Hotel & Motel Management - September 3, 2007 - (Page 10)

10 Sales Clinic IN THE details Web-based requests Electronic RFPs common Survey might offer insights Software makes it easier H&MM September 3, 2007 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Use today’s technology to plan meetings ow many electronic requests for proposals have you been receiving weekly? Just how many do you receive weekly from the variety of meeting planners who work for corporations, associations, for social, military, educational, religious and fraternal groups, government agencies or organizations—as well as from H By Howard Feiertag H&MM Columnist independent meeting planners? In recent columns, we have tried to address the issue of meeting planners via a survey conducted by MeetingNews complaining about hotel sales staff not responding to queries in a timely manner. There seems to be a big issue about the large number of electronic RFPs coming into properties with meeting space, and following a response, no other word comes back to the prospective buyer who sent the request in the ﬁrst place. Please send me an e-mail (howardf@vt.edu) with the information about the number of these requests you get in a week. If you have the time and the information, and can advise me of the breakdown by market seg- Stop using your vacuum cleaner as CHANGES YOUR VACUUM FROM A BATTERING RAM a battering ram that dents furniture, scratches baseboards, bangs up doors and walls. And leads to bruising repair bills. Instead, tame the beast with a Soft Vac Protective Vacuum Cover. • Ends vacuum damage forever • Installs in seconds with Velcro tabs • Soft, durable cordoura fabric outside • High-density foam rubber inside • Eliminates costly repair bills • Extends vacuum cleaner life • Increases housekeeping productivity • There’s a Soft Vac model to fit any vacuum To learn more, contact your distributor, or call us at or visit INTO A GENTLE LAMB softvac.com. 800-866-7001, ment, it would be helpful. This will help me with a follow-up in response to prospective buyers about the workload involved in responding to them. People might not realize the research that needs to be done with some of the requests received in order to make a response. Of course, all this creates an additional burden on the sales staff. Several companies seem to be working on software programs to help curtail the time it takes for sales professionals to respond to electronic RFPs. One of the new solutions is The DirectBook from Newmarket International, which allows meeting planners to book an entire meeting online in two to three minutes compared with the usual 2448 hour turnaround for manual scheduling. Hotels and conference centers that join Newmarket’s DirectBook program have a link from their Web sites directly to the program. From there, it allows the user to get access to a consolidated database that will bring up inventories available to them, based on their user password. Properties that participate in the program load information, and have total control over which function rooms, menus and resources are offered. The program is set up to handle small day meetings only. A hotel that might beneﬁt would be a property like the 147-room Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, which has 10 conference rooms and a 700-seat ballroom. The on-campus property, managed by Hilton Hotels Corp., already runs Newmarket’s Delphi System. The Inn’s Day Meeting Package, including lunch, breakfast and continuous refreshments, will satisfy an estimated 90 percent of a planner’s requirements, and a la carte items can be added if desired. For more information on this program, contact Elise Sherman at (603) 427-5750 or esherman@ newmarketinc.com. hmm@questex.com Howard Feiertag is on the faculty of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va. He can be reached at howardf@vt.edu. CIRCLE NO. 122 © 2006 SOFT VAC CORPORATION http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://softvac.com http://softvac.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - September 3, 2007

Cover Contents Convention Centers Add Bells and Whistles Questex Media acquires Five Star Alliance Perspective At Your Risk Energy Star Update Sales Clinic Transactions Awards Trends & Stats Wireless Networking Northwest Pipeline Coffee Services Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - September 3, 2007

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