| Celebration,
Fla. – March 31, 2010 – An often repeated
business mantra is that it is less expensive to keep existing customers
returning than it is to find new ones. In the hotel industry, this
mantra
translates into guest loyalty and reward programs, room upgrades,
discounts and
special perks for frequent guests. There are additional benefits for
the guest,
as well, including personal recognition and an overall feeling of
satisfaction
with their choice of accommodations. For hotel and management companies
looking
to leverage their current customer base for future revenues, finding a
technology that will efficiently collect and segment customer data to
drive new
business can be a daunting task. Data may seem to be falling out of the
sky;
good thing there is cloud computing to help. Various studies show that personalized communications can double or even quadruple sales, if the data collected is correct and relevant. Hotels of any size at any location can benefit greatly by collecting accurate guest information and preferences to analyze for  their marketing
value. On a macroeconomic level, the data will provide insight on the
health of
the brand. On the microeconomic level, the data will provide opportunities to leverage the health of the brand for more business. Data is the insight into the consumer’s mind that hoteliers need, but the data must be maintained in an orderly, cohesive, and sustainable way for it to be valuable and create value for the brand. Thankfully with cloud computing, the costs for the hotelier to build value through identifying and acting on guest preferences does not need to be expensive; the scope of the technology to identify trends does not need to be mind-numbingly complex; and the system can begin providing critical answers to marketing challenges in a very short period of time, since there is no hardware or software to buy or install. Hoteliers who use Libra OnDemand, a rapidly growing, cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution designed especially for the hospitality industry, already know this. Built on the most popular, accessible, customizable, and secure software platform in the world, Force.com, Libra OnDemand is the balance that turns information into action. It is integrated with property management systems, central reservation systems, forward distribution management systems, social media and Web 2.0 systems, and guest service systems. Stating his support for Libra OnDemand, Tim Tiller, president of MSI Solutions, said, “Management companies, brands and independents will find great benefits from cloud computing in true ROI, reduction of infrastructure, labor costs, subscription pricing models and an increase in efficiencies for gathering intelligence and reporting.” Libra OnDemand’s CRM system is trusted worldwide because it can integrate with many systems and channels, and because of the accessibility it provides to its users. Through integration with on-property systems, guest history and preference fields are aggregated to provide a complete profile of each guest. From these fields, companies can create customized campaigns to leverage repeat business. Luis Segredo, president of MTech, stated, “Our company views Libra OnDemand as a platform to increase the value of the data that we gather and/or generate by integrating it into Libra OnDemand’s native capabilities and data feeds from other solutions. It is a collaboration place in the cloud to build knowledge. Its ability to integrate with other partners is perhaps the most important aspect of Libra OnDemand for us.” But with the integrations and customizations that Libra OnDemand provides, how expensive is it to purchase, manage and update the cloud software? As Jon Inge, president of Jon Inge & Associates, explains, “Remotely-hosted fee-based systems in general have many advantages, including low entry cost, greater reliability, better vendor support, and better security. They’re especially useful for multi-property operations, where they bring huge improvements in data consolidation and reporting, as well as simpler integration to other systems.“  With Libra OnDemand, users are not required to invest capital upfront, may use the system with any Web browser, and there is no software or hardware to buy, install, maintain or support. Libra OnDemand is designed to be simple to use, easy to customize and quick to implement. Their consulting team provides online or onsite user training, Web based seminars and customer support. Libra OnDemand even handles the heavy lifting of maintenance, upgrades, and seamless connectivity to other hospitality management systems. “Using Libra OnDemand’s CRM with our ePM property management solution allows us the opportunity to pursue clients we may not have pursued in the past. One specific example is a resort that has a very small need to manage activities, but couldn’t afford a full activity solution – using the sales & catering tab in the OnDemand product allows for the scheduling and saves them a ton of money,” stated Tiller. Cloud computing saves hoteliers’ time, money and effort. It provides a scalable structure for management, branded and independent companies to share and segment data for increased efficiency. For hotels awash in a sea of competition, Libra OnDemand can give them the competitive edge they need to survive and thrive through affordable and efficient customer relationship management. For more information, please visit www.libraondemand.com. About Libra OnDemand  Libra OnDemand leverages
the power of the world’s most popular on demand platform (Force.com) to
provide
a comprehensive suite of hospitality specific applications: Customer
Relationship Management, Loyalty Management, Group Sales & Event
Management, Analytics, Email Marketing, as well as an online
consumer-facing
application, Customer Portal. Libra
OnDemand is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application that is designed
to
drive sales and increase revenues for the world’s premier hotel
organizations. Requiring zero infrastructure or upfront
capital investment, Libra OnDemand is simple to use, easy to customize,
and
quick to implement. For more information about Libra
OnDemand, contact [email protected]
or visit the website www.libraondemand.com.Editor’s Note: Electronic images are available by contacting Andrea Roland at Plan A PR & Marketing, Inc. Phone: 407-905-0608 or email: [email protected]. |