January 21, 2022
Siegel Sez
Here we are in the third week of January. Doesn’t it already seem like the holidays were ages ago? I know it does for me. As we look ahead to 2022, there have been interesting conversations regarding what lies ahead. I talk to so many hoteliers and vendors, and it’s great that there’s a sense of controlled optimism. It’s refreshing after what we’ve all been through. Of course, there will always be those who are focused on the negative, but that will never be my focus. Think positive! Be positive! And great things will happen. I hope this is not just the dreamer in me.
I’ve enjoyed all the inquiries from what seems like hundreds of technology vendors asking about our upcoming 17
th Annual Executive Vendor Summit. One of the things vendors need to be successful is to partner with many other vendors, to provide complete solutions for the hotel industry. Last year we had over 100 attendees, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have more than that this year. We’ll be in the Dallas area March 30 – April 1 for EVS, but you might not want to leave until Saturday, April 2. There’s a very creative announcement coming out soon as to why you’ll want to be there April 1. If you’re a vendor and have questions about EVS please contact Kim at
Kim@hospitalityupgrade.com or drop me a note at
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com. This will be an event that we all will remember, and hopefully positively! There are always surprises at EVS, but it will be hard to match what happened last year.
Click here to see what many might call a fun and somewhat embarrassing video from Nashville.
I’ve always been proud of the knowledge I have on all the technology products in the industry. I thought I had my arms around Business Intelligence, until I read Doug Rice’s update on BI and I realized I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Take a few minutes and read through Definitely Doug that follows, it is quite eye opening.
We’ve talked about many of the mergers and acquisitions that have been happening the second half of 2021, and I must thank Agilysys CEO Ramesh Srinivasan and ResortSuite Founder Frank Pitsikalis. Almost immediately after their deal closed, they let me do a video interview with them to find out how the deal came together. It’s been one of our most popular videos ever. If you haven’t seen it yet,
click here. It was very interesting, but we had a bit of fun with them also. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Here now is Definitely Doug and his thoughts on where Business Intelligence is, and more importantly where it’s going. Let’s stay positive and look forward to a great 2022! I’ll see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what.
Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com
Definitely Doug
Business Intelligence and Analytics: RIP Excel?
Hotel businesses are run in part based on numbers, and they need to see them quickly if they are to address problems early. But with the many different silos of information found in a typical hotel group’s technology portfolio, this has long been easier said than done.
Not very long ago, Microsoft Excel was the most commonly used tool for hotels that needed to combine data from multiple systems, whether within a single hotel or to facilitate roll-up reporting across a portfolio. Excel may still dominate today, but if so, it is rapidly losing share to business intelligence and analytics software. Despite this, there is a lot of confusion in the market around this category, largely driven by the hundreds (literally) of hotel software products claiming to provide business intelligence. Today’s column will try to clear that up.
If you’re buying a property management system (PMS), point-of-sale system (POS), channel manager, accounting system, or other hotel software packages, it’s not uncommon to find a module called Business Intelligence (BI) or something similar. They not only provide access to reports, but usually have the ability to drill down into summary numbers, filter based on dates, market segments, departments, or other criteria, and present information in graphical and dashboard formats.
But in my book, most of these do not really qualify as “Business” intelligence because they only work with data in a single, siloed system that falls far short of everything you need to run your “business” intelligently. To be sure, they can be hugely useful, but unless you are running your entire hotel business on that one system, they can give at best a limited picture of the overall business. Most of them focus on a specific function, such as finance, operations, or marketing and distribution; if they integrate any data at all from other systems, it is usually very limited and may require manual re-keying. And while a few (especially smaller) hotels may operate on a single system, most hotels of any size or complexity use multiple systems, often numbering into the dozens. A BI system that only has access to data from one of them will be very limited in its scope.
Not surprisingly, many of the BI systems in common use are built into financial reporting systems, because those systems have audited, cross-departmental data that plays a major role in performance measurement. They have their place, but also their limitations. Data are (or at least should be) correct, but are typically limited to revenues and expenses. You can see
what happened, and can drill down to see detailed sub-accounts and even individual transactions. But you often cannot see
why, because that detail may be buried in the PMS, POS, or labor management system.
Click here to read more of Doug’s column on Business Intelligence and Analytics: RIP Excel?
CORPORATE NEWS
- Cloudbeds Named Best PMS, Best HMS in 2022 HotelTechAwards
- Salto Achieves Carbon Neutrality, Offsetting 2020 Co2 Emissions in all its Offices and Factories
- HID Global Acquires InvoTech Systems to Broaden Its Leadership in Commercial Laundry Management Solutions
- Shiji Selected as Pilot Partner for New AWS Outposts Servers
- IQware Inc Acquires Megasys Hospitality Solutions
- WTS International Acquires Meet Hospitality Services, Will Expand Services
- Agilysys To Acquire Resort & Hotel Management Software Provider ResortSuite
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For more information on Corporate News for 1/21/2022
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Patrick van der Wardt Joins PROVision as Senior Managing Director EMEA
PROVision Partners "PROVision", a leading global strategic growth, marketing, technology, and commercial services advisory firm to the travel and hospitality industry, announces the appointment of Patrick van der Wardt to the role of Senior Managing Director EMEA.
www.provision-partners.com
GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Stayntouch and Pace Revenue Partner to Deliver Mobile Access and Dynamic Automation to Hotel Revenue Management
- Stayntouch Partners with Residential Hospitality Brand Mint House to Launch Guest-Centric Cloud PMS Across 22 Properties
- Maestro Makes 5 Roadmap Predictions for the Evolution of Hotel Property Management Systems and the Return of Travel
- Seven Feathers Casino Resort Partners with Infor Hospitality
- Record Growth in New Customer Acquisition & New Leadership Mark 2021 as Best Year in Stayntouch History, Sets Momentum for Accelerated Growth in 2022
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For more information on Guest Management Systems for 1/21/2022
RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION
- Cloud5 Communications Demonstrates Hospitality Market Rebound with Opening of Toronto Contact Center
Cloud5 Communications, a leading provider of communications solutions and managed IT services for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs and commercial facilities across the Americas, has announced the opening of a 15,000 Sq. foot contact center in Toronto to service customer travel itinerary needs for one of the world’s most well-recognized financial services companies.
cloud5.com
- Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Between P3 and Arvoia Delivers Personalized Guest Experience to Drive Direct Bookings at Hotels
Arvoia's AI utilizes technology similar to that used by Netflix and Instagram, in order to deliver a unique booking experience to each guest.
www.arvoia.com www.p3hotels.com
- UpStay Wins 2021 PhocusWright Innovation Award
UpStay, the first post-booking yield optimization platform for hotels, has won a major international travel industry award at the Phocuswright Conference held in Florida last month. The Award recognizes UpStay as one of the most innovative technology platforms available to the global travel industry today.
www.upstay.tech
REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS
- Salamander Hotels & Resorts Sees Record Portfolio Performance with IDeaS
IDeaS G3 RMS was instrumental in helping the resort properties capture the growing domestic leisure demand at optimal rates.
ideas.com
- IDeaS Revenue Solutions First RMS Provider to Achieve Level IV Global Support Certification from Hotel Tech Report
IDeaS, a SAS company, the world’s leading provider of hotel revenue management software and services, announced today it is the first RMS provider to achieve Level IV Global Support Certification (GCSC), the highest level of certification, from Hotel Tech Report. The company also ranked in the Top 10 Global Hotelier’s Choice Award in the annual HotelTechAwards for the third year in a row.
ideas.com
- Unique Vacations, Inc., an Affiliate of the Worldwide Representative for Sandals Resorts, Partners with IDeaS
IDeaS, a SAS company, a world leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced today it has partnered with Unique Vacations Inc., (UVI) to bring the power of automated revenue science to Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts properties throughout the Caribbean.
ideas.com
GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY
- Virgin Hotels Partners with InnSpire to Deploy Latest in Guest Experience and Contactless Service Integration Across Multiple Properties
- INTELITY Announces Its Award-Winning Hospitality Technology Platform Is Now Mobile Responsive
- The Andante Inn of Sedona Caters to Guest Demands for Secure Access to Personalized Guestroom Entertainment with BeyondTV GuestCast
- Crave Announced as HotelTechAwards 2022 Finalists
- Room Service Revenues Soaring at EB Hotels Miami with GuestHub
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For more information on Guest Facing Technology for 1/21/2022
MARKETING
- Zoox Smart Data Online Traffic Connections Set New Record in Q4 2021
Zoox Smart Data (“Zoox”), an international provider of technological solutions that harnesses big data to build customer profiles from existing Wi-Fi networks, has released its guest internet traffic results for Q4 2022, demonstrating a dramatic increase in hotel Wi-Fi usage that dwarfs previously recorded analytics.
www.zooxsmart.com
- Personalized Guest Targeting Makes the Difference: h2c Study Reveals the Challenges of the Hotel Industry
Many hoteliers are facing technological problems – especially regarding interfaces to other systems. This was the result of a global study on “Personalized Marketing”, which was conducted by h2c and supported by dailypoint™, among others.
www.dailypoint.com
- Lodging Interactive Launches CoMMingle-PLUS Premium Customer Engagement Service
CoMMingle-PLUS provides properties with the highest level of guest engagement services 7 days a week with social media marketing, direct social media messaging responses with property escalations, and customized guest review responses for all OTA sites and Google Business.
lodginginteractive.com
SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS
- ProposalPath Tapped by Troon for Proposal and Contract Innovation to Win More Group Sales
Troon®, the leader in providing golf and club-related leisure and hospitality services, has joined forces with Bluebuzzard to transform their sales process with ProposalPath, the company’s flagship proposal platform. Utilizing ProposalPath’s all-in-one document workflow, Troon-affiliated facilities can maintain brand consistency with ease while closing more leads in less time, and offering personalized sales documents that impress at every step.
bluebuzzard.com
- Knowland Revolutionizes Group Business Development with Launch of the Estimated Revenue Calculator
Knowland, a world leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, today enhanced its platform with the Estimated Revenue Calculator (ERC), designed to help hotels prioritize sales efforts based on the total account revenue potential of sales leads.
www.knowland.com
BACK OFFICE
- Raines Co. Dramatically Improves Owner Reporting Using Business Intelligence
Business intelligence solution is enabling the hotel management, development, and investment group to streamline operational reporting and make smarter business decisions on the fly.
www.aptech-inc.com
- ProfitSword Again Wins Industry-wide Acclaim with Multiple Recognitions During the 2022 HotelTechAwards
ProfitSword, a premier developer of business intelligence and data integration software for the hospitality industry, is today honored to announce details on its impressive performance at this year’s HotelTechAwards.
profitsword.com
- M3 Named Best Reporting & Accounting Software in 2022 HotelTechAwards
M3's flagship product, Accounting Core, the hospitality sector's #1 cloud-based accounting and financial management platform across North America, received the 2022 HotelTechAward for Best Reporting & Accounting Software by Hotel Tech Report.
www.m3as.com
HUMAN RESOURCES
- UniFocus Achieves Industry First in Spurring Workforce Management Motivation and Engagement with Unveiling of Gamification Capabilities
UniFocus, the leading provider of Workforce Management Systems, has today announced the launch of advanced gamification abilities for its solutions, providing hospitality businesses with a powerful tool leading to enhanced productivity and the increase in labor management expertise across the breadth of an organization.
unifocus.com
- Hotel Effectiveness Launches Into 2022 Announcing New Customers and More Awards
Hotel Effectiveness, a software industry leader for hotel labor optimization, starts the new year with an expanded customer portfolio. PerfectLabor™, the company's flagship product, has won the Best Software Award for the fourth consecutive year by Hotel Tech Report.
hoteleffectiveness.com
- UniFocus Unveils Predictive Scheduling, a Powerful Tool Ensuring Fair Workweek Compliance and Effective Labor Coverage
Workforce optimization technology provider empowers hoteliers with the means to easily navigate the increasing predictable schedule laws while maintaining seamless operations and high-level service quality.
unifocus.com
SECURITY
- VENZA and CyberTek Announce Commitment to Respecting Data by Becoming a 2022 Data Privacy Week Champion
VENZA and CyberTek announced their commitment to Data Privacy Week by registering as a Champion. As a Champion, VENZA and CyberTek recognize and support the principle that all organizations share the responsibility of being conscientious stewards of personal information.
www.venzagroup.com
- VENZA Town Hall Meetings Added to Product Development Process
In 2021, VENZA inaugurated Town Hall Meetings that bring together customer stakeholders and VENZA’s departmental leaders. The objective of this effort is to gather insightful feedback which serves as a qualitative research portion of a larger product evaluation process.
www.venzagroup.com
- ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Named Best Mobile Key Provider by HotelTechAwards for Third Consecutive Year
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, is today honored to announce that its Mobile Accessplatform has once again been named the Best Mobile Key & Keyless Entry Solution by the HotelTechAwards.
www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality
MARKET REPORTS
- Knowland Issues its Quarterly Event Activity Forecast
Knowland, a world leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, today released an updated U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF) to provide the hospitality industry with predictive insights into event recovery over the next three years. The forecast remains unchanged from its initial release in November.
www.knowland.com
- Knowland Sights Indicators of a Stabilizing Meeting Industry as Native Seasonality Asserts Itself into Normal Patterns
Knowland, a world leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, released its monthly meetings and events data for December. Although December U.S. group meeting volume decreased 16.8 percent over November 2021, this change is in line with normal seasonality trends.
www.knowland.com
PIQUED OUR INTEREST
- Even Top Hotel Brands Need to Improve Distribution and Marketing Performance in 2022
- Why Hospitality Workers Entering the Industry Are Saying 'Not for Me'
- Ridiculous: Marriott Hotel Adds "Sustainability Fee"
- Our 2021 Roundup in Hotel Marketing, Bookings and Tech
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For more information on Piqued Our Interest for 1/21/2022
And now for the You-Know-What...
For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.
One night, she confided to him that she was pregnant. Not wanting to
ruin his marriage, he said he would pay her a large sum of money, if
she would go to Italy to secretly have the child. If she stayed in
Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child support until
the child turned 18.
She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born.
To keep it discreet, he told her to simply mail him a post card, and
write 'Spaghetti' on the back. He would then arrange for the child
support to begin.
One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.
'Honey, she said, 'you received a very strange post card today.'
The wife watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.
On the card was written:
Spaghetti,
Spaghetti,
Spaghetti.
Two with meatballs, one without.
Send extra sauce.