September 25, 2012 – Highpointe Hotel Corporation transformed challenge into competitive advantage for its multi-flag sales operation. The Highpointe team juggles 15 thriving properties under four flags in three states. Most hotel sales systems track each property’s performance separately, so managing multiple holdings poses a complex task. Highpointe freed its sales team to trade leads and close deals using a centralized, cloud-based mobile-optimized sales system accessible to all their properties.

Software Strengthens Strategic Advantage of Diverse Operations       

Highpointe operates properties in diverse markets in Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. Its Pensacola properties cater to leisure guests while its airport and in-town hotels serve mostly business travelers. Four New Orleans locations focus on corporate travelers and citywide conventions. “Highpointe Hotels uses the hotel SalesPro solution from hotel SystemsPro to strengthen its strategic advantage of operating multiple properties and flags in busy markets,” says Kathie Jacobs, vice president of sales and marketing for Highpointe’s Louisiana properties. “Our team processes sales leads, checks room and space availability, and client history for every account and property on one system. This gives us an advantage in combining rooms for larger groups and managing leads across multiple markets.” View a demonstration here to learn more about hotel SalesPro’s features and benefits.

SpringHill Suites Pensacola Beach, FL

“Since we own and manage our hotels, we can share leads in our other markets if we need more availability,” continues Jacobs. “In New Orleans, for example, we can use several of our Hampton-flagged hotels if we need more rooms for conventioneers. hotel SalesPro coordinates the entire process smoothly.”

From Sales Lead to Check Out, SalesPro Tracks Client Performance
Sales leads come to Highpointe’s property teams from a number of channels, explains Jacobs. Additional lead sources include convention and visitors bureaus and corporate event booking companies such as Helms Briscoe and Cvent. All leads go into hotel SalesPro’s centralized system. “When we get a lead, we check to see if they have an account with us,” says Jacobs. “We look at the company’s past consumption and rates to help us generate the most profitable proposal.”

When a group checks out, “we input their rates and pick up so we can accurately forecast their performance for the next time,” says Jacobs. “This gives us insight and history into each group’s value. This enables us to effectively block rooms and maximize revenue for each event.”

Versatile System Assists with Back Office Chores
“We also use hotel SalesPro for office management,” says Jacobs. “We put all our proposals into the system’s Function Calendar to check availability. Our Hampton Inn and Suites in New Orleans, for example, has 13,000 square feet of conference space. hotel SalesPro manages the entire facility by coordinating future availability, event requirements, and bookings.”  

Highpointe Sales Teams Hone Competitive Edge with Stats
“We track leads, corporate rates, revenue, contracts, and invoices in the system and compare performance against current MTD and YTD attainment for our team,” explains Jacobs. “This lets us see where our pacing of bookings is in relation to years past.”
      
Other hotel SalesPro innovations that spark Highpointe sales include:

• Group Rooms Control Report – “This report shows all the group bookings as proposals, tentative and definite.” explains Jacobs. “We use this to keep us on track for each account and to see what needs to be followed up on.”

• Pacing Report – “We view each property’s booking pace,” says Jacobs. “The system compares today’s year-to-date attainment against last year’s. It also shows the number of proposals generated and keeps us on track to achieve our forecast.”

• Ease of use – “Our new hires learn the system quickly,” Jacobs notes. ”The mobile version allows us to pull up client records and history to verify performance atoff site meetings.”

About Highpointe Hotel Corporation
Based in Gulf Breeze, Fla., Highpointe Hotel Corporation is an award-winning, full-service hotel management and development company specializing in downtown hotels. The company, founded by Darryl Lapointe, Dave Cleveland and Bob Cleveland in 1982, provides professional management services for third-party investors and its own portfolio, employs approximately 500 people companywide, and currently operates 15 hotels in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida. For more information, please see www.highpointe.com/flash.html.  

About hotel SystemsPro
hotel SystemsPro is a technology innovator operated by hospitality professionals that helps clients increase sales, reduce operating costs and efficiently manage assets. The company’s suite of high performance, web-based, true enterprise property solutions include extensive reporting capabilities to empower hotel teams to generate revenue via tools that cost-effectively provide a higher quality guest experience.  hotel SystemsPro solutions scale across all properties and any flag. They evolve to assist hotel professionals in meeting their markets’ ever-changing needs.  Whatever the size of the property or its challenges, hotel SystemsPro solutions do the heavy lifting for hotel operators to streamline operations and boost staff productivity and profitability.
 
Products include:
hotel SalesPro - A multi-property, mobile-ready web-based sales and catering system that provides scalable functionality and a wide variety of reporting options that increase sales efficiency for hotel chains and independent properties.
 
hotel ServicePro -  An economical hotel maintenance solution that preserves property asset value and improves guest service.  It automates the communication, scheduling, tracking and reporting of tasks that surround best practices, guest requests, safety requirements, preventive maintenance and equipment management.
 
hotel WebSpace -  An online marketing solution that enables properties to increase their web presence and convert browsers to buyers on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

For more information, please visit www.hotelsystemspro.com.