Solutions
Sabre Hospitality Solutions' distribution solutions
help hotels around the world compete in the global
marketplace by connecting them with their guests
via all distribution channels. The SynXis Central
Reservation System (CRS) connects more than
13,000 hotels to the global distribution systems
(GDSs) and online travel agents (OTAs), and provides
robust call center software and services.
The Guest Connect Website booking engine gives
individual hotel and hotel group operators complete
control of the booking engine design and booking
process with a proven track record to increase
conversion rates. Guest Connect helps merchandise
a property or brand with features like comparison
shopping screens, interactive availability calendars,
customized confrmation and pre/post-stay emails,
promotional pricing, mobile version of booking engine
and full internationalization. Guest Connect is mobile
– so guests can book on their preferred devices.
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Sabre Hospitality Solutions' integration connects
the CRS to the major property systems, which
facilitates a hotel's channel management and
sophisticated revenue management strategies. The
combination of these distribution services enables
Sabre Hospitality Solutions to sell more hotel room
nights than many other companies in the world.

Marketing Solutions
Sabre Hospitality Solutions' digital marketing
programs achieve signifcant growth in brand
awareness, increased revenues and maximized
returns on investment (ROI). Its full-service offering
includes a diverse range of hospitality digital
marketing solutions, including website design and
development, search engine marketing, social media
marketing, mobile solutions, travel agency media and
online merchandising.

Operations
Sabre Hospitality Solutions provides
comprehensive and innovative systems to help
manage property operations. The Sabre Property
Management System (PMS) is a fully Web-based
system with no expensive hardware or software
to purchase or maintain. It features an intuitive
room board screen which is easy to understand
and navigate, giving a front desk clerk instant
access to the information he needs for any aspect
of a guest's stay. As a centralized system, the
Sabre PMS is designed to consolidate key areas of
corporate, brand and management reporting and
administration, with best practices incorporated into
the software to assist in creating meaningful data
across multiple properties.
The Sabre PMS is a robust, fully functional front
desk management system that addresses entire
guest servicing needs.
For more information, call (682) 606-4000 or go
to www.sabrehospitality.com.

Sceptre Hospitality
Resources
Greenwood Village, Colo.
sceptrehospitality.com
See also page 122
CRS, Booking Engine, Distribution Services,
Internet Reservations, Channel Management,
Technology Services, Yield & Revenue Management
Sceptre Hospitality Resources (SHR) specializes
in conversion-oriented innovation for the hospitality
industry. The team works to continuously improve the
products and services offered in order to enhance
the guest’s and the hotelier’s experience. SHR’s suite
of products includes WindsurferCRS, a state-of-theart central reservations system; MotionNotes, a video
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messaging platform; SpaLinx, a spa management and
appointment booking application; Whiteboard Labs, a
custom Web design/development and innovation lab;
and Revenue Management for Hire, a cost-effective
revenue management solution for properties of all
sizes and brand affliations.
Recently, SHR unveiled TopSail™, an all-new,
responsive Internet booking engine. Features including
a shopping cart-style booking process, persuasive
messaging and the brand new Call-to-Continue™ and
Save for Later features create an exciting booking
experience for the guest and improved conversion for
the hotelier.

Save for Later
If guests are not ready to book, they can save their
cart by simply entering an email address. A link to their
cart will then be sent to them to complete the booking
process at a later time. Hotels can also use this feature
to target these guests in future email campaigns to reengage their attention and increase bookings.

Call to Continue™
If a mobile guest has added items to his cart, but
would prefer not to enter his information online to
complete the booking, he has the option to call to
continue by simply touching a number on the device.
This feature sends the reservation information to the
hotel’s call center with a unique cart ID that allows the
reservation agent to pick up where the guest left off
and complete the booking.
To facilitate promotions and up-selling, the new
booking engine offers a discount code feld on the
shopping cart and checkout screens. These screens
also highlight any discounts the guest has already
received during the booking process.
Add-ons are not new to SHR’s booking engines, but
the new IBE allows items to be added in the cart view
– even if the itinerary is multiroom and multiproperty.
Guests have the option of viewing their itinerary costs
in an easy-to-read and understand summary or detail
format.
The new IBE is fully optimized for single property
independents, multiproperty groups and large hotel
brands. SHR helps multiproperty groups and large hotel
brands cross-sell with features such as a comparison
view, the ability for a guest to book multiple rooms
and multiple stays across many properties in one
transaction, and suggestive selling prompts located in
the cart view.
In addition to product innovation, SHR is actively
strengthening its focus on client satisfaction and
support. The addition of Jason Mier as director of client
experience management will help to promote SHR’s
culture of service, integrity, teamwork and creativity.
Acting as a liaison between the sales and product
teams, client services and customers, Mier is a key
addition to the company as SHR responds to its growth,
rolls out its new Internet booking engine and enhances
support features for WindsurferCRS.
For more information, visit SHR at HITEC booth No.
549 or go to www.sceptrehospitality.com.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Shift4 Corporation
Las Vegas, Nev.
shift4.com
See also page 122
Payment Processing

About Shift4
Shift4 Corporation provides one of the world’s
largest independent payment processing gateways,
DOLLARS ON THE NET®. Boasting 20 years in the
payments industry with absolute bank and processor
neutrality, Shift4 is merchant centric, helping more
than 24,000 clients in numerous industries secure
the best discount rates while providing industryleading security, speed and reliability. The inventor
of tokenization, Shift4 has processed more than
fve billion tokenized transactions since coining
the term in 2005. Shift4’s DOLLARS ON THE NET
provides unparalleled pre and post-settlement
auditing capabilities, fraud protection and drastically
simplifed PCI compliance – all for just pennies per
transaction.
Today, nearly 30 percent of the U.S. hospitality
industry uses DOLLARS ON THE NET. Shift4
understands the payment problems that hoteliers
face and it has tools uniquely designed to help
combat those issues.

Secure Payment Processing
Shift4’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) DOLLARS
ON THE NET is one of the most powerful and
comprehensive enterprisewide payment processing
solutions available for both card-present and cardnot-present transactions. It serves as a real-time,
Web-based payment gateway between a merchant’s
property management system (PMS) or point-of-sale
(POS) system and its bank or processor, ensuring
that transaction data is accurately collected and
securely transmitted so that transactions qualify for
the best possible discount rates.
Shift4’s security technologies provide true
security and simplifed PCI compliance by taking
cardholder data (CHD) out of the merchant’s system.
• Shift4’s TrueTokenization® – The original
tokenization technology that replaces CHD and
addresses issues associated with the long-term
storage of this sensitive data
• VT4™– Turn smartphones, tablets and laptops
into a P2PE-secured, mobile point of sale
with VT4, Shift4’s mobile payment solution,
accessible through its iOS app or a Web browser
• Universal Transaction Gateway® (UTG®) – A
Payment Application Data Security Standard (PADSS) validated application that offers the highest
level of security, reliability and speed when
transmitting sensitive CHD between an integrated
merchant system and DOLLARS ON THE NET
• Point-to-point encryption (P2PE) – Shift4’s
customers who use the UTG can simply order a
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

supported device, plug it in and receive all the
benefts of P2PE
• 4Go® – Allows merchants to eliminate the
security vulnerabilities associated with handling
CHD as it travels over internal networks or is
stored in local log fles
• 4Res® – Sits between the central reservation
system (CRS) and hotel properties. It strips
clear-text CHD from reservations before they
enter the hotel environment
• 4Word® – A secure, controlled method for
sharing payment data with an authorized third
party, even if they are not a Shift4 client

Hospitality-specifc Advantages
Advantages for the hospitality industry include:
• 100 percent bank and processor neutrality
• More than 350 unique PMS/POS integrations
• Ability to audit and correct transactions before
settlement to reduce errant transactions and
their related fees and fnes
• Archive of transactions for up to 24 months of
data
• Direct processing to American Express
eliminates third-party processing fees while
accelerating the availability of funds
• Fraud Sentry® protects against trusted
employee fraud
• Hospitality-specifc security tools including 4Res
and 4Word
• 24/7/365 world-class, Las Vegas-based
customer support at no additional cost
For more information, contact Shift4 today at
(800) 265-5795 or [email protected].

SiteMinder
Dallas, Texas
siteminder.com
Online Distribution, Channel Management, Booking
Engine, Global Distribution System Provider,
Connectivity, Front Desk Management
Founded in 2006, SiteMinder is a leader in the
online hotel distribution industry. SiteMinder offers
award-winning cloud-based distribution products
to help hotels increase online revenue, streamline
business processes and decrease operational
costs.
In the last 8 years, SiteMinder has experienced
exponential global growth with offces in Bangkok,
Cape Town, Dallas, London and Sydney, and
has more than 13,000 customers in more than
110 countries. Driven by a strong no-contract,
commission-free commercial model, the company’s
robust product suite and exceptional client support
have seen the business become one of the most
recognizable in the distribution industry.
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Key Products
The Channel Manager
The Channel Manager’s innovative technology
and functionality leads the way in online room
inventory and rate management. Developed
using a complete two-way, real-time connection,
the SiteMinder Channel Manager allows for easy
integration between online travel agents (OTAs),
wholesalers, GDSs and the hotels’ property
management systems (PMS)/central reservation
systems (CRS).
As soon as a reservation is made, either online or
through a hotel’s front desk, The Channel Manager
instantly reduces inventory across all booking sites,
removing the need for hotel operators to manually
update rates and availability.
Supporting more than 150 booking channels,
The Channel Manager allows hotels of all sizes to
integrate their PMSs and CRSs, for a low fat monthly
fee.
The SiteMinder Channel Manager is now used by
more properties globally than any other provider.

TheBookingButton
TheBookingButton is a world-class booking
engine that let’s hoteliers take commission-free
bookings through their own websites, any time of
the day. Providing some of the most comprehensive
features in the hotel industry, TheBookingButton
ensures properties of all sizes can convert website
traffc into confrmed reservations.

Room Distribution Exchange (RDX) for PMS/
CRS Vendors
By building a single connection to SiteMinder’s
RDX platform, PMS and CRS vendors are able
to gain complete two-way access to thousands
of booking channels, as well as their own fully
branded distribution platforms. This allows vendors
to sell a completely branded and fully supportable
distribution product to their clients, helping plug the
distribution gap within their product suite.

systems (GDS) and update all rates via the SiteMinder
Channel Manager.

pmsXchange
SiteMinder offers a number of plug-and-play
connectivity APIs such as pmsXchange – allowing
PMS and CRS vendors to gain the distribution power
of SiteMinder’s RDX platform.

Little Hotelier
As an all-in-one accommodation management
system, Little Hotelier is specifcally thought about,
designed and built for B&Bs, guesthouses and small
hotels. It’s packed full of clever technology and
combines the smarts of a front desk, booking engine
and channel manager, all without the hefty price tag.
For more information visit www.siteminder.com.

StayNTouch Inc.
Bethesda, Md.

stayntouch.com
See also page 122
Mobile Solutions, Mobile Device Technology, PMS,
Kiosks and Remote Check-in, Wireless Technology,
Housekeeping, Technology Services
StayNTouch brilliantly connects guests to hotels.
StayNTouch delivers a cloud-based PMS mobile
overlay that brings the power of mobility to both hotel
staff and to guests. For hotel staff, via any tablet or
touch device, guest service and housekeeping have
mobile access to the PMS via a touch-optimized
interface. For guests, a branded smartphone or tablet
experience is provided for pre-arrival engagement,
mobile self check-in and out, to view room bill and
receive upgrade promotions. StayNTouch dramatically
streamlines operations, increases margins and
revolutionizes how the hotels connect and engage
their guests and how guests experience their hotels.

RDX for Hotel Chains
Hotel chains with proprietary systems face everincreasing complexity when it comes to connecting
leading global and regional booking sites to their
in-house systems. RDX eliminates this complexity by
providing one simple connection that gives seamless
two-way connectivity and management functionality
that allows the chain to operate the system as its
own. By plugging into the RDX platform hotel chains
can eliminate the high cost and complexity of having
to build their own multichannel online distribution
systems.

GDS by SiteMinder
Seamlessly powering reservations across all
GDSs, including Galileo and Worldspan by Travelport,
Sabre, Abacus and Amadeus, GDS by SiteMinder is
a Web-based connection that lets users manage and
store their inventory across all global distribution
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StayNTouch Solutions
StayNTouch delivers four solutions on one cloudbased platform:
• StayNTouch Rover FrontOffce™: Overlay on top of
PMS bringing the front offce functionality onto a
mobile/tablet in a touch/graphic user experience.
Including remote key encoding and secure credit
card swipe. Enables staff fexibility to service
guests anytime, anywhere. Line-busting. Zero
training.
• StayNTouch - Rover Housekeeping™: Via any
mobile device (iTouch®, tablet, etc.), housekeeping
has touch-optimized user interface for full access
to rooms-to-clean lists, room status, guest
information and ability to update room status after
servicing.
• StayNTouch Zest Web™: Mobile Web experience
enabling branded guest pre-engagement. Guest
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Over the last few months,
projects that had been stagnant are
now progressing.
As hotel development increases, so
do construction costs and
regulations.
Financing your project just got
easier as capital is more
readily available and from a
variety of sources, but lenders
are cautious.
Municipalities are more receptive
to hotel developers as they cry out
for bed taxes.

Staying abreast of the
industry movers and
shakers is as simple
as reading

Hotel-Online.

www.Hotel-Online.com
Hotel-Online reaches more than 25,000 hospitality executive subscribers
daily with over 32,000 unique visitors. Hotel-Online was the industry’s
first news site and is still rated No. 1 for Hospitality News.
Take advantage of the more than 25,000 opt-in subscribers and the daily
email distribution service with lead position press releases.

• $425 top spot release
• $175 non-lead press release
• Customized release packages
are also available

For more information, please contact Michelle Renn at
[email protected] or at (678) 802-5308.

mobile check-in and out, preferences collected,
upsell opportunities, staffess key fulfllment.
• StayNTouch – Zest App™: Guest smartphone
app, white labeled, PMS integrated, enabling
guest remote check-in and out, folio review,
location aware/beacon, social media,
promotions engine, reviews, services ordering.
“We implemented StayNTouch at the Carlyle to
increase our guest service and to enable a more
fexible staff… and StayNTouch delivered,” said
Scott Dawson, area general manager for Joie De
Vivre Hotels. “While we expected revenue gains, we
are surprised by the size of the gains and painless
implementation. In a short time, StayNTouch has
already proven the platform will deliver a huge ROI.”
From more information, please call (301) 4761025, email [email protected] or visit www.
stayntouch.com.

TrackIT, LLC
Ogden, Utah

trackit.cc
See also page 122

TrackIT

Package Tracking Systems, Guestroom Technology,
Inventory and Cost Control

Add Bottom-line Revenue in an Unstable
Economy
TrackIT is a state-of-the-art multi-use tracking
software system designed specifcally for the lodging
industry by Utah-based TrackIT LLC/RHR Systems.
With one Web-based program a property can
control guest and staff packages, lost and found
items, keys and radio security. New for 2014 is
TrackIT’s cloud-based hosting option so users can
be up and running in a matter of days. TrackIT’s
redundant backup means users will never be down
and always up to date.
TrackIT is a leader in the product tracking
process for hotels and resorts across North America.
TrackIT adds immediate value to hotels and their
guests in a variety of measurable ways including:
• Unparalleled guest service − Locating and
delivering important shipments to guests is
easy. Critical information is available instantly to
employees with access to a computer through
the hotel’s network or TrackIT’s Web hosting
application over the Internet without having to
call the shipping and receiving department.
• Reduced labor expense − TrackIT reduces
employee overhead necessary for receiving and
inventory management.
• Increased responsiveness – Meeting,
convention planners and delegates often are
dependent on the timely delivery of shipments.
• Instant revenue stream – TrackIT’s customizable
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charge tables allow for multiple charging options,
fees typically missed or not captured by manual
systems.
With TrackIT’s service-based fee structure option,
properties can install TrackIT for next to nothing. No
capital budget funds are required.
TrackIT uses bar code-scanning PDAs or iPads®
to improve a hotel’s productivity and the quality of
service it delivers to customers. With the ability to
download information directly from FedEx and UPS,
the process of receiving packages is easier and more
accurate.
Hotels can easily record each phase of a
package’s movement from the time it’s inbound
from the vendor to the time it reaches the guest.
For example, when a shipment arrives at the hotel’s
receiving department, employees scan the package
bar code with a PDA. TrackIT’s intuitive system
can fnd a parcel by guest name, company, group
name, date, location, telephone number, vendor
or convention services manager, making it easily
identifable. No other provider offers such detailed
information.

Hoteliers Say It Best
Some comments from TrackIT users include:
• “TrackIT has reduced labor to research a
package. Now we can locate a package
with just a keystroke, giving the customer
immediate information. The quality of service is
phenomenal.” − Janice Ross, vice president of
purchasing, Caesars Palace Hotel, Las Vegas,
Nev.
• “So far the success stories are substantial. The
PDA technology has made acceptance of the
program stronger, allowing easier data entry
while affording employees more mobility.” − Sam
Bumgarner, director of purchasing, La Costa
Resort.
• “The program itself is excellent. It expedites the
process and doubles your manpower, which
is much more effcient. Employees can take it
anywhere into the hotel and synchronize back to
the computer.” − Benjamin Jones, package room
manager, Rosen Hotel, Orlando, Fla.
Formed in 1998 as a software provider for the
hospitality industry, TrackIT is a combination of RHR
Systems’ hospitality management consulting experts
with more than 25 years of industry experience. RHR
provides technical support and ongoing training to its
growing list of TrackIT hotel clients.
For more information on TrackIT go to www.
trackitpackage.com.

Follow Hospitality Upgrade
on Twitter: @HospUpgrade

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

tracNcare

Greenwood Village, Colo.
tracncare.com
Rapid Response, Preventive Maintenance,
Corrective Maintenance, Quality Mgmt.,
Guest Mgmt., Inventory Mgmt., Taskforce Mgmt.

Asset Management and Quality Control
Software
For 15 years with more than 800 systems deployed
and 10,000 users, tracNcare's parent company IQware
has designed and built technology solutions yielding
tremendous ROI for its partners. tracNcare is the
new era of asset management. As brand standards
continue to improve, so do guests’ expectations
for hospitality stays. Properties used to earmark 3
percent of their annual revenues for the purchase
and maintenance of furniture, fxtures and equipment
(FF&E). Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for hoteliers
to spend 5 percent to 7 percent of revenues on
renovation and upkeep. Tracking all asset purchases
and related maintenance functions is becoming
increasingly crucial, providing real-time hard data not
only on the performance of FF&E investments and
maintenance staff but also about optimizing the guest
experience. tracNcare’s Web-hosted SaaS solution
with mobile device capability automates this process
effciently and quickly, providing hoteliers numerous
ROI tools. Property owners and managers can now turn
to proven technology to optimize everything from FF&E
purchases and maintenance to guest satisfaction and
loyalty.
tracNcare’s robust tools substantially improve a
property’s image and extend asset lifespans while
reducing capital expenditures. Shouldn’t hoteliers
be tracking and caring for their properties’ two most
crucial assets: the physical contents and their guests?

Asset Management
Access real-time statistics regarding physical
assets and use this information in negotiating
service contracts, purchasing warranties, budgeting
asset maintenance costs and planning for asset
replacement.

Quality Control
Maintain high standards by using this skillful
tool that offers a multilevel inspection engine for an
entire property. Have complete control and knowledge
on when and where to perform inspections, create
evaluation reports using different criteria (plural) and
assign them to specifc inspection types. Save time
by processing inspections in real time via the mobile
connect module.

Guest Services

Guarantee rapid and effcient responses to
guest incidents, monitor actions from inception and

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receive alerts and notifcations to ensure total guest
satisfaction. Use this data to take corrective actions
and modify internal processes to further reduce guest
issues, improving overall guest loyalty.

Preventive Maintenance
Reduce asset failures by planning ongoing
maintenance. Use the visual planner to detect current
asset failure rates and establish proactive preventive
schedules or automate preventive tasks based on
usage frequency.

Report Dashboard

Keep a fnger on the pulse of operations by using
the myriad tools, graphics, reports and performance
indicators found in the report dashboard.

Audit and Billing
Increase productivity and billing accuracy. Verify
and maintain control over employee’s labor billing,
invoicing of owners or associations and management
of third-party vendor payables.

Mobile Connect
Mobile Connect allows users to stay in touch
wherever they are and ensure incidents are being
handled in a timely manner. Create or manage tasks
via the IVR system or any Web-enabled mobile device.
Receive alerts and notifcations via email or SMS on
the device of choice.

Additional Modules
Other invaluable modules include the project
coordinator which manages projects of any size,
inventory and requisitions which automates
requisition procedures, and lost and found which
tracks and reports on each item.
For more information call (888) 221-2071, email
[email protected] or visit www.tracncare.com.

VingCard Elsafe®
Richardson, Texas

vingcardelsafe.com
See also page 122
Security
A world leader in hotel security technology,
VingCard Elsafe has products installed in more than
42,000 properties worldwide, securing in excess
of 7 million hotel rooms. Its extensive product line
comprises some of the most advanced electronic
locking solutions, in-room safes and energy
management systems on the market today, providing
unprecedented facility system integration and
innovation that is shaping the future of the industry.
Some of VingCard Elsafe’s latest technology solutions
include:
Essence by VingCard takes minimalism to the
extreme, eliminating all lock hardware on the door

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by encasing all electronic components inside the
door itself and making security virtually invisible
to hotel guests. Although undetectable on the
door, Essence by VingCard integrates VingCard
Elsafe’s most advanced contactless locking
solutions into the interior electronics, including
RFID and NFC-compatible locking technologies.
VISIONLINE by VingCard®, a patented
radio frequency (RF) online electronic locking
system for hotels, facilitates reliable two-way
communications from stand-alone electronic
locks to the hotel’s host security system. It allows
total security control from one central location
and eliminates travel to guestrooms to reprogram
individual locks, identify and change low batteries
or cancel and re-encode keycards. The new
VISIONLINE Wired installation option uses a
power-over-Ethernet (PoE) wired connection to
eliminate the need for batteries and associated
maintenance, while providing true real-time
communication with the locking system through
the property’s existing network.
Signature RFID by VingCard®, a contactless
electronic locking solution featuring the latest
security technology including NFC-compatibility,
allows hotel guests to use next-generation NFCcompliant cellphones to open guestroom doors.
The design-centric and friendly radio frequency
identifcation (RFID) contactless lock is convenient
for guests and operates on an open-platform
system compatible with the leading RFID ISO
standards (ISO 14443A/MiFare, ISO 14443B, ISO
15693), as well as Mifare Plus, Desfre, Crypto RF,
Skidata, Skipass, NXP, HID SEOS, NFC and many
others.
Orion by VingCard Elsafe is an intelligent
energy management solution that is helping
hotels and resorts worldwide reduce their
carbon footprints and boost energy savings. This
innovative solution allows for the management
of guestroom temperatures from a remote,
centralized location. Orion provides hoteliers with
the ability to automatically adjust A/C settings
as guests travel in and out of the guestrooms,
reducing energy consumption and saving valuable
environmental resources.
Infnity II by Elsafe offers in-room safes
compatible with RFID/NFC and RF-online
electronic locks. The safes feature exclusive
anti-tamper and anti-cloning technology, which
track and identify any unauthorized use. Infnity II
works in tandem with VingCard’s Signature RFID
contactless locks, opening only with designated
RFID guest keycards, wristbands, key fobs or NFC
cell phones, and offering four unique features: an
interlocking mechanism; an anti-tamper labyrinth;
a solid piece, cold-pressed curved steel door; and
extended solid hinges arc-welded to the door.
Zenith by Elsafe features top-opening
construction and is large enough to store and
charge notebook computers of up to 15 inches
in diameter. The fexible design allows the safe to
114

Hospitality Upgrade

|

Summer 2014

be installed in any area of the guestroom, including
desks, dressers or bedside tables for easy guest
access.
For more information, visit www.vingcardelsafe.
com.

Vizergy®

Jacksonville, Fla.
vizergy.com
See also page 122
Website Design, Mobile Websites, Search Mktg., Hotel
Web Mgmt. Platform, Data & Analytics, Email, Social
Media, Display Advertising, Content Develop.
Vizergy®, founded in 1998, is an award-winning
hotel Internet marketing company specializing in
providing the following innovative digital solutions to
top-tier hotels and resorts and hotel management
companies:
• Internet marketing services
• Design and development solutions
• Reservation services – GDS/IDS, SECURE-RES®
Booking Engine
• Data and analytics
• Client marketing services
Designed and built specifcally around the needs
of hoteliers, its software platform and systems
use a data-driven approach to ensure clients’
marketing programs are optimized to outperform
the competition. From strategy development to
its proprietary content management system, to
specialized reporting and analytics, Vizergy’s digital
toolkit will help clients know more, do more and
achieve more. A combination of best practices in
digital marketing and a passionate client marketing
services team enables Vizergy to propel thousands
of branded and independent hotels and resorts to
success.

Marketing Strategies
Vizergy’s team understands travel shopper
behavior and is experienced in creating custom
online marketing programs that drive bookings and
help properties grow revenue. Powerful marketing
strategies focus on building a client’s consumer-direct
channel and consist of search engine optimization
(SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, display
advertising, meta search, social media marketing,
email marketing and reputation monitoring. The
company’s Google AdWords Certifed Partner status
and in-house Internet marketing analysts ensure
optimal natural search rankings, effective PPC ad
campaigns, establishment of dynamic social sites to
interact with travel shoppers and guests, productive
email/CRM marketing campaigns and tools to monitor
and respond to hotel reviews on sites like TripAdvisor.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Design Solutions
Vizergy’s fully custom websites have won
numerous HSMAI Adrian Awards for innovative
design, consumer engagement and revenue
production. All websites that are compatible with
desktops/laptops, tablets and mobile are hosted
and built on the company’s proprietary content
management system (CMS) within the Hotel Web
Management Platform, where clients can easily
manage and update content, images and more. The
system includes detailed reporting and analytics to
show properties the value and provides real-time
stats, benchmarking, social engagement and more,
all in one interface.

Reservation Services
Improve distribution production with Vizergy’s
user-friendly reservation systems. Vizergy is one of
the few companies offering different reservation tools
from GDS/IDS, to online booking engines, and helps
hoteliers fnd the booking solutions that work best
for their properties. The reservation system allows
properties to control inventory, promotions and
packages in one cloud-based platform. The system
offers translation to multiple languages, custom
integration into websites and PMSs, advanced
merchandising tools, social integration sharing tools
– all of which work toward increased conversions.
Vizergy also offers GDS/IDS and IBE connectivity
to thousands of travel agents and millions of travel
shoppers.
Vizergy’s proven approach, from the initial client
research to ongoing optimization and management,
has been successful for thousands of properties.
Vizergy’s goal with every client is to improve website
performance, maximize visibility, enhance guest
engagement, increase online bookings and revenue,
and ultimately, support each client with the highest
level of personal service.
For additional information, call (800) 201-1949,
email [email protected] or visit vizergy.com.

Vocera
Communications, Inc.
San Jose, Calif.

more. Vocera is widely recognized for developing
smarter ways to communicate that improve
guest, patient and employee satisfaction in more
than 1,000 organizations worldwide. Vocera is
headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offces in
Tennessee, Canada, the United Kingdom and India.
Hotels known for their 24 x 7 commitment to high
service levels use Vocera to take guest satisfaction
and loyalty to a new level, by enabling personnel to
communicate quickly and effciently, creating a more
positive experience for guests. Vocera provides the
ability to call by role, group or staff member without
the need to know a phone number or location,
enabling teams to increase their productivity, work
fow and effectiveness. Designed to empower mobile
workers by instantly connecting them to the people
and the information they need right now, the Vocera
Communication System is a software-based solution
that can run on any smart device or the Vocera
badge, inside and outside the facility.

Software Platform
The Vocera Software Platform contains the
system intelligence, including user profles, groups,
call management and call connections, as well as the
ability to interface to existing telephony, PMS, work
fow tracking and rapid response software systems,
expediting communication of critical data.

B3000 Badge
The Vocera B3000 Communication Badge is
a lightweight, wearable voice-controlled device
that enables instant two-way or one-to-many
conversations using simple commands. The
Vocera Badge is widely used by hotel workers for
the convenience and expedience of responding to
calls without interrupting critical tasks or important
interaction with guests. The Badge weighs less
than 2 oz. (53.9 g) and is worn discretely to prevent
distractions for guests or staff. The Badge features a
rugged design to provide durability, and an antenna
and radio design to provide wireless integrity while
roaming across the hotel’s Wi-Fi network. A high
contrast display on the front of the Badge facilitates
ease of readability and management of messages
received from third-party applications such as rapid
response software.

Vocera Collaboration Suite
vocera.com/industry-solution/
hospitality
See also page 122
Mobile Communications, Wi-Fi, VoIP, VoWi-Fi,
Wireless, Smartphone Application, Wearable
Vocera Communications, Inc. [NYSE:VCRA]
empowers secure, integrated, intelligent
communication by instantly connecting people
in mobile, mission-critical environments such as
healthcare, hospitality, energy, education, retail and
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

This suite is one of the industry's only integrated
voice and secure texting smartphone applications
that allows staff to call by name or role, or broadcast
to a group, and which also integrates with more
than 50 third-party systems. Vocera Collaboration
Suite connects staff with the right person or group,
at the right time, inside or outside the hotel, on the
device of choice. Vocera Collaboration Suite includes
support for shared and personal iOS® and Android™
devices, enabling users of those devices to call by
name, function or group. It features a secure and
auditable delivery and response reporting for alerts
and chats, ensuring accountability among staff
Hospitality Upgrade

| Summer 2014

115

members. The calling, secure text and alerting
decisions are all based on real-time visibility to a
user’s presence and availability on the system,
assuring that the right users receive critical
information at the right time.

mobile device that it predicts they will want based
on their search habits. For instance, Google Action
Card will take a reservation and integrate it into
the guests' digital life to drive brand loyalty and
customer satisfaction.

For more information call (408) 882-5100 or
visit www.vocera.com/industry-solution/hospitality.

Semantic Analysis Engine with Social
Media Feeds

ZDirect, Inc.

To help hoteliers make sense of the massive
amount of guest feedback and data that is
available on the Internet today, ZDirect has
enhanced its Semantic Analysis Engine to enable
marketers to see exactly what customers like or
don't like about the hotel, its services, amenities
and staff on social media channels including
Facebook and Twitter. Integrated into ZDirect's
Guest Dashboard (which brings trending issues in
a hotel to the surface so managers and marketers
can take immediate action), the Semantic Analysis
Engine with social media feeds gives hoteliers
a quick snapshot of online guest reviews and
sentiments, and includes chatter from social
media sites. Armed with this detailed intelligence,
hoteliers can make radical improvements to
service and stop potentially harmful reviews from
damaging their reputation and their revenue.
Additional functionality via ZDirect includes:
• Room upgrade engine
• Booking abandonment engine
• Work fow engine
• Profle deduplication engine
• Social media integration
• PMS integration
• Stay-related emails (confrmation, pre and
post-stay messages)
• Surveys and forms
• Landing pages
• E-marketing
• Loyalty tier promotion
• ROI dashboard
• Birthday emails
• Mobile passport and SMS messages
• QR code coupons
• Integrated event calendars

Hallandale Beach, Fla.
zdirect.com
See also page 122
CRM, Marketing, Surveys and Guest Response,
Bus. Intell., Database Mktg., Data Mining,
Data Warehousing, Hotel Marketing Automation
ZDirect is one of the hospitality industry's email
service providers and one of the pioneers of hotel
marketing automation. More than 2,000 hotels
worldwide are using ZDirect's ZMail® electronic
communication platform. ZDirect provides hoteliers
with some of the most effective and cost-effcient
tools available today to turn frst-time guests and
inquiries into loyal customers, and rewards those
loyal customers with targeted marketing programs
that they not only enjoy, but that they continue to
opt in to receive. ZDirect builds lasting relationships
with real people, using real data to generate lastminute offers to fll available rooms, increase onsite revenues and deliver real results.

Hotel Marketing Automation
ZDirect is radically changing the e-marketing
landscape by leveraging the widely adopted and
highly successful practice of marketing automation
and customizing it for hotels. Dubbed hotel
marketing automation, ZDirect has developed new
tools used in conjunction with ZMail that will help
hoteliers reduce costs and optimize their limited
resources. Automated workfow processes replace
routine tasks performed throughout the day,
freeing up time so the marketing staff can be more
effcient.

For more information visit www.zdirect.com or
call (888) 962-4548.

Google Now Integration
To enhance its popular mobile suite of services
(including Mobile Passport, on-property text and
SMS messaging, Apple Passbook and responsive
email design), ZDirect will unveil its Google Action
Card at HITEC (Hospitality Industry Technology
Exposition & Conference). The new tool will
integrate with Google Now to deliver transactional
emails to guests. Like Apple Passbook, which
links directly from a hotel's PMS to the Apple iOS
6 Passbook digital wallet enabling a guest's hotel
confrmation to become a mobile "pass," Google
Now passively delivers information to a guest's
116

Hospitality Upgrade

|

Summer 2014

- What is the latest update on White Lodging's
$350 million hotel project in Austin, Texas?
- From HSMAI's ROC, what do industry
experts describe as the latest trends in
hospitality revenue management?
To find the answers to these questions,
visit www.hospitalityupgrade.com/HUTube.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

a sampling of recent installations
COMPANY

CUSTOMER

LOCATION

RM/UNITS

Agilysys

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
Black Bear Casino Resort
Comanche Red River Hotel Casino
The Cromwell Las Vegas
Edgewater Hotel & Waterpark
Fountainhead Hotels
Mission Inn Hotel & Spa
Ruth's Hospitality Group
Shooting Star Casino Hotel
Wya Point Resort

Bandon, Ore.
Carlton, Minn.
Devol, Okla.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Duluth, Minn.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Riverside, Calif.
Winter Park, Fla.
Mahnomen, Minn.
Ucluelet, BC, Canada

186
250
87
188
230
705
238
Multiple props
386
77

V1 PMS, InfoGenesis POS
LMS, InfoGenesis POS
InfoGenesis POS
InfoGenesis POS
DataMagine
WMx

Amadeus IT Group S.A.

Q1 Resort and Spa
Hôtel Vic Eiffel
Hôtel Cardinal Rive Gauche
BergHotel
Hotel Abalú

Queensland, Australia
Paris, France
Paris, France
Bergamo, Italy
Madrid, Spain

127
30
36
17
27

Amadeus LinkHotel
Amadeus LinkHotel
Amadeus LinkHotel
Amadeus LinkHotel
Amadeus LinkHotel

Amadeus LinkHotel CRS
Amadeus LinkHotel CRS
Amadeus LinkHotel CRS
Amadeus LinkHotel CRS
Amadeus LinkHotel CRS

Aptech Computer
Systems Inc.

International Hospitality Enterprises
HRI Lodging Incorporated
MHG Hotels, LLC
Benchmark Hospitality International
Aston Hotels & Resorts

San Juan, Puerto Rico
New Orleans, La.
Indianapolis, Ind.
The Woodlands, Texas
Honolulu, Hawaii

7 props
16 props
15 props
36 props
27 props

Proftvue, Execuvue, Targetvue

Windows

Trump International Beach Resort

Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.

Book4Time Inc.

355
327
Maui, Hawaii
759
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 428
Houston, Texas
404

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa Carlsbad, Calif.

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa
Hyatt Regency Trinidad
Four Seasons Hotel Houston
Cenium

MGM Resorts International
Campus Crest Communities

Chengdu, China
Charlotte, N.C.
CATC – CIRI Alaska Tourism Corporation Anchorage, Alaska

50

SOFTWARE

PLATFORM

InfoGenesis POS

Windows

V1 PMS, Eatec, GolfPro, InfoGenesis POS Windows

Windows
iSeries
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Eatec, InfoGenesis POS, DataMagine Windows
V1 PMS
Windows

Proftvue, Webvue, Execuvue, Targetvue ASP

Execuvue
Targetvue
Execuvue, Targetvue

ASP
Windows
Cloud

Book4Time
Book4Time
Book4Time
Book4Time
Book4Time

Cloud-based SaaS
Cloud-based SaaS
Cloud-based SaaS
Cloud-based SaaS
Cloud-based SaaS

Cenium ERP, Financials, PMS, POS, S&C

Microsoft Dynamics ERP

10,000 rms/53 props Cenium ERP, Financial, PMS, Mobility
Microsoft Dynamics, iOS
1,000 rms/3 props Tours & Res, Financials, Purch, Staff Mgmt., CRM, CRS,
PMS, POS, S&C, Marine Mgmt., E-com

Microsoft Dynamics

ChannelRUSH

Keyonna Beach Resort
Tahoe Beach & Ski
Pink Shell Resort

Johnsons's Point, Antigua
South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Fort Myers Beach, Fla.

10 rms/18 cottages Channel Manager
144
Channel Manager
213
Channel Manager

Web based
Web based
Web based

Clairvoyix

Conrad Miami
Jamaica Bay Inn
Embassy Suites San Juan
Luxe City Center
Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch

Miami, Fla.
Marina del Ray, Calif.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Los Angeles, Calif.
St. Louis, Mo.

250
111
299
178
195

CRM
CRM
CRM
Email Marketing
CRM

SaaS/.NET
SaaS/.NET
SaaS/.NET
SaaS/.NET
SaaS/.NET

Clear Sky Software Inc.

Atlanta Airport Marriott
Crystal City Marriott Reagan Airport
Hotel Nikko San Francisco
River Crest Country Club
San Diego Marriott Del Mar

Atlanta, Ga.
Arlington, Va.
San Francisco, Calif.
Fort Worth, Texas
San Diego, Calif.

638
343
554
N/A
284

Clear Sky BEVERAGE
Clear Sky BEVERAGE
Clear Sky FOOD & BEVERAGE
Clear Sky FOOD
Clear Sky FOOD & BEVERAGE

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Data Plus Hospitality
Solutions

Albany Bahamas
Crowne Plaza Newton
Eden Resort
Global Vision
Trump Doonbeg

New Providence, Bahamas
Newton, Mass.
Lancaster, Pa.
Needham, Mass.
Doonbeg, Ireland

135
270
301
8 props
218

DPFinance, DPAnalytics, DPSupply
DPFinance, DPAnalytics
DPFinance, DPAnalytics, DPSupply
DPFinance, DPAnalytics, DPDocs
DPFinance, DPAnalytics

Windows
SaaS
Windows
SaaS
SaaS

Digital Alchemy, LLC

The Jefferson
Ayodya Resort Bali
Hunley Hotel & Golf Course
Gene Juarez Salons

Washington, D.C.
Nusa Dua, Bali
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England
Bellevue, Wash.

99
541
26
10 props

Spa at Waldorf Astoria Naples

Naples, Fla.

N/A

eRelationship, eSurvey, eCampaigns OPERA
eRelationship, eSurvey, Bounceback OPERA
eRelationship, Bounceback
HMS
Spa Communications Suite, eCampaigns,
SMS Texting
SpaBiz
Spa Communications Suite, eCampaigns SpaSoft

N/A=Not Applicable, Mgmt=Management, HSIA=High-speed Internet Access, Props=Properties, Trmt=Treatment, S&C=Sales and Catering,
WI=Wireless Internet, Int. Ent.=Interactive Entertainment, E-com=E-commerce, H&R=Hotels and Resorts

118 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

a sampling of recent installations
COMPANY

CUSTOMER

Eleven Wireless, Inc.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples
Westin Portland Harborview

LOCATION

RM/UNITS

SOFTWARE

PLATFORM

Naples, Fla.
Portland, Maine
Marriott's Shadow Ridge I – The Villages Palm Desert, Calif.
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal
Montreal, QC, Canada
The Line LA
Los Angeles, Calif.

295
289
987
825
389

ElevenGC
ElevenGC
ElevenOS
ElevenGC
ElevenGC

MacOS X, Windows 7
MacOS X, Windows 7
Windows Server
MacOS X, Windows 7
MacOS X, Windows 7

eRevMax

Sweden Hotels
Hospitality Management Holdings
Absolute Hotel Services
Louis Hotels
LaTour Hotels & Resorts

Gothenburg, Sweden
Dubai, UAE
Bangkok, Thailand
Nicosia, Cyprus
San Francisco, Calif.

6 props
8 props
18 props
5 props
6 props

RTSuite
RTSuite
RateTiger Corp
RTSuite
RTSuite

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

FCS Computer Systems

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong
The Shard, Shangri-La Hotel

Hong Kong
Russia

565
202

FCS e-Housekeeping, m-Housekeeping Web based w/Mobile App

Swissôtel The Stamford
Causeway Hotels
Grandis Hotels & Resorts

Singapore
Melbourne, Australia

2,030
325
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia 200

FCS e-Connect, m-Connect,
e-Engineering, UBIS, WinVoice
FCS Unicorn and Phoenix
FCS Unicorn and WinVoice
FCS Unicorn and WinVoice

Flip.to

Adrift Hotel
The Wigwam
Hawks Cay
OPUS Hotel
Caribe Royale

Long Beach, Wash.
Litchfeld Park, Ariz.
Marathon, Fla.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Orlando, Fla.

80
331
400
96
1,338

Flip.to integrated with WebRezPro
Flip.to integrated with Sabre Hospitality (SynXis)
Flip.to integrated with Sabre Hospitality (SynXis)
Flip.to integrated with Sabre Hospitality (SynXis)
Flip.to integrated with TravelClick (iHotelier)

Genares Worldwide
Reservation Services

Hilton Head Island Inn and Suites
Hartford Hotel and Suites
North Balitmore Plaza Hotel
The Marina Inn on San Francisco Bay
Prestige Hotels and Resorts

Hilton Head, S.C.
Hartford, Conn.
Timonium, Md.
San Leandro, Calif.
Kelowna, BC, Canada

127
127
246
131
8 props

GDS, BE, OTA Connectivity, PMS
GDS, BE, OTA Connectivity
GDS, OTA Connectivity, PMS
GDS, OTA Connectivity, PMS
GDS, OTA Connectivity, PMS

Guest-tek™

San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina San Diego, Calif.
Four Seasons Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Westin Wilmington
Wilmington, Del.
Springhill Suites Bloomington
Bloomington, Ind.
Four Seasons Silicon Valley at Palo Alto East Palo Alto, Calif.

1,360
222
180
158
200

Basic GPNS
Basic GPNS, IPTV, Free-to-guest Programming
Basic GPNS, IPTV, Free-to-guest Programming (Smartbox)
Basic GPNS, Free-to-guest Programming (Smartbox)
Basic GPNS, IPTV, Free-to-guest Programming

Guestware®

Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C.

Pier One Sydney Harbor, Autograph Coll. Sydney, Australia

1,175
333
170
262
18

Guestware V4
Guestware V4
Guestware V4
Guestware V4
Guestware V4

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

HandHeld Hospitality™

Elbow Beach Resort
Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort
Wintergreen Resort
The Resort at Glade Springs
Capella Hotel Georgetown

Paget Parish, Bermuda
Solvang, Calif.
Wintergreen, Va.
Daniels, W. Va.
Washington, D.C.

98
72
250
200
49

SmartGuest
SmartGuest
SmartGuest
SmartGuest
SmartGuest

Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Cloud

Hospitality Technical
Services (HTS)

The Broadmoor
Cincinnati Marriott RiverCenter
Atlanta Marriott Buckhead
Courtyard Gettysburg

Colorado Springs, Colo.
Covington, Ky.
Atlanta, Ga.
Gettysburg, Pa.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Wichita Downtown Wichita, Kan.

774
321
349
152
131

HSIA Network Installation and Support
HSIA (Marriott GPNS) Network Installation and Support
HSIA (Marriott GPNS) Network Installation and Support
HSIA (Marriott GPNS) Network Installation and Support
HSIA (Marriott GPNS) Network Installation and Support

Hotwire Communications

Canyon Ranch

Miami, Fla.

148

Aloft Miami Doral

Doral, Fla.

145

Crowne Plaza JFK

Jamaica, N.Y.

335

IPTV Free to guest, Int. Ent. w/ video on demand, HSIA, WI,
Wi-Fi authentication portal w/ Internet gateway
IPTV Free to guest, Int. Ent. w/ video on demand, HSIA,
Wi-Fi authentication portal w/ Internet Gateway
IPTV Free to guest, Int. Ent. w/ video on demand, HSIA, WI,
Wi-Fi authentication portal w/ Internet gateway, PBX

Washington, D.C.

Hotel Chicago Downtown, Autograph Coll. Chicago, Ill.

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul Seoul, South Korea

Renaissance Brussels Hotel

Brussels, Belgium

Web based w/ Mobile App
Web based
Web based
Web based

Web based
Web based
Web based
Web based
Web based

N/A=Not Applicable, Mgmt=Management, HSIA=High-speed Internet Access, Props=Properties, Trmt=Treatment, S&C=Sales and Catering,
WI=Wireless Internet, Int. Ent.=Interactive Entertainment, E-com=E-commerce, H&R=Hotels and Resorts

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 119

a sampling of recent installations
COMPANY

CUSTOMER

LOCATION

RM/UNITS

Indra

NH Hotels
Hard Rock Hotels
Barcelo
John Keels
Catalonia

Global
Mexico, Caribbean
Global
Sri Lanka & Maldives
Europe, Caribbean, Mexico

380 props
5 props
142 props
13 props
55 props

TMS for Hotels, ERP, CRM, Web, Spa, BI SAP NetWeaver

TMS for POS
TMS for Web
TMS for Hotels, BI
TMS for Web

SAP NetWeaver
SDL Tridion
SAP NetWeaver
SDL Tridion

Castries, St. Lucia
Castries, St. Lucia
Castries, St. Lucia
St John's, Antigua
Destination H&R, Eden Roc Miami Beach Miami, Fla.
Destination H&R, The Embassy Row Hotel Washington, D.C.
The Greenbrier
Sulpher Springs, W. Va.
Marina Mandarin Singapore
Singapore
Novotel Beijing Xinqiao
Beijing, China

191
169
331
301
373
627
231
710
575
700

Infor HMS SaaS
Infor HMS
Infor HMS
Infor HMS
Infor HMS
Infor EzRMS
Infor EzRMS
Infor EzRMS
Infor EzRMS
Infor EzRMS

Java
Java
Java
Java
Java
OPERA V5
IQware
OPERA V5
OPERA V5
OPERA V5

InvoTech Systems, Inc.

Resorts World Sentosa
Palace Resorts
Canouan Resort
The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba
Hotel Shilla

6 props
7 props
100
320
554

UHF-RFID Uniform System
Windows/SQL
UHF-RFID Uniform/Linen Systems Windows/SQL
UHF-RFID Uniform/Linen/Laundry Systems Windows/SQL
UHF-RFID Uniform System
Windows/SQL
UHF-RFID Uniform System
Windows/SQL

iTesso

Holiday Inn Express Heidelberg City Centre Heidelberg, Germany

Infor

Woolley's Classic Suites - Denver Airport Denver, Colo.

Sandals – Halycon
Sandals – Regency La Toc
Sandals – Grand St. Lucia
Sandals – Grand Antigua

Sentosa, Singapore
Cancun, Mexico
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Aruba Dutch Caribbean
Seoul, South Korea

SOFTWARE

PLATFORM

Amrâth Hotel Brabant
Best Western Aberavon Beach Hotel
Best Western Casula Motor Inn
Best Western Limpley Stoke Hotel

Breda, Netherlands
Swansea Bay, U.K.
Casula, Australia
Bath, U.K.

152
71
68
31
61

PMPRO
IDPMS
PMPRO
PMPRO
PMPRO

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Kaba

Hilton Austin Hotel
Travelodge Maingate
The Woodlands Resort
Woodloch Resort
Grande Villas Resort

Austin, Texas
Kissimmee, Fla.
The Woodlands, Texas
Hawley, Pa.
Orlando, Fla.

1,023
535
228
202
437

Saflok
ILCO
Saflok
ILCO
Saflok

MT RFID w/ INNCOM
790 RFID Locks
Quantum II RFID Locks
790 RFID Locks
RT RFID

Knowcross Solutions

Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace
Corinthia Hotel Budapest
Holiday Inn Riyadh
Rosewood London

Brussels, Belgium
Budapest, Hungary
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
London, U.K.

354
414
790
306

TRITON HK

SaaS

TRITON, TRITON Mobile, TRITON HK Saas/Windows
TRITON, TRITON Mobile, TRITON HK, Glitch

SaaS

TRITON, Glitch, TRITON Mobile, TRITON
HK, TRITON Checklist, Prev. Maint.

SaaS/Windows/Self hosted

MaximRMS

Aruba Resort Spa & Casino
Hyatt Ziva
Avasa – Green Park Hotels
Chennai – Green Park Hotels
Hyatt Regency Cancun

Aruba
Los Cabos, Mexico
Hyderabad, India
Chennai, India
Cancun, Mexico

357
719
217
171
295

Maxim e.FLEX 3.0 Resort RMS
Maxim e.FLEX 3.0 Full Service RMS
Maxim e.FLEX 3.0 RezNext RMS
Maxim e.FLEX 3.0 RezNext RMS
Maxim e.FLEX 3.0 Full Service RMS

SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS

Merchant Link

Country Inn & Suites
Sandals – Halycon

Knoxville, Tenn.
Castries, St. Lucia

200
250

Cloud/OPERA PMS

Orange Leaf Yogurt

St Louis, Mo.

N/A

Tropical Smoothie
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham

Phoenix, Ariz.
Grand Rapids, Mich.

N/A
200

Payment Gateway w/ TransactionVault
Payment Gateway w/ TransactionVault
& P2PE
Payment Gateway w/ TransactionVault
& P2PE
Payment Gateway w/ TransactionVault
Payment Gateway w/ TransactionVault

Cloud/MICROS Simphony POS
Cloud/MICROS RES POS
Cloud/OPERA PMS

American Airlines Arena
Lago Mar Resort and Spa
Hard Rock Rocksino Northfeld Park
Princess Cruises – Regal Princess
Wyndham Seventh Mountain Resort

Miami, Fla.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Northfeld, Ohio
Valencia, Calif.
Bend, Ore.

264 workstations
21 terminals
37 workstations
88 workstations
5 workstations

MICROS Simphony
MICROS Simphony
MICROS Simphony
MICROS 9700
MICROS Simphony

1.6 MRS
1.6 MRS
1.6 MRS
Version 3.6
1.6 MRS

MICROS Food and
Beverage Solutions

Cloud/Infor HMS

N/A=Not Applicable, Mgmt=Management, HSIA=High-speed Internet Access, Props=Properties, Trmt=Treatment, S&C=Sales and Catering,
WI=Wireless Internet, Int. Ent.=Interactive Entertainment, E-com=E-commerce, H&R=Hotels and Resorts

120 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

a sampling of recent installations
COMPANY

CUSTOMER

LOCATION

RM/UNITS

MICROS Hotel
Solutions

Greystone Hotels Solutions

Various locations

912 rms/8 props

SLS Las Vegas
Best Western Seven Seas

Las Vegas, Nev.
San Diego, Calif.

1,612 rooms
307 rooms

Moreton Bay
Technology Pty Ltd

Echo Entertainment
Smugglers' Notch Resort
Mandarin Oriental Shanghai
Double Tree By Hilton Jaipur
The Brando

Australia
Jeffersonville, Vt.
Shanghai, China
Jaipur, India

2,000 rms/4 props
1 prop
362
168
Tetiaroa Island, French Polynesia 35

Central purchasing and Inventory
Inventory
Purchasing and Inventory
Purchasing and Inventory
Purchasing and Inventory

Check SCM Windows .Net
Check SCM Windows .Net
Check SCM .Net
Check SCM .Net
Check SCM .Net

Multi-Systems, Inc.
(MSI)

Americas Best Value Inn – Oakland
Bismarck Motor Hotel
Sea Foam Motel
ANice Inn Universal Orlando
GrandStay Hotel Chisago Lakes

Oakland, Calif.
Bismarck, N.D.
Nags Head, N.C.
Orlando, Fla.
Chisago City, Minn.

72
76
51
325
51

MSI CloudPM
NiteVision
MSI CloudPM
MSI CloudPM
MSI CloudPM

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Newmarket

Sage Hospitality
Virgin Hotel Chicago
Hilton Garden Inn Midtown
Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort
Softel Marrakech

United States
Chicago, Ill.
New York, N.Y.
Dubai, UAE
Marrakech, Morocco

8 props
250
232
389
553

Delphi.fdc
Delphi 2013 MPE
Delphi.fdc
HotSOS
HotSOS

Salesforce
Microsoft
Salesforce
Microsoft
Microsoft

NORTHWINDMaestro PMS

Sandman Signature London Gatwick
SW Hotel Toronto Airport
Canadian Museum of Human Rights
Top of the World Hotel

London, U.K.
Mississauga, ON, Canada
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Barrow, Alaska

15
224
20 meeting rms
70

Maestro Front Desk, Sales & Catering Windows, MS SQL Server

Dakota Inn

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

354

Retail POS, Analytics
Maestro Front Desk, Analytics

Windows, MS SQL Server
Windows, MS SQL Server

PAR Springer-Miller
Systems

San Luis Creek Lodge
Fantasy Inn
Vista Verde Guest Ranch
Narrow Gauge Inn
Beaufort Inn

San Luis Obispo, Calif.
South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Fish Camp, Calif.
Beaufort, S.C.

25
53
14
26
30

ATRIO® Guest Experience Mgmt.
ATRIO® Guest Experience Mgmt.
ATRIO® Guest Experience Mgmt.
ATRIO® Guest Experience Mgmt.
ATRIO® Guest Experience Mgmt.

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Passkey
International, Inc.

Coast Hotels & Resorts
CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort
The Condado Plaza Hilton
Resorts World Sentosa
The Sea Island

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Cancun, Mexico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Sentosa, Singapore
Sea Island, Ga.

3,530
450
570
1,344
544

GroupMAX
GroupMAX
GroupMAX
GroupMAX
GroupMAX

ASP
ASP
ASP
ASP
ASP

PhoneSuite

Crowne Plaza O'Hare
Montauk Yacht Club
Holiday Inn Express
Villas del Mar
Hilton Garden Inn

Chicago, Ill.
Montauk, N.Y.
London, ON, Canada
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Nashville, Tenn.

511
103
109
160
110

Voiceware/Embedded
Voiceware/Embedded
Voiceware/Premise
Voiceware/SaaS
Voiceware/Embedded

Series2 by PhoneSuite
Series2 by PhoneSuite
SIP Gateways and trunks
SaaS with SIP to Room
Series2 by PhoneSuite

The Rainmaker Group

Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
Gold Strike
Atlantis Bahamas

Biloxi, Miss.
Tunica, Miss.
Paradise Island, Bahamas
Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk Black Hawk, Colo.
The Omni Grove Park Inn
Asheville, N.C.

1,740
1,259
3,400
536
514

GuestREV
GuestREV
GroupREV
GuestREV
GuestREV, GroupREV

SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS

RedRock Software, LLC

City of Dreams Manila
Margaritaville Resort Casino
Potawatomi Bingo Casino
Tuscany Suites & Casino
Affnity Gaming

260
395
1 prop
716
1 prop

SAMMS
SAMMS
SAMMS
SAMMS
SAMMS

ASP .NET
ASP .NET
ASP .NET
ASP .NET
ASP .NET

Manila City, Phillippines
Bossier City, La.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Reno, Nev.

SOFTWARE

PLATFORM

MICROS OPERA PMS Express, OXI, IFCs
including MICROS Payment Gateway
Hosted, Semi-dedicated

MICROS OPERA Full Service

On premise

MICROS OPERA PMS Express, MyLink Hosted

Maestro Front Desk
Windows, MS SQL Server
Maestro Sales & Catering, Analytics Windows, MS SQL Server
Maestro Front Desk, Sales & Catering,

N/A=Not Applicable, Mgmt=Management, HSIA=High-speed Internet Access, Props=Properties, Trmt=Treatment, S&C=Sales and Catering,
WI=Wireless Internet, Int. Ent.=Interactive Entertainment, E-com=E-commerce, H&R=Hotels and Resorts

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 121

a sampling of recent installations
COMPANY

CUSTOMER

LOCATION

RM/UNITS

ResortSuite
Enablez, Inc.

Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa

Austin, Texas

21 trmt rms

The Omni Grove Park Inn

Asheville, N.C.

47 trmt rms

Tetherow Golf Club

Bend, Ore.

50

Cal-a-Vie Health Spa

Vista, Calif.

45 trmt rms

The Breakers

Palm Beach, Fla.

2 courses

SPA, GOLF, CLUB, RETAIL, WEB,
CONNECT, DASHBOARD
Win 2008 R2, Oracle 10g
SPA, GOLF, CLUB, RETAIL, WEB,
CONNECT, DASHBOARD
Win 2008 R2, Oracle 10g
PMS, GOLF, SPA/ACT., CLUB, F&B, S&C, WEB,
MOBILE, CONNECT, DASHBOARD Win 2008 R2, Oracle 10g
PMS, F&B, RETAIL, S&C, CONNECT,
DASHBOARD
Win 2008 R2, Oracle 10g
GOLF
Win 2008 R2, Oracle 10g

RoamingAround, LLC

Hyatt Regency Denver Tech
Denver Marriott Westminster
Brush Creek Ranch
Guest Supply
Embassy Suites Richmond

Denver, Colo.
Westminster, Colo.
Saratoga, Wyo.
Monmouth Junction, N.J.
Richmond, Va.

451
215
39
7 units
224

RoamBoost
RoamBoost
RoamBoost
Event Engagement
RoamBoost

Sceptre Hospitality
Resources

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Red Lion Hotels
Classic Hotels & Resorts
Woodloch Resort
Indian Springs Resort & Spa

London, U.K.
Spokane, Wash.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Hawley, Pa.
Calistoga, Calif.

99 props
60 props
106
169
116

WindsurferCRS
WindsurferCRS
WindsurferCRS
WindsurferCRS
WindsurferCRS

Web based
Web based
Web based
Web based
Web based

Shift4 Corporation

Ballys Atlantic City
Caesars Atlantic City
Empire Landmark Hotel
Hotel Lombardy
The Quarter House

Atlantic City, N.J.
Atlantic City, N.J.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Washington, D.C.
New Orleans, La.

1,760
1,144
357
160
127

DOLLARS ON THE NET®
DOLLARS ON THE NET®
DOLLARS ON THE NET®
DOLLARS ON THE NET®
DOLLARS ON THE NET®

SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS
SaaS

StayNTouch Inc.

Yotel NYC
Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg
Thompson Chicago
Carlyle Suites Hotel
JDV Galleria Park Hotel

New York, N.Y.
Williamsburg, Va.
Chicago, Ill.
Washington, D.C.
San Francisco, Calif.

669
405
247
167
177

Rover & Zest
Rover & Zest
Rover & Zest
Rover & Zest
Rover & Zest

Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Cloud

TrackIT, LLC

Hyatt Regency Maui
Hyatt Regency Waikiki

Maui, Hawaii
Waikiki, Hawaii
FedEx Offce – Marriott Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
Sacramento, Calif.
St. Regis Princeville Resort
Kauai, Hawaii

806
1,230
737
503
251

TrackIT Package
TrackIT Package
TrackIT Package
TrackIT Package
TrackIT Package

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

VingCard Elsafe®

Alion Beach Hotel
Bolton Whites Hotel
Trump National Doral Miami
Fairfeld Inn & Suites by Marriott
Residence Inn Denver Downtown

100
125
693
133
159

Allure by VingCard, VISIONLINE
Classic RFID
Signature RFID, VISIONLINE
Signature RFID, VISION
Classic RFID, VISION

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Vizergy®

Kokua Hospitality LLC
Winegardner & Hammons, Inc.

2,985
5,466
300
293
144

Digital Management System
Digital Management System
Digital Management System
Digital Management System
Digital Management System

SaaS/Cloud
SaaS/Cloud
SaaS/Cloud
SaaS/Cloud
SaaS/Cloud

Vocera Communications, Inc. Park South
The Strand
St. Paul Hotel

New York, N.Y.
New York, N.Y.
St. Paul, Minn.
Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada

131
177
254
161

Vocera Software Platform
Vocera Software Platform
Vocera Software Platform
Vocera Software Platform

ZDirect, Inc.

Sunway Hotels
Hersha Hospitality
Stoney Creek Hospitality
The Peninsula Paris

256 rms/2 props
571 rms/7 props
1,515
200
440

ZMail
ZMail
ZMail
ZMail
ZMail

Ayia Napa, Cyprus
Bolton, U.K.
Miami, Fla.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Denver, Colo.

Chicago, Ill.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Embassy Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor Baltimore, Md.
The Brown Hotel
Louisville, Ky.
Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa Whitefeld, N.H.

Spain
Pennsylvania
Des Moines, Iowa
Paris, France
The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center The Woodlands, Texas

SOFTWARE

PLATFORM

ASP/Cloud based
ASP/Cloud based
ASP/Cloud based
ASP/Cloud based
ASP/Cloud based

N/A=Not Applicable, Mgmt=Management, HSIA=High-speed Internet Access, Props=Properties, Trmt=Treatment, S&C=Sales and Catering,
WI=Wireless Internet, Int. Ent.=Interactive Entertainment, E-com=E-commerce, H&R=Hotels and Resorts

122 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

cent installations

internet of things

by Michael L. Kasavana, Ph.D., CHTP, NCE5

NAMA Professor in Hospitality Business
The School of Hospitality Business
Michigan State University

hospitality industry:

connecting
unconnected
the

the internet of everything

D

uring the recently televised 2014 Master’s Golf Tournament,
AT&T repeatedly ran its “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” advertising
campaign. Underscored by the musical soundtrack of the
Beach Boys’ song of the same name, the campaign promotes
the beneficial outcomes resulting from human and machine
interoperability. The ad ends with this tag line: ”When everyone
and everything work together, business just sings!”
This advertisement provides insight into current and near-future
technology advancement in the hospitality industry, often referred
to as the Internet of everything.

What’s trending? Well, perhaps the
most widely discussed and anticipated
hospitality business technology development is “the Internet of everything.” The
concept of Internet of everything (IoE)
involves connecting seemingly independent, unrelated devices and transactions
into meaningful interactions with the goal
of enhancing the hospitality guest experience. Basically, technology is applied to
initiate a skillful aggregation of machineto-machine (M2M),
person-to-machine
(P2M) and person-toperson (P2P) activities.
By doing this, IoE is
able to generate a powerful warehouse of data
analytics. Through the
connection of devices
and processes, hospitality management can
gain superior business
insight and competitive
advantage.

124 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

IoE Definition
What is meant by the Internet of
everything? Cisco Systems, a leading
technology and environmental sustainability frm, defnes the term as “bringing
together people, process, data, and things
to make networked connections more
relevant.” The company believes that by
joining these four elements there is a
more highly valued process created that
enables the transformation of captured

data into useful information. For the
hospitality industry this means the creation
of new business capabilities, richer guest
experiences and unprecedented industry
opportunity.
But this is not the only view. For
example, Microsoft views IoE this way:
“The Internet of Things is not a futuristic
technology trend: it’s here today, and it
starts with your things – your devices
and sensors, the data they produce, your
cloud services and business intelligence
tools. That’s the Internet of your things.
By implementing a strategy to capitalize
on the Internet of things, you can stop just
running your business and start making it
thrive.”
Microsoft’s integrated approach capitalizes on gathered, stored and processed
data. This unique approach includes PCs,
tablets and network tools, as well as backend systems and services. Microsoft’s data
platform securely engages applications
that drive real-time analysis and actionable opportunities that
might otherwise be out of
reach.
Intel labels its concept the Internet of things
(IoT) and defnes it as
“driving business transformation with integrated,
scalable, device-to-cloud
solutions.” The company
perceives the emergence
of a dramatic movement
from isolated systems to
Internet-enabled devices

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Keep them
coming back
You know what your customers wantÑoutstanding
service, access to self-service capabilities, and the
latest amenities. HP can provide the technology and
innovation to help you to respond more quickly to
fast-changing market conditions. Turn challenges
into opportunities. Build customer loyalty and
revenue. And keep them coming back for more.

hp.com/go/consumer-travel

© Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

internet of things
that can network and communicate with each other in the cloud.
The IoT is expected to produce new services, innovative revenue
sources, improved productivity and effciencies of existing services,
as well as improve real-time decision-making.
The device-to-cloud (D2C) is somewhat unique to Intel in that
it involves connecting legacy systems to secure, intelligent devices to
enable end-to-end analytics to transform business. The enormous
volumes of data generated and shared across intelligent devices
and systems can now
be analyzed, and
the untapped value
extracted to serve the
business. This enables
companies to provide
better products and
services, enabling new
business models and
enriched consumer
experiences.
In terms of the
hospitality environment, IoE means that
regardless of whether
the source is a mobile
app, digital sign,
point-of-sale (POS)
terminal, hand-held
device, robotic unit or
thin-client terminal,
the IoE is capable of
creating an intelligent
system that transforms data into a
platform for the growth, expansion and streamlining of a toolbox
of functionality capable of improving guest, employee and property
interactions.

Guest Cycle
The concept of a hotel guest cycle defnes the interactions
between a guest and the hotel. The cycle is normally perceived as a
progression of transactions from pre-sale, point-of-sale and postsale phases. Pre-sale activities include reservations, prepayments,
forecasting and arrival information. Point-of-sale activities include
check-in, allocation of credit, deferred payment postings and folio
account monitoring. Post-sale activities include checkout, account
reconciliation, folio closure and guest history updating. Traditionally, there have been several aspects of hospitality technology that
indirectly relate to an Internet of everything approach. For example,
consider the following interoperability linkages:
• Property management systems (PMS) – Standard front
offce PMS software modules include: reservations management,
rooms management, guest accounting management and general
management applications. Back offce PMS software modules
include: general ledger accounting, inventory control, human resources and fnancial reporting. The sharing of data between front-

126 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

of-the-house modules linked to back-of-the-house modules presents
a comprehensive data warehouse capable of closely monitoring the
hotel guest cycle.
• PMS interfacing – An installed PMS normally requires
specialty interfacing (M2M) to ensure aggregate handling of
deferred payments, access security, energy conservation and other
internal controls. Such nonguest-operated interface technology as
point-of-sale systems
(POS), call accounting systems (CAS),
electronic locking
systems (ELS) and
energy management
systems (EMS) have
typically been addons to front offce
applications. While
guest-operated applications dealing with
self services (e.g., self
check-in/checkout),
in-room entertainment (e.g., movies
and PPV events),
in-room refreshment
services (e.g., honor
bars and minibars)
and in-room guest
information systems
(e.g., weather and airline fight schedules)
have also become
commonplace. Interconnectivity among interfaced modules is used
in a complementary manner to enhance management of the hotel
guest cycle.

Industry Impact
Will the Internet of everything create major advancements
within the hospitality industry? Can a competitive advantage be
gained through enhanced hotel guest experiences? Implementation
of IoE involves smart technology at each guest touch-point, including public area devices, in-room technologies, mobile applications
and concierge services. When connected, these areas and others
tend to improve operational effciencies, enhance managerial effectiveness, reduce cost of goods sold, increase revenues and improve
sustainability. Industry practitioners tend to measure the impact of
IoE initiatives as customer loyalty achieved through enhanced guest
experiences. For example, consider the possibilities associated with
the following guest touch-points and the potential developments
gained through data sharing across points:
• Self-reservations, online check-in, room upgrade,
guestroom access (guestroom access code to mobile device or via
kiosk), temperature controls, virtual concierge – applied artifcial
intelligence to respond to guest’s requests, dynamic controls (environmental (color, lights, etc.) management), guest security (emer-

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

internet of things
gency alarm and guest notifcation network),
payment options, location-based services
(personalized wayfnding, social media, and
promotions), geo-fencing (targeted messaging based on proximity to attraction or
outlet), personalized networking (integration with guest-owned profle and account),
and data analytics.
The possible benefts derived from IoE
applications in hospitality properties are
based on the degree of integration between
management, guests and social media
networks given the presence of accessible
wireless smart devices (e.g., phones and
tablets).

Technology Overview
Through the application of a variety
of technological applications, hospitality
management is now capable of leveraging
IoE features. To date, many of the hospitality
IoE achievements have been accomplished

through creative use of such technologies as
Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi-enabled RFID and Bluetooth LE.
Together these technologies enable greater
visibility into hotel guest movements and
patterns, as well as other data trends.

Challenges

communication connectivity, 2) presence of
high-level network security and 3) lack of
interoperability standards. As the number of
mobile devices carried by guests increases,
and correspondingly data usage consumption
rates increase, hotels and restaurants will
struggle to provide adequate and reliable
connectivity. In addition, lodging and foodservice facilities may provide inconsistent

Some critics of IoE claim it requires
capturing more proprietary and intimate
details about the interactions between
As the number of mobile devices
the guest and hospitality business. As
carried by guests increases, hotels
management of the guest cycle may
encompass monitoring and tracking and restaurants will struggle to
a hotel guest’s movements within the provide adequate connectivity.
property and/or restaurants seek to
capture proprietary guest data to push
Wi-Fi signal service or involve confusing
proximity incentives, the guest experience
connectivity procedures not designed to supmay or may not be enhanced.
port next-generation mobile technology. As a
Most industry practitioners agree
result, hotels and restaurants may gain shortthere are three major concerns associated
term relief through innovative location-based
with an effective IoE implementation in the
applications for enhanced customer relationhospitality industry: 1) suffciency of reliable ship management, attractive gamifcation

IoE Hospitality Models
Trump SoHo New York Creates Distinctive Guest Experience
An IoE illustrated model, the
Unified Hotel Communications (UHC)
solution from Cisco, is designed
to manage and deliver guest and
hotel staff communications through
a single, common platform. In this
model, guestrooms are equipped with
both analog and VoIP capabilities
for voicemail, group messaging,
wake-up calls, intra-room calling
and E–911. Guestrooms also feature
advanced capabilities for telephonebased guest services, in-room dining,
and related applications. Hotel staff
communication services incorporate
desk phones, portable Wi-Fi phones
and mobile devices (e.g., smartphones
and tablets) including text messaging
and video capabilities. Additional
features include special physical
and virtual guest service-related
applications. Key benefits of the UHC
solution are reduced investment
and operating costs as well as highlevel secure wired and wireless
communications integration for voice,
messaging and video.
Through a model like the UHC,
guests may be able to use a mobile
device to control many guestroom
amenities (e.g., audio, video and
environmental).

128 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

The owners of the Trump SoHo, a fve-star luxury hotel in Manhattan, and
developer, Bayrock Sapir Organization LLC, wanted to make the hotel spectacular, both
visually and in terms of the guest experience. The goal was to create a technologically
sophisticated hotel in New York City, with a stand-out guest experience. To delight
guests high-speed wireless access throughout the property for smartphone-toting
guests, and personalized service from staff members who could collaborate from any
location was to be provided. The developers were especially interested in creating a
distinctive in-room experience, including a single interface to control not only video
on demand, but also room lighting, temperature and even the drapes. Another element
would be a novel phone experience. The role of the phone in hotel rooms has changed,
so rather than viewing the phone as a revenue-generating tool, Trump SoHo wanted
to use it to deliver useful services such weather forecasts, airport and entertainment
information and email.
Finally, the property developers wanted to take advantage of technology behind
the scenes, for operational effciency. “Hotels have traditionally built and managed
separate networks for phones, business applications, guest Internet access, video surveillance, video on demand, building controls, and more,” said Eric Brunnett, director
of information technology for Trump SoHo. “By consolidating all of these services onto
a single IP network we minimize IT staff requirements while also allowing us to give
guests a single interface to control all room amenities.”
The highly personalized guest experience begins when guests drive up to the front
door. Hotel staff wear a wireless IP voice badge that operates over the same system used
for typical voice calls. When the bellhop asks the guest’s name at the door, the check-in
staff hears the guest's answer so that a moment later they can greet the guest by name.
When guests arrive in their room, the color display on the phone shows a personalized
welcome message.
The developers estimate they saved 25 percent to 30 percent on cabling and 10 percent on switch ports by using a single converged network for voice, video on demand,
business applications, and guest Internet access.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Your Global Partner for Unified
Communications in Hospitality
Whether on premises or in the cloud, NEC provides the roadmap and innovative technologies in hospitality to help
you effectively leverage your data and telecommunications.
NEC…over 115 years of experience helping hotels, resorts and casinos around the world improve their business
through communications.

necam.com/hospitality

© 2014 NEC Corporation. All rights reserved.

internet of things
and affnity programming, and/or couponing
and product promotion. This approach is not
considered a long-term solution, however.
The other clear challenge facing IoE for
the hospitality industry is the lack of common industry interoperability standards.
These needed standards may arise from the
developmental work of Hotel Technology Next
Generation (HTNG). The focus of HTNG is the
publication of industry standards for connectivity and security.

Summary

As technology suppliers are quick to
explain, the Internet of everything is not a
futuristic technology; it’s here today! When a
hospitality frm connects its devices, sensors,
application software, cloud services, and business intelligence it can enhance the guest experience and garner a competitive advantage.
MiCHaEL kaSavaNa, PH.D.,
NCE, CHTP, is a NAMA professor in
Hospitality Business for the School of
Hospitality Business at the Michigan
State University. He can be reached at
[email protected].

130 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

HTNG Standards
For the past many years,
HTNG has worked to develop
industry standards and a
voluntary vendor certification
program. Although there may
be myriad reasons vendors
choose to have products HTNG
certified, the most often cited
reasons include:
• Recognition as an
industry-leading product that meets the highest standards of interoperability.
• Prospective customers specify HTNG certification as a requirement or it is a
preference in an RFP.
• Many smaller vendors establish instant credibility with larger vendors with
whom they needed to interface.
• In connectivity negotiations, leverage results when multiple vendors recognize
use of a common standard, as opposed to creating a proprietary interface.
• Ability to display the HTNG Certified logo on products for marketing and
packaging materials advantage.
• Certification is a visible statement of commitment to interoperability and
provides product exposure through HTNG channels.
• HTNG certification differentiates products from non-certified competitors.
• Only HTNG certification proves conformance to industry specifications.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 131

Data Security

By David Durko

THE ROAD TO COMPLIANCE
is a Rocky One for Hotels

The hospitality industry and hotels in particular are leveraging
Worldwide Corporation, we are certain to see greater transparency
the latest in technology to establish a competitive brand advantage.
and accountability for merchants and hotels in particular. If the FTC
Many see this as hotels step up their development of mobile applicaprevails in its case against Wyndham it could have far-reaching implitions to engage consumers and leverage social media and mobile
cations for franchise owners.
booking applications to improve RevPAR. The rush to market with
In its fling the FTC alleges Wyndham’s “failure to maintain
these cutting-edge technologies opens the brand, property and conreasonable security; allowed intruders to obtain unauthorized access
sumer to growing risks associated with a breach of privacy related to to the computer networks of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC, and
lax or non-existent security controls. Luckily, tools are now coming
several hotels franchised and managed by Wyndham.”
to market that make it is easier for consumers to see how well a
This should fuel an interesting debate since the industry is
property protects consumer data.
currently polarized in its opinion of who maintains responsibility
The bigger issue is that until very recently there has not been
for compliance. The brands have done a good job putting distance
an advocate for the consumer or a process that validates the security between them and franchised/managed properties.
posture of the hotel. Missing from the marketplace was an organiSeveral hotel brands have recently provided quotes on this
zation who would report the status of the properties’ data security
subject. Every brand takes the same position, that the brand is not
standards and report that information to the consumer. The responresponsible for the compliance of the individual locations in the
sibility for compliance has been left to the brand, payment acquirers
brand. Many expect the brands to break ranks with this thinking very
and banks to independently determine what an acceptable level of
soon. Wyndham has gone on the record with a similar position stating
risk can be. Far too often hotels take a non-scientifc approach and
that the independent owner/operator is responsible for payment card
simply weigh the risk against the potential revenue to determine
compliance. However, Jay Patel, spokesman for an owner’s association
whether the risk is acceptable. Is it the brands’ right to put the
representing approximately 1,500 franchised hotels, states that the
consumer at risk without even notifying them that
their idea of security is a revenue approach?
We are certain to see greater transparency and accountThose responsible for policing compliance
ability for merchants and hotels in particular.
have been reticent to make the status of smaller
ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/1023142/wyndmerchants’ compliance public or to enforce a
ham-worldwide-corporation
lack of compliance. Banks and acquirers instead
have focused their attention on big box merparent brand and not the individually owned and operated property is
chants. Because of the shadow cast by the Staples, Neiman Marcus
the responsible party.
and Michaels stores’ breaches, little light has been shed on the
PCI compliance at the franchise is a shared exercise. We can
smaller merchants. A breach of card data at a property in Orlando,
look to the Payment Card Industry guidelines and try to decipher
Fla., for example, will unlikely make it to the national press while
tens of millions of cards lost garners front page coverage. The reality where the responsibility falls and how the franchise and franchisor
can better protect the customer.
is a loss of a million cards or one card does the same damage to the
The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum
individual consumer.
launched in 2006, that is responsible for the development, manThere is a change coming and we can see it right around the
agement, education and awareness of the PCI Security Standards,
corner. As a result of action taken by the FTC against Wyndham
132 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Data Security
including the Data Security Standard (PCI
DSS), Payment Application Data Security
Standard (PA-DSS), and PIN Transaction
Security (PTS) requirements.
The Council's fve founding global
payment brands – American Express,
Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard and Visa Inc. – have
agreed to incorporate the PCI DSS as the
technical requirements of each of their
data security compliance programs. Each
founding member also recognizes the
QSAs, PA-QSAs and ASVs certifed by the
PCI Security Standards Council.
Note that enforcement of compliance
with the PCI DSS and determination of any
non-compliance penalties are carried out
by the individual payment brands and not
by the council.
As if the Wyndham story needs any
additional color, recently a shareholder
initiated a derivative lawsuit against certain directors and offcers of the company,
as well as against the company itself as
nominal defendant, related to the three
data breaches the company. The suit
alleges Wyndham “failed to take reasonable steps to maintain their customers’
personal and fnancial information in a
secure manner.” The complaint alleges
further that the individual defendants
“failed to ensure that the Company and
its subsidiaries implemented adequate
information security policies,” and that
the Company’s property management
system server “used an operating system
so out of date” that the company’s vendor
“stopped providing security updates for
the operating system more than three
years prior to the intrusions” and allowed
the company’s software to “be confgured
inappropriately.”
The PCI requirements are applicable
to merchants or service providers that
process, store or transmit cardholder
data. There is no doubt that every hotel
meets this defnition and is required to
assess its computer environment per the
PCI framework.
The signifcance of this suit is that it
attempts to hold directors and offcers liable for the loss of consumer data. So can
we make the assumption that an owner
of a hotel that is still running Windows XP
at the front desk and who suffers a data
breach can be held personally liable for

134 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

the loss? I am not sure if this is a stretch
and the outcome of both cases will be
interesting.
The responsibility for compliance
actually falls on both sides of the fence.
The independent operator is responsible
for the way customer data is handled.
When a customer checks in he automatically assume his data is safe and will not
end up in the wrong hands. There is an
implied agreement that the merchant will
do everything in his power to protect the
data and all of the necessary controls are
in place to ensure the implied agreement
is enforced. The property is responsible
to train every employee in security best
practices including risk mitigation and
what to do in case a consumer’s card
is compromised. The property is also
responsible to ensure all systems that
store, process or transmit credit card data
are patched and protected from vulnerabilities. This includes but is not limited
to all front desk systems, those systems
that connect to the property management
system, restaurant point-of-sale systems
and any other systems that sit on the same
network segment. Remember systems are
only as safe as the weakest link.
The property also has an obligation to ensure the property management
system and point-of-sale systems are compliant according to the PA-DSS. Additionally, it is responsible to know whether its
PMS vendor has had a qualifed payment
assessor validate the software as being
compliant. It doesn’t end here. The PMS
and POS system must also be installed
and maintained in a compliant manner.
Research has shown that less than 20
percent of property management systems
have been installed according to the
security guidelines. Research also suggests
that a very small number are currently
operating according to the manufacturers’ guidelines for PCI compliance, and indicates that many of the PMS/POS systems
are not being patched in accordance with
security best practices and are vulnerable
to attack.
More often then not the brand is
instrumental in procuring and provisioning the PMS on the property’s behalf.
Therefore, compliance with all security requirements is shared between the entities.
Any third party such as the par-

ent brand or hosting facility must have
submitted its systems and facilities to an
assessment and can attest to its own compliance. It is not enough to say the systems
are secure and yet leverage the services
of a third party that may not be. For the
most part, third parties that host central
reservation systems, whether the brand
or a third party like Sabre Hospitality, are
more than likely compliant. However,
the important part is that the property is
entitled to ask for and receive the executive summary.
Now here is where compliance
becomes a little murky, bluring the lines
between the property and the brand. The
depth of the effort is dependent on the size
of the property. The front desk systems
are the primary focus of compliance.
These are the systems that interact with all
of your customer’s data.
The question security professionals
always ask is “Does the front desk have
connectivity to the Internet?” And when
the hotel owner says, “yes,” you can hear
the sighs of disappointment and the fear
of risk wash over them. Why in this day
and age and are systems that process
cardholder data and customer records
connected to the Internet? Have we not
learned enough lessons?
Remove Internet access from the
front desk segment. That doesn’t mean
block access; it means remove Internet
access from the whole network segment.
The list of recommendations and requirements goes on and on. Hotel owners
need the assistance of the brands to
protect themselves, the brands and their
customers. Compliance needs to be a joint
effort and neither party will beneft from a
hands-off approach.
There is a tremendous amount of
good press that can be garnered from
doing the right thing for the customer. As
soon as a brand embraces it and begins
marketing InfoSec safety as a feature it will
be a game changer.
DaviD Durko is the CEO of
Security Validaton LLC, a security
advisory company focused on the
hospitality industry. He is also the
CEO and founder of PrivacyAtlas,
a consumer friendly registry of PCI
Compliant Merchants.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Data Security Insurance

By Mary Siero

Cyberliability
Insurance

2

013 was a record year for data breaches,
including four of the top 10 data
breaches of all time. No industry is immune.
In its 2014 Data Breach Investigation Report
(using 2013 data), Verizon reported that two
of the top security threats are technologies
commonly used in the hospitality industry:
Website attacks accounted for 35 percent
of all breaches and point-of-sale (POS) system attacks accounted for 14 percent of all
breaches.
Protecting guest data is harder than ever
as there is more data to protect. The demand
for tablet and mobile technologies extends
the perimeter and complexity of the network
that needs to be supported, and attackers
are busier and more sophisticated than ever
fnding new ways to obtain data. Regardless
of how the data is lost, the damage to an organization’s reputation resulting from the exposure of sensitive data must be addressed.
Concern regarding the potential liabilities that may result from a data breach is driving many organizations to evaluate the need
for cyberliability insurance, an emerging
market in the feld of enterprise risk management that grows with each high-profle data
breach.
Standard liability insurance policies
have not traditionally covered cyberevents,
but some court decisions have held that
data corruption or theft constitutes physical
damage to software or data. This is not the
norm and should not be relied upon. Perhaps in response to these court cases some

136 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

underwriters are now including a cyberendorsement in business owner policies
(BOP) that can afford some coverage for a
cyber-related event.
The Towers Watson “2013 Risk and
Finance Manager Survey” reports an 11
percent increase in organizations that have
purchased network security/privacy liability-type policies. The report indicates that
44 percent of organizations in the fnancial
services industry have purchased policies of
this kind and only 33 percent of organizations in nonfnancial services industry have
purchased these policies. The most common
reason cited in the Towers Watson survey
for not purchasing a cyber-risk policy is that
the organization believes that its internal IT
department and controls are providing adequate protection.
Decisions about cyberliability insurance should be considered in the context of
enterprise risk management. A choice not to
fund this type of insurance is an acceptance
of the risk levels identifed as the result of
an enterprise risk assessment or a choice
to fund mitigation strategies that will either
prevent a breach or minimize the impact of

The most common reason cited
for not purchasing a cyber-risk
policy is that the organization
believes that its internal IT
department and controls are
providing adequate protection.

one. In order to make this determination, it
is helpful to understand the risk from a cost
perspective.
For the past three years NetDiligence®,
a cyber-risk management company, has consolidated and analyzed claims from multiple
insurers in an attempt to understand true
costs of cyber breaches and predict future
trends. Its objective is to help risk management professionals and insurance underwriters understand the true impact of data
insecurity. To date, its sample size is limited,
a refection of a growing market where not
enough policies are in place when breaches
have occurred, but the data that is emerging
from its work provides good information for
those considering this type of insurance coverage.
In its most recent (2013) study, NetDiligence reported the most likely breach
incidents included loss or theft of either
personally identifable information (PII) or
protected health information (PHI) resulting
from either a lost or stolen laptop or from
hackers. This seems to confict with news
reports and other studies citing credit card
data as a major target for hackers, however,
it can be reconciled by understanding that
the NetDiligence report is only able to analyze claims paid out on a limited number of
breaches for organizations with cyber-liability
policies in place. The study included a total
of four claims from the hospitality industry
where reported costs ranged from $55,000
to $235,000.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Data Security/Password Management

By Ryan Ward

Tips for Password Security

Based on hospitality breach statistics, it may be time
to evaluate your maturity against some of the top practices
defined below to ensure you improve security and lower
operational costs.

A

Tip No.1:
Multiple Passwords Can Be Inhumane
The problem with passwords in a large enterprise is
that people generally require so many different accounts
and corresponding passwords to access the expansive list of
both cloud and on-premise systems and applications, that
sometimes it feels humanly impossible to remember them all.
And just about the time you feel you have them all memorized, they then need to be changed. So what is the natural
reaction of a worker who needs to efficiently accomplish all
their tasks across a number of different systems? They start
to develop a host of insecure behaviors around password
management including: writing passwords down, using
passwords that are simple and easily compromised, contacting the help desk constantly when they forget their password
(contributing to 30 percent of all help desk calls), or reusing
old passwords as often as possible.
These behaviors creep into the workplace because
workers want to avoid downtime and the hassles that go
along with it. The solution to the entire password management problem incorporates three critical components: an easy selfservice password reset capability to ensure people can reset their
own passwords, a synchronization solution that changes passwords
across all of a user's systems and a single sign-on solution to limit
the number of sign-ons required.

That
Actually Works
E
very year the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report
researches data breaches that occurred throughout the year
along with trends and reasons behind those breaches. We
know that breaches are on the rise. The Target breach got everyone’s attention and it was only one of a long string of incidents
reported throughout a variety of industries.
According to the report, the hospitality industry had the highest
number of breaches among all the industry segments measured in
both 2011 and 2012. That’s ahead of financial services, healthcare
and retail, industries which obviously could provide higher financial
rewards for attackers than hospitality. Despite all the money being
spent on security measures from endpoints to data leak prevention
to database security, the single largest vulnerability continues to
be passwords. To be specific, 76 percent of all industry breaches
over the past few years were based on weak or stolen password
credentials.
Numerous implementations of password management solutions showed a major success in a very short period of time. And,
the success of these implementations can be measured financially
through improved operations and through improved security. An
organizational password management implementation involves a
number of key elements consisting of a blend of technology and
internal business processes, such as composing hard-to-guess
passwords, changing and reusing passwords, intruder detection and
lockout, synchronizing passwords, and the art and science of keeping passwords secret, among other things.

140 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Tip No.2:
Compose Passwords That Are
Difficult to Crack
All it takes to understand the glaring issue of password strength
is to see the 25 worst
passwords and their current ranking based on
use (thanks to Splashdata who measures them).
The top 10 are listed in
the sidebar.
At least "password"
is no longer No.1. The
solution to this overly
simple problem is to
prevent your users from
being able to use simple,

Scan this page
using Layar to see
the Top 25 list

The Worst
Passwords of 2013

The full list of top 25 worst passwords of 2013 can be found at
hospitalityupgrade.com/Top25Worst-Passwords-of-2013

1. 123456 (taking the top
spot from password)
2. password (down 1)
3. 12345678 (unchanged)
4. qwerty (up 1)
5. abc123 (down 1)
6. 123456789 (new)
7. 111111 (up 2)
8. 1234567 (up 5)
9. iloveyou (up 2)
10. adobe123 (new)

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Password Management
easy-to-guess passwords. Controls around
password strength have been around for a
long time, and most software and operating systems provide a way to prevent weak
passwords from being used if confgured
correctly. Unfortunately, some organizational legacy system baggage prevents setting
stringent controls holistically at the target
system, so software solutions have been created to help enforce password policies and
prevent poor password decisions at the time
the password is set and then synchronized
across systems.

Tip No.3:
One-to-many Corporate Password
Policy
There is no reason to have numerous
password policies across your system environment. Identify the strength, expiration
and aging requirements of your organization,
and implement that same policy on all of
your systems. This does not take a massive amount of effort to accomplish, and it
ultimately improves security while reducing
support hassles. If your users know that they
always need to choose a password that has
at least one upper case character, one lower
case character and a number, that they can
not reuse that password for fve password
changes and that they need to change the
password every 60 days on every system
within the company, they will not need to
remember so many different password types
or go through the hassle of being rejected
when entering a weak password on a strong
policy system.
A solid password management solution
can unify your password policies by ensuring users select a password with all of the
strength requirements across a variety of
system policies. While the active directory
domain may require three of four character
types (upper/lower/numeric/special character), your SAP system may only be set to take
upper, lower and numeric values. It is best to
identify a single corporate password policy
and implement that same policy across all
of your systems while using a password
management tool to help block easily guessable passwords regardless of the strength
requirement.

Tip No.4:
Change Every Password but the
Kitchen Sync
Password synchronization can solve
many issues around password management.
Syncing passwords ensures users only need
to remember one core password when logging into corporate systems, which ultimately
prevents writing down passwords. It also
helps solve the password expiration problem
since the passwords will all be changed at
the same time.
The latest solutions can map usernames
across systems and still sync passwords
successfully. For instance, my AD account
may be RYANW, but my AIX Unix password is
WARDR. A password management solution
keeps track of those mappings and automatically knows to change my password for both
AD\RYANW and AIX\WARDR. Synchronization can now also work with cloud-based
applications such as Salesforce.com, Google
or Offce365, so security is strengthened by
regularly changing cloud-based applications
that in the past were typically left unchanged
or had longer expiration windows.

Tip No.5:
Embrace Self-service
As stated earlier, the volume of service
desk calls relating to password issues is
massive, and service desks obviously have
better things to do than handle these types
of calls. The return on investment (ROI) of
self-service password management solutions
is lightning fast and easy to calculate. If you
know the cost per ticket of a password call,
simply multiply that by the number of calls
and the percentage that would be automated
via a self service (such as 90 percent).
ROI of self-service password management
$10 per ticket X 10,000 tickets
X 90% self-service = $90,000 saved

If you steer end users to handle their
own password issues, you will have a clear
justifcation to purchase a solution, and the
ROI typically occurs within six months.

Tip No.6:
Using Single Sign-on
Single Sign-on (SSO) as a form of
password management simply because it
eliminates the number of times a user needs
to use a password. After logging in with a

142 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

core directory username and password,
a worker leveraging single sign-on in the
enterprise is then trusted to access a variety
of other applications they use since they have
already been successfully authenticated.
The beauty of an enterprise-class SSO
solution is that you can combine it with
password management and identity management capabilities to create a unifed security
approach for authentications across critical
applications. The password management
solution should be able to sync passwords
to the cloud apps transparently, improving
security. An identity management solution
could automatically provision and deprovision access to SSO apps which also improves
security. Finally, having visibility to SSO application usage provides a great way to monitor
license usage and costs.

Tip No.7:
Auditing, Intrusion Detection and
Security Features
Once a single enterprise password
management solution is implemented, it
is then possible to have a holistic view of
all password management activities. This
includes all user activities as well as administrative actions against the system. Security
enhancements around intrusion detection
are also improved with this type of solution,
and your end users and administrators can
actually be notifed if a hacker is attempting
to authenticate against the system inappropriately. Notifying the target user when
password-related changes occur is the best
security mechanism as they would be best
suited to detect if they were actually the
cause of the password-related issue or not.
Accompany this type of rollout with a security awareness campaign to promote password
practices and security-related notifcations
that will accompany the new solution.
These simple additions will go a long
way in securing your organization. By keeping your passwords secure and your users
engaged, the chance of a security breach is
signifcantly reduced.
Ryan Ward is CIO at Avater
Corp., a world leader in risk-driven
identty management sofware. He is
a Certfed Informaton Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certfed Informaton
Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Asset Management

By Mark Munger

Painhe
in t et
Ass
with
s
t
e
s
g as dsheets
n
i
n
i
ta
rea
Main re not sp
a
softw
While chatting with industry executives about the latest technology trends,
there is one topic that ends up on the low
end of the list – asset management. What
many don’t realize is that it is necessary
and can infuence both the guest experience and the fnancial bottom line of the
company. But asset management by its
nature is one of numbers and tracking
which rates rather low on the excitement
scale. However, maintaining and replacing
assets can account for an expense between
3 percent and 6 percent of revenues so
it is an area that we should spend time
focusing on.
Overall the fnancial side of enterprise asset management (EAM) is rather
well defned. There is the ISO standard
55000, BSI standard PAS 55 and industry
standards from a variety of associations.
In general the goal is to maximize the
value of the asset from acquisition through
disposal. During this time, there are physical activities of tracking and maintenance.
There are also fnancial activities of
tracking value including purchase cost,
depreciation and tax implications to the
company. I know some people live for this
stuff, but most of us just wish to accomplish this in the easiest way possible to get
on with more pleasurable work. However,
asset managing a fantasy football team is a
pleasurable mix of the two.
At one point in time, spreadsheet applications like Lotus 123 and Excel were
heavily used for this. The unfortunate truth
144 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

is there are still many using spreadsheets
or generic applications today. This is true
even while vendors provide affordable
asset management applications. Many of
these applications are hospitality industry
focused and available as a cloud service.
Managing the life cycle of assets has never
been easier than it is with today’s applications.
Of specifc note in the hospitality
industry is managing maintenance of our
assets including guest requests for service.
A non-working asset can cost a night’s stay
or worse, a loyal guest or a bad review.
Computerized maintenance management
software (CMMS) is used to manage assets, service orders (SO) and costs associated with each. With costs of service and
depreciation, it is benefcial to have some
link between the fnancial and SO sides.
But overall fnancial management and the
maintenance management are equally
important.
Some of the items to look for in
asset management are the basics of what
information it allows you to track, is it
easily customizable within the application,
and are reports and data exportable. More
defning features include ability to attach
fles like pictures and manuals, making
it easier to have support information in
one place. Some of this information could
be associated leases or service contracts
which also should have felds which can
be reported on. The ability to create and
assign bar codes or RFID tags makes

tracking and identifcation easier, and
ensures the correct component is being
addressed. When dealing with mobile
items that can be checked out to staff (i.e.,
laptops), it is nice to have a check-in/out
feature to track. When dealing with the
fnancial side, the tracking of depreciation
allowing for multiple depreciation types
and asset transfers if you have multiple
properties.
While both fnancial and maintenance
management are important, the interfacing of these systems into other property
systems ranging from the property management and central reservation systems
to door locks and energy management
systems provides additional functionality
and benefts. With other systems knowing
the status of assets and having the ability to
generate ticket requests, a more automated environment can be achieved, saving
time, money and relationships with guests.
There are many vendors that provide
software for asset management, CMMS or
both. Though a complete list is outside
the scope of this article, some of the more
widely used and popular examples are
mentioned below, and for those we may
have missed, check the hospitalityupgrade.
com site for additional information.
From the accounting side, Infor Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) (infor.
com/industries/hospitality/) is a popular
solution and fts within its accounting
application framework. If we think of all
these products as ships attacking the same
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Asset Management
target, this would be the battleship. Though other service orderfocused applications may have more functionality, Infor’s EAM
presents strong benefts as part of a line of accounting applications.
Asset management software and computerized maintenance
management software (CMMS) requires an investment to implement and operate, but its ability to impact the bottom line is well
worth implementing. The more information and use, the better

these systems help improve the results. And, they let you get back
to using spreadsheets for something they are better suited for, like
managing that fantasy football team. But then there are applications for that too…a subject for another time.
Mark Munger is an independent consultant
specializing in hospitality and gaming systems. He can
be reached at [email protected].

For applications focused on the CMMS side, several are noted below. When considering a CMMS, all provide basic maintenance
ticket and service tracking functionality. Key points to consider with these are any specifc connections to your specifc property systems and applications.
requests is a proactive
scanning. Its thin-clitracNcare, a subsid- assist in preventing
has specifc features for
ent approach keeps
iary of iQware Inc.,
multiproperty operaissues before they cause approach to keeping
guests happy and assets implementation and op- tions.
provides asset tracka maintenance ticket to
performing. Interfacing
eration easy for users.
ing and care managebe generated.
to systems including the Like others it provides
ment as a stand-alone
Mintek EAM-CMMS
(iqwareinc.com/
network infrastructure
dashboards and real
or integrated package
is used in many large
products/hospitality)
and minibar systems
time monitoring to enfocused on the asset
brands accomplishing
adds value.
sure quality and action
side. It provides FFE
many of the needs in
HotSOS by MTech/
(m-tech.com)
on requests.
maintenance analytics
maintaining the propNewmarket Internation(saicorporate.com)
that works to anticipate
erty assets. Its proceal could be considered
SynergyMMS by
issues before a ticket
dural-based service
one of the class-defning
Hotel ServicePro
is generated. Knowing
system tracks well the
hospitality service order Systems Associates provides an asset-based
provides an easy-to-use
your actual asset lifeassets and systems on
systems. It’s focus on
product that works well property.
cycle can make budget- collecting status updates focus with features
like bar and AQ code
single property but also
ing more accurate and
and automating service

146 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Digital Benchmarking

By David Atkins and John Atkins

Best,

The
Best Practice:
Digital Benchmarking for Hotels

A

common question heard from hoteliers and management
groups is how do we compare to other businesses our size
when it comes to digital? Although there are unique metrics
that only travel and hospitality businesses care about, benchmarking against a competitive set is a common quest for leadership
teams across every industry.
Benchmarking, digital or otherwise, starts with knowing
your business well enough to know how sought-after goals can be
gained by manipulating various levers and drivers, and by determining which levers are the most impactful so that business leaders
can quickly gain clarity and know where to focus to gain on opportunities or fx gaps from a few key performance indicators (KPIs)
instead of measuring everything and becoming bogged down in
reams of data and a complicated process to source, clean and
present tracking metrics over time.
Getting digital benchmarking (much more than website statistics) right will take time and investment, however when done right
it can be systemic and drive the best decisions for the business.
Proper digital benchmarking will also take a great deal of work on
underlying systems and technology. Digital benchmarking is a core
business practice that everyone needs to care about, and like all
benchmarking, will rely on KPIs.
Businesses should use their own KPIs to benchmark themselves against three to fve competitive, comparable businesses
using publically available industry data or by signing up for a service that provides benchmarking capabilities.
In digital, the landscape is constantly shifting. For the organization to remain on the leading edge, its business opportunities,
benchmarking and optimizing need to become daily practice. This

is a daunting task for businesses that have been accustomed to
fxed margins and annual planning cycles.
For success in digital, companies should develop the capability to gain strategic and market alignment. This means seeing
where the market is today, looking out 12 months to 24 months,
and putting the right people, processes, systems and partners in
place to enable and empower business managers to take calculated risks, empower their staffs, partners and even customers to
optimize initiatives that reach and surpass objectives to maintain
alignment.
Invariably, the leadership conversation around gaining digital
alignment leads back to the primary benchmarking question: How
do we know if we are competitive?

Keeping up with the Digital Joneses
What makes a digitally centered business different from the
business you may have operated in the past (or today)?
At the heart of it, a digitally centered business is always seeking to improve its results by deploying technology that enables its
people to be more capable of (and faster at) meeting the demands
of a new potential customer. The focus is on using data to drive
internal alignment across functions to capture desired market
growth.
In digitally centered travel and hospitality businesses, we see
market dynamics that make functional silos impractical at best.
Marketing, sales, revenue management, distribution and operations must all share information on a daily basis and move closer
together so the business can stay aligned with the way customers
wish to interact with it.
Key performance indicators can be simple or complex.
Most favor simplicity for the sake of maximizing resources
that are focused on running the business. How to establish appropriate KPIs could be the subject of an entire
column, but here is a list of what a KPI must be.
1. Be clear and concise
2. Provide meaningful insight into your business
objective
3. Provide leverage that the application of
resource(s) can impact
4. Be a metric that is easily understood, accessible
and measurable over time
5. Be important enough to your business that it is
worth tracking

148 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

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Digital Benchmarking
The speed with which digitally centered businesses innovate is a direct consequence of making benchmarking and
optimizing a daily practice. The advantages
of investing in such daily practices include
the following:
Early alerts on market trends – Being
able to quickly spot the infection point at
which consumers switched from PCs to
mobile screens and from iOS to Android.
Moving ahead of the competition –
Many are able to build solid front-end
experienced mobile users while their
backends were being updated.
Identifying a good customer – Building
lifetime value measures that include
infuence and identify good customers
previously seen as low value based solely
on purchases.
Spotting new partnerships earlier
than others – The ability to align with
leading-edge technology providers to
supplement offerings rather than wait
until potential partners show market
dominance.
Improving RevPAR – Maintaining
and gaining RevPAR by deploying
new technology that provides market
intelligence.
Improving occupancy – Identify new
ways to acquire new guests and extend
stays by engaging with OTAs, review and
social media sites.
Lowering costs – Gain operational
effciencies by deploying CRM systems.
Benchmarking provides insight into
what is working and what is not, where
you have opportunities to move forward
incrementally or with bold leaps in the
direction the market is moving.

Developing a
Benchmarking Plan
There are a number of limitations
and options for travel and hospitality businesses considering benchmarking as a
regular practice. Companies that see success quickly often start by developing a
plan that includes education before beginning any benchmarking process. A crossfunctional approach is benefcial as each
business leader can see how what they do
is dependent on others in the organization and how their levers are impacted by
150 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

the success or failure of initiatives that they
may not own. This realization helps break
down territorial boundaries and barriers
to success. Stakeholders at the table when
digital benchmarking is being planned
include team members from all disciplines: marketing, revenue management,
sales, distribution, operations, IT, fnance,
HR and the executive suite. Top-level KPIs
should be assigned individual C-level owners, while the action required to move the
needle may be assigned to people outside
of that owner’s functional area of responsibility.
The real key is that you must have a
strategic framework for your benchmarking prior to investing effort and before
deciding which partners or systems are
needed.

Where to Get Data and
Analysis
STR Global and PWC remain mainstays for hoteliers to turn to in an effort to
better understand RevPAR, occupancy and
other critical business drivers, but there is
an overwhelming amount of data that goes
beyond the scope provided by these two
companies, especially in the area of digital
marketing, e-commerce and conversion.
Businesses who have invested in a
site analytics toolset such as Google Analytics or Omniture often think that they have
everything they need to do digital benchmarking. This is not the case. While these
are great tool sets, there can be no question that toolsets like ComScore, Nielsen,
Compete and Quantcast provide a more
complete 360-degree view of how audiences are interacting with other sites in
your competitive set. The drawback to the
Web analytic suites and competitive tool
sets is that without engaging professional
services, they do not provide specifc
benchmarking for travel and hospitality
businesses.
The exciting news is that there are a
few options to digitally benchmark against
similar types of hotels via blind comparisons in which you can select the attributes
that describe your property. Some have
been in the market for a while, focused
primarily on RevPAR and occupancy, while
others are nascent solutions that provide
elements that lead to true digital marketing
and e-commerce benchmarking insights.
To do benchmarking right, you need

to have a presentation layer (geek-speak
for dashboard) that allows for data from a
variety of sources to be combined and normalized and then displayed in a meaningful
set of easy-to-read reports.
If you are not currently engaging in
some type of third-party digital benchmarking, you are already behind the curve.

Digital Benchmarking in
the Context of Property
Management
Brands and ownership groups can
provide huge value in the benchmarking
space, but are not always the perfect solution. This is a place where certain brands
can and do differentiate. However, investment groups or hoteliers don’t often pick
brand fags based on benchmarking capabilities, so there is an opportunity for thirdparty solution providers to fll the gap.
Many branded properties try to use
their brand’s benchmarking metrics and
fnd that it provides ill-suited comparable
properties. For instance, if a hotelier under
brand XYZ has a property that sits on a
highway between Peoria, Ill., and St. Louis,
Mo., with 150 rooms and 80 percent occupancy with a RevPAR of $123.50, can you
search brand XYZ and fnd even one solid
comparable property?
OTAs and Google provide best practice data that can be used to construct ad
hoc benchmarking models. However, as
with many aggregated information sources,
these data kings do not reveal the necessary detail required to conduct ongoing
benchmarking and optimization at the
property level.
Agencies claim to provide benchmarking for hoteliers. Be careful here as
some of the data you want to collect is
hard for many agencies to access. This
is especially true for classic media agencies. Remember: digital benchmarking is
a cross-functional exercise that requires
representation from revenue management, marketing, sales, operations and the
executive suite. Most media agencies are
only visible to or accessible by the marketing team.
If you choose to use an agency, select
a hotel-specifc agency versus a media
agency; specifcally you want to look for a
business that has worked to develop backend connections with you, your partners,
your brand(s), the media space, your
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

booking engines, the social infrastructure, your Web analytics, etc. (basically
be able to aggregate all the various items
we mention in this column). This group is
very limited, however Vizergy and Duetto
Research are both making strides in the
right direction here.
If you are an independent property
your ability to accurately benchmark may
be further limited, as you may not have
access or budget to the appropriate kinds
of data tools and investments to be able
to gather benchmarking. As an independent property you must focus on benchmarking, you have more fexibility than
many branded properties but you may lack
access to some of the data and resources
that they have. You can and should overcome this via a methodical adherence to
KPI-based digital benchmarking and fnd
the budget to use a tool set, agency or vendor partner who makes it easier for you.
Other hotels turn to industry organizations like HSMAI (Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International), which
publishes relevant statistics and holds con-

ferences where debate and discussions
occur on the topic. HSMAI has recently
launched a CHDM, a certifcation for digital marketing, and this can prepare your
marketing teams for a benchmarking
practice.
Some turn to digital industry groups,
many of which are prohibitively expensive
for most hoteliers and ownership groups.
If you have a local Internet marketing
group, we encourage you to join it and
learn. Again the data you gather here may
be limited to marketing and marketing
services and won’t be hotel specifc, however the cross-industry education especially about bleeding edge will be useful in
your informal benchmarking, recruitment
of staff, education and best practices.
While educational, the data revealed
through events or courses in not considered benchmarking as it is rarely actionable, repeatable or meets the tests provided here.
Just like many hotels turn to STR
Global (or the like) to benchmark on RevPAR, we recommend fnding a similar digi-

tal solution that provides the same level of
visibility, insight and action. Digital benchmarking is a long cycle investment in people,
processes, systems and partners. Hoteliers
that benchmark in digital with third parties
– and especially those that have invested in a
solution that allows for digital benchmarking
versus comparable hotels – fnd themselves
with better business results than those that
have yet to invest.
DaviD atkins is a regular columnist for Hospitality Upgrade and
has worked in leadership positons on
the client side for McDonald's, Microsof and Expedia among others. He
was awarded a 2014 Top 25 Minds
in Hospitality Sales and Marketng by
HSMAI, and cited as top speaker on
the subject area by Jetseter for 2013.
JoHn atkins also serves on HSMAI’s
Digital Marketng Council and is an
expert in digital publishing and product management. Both John and
David can be reached at info@
digitaldnainfusion.com.

“Gosh! I just don’t know why everyone says passwords are so hard to make up and remember.
All you need are 8 characters and one capital.”
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Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 151

Marketing

By Emily Culclasure

Social Media Suicide
don’t cause the death
of Your Brand
unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past three
years, you’ve probably discovered that social media has an
extremely powerful infuence on your hotel brand development.
You’ve also probably heard the rules of social media etiquette
over and over again, but what about the social media faux pas?
let’s take a look at what you shouldn’t be doing on social media
so that your hotel can continue to thrive online.

1.

Don’t Ignore or Delete Complaints

What do people do when they are ignored? They fnd another way to make their voice heard. When hotel guests complain,
let them complain, and then try to move the conversation to a
more private platform (phone or email). Feedback isn’t always
pleasant, but it’s a necessary evil for brand management.
The goal is to address the problem, nip it in the bud, and
show other guests that you’re committed to offering excellent
customer service. at the very least, you’ll keep the angry client
from continuing to write hateful things!

2.

Don’t Self-promote. Ever.

Social media is just that – social media. it was designed
for socializing, not for shameless self-promotion. With that being said, try to interact with your hotel guests without sounding
sales-y. Talk to them as if you’re talking to an old friend. There are
plenty of opportunities to promote your hotel, but promoting on
someone else’s page isn’t one of them. it’s tacky, it’s impersonal
and it’s a huge social media no-no.

between being engaging and being pushy, so make sure that you
don’t cross it.

5.

Don’t Ignore the Ruler of Social Media

it’s time to bend a knee and hail to the king of social
media, aka Google+. if you haven’t hopped on the Google+
train yet, you should defnitely get on board because it’s working
wonders for hotels. during this time last year, Google Hotel Finder
reigned over search results and further established the network as
a force to be reckoned with.
Get involved in the Google+ community. Google+ Hangouts
is a unique and fun tool for hosting interactive discussions, meetings and demonstrations with your hotel guests. Just remember,
don’t self-promote on other Google+ pages (refer back to rule
No. 2).
looking back, 2012 changed the Seo ballgame with the
addition of its new sidekick, social media; 2013 proved that social
media is now equal on the playing feld; and in 2014, you can expect social media to trump its mentor and slide into frst place on
the information and trust highway. Now that you know how NoT to
market your hotel on social networks, you can ride on the coattails of social media as it takes over the online universe this year.

3.

Emily CulClasurE is a digital media analyst
for hotelmarketngWorks and works with major hotel
brands such as IHG, staySky & Classic Hotels. Reach out
to her on Twiter @eculclasure.

4.

No. 5 - Don’t Ignore the Ruler of Social Media

Don’t Lose Track of All the Places Where
Guests Can Complain

Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Tripadvisor, Hotel Finder,
Yelp, BBB, Twitter...it’s wonderful that there’s an array
of online networks that are suitable for hotel marketing,
but don’t forget to keep track of all of them. it sounds
silly, but you’d be shocked at how many hoteliers aren’t
in control of their online accounts. if it helps, create a
document containing all of your network login information and frequently monitor your accounts. even one
missed complaint can do some serious damage.

Don’t Bombard Your Followers

don’t be that kid who’s overly excited in the ball
pit and causes all the other kids to leave. Posting once,
maybe twice per day is plenty. don’t post more than that
or you’ll quickly fnd yourself on the blocked list and
your fan engagement will plummet. There’s a fne line

Photo credit: www.laplayahotel.com
152 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Personalization

By Kelly McGuire and Suneel Grover

Personalization is becoming a wellrecognized and well-discussed term in the
hospitality industry, and for good reason.
as competition for the consumer’s attention
in the noisy digital environment increases,
hotels are looking for any edge that can set
them apart and keep the consumer coming
back.
intercontinental Hotels Group recently
conducted a comprehensive study of its
global consumer base and came to this
conclusion attributed to Richard Solomons,
ceo, iHG: “Hotel brands have traditionally concentrated on being 2-d – how to
be both global and local. But our research
shows that the rise of personalization means
brands must be 3-d [personalized, local,
global] in order to build both trust and lasting relationships with guests and to win in a
highly competitive global market."
arne Sorenson, ceo of Marriott international, has widely publicized his vision for
the NextGen traveler, most recently in his
linkedin infuencer profle, and in an interview with HOTELS magazine, chris Nassetta,
ceo of Hilton Worldwide, acknowledged
that Hilton’s customers are looking for
more choice and control over their hotel
experiences. Hotels need to provide value to
the consumer, not just by offering a deal on
their products and services, but by providing a compelling and engaging personalized
experience during every interaction across
the entire guest lifecycle.
consumers are leaving digital trails
all over the internet – across social media
platforms, review sites, travel sites and your
own Web and mobile sites. The challenge
for hospitality companies will be to use
all of this rich data about their customers,
augmented by offine guest profle data, in
concert with operational insights and delivered through relevant marketing messages
to execute this vision of a highly personalized guest experience. it’s also clear that
simply applying business rules derived from
aggregated Web analytics data will not be
154 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

enough to capture the attention (and share
of the wallet) of today’s consumer. The
company that is able to leverage advanced
predictive analytics in a digital environment, combine that data with offine guest
data, and deliver intelligent, personalized
recommendations (in real time), will win
the battle for the consumer.
This article defnes what personalization means and how it can work in a
hospitality environment. it will discuss why
traditional Web analytics cannot effectively
support the execution of true analytically
derived personalization. in the follow up
blog post on hospitalityupgrade.com, we’ll
describe the technology and data management requirements available today that can
support detailed data collection, integration
and analysis for personalization programs.
The article series will conclude by providing
the steps a hotel can take toward the path to
personalization.

Personalization, a Vision
in a technology context we’ll use this
defnition by James dorman on Quora: Personalization technology enables the dynamic
insertion, customization or suggestion of
content in any format that is relevant to the
individual user, based on the user’s implicit
behavior and preference, and explicitly
given details.
Hotels have two opportunities within
the umbrella of personalization. First, hotels
can provide content, recommendations or
experiences that match the guest’s expressed or inferred needs and preferences
throughout the guest lifecycle. This isn’t a
new idea – frankly, it’s just good service
– but with technology enablers, personalization can be infused into every interaction,
and delivery can be standardized across
touch points, whether digital or in person.
For example, when a guest is researching a
vacation on the hotel’s website, the content
he or she sees can be customized to his or
her search patterns (pictures of caribbean

properties in the Web frames if they are
searching for resorts). Further, follow-on
offers can be developed based on previous
searches that did not result in a booking.
For example, if this same guest did not book
during the session, marketing can follow up
with an email offer or awareness communication about resorts in general or for the
specifc resort the guest viewed.
another opportunity within personalization is giving the guest control over certain key aspects of his or her stay – fexible
packages, attributes of the room, amenities,
on-property activities or local experiences
– effectively allowing them to customize
their own experience. offers and choices
should be captured so that profles can be
updated, recommendations improved and

Personalization technology
enables the dynamic insertion,
customization or suggestion of
content in any format that is
relevant to the individual user,
based on the user’s implicit
behavior and preference, and
explicitly given details.
the program can continuously evolve.
These two opportunities are linked by
the common goals of making it easy to do
business with the hotel, increasing engagement and loyalty, and providing value above
and beyond the room rate.
consider the diagram which depicts
the stages of the guest experience in broad
strokes. at the center, we have ann Roberts,
our loyalty program member who is planning a weekend getaway. Roberts generally
stays for business, but her digital interactions quickly demonstrate that her search
patterns are different than normal, so she’s
shown leisure-oriented properties, packages
and room types. as she narrows the search
and selects parameters, analytics including
pricing and availability controls from the
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

revenue management system, can predict the
digital customer experience that drives the
Why Traditional Web
three packages she’d be most likely to book, Analytics Just Aren’t Enough
measurement, optimization and execution
and display only those with appropriate pricof digital customer interactions.”
The biggest challenge hospitality maring and restrictions. When she arrives at the keters face is stitching together fragmented
Traditional Web analytics data are
hotel, the front desk offers her a discounted sources of data to deliver on this vision of
siloed by channel and frequently aggregated
upgrade to a room type that she looked at
up to a level that is only suitable for busiintegrated, personalized marketing. Tradibut did not select on booking – again based tionally, online, offine and third-party data
ness intelligence, as opposed to advanced
on the pricing and availability controls from are stored in silos, and therefore are very
analytic applications which require detailed
the revenue management system.
diffcult to pull together in a logical, effcient one-to-one data. The vision of digital intelduring her stay, the hotel staff delivers and easy-to-use format. While data-driven
ligence dictates that marketers focus on
personalized recommendations, such as an
understanding who, what, where, when
marketers have used powerful, advanced
invitation to the hotel’s Friday
and why of digital experiences. it
night wine tasting. She attends
requires considering larger downAnother opportunity within personala concert on Saturday night
ization is giving the guest control over stream business applications and
and tweets about what a great
use cases when determining what
certain key aspects of his or her stay,
event it was. The hotel’s social
digital data to collect. For example:
customizing the experience.
media monitoring picks up the
•
Predictive analysis
tweet and real-time decisioning
to identify what unique behaviors
determines that she qualifes to
or attributes in a visitor’s digital
analytics to perform sophisticated analybe invited to a special performers’ reception ses – such as regression, decision trees or
journey are deemed most important in corat the hotel. She’s messaged back with the
relating with revenue-generating events
clustering – they have been limited to using
invitation. as she checks out, her profle is
• Analytically forecasting website
offine data, primarily due to restrictions on
updated with her stay activity, and subsevisitation by traffc source and identifying
access rights to online data from thirdquent offers refect her stay pattern and
which ad-centric channels have the largest
party technology vendors. on the fip side,
preferences.
effect in increasing overall traffc
Web and digital analytics tools primarily
other opportunities to leverage online
• Predicting online and offline beaggregate and report on historical informaand offine behavioral data include fagging
havioral drivers of digital conversions using
tion and do not enable predictive analysis.
profles of guests that have had service prob- obtaining an omni-channel, integrated view
analytically driven segmentation techniques
lems in the past, so that staff can be aware
across the fragmented digital ecosphere has and improving outbound and inbound
of any existing sensitivities. also, if you have been extremely diffcult. as a result, it has
targeting rules for future marketing comsocial media identifcation information from been practically impossible to get a datamunication and personalization efforts
the guests, you can mine their social media
To support the opportunities outlined
centric, comprehensive view of the guest
activity for preferences or monitor comabove, Web and mobile data, if collected
that could feed integrated marketing analytmunications for opportunities to improve
and prepared appropriately, can be merged
ics, or more specifcally, provide prescriptheir experiences. even for limited-service
with a company’s frst-party (or companytive recommendations for marketers. enter
properties, guest data about room-type pref- digital intelligence.
owned) customer data, and then streamed
erences, amenities or local attractions can
into its analytics, visualization and interacdigital intelligence is defned as: “The
still add value to the guest’s stay experience
tion automation systems.
capture, management and analysis of cuswhen designed and offered appropriately.
In the coming weeks the second
tomer data to deliver a holistic view of the
article in this series will be posted on the
Hospitalityupgrade.com TechTalk blog
and will discuss how the new opportunities in data management for digital intelligence will work for hospitality organizations and provide a path to get started
on the journey toward personalization.

The Guest Journey
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

KElly mCGuirE, PhD, leads the
Hospitality and Travel Global Practce
for SAS. In this role, she is responsible
for driving the ofering set and setng
strategic directon for the practce.
suNEEl GrOVEr, MBA, MS, is a senior
solutons architect at SAS, specializing
in the areas of predictve analytcs,
digital analytcs, visualizaton and datadriven integrated marketng.
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 155

Technology Infrastructure

Notes From an

IT

Service Shop
Warranties and
Service Contracts
Please read carefully

Every hotel has warranties or support contracts on many, if not all, hightech equipment on the property (some
support agreements are not optional). In
some cases, it is not necessary to call
upon service providers to solve issues
that either engineering or on-property IT
staff are capable of handling. But some
issues are more complex and require
multiple supplier input to resolve. It is
best to have a service contract on all
high-tech equipment, as most systems
are critical to the functioning of the hotel and extended downtime can disrupt
guest service.
One type of service that can be confusing is hardware warranties directly
from the manufacturer. Some include onsite service, which, in some cases, can
be several days from when the initial
call was placed. The on-site technician,
usually a third-party contractor, is not
authorized to troubleshoot anything
other than the specifc device. If it is
determined that the issue is with the
network, another peripheral or any other
item, then another technician qualifed
in those areas will have to be called.
In the case of a damaged hard drive
in a computer, the warranty will cover
the replacement with the operating
system loaded. However, it does not
cover data recovery from the damaged
drive. This service must be performed by
another company.

156 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

By Geoff Griswold

Sometimes, multiple parts must be
replaced to stabilize a computer, requiring additional reloads and data recovery
adding additional costs not covered by
warranty.
Point-of-sale systems can be diffcult to service because of the variables associated with installation and
maintenance. Most systems rely on a
local area network to communicate with
terminals, printers, the Internet and a
property management system. If any of
these components fail, the POS may fail
as well or not operate properly.
Point-of-sale system failures can
fall into three categories: a hardware
failure including network hardware, a
software malfunction including devices
beyond the primary vendor’s control,
and network wiring (usually handled
internally or by a third party).
While the primary support vendor
may not be able to repair other company’s devices, the quicker the problem
is identifed, the sooner the appropriate
party can become involved.
Many POS suppliers offer tiered
service, based on days of the week
and number of hours for a response.
Some plans include 24/7/365 service.
More frequently, technical support is
performed remotely via the Internet.
On-site support may require a separate
agreement.
Management should be familiar
with the type of plan the hotel has purchased and the other companies which
should be contacted in case of an issue.
Property management systems
(PMS) are more diffcult to troubleshoot
when certain functionality fails. Onproperty PMS servers have basically
the same type of connections as POS
systems but with a much wider array of
interfaces. Troubleshooting interfaces
may require the PMS vendor, the vendor
of the interfaced device and network/
wiring expertise, which may be in-house
or third party.
Typically, items supported by PMS
suppliers include application software

malfunction, interface confgurations,
operating systems issues, procedural
and training questions, and workstation,
printer and server troubleshooting. Some
PMS vendors support software issues
with the suppliers with which they
interface.
Overnight depot replacement of
workstations and printers can be available. Servers and interface PCs normally
require on-site support from third parties.
When calling for support on a PMS,
escalating the call can move the call to
more experienced technicians. When
this occurs it still may take some time
before the issue is resolved. As a general rule, most PMS vendors do not support Microsoft Word, Excel or Outlook,
even if this software is installed on their
equipment. This type of support can be
obtained from a local IT service provider
or via the Internet.
Other high-tech devices, such as
energy management systems, call
accounting systems, and parking POS,
require fewer suppliers to repair.
Again it is best to have a service
contract on all high-tech equipment (not
optional in some cases), that way any
downtime can be reduced and guest
service restored. While the highest tier
contract may be desirable, sometimes
a lower level might suffce for a given
property. For example, a POS service
support contract that provides coverage
fve days a week might be adequate if
the food and beverage department does
very little business over the weekends.
The hotel should also have a relationship with a local IT service provider
that can maintain the various networks,
including router confguration and repair/
install wiring as necessary.
Geof Griswold is a feld engineer and is general manager of the
Omni Group, an IT services company
specializing in the hospitality industry. He can be reached at geof@
atlantaomnigroup.com or (678)
464-2427.

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Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 157

Telephony

By Dan Phillips and Diane Estner

Is hosted
voice finally
ready for
prime time?
i drive a car, as i’m sure you do. i know that some cars
i’ve driven are better than others. Some are faster; some have
more power, more leg room or more towing capacity. i know
it requires fuel to make it run, and the better the gasoline used
the better it runs and the longer it runs. i know it requires
routine maintenance, but i can’t tell you what the engine block
is made of, how much horsepower it has or what the gear ratios are. When it comes down to it, does buying a hotel phone
solution require a different understanding than my knowledge
of cars?
There are at least two answers to this question. Some
hoteliers will respond by saying that they don’t need to know
what’s under the hood to make a hosted solution work; they
just want to know that it is dependable, will keep working no
matter what and is a good value. other hoteliers will want to
know about all of the feature sets and if there are new ones that
premise-based phone systems don’t have. They’ll want to know
about costs, both capex and opex, and they’ll want to know
how an analog phone will work on an iP network and more.
First, we might need to defne what hosted really means.
Some might think that deploying a hosted voice solution means
there is no phone-related hardware required on site in the
hotel. This is not true. The real question is, exactly how much
hardware is required in the hotel? Some providers will state
that their solution is truly hosted because the only hardware
required at the hotel is a voice gateway, while other providers
will require some onsite servers. if the hotel opts to retain its
analog guestroom phones, even more equipment onsite will
be needed. What hosted may really mean is that all telephony
functions, including voice mail and call accounting, are hosted
in a central location and that all voice traffc in and out of
the hotel goes through that location. The ultimate goal with

158 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

a hosted solution is to be able to buy voice as a service in an
operating expense mode versus requiring a hotel to purchase
expensive equipment up front and become a pseudo phone
company in their own right. Remember centrex?
Several companies over the last fve years or so have
entered the hotel space with hosted iP voice solutions. in
the early days, many of these services were not necessarily
favorable when compared to traditional, premise-based PBXs.
Some of the biggest issues had to do with reliability. These
hosted solutions relied on internet circuits that many times
already existed within the hotel, and were being used for HSia
to the guestrooms. There were problems with keeping those
circuits up, with contention
“It has taken a
between data and voice,
while
for quality hostand with quality of service
ed PBX solutions for
for voice traffc resulting
in very poor sound quality. hospitality to become
if shopping for this service cost competitive but
today, one of the frst facthat time has come.”
tors to determine is if the
provider is carrier class. This means that the provider ensures
full survivability and network reliability that offers fve 9s,
meaning that its network is up 99.999 percent of the time.
“Switching to above-property solutions requires everything gets transmitted up to the cloud and back down. Popping
up a guest check-in screen is fne if it gets delayed a half
second or so – but not voice,” said Frank Melville, president of
PhoneSuite. “a solid HSia connection with plenty of bandwidth
is crucial – as is a clean internal laN architecture. We’ve seen
several hotels implement a hosted solution without doing a
VoiP stress test or architecture modifcation in preparation for
a hosted voice solution. Quality suffered, tempers get short,

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Telephony
and the customer must fall back to a premise-based solution.”
life safety), security, analog phones, existing equipment, hospitality
PBXs in hotels started back in 1984 so we’ve had decades of
integration, SiP trunking, future upgrades, scalability, Web-based call
experience when making purchasing decisions. Maybe it’s time to
management, call quality, service level agreements and pricing.
rethink the basis of how we purchase voice services and what we use
to calculate against the Roi.
The Bottom Line on Hosted Solutions
carol Guerra, vice president of global marketing for Thing5,
Steve Bearden, director, information technology for Marriott
said, “There are strategic advantages and long-term value created
international said his company is all in. “Marriott is getting out of
with (a) cloud-based solution set. The fdelity of
the hardware business and is 100 percent focused on
data, ability to integrate smartphones and ease of
hosted solutions for voice,” he said. “it has taken a
“I’m very pleased
customization of call routing provided by (these
while for quality hosted PBX solutions for hospitality to
to finally see this
products) cannot be achieved with traditional
become cost competitive but that time has come."
PBX products and telephone services.”
shift in hotel teleis it time to stop deciding on what technology
Jim Bailey, director of business relationship
you’re
going to purchase and instead compare service
phony as a manmanagement, global technology for intercontiproviders
and service level agreements? Rather than
aged service.”
nental Hotels Group, knows there are options out
purchase one big box that has to talk to another big
Jim Bailey, IHG
there. “Strong credible hosted voice solutions are
box in a computer room in the basement, is it time to
now available,” he said. “ensuring that critical
strategically determine what cloud-based middleware
guest features (e911, wake-up calls, etc.) are
will enhance your communications beyond what has
survivable and securing a strong protective Sla agreebeen? is it time that recurring costs are stabilized instead of fuctuatment are paramount. i’m very pleased to fnally see this shift in hotel
ing? is it time to be able to change directions on a dime instead of
telephony as a managed service.”
acting like the Titanic? it is prime time for hosted voice.
We are familiar with the different features, from two-line
speaker phones to broadcast voice mail messages, from automated
DaN PHilliPs is a partner at Dare to Imagine, a comcall distributors to programmable keys, and from wake-up calls
pany specializing in technology consultng for the hotel inand message lights to hunt groups and call busy routing. But, there
dustry. He can be reached at [email protected]. DiaNE
might be a few new criteria to analyze before purchasing voice as a
EsTNEr is vice president global account sales for SDD. She
service. Some of these include survivability, redundancy, e911 (fre
can be reached at [email protected].

Criteria to analyze before purchasing voice as a service
Survivability. Will the system
continue to work if the lines to the
hotel are cut, or, if the network goes
down? Will the system include local
battery back up?
Redundancy. What happens
at the hosted site if the data center
servers running your voice solution go down? What happens if the
fiber is cut? What happens if the
voice gateway in your hotel stops
working?
E911 and Fire Life Safety.
Is this a feature that is included?
How does this work if calls are leaving the hotel and going to the hosted site before they go out to their
intended destination?
Security. This solution is carrying your voice traffic over the Internet, is it protected? How secure is
the data center from hackers?
Analog Phones. How does
the system support legacy analog
phones in the guestrooms? How

does it handle turning on and off
message waiting lights? How does it
interface to the PMS to turn phones
on and off? Do the housekeeping
codes still work? What happens if a
wake-up call is not answered?
Existing Equipment. What,
if any, existing voice-related equipment needs to stay? Needs to be replaced? What if, for example, the
hotel wants to retain its call center
solution; will the new service integrate with it?
Hospitality Integration.
Does the service integrate with
hospitality-specific middleware to
support and enhance the PMS and
other required hotel telephony feature sets needed? Does it integrate
with a reliable recognized hospitality middleware platform such as Tiger TMS’s iCharge, or SDD’s hosted
JAZZ Fusion?
SIP Trunking. These systems
don’t use traditional voice lines like
PBXs do; they use something called

160 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

SIP trunks (session Internet protocol). How are these priced? Is long
distance included? How are international calls billed? How do we ensure
that there are enough talk paths for
busy times? Do calls from one hotel
extension to another hotel extension
take up a talk path, or does it stay
internal to the equipment on site?
Future Upgrades. Are all
future upgrades included in the
monthly fees? Since the voice solution is hosted at a central site and
is servicing multiple customers, upgrades should be provided across
the network with no incremental increase in cost.
Scalability. If a hotel company wanted to put more than one
hotel on this service, can the hosted
site accommodate this? Could multiple hotels then share resources and
drive costs down further? What other
advantages are there in having multiple sister hotels on the same voice
platform?

Web-based Call Management. Can hotel staff easily get access to call data, call accounting,
night audit functions and wake-up
call reports? If needed, can trained
hotel staff easily make changes to call
routing?
Call Quality. What assurances is there that call quality remains
high on both ends of the call? Is it
monitored?
Service Level Agreements
(SLAs). What types of coverage are
available? What types of response
time? What is the definition of “emergency?” Is there financial accountability by the provider for any loss in
service?
Pricing. Is there a CapEx required? Are the monthly fees fixed
or variable? Are there differences in
the price relative to varying service
packages? What is the term of the
contract? In case of termination,
what equipment will be owned by the
hotel?
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Connect.

More than just a telephone.
M Series telephones keep your guests connected to stream sound, place and receive
calls over their own cell network, charge phones and tablets, and access the Internet
via a built-in Wi-Fi access point. Call +1.719.368.6544, write info�teledex.com, or visit
www.teledex.com.

Accept no substitutes.
©2014 Cetis, Inc. Product specifications and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice. Cetis™, Teledex are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cetis, Inc.

C-LEVEL EXECUTIVES ARE ALL COMING
TO THE SAME CONCLUSION
THE “C” STANDS FOR “CUSTOMER”
Whether you’re talking cloud migration, social media strategy, or how mobile aligns with your modernization roadmap,
the dialog must center around your customer. Because when you remove the distractions, it’s the customer who drives
business decisions. And it’s business that defnes technology requirements. Sound too easy? Well, it can be—when all the
“Chiefs” in the room agree that the customer is really in charge. Let’s talk about your business. Visit NTTDATA.com/fex

THINK SMART. ACT FAST. FLEX YOUR BUSINESS.

Global Markets

A

By Danilo Molaschi

s you plan your ambitious business development to
penetrate the European hospitality market, consider some
lessons from the past.
History shows us many remarkable cases of unlikely but
long-lasting military success. One for all: Francisco Pizarro
conquered the Inca Empire and its two million square kilometers
with a handful of mercenaries, and changed the history of the
Americas forever – for better or worse.
Pizarro was no doubt brave. But more important – he was
lucky. You can be brave and hope for similar lucky breaks – or
you can plan for success. Dwight Eisenhower said, “In preparing
for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning
is indispensable.”
Without cool-headed planning, failure
is more or less a certainty. I have seen
market leaders in the United States succeeding in Europe because they were part
of a major chain with consistent standards
of services compatible with the local expectations. On the other hand, I have seen
just as many market-leading companies
struggling to penetrate European markets
with business models that worked superbly
in North American and Asian markets.
Sun Tzu, the legendary military theorist, warned us to carefully consider all
these factors before taking a step beyond
our existing frontiers. In “The Art of War,”
he said, “Victorious warriors win frst and then go to war, while
defeated warriors go to war frst and then seek to win.”
The hospitality arena in the Old Continent is a mature,
well-saturated market, fragmented by many languages and now
characterized by a deep recession and the challenges of an aging
population.
So, what makes the difference?
In a mature market many actors are chasing the same success criteria: quality, effciency, niche appeal, price. The danger is
that too often a competitive market means a less proftable market
because sooner or later price becomes the primary determinant
of success.
In the long run, price cannot be the primary competitive
weapon for a new entrant. If nothing else, the continual emergence of disruptive technologies with their ancillary reorganization costs constantly re-levels the playing feld and eliminates
hard-won cost effciencies.
Europe is a continent with a high population density divided

166 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

by many languages and cultural differences, as well as deep and
well-entrenched traditions. All of this reinforces the adage that
success requires us to think global and act local. Not all European
markets are the same, and like good anthropologists, we need
to understand not just the observed behavior differences, but the
social and business context as well, if the differences are to be
meaningful to an outsider. It is therefore essential to work with
local partners who speak the local language and have a personal
knowledge of the actors, their habits and preferences; an understanding of the market; and a hard-won knowledge of the most
important contacts and other assets to support and accelerate
your developments.
Europe is a huge market with an aging
population, and a high level of expectations
of hospitality products, in terms of facilities,
security and convenience. Word of mouth
is very important and so it is essential to
invest in acquiring the frst customers – if
necessary with selective, time-limited (and
discreet) reduced prices in order to get
traction and test the local acceptance of
the solution and the compliance with local
regulations and standards.
A common mistake in business development in this environment is to introduce
a 90 percent solution with defciencies to
be addressed after the frst customers are
acquired. In reality you are in competition
with existing, well-established competitors, and competing for
clients who are often risk-averse. A bad frst impression is generally fatal.
In conclusion, companies that want to develop technology
business in the European hospitality market must understand that
preparation is 90 percent of success. The remaining 10 percent
comes from augmenting a solid, well-integrated and fexible
organization, capable of implementing your strategy with strong
local partners who will help you quickly identify and respond to
ever-changing challenges.
Just don’t forget what Sun Tzu writes, “In the midst of chaos,
there is also opportunity.”
Danilo Molaschi has more than 10 years of
experience in business development in the Italian and
European hospitality markets. He has been director and
country manager for companies such as Swisscom, Wayport EMEA (AT&T Group) and The Cloud (BSkyB Group).

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Gaming

The Role of Regulators
in the Gaming Environment

G

ambling is a basic component of the
human psyche. In ancient times, it
was believed that the outcome of
casting lots was determined by the gods. In
Greek mythology, the gods themselves cast
lots to divide the universe. Zeus got the sky,
Poseidon the sea, and Hades, the loser, got
the underworld.
It is assumed that the earliest known
method of casting lots was to toss an astragalus, which is the talus or heel bone of a
hooved animal such as a deer or pig. The
primary feature of this bone is that it has
a rounded and cubic shape, which, when
thrown, can land in one of four different
confgurations. It is the randomness of the
result that made the ancients believe that
the gods or a god controlled the outcome.
Guilt or innocence, distribution of property, and omens foretelling the future all were
determined by casting of the astragalus.
While few would accuse the gods of
being unfair, the same cannot be true when
humans are involved. Six-sided ivory dice
dating back to 1573 BC have been found in
Thebes, Egypt, but it is perhaps the loaded
dice found in the archeological site at Pompeii that emphasize the need for oversight
in the gaming environment.
Gambling in America has a long history.
Many of the original settlers brought English traditions and beliefs, while the Puritans discarded those values. As a result,
the tolerance of gambling was very much
a regional attitude. In New England and
Pennsylvania, the Puritan values prevailed.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the possession of cards, dice and gaming tables
was outlawed (even in private homes) as
was dancing and singing. In other colonies,
gambling was viewed as a harmless diversion, as long as it was for recreation and
not as a trade. Professional gamblers were
considered unsavory, a theme which prevailed for more than two centuries.
Lotteries were common throughout the

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

early colonies as a way to raise revenue for
the government. All 13 colonies established
lotteries, and many of our most prestigious Ivy League universities were funded partially through lottery proceeds. In
1769, lotteries became an issue in the drive
for independence when the English Crown
tried to prevent lotteries from occurring
without its permission.
The Great Depression led to a greater acceptance of gambling. Massachusetts decriminalized bingo in an attempt
to help churches and charitable organizations raise money. In 1931, Nevada became
the frst state to legalize most forms of gambling. Games of chance, including table
games and slot machines, were licensed
and taxed by city or county based on the
number of games or machines in operation. The calculation of taxes was simple,
and as long as they were paid, little scrutiny
was paid to the casino owners.
For the most part, each jurisdiction has
its own regulations, but many are based
on those of Nevada. In all jurisdictions, the
gaming or gambling controls are in place
not only to ensure the proper assessment
and payment of taxes, but to ensure the
integrity of gaming. In addition to investigating and reviewing the suitability of individuals or organizations for licensure, a
focus of the control boards is to ensure
that all games introduced into the gambling
environment are fair, and cannot be manipulated either by the casino or a player.
With each slot machine and table game
variation, the task of getting jurisdictional approvals becomes an enormous undertaking, with a manufacturer or game developer having to endure the cost and time of
submission to each jurisdiction in which it
intends to sell.
In 1989, James Maida joined forces with
Paul Magno to create Gaming Laboratories
International (GLI), and obtained a contract to perform machine testing for South

By Bill Geoghegan

Scan this page
using Layar

Dakota’s implementation of Video Lottery
Systems. As gaming grew, GLI became the
contracted testing laboratories for a majority of jurisdictions.
In 2005, the Australian testing lab BMM
relocated its headquarters to Nevada, and
in 2013, Nevada outsourced all its technical testing to GLI and BMM. The role of
these third-party laboratories is to perform
technical testing of the gaming devices
and programs submitted by game suppliers, and assess whether a game meets the
requirements and regulations of a specific jurisdiction. The lab then turns its fndings over to the targeted jurisdiction for its
approval or denial. While a separate test
script is used for each jurisdiction, after
a game has been tested for a single jurisdiction, the test results for requirements
that are common in a second jurisdiction
do not have to be repeated, thus economizing the task of submissions to multiple
jurisdictions. For those states that do not
use the third-party labs, the testing process
starts from scratch, increasing the time and
expense to the game suppliers.
Michael F. Capen, director, U.S. government development at GLI, deals directly with the regulatory agencies throughout
the United States. He observes that regulations frequently differ among jurisdictions based on local values, political issues,
etc., but that the one common thread is to
always maintain public trust in the industry
by ensuring the integrity of gaming.
Bill has compiled an in-depth history
of gaming and gaming regulation which
can be read online at hospitalityupgrade.
com/A-History-of-Gaming-and-GamingRegulation.
Bill GEoGhEGan is a consultant in Las Vegas. He can be reached
for comment at Bill@LGTConsultng.
com.
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 167

PROPERTY SPOTLIGHT

Got technology?

This column examines a property,
the technologies in use and
the vendors who provide them.

Paresa Resort
Phuket, Thailand

Paresa Resort in Phuket, Thailand, opened in January
of 2010, and is perched on the seaside slopes overlooking the
Andaman Sea. Aside from 49 luxury villas and suites, the property boasts two restaurants, a Thai cooking school and a spa.
Tropical rainforests and blue azure waters surround the highly
secluded property. But don't be fooled; just because the luxury
resort is tucked away and surrounded by nature, doesn't mean
that it doesn't offer many of the amenities and technologies a
guest would want.
(DFKVXLWHKDV¿YHSUHVHWOLJKWLQJVFHQHVDQGDOOYLOODVLQclude a remote control for lighting which guests can use from
any area of their suites. Additionally, all of the property's luxury
SUVs for transfers have complimentary Wi-Fi onboard for guests
to use.
When asked what makes the property different, General
Manager Scot Toon said, “Apart from your own private pool

Which technologies?
Channel Management
CRS
Database Marketing
Docking Stations
GDS
Guest Services
Hardware
Human Resources Tech
Lighting (In-room)
POS (Restaurant)
PMS
Safes (In-room)
Telecom
Televisions (In-room)
Time and Labor Mgmt.
Wireless Tech.
Yield and Revenue Mgmt.
Other Apps

168 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

LQHDFKVXLWHRXUPDLQSXEOLFJXHVWSRROKDV¿EHURSWLFOLJKWV
WKURXJKWKHERWWRPRILWFUHDWLQJDUHÀHFWHGVWDUHIIHFWDWQLJKW
We also have our own app by Blynk that allows guests to order
room service or buggies or taxis from their mobile device.”
Toon said currently he is most interested in multi-use key
cards, and said the property would like to look into “a key card
that does everything – from opening your door to charging for
services at outlets.” He also would like a solution where staff
can look at a screen and see details of who the guest is, all in
one place.
Next on the horizon for Paresa: an expanded guest services
app and some mobile site improvements. “We are looking to expand our app to offer more services and information for guests,”
Toon said. “We will also look at updating and improving our mobile website. Finally we are looking at implementing a wedding
and events management software for our F&B team.”

Who's providing them?
RateGain
Amadeus
VerticalResponse
JBL by Harman
TravelClick
Blynk (App designed for property)
HP
Eagle Technology Co.
ULTI (Programmable system with scene-setting functions)
Infrasys (Infrasys Gourmate by Genex Solutions)
Amadeus
Elsafe (VingCard Elsafe)
NEC
Samsung
Eagle Technology Co.
Cisco (Cisco Aironet)
RateGain
Blynk

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

WHO'S THE READER

tropicana
atlantic city

peppermill resort
spa casino

Atlantic City, N.J.

Reno, Nev.

Position: Director of Catering and Convention
Services

Position: Executive Director of Hotel
and Sales

Years with Company: 27 years

Years with Company: 28 years

Background: James attended hotel school at Johnson and

Background: Flynn began working at the Peppermill Resort

Wales University in Providence, R.I. He said, “I worked at Caesar’s
Atlantic City during the summers and
worked there full time after graduation.”
James has held a variety of responsibilities including working in the restaurants,
room service and convention services/
catering, and has been with the Tropicana Atlantic City since 1987.

Spa Casino right after he graduated from high school. He said, “I
was looking for a company that had a
good reputation and ended up at the
Peppermill based on a referral from a
friend that worked there.” Flynn has
worked in more than 10 different positions during his tenure at the property.
“The company has been great to work
for, giving me opportunity to learn and
grow within,” he said.

Most Interesting Day at
Work: “Every day is interesting,”
James said. “When you think you’ve
seen it all, something comes along that
you’ve never done or seen before.”

JosephT.James
James said he enjoys casino events as his team is able to do some
unique and different things with food. “Our culinary staff is tremendous,” he said. “We do fun events with celebrities and sports
stars, and we’ve seen a lot of interesting guest speakers with our
corporate clients as well as with state and national associations.”
Over the years James and his team have hosted Mickey Mantle,
Ted Williams, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Oliver North and Marcus
Luttrell (the Navy Seal from “Lone Survivor”), among others.

How He Found Out About HU: James saw
Hospitality Upgrade online and has been reading it since 2006.

Why He Reads HU: “I read Hospitality Upgrade because
of the stories about new products and ideas,” he said. “It’s a great
publication!”
Favorite Sports or Leisure Activities: James'
favorite sports are football and golf. “I’m terrible at golf but love
it anyway,” he said. James also loves to cook for and spend time
with his family. “As you know, our industry can give you a wild work
schedule but nothing is more important than family,” he said.

Most Interesting Day at
Work: “Every day is interesting,”
Flynn said. “In hospitality each day is

PatrickFlynn
different, and there are new challenges every day.” As he wears
many hats in his position, a typical day for Flynn can be very
busy. “A day can be comprised of meeting with clients, meeting
with my sales, hotel, catering (and) AV teams on various groups,
marketing initiatives, hotel rates and yielding,” he said.

How He Found Out About HU: Flynn came across
Hospitality Upgrade when he first took the position of hotel director more than 15 years ago. “I was looking online for industry
publications that were relevant to keeping myself educated on
trends and the industry,” he said.

Why He Reads HU: Flynn said, “I read Hospitality
Upgrade because I feel it’s a one-stop publication focusing on
industry trends and products, the latest technology and there is
always an interesting interview with industry executives.”

Favorite Sports or Leisure Activities: He
enjoys reading, working out in the yard, riding mountain bikes,
watching baseball, football and NASCAR, and playing basketball
and golf.

Favorite Vacation Spot: His favorite vacation spot is Arizona. “My wife and I love the West,” James said. “The mountains
and desert are a complete change from here at the Jersey Shore.”

First Job: James said his first job was at a 50-unit motel. “I
worked there three years in high school and did everything from
checking people in to maintenance and repairs,” he said. James
worked directly with the owner, who he said made an impact on
him even at that early age. “Working there got me interested in the
hotel business,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else!”

170 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Favorite Vacation Spot: Flynn does not get away
very often, but when he does, he enjoys taking vacation with his
family when his children are on their spring, summer or winter
breaks from school.

First Job: His first job was at a private country club mowing
the lawn, raking sand traps, pruning trees and cleaning out the irrigation lines. Then, after a one-year stint in banking, Flynn began
his career at Peppermill and has been there since.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

20th Annual

Arizona Biltmore
Phoenix, Arizona
Monday - Thursday
October 20-23, 2014
The Hotel Industry’s Premier
Deal Making Conference
To Register: Call 800-252-3540
www.lodgingconference.com
MORRIS LASKY
CEO, Chairman
Lodging Unlimited
[email protected]

HARRY JAVER
President, Producer
The Conference Bureau
[email protected]
R

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Ask the

GUEST

Our roving reporter, Lorie Juliano, again
accosted guests, but this time she tried the recently
renovated Sonesta ES Suites Burlington, Mass., to inquire
about their needs and wants during their travels.

The questions
she asked...

Eduardo Fernandez
Hollywood, Calif.
I haven’t yet used my phone to make
a reservation for a hotel stay. When
I was a road warrior, there were few
mobile sites (about 5 years ago), and
since then I’ve not needed to make
arrangements on the fly.
Social Media:
I do all the time. I like to share with
my friends and family on Facebook
what I am doing and where I am.

How did you make the
reservation for this trip?
Or more specifically,
did you use your
mobile device (cellphone)
to make the hotel reservation?
If you did not for this trip,
have you ever used
your mobile device
to make reservations?
Have you tweeted
or used Facebook
to post something
about a trip on
your mobile device?

Social Media:
I post to Facebook all the time from
my phone – especially while I’m on
the road.

172 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

I don’t use my phone to book; I
typically call the hotel directly. I
would consider it in the future if the
mobile experience improved. There
isn’t much detail available for most
hotels and I don’t want to look at a
whole website on my phone.
Social Media:
Rarely. I don’t like people to know
when I’m traveling – so I usually
share once I’m back home.

Tamrah Collins
Los Angeles, Calif.

Paul Tollman
Boston, Mass.
I make restaurant reservations all
the time on my phone, but I don’t use
it for hotel reservations. I like to open
the property site, the TripAdvisor
listing, reference the airlines – all
at one time with several tabs or
windows. I really can’t do that from a
mobile device in the way I can from
my desktop.

Joe Ruscutto
Coventry, Conn.

Rob Skilling
Wilmington, Mass.
No. I would if I had to – it is just
simpler to pull out my laptop and
have all of the information at my
fingertips. I am not concerned about
security; I buy things on my phone
all the time. Travel is different.
Social Media:
No – I don’t usually share where I
am. I never use the location-enabled
apps on my phone to automatically
share that information either.

Never. I don’t trust mobile in general.
I could lose my connection… the
site could crash… the data could
be stolen. I can’t imagine making an
important purchase this way.
Social Media:
I don’t ever share via social media
when I’m traveling – I’d rather no
one know that my home is empty
or that I’m in a particular place at a
given time.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

TECH&Health
Are you using your
mobile device the
right way?
Most of us aren’t. Most people are head down,
mobile device down. The same goes for reading
magazines and books. This can hurt your neck.
The head forward and bent position puts an immense pressure on two vertebrae and the disc in
between them. If the head is in the upright position, the weight of the head is distributed through
the seven neck (cervical) vertebrae. Unfortunately,
over time the discs decay (usually between the 5th
and 6th vertebrae), and chronic muscle tightness and
pain results.

What should you do?
Get those heads up! Hold your mobile device up at eye level. We
know you look funny doing it, but it’s worth it. So the next time you are out
in public and your family members are all hunched over their cellphones,
tell them, “Hold those phones up! You’re squashing your discs and potentially squeezing your nerves!”
Translation: You will thank me one day.

Dr. Roy Siegel (Doctor of Chiropractic and Diplomate, American Board of Chiropractic Orthopedics) is an esteemed chiropractor and lecturer. He is an expert on low back pain and
sciatica, prevention and treatment of dance and running injuries, as well as nutrition. Siegel
has been interviewed by national news channels and published in recognizable publications
including “O, The Oprah Magazine,” “Redbook” and Time-Life series.

TECH

and

HEALTH

174 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

The Tech & Health column will be a regular feature in Hospitality Upgrade. If you have a
question you would like Dr. Roy to answer please email it to info@hospitalityupgrade.
com.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

siegel

sez

Photos from ITB (Berlin), HTNG's N. Amer. Conference and HU's Cocktail Party in Atlanta

At ITB in Berlin, HU Publisher Rich Siegel tries to
offer Anja Erdl of MICROS a position on his all-female
dream team at Siegel Communications.

Marriott's Collington Scott (R) tries to talk HU's
Rich Siegel into investing in a hotel instead of
a new race horse at the Hospitality Upgrade/
Hotel-Online industry cocktail party.

(L) Shelby Gibson and Irene Cannon join Hotel-Online's
Michelle Renn and (far R) Tania Sanchez in discussing
"Travel Throughout the Ages." They did a great job at
HTNG's North American Conference, revealing what
travelers at different stages of their lives would like to
see in the hotels where they stay.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Here's a group with distribution on its mind... (L to R)
InnLink's Richard Corso is joined by Cathy Hwang of
Battery Ventures, John Burns of Hospitality Technology
Consulting and Kristin Intress of Worldhotels

(L to R) Diane Estner of SDD, Dan Phillips of Dare to
Imagine and Michael Squires of Softscribe Inc. dish
some industry dirt at the HU/HO cocktail party in Atlanta.

(L to R) Gabriela Bratkovics of ENG Infotech, Commune
Hotels' Mike Blake, Evan Brown of ENG Infotech, and
POST Integrations' Juli Barter and David Pauley duck
out of the HTNG North American Conference sessions
for a quick snack at Rancho Bernardo.
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 175

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Photos from Hospitality Upgrade's Executive Vendor Summit – New Orleans

Seth Christiansen of Knowcross Solutions, Datavision's
Sherry Marek, Cendyn's Bob Magliozzi and Nora Dehan
of NORTHWIND enjoy (ok groan) another one of the HU
ice breakers, and decide to take matters into their
own hand – a winning four of a kind.

You never know what you might
learn at one of HU's events. Lisa
Israelovitch of Umapped and
PriceMatch's Arthur Waller (R)
were volunteered for a cooking
demonstration with some New
Orleans history thrown in.

Lisa Israelovitch of Umapped and
Mike Blake of Commune Hotels wear
their new Pelicans hats with pride
after the team beat out the LA Clippers
with just a few seconds to spare.

Girls rule! Either the HU team is joined by Datavision's Sherry Marek and Indra's
Connie Rheams, or Rich has hired two more staff members... three including the Pelican.

Here they are: the EVS winning golf foursome of
Aptech's Jay Troutman, Susan Gregory of Ponterra
Business Advisors, NEC's Mike Gray and Michael
Buckham-White of Agilysys.
176 Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014

Not happy with the cool weather, or not happy
that Rich made them take another group photo...
Blueprint RF's Ron Peterson, ENG Infotech's Evan
Brown, Venza Group's Jeff Venza and Postec's
David Shaw get ready to bolt for the hotel.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

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Photos from Hospitality Upgrade's Executive Vendor Summit – New Orleans

Michael Waltman of Interactive Sites,
ZDirect's Hayes Thomas and Josh Keats
of Ponterra Business Advisors lead the
charge down to Bourbon Street after the
opening night cocktail party. Hayes knows
all the best places to go!

RoamingAround's Mike Garvin, Cendyn's Bob
Magliozzi, Trevor Warner of Warner Consulting
Group and Mark Swanson of Immersion Companies
cheer the Pelicans to a win over the Clippers.

You caught them; HU's Geneva Rinehart and Katherine
Darsie enjoy a well-earned break at world-famous Cafe
Du Monde. Yes, they found powdered sugar in their
suitcases when they got home.
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Peter Altabef of MICROS and Vivek Bhogaraju of IDeaS debate different
leadership characteristics after Bryan Williams' opening session.

Digital Alchemy's Don Hay, Ursula Rhode of
Genares and Hayes Thomas of ZDirect practice
posing before the dreaded group photo.

RedRock's Ron Dressin and Indra's Connie
Rheams plot to skip Rich's presentation
and hit Bourbon Street early.
Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 177

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www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Hospitality Upgrade | Summer 2014 181

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Procurement, Recipe Mgmt., Foodservice
Mgmt. Syst., Inventory & Cost Control,
Supplier Mgmt., Food Cost Analysis

POS, PMS, Inventory/Purchasing, Analytics
Workforce Mgmt., Document Mgmt.,
Mobility, Spa, Golf, S&C, Self-Service

POS, PMS, Inventory/Purchasing, Analytics
Workforce Mgmt., Document Mgmt.,
Mobility, Spa, Golf, S&C, Self-Service

Adaco, Inc.
40 Richards Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06854
203.838.3700 Phone
+44.1635.248.753 London
+65.6483.9131 Singapore
[email protected] • www.adaco.com

Agilysys
1000 Windward Concourse, STE 250
Alpharetta, GA 30005
877.369.6208
www.agilysys.com

Agilysys
1000 Windward Concourse, STE 250
Alpharetta, GA 30005
877.369.6208
www.agilysys.com

Products: Agilysys is an innovative software
development company dedicated to helping
hospitality operators create lasting connections with their guests by improving
the quality of service through technology.
The company’s solutions include property
management, point of sale, inventory and
procurement, workforce management, analytics, document management, self-service
kiosks, spa management and more. Agilysys
solutions help customers win the guest recruitment battle, enhance guest engagement
and increase guest spending.

Products:
• Agilysys Analytics™
• Agilysys DataMagine™ Document Mgmt.
• Agilysys Eatec® Inventory & Procurement
• Agilysys Elevate™ Point-of-sale Solution
• Guest eMarketing (GeM)
• Guest Express Kiosk
• Agilysys GolfPro
• Agilysys InfoGenesis™ POS
• Agilysys InfoGenesis Mobile
• Agilysys InfoGenesis Flex™
• Agilysys Insight™ Mobile Manager
• Agilysys Lodging Management System®
(LMS) Property Management Solution
• Agilysys Spa Management System
• Agilysys Stratton Warren System (SWS)
Inventory & Procurement Solution
• Agilysys Visual One™ Property Mgmt.
Solution Suite
• Agilysys Workforce Mmgt. Solution™ (WMx)

CRS, PMS, Internet Booking Engine,
Yield & Revenue Management,
Technology Services, Meetings and Events

Business Intelligence,
Budgeting and Planning,
Enterprise Back Office Accounting

Managed Network Solutions, Business
Ctrs., Guest Internet Svcs., Wireless Tech.,
Dashboards, Kiosks & Remote Check-in

Amadeus IT Group S.A.
Salvador de Madariaga, 1
ES–28027 Madrid, Spain
+34.91.5820100
[email protected]
www.amadeus.com/hotels/hotels.html

Aptech Computer Systems, Inc.
135 Delta Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
800.245.0720 Phone
412.963.9799 Fax
[email protected]
www.aptech-inc.com

Blueprint RF
5555 Oakbrook Parkway, STE 640
Norcross, GA 30093
866.931.9722
[email protected]
www.blueprintrf.com

Products: Adaco serves many of the world’s
leading hospitality operations by providing
purchasing, receiving, storeroom requisition, inventory control, operational control
and analysis, recipe and beverage revenue
enhancement, accounting, retail operations
and corporate management controls with
Adaco.NET. Built exclusively for the hospitality industry, Adaco.NET brings a clear return
on investment through purchasing efficiency,
visibility and control. Drawing on more than
25 years of experience in the sector, Adaco
has customers in 58 countries.

Products: Amadeus offers next-generation
hotel management solutions based on open
technology and offered as a SaaS model.
Amadeus reinforced this position with the
acquisition of U.S.-based Newmarket International. In distribution, Amadeus connects
some 300 of the world’s leading hotel providers with its global community of travel agencies with 235,000+ unique properties and with
690,000+ hotel shopping options distributed
through custom-built reservation applications.
Amadeus LinkHotel connects independent
and small-chain hotels to the multi-GDS and
online travel community.

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Products: Aptech is an IBM Business Partner
that offers Web-enabled business intelligence,
budgeting and back office systems that are
100 percent hospitality specific. The Execuvue® business intelligence system enables
large or small hotel companies to dynamically
analyze their data with drag-and-click simplicity. Profitvue® is a widely used thin-client,
Web-enabled hospitality back office solution
for single or multiproperty accounting. Targetvue is a hospitality-driven budgeting and forecasting solution. Aptech’s solutions enable
hotel companies to be proactive operationally
and financially.

Products: Blueprint RF is an expert network
services company with a strong background
in wireless design and support. Blueprint
RF provides integrated network solutions
specifically tailored to hospitality – fully managed guest access and connectivity, back
office and business center workstations and
printers. Blueprint RF network services are
turn-key (site survey and design, complete
installation – including structured cabling and
24/7/365 support services).

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Scheduling, Club/Spa, Enterprise, CRM,
Mobile, Web Booking, E-Marketing

Bus. Intell., CRM, Data Integration, Mktg.,
Data Warehousing, Mktg. Automation,
Website Design/Hosting, Database Mktg.

ERP, PMS, POS, CRS, CRM, Financials,
Ski and Resort Operations

Book4Time Inc.
306 Town Centre Boulevard, 2nd FL
Markham, ON, Canada L3R 0Y6
905.752.2588
[email protected]
www.book4time.com

Cendyn/ONE
980 N Federal Highway, STE 200
Boca Raton, FL 33432
561.314.3226
[email protected]
www.Cendyn.com

Cenium
5955 Edmond Street, STE 202
Las Vegas, NV 89118
877.623.6486
[email protected]
www.cenium.com

Products: Book4Time is a boutique, worldclass purveyor of cloud-based activity scheduling and revenue management solutions
for leading beauty and wellness brands in
hotels, resorts and day spas in more than 35
countries. With a market reach of more than
20 million consumers, managing in excess of
$1 billion in annual transactions, Book4Time,
a privately funded Canadian company is the
solution of choice for some of the world’s
largest and most prestigious companies on a
global scale.

Products and services: CendynONE provides a cloud-based software and services
platform that delivers an integrated view of
guest history, value, behavior, desire, intent
and engagement, which is leveraged to drive
higher marketing ROI while increasing overall
guest satisfaction and loyalty. Cendyn’s team
of experts in data integration, analysis and
optimization seamlessly combine first and
third-party data sources to deliver dynamically generated, one-to-one marketing and
advertising across all digital channels: email,
Web, display, mobile, video, social and
search.

Products: Cenium is a global organization
providing a unique ERP (enterprise resource
planning) solution integrating management
information across an entire organization
typically employing a single database. The
solution embraces property management,
finance/accounting, production/supply chain,
POS, sales and catering, CRM, along with
other core hospitality modules. Cenium is
based on the Microsoft Dynamics platform
and provides the hospitality industry with a
unified one-stop business solution to information management.

Channel Management, Distribution Svcs.

Tech. Svcs., Guestroom Tech., Kiosk &
Remote Check-in, GDS, Spa & Recreation,
PMS, CRM, ERP, BI, Mobile Websites

Data Mining, Business Intelligence, CRM,
Database Marketing, Digital Agency Svcs.,
Email Mktg., Guest Loyalty, Video Mktg.

ChannelRUSH
618 E. South Street, STE 500
Orlando, FL 32801
866.720.6808; 407.624.4016
www.channelrush.com

Chetu Inc.
10167 W Sunrise Blvd., STE 200
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33322
954.342.5676
www.chetu.com

Products: ChannelRUSH is a U.S.-based
company with sales and support offices
in North America, Germany, Austria and
Scotland/U.K. ChannelRUSH provides a
Web-based hotel channel management
system for hotel revenue managers that
allows them to maintain their hotels’ rates
and availability distribution across numerous
online travel agency (OTA) sites as well as
global distribution systems (GDS) from one
interface. ChannelRUSH has expanded its
product offerings to include one or two-way
interface solutions with PMS, CRS and GDS
partners with reservation delivery.

Products: Chetu is a 14-year-old software
development firm that specializes in creating
custom software solutions for hotels, casinos
and restaurants of every flavor. Chetu is a
U.S.-based company, headquartered in Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., with offices in Nashville,
Dallas, Las Vegas, Tampa, Chicago and Amsterdam. The company’s 800+ development
specialists work out of the two development
centers in New Delhi, India, owned by Chetu.

Clairvoyix
871 Coronado Center Drive, STE 200
Henderson, NV 89052
877.866.8693
[email protected]
www.clairvoyix.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Products: Clairvoyix is a leading provider of
highly scalable database marketing systems
and digital agency services. A true browseraccessed Internet application (software as
a service), its solution is preferred by both
internationally recognized branded chains as
well as independent hotels. The Clairvoyix
Hospitality Solution includes support for
highly targeted email, personalized video,
direct mail and mobile campaigns, with ROI
based on actual spend. The company’s commitment to quality, speed and affordability
has made it the choice for leading hotels and
resorts for more than years.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
F&B, Inventory Control, Purchasing,
Event Management

Enterprise Back Office Accounting

Data Warehousing, CRM, BI, Rev. Mgmt.,
Budget/Forecasting, Corp. Consolidation,
Payroll Control, Dashboard

Clear Sky Software, Inc.
7804-282 Fairview Road
Charlotte, NC 28226
704.568.5544 Phone
704.943.0585 Fax
[email protected]
www.clearskysoftware.com

Data Plus Hospitality Solutions
55 Middlesex Street
North Chelmsford, MA 01863
978.888.6300 x202 Phone
978.888.0141 Fax
[email protected]
www.dphs.com

Datavision Technologies, Inc.
1835 Flamingo Road, STE 200
Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
954.433.3633
[email protected]
www.datavisiontech.com

Products: Clear Sky Software provides back
office food and beverage inventory management systems that help organizations control
inventory, reduce labor, lower costs and
increase profits. Clear Sky systems replace
manual inventory practices and eliminate
repetitive steps, therefore offering improvements in worker productivity and accuracy.
Two systems – Clear Sky FOOD and Clear
Sky BEVERAGE – can be purchased together
or separately. These twin systems help
reduce the tremendous paperwork and labor
associated with managing food and beverage
inventory. Interfaces to major POS systems,
food service providers and club software are
also available.

Products: Applying the methodology of
collect, manage and visualize, Data Plus
Hospitality Solutions provides a superior
SaaS solution with more than 100 interfaces
and reporting tools. Applications include:
general ledger, payables, receivables, bank
reconciliation, human resources, payroll,
project management, purchasing, inventory
and a comprehensive reporting system.
Data Plus can also interface with most front
desk, point-of-sale, payroll expense and time
and attendance systems.

CRM, Digital Marketing, Mobile Solutions,
Business Intelligence

Business Centers, Guest Internet Services,
Guestroom Tech., Mobile Device Tech.,
Communications Tech., Tech. Services

Channel Mgmt., Comparative Price Intel.,
Online Distrib., Connectivity, Res. Integ.,
Reputation Mgmt., Rate Shopping

Digital Alchemy, LLC
5750 Stratum Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76137
817.204.0840 Phone
817.887.1355 Fax
[email protected]
www.digital-alchemy.com

Eleven Wireless, Inc.
315 SW 11th Avenue, 3rd FL
Portland, OR 97205
503.222.4321 Phone
503.296.5607 Fax
[email protected]
www.elevenwireless.com

eRevMax
37 N Orange Avenue, STE 500
Orlando, FL 32801
321.251.6559 Phone
321.206.8630 Fax
[email protected]
www.erevmax.com

Products: Since pioneering one of the world’s
first true hospitality CRM solutions in 1999,
Digital Alchemy has become an established
leader in customer relationship management
(CRM) and digital marketing solutions for
the global hospitality market. Its comprehensive line of product suites integrates CRM,
email marking, mobile, data intelligence and
surveys that include a powerful and flexible
set of tools for building and maintaining profitable relationships with hotel, spa and resort
guests. Digital Alchemy clients include some
of the most prestigious independent hotels,
resorts and spas worldwide.

Products: Eleven delivers compelling software that powers the guest Internet experience, with two key product lines: ElevenOS
and ElevenGC, both of which run on Eleven’s
cloud-based platform. All solutions provide
powerful revenue management so hotels can
provide value-added services that maximize
revenue and delight guests. Eleven is rapidly
becoming hospitality’s guest technology standard and is relied on by thousands of hotels
including nearly all of the major brands and
leading boutiques. Visit Eleven at HITEC 2014
in booth No. 1441 and learn more at www.
elevenwireless.com.

Products: eRevMax is a leading provider
of online distribution, channel connectivity,
market intelligence and revenue management solutions to the hospitality industry. The
company delivers its premium hotel channel
management product suite RateTiger,
Web-based solution SimpleDistribution and
its real-time enterprise connectivity gateway
Connect, to the hospitality and travel industry.
Incorporated in 2001, eRevMax solutions are
being used by more than 22,000 properties
worldwide.

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Products: Datavision extracts key information
from all production systems at the property
(PMS, POS, payroll, spa, golf, etc.) and
creates an integrated data warehouse that
can be used by all decision makers in the
company. Data is delivered to end users via
standard spreadsheets, dashboards and over
the intranet. Used by both individual resorts
and by corporate offices for multiproperty
consolidation.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Response Mgmt., Mobile Solutions, Mobile
Device Tech., Guest Incident Tracking,
Rapid Response, Housekeeping
FCS Computer Systems
327 Dahlonega Street, STE 102-B
Cumming, GA 30040
678.852.5911 Phone
[email protected]
www.fcscs.com
Products: FCS provides comprehensive hospitality solutions and services, with integrated
products used by more than 4,000 hotels in
32 countries. FCS Mobile Applications are
available on guests’ own mobile devices, as
well as the hotel's devices, allowing convenient access to hotel information and services. These services are managed through
five Web-based, guest-serving applications,
including e-Connect, e-Engineering, eHousekeeping, e-Concierge and e-Recovery.
These applications all seamlessly integrate
with the hotel’s PMS and other third-party
systems via FCS Gateways products: Unicorn
and Phoenix.

Social Media Marketing, Marketing,
Internet Reservations
Flip.to
630 N Wymore Road, STE 330
Maitland, FL 32751
[email protected]
www.flip.to
Products: Flip.to is a brand advocate
platform that helps hotels turn their
guests into engaged advocates to boost
brand awareness and drive Web-direct
bookings. The platform is designed to
reach travelers around the world and
generate significant return on investment
for hotels.

Channel Management, CRS, GDS, IDS,
Web & Mobile Booking Engines, Sales
Support, Consortia RFP Management
Genares Worldwide
Reservations Services
5201 N O’Connor Blvd., STE 400
Irving, TX 75039
817.722.2800 Phone
972.409.9988 Fax
[email protected]
www.genares.com
Products: Genares provides one of the largest numbers of distribution options available
and is uniquely positioned to provide end-toend solutions to hotels looking to maximize
their opportunities in fiercely competitive
markets. Genares' platform enables a hotel
to optimize its distribution by offering the capability of managing all distribution including
GDS, IDS, Web (website design and booking/
mobile engines), call center services, PMS
and real-time channel management – all from
a single real-time connection.

Wireless Tech., Mobile Dev. Tech., Tech.
Svcs., Guestroom Tech., Svc. Provider,
TV Programming, Guestroom Telephones

CRM, Loyalty, Rapid Response,
Marketing, Preventive Maintenance,
Guest Incident Tracking

Mobile Device Technology, Marketing,
Guest Management, Mobile Solutions,
Business Intelligence, Analytics, Loyalty

Guest-tek™
STE 240, 3030 – Third Avenue NE
Calgary, AB T2A 6T7 Canada
866.509.1010 • 403.509.1010 Phone
403.509.1011 Fax
[email protected]
www.guest-tek.com

Guestware®
100 Fourth Avenue N, STE 400
Seattle, WA 98109
206.233.0110 Phone
206.233.0345 Fax
www.guestware.com

HandHeld Hospitality™
8100 Boone Boulevard, STE 340
Vienna, VA 22182
877.331.3777
www.handheldhospitality.com

Products: Guest-tek™ has been a provider of
broadband technology and fully integrated solutions to the hospitality industry since 1996.
Experiencing significant worldwide growth and
increased operations with the recent acquisition of iBAHN, Guest-tek remains a preferred
vendor to major hotel brands. The company
offers the renowned OneView™ platform for
HSIA, IPTV, data, video, voice and mobile
apps on a converged IP network (ethernet
or coax). OneView supports a wide range of
revenue-generating applications and propertybranded UIs.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Products: Guestware® CRM software is
a comprehensive hotel guest experience
management system that includes CRM
plus loyalty, guest response and facilities
management. Guestware provides a suite
of tools to deliver flawless service, guest
recognition and effective marketing essential
for building guest loyalty. The software is
based on state-of-the-art service-oriented
architecture with flexible deployment models
including subscription or licensing that can
be centralized or property based. Guestware
offers 24-hour global support with regional
partners in Europe, MEA, Asia Pacific and
the Americas.

Products: HandHeld Hospitality™ is a
hospitality technology company leading
the way with new, affordable and easy-touse mobile apps for hotels, clubs, tourism
destinations and residential communities
that increase facility usage and engage
guests. SmartGuest™ is HandHeld’s first
mobile app for hotels, which allows guests
to receive instant notifications, make and
confirm restaurant and activity bookings,
and have up-to-date hotel and area information at their fingertips.

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185

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Marketing, Mobile Website Design/Hosting,
Search Engine Mktg. & Optimization,
Social Media Mktg., Digital & Internet Mktg.
HeBS Digital
1601 Broadway, 11th FL
New York, NY 10019
212.752.8186
[email protected]
www.hebsdigital.com
Products: HeBS Digital is a full-service
hospitality digital technology and marketing
firm dedicated to driving direct online channel
revenues. Its portfolio of clients including
independent hotels to major hotel brands,
luxury and boutique hotel chains, resorts
and casinos, hotel management companies,
restaurants and CVBs benefit from HeBS
Digital’s expertise. Comprehensive products
and services include website revenue optimization consulting, desktop, mobile and tablet
website design, SEO, SEM, metasearch
marketing, social media, online media buying,
campaign tracking and more.

HSIA, Internet, Wireless Tech., Help Desk/
Svc. Desk, Digital Satellite TV Syst., Bus.
Ctrs., Mobile Device Tech., Guestroom
Tech.
Hospitality Technical
Services (HTS)
2950 Hebron Park Drive, STE G
Hebron, KY 41048
859.689.6958
[email protected]
www.htsnow.com
Products: HTS is a partner and trusted
advisor to hotels, brands and management
companies across North America, offering
consultative approaches to cost effectively
meet the evolving HSIA and technology
requirements of guests and staff. Services
range from complete HSIA/converged
network design and installation to taking over
support of existing networks when appropriate. HTS utilizes best-of-breed equipment,
the industry’s most reliable and flexible HSIA
gateway, and its own 24x7 help desk and
NOC staffed by employee technicians. HTS
works with all major brands and is Marriott
GPNS certified.

Daily News Service,
Website Information Source
Hotel-Online.com
70 Mansell Court, STE 225
Roswell, GA 30076
678.802.5308 Phone
678.802.5309 Fax
[email protected]
www.hotel-online.com
Products: Reaching more than 25,000
people daily via its headline news email,
Hotel-Online.com is by far the hospitality
industry’s No. 1 website and daily email news
service. Since 1996, www.Hotel-Online.com
remains the hospitality industry’s online meeting place, providing the latest news, trends,
employment opportunities and product pricing
available anywhere. Sign up today to start
receiving Hotel-Online. For the latest hotel
news, announcements and compelling video,
be sure to visit Hotel-Online's brand new
website at www.Hotel-Online.com.

Tech Svcs., Guest Technology, Telecom,
TV Programming, Guest Internet, HSIA
Network, Wireless Tech., Guest Phones

Revenue Management

Enterprise, PMS, CRS, FMS, Asset Mgmt.,
Performance Mgmt., Workforce Mgmt.,
POS/F&B, Analytics, Revenue Mgmt.

Hotwire Communications
1 Belmont Ave, STE 1100
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
800.40.WIRED
[email protected]
www.hotwirecommunications.com

Infor Hospitality, EzRMS
641 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011
800.260.2640
[email protected]
www.infor.com/product_summary/
hospitality/ezrms/

Infor
641 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011
800.260.2640
[email protected]
www.infor.com/hospitality

Products: Hotwire Communications is a private cable operator customizing fiber-to theroom (FTTR) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)
technology in hospitality and multi-tenant
environments. Hotwire’s hospitality division,
Fision Stay, provides IPTV HD free-to-guest,
video on-demand, HSIA, Wi-Fi and PBX
solutions to more than 8,000 hotel rooms.
Fision Stay was created to offer a full-service
telecommunications experience uniquely
providing bundled services to offer discounted
pricing, a single point of contact and the highest level of integrated services.

Products: Infor Hospitality’s EzRMS is an
industry-leading, revenue and yield management SaaS solution. In addition to automatically calculating demand forecasts for each
future use of hotel rooms, Infor EzRMS
recommends appropriate selling strategies
such as open/close rates, stay controls, open/
close room categories, and overbooking levels – maximizing yield and profit. Historically,
most revenue optimization algorithms have
simply managed room price, but EzRMS also
considers ancillary spending that takes place
in spas and restaurants, on the golf course,
and in other extra-revenue areas.

Products: Join more than 14,000 hotels,
resorts and gaming properties worldwide
that are managing their reputation, building
customer loyalty, streamlining operations,
delivering exceptional guest experience and
maximizing revenue potential – with Infor Hospitality, one of the only hotel software solutions
that touches every area of the business from a
common platform.
• Hotel prop. mgmt.
• Call center mgmt.
• Revenue mgmt.
• CRM
• Digital mktg. mgmt.
• Financial mgmt.
• Workforce/talent mgmt. • Bus. intell./analytics
• Asset, incident mgmt.
• On-property and corporate
Infor, is one of the world’s largest software
companies with a commitment to the hotel
industry.

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www.hospitalityupgrade.com

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
CRS, Internet Reservations, GDS,
Online Distribution, Booking Engines,
IDS, Website Design & Hosting

Uniform & Linen Management,
Laundry Management, Inventory Control,
Security Management Systems

PMS, CRS, Booking Engine,
Condo Management, POS, Sales,
Banqueting, Activities

InnLink/Trust International
100 Country Club Drive, STE 205
Hendersonville, TN 37075
800.525.4658 Phone
615.264.1898 Fax
[email protected]
www.innlink.com

InvoTech Systems, Inc.
16530 Ventura Blvd., STE 603
Encino, CA 91436
818.461.9800 Phone
818.461.9877 Fax
[email protected]
www.invotech.com

iTesso
1389 Peachtree Street NE, STE 320
Atlanta, GA 30309
866.687.0040 • 404.687.0040
www.itesso.com
[email protected]

Products: Sister companies, InnLink and
Trust International provide solutions tailored
to unique customers.

Products: InvoTech is a Microsoft Certified
Partner that increases profitability for clients.
It is a leading provider of software management and control systems for uniforms,
linens and laundry and security operations.
InvoTech’s expertise in UHF-RFID system
integration delivers 100 percent control of
linen inventory and 100 percent protection of
non-theft-related losses. InvoTech’s systems
are easy to use and reliable. They streamline
operations and improve service with reduced
labor and operating expenses. InvoTech produces and supports 100 percent of its system
and development in house.

InnLink’s state-of-the-art booking technologies deliver real-time reservation solutions
for independent and boutique hotels. Bestin-class technology achieves bottom-line
return on investment backed by one of the
industry’s strongest 24/7/365 customer
service guarantees. www.InnLink.com
Trust International understands, supports
and simplifies the complex distribution needs
of hotel chains. With its advanced multilingual CRS application, hotel groups increase
net revenue with fully customized solutions
for the distribution process. www.TrustInternational.com.

Products: iTesso is a global provider of
advanced hospitality software solutions,
including:
• iTesso Enterprise Lodging System: As one
of the world’s first true Cloud-native hospitality solutions using the Microsoft Windows
Azure platform, iTesso reduces total cost of
IT and improves operational efficiency.
• Hotel Concepts IDPMS: With multiproperty
functionality, IDPMS allows hotels to manage
their PMS from a central location; gather
information from and execute distribution
strategies for all group hotels.
• Brilliant PMPRO: provides a certified twoway interface with IHG and BWI CRSs. The
integrated POS includes a mobile edition,
completing front-of-house automation.

Hotel Locking Systems, Electronic Locks,
RFID Locking Systems

Rapid Response, Guest Incident Tracking,
Mobile Device Technology, Housekeeping,
Preventive Maintenance & Engineering

Yield & Revenue Management

Kaba
7101 Presidents Drive, STE 250
Orlando, FL 32809
800.999.6213
[email protected]
www.KabaLodging.com

Knowcross Solutions
4340 Von Karman Ave., STE 420
Newport Beach, CA 92660
866.601.5669
[email protected]
www.knowcross.com

Products: Kaba’s products include the
Saflok and ILCO electronic locking solutions.
Kaba (SIX Swiss Exchange: KABN) provides
innovative products, systems and services.
Kaba is a global market leader with 150 years
of experience developing and servicing high
security locks, key blanks, transponder keys
and key manufacturing machines. Kaba’s
high quality access management solutions,
locks, cylinders, physical access systems,
enterprise data and time recording, and hotel
access systems are widely installed and
internationally respected. www.kaba.com and
www.kabalodging.com

Products: Knowcross provides one of the
world’s finest hospitality service organizations
tools to enable the execution of near-perfect
guest service, real-time communication and
measurable analysis while providing dramatically tangible operational efficiencies using the
latest mobile and internet native technologies.
Its guest service management system helps
hotels in more than 35 countries to provide improved and personalized guest services which
increase guest satisfaction and loyalty.

Maxim Revenue Management
Solutions (MaximRMS)
2626 N Lakeview Ave., STE 2501
Chicago, IL 60614
773.665.1400 Phone
773.665.1596 Fax
[email protected]
www.maximrms.com

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Products: MaximRMS revenue management
technologies:
• Designed and built from the ground up for
large international hotel organizations with
multiple brands and complex segmentation.
• Yet easy-to-use by select-service and
two-star to three-star hotels with limited
resources.
• Powered by patented mathematical algorithms that maximize total profits.
• Easily tailored to fit a hotel’s specific business processes and IT requirements.
• Extensive business intelligence analytics
for financial performance and strategic
management.
• Deployed quickly and inexpensively,
ensuring maximum ROI and substantial
profitability gains.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Payment Processing

Ordering, Inventory and Cost Control,
Time and Labor Mgmt., Business Intell.,
Kiosks and Remote Check-in, Point of Sale

PMS, CRS, Business Intell., S&C,
Customer Relationship Management,
Yield & Revenue Management

Merchant Link
8401 Colesville Road, STE 750
Silver Spring, MD 20910
866.853.3845 Phone
301.562.5121 Fax
[email protected]
www.merchantlink.com

MICROS Food and Beverage
Solutions
7031 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
866.287.4736 Phone
443.583.2505 Fax
[email protected]
www.micros.com

MICROS Hotel Solutions
7031 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
866.287.4736 Phone
443.583.2505 Fax
[email protected]
www.micros.com

Products: Merchant Link is a leading
provider of cloud-based payment gateway
and data security solutions, enabling 4
billion transactions annually for some of the
world's best-known merchants. Founded in
1993, Merchant Link currently supports more
than 300,000 hotel, restaurant and retail
locations, providing connectivity to the major
U.S. payment card processors. TransactionVault®, Merchant Link’s tokenization solution,
and TransactionShield®, its point-to-point
encryption solution, mitigate the risk of a
data compromise while lowering the cost and
effort of PCI compliance.

Products: MICROS Systems, Inc., provides
complete hospitality solutions: hardware,
software, systems integration and service
for POS, back office, restaurant operations
and enterprise management. Key products
include Simphony with guest/table management, remote management and mymicros.
net; Web-based reporting; MICROS RES with
enterprise office and enterprise management;
MICROS e7 for restaurants requiring basic
POS functionality; MICROS e-commerce solutions such as Web ordering, myreservations
and mobile payment processing; and JTECH
wireless paging solutions.

Products: MICROS provides leading enterprisewide applications, services and hardware
for the hospitality and retail industries.
MICROS combines its industry knowledge
and expertise to provide cloud-based, mobile
and on-premise solutions that allow its clients
to streamline operations and successfully
engage their customers. MICROS applications include PMS, CRS, POS, business
intelligence, eCommerce, loyalty, CRM and
distribution solutions. MICROS services
include hosting and SaaS, platform implementation and integration, strategic business
consulting, interactive marketing, design services including creative and user experience
and managed services.

Procurement, Inventory & Cost Control,
Food Cost Analysis, Recipe Mgmt.,
Supplier Mgmt., Foodservice Mgmt.

Guest Management, Property Management,
CRS, Payment Processing, Loyalty,
Mobile Solutions, Sales and Catering

Tech. Svcs., S&C, CRM, Catering & Events,
Distrib., Consulting, Channel Mgmt., Workflow Automation, Housekeeping Automation

Moreton Bay Technology Pty Ltd
52 Frenchs Road
Willoughby, NSW 2068 Australia
61.2.9958.8298 Phone
61.2.9958.5391 Fax
[email protected]
www.mbtcheck.com

Multi-Systems, Inc. (MSI)
7600 N 15th Street, STE 250
Phoenix, AZ 85020
800.331.7890 • 602.870.4200 Phone
602.861.3711 Fax
[email protected]
www.MSIsolutions.com

Newmarket International, Inc.
75 New Hampshire Avenue
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603.436.7500 Phone
603.436.1826 Fax
[email protected]
www.newmarketinc.com

Products: Moreton Bay Technology (MBT)
has specialized in comprehensive cost control
solutions for the hospitality industry for the
past 24 years. Its CHECK branded solution
meets the requirements of individual hotels
and multinational hotel chains. MBT has
clients in more than 70 countries and works
with the world's largest hospitality management groups. Clients include Hilton, IHG,
Harbour Plaza, Shangri-La, Banyan Tree,
Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, SWIRE,
SSP and HKJC, Sunway and many more.
MBT is headquartered in Sydney, Australia,
with regional offices in Beijing and Manila.

Products: MSI (Multi-Systems, Inc.), is
a leading supplier of cloud-based hotel
technology and guest service solutions since
1990. With an installed customer base of
more than 5,800 hotel properties throughout
North America, MSI is a one-source solutions
provider of fully integrated, cloud-based hotel
technology services. MSI TrûCloud services
include: guest and property management,
CRS and channel management, secure credit
card processing, guest loyalty and national
sales, sales and catering, mobile solutions,
and Web booking engines.

Products: Newmarket® International, Inc.,
an Amadeus company, (Newmarket) delivers
proven business solutions for empowering
hospitality organizations to lower costs and
increase revenue, while improving customer
satisfaction and guest loyalty. With more than
40,000 installations and 150,000 users in more
than 154 countries worldwide, Newmarket
technologies are a cornerstone in the global
hospitality industry, offering solutions for sales
and marketing automation, customer relationship management, catering and events, guest
loyalty, meeting intelligence, workflow management and property maintenance.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Multiprop. PMS, S&C, CRM, Web Booking,
Analytics, Dynamic Yield, Spa, Activities,
POS, Loyalty, Owner, GDS, Membership

PMS, Enterprise, CRS, Internet Res.,
Club/Spa, Condo/Timeshare, Tee Times,
POS

Meeting & Event Planning, Booking Engine,
Internet Reservations, Technology Services

NORTHWIND – Maestro PMS
8300 Woodbine Avenue, 5th FL
Markham, ON L3R 9Y7 Canada
888.667.8488 Phone
905.940.1925 Fax
[email protected]
www.maestropms.com

PAR Springer-Miller Systems
PO Box 1547, 782 Mountain Road
Stowe, VT 05672
802.253.7377
[email protected]
www.atrio.com

Passkey (now a part of Lanyon)
221 Crescent Street
Waltham, MA 02453
866.649.1539 • 781.373.4100 Phone
781.547.6500 Fax
[email protected]
www.passkey.com

Products: Maestro by NORTHWIND is a
preferred PMS of leading independent hotels,
resorts, condos and multiproperty groups.
With 21 integrated modules on a single-image
database, Maestro is recognized for providing
Diamond Plus Service, one of the industry’s
most responsive services, that goes beyond
conventional PMSs to deliver revenuegenerating tools and services to increase
profitability, drive direct bookings, centralize
operations and provide personalized guest
service to keep guests coming back.

Products: ATRIO™ Guest Experience
Management reduces total cost of ownership
(TCO) by embracing cloud computing, minimizing on-property technology and introducing an innovative user experience
that substantially reduces training time and
increases staff efficiency and productivity. PAR Springer-Miller Systems’ SMS|Host®
Hospitality Management System has 20
fully integrated modules including SMS|Touch
Fine Dining POS, recreation management,
timeshare/condo management, online booking and more. SpaSoft®, a fully integrated,
dynamic activities management/scheduling
software solution, is specifically designed to
meet the unique needs of resorts, day spas,
medi-spas and health clubs.

Services: GroupMAX™ is one of the
industry’s leading online group reservation technologies. With it, hotels can drive
more than 50 percent of their group bookings online, generate 10 percent or more
incremental revenue on their groups, while
capturing significant operational savings and
securing their room lists with a PCI-compliant
solution. With innovative tools such as fully
customized booking websites, integrated
email campaigns, social networking and
live dashboards, hotels gain an important
competitive advantage and deliver exceptional
event housing experiences.

Hosted Voice Networks, Guestroom Tech.,
Guestroom Telephones, Call Accounting,
Telecom, Voice Mail, Wake-up Services

Yield & Revenue Management, Analytics,
Business Intelligence, Casino, Consulting

Supply Chain Management, Procurement,
Inventory and Cost Control, Recipe
Management, Food Cost Analysis

PhoneSuite®
2150 W 6th Ave Unit D
Broomfield, CO 80020
800.245.9933 Phone
303.465.0237 Fax
www.phonesuite.com

The Rainmaker Group
4550 North Point Parkway, STE 400
Alpharetta, GA 30022
678.578.5700
www.LetItRain.com

RedRock Software
10120 W Flamingo Road, STE 4-348
Las Vegas, NV 89147
702.968.7851
[email protected]
www.redrocksoftware.com

Products: PhoneSuite has leveraged its
expertise in communication technology for
more than 25 years to provide high-quality,
energy-efficient, cost-efficient phone systems
exclusively for the hospitality industry. Founded in 1988 by two former Bell laboratories
engineers, PhoneSuite has installed more
than 4,000 hotel phone systems in properties ranging from bed and breakfasts to 500+
room upscale hotels throughout the United
States and Canada. PhoneSuite products,
combined with the company's nationwide
dealer support and engineering expertise,
create reliable communication solutions that
meet or exceed all hotel requirements.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

Products: The Rainmaker Group is a leading
provider of pricing and profit optimization
software to hotel and casino hotel operators
to help them achieve the highest profitability
by ensuring rooms are always available for
the most valuable guests. Used for more than
150,000 rooms, Rainmaker’s award-winning
GuestREV® system optimizes hotel inventory based on total guest value, generating
significant and sustained revenue increases.
GroupREV® is a first-of-its-kind group pricing
software that enables sales managers to
replace instinct with sophisticated algorithms
and quote group rates much more quickly
and confidently. It is currently in operation at
approximately 50 hotel properties.

Products: RedRock Software was created by
hospitality professionals with more than 200+
years of experience in hospitality materials
management. Its revolutionary source-to-pay
product was developed from the ground up
using Microsoft.Net and SQL server technology. The Sourcing and Materials Management
System (SAMMS) offers all the necessary
procurement and cost control means specific
to hospitality using Web-based technology
and offering a wide variety of options for large
or small enterprises.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
PMS, Spa, F&B, S&C, Club, Golf, Ski,
Retail, Concierge, Ambassador, Web,
Dashboard, E-marketing, Mobile

Back Office/Accounting, Procurement

Mobile Device Technology, Marketing,
Technology Services, Wireless
Technology, Kiosks & Remote Check-in

ResortSuite
Enablez Inc.
171 E Liberty Street, STE 207
Toronto, ON, Canada M6K 3P6
866.4RSUITE Phone
416.352.5511 Fax
[email protected]
www.resortsuite.com

RHR Systems Inc.
861 East 3450 North
Ogden, UT 84414
801.786.1923 • 800.574.3333
www.rhrsystems.com

RoamingAround, LLC
150A Andover Street, STE 1
Danvers, MA 01923
978.777.8787
[email protected]
www.roamingaround.com

Products: ResortSuite manages guest information and streamlines operations for some
of the most prestigious hotels, resorts, spas
and clubs in the world. Unlike other software
available, ResortSuite is built on a guestcentric technology platform. This enables
properties to manage their businesses more
efficiently and provide exceptional service to
their customers. HTNG and PA-DSS certified,
ResortSuite extends this unique, guestcentric design with data mining capabilities
and integrated one-to-one e-marketing, Web,
social and mobile user experiences.

Products: RHR 2.0 is a complete purchasing and materials management program
designed to manage complex tasks, while
making it easy enough for all staff to understand and use. Features include:
• Electronic (paperless) requisitioning.
• Checkbook accounting for control of departmental budgets.
• Ability to receive, issue, inventory and create requisitions using hand-held terminals.
• Customizable reports and a system that
encompasses all products and services, not
just food and beverage.
• Web-based program running 2003 Web
Server, XP Pro, Windows 7 and using
Windows CE Pro and Windows Mobile
technology.

Products: RoamingAround provides a
suite of technology-driven solutions designed for the hospitality industry, corporate events, tradeshows and on-premise
promotions. These solutions allow its
clients to become a thriving part of the
growing mobile platform and eco-system
to open new horizons for their businesses.
RoamingAround strives to establish
differentiation while increasing occupancies for hotels, generating new revenue
channels, strengthening customer loyalty
and positively impacting the consumer
experience for its clients. When you think
mobile, think RoamingAround.

CRS, PMS, Online Distribution, Booking
Engine, Internet Marketing, Website
Design, Online Media, RFP Solutions, GDS

PMS, CRS, Online Distribution, Booking
Engine, Internet Marketing, Website
Design, Online Media, RFP Solutions, GDS

CRS, Booking Engine, Distribution,
Internet Res., Channel Mgmt., Technology
Services, Yield & Revenue Management

Sabre Hospitality Solutions
3150 Sabre Drive
Southlake, TX 76092
682.606.4000
[email protected]
www.sabrehospitality.com

Sabre Hospitality Solutions
3150 Sabre Drive
Southlake, TX 76092
682.606.4000
[email protected]
www.sabrehospitality.com

Sceptre Hospitality Resources
7600 E Orchard Road, STE 230 S
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
800.252.0522
[email protected]
www.sceptrehospitality.com

Products: Sabre Hospitality Solutions
provides technology solutions to the global
hospitality industry. A leading software-asa-service business, its reservations system,
marketing, distribution and operations software and Internet marketing and e-business
solutions are used by more than 12,000 hotel
properties around the world, generating more
than $12 billion in revenue each year for its
customers. For more information, please visit
www.sabrehospitality.com.

Products: Sabre PMS is an industryleading, cloud-based property management
system providing hoteliers effective tools for
managing daily operations with robust rate
and guest management functions and a low
total cost of ownership (TCO). Sabre PMS is
a flexible yet function-rich property management system that allows the single-property
owner custom configuration and the multiple
property owner with top-down enforcement of
branding standards. As a cloud-based
system, the need for property hardware,
software and IT staff becomes unnecessary.
Sabre PMS is fully integrated with SynXis
CRS.

Products: Sceptre Hospitality Resources
(SHR) is an innovative provider of reservations technology and services for the hospitality industry, serving nearly 3,000 properties
on its reservations platform. SHR’s suite of
products includes WindsurferCRS, a state-ofthe-art central reservations system; MotionNotes, a video messaging platform; SpaLinx,
a spa management and booking application;
Whiteboard Labs, a custom Web design/
development and innovation lab; and Revenue
Management for Hire, a cost-effective revenue
management solution for properties of all
sizes and brand affiliations.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Payment Processing

Online Distribution, Channel Mgmt.,
Booking Engine, GDS, Connectivity,
Front Desk Management, TripConnect

Mobile Solutions, Mobile Device Tech.,
Kiosks and Remote Check-in, PMS,
Wireless Tech., Housekeeping, Tech. Svcs.

Shift4 Corporation
1491 Center Crossing Road
Las Vegas, NV 89144
800.265.5795 • 702.597.2480
[email protected]
www.shift4.com

SiteMinder
15301 Dallas Parkway
Addison, TX 75001
800.511.6038
[email protected]
www.siteminder.com

StayNTouch Inc.
8120 Woodmont Avenue, STE 440
Bethesda, MD 20814
301.476.1025
[email protected]
www.stayntouch.com

Products: Shift4 makes it simple for
merchants to securely process credit, debit
and gift card transactions. With connections
to nearly every bank/processor in North
America, and integrations to hundreds of
PMSs/POS systems, Shift4’s DOLLARS ON
THE NET® is one of the world’s largest
independent payment gateways. Shift4
provides pre/post-settlement auditing
capabilities, fraud prevention tools, support
for emerging technologies like EMV and
security solutions such as TrueTokenization®
and P2PE, which drastically simplify PCI
compliance. Shift4 also offers secure mobile
payments with VT4™ – Mobile Payments
Designed with Enterprise in Mind.

Products: As a market leader in cloudbased technology solutions for the travel
hospitality industry, SiteMinder products
have been creatively developed to
remove the complication and difficulty
associated to getting hotel rooms
discovered and booked online.
SiteMinder’s award-winning portfolio
helps hotels around the world to increase
online revenue, streamline business
processes and decrease operational
costs.

Products: StayNTouch brilliantly connects
your guests to your hotels. StayNTouch
delivers a cloud-based PMS Mobile Overlay
that brings the power of mobility to both hotel
staff and to guests. For hotel staff…via any
tablet or touch device, guest service and
housekeeping have mobile access to PMS
via a touch-optimized interface. For guests, a
branded smartphone or tablet experience for
pre-arrival engagement, mobile self check-in
and out, view room bill and receive upgrade
promotions.

Package Tracking Systems, Guestroom
Technology, Inventory and Cost Control

Rapid Response, Preventive Maint., Corrective Maint., Quality Mgmt., Guest Mgmt.,
Inventory Mgmt., Taskforce Mgmt.

Security, Locking Solutions,
Electronic Safes, Energy Management

TrackIT, LLC
861 East 3450 North
Ogden, UT 84414
801.737.5555 Phone
801.782.8404 Fax
www.trackit.cc

tracNcare
8301 E Prentice Avenue, #405
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
888.221.2071 Phone
303.779.0372 Fax
[email protected]
www.tracncare.com

VingCard Elsafe®
631 International Parkway, STE 100
Richardson, TX 75081
800.225.8464 Phone
972.907.2771 Fax
[email protected]
www.vingcardelsafe.com

Products: tracNcare provides visionary
solutions for automating, monitoring and
streamlining the numerous operational tasks
needed to manage assets, achieve increased
guest satisfaction and profitability. The company's state-of-the-art software application
is backed by a robust research and development team that constantly works at refining
the products available to partners. Working
hand in hand with current and future partners
and renowned industry specialists, tracNcare
continually releases enhanced features,
modules and applications.

Products: A world leader in hotel security
technology, VingCard Elsafe has products
installed in more than 42,000 properties
worldwide, securing in excess of 7 million
hotel rooms. Its extensive product line
comprises some of the most advanced
electronic locking solutions, in-room safes
and energy management systems on the
market today, providing unprecedented
security, control and facility system integration. VingCard Elsafe is part of ASSA ABLOY,
one of the world’s leading providers of locking
solutions. ASSA ABLOY is a publicly listed
Swedish company traded on the Stockholm
Stock Exchange.

Products: TrackIT’s package-tracking system
was designed for the hospitality industry. It
remedies package-handling problems for
hotels of all sizes and adds immediate value.
TrackIT is a flexible tracking system that uses
bar code scanning to improve productivity and quality of service. TrackIT also has
modules that manage the movement of guest
ski equipment and golf clubs. TrackIT can be
integrated with other management systems
to maximize effectiveness. TrackIT’s ability to
download information directly from FedEx and
UPS makes the process of receiving packages easier and more accurate.

www.hospitalityupgrade.com

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE
Website Design, Mobile Websites, Search
Mktg., Social Media, Email Mktg., Content
Development, Res. Syst., GDS Connectivity

Mobile Communications, Wi-Fi, VoIP,
VoWi- Fi, Wireless, Wearable,
Smartphone Application

CRM, Database Mktg., Data Integration,
Mktg & Automation, Mobile Device Tech.,
Surveys & Guest Response, Internet Res.

Vizergy®
4237 Salisbury Road N, STE 200
Jacksonville, FL 32216
800.201.1949 Phone
904.899.5809 Fax
[email protected]
www.vizergy.com

Vocera Communications, Inc.
525 Race Street
San Jose, CA 95126
408.882.5100
[email protected]
http://www.vocera.com/industrysolution/hospitality

ZDirect
1920 E Hallandale Beach Blvd.
STE 502
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
888.962.4548
[email protected]
www.zdirect.com

Products: Vizergy® offers award-winning
website development and digital marketing
services tailored specifically to the hospitality
industry. For more than a decade, the company
has provided digital marketing solutions for
thousands of branded and independent hotels
and resorts and hotel management companies
to help them effectively increase online revenue. Vizergy offers complete Web presence
management including website and mobile
website design, search marketing, paid search
marketing, online strategy development,
social marketing, email marketing, reservation
services, GDS connectivity and other digital
solutions.

Products: Vocera empowers hotel staff by
instantly connecting them to people and
information they need. Vocera provides the
ability to call by role, group or staff member
without the need to know a phone number or
location, using a hands-free, wearable badge
or Vocera Collaboration Suite on a smartphone. Vocera delivers integrated, intelligent
solutions that adapt to the context of dynamic
situations delivering distinctive guest experiences, higher guest satisfaction scores and
exceptional Trip Advisor rankings.

Products: ZDirect, one of hospitality's email
service providers, recently enhanced its
ZMail® electronic communications platform
to give hoteliers new ways to optimize their
limited resources using hotel marketing
automation and leveraging Big Data. Hotel
marketing automation streamlines workflow
by removing redundant tasks and improving
labor management, making marketing staff
more efficient. ZMail centralizes hotel data to
give marketers a 360-degree view of guest
booking data, stay preferences and purchasing behavior. This gives hotels a competitive
advantage, more effective marketing and
increased revenues.

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TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE

TECHNOLOGY Participants

Adaco, Inc. ........................................................72
Agilysys ....................................................3, 64, 72
Amadeus IT Group S.A. ......................................73
Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. ...................74, 75
Blueprint RF ......................................................76
Book4Time ........................................................76
Brandstand ........................................................44
Bright House Networks ......................................49
Bulk TV & Internet™ ..........................................45
CENDYN.........................................................9, 77
Cenium ........................................................64, 77
ChannelRUSH ....................................................78
Chetu ...........................................................78, 79
The CIO Summit ................................................97
Clairvoyix...........................................................80
Clear Sky Software, Inc. ...............................63, 80
Comcast Business ..............................................15
Data Plus Hospitality Solutions...................81, 149
Datavision Technologies, Inc. ....................82, 163
Digital Alchemy, LLC ....................................33, 83
Duetto Research ..............................................143
Eleven Wireless, Inc...........................................83
ENG Infotech ...................................................146
Enseo ................................................................47
eRevMax ............................................................84
FCS Computer Systems ...............................86, 127
Flip.to ........................................................87, 153
Genares Worldwide Reservations Svcs. ..............87
G-LINK™ ..........................................................169
Guest-tek™ ........................................................88
Guestware® .......................................................89
Handheld Hospitality™.......................................89
HeBS Digital ......................................................90
Hewlett-Packard ..............................................125
HFTP, HITEC ................................................35, 91
Hospitality Technical Services (HTS) .................92
Hotel-Online ....................................................111
Hotwire .......................................................43, 92
iavi ....................................................................51
IH/M&RS ...........................................................85
Immersion Companies.....................................138
Indra .................................................................28
Infor .................................................... 65, 93, IBC
Ingenico ............................................................25
INNCOM ............................................................13
InnLink/Trust International................................94
Interactive Sites ...............................................141
InvoTech Systems, Inc........................................95
www.hospitalityupgrade.com

iTesso ..........................................................21, 66
Just in Time .....................................................130
Kaba ..............................................................7, 96
Knowcross Solutions..........................................96
Lodging Conference .........................................171
MaximRMS ................................................98, 139
Merchant Link ...........................................99, 137
MICROS ...............................................23, 67, 100
Moreton Bay Technology Pty Ltd ......................100
Multi-Systems, Inc. (MSI) ............................37, 67
NAVIS.................................................................31
NEC .................................................................129
Newmarket ..................................................5, 101
Nor1 ................................................................117
NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS ....................... IFC, 68
NTT Data .........................................................165
PAR Springer-Miller Systems ....................... 69, BC
Passkey International, Inc........................102, 103
PhoneSuite® ....................................................102
Ponterra ............................................................57
POST Integrations ............................................135
PriceMatch ........................................................59
The Rainmaker Group ...............................11, 104
RedRock Software ...................................105, 131
ResortSuite ....................................................1, 70
RHR Systems, Inc.............................................106
RoamingAround, LLC .......................................106
Sabre Hospitality Solutions ................71, 107, 123
Samsung ............................................................27
Sceptre Hospitality Resources ....................22, 108
Shift4 Corporation ...................................109, 133
Sihot ..................................................................24
SiteMinder .................................................55, 109
SkyTouch Technologies......................................41
SONIFI ...............................................................17
StayNTouch Inc. ...............................................110
Systems Associates, Inc. ...................................147
Teledex ............................................................161
Teradata ............................................................40
Thing5 .............................................................159
TrackIT, LLC ....................................................112
tracNcare ................................................113, 145
Umapped .........................................................173
Vecima ..............................................................50
VingCard Elsafe®........................................29, 113
Vizergy®...........................................................114
Vocera Communications, Inc. ....................39, 115
ZDirect, Inc. ..............................................19, 116
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183

TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE

RICH'S
JUNK MAIL

FIDDLING AROUND
A nun was going to Chicago. She went to the airport
and sat down waiting for her flight. She looked over in
the corner and saw one of those weight machines that tell
your fortune. So, she thought she would give it a try just
to see what it would tell her.
She went over to the machine and put a quarter in, and
out came a card that said, “You weigh 128 pounds and you
are going to Chicago, Illinois.”
She sat back down and thought about it. She told herself it probably tells everyone the same thing, but decided
to try it again.
She went over to the machine, put another quarter in,
and out came a card that said, “You weigh 128 pounds,
you're a nun, and you are going to Chicago, Illinois.”
The nun couldn't believe it - she just had to try it
again.
She went back to the machine and put her quarter in.
Out came a card that read, “You weigh 128 pounds, you're
a nun, you are going to Chicago, Illinois, and you are going to play a fiddle.”
The nun said to herself, “I know that's wrong, I have
never played a musical instrument a day in my life.”
She sat down again. From nowhere, a cowboy came
over and set his fiddle case down next to her. The nun
picked up the fiddle and just started playing beautiful
music.
Startled, she looked back at the machine and said,
“This is incredible. I've got to try it again.”
She went back to the machine, put her quarter in and
collected the card. It said, “You weigh 128 pounds, you're
a nun, and you have fiddled around and missed your flight
to Chicago.”

DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
A kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring page
to her class. On it was a picture of a duck holding an
umbrella. The teacher told her class to color the duck in
yellow and the umbrella green, however, Bobby, the class
rebel, colored the duck in a bright fire truck red.
After seeing this, the teacher asked him, “Bobby, how
many times have you see a red duck?”
And Bobby replied, “The same number of times I've
seen a duck holding an umbrella.”
184

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Summer 2014

HOLEY MOSES
A preacher decides to skip Sunday services and go to
the golf course to play a few holes. When he gets there, he
discovers there isn't anybody else around, and he has the
entire course to himself.
But it turns out he had witnesses. It seems God and
Jesus are keeping an eye on him, and they don't approve of
him skipping church.
“Look at that guy,” Jesus says, “He should be in church
instead of out there on the golf course. Let me hit him
with a lightning bolt or something.”
“No,” God says, “I've something else in mind for him.
Watch what happens when he makes his next shot.”
The preacher sets up a ball, and drives it off the tee. It
sails 250 yards and lands squarely in the hole.
“What kind of punishment is that?” Jesus exclaims.
“That has to be one of the greatest golf shots in history!”
“That's right, indeed it is... and because he's alone, he
can't tell anyone.”

JUST ONE MORE... OR ELSE
A cowboy rode into town and stopped at a saloon for
a drink. Unfortunately, the locals had a habit of picking
on strangers. So when he finished his drink, he found his
horse had been stolen. He went back into the bar, handily
flipped his gun into the air, caught it above his head and
fired a shot into the ceiling. “Which one of you sidewinders stole my horse?” he yelled.
No one answered. “All right, I’m gonna have another
beer, and if my horse ain’t back outside by the time I finish, I’m gonna do what I done in Texas!” he announced.
“And I don’t like to have to do what I done in Texas!”
Some of the locals shifted restlessly. The cowboy had
another beer, and after a little while, he walked outside.
His horse was back. He saddled up and started to ride out
of town. The bartender, curious about the cowboy’s past,
wandered out of the bar and asked, “Say partner, before
you go… what happened in Texas?”
The cowboy turned back and said, “I had to walk
home.”

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
After leaving the racetrack Bill bumped into his old
friend Peter on the bus.
“Say, how’s it going?” Peter asked.
“Going?” the man said. “You want to hear one of the
most amazing things that ever happened? Tell me, what’s
today’s date?”
“July seventh,” Peter said.
“Right,” said the man. “The seventh day of the seventh
month. I go to the track at
seven minutes past seven.
My son is seven years
old today, and we live at
number seven, Seventh
Avenue.”
“Let me guess,”
Peter interrupted.
“You put everything you had on the seventh horse in the seventh race.”
“Right,” the man answered.
“And he won!” Peter exclaimed.
“No,” the man said. “He came in seventh.”
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