| May 29, 2001 - Metromedia Software, Inc., developers of HotelEXPERT
Rapid Response System, will release ALEC! at the coming HITEC Show on June
26 - 28, 2001 in Orlando, Florida.
ALEC! is the newest module to the popular HotelEXPERT Rapid Response
System which tracks guest requests and complaints with audible alarms.
ALEC! e-mails critical flash reports daily, weekly or as frequently as
preferred. An example report is �Calls By Duration� which summarizes staff
response times to customers.
| ALEC! takes over the tedious business of
running and distributing reports. The result is �fresh� versus �stale�
information on service trends. �This is a marked improvement from having
to await month-end summaries,� according to Val Reyes, President of Metromedia
Software, Inc. An email �alert� is escalated to senior managers in the
event that service trends are negative for five days consecutive.
The implications for Brand Management are tremendous. �Imagine 100 hotels
in your brand and one unhappy guest leaves from each hotel everyday. In
the course of a month, you�re at risk to lose some 3,000 guests. You do
not run this risk with ALEC!. ,� says Reyes.
The HotelEXPERT System manages tasks in all hotel departments, bridging
the gap between front-of-house and back-of-house software systems. Alarms
are triggered whenever a guest continues to wait beyond the benchmark time.
A Telephone Interface allows users to open and close tasks by phone. Another
module, SmartPaging, allows dispatcher-free transmittal of tasks within
a hotel.
Last year, COMMENTATOR was released to manage Comment Cards, Surveys
and guest correspondence. It is now possible to immediately respond to
guest correspondence, track rebates and |
Barbizon Hotel Wins 1998
American Lodging Excellence Award as "Functional Best
Practice Champion" for its Implementation
of HotelEXPERT Software
In 1998, the American Hotel Foundation commissioned Cornell
University School of Hotel Administration to survey hotels in the
United States for "Best Practices." The objective was to find innovative
approaches to hotel operations and other industry facets.
The case study highlights the contribution of HotelEXPERT
software in streamlining operations. Originally used as a Rapid Response
software with built-in alarms, the Barbizon used HotelEXPERT to achieve
a 96% response time within 15 minutes for guest-related requests. Response
rate within 30 minutes was as high as 99.2%. Management also decreed a
95% response rate within 30 minutes to fellow employees.
The rapid response objective was followed by a "war" against
paper. Logbooks were eliminated. HotelEXPERT was used to electronically
pre-schedule guest-related tasks such as Room Service VIP amenities, requests
for cribs, mail & package. This was followed by scheduling Housekeeping
and Engineering. And yet again, by Quality Assurance management of the
captured database to include Guest Comment Card tracking.
In full implementation, HotelEXPERT was used in all hotel
departments: Security, Lost & Found, PBX, Executive Office, Sales &
Catering, Concierge, Housekeeping, Engineering, Laundry, Bell, Front Office,
F&B. More than 300,000 tasks have been entered into HotelEXPERT which
greatly eliminated meetings and paper trail. |
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amends, as well as simultaneously task the deficiency to operations. Survey
Scores may be run anytime for trend verification, and, are also transmitted
via ALEC! .
�We now have an intelligent, dynamic Rapid Response system, that handles
guest activity from pre-Arrival, during Stay and after departure. That�s
primary! And then there�s the added benefit of transferring everything
else you do on paper to HotelEXPERT,� Reyes concludes.
Metromedia Software, Inc. is based in New York City. The company focuses
on development and support of hotel operations software. Metromedia Software,
Inc products have been installed in over 100 hotels, ranging in size from
200 to 3,000 rooms.
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