Okay, give me a break. It might have been dumb, but I thought it was funny. Let me take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Richard Siegel and I am the President of Siegel Communications, Inc. and the publisher of the Hotel & Restaurant Technology UPDATE (commonly referred to as UPDATE Magazine). We also have a very popular industry web site for those interested in technology – www.updateplus.com. Okay, that is who I am, but now you may ask, ‘why am I here?’ 

Let’s face it. Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our lives and our business, and the hospitality industry is no exception. As a service to Hotel-Online subscribers, we will bring technology news from the hospitality industry every two weeks. We will share what is new, what is rumored, what is scandal and add a few things along the way. We will also keep you informed as to what develops with Amy. We have enlisted some of the industry’s top consultants to help bring this late breaking news right to your PC. They will also share some money-saving tips, as well as how to utilize the systems you have and what to consider when it is time to replace your existing systems. For those of you who read our UPDATE Magazine, you know we can make technology interesting, even for the non-techie. 

Siegel SEZ - At your service 

If you think you might be ready for a glamorous job of technology sales, then you might want to contact Mark Sadosky of Eltrax Hospitality Systems. According to Mark, the recent merger of the Sulcus Hospitality Group and Eltrax, which followed the Eltrax acquisition of Encore Systems, Inc., has created many job opportunities. Among the positions available are; Sales Manager - Southeast US, Sales Manager - Latin America, and Sales Engineer - West Coast US. If you are interested in throwing your hat into the ring or need more information, then email Mark at msadosky@eltrax.com. 

 Or if you prefer the world of Sales and Catering and New England suits your lifestyle better, than Daylight Software is looking for both a Director of Sales and a Director of Marketing. If you want more information on these positions with Daylight Software, then email info@daylightsoftware.com or visit www.daylightsoftware.com for more details. 

 Okay, I’ll be back in a bit, but now for some real news along with some money saving tips you won’t want to miss….

Two CEOs leave for new opportunities 

In a turbulent couple of weeks for PMS vendors, Jeff Edwards, Executive Vice President/Sales & Strategies, resigned from MICROS-Fidelio after five years, during which he moved the development arm from Munich to Florida, added a full CRS to the product range and oversaw the development of the company's new Opera Oracle-based PMS.  

MICROS subsequently split Edwards' responsibilities across two positions, hiring William Poe (previously VP International Operations for Choice Hotels) as Vice President, Hotel Sales and Strategy Worldwide, and promoting Paul Armstrong to Sr. Vice President, Restaurant Sales and Strategy Worldwide. However, the changes come at a particularly bad time for Fidelio as it begins to roll-out Opera, which has had a protracted development period and faces issues over the acquisition and support costs of it's Oracle database.  

And at MAI, George Bayz, CEO of MAI Systems Corp. and President of its Hotel Information Systems division (and a long-time leader in the industry), also resigned. MAI also divided the responsibilities across two positions, re-hiring Brian Kretzmer (who had been with the company from 1991-1997) to take over as CEO of the Company, and promoting Luke Brown to President of HIS and COO of the Company. Both will undoubtedly benefit from their long experience with the company in assuming their new roles. Nevertheless, this must add to the uncertainty at HIS, which has been for sale ever since MAI formed it as a separate division comprising PMS vendors HIS, CLS and LTI, all of which it had purchased. 

INTERNET Reservations 

50% more "lookers" become buyers, Microsoft and Galileo make it easier, Priceline.com adds personal interaction, Rosenbluth buys Biztravel.com, WorldRes gets recognition 

A new study by NPD Online Research shows a 50% increase in the number of Internet users actually making online reservations after visiting travel-related Web sites. So far in 1999, 31% of individuals who visited airline sites booked their reservations on the Web, compared to only 21% in 1998. For hotel and car rental sites, 28% of visitors booked online in 1999, as opposed to 21% the previous year for hotels and 19% for cars. NPD also found that Internet travel bookers were more satisfied with their online experience than those who used the Web only to check prices and availability; 89% of those who actually reserved airline reservations online reported being either "extremely" or "somewhat" satisfied with their transaction, with hotel and car rental sites slightly lower at 84% and 82%. However, the majority of Internet travelers still go to traditional agents and providers to confirm their travel reservations after visiting a travel-related Web site, citing pricing and credit card security as their main concerns. 

REVENUE MANAGEMENT Systems 

Talus enters the hotel casino market 

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has signed a $6 million contract with Talus Solutions, Inc., to develop and deploy a pricing and revenue management system for use at all Harrah's brand hotel-casinos. Harrah's operates 18 casinos in the United States under the Harrah's, Showboat and Rio brand names, plus the Star City casino in Sydney, Australia. 

SALES & CATERING, Meeting Planning 

Daylight continues its fast start, Newmarket installs MPE and targets meeting planners 

 Off to a quick start, Daylight Software has landed a second chain for its "enterprise" sales and catering system, having signed Benchmark Hospitality right after the systems launch at HITEC in June. Bristol Hotels & Resorts has now ordered Daylight's enterprise S&C application and Dimensions OLAP tool for its 50 largest properties, the first thirty of which are planned to be converted and fully functional by the end of this year. Phase II of the rollout, to begin in the first quarter of next year, will install Daylight's DataWarehouse to manage all corporate-wide sales and account productivity data. Phase III will roll out a simplified version of Daylight enterprise to the smaller Bristol properties later in 2000. 

Newmarket also jumped into the on-line meeting-planner arena by announcing it's intent to develop Meetingbroker.com, an Internet-based, platform-independent service to facilitate business among meeting planners, hotels, sales offices, convention centers and convention and visitors bureaus (CVB). Meetingbroker.com is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2000; its initial phase will involve Internet meeting planner sites publishing leads to subscribers using Newmarket's Delphi or Delphi Multi-Property Edition (MPE); these systems will automatically convert them into activity records. Meetingbroker.com will also route accounts, contacts, meeting profiles, bookings, and activities among sites linked to the service. 

GUESTROOM Services 

CAIS buys ATCOM/INFO, Several Chains sign deals, TeleMatrix bundles phones and Etherloop high-speed Internet 

In a sign of consolidation in the high-speed Internet access arena, two early leaders are merging; CAIS Internet has acquired ATCOM/INFO, combining CAIS's OverVoice hardware technology with ATCOM/INFO's IPORT server software (which includes payment processing and support for guests' virtual private networks) and kiosk products. 

CAIS also signed an agreement with Unisys Corp. for installation, maintenance, and end-user and network support services for OverVoice in hotels and apartments worldwide. In the U.S. alone, Unisys has the ability to install 60,000 units (approximately 200 hotel and apartment properties) per month. 

And in related news, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide selected VirtuaLINC's V2PN (Virtual Video Private Network), which uses CAIS' OverVoice technology, as its preferred high speed Internet access vendor in North America, a market of up to 450 hotels with 3,000 meeting rooms and 80,000 guest rooms. 

ENERGY MANAGEMENT 

Motel 6 signs up 

Motel 6 has signed a five year contract with PG&E Energy Services for power supply and energy conservation/efficiency services at its 106 motels throughout California. Other services to be provided include billing management, energy information management and rate analysis. 

CALL CENTERS/Help Desks 

How well is yours doing? 

Witness Systems, Inc., which develops software for contact centers, released its Performance Analyzer application. This combines, analyzes and reports on data from several disparate sources (such as workforce automation, predictive dialer, human resources, quality monitoring, ACD and customer relationship management systems) to help evaluate the effectiveness of an enterprise's business processes. Performance Analyzer is an NT-based product that supports a variety of database products (including Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle), and has received several "Best Of" awards from industry reviewers. 

RESTAURANT Reservations 

MenuVenue.com has launched an Internet site where restaurants can advertise their menus, specials or events on the Internet, with restaurants grouped together by city. The site includes a full page per restaurant, updated monthly, with links to maps and e-mail addresses for taking reservations. 

SMART Cards 

Another Try... 

Another company is taking a shot at jump-starting the smart-card market, although initially only for stored-value applications: Precis Smart Card Systems, Inc. and Entertainment Smart Systems, Inc. (ESS) are launching a chip-based smart card system for the travel and tourism industry. The roll-out phase will provide VentureCards for use at attractions in Orlando, Cancun and Ixtapa; tourists will be able to use the cards in stored-value mode to purchase activities such as snorkeling, fishing, parasailing, tours, theme park entrance, etc., as well as for discounts at restaurants, attractions and stores. Merchants will deduct the appropriate value from the card using a VeriFone Omni 1250 smart card terminal. The VentureCards are usable across all three locations, and can be purchased at a discount at travel agencies before departure or through a site on the Internet. 

Pegasus Systems and WizCom International, for whom delivery of GDS-originated bookings (from Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan) has been a core focus, are now moving to play major roles in both the tour and convention markets. 

Through recently announced, non-exclusive alliances Pegasus Electronic Distribution (formerly THISCO) and WizCom International have allied with PASSKEY.COM and Jade Technologies respectively, to deliver convention bookings made through those companies’ facilities to hotels. Both WizCom and Pegasus believe their existing technology, initially created for the delivery of GDS bookings to hotel company central reservation systems (and then on to individual hotels), can be used with equal effectiveness to deliver convention accommodation reservations placed with their partners. 

Simultaneously, WizCom has launched TourAccess, a clone of their hotel-to-GDS switch, which will allow tour operators to seamlessly link their reservation systems to the GDSs. Adventure Vacations will be the first user of WizCom’s new product. Not to be left behind, Pegasus is reported to be moving forward a similar service offering to the tour industry. 

Significant executive changes at the two largest suppliers of hotel central reservation technology. 

Jon Inge previously talked about the changes at MICROS-Fidelio. REZsolutions, Inc. recently announced that Tom Castleberry has stepped down from his position as CEO on August 1 and was replaced by the president and COO Mac Highet. Castleberry, who has been a guiding force in hotel reservation technology innovation for over two decades, remains on the REZsolutions Board as Vice-Chairman and will serve as a consultant to the organization. 

Plug Your Hotel’s Revenue Leaks Today! 

Hotel telecom revenues have been declining, on average, 3-5% per year for the last four years. The culprits: 

• Continued increase in demand for telecommunications services in general
• Calling card traffic shifting from 0+ dialing to 1-800 dialing
• Cell phones and one-rate plans
• Data calls to local and 1-800 numbers
• Corporate policies requiring business travelers to use calling cards rather direct dial services in hotels due to high markups

No business can sustain cumulative revenue shrinkage, no matter how minor the revenue center. What can hoteliers do about this revenue leakage? 

Tactics used with success by many hoteliers: 

• Implement extended call pricing on 800, 0+ and local calls. Charge per minute above a generous time threshold. This step will bring a little more revenue, and will change the behavior of the guest that checks-in, logs onto AOL and then logs off two days later. The potential downfall is that you need to educate that guest and have a thorough disclosure program in place.
• No time-of-day discounts. If your call accounting system hasn’t been looked at for a long time, it may still have time-of-day discounts. Remove them and go back to your standard mark-up for all times.
• Provide a speed-dial button on guestroom phones to your pre-subscribed 0+ carrier on a commissioned route. This will provoke guests to use the speed-dial button rather than dialing the non-commissionable 800 number.
• Audit your telephone systems and trunks for out-of-service equipment and lines you are paying for but no longer using.
• Examine your meeting room re-sale services to ensure you are getting the most out of this growing revenue center.

Okay, that’s it for this week. I am going to see the movie The Thomas Crown Affair this weekend, who knows, maybe it will inspire Amy. We will see you here in two weeks.