Siegel Sez

Archive Photos Rumors

April 14, 2023

Siegel Sez

If whatever you do for a living has you connected to how hotel rooms are sold, you must read Doug Rice’s column today. I’m not talking booking direct or via third parties – it’s all about how the actual room is sold. Attribute-based selling, commonly known as ABS, has been trying to make its mark for nearly five years now but as they say, the future is now. (Hospitality Upgrade also published an article by Caryl Helsel in the Spring 2023 issue just released, “Attribute-Based Selling: What are the possibilities?”) We thank Doug for an amazing write-up in his Definitely Doug column that follows.

I’m going to keep today’s Siegel Sez intro short. I am writing this on Friday morning, and I must admit I’m not the sanest person needing so many painkillers today. When word got out that I needed to have knee replacement surgery everyone said, do it! The biggest mistake people make is putting it off which, of course, I did. I am two weeks into it and let’s just say there have been extreme highs and lows but hopefully the worst is behind me. Of course, this would be the second time I thought that.

I want to thank all those who attended what has been described as our best Executive Vendor Summit yet. Attendees from all over the world found out about my knee replacement, which was scheduled three days after EVS, and many have checked in to see my progress. On a personal note, I am very appreciative of all the well wishes and support. What an experience this has been which I guess just comes as we grow older.

Here now is Doug’s column along with the latest happenings in the technology space. Again, I apologize for the short write-up. We’ll cover more of our amazing Executive Vendor Summit in New Orleans with a post-EVS happenings summary in the next newsletter as well as an extensive review in the Summer issue of Hospitality Upgrade out in June in time for HITEC and The Hospitality Show. If you can’t wait, LinkedIn was buzzing during the event – please check out #EVS2023 to see many of the week’s activities as they were unfolding. I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what.

Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Definitely Doug

Now Playing Near You: Attribute-Based Selling (Part One)

Over the past five years, much has been written in the hotel industry press about attribute-based selling, or ABS. I first covered the topic here about two years ago. At that time, there were lots of reservation systems and booking engines supporting ancillary sales (covered in part two of that article here), but no commercial products that offered guests the ability to specify the attributes of the guest room that matter to them. For those who are unclear, I will cover the difference between attribute and ancillary sales in a moment.

While ancillary sales have become commonplace in the past few years, attribute sales are still very early in their evolution. However, there are now several products on the market that support attribute selling at least to a degree, and some newer core platforms (think reservations and property management) that are designed to support attribute selling natively. IHG introduced a modest version on its own website and app last summer, although the implementation to date (via its Amadeus central reservation platform) is modest. Most of the other larger hotel brands reportedly have ABS on their longer-term roadmaps, although I believe they are likely years away. Developing a new reservations platform and rolling it out takes time; it took Amadeus and IHG nearly six years from the first public announcement on ABS (on slide 10) to brand-wide rollout of even limited capabilities.

The emerging ABS products I have reviewed, while far from mature, have significantly advanced the industry’s understanding of ABS. It is therefore time to revisit this selling approach, its benefits, its challenges, and one major myth. There is a lot to cover, so I will do this in two parts. This week I will cover how attributes can play into the sales process with other elements; I will mention the vendors who are active in the ABS space; and will provide some specifics about how ABS actually works. There are multiple models that need explanation.

Normally I would cover the question “why consider ABS” early in an article like this, but there are enough misconceptions about ABS in the industry that I found I couldn’t do that without first addressing some of them. Many readers who have misconceptions will likely dismiss the potential benefits of ABS without ever looking at it. An understanding of the specific deployment options will make it clearer who can benefit, in what time frame, and by how much. Consequently, I will defer discussion of the benefits – the “why” – along with operational and yield management considerations, to Part 2 (scheduled to be published on April 28).

Click here to read more of Doug’s column Now Playing Near You: Attribute-Based Selling (Part One)

Douglas Rice
Email: douglas.rice@hosptech.net
Twitter: @dougrice
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ricedouglas
Now Playing Near You: Attribute-Based Selling (Part One)

CORPORATE NEWS

- Travel technology provider Amadeus opens its second engineering site in India
- Mews Acquires Canadian-Based Hotello to Expand North America Operations
- Thynk Raises $13 Million of Series A Funding to Drive Innovation in Verticalized CRM for the Hospitality Industry
- World Cinema and ServiceNow Spearhead Technology Service Transformation in Hospitality Industry
--------------------

For more information on Corporate News for 4/14/2023

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

- Groups360 Appoints Matthew Hancock as Chief Financial Officer
- VENZA Appoints Daniel Johnson as Chief Executive Officer
- CyberTek Adds Delio Roman as System Administrator
- CyberTek Continues Staff Growth and Development with Promotion of Tess Hill
-------------------

For more information on People on The Move for 4/14/2023

GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

- Cloudbeds Announces Integrations with Leading Point of Sales (POS) Solutions to Expand Cloudbeds Marketplace
- Maestro PMS Adds Tripleseat to its Roster of 800+ Partner Integrations, Gives Clients New Option to Seamlessly Manage Group Bookings & Events
- Goldwynn Resort & Residences Riviera Bahama Selects Agilysys Property Management System and Point-of-sale Technology to Deliver Luxurious Leisure Living and Maximize Return on Experience (ROE)
- Old Edwards Inn and Spa Partners with Infor to Provide Superior Guest Experiences
-------------------

For more information on Guest Management Systems for 4/14/2023

RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

- RezRecover Celebrates Record-Setting Year with Over $78M in Recovered Bookings for Hotels, 200+ New Implementations, and 143 New Properties
CartStack, the leading eCommerce technology behind RezRecover, has much more to celebrate than the new year. The company recently announced a landmark year of record-setting reservations recovered, new hotel clients, technology advancements, and key strategic partnerships.
rezrecover.com

- The J Collection Partners with Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center, to Enhance Voice Revenue and Guest Satisfaction
Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™, is pleased to announce that The J Collection, a group of 14 unique, locally owned and operated hotels and residences, has partnered with Travel Outlook to optimize voice revenue and improve guest satisfaction. Travel Outlook, known for its highly personalized, efficient and effective services, was chosen to provide training and superior salesmanship to enhance The J Collection’s cross-selling opportunities.
www.traveloutlook.com

REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS

- AutoCamp Selects IDeaS G3 RMS to Increase Efficiency and Scalability Through the Power of Automation
IDeaS, a SAS company, the world’s leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced today that Santa Barbara-based outdoor boutique lodging company AutoCamp will use G3 Revenue Management System (RMS) across all properties in its two-brand portfolio, which includes AutoCamp and Field Station, to generate automated pricing decisions and provide actionable insights.
ideas.com

- IDeaS Launches Automated Configuration Feature for G3 RMS
IDeaS, a SAS company, a world leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced the launch of Automated Configuration for its G3 revenue management system (RMS), decreasing the initial configuration of G3 from weeks to as little as one day, depending on client needs and requirements.
ideas.com

GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

- Nonius TV: Cloud-Based, Hardware-Agnostic, Bandwidth-efficient, Integrated Casting, and More
- Westlake Village Inn and INTELITY Expand Hospitality Platform Partnership
- HCN’s Next-Generation In-Room Tablet with Modern UI Is Boosting Revenue, Engagement and Loyalty
- PPDS Brings State-Of-The-Art Entertainment to Miami’s Luxury Beach Haus with 200+ Chromecast Built-In™ ‘All Inclusive’ Philips Mediasuite TVs
- The Sani/Ikos Group Selects the Nonius Cast Solution For All Of Their 12 Properties In The Mediterranean
-------------------

For more information on Guest Facing Technology for 4/14/2023

MARKETING

- CoMMingle360 Transforms Customer Engagement and Drives New Business for Hotels
- Miraggio Thermal Resort Selects Cendyn’s New Integrated Sales and Marketing Platform
- For-Sight Powers Florida’s The Seagate Hotel & Spa's Marketing Efforts with Cutting-Edge Technology
- For-Sight and Clairvoyix: Partnering to Provide Best-In-Class Cloud-Based Hospitality Marketing Solutions
- Clairvoyix and Visual Matrix Partner to Bring World Class CRM to Visual Matrix' PMS Clients
---------------------

For more information on Marketing for 4/14/2023

BACK OFFICE

- ‘Off the Shelf’ or ‘Have It Your Way’? How Hoteliers Should Shop for Business Intelligence
The drag-and-drop environment of a customized AI + BI solution will create stunning visualizations based on the data entered. It’s this type of scalability and flexibility that is disrupting hospitality and changing the way BI is delivered for the foreseeable future.
www.aptech-inc.com

- M3 Announces Upcoming 2023 Conference Season Attendance
M3, one of the hospitality industry's premier cloud-based accounting, financial reporting, and data management platform, is preparing for another exciting conference season. The company will be attending more conferences than ever before to illustrate and communicate how M3 simplifies hoteliers' lives and strengthens bottom-line results. This year, M3 will be offering special promotions for those who stop by the M3 booth at designated shows.
www.m3as.com

- MDO Releases Guide to Adopting Automation for Efficient Hotel Operations
myDigitalOffice (MDO), a hotel data platform to centralize and visualize key performance metrics, today released an in-depth report highlighting creative ways hotel operators are increasing efficiency with smaller teams. For many, automating manual processes has become critical to success.
www.mdo.io

COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

- Percipia Introduces an Affordable Telephone Solution for Select Service Hotels
- Nomadix Introduces Disruptive Price-Bundled Cloud Telephony Solution for Hospitality
- RainMaker Hospitality Partners with Think Simplicity for a Cloud Communication System at Its Newest Hotel
- Hourglass Hotel Partners with Hotel Internet Services for High-Speed WiFi and Content Streaming Technology
- Nomadix Introduces Built-In Firewall and Added Security for its Internet Gateway Suite
----------------------

For more information on Communications and Infrastructure for 4/14/2023

FOOD & BEVERAGE

- Hartford Marriott Downtown Installs Beverage Inventory Management System by Clear Sky Software
Clear Sky Software, Inc.® announced today that the Hartford Marriott Downtown has installed the company’s beverage inventory management system. The Hartford Marriott Downtown selected Clear Sky Software to help control all beer, liquor and wine inventory. Called Clear Sky BEVERAGE, this system is a comprehensive, perpetual inventory system that tracks and controls all beverage products.
www.clearskysoftware.com

HUMAN RESOURCES

- CARVER Announces Update to Industry-Leading App
Carver, the hospitality infrastructure powerhouse with more than 3,500 Task Force consultants, has announced the release of Phase II CARVER mobile app. Launched in 2022, Phase I focused on consultants; newly launched Phase II will focus on bringing client interaction with Carver and industry leading reporting capabilities.
TheCarverCompanies.com

SECURITY

- Innisfree Hotels Chooses VENZA to Strengthen Data Protection and Compliance
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, announced that Innisfree Hotels has chosen VENZA to provide data protection and compliance services for their company. The agreement will deliver best-in-class products to Innisfree properties, bolstering their robust security and privacy standards.
www.VENZAgroup.com

HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS

- HFTP and Hospitality Upgrade Expand Partnership with Event Management Agreement
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) has finalized an event management agreement with longtime partner Hospitality Upgrade to help coordinate the annual Executive Vendor Summit and CIO Summit, founded by Hospitality Upgrade in 2002.
www.hftp.org

- Agilysys to Share Insights on Importance of High-tech, High Return Hospitality™ During Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention 2023
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that help properties achieve High Return Hospitality™, will be speaking at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, the largest gathering of tribal leaders and casino executives in the country.
www.Agilysys.com

MARKET REPORTS

- Knowland Reports Washington D.C. as Top Market for Events in March with National Associations as the Leading Group Segment
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, announced today that the Washington, DC-MD-VA market led the U.S. meetings and events industry by volume for March. Second place again went to Chicago, with Los Angeles-Long Beach in third. The leading industry driver for meetings was National Associations across four of the top five markets.
www.knowland.com

PIQUED OUR INTEREST

- Deloitte: Business Travel Begins to Take Off, But Full Recovery Experiences Further Delays
- How Hotel Salespeople at Parks Hospitality Group Use Video Email to Close More Deals and Build Stronger Connections
- Expedia App Integrates ChatGPT
- ChatGPT Means Radically Improved Travel Sales Conversion
--------------------

For more information on Piqued Our Interest for 4/14/2023