Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - (Page 30) 30 Technology H&MM November 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition PROPERTY-MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS BY JASON Q. FREED, SENIOR EDITOR The Internet has had incremental effects on the hotel industry, and one area that has seen the most benefits is property management. An Internet-based property-management system, also known as a “hosted” application, has transformed back-of-the house operations. The biggest benefit hoteliers reported from a hosted property-management application is the centralization of data. “All property servers access the same main database,” said Jeffrey Parker, VP of technology with Magnolia Hotels, which implemented Hotel Concepts’ PMS through a terminal server environment. Alaric Pratt has worked in the information technology department at Campbell’s Resort on Lake Chelan in Washington for 25 years. He helped the property roll out Northwind-Maestro’s Web-based property-management system around 2000. Pratt said the Web-based system helps Campbell’s Resort store accounting and room inventory online, reducing labor hours and increasing profits. “Accounting, inventory, spending—everything is going into the same bucket,” he said. “You can see how much each room costs to maintain over years. And you can also determine what the odds are that you’re going to sell this room.” Centralize operations with a hosted PMS Many hoteliers said the ability to collect guest data and share it between properties is highly valuable. “It gives you the ability to collect e-mail addresses and information on the guest,” Pratt said. “Then we can send e-mails that say ‘Oh, by the way, this weekend in July, you can get a room with us for $119.’ It helps us fill in those soft dates.” “The central data center allows our guests to exist in one place,” Parker said. “This way we are able to track their interaction with our properties in one application.” At Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants, which owns and manages a combination of 23 properties, Todd Maxwell, VP of technology, is in the midst of moving management operations from a Windowsbased model, where the software was installed on each and every hotel computer, to a .NET-model, where the PMS is centralized in a datacenter and accessed through a Web browser over the Internet. Maxwell and Larkspur chose to partner with SoftBrands and roll out its Epitome .NET multi-property PMS. “Home office and hotel staff can access hotel data from anywhere there is Internet access,” Maxwell said. “And on the back end, it offers a single-guest database record so we can track stay history and customize guest experiences.” CAMPBELL’S RESORT tech TALK Marriott and Renaissance guests can now choose from 20 Nintendo Wii games, including the popular Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports, as well as the fitness game, Wii Fit, in select guestrooms and lounges. Wii systems are available at six Marriott and Renaissance properties. ITradeNetwork and Amphire Solutions have merged to form iTradeNetwork, which will offer software as a service procurement and supply chain management solutions integrated with the company’s spend intelligence solutions. TeleAdapt helps hotel guests at The Mirage in Las Vegas stay connected with the installation of nearly 3,000 MediaHub connectivity panels—one in each hotel room—as part of the resort’s comprehensive room re-design project. Guests can fill a room with their own music, videos, pictures and games simply by plugging in their personal media devices through the television. The Rainmaker Group, providing automated revenue management software and services, recently held its fifth annual gaming and hospitality Client Steering Committee Meeting. At the event, Wall Street financial advisers urged greater adoption of technology to drive new revenue streams. Hotel 1000 [Seattle] has partnered with and IdentityMine to release Microsoft Surface applications. Microsoft Surface offers interaction with digital content on a 30inch display in a table-like form near the hotel’s lobby without having to use a keyboard and mouse. Compiled by Jason Q. Freed, jfreed@questex.com For more info Company Circle No. Agilysys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Aptech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Autoclerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Hotel Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . 280 innRoad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 Micros Systems . . . . . . . . . . 282 Multi-Systems . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Northwind-Maestro. . . . . . . . 284 Pegasus Solutions . . . . . . . . 285 Softbrands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 Vizergy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Multi-Systems gives ‘hospitality’ new meaning Multi-Systems has provided property-management solutions for the hospitality industry for nearly 30 years. More recently, the company has taken its expertise and packaged it to provide a safe environment for families who are suffering with illness. Multi-Systems has partnered with the Ronald McDonald House to run the technologies behind rooms for families to stay in while they are visiting children receiving medical treatment. Multi-Systems has deployed its Web-based Enterprise software to run and operate the Phoenix Ronald McDonald House. “We provided MSI’s Enterprise propertymanagement system in a true [Application Service Provider] environment,” said Tim Tiller, president of MSI. “Community is one of MSI’s core values, and partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities allowed us to make the volunteers’ lives easier through technology, as well as [make] guests and patients comfortable in a room we designed.” MSI’s EnterprisePM offers the ability to interface with many hotel operations, such as the phone system, electronic key lock and in-room entertainment. Quotable Magnolia Hotels MULTI-SYSTEMS “ In relation to software and hardware, the transition was relatively easy. The application looks and feels like it is run locally. The users click an icon, log in and are away. JEFFREY PARKER, VP of technology with http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 Contents Muted Mood at First HHOA Conference Concord Steps Up Management Plans, Goals DePaul Launches Hospitality School Perspective Legal FAQ Consultant’s Corner Maintenance Doctor Family Business Management Trends What Women Want Training Trends Marketing Matters HotelWorld Update Trends and Stats Top Design Firms Property-management Systems Transportation Services Laundry Equipment Marketplace Ad/Editorial Index Classifieds Checking Out Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 (Page 1) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 (Page 2) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - DePaul Launches Hospitality School (Page 4) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - DePaul Launches Hospitality School (Page 5) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Perspective (Page 6) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Perspective (Page 7) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Consultant’s Corner (Page 8) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Consultant’s Corner (Page 9) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Maintenance Doctor (Page 10) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Maintenance Doctor (Page 11) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Family Business (Page 12) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Family Business (Page 13) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Management Trends (Page 14) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Management Trends (Page 15) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - What Women Want (Page 16) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - What Women Want (Page 17) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Training Trends (Page 18) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Training Trends (Page 19) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Marketing Matters (Page 20) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - HotelWorld Update (Page 21) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Trends and Stats (Page 22) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Trends and Stats (Page 23) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 24) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 25) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 26) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 27) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 28) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Top Design Firms (Page 29) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Property-management Systems (Page 30) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Property-management Systems (Page 31) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Property-management Systems (Page 32) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Transportation Services (Page 33) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Transportation Services (Page 34) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Transportation Services (Page 35) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Transportation Services (Page 36) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Transportation Services (Page 37) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Laundry Equipment (Page 38) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Marketplace (Page 39) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Ad/Editorial Index (Page 40) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Classifieds (Page 41) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Classifieds (Page 42) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Classifieds (Page 43) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Classifieds (Page 44) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Classifieds (Page 45) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Checking Out (Page 46) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Checking Out (Page 47) Hotel & Motel Management - November 17, 2008 - Checking Out (Page 48)
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