Rapsodia Levels the Playing Field for Mid-Sized
PMS Vendors Competing Against Industry Leader
|
June 2002 - Like the islands of Hawaii that hint of a huge mountain
range just below the water line, two new resort hotels opening within a
month of each other in first quarter, 2002 are rock-solid indications of
a broad technology trend emerging in the hospitality industry: enterprise
applications. The Hilton Los Cabos Beach and Golf Resort, which commands
the southern tip of Baja California on the Pacific Ocean, and the Presidente
Inter-Continental Paraiso de la Bonita overlooking the Caribbean on the
Yucatan Peninsula, are hundreds of miles apart but share several things
in common. Both resorts have multiple profit centers, discriminating
clientele, and require single-system efficiency to operate at the five-star
level.
Although
the two hotel teams reached their system decisions independently, both
selected the same enterprise suite: the Rapsodia Windows back office
system by Advansys LLC. Deciding factors were its Microsoft Windows
ease of use, a single database architecture that allows one or more properties
with multiple companies to reside on a single server, and the fact that
40% of the Mexican hotel and resort market has standardized on solutions
from Advansys.
Each hotel�s system suite seamlessly interfaces with the property�s
front office and point of sale solutions, and will evolve to provide the
property with customer relationship management (CRM), and business intelligence.
The single system solution combines financial accounting, fixed assets,
time and attendance, inventory, multi-warehouse control, cash management,
and menu costing while providing multi-company consolidations. It
is completely integrated.
Hilton Los Cabos Controls Multiple Profit Centers
�We cater to discriminating travelers who demand the highest quality
service and tasteful facilities. Since this means multiple profit
centers, single-system efficiency that gives us accurate financial controls
is critical,� says Hilario Canales, CFO for the Hilton Los Cabos.
�The fact that the solution we chose is a Windows application is a major
plus for us because if we need other software for the hotel we can buy
it off the shelf. Also, the Rapsodia installers are hotel people
and the system is designed for properties like ours.�
The Hilton Los Cabos� ten acres of
beach is so expansive that guests will soon be given radio phones to order
both food and refreshments from the comfort of their palm-thatched shelters
near the turquoise Sea of Cortez. World-class golf is important to
most Hilton Los Cabos guests, and the nine nearby courses include the Jack
Nicklaus-designed El Dorado, and the famed Robert Trent
Jones� Ocean Course.� If golf is not on |
Hilton Los Cabos
|
the itinerary, the property offers massage therapy in its 7,500 square
foot spa, one of the finest facilities of its kind in Mexico. Tennis,
sport fishing, water sports, and fine dining in two restaurants are also
popular with resort guests.
Rapsodia�s Inventory Module a Favorite
�At a property of our size, it is critical we have all the items we
need on hand to run the hotel. That is one reason the Rapsodia inventory
module is my favorite part of the system,� Canales continues. �The
inventory system is attached to all the other modules making it possible
to send accurate information to accounts payable and coordinate our par
stocks with order placement. Another welcome aspect of the software
is that the accounting system is particularly easy to use. Our �opening
team� learned the applications in about two weeks.�
Presidente Inter-Continental Paraiso de la
Bonita Stays Five-Star with Just
Two Applications
Santiago Kinil, systems manager for the Six Continents Presidente Inter-Continental
Paraiso de la Bonita Resort & Spa in Cancun agrees. �Our property
uses just two applications to manage the entire operation, a front office
application and the Rapsodia system, which I use to run food and beverage,
banquets, maintenance, and accounts payable, purchasing, inventory storage,
and invoicing. If we need to buy something as small as a kitchen
utensil we can do it on the Rapsodia system very easily. If we want
complete consolidated operating financials for the entire corporation,
the system gives us that, too.� This is no small feat in the sumptuous
90 luxury-suite, full service hotel complete with ocean-view rooms, two
restaurants, and a wide range of water sports on their protected lagoon
in the Caribbean. The property also offers golf from the Robert Trent
Jones designed Pok-A-Tok Golf Club near the hotel.
�When the hotel opened in January it was very busy, but the system proved
itself at once,� continues Kinil. �We input all our accounting information
and inventory data into the system prior to opening, and we have been running
smoothly since then. The system has never gone down. The staff
is particularly happy because it is Windows-based, and they were able to
learn the system quickly.
�The advantages of a unified system are clear, � concludes the Hilton�s
Canales. �We can use one system to coordinate and collect all property
data for quicker, more accurate decisions. And as our company grows
we can expand the same software for enterprise operations. This fits
our development strategy.�
About Advansys
Advansys LLC has been providing computerized financial solutions to
the hospitality and other industries since 1984. During that time
the company has earned a reputation for state-of-the-art products and developed
relationships with Microsoft, Digital, and Deloitte Touche to create its
leading edge Rapsodia application. Rapsodia is a customizable, Windows-based,
integrated, back office solution with numerous modules including time and
attendance, payroll, inventory management, fixed assets, treasury, purchase
orders, merchandise reception, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and
general ledger. With a proven track record in the hospitality vertical,
Rapsodia allows executives to create business information reports, such
as consolidated statements for groups of corporations, that analyze in-depth
information actionable for tomorrow�s decisions. Forty percent of
the hotels and resorts in Mexico have standardized on solutions from Advansys
for accounting and administrative management. |