Siegel Sez -UPDATE
THIS !
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| Okay, enough already. Here is the “update,” but the names have been
changed to protect the “not-so-innocent.” The 8th Avenue gal did
identify herself, did contact me, was recently in Atlanta for business
and we got together and had dinner. How did it go? All I can say is, “ooo-la-
la.” I hope I will be able to write about this for the next year,
or thirty.
I haven’t been to any tradeshows in the last two weeks, so there are no travel stories to tell. For those of you who have been following my fantasy football exploits, this is the weekend. After starting the season 0-3, I have not lost in three months. I am playing for our league championship this weekend for only my second time since 1985. Wish me luck. About a month or so ago we started soliciting comments on a variety of subjects. We have asked people to share their New Years Eve plans for this year and also we have asked for comments on the need for high-speed Internet access in hotels. Many people have posted on our http://www.updateplus.com/ feedback forum. Some have emailed me directly so since this is our last Siegel Sez via Hotel-Online of this millenium, I figured I would share some of those emails with you. Geneva, who works with me, has put them together so you can easily click and read them. Some were pretty interesting and some an absolute riot. Let me know what you think. High Speed Internet Feedback
New Years Eve Plans Feedback
Rich’s Technology Issue—How smart are these smart cards? It seems like more and more travelers are using debit cards when they travel. It has been brought to my attention that the hotel industry is running into pretty serious problems with their usage. Read on, and if you agree, then lets start pointing fingers at the right people and get it solved. A guest checks in with a debit card. The front desk person tries to get it approved for the room rate for the four days the guest is staying plus 15 percent. It is approved. The guest checks out. He uses the same debit card. What happens? The actual check out is done and that amount is deducted from the traveler’s bank account. But, the original amount that was approved when the guest presented the debit card at check in is also in a hold mode so the guest does not have those funds available to them on this trip. Some of these holds can last for up to thirty days. Okay, this is the issue. Has it happened? Is it a problem? If you would, please send me an email at rsiegel@updateplus.com and share your thoughts and/or experiences. Or, go to http://www.updateplus.com/ and click on the feedback forum. Share your thoughts, it is fun and we all can learn from it. This is a great way to force improvements as to how the industry uses technology. Okay, comes the news, the links and other stuff. I will see you at the end for my never ending attempt at humor! Now here is the news. rsiegel@updateplus.com |
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Top o' The News The news this week centered around some serious deal-making and investments in the hospitality and travel industries - must be the Christmas season encouraging some serious shopping. More details in the sections below, but American is spinning off Sabre, investment giants KKR are sinking $200 million into guestroom Internet provider CAIS, Leisureplanet received $40 million from CNN news network and investment bank UBS, Worldres gathered investment from Sabre, Starwood and Micros, and Priceline.com signed a reciprocal arrangement with TravelWeb/Preview Travel to offer each others’ services. All in all, highly encouraging signs of rational consolidation among the main vendors, and of recognition by some big-money players of the value of this market. Forthcoming hotel tech exhibitions:
MCORP announced the release of its ImagInn software for Red Hat’s version of the LINUX operating system. After a year of testing and many months of live operation, Linux is now operational in over 20 sites. AmericInn International has selected MICROS’ 3500 touchscreen Front Desk Management System as its recommended property management system (PMS) for all 170 of its limited service properties. Planning to expand at the rate of 40 properties a year, AmericInn will install the Windows NT-based 3500 in all corporately owned properties, and will recommend that its franchisees purchase and install the product. UK-based PMS vendor AremisSoft Corp has added AREMIS FastMart, a data warehouse option, to its range, developed by data management specialist Bromley Group (based in Dublin, Ireland) working closely with AremisSoft and a large International hotel chain. FastMart extracts information from the property management system (PMS) overnight and then populates a data warehouse with all details about guest stays; it includes reports, graphs and tools to help properties with forecasting and gap analysis. Reservations American spins off Sabre, United signs out-sourcing agreement with Galileo, Leisureplanet attracts $40m, spends $30m, Sabre/Starwood/Micros invest in WorldRes, Micros sells hotelBank in China, much more.... American Airlines ‘ parent, AMR Corp., is spinning off its 83% stake in Sabre Holdings Corp., the world’s biggest travel reservation company, a move that will give Sabre more freedom to negotiate with airlines and expand its Internet services. Sabre recently lost in bidding on contracts with two major AMR rivals for other airlines’ outsourcing, quite probably due to its ties with American. United Airlines signed a major out-sourcing deal with GDS provider Galileo International, Inc., including an Internet initiative, sales support and collaboration, and hosting and development services. The five-year contract takes effect Jan. 1, 2000. United will initially commit $5 million in collateral advertising and promotion of Galileo’s soon-to-be launched consumer Internet travel Web site, and will also offer some products and services not available on independent travel Web sites. Galileo will become a preferred provider of Web booking services to United, and will continue as the booking engine behind ual.com, and as the host for United’s internal reservation system, which it has supported since 1971. Internet travel services vendor Leisureplanet has attracted significant investments from two sources, to the tune of $20 million equity stakes each from the CNN News Group and Warburg Dillon Read/UBS Capital. Under the three-year agreement with CNN, Leisureplanet will become the exclusive travel services provider for almost all CNN Web sites, and will promote its branded travel services through a $30 million advertising campaign across CNN’s online and on-air properties. In a separate agreement, Warburg Dillon Read (“WDR”) and UBS Capital, the investment banking and private equity divisions of UBS AG (the Union Bank of Switzerland), agreed to invest $20 million in Leisureplanet Holdings, the parent company. WDR will also provide financial advisory services to Leisureplanet. On-line leisure travel specialist WorldRes.com also attracted $29 million of new financing, which included significant investment from, amongst others, Sabre, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and MICROS Systems, Inc. Between them, these three companies provide highly appropriate input to WorldRes’ operations, including traditional GDS reservations services (Sabre), independent GDS connectivity (MICROS’ hotelBank) and major international hotel reservations demand (Starwood). Sabre recently agreed to promote WorldRes’ properties on Sabre connected travel agents and the Travelocity.com Website. MICROS is working with WorldRes to develop interfaces for its front desk, central reservation and Internet reservation systems, and Starwood is linking its reservation system to the WorldRes.com network. WorldRes.com also unveiled its new French headquarters near Nice and a new sales office in Paris, overseeing company activities in France, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, North Africa, and the French-speaking islands in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Michel Jannet, with more than 25 years’ international hotel experience, will lead the French team, which will be responsible for sales, marketing, commercial development and customer service. MICROS Systems, Inc. has signed an agreement with the Beijing Tourism Group (BTG) and Kingdom International Hotel Co., Ltd., its hotel management company, to install its Internet-based hotelBank online reservations system. Under the agreement, hotelBank will be connected to 15 premier BTG hotels to allow Internet users and travel agents to make hotel reservations via the Global Distribution System (GDS). MICROS will also install its Plug’nBook booking engine to allow the public and identified clients to make their own online, secured reservations with instant confirmations to each hotel’s direct customers. A new hotel room auction site from LastAvailable.com allows travelers to see photos of the properties and get information about the area before making a bid. Accommodations available include Carnival Cruises, resorts, hotel rooms, vacation rental homes and condominiums, and adventure activities. Consumers can use several auction formats, including the traditional English auction or an immediate quick-win format. Pegasus Systems, Inc. and UK-based tour operator reservations specialist Mirror Image Communications, Ltd. (MIC) are jointly developing an interface between their systems to enhance tour operators’ booking abilities. The interface will link MIC’s Total Distribution System Internet-based reservation/room allotment tracking system for hotels, tour operators and hotel booking agents (currently in beta-test) and the Pegasus Electronic Distribution system, enabling tour operators to transmit reservations electronically to Pegasus’ hotel customers’ CRSs, instead of via email or fax request. MIC has already signed six tour operators to use the new system, which is scheduled to be available in the 2Q2000. BCP, the UK’s leading airport car parking service, has launched a 50-page website offering a wide range of travel services, which includes internet listings covering the range from secure airport parking to airport hotels, advice on how to get to the airport and car hire worldwide. The first phase will allow customers to book many BCP services by e-mail, including parking at 16 nationwide airports and ports, a ‘meet and greet’ airport parking service and executive lounges at 13 airports. The system will become fully interactive for bookings following the completion of Phase Two in Spring 2000. Expedia announced its Fare Calendar product, which shows airlines’ lowest published fares, with dates, availability and restrictions, for routes entered by a customer. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has signed an exclusive contract with Netcentives Inc. for its Internet loyalty infrastructure software and services. In early February 2000 ClickRewards members who join the Starwood Preferred Guest frequency program will be able to redeem ClickMiles for StarPoints. Conversely, Starwood program members can redeem their StarPoints exclusively at Netcentives’ ClickRewards Shopping Network. Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Preview Travel announced plans to form a marketing alliance, offering seamless access to each other’s air products and services for their combined user base of more than 20 million travelers. In addition, each can generate incremental revenue each time it facilitates the sale of the others’ products. Upon implementation, Travelocity.com and Preview Travel members will be able to name their own prices through the Priceline.com service, and Priceline.com’s customers will have access to Travelocity.com’s and Preview Travel’s retail fares. (In October, Sabre announced plans to merge Travelocity.com with Preview Travel.) Sales & Catering, Meeting Planning Passkey signs for McCord call center services Passkey.com, Inc. has signed McCord Group Travel Services to operate a new high-volume call center in Chicago to service Passkey-enabled events. Passkey.com provides Internet-based group hotel reservation, event registration and travel solutions for the meetings and convention industry; the call center is expected to be fully operational by the end of January. Combined with Passkey’s earlier agreement with Sabre to build an interface to Sabre’s air, car and hotel resources, the alliance with McCord will provide meeting planners and attendees with a single location to book air, car and hotel reservations along with their event registration. McCord, which has over 1,200 travel professionals at more than 95 locations across the USA and over 190 satellite ticketing locations, will also invest in Passkey.com as part of the venture. Point of Sale/Activity Tracking ELTRAX Systems, Inc. released a Linux version of its SQUiRREL Restaurant Management System/POS workstations. This first release of the next generation SQUiRREL system has been in beta test for over a year and is operating in more than 50 restaurant and hotel sites worldwide. Primary reasons for selecting the Red Hat Linux OS were cost, performance, reliability, and support for the Java programming language, according to SQUiRREL; Microsoft Windows NT is still used as the operating system for the network file server. Ninety-nine Restaurants, Inc., which has over 50 locations in the New England area, has chosen Ibertech’s Aloha POS for all of its sites. As of early December, there were over 20 Ninety-nine locations with Aloha; all remaining stores will be converted to the system in the near future. Culinary Software Services Inc. will release BevTec, a beverage-service version of its well-known ChefTec inventory control and recipe management software, at this year’s International Food & Beverage Expo in Las Vegas, January 18-19, 2000. BevTec will include over 1100 inventory items and over a thousand drink recipes, tracks fluctuating costs and vendors’ prices and updates recipe costs automatically. Guest Services High-speed internet provider CAIS Internet has signed an agreement with an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co. (KKR) under which KKR will invest up to $200 million in the company. CAIS currently has master agreements to be the exclusive provider of high-speed Internet access to over 9,000 hotels/1.1 million rooms worldwide, plus long-term agreements with 575 multi-family communities. The initial $100 million investment will be in the form of convertible preferred stock, with a one-year option for KKR to purchase an additional $100 million, which would then represent a 26.4% capital interest in CAIS Internet. KKR will gain two of eight seats on CAIS Internet’s Board of Directors, with a third upon the exercise of the option. Another player enters the in-room Internet access arena: Paradyne Networks Inc. and Nomadix Inc. jointly announced their Hotwire Smart Room for the hospitality and Multiple Dwelling Unit (MDU) industries. Offering high-speed, DSL-based Internet access using existing phone wires, Hotwire includes Paradyne’s Hotwire DSL system and the Nomadix Universal Subscriber Gateway (USG), permitting multiple rooms to be served on a single telephone line utilizing a single DSLAM (DSL access multiplexer). Guestroom e-services vendor COVENTUS Inc. entered the European market with a five year contract for high-speed guestroom Internet services with Le Meridien Limassol in Cyprus. The contract was facilitated by COVENTUS’ recent alliance with global hotel reservations system provider Smart Traveller Network Ltd. (STNL). GuesTech has added four additional hotel customers for its SuiteLink free-to-guest service for in-room high-speed Internet access and usage of Microsoft Office applications: the Hampton Inn, Tampa, FL; the Comfort Inn in Morgantown, WV; the Comfort Suites in Dover, DE.; and the Holiday Inn Express in Danville, KY. SuiteLink provides a flat-panel integrated PC in each room, with T1 Internet access via a hotel specific portal. Purchasing A recently conducted survey at the 1999 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York showed that 57% of industry executive attendees plan on using the Internet for purchasing and procurement solutions next year, a 67% increase from those presently meeting their procurement needs online. The survey of 1,230 tradeshow participants was conducted by GoCo-op. Additionally, more than 91% of respondents plan on conducting up to 50% of all their procurement needs online, with a full 27% planning on spending at least a quarter of their total procurement budget online. According to Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based Internet research group, the hotel industry currently spends $43 billion annually on procurement expenditures and the restaurant business spends $60 billion annually. Security Electronic guestroom lock vendor Unican Security Systems Ltd. of Montreal has acquired Roanoke, VA-based Lodging Technology Corp, developer of the GEM infrared, sensor-based hotel energy conservation and occupancy-based systems. |
| Liberty Media rebounds from aborted purchase of Ascent Entertainment’s
in-room entertainment asset, On Command Video, by announcing a $400 million
cash investment in Cendant stock and warrants. The alliance intends
to develop broadband video, voice and data applications targeting Cendant
hotels and guests. The two firms expect joint ventures and further
investment by each partner in the other’s businesses.
The announcement provoked a steep upturn in Cendant’s stock price, $5 5/16th to $21.75. Analysts had recently been describing Cendant’s shares as undervalued, particularly in the wake of settling the shareholder lawsuits over improper accounting practices for $2.83 billion. The sale of Ascent’s remaining businesses to Liberty failed after Ascent was unable to come to terms to sell the sports properties. Another media company with roots in cable TV, Cox Communications, has
entered the hotel guest services fray with a suite of MPEG-2 services including
video on-demand, Internet on TV and PMS interface features. The services
are driven by SeaChange International’s GuestServe platform. The
service is installed in a single unidentified hotel in San Diego.
Hospitality Worldwide Services announced a name change to Hotelworks.com, reflecting their strategic shift into online procurement. Consistent with the new focus, the company has been divesting non-strategic businesses to enable the focus on business-to-business (B2B) procurement in the hospitality industry. |
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Okay, I have to admit, this has been a fun year. For those of you who read our Hotel and Restaurant Technology UPDATE, thanks (if you don’t and would like to go to http://www.updateplus.com/ and subscribe or email us your mailing information at :info@updateplus.com. Our goal is to keep the hospitality industry informed as to what is going on in the world of technology and we take it seriously. But, we also believe the same information can be learned with a twist and that is what we enjoy doing. After all, who says technology has to be boring. I hope the nearly 20,000 of you reading this email have a great holiday season. We look forward to providing the latest and greatest in technology news every two weeks next year, Y2K -willing. Okay, this week’s attempt at humor.
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