September 16, 2022
Siegel Sez
I have spent my whole career eating, drinking, and sleeping hotel technology and feel I am pretty well versed on what is going on in the industry -- from startups to established companies to what hoteliers need to what they don’t. Then every two weeks I read Doug Rice’s Definitely Doug column that follows this opening of Siegel Sez and every time I catch myself saying, I didn’t know that. This week he tells the whole industry there is an opportunity for somebody to create something that a vast percentage of the market needs. Who will create it? Of course, out of all the things he brought up and suggested I loved one of his closing comments. Doug strongly suggests that AHLA/HTNG, HFTP, HEDNA and HSMAI get together to help with creating the needed solution. Doug talks about the need for dashboards and if you are a hotelier and wonder why you must have a strong tech person for your business, Doug does a great job explaining this. We thank Doug for sharing his wisdom with us.
Last week was almost a dream. Being the most paranoid person you will ever meet, if 90 percent of what you do is successful, I always seem to wonder why the 10 percent wasn’t. Of course, this thankfully wasn’t a problem this year because the feedback received from last week’s CIO Summit was the greatest feeling in the world for us, as Hospitality Upgrade celebrated its 20th CIO Summit. Fun stuff and a great program along with a very international crowd made this a great experience for all with us in Hollywood, Calif. From the picture above I can promise you that none of the attendees will ever watch the Oscars the same way again. It must be the New Yorker in me but give me an old majestic theatre and I actually get goosebumps. Of course, my giving out Oscars to some of the attendees for some unique awards was a bit surreal. I am pretty sure I will never get invited to the real Oscars, but it was fun to dream. We thank all of our attendees this year for making the CIO Summit a success. One of the things we enjoyed most was watching the faces of the old timers in the room when we showed our look back at CIO Summits past. As we rehashed some of the crazy things we have done, I smile but also remember how paranoid I was if what we were doing would work. Who knows, maybe someday I will get over my paranoia! To watch the video click here. This was a pretty creative experience for attendees.
Next week I am off to the Lodging Conference, and it sure seems like it is conference season right now with so many coming up. I love the Lodging Conference and am glad that Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online can partner with the event. This is a different crowd than our normal technology crowd, but I find talking with owners of hotels is always interesting hearing their thoughts on technology including their need to invest in it. Scottsdale, here we come!
Here now is Doug’s column, I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Make sure you subscribe to Hospitality Upgrade in print or digitally at www.hospitalityupgrade.com/subscribe. I promise you will laugh at many of the pictures we are including from the CIO Summit. The Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank made that easy this year! 😊
Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com
Definitely Doug
Do You Need Another Dashboard?
If you are a hotel IT executive and your company operates identical technology portfolios at every hotel, then you can stop reading right now: this column is not for you. But this only describes independent hotels and a few brands that own and manage all their hotels within a limited geographic footprint. Omni, Loews, and some of the gaming hotel companies come to mind in North America. There are others elsewhere in the world, but it is unlikely that they account in total for more than a few percent of all non-independent hotels worldwide.
Most multi-hotel companies live with a diverse set of applications and infrastructure that is only partly within their control. Some technologies are provided or mandated by brands, while others are selected by management companies, asset managers, or ownership groups. For many systems there are few if any global providers, so global operators often need multiple vendors to get geographic support and/or adequate localization in every country where they operate. Even owned and managed brands with limited geographic spread usually have at least a few “rogue” technologies, often acquired with purchased hotel assets. This is common for building management systems, life safety, access control, physical security, energy management systems, and key parts of networking infrastructure (notably cabling), where the cost of replacement in an existing building is often greater than any financial benefit.
Today’s Options
For ownership groups and management companies with diverse portfolios, measuring performance of individual hotels has never been easy. To be sure, there are dashboards provided by some vendors and brands. These might integrate financial metrics and a few key operating statistics like occupancy or bookings, but there is nothing that provides a comprehensive view across multiple properties and every functional area. A typical hotel will have an operational dashboard (usually provided by the property management system) and separate dashboards for functions like revenue management, social media, reputation management, Wi-Fi and networking, guest messaging, work order management, housekeeping, environmental controls, building management, and others.
Brands can and do provide multi-system dashboards with information that can be useful to individual hotels, but still, they only cover the systems within their own ecosystem, which is usually limited to a few core ones. And these dashboards are not very useful at the corporate level of an ownership or management group that operates hotels across multiple brands.
Click here to read more of Doug’s column Do You Need Another Dashboard?
CORPORATE NEWS
- Clairvoyix and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Partner to Bring Meals to Deserving Las Vegas Area Kids
Serving Our Kids is a local Las Vegas charity dedicated to providing meals to deserving kids that would otherwise go hungry. As supporters of the local community Clairvoyix and The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas take pride in contributing to this worthy cause.
www.clairvoyix.com
- Arch Amenities Group Acquires Innovative Spa Management, Privai and Spa Space
Acquisition expands Arch’s network of spa clients to over 70 while providing a dynamic technology platform to manage and further enhance those facilities as well as Arch’s 260 other wellness, recreation and amenities spaces.
archamenity.com
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Duetto Appoints Jeff Nicholson as CMO
Duetto, the hospitality industry’s #1 Revenue Management Software (RMS), has announced Jeff Nicholson’s appointment to the Chief Marketing Officer role. Nicholson is a SaaS enterprise software industry veteran possessing more than 20 years of experience building and growing winning marketing and product marketing functions within the AI and data-driven technology sectors.
www.duettocloud.com
GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Manchebo Beach Resort Leverages Stayntouch PMS to Heighten Warm, Personalized Service on a Pristine Aruban Island
Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and guest-centric technologies, has partnered with Manchebo Beach Resort, an intimate luxury boutique resort located in the heart of Aruba, to deliver their intuitive and guest-centric mobile PMS.
www.stayntouch.com
RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION
- UrVenue Accelerates PMS Connectivity with Hapi Integrations Platform
The innovative Property Experiences Management System (PXMS), which helps hotels manage and monetize non-room inventory, needed quick access to PMS data with smaller integration costs.
www.hapicloud.io
- Bonotel Partners with APS to Launch New Technology Platform for Tour Operator and Travel Agent Booking Experience
Above Property ® Services (APS™), the leading provider of innovative technology designed for the global travel industry, and Bonotel Exclusive Travel, the leading inbound tour operator for luxury travel to North America, have partnered to enhance tour operator connectivity. APS’s Application Programming Interface (API) for Bonotel connects over 1,200 tour operators and 28,000 properties and delivers almost 1 billion daily transactions.
www.aboveproperty.com
REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS
- S Hotels Turns to IDeaS to Drive Demand and Increase Profitability Across Three Properties in Thailand
IDeaS, a SAS company, a world leading provider of hotel revenue management software and services, announced the luxury hotel group S Hotels has implemented its software to enhance the profitability of three key properties in Thailand.
ideas.com
GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY
- Fusion Original Saigon Centre Selects INTELITY & McLaren Technologies for a Fully Digital Mobile Guest Experience
INTELITY®, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, and McLaren Technologies announced today during the No Vacancy expo a new partnership with Fusion Original Saigon Centre. The first Fusion Originals property delivers guests a branded mobile app with robust capabilities, including mobile check-in and mobile key.
www.intelity.com
- Helping the Hotel Industry's Staffing Shortage Problems with Bella™, The Virtual Hotel Agent™
Industry's first AI-powered virtual hotel agent addresses challenges by answering up 60% of calls, answering FAQs, understanding multiple languages, routing calls, sending follow-up texts, and much more.
www.traveloutlook.com
SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS
- Knowland Launches Portfolio Capture, the Industry's First Meetings and Events Solution Designed for Management Companies and Ownership Groups
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, today introduced Portfolio Capture, to provide a comprehensive, unified view of group business performance across an entire portfolio.
www.knowland.com
- Dellisart Selects STS Cloud as Preferred Sales and Catering System for 24 Properties
Hotel ownership, management, and development company Dellisart, based in Wrightsville Beach, NC, recently announced an exciting technology partnership with SalesAndCatering.com. Dellisart, which specializes in hotel ownership, third-party hotel management, hotel sales services, and revenue management services, now offers STS Cloud as its preferred hotel sales and catering solution.
salesandcatering.com
BACK OFFICE
- Professional Advantage Expands Hospitality Partnership with PAS and Recognizes Gayle Edwards with Three of Its Top Annual Awards
For the financial year 2021, Professional Advantage, a global financial management software and services provider, has named Gayle Edwards of PAS (Professional Accounting Solutions) as its Q4 Overall Sales Person, Q4 B4B Sales Person, and for the second year running, B4B Sales Person of the Year. Additionally, PAS has been chosen by Professional Advantage to serve as its exclusive North America partner for hospitality.
www.profact.com
- M3 Releases New Features Within Budget and Forecast Tool
M3 recently released new features within its Budget and Forecast tool. These upgrades provide new and enhanced functionality and allow hoteliers easier data input and streamlined access to essential information.
www.m3as.com
COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE
- Radisson Hotel Pendleton Airport Deploys High-Speed Guest WiFi Connectivity by Hotel Internet Services
75-room property operated by Makad Corporation implements network upgrade capable of addressing guest demands for fast, reliable and secure internet access.
www.hotelwifi.com
SECURITY
- SALTO to Showcase Latest Smart Access Control Technology at GSX Expo in Atlanta
SALTO Systems – a leading manufacturer of electronic access control and operating system solutions designed to provide a keyless experience for modern buildings – will showcase its latest security innovations at the Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Atlanta, September 12-14, 2022.
www.salto.us
- Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa Picks VENZA and CyberTek MSSP for Data Protection, PCI DSS Compliance, and Managed Security Services
The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has amplified their already-leading commitment to data protection and cybersecurity by selecting VENZA and CyberTek MSSP to provide new, best-in-class tools for their property.
www.VENZAgroup.com
- Hotel Nodo Urban Explorer Selects ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions to Implement the Latest in Security Technology and Guest Convenience
Luxury 99-room hotel implements VingCard Signature RFID door locks and access controllers with Mobile Access functionality to ensure both maximized security and a hassle-free hotel environment.
www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality
HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS
- The Road Ahead for Franchise Owners and Technology: A Dialogue with Neal Patel, Chairman, AAHOA, and Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, President and Chief Scientist, IDeaS
At Converge, IDeaS Hospitality Revenue Summit, industry leaders discussed the evolution of hotel technology and how AAHOA's franchisees and brands are adapting in 2023.
ideas.com
- Accelerate 2022: Maestro PMS’s In Person Users Conference’ Helping Hoteliers Thrive & Navigate Change in the New Normal
Next month hoteliers running on a variety of Maestro PMS platforms – including Cloud Hosted, On Premise, Self-Hosted or Private Cloud – will converge at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto for “Accelerate 2022,” a LIVE Maestro PMS Users Conference to be held October 17 to 20.
www.maestropms.com
- HFTP Announces 2023 HITEC North America Advisory Council; Experts to Design Program Covering Crucial Topics in Hospitality Technology
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) has put together an expert group of industry professionals to serve on the advisory council for its upcoming North American event. HITEC is the largest and oldest nonprofit event of its kind hosting 300+ exhibiting companies and a thoughtfully designed education program with over 50 education sessions.
www.hftp.org
MARKET REPORTS
- Knowland Reports Meetings and Events Increase 136.1 Percent in August
Knowland, a world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, released its monthly meetings and events data for August, reporting 136.1 percent growth over August 2021. Additionally, August increased 6.7 percent over July 2022.
www.knowland.com
PIQUED OUR INTEREST
- Wyndham Debuts Mobile Tipping Option
- 3 Hospitality Tech Predictions for the New Era of Travel
- Greenwashing, Ecotourism and Sustainability Are Now a Major Concern for Travelers
- Cyber Attack on IHG Impacted Hotel Booking System and Mobile Apps
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For more information on Piqued Our Interest for 9/16/2022
And now for the You-Know-What...
Murphy's Law
Law of Baking -
After your hands become coated with butter and flour, your nose will begin to itch, and you'll have to pee.
Law of Gravity -
Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible place in the
universe.
Law of Probability -
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
Law of the Bath -
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone will ring.
Law of the Theatre & Football Stadium -
At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle, always arrive last.
They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance.
Law of Physical Surfaces -
The chances of an open-faced jam sandwich landing face down on a floor are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.
Law of Random Numbers -
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal; someone always answers.
Variation Law -
If you change lines or traffic lanes, the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.