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New Industry Report Commissioned by Amadeus Recommends that Hotels Act Now to Secure Their Futures

June 10, 2010 - A new report commissioned by Amadeus Hospitality Systems entitled, "Invent the Future: the New Normal for Hotels in 2010 and Beyond," argues that changes in the last decade are creating a new environment in which hotels need to do more with less if they are to secure growth and competitive differentiation in 2010 and beyond.

The report suggests that 2010 is a critical year of transformation for the hospitality industry if it is to meet the challenges of the next decade.

The report highlights four key areas that will be vital drivers of growth for hotels in the future. These include the guest experience, globalization, brand value and performance agility and speed-to-market.

The report, commissioned by Amadeus Hospitality Solutions, was developed by John Burns, president of Hospitality Technology Consulting, a leading strategic consultancy to the sector. The objective of the report was to provide insights into the major changes taking place in the sector and to better understand the hallmarks of success for global hotel groups in the new economy.

“Hotel brands gearing up for growth will face significant obstacles without integrated technology that can help them keep up with their guests' needs and the marketplace overall,” said Vic Pynn, executive vice president of Amadeus Americas. “The future belongs to hotel brands that develop competitive advantages using technology to drive operational efficiency, time-to-market speed and higher guest satisfaction.”

Jérôme Destors, director of hotel IT at Amadeus said, “We commissioned this report to further understand the strategic business issues facing our customers. It is clear that 2010 must be a year of transformation for hotels. We also believe it must be a year of transformation in hospitality technology. Whilst ensuring that technology is the handmaiden of business strategy, we are focused on providing hotels with the tools they need to leverage brand value across global business operations, to support them as they expand globally and transform the guest experience.”

John Burns, author of the report, said, “2010 will not see a return to business as usual. We are entering a new normal following the structural changes of the last 10 years and the financial upheaval of the last 18 months. This requires hotels to fundamentally assess their commercial strategy and consider all aspects of their business afresh. The dramatic convergence of market trends, structural changes in the sector and technology developments offer hotels the opportunity to reinvent how they do business. The hotels which will thrive in this new era will be those that demonstrate both business and technology agility.”

The report details how 2010 can be a year of transformation if hotels focus on how the industry and guest preferences are changing.

The report dives into the relationship between guests and hotels, which is becoming more complex as guest knowledge and expectations increase. Globalization is also taking on a new course as growth markets influence the hospitality map; how can an hotelier capitalize on this trend and not lose control?

Further to this, changing hotel ownership structures are impacting the importance of brand value, and the ability to maximize it. Will this become a critical business issue and a core point of differentiation?

Finally, being able to respond dynamically to these changes in the market will be one of the most important attributes of a successful hotel group. The report investigates how hotels must look at ways in which they can future-proof their technology systems so that they can focus on getting the business decisions right rather than having to rely on the supporting technology.

This white paper will be presented as part of the HITEC Technology Showcase – an open series of educational seminars and events for conference delegates and exhibition attendees. The session will take place from 1 – 2 p.m. on June 21, and will include an overview of the white paper’s findings from the author John Burns, and a panel session with Mike Blake CIO from Hyatt and St. John Murphy from Keane Consulting Group who will then be joined by Amadeus co-hosts Jérôme Destors and Vic Pynn for a question and answer session.

The Amadeus Hospitality Solutions team serves the needs of hotels and hotel groups globally with offices in Europe, North America and Asia. Amadeus is operational through 72 local Amadeus Commercial Organizations covering frontline activities in 195 countries. To download a full copy of the white paper and to find out more information on Amadeus at the Technology Industry Forum at HITEC, please visit www.amadeus.com/hotelit/white-paper.html.

Amadeus is a leading transaction processor and provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail, ferries, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and Websites), and travel buyers (corporations and individual travellers). The group operates a transaction-based business model and processed more than 670 million billable travel transactions in 2009.

Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters and marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (operations – data processing center) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Bangkok and Dubai. At a market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations through 72 local Amadeus Commercial Organizations covering 195 countries.

Amadeus is listed on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges and trades under the symbol AMS.MC. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the company reported revenues of EUR 2,461 million and EBITDA of EUR 894 million. The Amadeus group employs over 9,300 employees worldwide, with 123 nationalities represented at the central offices.

www.amadeus.com

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