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WINTER SPRINGS, FLA. � SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 � Before Charlestowne Hotels ever opened their first property in historic Charleston, S.C., known as �The Holy City,� they knew that the area�s popularity would play a major role in their success. Continually ranked in the top five most visited cities in the United States, Charleston provided the ideal setting for Charlestowne�s luxury boutique portfolio, which has since expanded to include 22 diverse properties from the mountains of North Carolina to the Lowcountry of Savannah, Ga. However, with growth comes change, and great locations alone were no longer enough to attract the upscale clientele needed to keep occupancy at a profitable level. That is when Charlestowne�s management team turned to the advanced technology provided by EZYield.com to save time, reach more websites, and yield rates and inventory effectively. �While making sure our guests have a great experience at our properties is very important, attracting them to our properties in the first place is key to our ongoing success and future growth,� said Justin Taylor May, regional operations manager for Charlestown Hotels. �EZYield.com provides a simple way to manage online channel distribution, which is a critical piece of our marketing strategy.� In order to reach potential guests, May and his team use EZYield.com to distribute rates and inventory to forward distribution channels on the Internet. In just a matter of minutes, May can add websites, room types, and set up numerous dynamic margins for travelers to find. And while May has established complex yield matrixes for each property in an effort to achieve rate parity, the EZYield.com customer service and technology departments never let him down. May continued, �Our strategy is to focus on being able to differentiate each property and offer rates and inventory that fit specific revenue goals. In executing those parameters, I�ve been unable to stump the EZYield.com team with my specialized requests.� As May continues to add properties to his EZYield.com portfolio, he finds the greatest value of the system is the ability to make EZYield.com work for him� and not the other way around. �A significant byproduct of using the system is the countless hours we�ve saved yielding over the past three years with EZYield.com. We have the ability do more for our properties than we would otherwise be able to accomplish, but for me the real value is the flexibilities and integrated functionalities of the system. I can set up each hotel differently to really maximize my time as a revenue manager.� While most properties fall under similar categories, no two properties are identical. Therefore, customization is the key to making sure the management of sell rates and the allotment of inventory to contracted distribution channels is maintained on a continuous basis. In order to set up the numerous dynamic margins for the hotels, May relies on the minimum and maximum rate feature that sets net rate and sell rate limits to guarantee the price is in a prescribed range during yielding. If the entered price does not fall into the prescribed range, then the prices won�t be yielded, therefore avoiding many potential mistakes due to human error. Another feature of the EZYield.com system that May enjoys is the Calendar Yield tool. Calendar Yield helps May perform multiple updates on a frequent basis through the creation of a customized calendar, in which he chooses which items to update, and selects specific days to enter his yields. May adds, �When changing several dates in the same month to different rates, it�s a huge timesaver.� While saving time and preventing errors is valuable, perhaps invaluable, being able to confirm the rates and inventory that consumers see as they search for Charlestowne Hotels on online travel agencies (OTAs) provides a foundation of data that influences larger revenue management strategy decisions for rate parity. By pulling yielded rates and inventory, rate and allotment changes can be executed based upon quantifiable data. �As I look at all the pieces that EZYield.com has put together to make revenue management work, it is hard to imagine or remember revenue management without EZYield.com,� stated May. �The system gives me everything I ask for to report, advise and come to informed decisions for the benefit of our guests and for the growth of Charlestowne Hotels.� Charleston, S.C., is an oasis of history and culture that was widely destroyed in General Sherman�s wake while advancing north through the Confederate States. The millions that come each year to visit Battery Park, peruse The Market, and walk the cobblestone streets are lucky that a lovely woman convinced Gen. Sherman not to destroy the city. And while people will continue to visit Rainbow Row and tour Fort Sumter, May and his staff at Charlestowne Hotels will be there to welcome them; and with the help of EZYield.com, May will continue to attract them, and save resources doing it.
The company currently works with 22 properties which include the Anchorage Inn, Andrew Pinckney Inn, Best Western King Charles Inn, Best Western Sweetgrass Inn, French Quarter Inn, The HarbourView Inn, Holiday Inn Express Charleston, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Mt. Pleasant (Opening December 2009), North Charleston Inn, Shem Creek Inn, and the Sleep Inn � all of which are located in the Charleston, SC area � as well as The Palms Hotel - Isle of Palms, SC, the Meridian Plaza - Myrtle Beach, SC, the Litchfield Inn � Pawleys Island, SC, The Inn at Claussen�s � Columbia, SC, the Hillwinds Inn, Ridgeway Inn and Village Inn - Blowing Rock, NC, The Esmeralda - Chimney Rock, NC, Rhett House Inn - Beaufort, SC and Planters Inn and Hamilton Turner Inn located in Savannah, GA. Visit www.charlestownehotels.com for more information.
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About
Charlestowne Hotels, Inc.
