| MIAMI � SEPTEMBER 4, 2007 � The Hilton Garden
Inn El Paso (Texas) has become the 1,100th property to reap the benefits
of MTech�s PMWorks preventive-maintenance management software solution.
Miami-based MTech is a leading innovator in developing solutions to help hotels improve communications, increase productivity and maximize guest satisfaction, with its Espresso! family of products, HotSOS (Hotel Service Optimization System, pronounced hot sauce) and PMWorks, the HotSOS-powered maintenance-management system�the first ASP designed specifically to help hoteliers handle the day-to-day needs of hotel preventive maintenance. In addition to being the 1,100th PMWorks installation, the 153-room Hilton Garden Inn El Paso, which is managed by Arlington, Va.-based Interstate Hotels & Resorts, is the most recent of Interstate�s Crossroads Division properties to be installed with the PMWorks preventive-maintenance software solution. Crossroads is Interstate�s select-service division�and all 100-plus Crossroads Division properties use PMWorks. �One of our biggest responsibilities and top priorities as a management company is to protect our owners� investment,� said Peter Hoffman, Vice President of Operations for Interstate�s Crossroads Division. �With that in mind, we decided to automate this aspect of our asset-protection program in January 2006 by installing PMWorks in all our Crossroads Division hotels. PMWorks ensures that our owners� assets are being managed to the highest quality of maintenance, and the software has demonstrated significant savings in repair and replacement of everything from major mechanical equipment to guestroom HVAC units.� Hoffman added that the PMWorks software enables his division�s hotels to manage the asset-protection process more efficiently and provides management with the ability to monitor a hotel should it fall behind within the program. �All of our Chief Engineers speak very favorably of PMWorks,� Hoffman said. �It�s basically a one-time set up with little or no changes after implementation. Once work orders are completed, the engineers can either call in the completed work order via the toll-free number or complete the work order with PMWorks on-line access. In short, PMWorks has helped improve productivity in our Crossroads Division hotels.� Multi-tiered milestone According to Clyde Edson, MTech�s National Account Manager, the Hilton Garden Inn El Paso installation is an MTech milestone for several reasons. �This installation is significant because it signals the continued strong growth of PMWorks and is evidence of our track record in developing innovative products for a broad range of customers,� Edson said. �The Hilton Garden Inn El Paso installation shows that PMWorks is a proven product that�s gained acceptance through repeat customers, that satisfied users are recommending it to others, and that PMWorks is growing not because of traditional advertising, but through the best kind of advertising there is�word of mouth. �It's not just that we hit just hit 1,100 hotels with our PMWorks solution, although that is significant,� Edson added. �But it�s also a significant milestone that PMWorks is being used by so many of the top management companies as their default preventive-maintenance solution. Like the other more than 125 Interstate hotels that use PMWorks, the Hilton Garden Inn El Paso now has a custom-tailored, automated process to help manage an ever-growing, complex department.� Edson said that as hotels add amenities, maintenance-departments tasks and responsibilities increase accordingly. Thus, he said, automating the maintenance process makes perfect sense. �What the Hilton Garden Inn El Paso�or any hotel that uses PMWorks�gets is an in-depth solution with years of standards built in,� he said. �From some of the top engineers in the field, standards have been built in for virtually any equipment at a given property, with detailed steps and intelligent maintenance reminders to save that property time and money.� Edson added that from a management-company point of view, �Interstate now has the confidence that the hotel will be focused on maintaining the asset.� And according to Lorenzo Flores, General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn El Paso, focusing on asset-maintenance is much easier with PMWorks. �What�s great about PMWorks is that it reminds the maintenance staff of all the little things that need to be addressed to keep our property properly maintained,� Flores said. �PMWorks ensures productivity and accountability, and maybe its biggest benefit is that it keeps the maintenance staff busy. Our maintenance people like that because with these preventive-maintenance tasks regularly being done, it lessens the need for having to do big-ticket repairs down the road�and from a management point of view, that means immediate cost-savings in increased labor productivity.� In other words, return on investment in PMWorks is swift. �We receive a lot of calls from hoteliers who have used our system at a previous property and have moved to a new location, and they want to know if PMWorks is available and at what cost,� Edson said. �We are always happy to tell them that it is available to a single hotel or, as in the case of a management company or chain, 1,000 or more hotels. The cost will vary depending on the number of properties being considered for installation, but currently the basic system is less than a $1,000 per year. For that you get standards that are some of the best in the industry in a system that works because it is simple to set up and simple to use.� For more information on PMWorks preventive maintenance service and other MTech state-of-the-art solutions, please visit the company�s Web site at www.M-Tech.com or email [email protected]. About MTech
About Interstate Hotels & Resorts Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the nation's largest independent hotel management company, manages more than 300 hotels in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Russia and Portugal. The company also operates hotels for REITs, such as MeriStar Hospitality Corporation, Equity Inns and Sunstone Hotel Investors, as well as institutional real estate owners, non-institutional ownership groups and privately held companies. Due to its significant size and number of holdings, Interstate is able to obtain economies of scale that help lower overall operating costs and improve the bottom line performance of its managed hotels. For more information, please visit the Interstate Web site at www.ihrco.com. |
