November 4, 2002 - A year ago, Ron Gromoll read the names of World Trade Center-related hijackers in the Gainesville newspaper, scrolled through the two-year guest history in his hotel’s PMS system, found one of the hijacker’s names, and sent it to the FBI.  As general manager of the 152-room Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville, Florida, Gromoll, who also teaches classes at the nearby community college and oversees their hospitality program, is known for being a proactive executive.

“For the past year, we have had a major bridge building construction project outside our hotel,” said Gromoll.  “Our numbers should have been way down but statistics show we are even with last year, and are still leading the whole town.  Smith Travel data from August posted 82.1% versus 63.9% for us and our competitors, respectively.”

Gromoll attributes the property’s success to a high price-to-value ratio, the in-depth training of the hotel’s staff on the PMS system, Excel, and Word applications, and internal operational efficiency.  “The hotel was built to upgraded Crowne Plaza specifications and opened under a Best Western flag.  Guests are ‘wowed’ by the upscale Mediterranean feel.”  Gromoll noted the property earned $120,000 in revenue this year through travel agency consortiums and spent only $3,000 on marketing.  He also said 35% of the property’s business is convention related, which gives the property’s Maestro PMS system from NORTHWIND plenty of action in the group module.  Advantages of the Maestro system include:

• Windows-based ease of use, typically learned in one to two days by the staff, whose attrition rate is 150%; 
• A simple yet robust tracking system for efficiently setting up conference and group accounts and serving guests;
• Minimum time spent on tasks because of the efficient flow of system functions such as checking guests in and out; creating reservations, guest look-ups for phone calls, and searching for account data.

Best Western Gateway Grand’s primary markets are government, and sports teams since the property is centrally located between the capital of Florida, Tallahassee, and the University of Florida in Gainesville.  It is also equidistant from St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach, and within 12 miles from local Gainesville attractions. Those include Sante Fe Community College, Florida Museum of Natural History, Stephan C. O'Connel Center, Center for Performing Arts, the Hippodrome State Theater, and the Downtown Gainesville Historic District.

For more information on how the Maestro system ties into the Gateway Grand’s call accounting system, its LodgeNet movie system, and the Mitel phone system, visit NORTHWIND in booth 743 at the Best Western Product Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada November 5 – 7, 2002.