Hotel Management May 2012 : Page 38

38 TECHNOLOGY How to drive revenue through property-management systems By Andrew Sheivachman ASSOCIATE EDITOR F or hoteliers with a proper-ty-management system, new technology has made information more readily avail-able and helped drive revenue on Select service experts With experts in your region and across the spectrum of hotel investment services, we deliver results customized to your unique real estate goals, driving powerful solutions through our focused industry intelligence, deep market insight and specialized expertise. • • • • • Investment sales Financing Note sales Recapitalizations Valuations a scale not seen before. “We don’t get incremental revenue from using the PMS, but there is information in there you can use if you want to,” said Graham Dungey, SVP of ecom-merce, revenue and distribution for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. “ e theory is fantastic. You iden-tify the people who spend the most money and where they spend it. Some hotels are quite forward-thinking; they’ll make a study of the minibar, see who is buying what items, put corner-store food into a dozen minibars and sell it for twice as much. ere is so much opportunity inside the PMS to increase incremental spend on property.” Concorde uses RateTiger technology across its European and African hotels. Sometimes, an innovative approach using guidance from the PMS can help capture revenue from struggling areas of hotel operation. “For a study, we looked at reve-nue per available seat hour in our restaurant and found that there were hours where the restaurant was fully sta ed but there were no guests,” said Dungey. “I launched a 50-percent discount and it lled the restaurant. e challeng[ers] to this principal say I’m not making any money, but the truth is I’m not losing any money. en buying patterns changed once hotel guests realized they were getting a great deal; guests began spending more.” At Water’s Edge Resort and Spa in Westbrook, Conn., having Maestro PMS integrated across di erent areas of the hotel is vital to generating more revenue from guests. “We’re able to look at every-thing and have the same kind of application in the front desk and spa,” said Heather Hennessey, nancial controller for Water’s Edge Resort and Spa. “Now we can see rooms from the spa desk and book speci c spa providers from the front desk. ere are lots CONCORDE HOTELS & RESORTS Concorde Hotels & Resorts uses PMS data to attract more guests to its F&B outlets. Pictured here is the Hotel Palais de la Méditerranée. of parameters we can implement to ful ll our guest needs.” But for some revenue managers and hoteliers, the modest revenue generated from certain areas is not worth the time investment toward data analysis or trial and error. “ ere is always something more pro table that comes higher up on the list; that’s the reason it’s not done,” said Dungey. “I sell a room at about 85-percent pro t, so if I’m going to focus my time on selling rooms or candy bars, it really comes down to the prof-itable dollar. Still, sometimes prospecting and understanding buying habits using information from the PMS can open up di er-ent ways of doing things in chan-HM nels and opportunities.” ■ asheivachman@questex.com Al Calhoun +1 404 995 2128 | al.calhoun@am.jll.com RATETIGER Mark Fair +1 404 995 2113 | mark.fair@am.jll.com RateTiger technology can help hoteliers manage their property and reservations remotely. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels know how For properties with a small staff, an effective property-management system can lead to ef ciency across the hotel. “The biggest draw for the PMS we currently have is that we can communicate so ef ciently with a small staff,” said Ramon Serrano, GM of the 16-suite Hotel Les Mars, a Relais & Châteaux hotel in Healdsburg, Calif. “Some of the work we do for our guests is very involved, especially when they call asking for reservations at a winery. We’re able to use different notes and actions to keep everyone informed. If they call and I’m not here, the next person will have all the information without having to start over again.” Smaller hotels still bene t from a robust PMS Since Hotel Les Mars offers a number of packages including in-room spa treatments and winery trips, having an effective networked PMS is essential to operation. “The previous system was unstable, and not all the info entered would stay in place for the life of that reservation,” said Serrano. “It was dif cult to maximize revenue created and also entice guests to stay and take advantage of our packages. Because reporting is so robust, we’re able to take a look at our reservations months in the future and HM actively manage our rates.” ■ asheivachman@questex.com

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