May 6, 2003 - Long before guests arrive at The BodyHoliday, the exclusive spa at the four-star LeSPORT destination resort on the island of St. Lucia, they have already scheduled their daily program of yoga, scuba, skiing, forest hiking, and massage therapy over the Internet with the resort�s �BodyHoliday Specialist.� 

�Our �BodyGuards� don�t carry guns,� laughs Kevin Snaggs, The BodyHoliday, LeSPORT�s House and Administrative Leader.  �We call them BodyGuards because they are staff specialists that look after our guests� bodies, their health and well being.  We are the only resort in the Caribbean that combines the pleasures of a full-service beach resort with the benefits of an active spa vacation.  When guests come to The BodyHoliday at LeSPORT, most have already planned their daily activities and treatments through our Web site so they can begin their vacation immediately.�  European readers of Condé Nast Traveller recently named SunSwept Resorts� BodyHoliday the Number One Destination Spa in the world and one of the 100 Best Of The Best in Travel. The BodyHoliday is one of three SunSwept Resorts spa properties that include LaSource in Grenada and the couples-only Rendezvous resort, on the island of St. Lucia in the Blue Caribbean

SunSwept�s three properties are not simply hotels, but true resorts with over 750 employees that focus on the guest experience.  SunSwept�s clients are mostly professionals who want to de-stress in a dynamic recreational setting offering a variety of unique activities and comforts in exotic surroundings.  �Our guests come here to be pampered,� said Snaggs.  �They are experienced travelers who value and can afford exceptional service; we offer them a personalized vacation.  The first thing guests do when they arrive at The BodyHoliday is meet with a BodyGuard who is already familiar with their activity schedule.  I conduct a manager�s meeting each morning where we discuss arriving guests� activities and expectations.  We print out guests� schedules four days before their arrival in preparation for their visit.  We use NORTHWIND�s Maestro enterprise resort system at all three of our properties to manage our guests� experiences. The Maestro system enhances our focus on service because it links our guests� activity schedules, spa treatment program appointments, guest history, and amenity requests all on the guest�s record, forever.  The new technology has made it easier for our staff to ensure guests are receiving the services they expect, which is mission critical.  SunSwept evaluated many systems and we installed Maestro because it is by far the strongest in guest management, guest service, and spa scheduling.� 

The Oasis, the BodyHoliday�s spa, is a luxurious state-of-the-art wellness center staffed by trained professionals who use the newest health technology to help guests achieve their well- being goals.  �Our �BodyGuards� consult with guests early in their stay, and conduct a �body stat� analysis that measures muscle mass, fat mass, water requirements, and other physiological indicators; then they work with the guest throughout their stay to recommend activities and treatments to achieve those goals.  If weight loss is their goal, our BodyGuards might suggest the guest have stretching treatments, take tennis lessons, join a group aerobic class, or simply kayak and scuba dive.  SunSwept Resorts collaborated in the development of the comprehensive Maestro Spa System, which we use for all guest activity planning and treatment scheduling.  Our wide range of activities and schedules, and the caliber of our guests, require a system tied to all the property�s other systems and guest records so guest preferences are known before hand.  We have world-class standards, and the Maestro Spa system module handles them very well.� 
 

To drive better guest communication with its resorts, The BodyHoliday launched a new interactive Web site that allows guests to communicate with the property for personalized pre-arrival service.  The site also features an on-line reservation-booking engine that enables resort managers to control special packages and rate plans.  The BodyHoliday�s food and beverage leader, Andrew Barnard explained, �The Internet is how many of our guests want to book their reservations, and our new site gives them that ability.  We installed

Many of SunSwept�s managers take spa treatments and attend fitness classes alongside guests.  Snaggs said,  �Our guests arrive as strangers, experience all we can provide them, and go home as friends.  Since 25 percent of SunSwept�s winter clients are return guests, it is critical that every member of our staff be familiar with our guests, so we wanted the best CRM technology we could buy.  The CRM functionality of NORTHWIND�s Maestro system, how it tracks guest preferences and past stay information, is the best we evaluated; as soon as it was installed it became an asset to our operation.� 

To deliver the three SunSwept Resorts systems as efficiently as possible, NORTHWIND pre-configured all applications at their corporate offices, then flew the software and a team of installers to the Caribbean to train the resort user teams, and install the systems one after the other at each of the properties in only six weeks.  �SunSwept set up an installation group to assist NORTHWIND in the islands, and their project management team was superb; all our data was in the systems on schedule, ready to go live when training was completed.  The system has proven very stable and, on a remote island, stability is key,� said Snaggs.

�We are hoteliers first and foremost.  At SunSwept we measure all decisions against two questions: Will it benefit the guest, and, is there an ROI?  The Maestro systems measure up in both areas,� Snaggs concluded.

About SunSwept Resorts
European readers of Condé Nast Traveller recently named SunSwept Resorts� (www.sunsweptresorts.com) The BodyHoliday at LeSPORT the Number One Destination Spa in the world and one of the 100 Best Of The Best in Travel. As flattering as that may be, guests say it is more than a spa. SunSwept�s, LeSPORT, home of the BodyHoliday, is a lot more fun than a dedicated spa, and combines the appeal of a four-star resort with a unique combination of pursuits that go beyond the narrow confines of a pure health orientation. The BodyHoliday at LeSPORT, as well as SunSwept Resorts� LaSource, and Rendezvous impose nothing on guests. It�s about a guest�s choice of pleasure in the here and now and how far they want to go to acquire the kinds of benefits that last a lot longer than a nice tan.

About NORTHWIND
NORTHWIND (www.maestropms.com), known in the hospitality industry for its service and state-of-the-art technology, is widely respected for providing hotels, guests, and corporate management companies with flexible software solutions.

Based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, with a network of dealers and offices worldwide, NORTHWIND is a leading supplier of software for hotel owners and operators who need to manage their enterprise in a real time environment for maximum operational control and profitability.  Designed to handle any size hotel, resort, meeting/conference center, multi-property and for the enterprise, NORTHWIND's Maestro solution offers the most productive working environment, which includes the following suite of products:  PMS, Sales & Catering, Club/Spa Management, Corporate Reservations Office, Multi-Property Management, Condo/Owner Management, Yield Management, GDS Connectivity and ResEze (Internet Reservations).  This comprehensive multi-platform (Windows 9X/NT/2000/XP, Unix/Linux, Terminal Server & Web Enabled) suite is recognized as the solution of choice for progressive and demanding organizations.  NORTHWIND is a total solution provider that offers leading-edge technologies, and unparalleled training and support.  NORTHWIND will be demonstrating its systems at the HITEC Show in New Orleans, LA - June 24th-26th, 2003 at Booth #520.