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Yes, Hotels Can Make Money and Sustain Growth!
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by Craig W Cooley, Marketing Director, Good Nite Inn Mgmt, Inc.

September 13, 2005 - There are exciting and profound new opportunities in an industry that is likely the second oldest industry on earth, hospitality, you can speculate on what the oldest one is. If the hotelier is smart I feel they can achieve sustained revenue growth and increased operating profits, imagine that!  Specifically, I am referring to the tremendous opportunities provided by the de-regulation of the GDS and the increasing impact of both the internet, the computer hardware/software systems tailored to our industry; how this technology has totally changed our culture in the way we do business and the behavior of the consumer and their shopping habits. This technology is not going away, it cannot be minimized in any manner, it will constantly evolve, and it will frequently change. If we are careful and intelligent about how we utilize it, it will at a minimum sustain us, at a maximum, make us wealthy beyond our most aggressive and optimistic promoter / persuader�s sales forecasts! 

The hospitality industry is indeed undergoing profound technological changes affecting nearly every aspect of the way we do business, from on-line reservations to revenue yield management.  The effects of this revolution are likely to be as far-reaching in our industry as the effects of computerization and de-regulation have been in the airline segment. Consider that on the one hand, these changes allowed agile, aggressive new companies such as Southwest Airlines, and more recently JetBlue, to achieve previously unthinkable growth in their market share, while leading to the demise of respected brands such as Eastern and PanAm.  Southwest became successful by embracing and capitalizing on a changed operating environment.  Eastern and PanAm failed to adapt and became industry dinosaurs as they attempted to fight against the realities of the new environment.

What the hospitality industry is currently facing is warp speed technological changes wrapped together with the de-regulation of the GDS, being similar to the airline industries de-regulation. This has created a profoundly changed operating environment, full of both opportunities and potential pitfalls.  For example, in terms of on-line reservations and wholesale brokers (e.g. Travelocity, Orbitz), it�s vital to maximize the impact and sales these third party channels, or brokers, can deliver.  At the same time, new computer-based yield management tools must be used to ensure the optimum balance between direct and discount reservations in order to derive maximum yield from your product. It is also no longer so important to consider �market segments� as it is to consider �market sources�, or �revenue sources�. We can control them, we can mix them, and we can blend them for the maximum REVPAR, easily, with the click of a laptop key while we sip margaritas in Costa Rica! Today�s new computer tools allow hotel companies to tune and direct their sales mix and operational practices in ways that were simply not possible even just 5 years ago.  The organizations that are successful will be those that take advantage by integrating all these tools into a well-planned and executed program.

Certainly no other industry is as great of a �fit� with this technology as is the hospitality and tour industry. It by nature brings detailed and intelligent information to the consumer in a medium that is up to date, fast and easy to use. Think, what could be a better method to communicate to everyone, everywhere, our products and services that are always in a remote location, than through electronic images? It is a total and complete �home run�. 

How do we respond? It is time to develop our �Human Capital� with intelligent �technologically� trained property managers, or �Business Managers� as I prefer to refer them to as; develop our �Technical Capital� with ASP configured, user friendly, sales driven computer systems in real-time; and develop our �Social Capital� with an intelligent understanding throughout all levels of management and ownership of how this new era, this new dimension, and these three capitals are balanced to bring the greatest level of success. 

This is not an easy task, particularly when two of the capitals involve substantial cultural changes in the way we do business, �Human and Social�. Changes that for many are not part of their �skill set�, or merely the change in and of itself is a formidable obstacle. For me I think it is likely sink or swim. We can embrace and lead the pack, reap the rewards, or we can dismiss the changes as insignificant and become casualties of our industry and dinosaurs of the past. I much prefer the former and a second home in Costa Rica where I can sip margaritas on the beach! 

*   This article was first published by Intellatech Marketing based in Los Angeles, CA.
**  Good Nite Inns has recently selected the Ramesys Entirety Enterprise Solution to be deployed in 13 properties.

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Contact:

Ramseys Hospitality 
1 Cragwood Road, Suite 202 
South Plainfield, New Jersey 07080 
Tel:  908 941 1300 
Fax: 908 941 1312 
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.us.ramesys.com

Good Nite Inns
Craig W. Cooley
(800) 777-6483 ext. 417
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.good-nite.com


 
Also See Good Nite Inns Streamlines Management of 13 property Hotel Chain with Ramesys� Centrally Hosted, Multi-property Entirety Solution / September 2005
Ramesys Dominates as the leader of Web Based Property Management Systems (PMS) and Brings Latest Enterprise Offerings to HITEC / June 2005
Caring for Customers and Getting to be #1: Ramesys Reinvents its Approach and Notices Dramatic Results / June 2005
Hotel Operators Must Make Difficult Choices to Exploit their Most Profitable Asset: How They Get the Best Return on their Known Customers / June 2005
Hosted Server PMS Solution Gaining Ground Reports Ramesys / June 2005
Kx Brings University of Kent and Canterbury (UK) into the 21st Century / May 2005
Hi-Tech Hotel Installs Latest Entirety PMS from Ramesys / May 2005
Royal Holloway Reaps Huge Financial Benefits with Kx / May 2005
The Historic Sebasco Harbor Resort, One of Maine's Most Charming Oceanfront Resorts, Selects the Entirety PMS from Ramesys / May 2005
Caring for Customers and Getting to be #1: Ramesys Reinvents its Approach and Measures Dramatic Results / April 2005
Ramesys Announces the Distribution and Implementation of the Kinetics Conference Center and Venue Solution in the US / April 2005
Do You Know Where Your Business Is Coming From? / April 2005
Ramesys Scores a Grand Slam with Country House Inns / March 2005
Hosted Server PMS Solution Gaining Ground Reports Ramesys / February 2005
Entirety from Ramesys Provides a New Outlook at the Best Western The Inn at Towamencin / January 2005
Are Web Based Software Solutions for Hospitality Finally Coming of Age? / July 2004
Ramesys Dominates as the Leader of UNIX and Web Based Property Management Systems (PMS) and Brings Latest
Enterprise Offerings to HITEC / June 2004
Ramesys' Latest PMS Is Lightning Fast, Ultra Thin And Web-Based - How This Technology Meets The New Demands Placed
On PMS Solutions Today / June 2004
GL Resorts to Implement a Web Based, Multi-Property PMS, Online Reservation and CRM Solution from Ramesys / May 2004
Technology Update - ASP Solutions: Latest Benefits and Lower Costs Without the IT Headaches / May 2004
Hoteliers Are Selecting Ultra Thin Web Based Property Management Solutions (PMS) that Are Simple to Install, Require Little IT Expertise and Are Reliable and Cost Effective / April 2004
Ramesys' ImagInn Platinum Property Management System is on Par for Emerald Hills Resort / March 2004
USFS announces Project Reveille; Guests to receive free local and long distance calls and high speed Internet; hotels to get upgraded PMS from Ramesys / March 2004
Price, Dependability and Service Keep The Hotel Group Turning to Ramesys for their Telecom Needs / February 2004
Best Western Soldiers Field, MN, Marches Forward with Latest ASP Solution / February 2004
Hotel Operators Must Make Difficult Choices to Exploit Their Most Profitable Asset: How They Get the Best Return on Their Known Customers / February 2004
Reliable, Fast, Secure, No Transaction Fees � Ramesys Offers Hosting Service for Both Their Independent Hotel and Chain Customers / December 2003
Ramesys Web Reservations Drive Down Costs and Improves Customer Service with Transaction Fee-Free Bookings / November 2003
Tech Savy Smaller Hotel Operators Expect Full Service Technology Options / June 2003
Ramesys to Unveil New Products at HITEC: Entirety PMS for Windows and Imaginn Search Data Mining Tool / June 2003
Reliable, Fast, Secure, No Transaction Fees - ASP Implementations Are Coming of Age / June 2003
Maximize the Value of Customer Relationships with the MPower CRM Tool From Ramesys / May 2003
Ramesys/InnLink Two-way Central Reservations Interface Installed at 160 Baymont Inns & Suites and Woodfield Suites / May 2003
Ramesys� Entirety Enterprise Suite Proving to Be Tough Competition for Companies Seeking
Scalable, Affordable, Enterprise Solutions / May 2003
Marshall Management Uses Ramesys' Web Reservations and CRM to Gain New Customers Over the Web and then to Recognize and Reward Them On an Ongoing Basis / May 2003
Hansji Hotels Selects Entirety Enterprise Suite to Increase RevPAR with Integrated PMS, CRES and CRM / April 2003
Lancaster Hotel and Motel Assoc. Uses Ramesys' Entirety Enterprise Suite to Offer Over Five Million Area Visitors Real Time Reservations / April 2003
The Internet Is Becoming Increasingly Important to Hotels, Chains and Management Companies; But How Can the Smaller Players Compete On a Level Playing Field? / April 2003
Ramesys Increases Options With the Addition of Entirety PMS - A Windows Based PMS Module Within the Entirety Enterprise Suite / April 2003
Six Continents Retail Experiences Rapid Growth Coupled with Reduced Costs Using Ramesys Solutions / June 2002
Benchmark Hospitality Acquires New Properties at Record Pace with Support from Ramesys / June 2002
Tage Corporation Benefits with Enterprise Solution from Ramesys / May 2002 


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