Management at Vermont’s historic Basin Harbor Club hotel had a sense that
Libra OnDemand was more than just another customer relationship management technology, but they could not have predicted that just six months after implementation the system would be playing a central role in keeping the property running smoothly.
When severe flooding of the adjacent Lake Champlain closed many surrounding roads and put Basin Harbor in danger of losing key group business, the hotel turned to Libra OnDemand and its comprehensive Hospitality Management System for a complete 360-degree view of its customer base. Using Libra OnDemand’s integrated email marketing functionality in conjunction with its group sales management module, the hotel was able to efficiently and effectively communicate with guests.
“We were at risk of losing lots of business, but as soon as the flooding hit we used Libra to let our guests know that we’re open and ready to go,” says Brian Goodyear, Basin Harbor’s director of engineering and technical services. “We were able to quickly send out detour directions and to figure out what incentives and offers we needed to send to guests to keep them coming. Libra helped us communicate proactively to keep the flood from getting ahead of a successful season.”
Libra OnDemand is a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of hospitality solutions that are natively built using cloud technologies, and while its flagship Hospitality Management System is best known for its cutting-edge CRM and guest analytics capabilities, hotels like Basin Harbor are taking advantage of its integrated sales and marketing tools. “It is our sales and catering software, period,” Goodyear says. “It is what we use to manage our sales inquiries, proposals, bookings, contracts, banquet event orders, menus, everything. Libra OnDemand is entirely how we manage the group sales portion of our business.”
Before implementing Libra OnDemand last year, Basin Harbor’s core software platforms—property management system, CRM and sales and catering management—existed separate from one another, with virtually no interplay between them. Goodyear likened them to three “islands” of information. “Now, the islands have become a single cloud,” he says. “With Libra, we know when we’re dealing with the same person in a group setting versus as an individual guest. It’s extraordinarily helpful to know their preferences and information when they’re bringing a large group to us.”
And because Libra OnDemand is built on the backbone of myriad cloud-based technologies, the applications available to be integrated with the system are virtually endless. “Usually you’re constrained by the technology, especially sales software, but not Libra,” Goodyear says. “In fact, this product constantly pushes us to always find new creative and better ways to run our business.”