Category: Hotel Channel Management

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Swedish hotel recommends RateTiger for online distribution

Karstorp Hotel, a Swedish midscale property has recommended RateTiger for effective channel management and online distribution. The hotel has been using RateTiger Channel Manager and Shopper for a couple of years now and has experienced improved occupancy and revenue by streamlining its distribution.

Located in Skovde, Karstorp Hotel is a 32-room property. MiWell Nordic, a Scandinavia based hospitality management firm is helping the hotel with advanced analytics driven Revenue Management for improving efficiency. Through Miwell Nordic, the hotel is leveraging eRevMax’s seamless connectivity with global and regional OTAs, and niche channels to publish room rate and availability in real time and receive reservations directly into its PMS. Hosted on LiveOS, RateTiger’s pool inventory model allows the revenue management team to continuously distribute live rates and inventory to multiple booking channels and deliver updates back into its property management system (PMS) in real-time, without worrying about overbooking. The in-built booking trends and business analytics data combined with competitor benchmarking reports give them key market insights to make informed decision.

“With RateTiger, we only need to make updates on one platform instead of multiple OTAs. The channels get automatically populated immediately once we submit the data from our end. Similarly, all bookings generated on the different sales channels are entered in our PMS automatically. RateTiger is easy to use and their support team is very helpful, you always get a quick response on any query,” said Elin Svensson, Revenue Activator, MiWell Nordic.

“MiWell has been our long-standing partner trusting RateTiger to manage online sales for its client hotels. This recommendation is a testimony to our commitment to make online distribution management easy for hoteliers. We have invested in building stable connectivity with over 400 OTAs and technology providers. Our solutions simplify operations, improve efficiencies and give hoteliers time to focus on strategy,” said Alin Lazar, Regional Sales Director – EMEA, eRevMax.

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10 Tips for Hotels to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for hotel owners looking to improve business ROI. Check out the top 10 tips to see how you can increase your property’s operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have limited staff but various functions to manage. You may be looking to improve the operational productivity to boost your hotel revenue, but don’t know how. Here are 10 tips that can help you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Invest in technology

Adopt useful hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System), rate shopping and channel management tools, which can help streamline online distribution and reservation management process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staff to its overall performance

You must show to your staff that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenue of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they get motivated to perform even better.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-to-staff and staff-to-management communication, for better team cohesion.

Use Accounts Payable (AP) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives are natural motivators for employees in any organization, and it inspires them to work hard and earn it.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anywhere, anytime. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader report into the General Manager who in turn gets a bird’s eye view into the entire operations and can thus provide insightful inputs for the hotel owner.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

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12 Tips for Hotel to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for the hotel owners looking forward for better ROI to run through this better and get to know the top 12 tips for operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have small number of staffs but many functions to manage. You have to improve the operational productivity of your hotel if you are serious about boosting your revenues. Here are 12 tips that can let you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Improve your technologies

Adopt latest hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System) and channel manager, which can help streamline the check-out and check-in process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With a good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staffs to its overall performance

You have to show to your staffs that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenues of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they can improve their service.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-staff and staff-management communication, and boost communication.

Use AP (Accounts Payable) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives can be natural motivators for your hotel staffs, and inspire them to work better and perform every task better.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anytime, anywhere. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Use a Hotel Management System

It can let you enter invoices, track customer data, handle bookings and more with ease.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader can report to you.

Automate operations

Whether it comes to managing bookings and housekeeping or handling guest reviews, automation can make things much easier.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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Agoda Opportunities debuts on LiveOS

The #1 hospitality operating system LiveOS has introduced Agoda Opportunities on its platform. Hotels using LiveOS platform to manage their online distribution can now access this special service from Agoda to amplify visibility on Agoda, the fastest growing global OTA.

Through Agoda Opportunities, hotels can access Agoda Sponsored Listing, a service designed to connect hotels with a highly engaged travel audience through paid listings. The sponsored listing appears in premium placement alongside search results – increasing exposure, building brand awareness and maximizing opportunities to convert lookers into bookers.

Another service is Agoda Private Sale (APS), a feature promoting properties and insider deals and offers to Agoda’s registered VIP members. With the new features available exclusively on LiveOS, user hotels can now view and take part on this select closed user group incremental sales program directly from their LiveOS dashboard.

“We are pleased to reinforce our integration with eRevMax by optimizing production opportunities within LiveOS, to strengthen property profiles among Agoda’s customer bases and drive increase in revenue. We are constantly striving to provide more value and innovation to the benefit of our mutual accommodation partners and the launch of Agoda Opportunities allows us to do so. We are excited to continue exploring new approaches that are made possible by the quality of eRevMax’s software,” said Lucas Johnson, Associate Director Connectivity & Partnerships, Agoda.

“We continuously strive to bring relevant enhancements and features to make our customers experience wonderful. LiveOS users can now view and activate various incremental sales and marketing opportunities available on Agoda directly from their dashboard,” said Ankur Gupta, Sales Director, LiveOS.

LiveOS is an operating system that simplifies the use of technology for the hospitality industry. It centralizes the core functions of multiple applications in a single sign-on platform offering accommodation providers the much-needed simplicity in daily operations. Over 9000 hotels today use the LiveOS platform to manage multiple pre-integrated technology solutions including PMS, CRS, OTAs, Metasearch sites, Channel Manager, Reputation Management and other services.

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HospitalityUnited.Club to host Cocktails & Conversation in Minneapolis

HospitalityUnited.Club is all set to host another dazzling event for hoteliers and tech partners in Minneapolis, along the side lines of the travel tradeshow taking place in the city this month.

WIHP, AgentX101, LiveOS, RateTiger & Rebelo Gloger Attorneys at Law have teamed up to host the US 2019 edition of HUC Cocktails and Conversation on 18th June at one of the upscale hotels in the heart of Minneapolis Convention District. The event will bring together travel technology innovators and hoteliers for an informal relaxed evening of peer-to-peer discussion on new trends affecting hospitality.

“WIHP is glad to partner for the HUC Minneapolis event as it provides us an opportunity to connect with hotels and partners. While tradeshows provide us the opportunity to create new acquaintances, it is very important to develop a good rapport before we do business together and this platform is aimed at helping us achieve the same,” commented Christophe Pereira, Director – Sales & Marketing, WIHP.

HUC aims to provide the hosts and guests an interactive platform to exchange ideas and explore collaboration possibilities for meaningful business. The Minneapolis event is the tenth in the series, following successful HUC networking events in Toronto, Singapore, London, Madrid, Houston and Berlin among others.

To join us for the Cocktails & Conversation in Minneapolis, register today – https://www.hospitalityunited.club/event/usa/huc-minneapolis-june2019.html

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How Can Metasearch Tools Make Hotel Operations More Powerful?

Much has been written over metasearch channels – fact is metasearch has become an increasingly crucial and complex channel for hotels. According to a recent study published by our partner Fornova in association with Eye For Travel, 73% of travelers regularly compare hotels, making it an important channel for hoteliers to reach their customer at every touchpoint.

For long, OTAs and top hotel brands have been investing a considerable amount of their marketing budget to be visible in metasearch channels. Independent properties, due to marketing budget constraint and technical challenges, have so far been slow to embrace it. However used efficiently, metasearch channels can be one of the most cost-effective ways independent hotels can take bake the control of bookings, currently dominated by OTAs. In this article, we look into four things hotels need to know before investing on metasearch.

Improve visibility of your property to your potential guests

Your potential guests are using it. OTAs are also using it. With Google turning into a full-fledged metasearch engine, metasearch has taken the centerstage at the traveller’s research process. According to Phocuswright’s Independent Lodging Properties and the Online Marketplace, over 63% independent properties in Europe and North America now have implemented Internet Booking Engines (IBR) and mobile enabled website. However with over two-third of the bookings (79% and 69% in the U.S. and Europe) coming from online, over-dependence on OTAs have taken a toll on their profitability. Independent hotels want to focus on direct bookings, and meta-search is one of the most cost-effective channels available to drive guests to brand websites.

Optimize the mobile experience

The travel is shifting to mobile. According to a report by Criteo, over one third people in developed economy now use mobile devices to book hotel rooms. Even as the booking landscape varies between demographics, OTAs’ dominance in mobile bookings remain constant. One reason that can be attributed to this shift is OTAs are essentially technology company. They have the resources and expertise to invest on technology. For hotels, especially the independent ones, competing OTAs with technology can be a mammoth task. This is where metasearch comes in. Metasearch channels like Google Hotel Ads are mobile optimized, and allows travelers to book directly with the hotel while staying within the app. However, that does not mean a metasearch campaign will be effective without a good booking engine. Make sure your booking engine experience on both desktop and mobile matches the expectation of travelers.

Google is the king of metasearch

Launched in 2011 as Hotel Finder, Google Hotel Ads has grown exponentially over the years in terms of click volumes and ROI. According to a recent study by our partner Roiback, Google Hotel Ads now accounts for over 65% of hotel bookings coming from metasearch channels. In one of our earlier articles, we discussed how Google has become a popular platform for hoteliers even as OTAs traditionally dominate metasearch sites. As Google makes definite moves to be a part of first touch point in the online purchasing journey for most travelers, Google Hotel Ads, with improved booking capabilities that includes price filtering and amenity details, has become a must have in hotelier’s metasearch plan.

Rate Parity matters

Rate Parity has been a much debated topic within the hotel industry, however for metasearch advertising , it is one vital things hotel can not ignore. Metasearch still remains primarily a site to compare hotel options and rates. If your published rate on the brand website is higher than your OTA rates, potential bookers would simply ignore your direct channel. The lack of rate parity also makes the consumer wary of the hotel’s approach and thereby defeating the purpose of investing in metasearch for broader distribution.

To get the best returns on your metasearch investment, it’s important to manage your campaign effectively, and if possible, avail advise of digital experts. Managed properly, if can drive more direct bookings and give you good returns – otherwise it would just be an investment gone into expenditure.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

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eRevMax publishes market study on ‘The State of Hotel Online Distribution in Middle East’

Leading hotel technology expert eRevMax has today published a market report on The State of Hotel Online Distribution in Middle East. The findings cover a wide cross-section of topics including technology adoption, distribution mix, channel production, online updates, among others.

With more than 108 respondents from 5 countries, namely, UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, this is one of the most comprehensive study focused solely on online distribution trends in the region.

According to the survey respondents, close to 48% of their reservations come from Online Travel Agencies, followed by Wholesalers contributing 23%. Online direct booking is around 18%, an indication of hoteliers’ challenge in the region to keep up with the shift towards mobile booking.

“The objective of this study is to identify key trends in the hotel online distribution space in the Middle East and understand how the market is evolving with the constant changes in consumer behaviour,” said Gerard Carrie, COO, eRevMax.

The survey also reveals that the Middle East hotel industry are now increasingly investing on travel technology solutions.

Majority of the respondents now use at least three travel technology applications. In lieu with the growth in online bookings, Channel Manager or OTA connectivity solution has become a must have with 64% hotels using it to manage OTAs.

The report is a must-read for hoteliers who want to better understand the trends in the region and establish a benchmark for their approach against competitors in the industry.

Find out the key challenges that Middle East hoteliers are facing with their online distribution. Download the full study today – The State of Hotel Online Distribution in Middle East  

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eRevMax completes integration with Mexican CRS – PMS provider

Hotel connectivity solution provider eRevMax has completed 2-way integration with Front2Go hotel management system. Mutual hotel customers can now leverage the interface to update rate and availability to third party online booking sites whenever they are updated in the hotel reservation system and receive reservations from OTAs.

Developed by Avance Sistemas, Front2Go is an upcoming property management system currently being used by over 200 hotels in the region. Front2Go dashboard allows property owners to manage front desk operations, rates and promotions, and customer loyalty data, consolidating the status of all hotel properties in one place. eRevMax’s distribution solutions are used by over 9000 hotels to update rate and availability across their booking channels and immediately update inventory whenever a booking is made.

“Front2Go is a new generation CRS-PMS software with presence in Mexico and Latin America. Through our new partnership with eRevMax, our mutual customers will benefit from the integrated connectivity to many booking sites provided by RateTiger channel manager.  The availability and rates remain in sync with all online sales channels, while the reservations are received seamlessly into our CRS. This alliance will allow our customers to increase their online presence without the complexities of having to update data in several platforms,” said Alfredo Malo, CIO, Avance Sistemas.

“Our interface with Front2Go provides our customers in the Americas another option to manage online channels cost-effectively without worrying about maintaining online inventory manually across each booking website. The secure XML connection eliminates the need for any manual intervention, allowing hotel managers to focus on key aspects like strategy and guest engagement,” said Ashis Saha, SVP – Project Management, eRevMax.

eRevMax offers seamless connectivity with around 400 OTAs and 90 technology providers. The company is developing its connectivity solutions to offer sophisticated real-time revenue management functionality to the hospitality industry. This includes solutions across the board from independent boutique properties to hotel groups and chain. eRevMax’s Channel Ecosystem facilitates quality certified connectivity and relationship management services to support complex revenue generation strategies.

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Estonian luxury hotel recommends RateTiger for channel connectivity

The Three Sisters Hotel, a luxury boutique property has recommended RateTiger, powered by LiveOS, for fast and seamless connectivity for effective online distribution. The hotel has been using RTConnect, the SaaS based distribution solution by eRevMax to maintain real-time data transfer between its property management system and online sales channels for the last three years, resulting in an increase in online revenue and occupancy.

Located within the 16th century walls of Tallinn’s fabled Old Town, the Three Sisters, a member of the exclusive Relais & Chateaux, is a 5-star boutique hotel offering 23 rooms. The revenue management team is leveraging RTConnect to update rates and inventory in real-time across all major global channels and metasearch sites and receive reservations directly into its PMS. They also use the advanced analytics available on the LiveOS dashboard to go beyond traditional revenue management, and incorporate customer behavior, dynamic pricing, segmentation, distribution and marketing to optimize revenue potential.

“We are very satisfied with RateTiger. The two-way connection is very important to us. We are very pleased with the personalized support and excellent response time,” said Anna Grigoruk, Hotel Manager, the Three Sisters Hotel.

“As a technology partner, we are committed to developing superior connectivity with a range of online sales channels for our client hotels to make the best use of their distribution mix. RateTiger and LiveOS have been built with a vision to make online sales simpler for hotels, and this recommendation is a testimony to that,” said Alin Lazar, Regional Sales Director – EMEA, eRevMax.

RTConnect, eRevMax’s enterprise connectivity solution delivers real-time connectivity between CRS/PMS and around 400 online sales channels including GDS, OTAs, IDS, Metasearch Engines, Wholesalers, Tour Operators and other travel sales companies processing online hotel bookings. It supports full enterprise integration with 2-way XML connectivity; all delivered in a Software-as a Service (SaaS) model for the large independent and group hotels.

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Top tech trends for driving your hotel revenue

With the constant evolution of technology and new trends coming and going, its important for hotels to keep a track of what is happening around them. Knowing the impact of new technology and how it can affect revenue is key to running any business successfully today. The same applies to the travel and hospitality sector which is one of the most dynamic industries today. Given the huge dependence on guest behavior, hoteliers need to know how to influence key decision makers and be visible at every key touch point. Here are some upcoming trends that we feel will have an impact on the industry and hoteliers should take notice and prepare well in advance.

  • Data explosion with 5G Network

The new 5G, with its superfast download speed and other benefits, is sure to have a massive impact on the expectations and behavior of mobile phone users. One can readily access virtual reality and videos and the 5G network is likely to bring a huge change in how guests research and book travel and hotel.  Users will have the opportunity to visualize themselves in their preferred room instead of only seeing the photos.

‘Mobile-first strategy’ will likely rule the trend. Google, being the early adopter like it is, may reward hotels that pro-actively focus on their mobile strategy and penalize the ones that are not at all mobile friendly. Thus, hotels need to make sure their brand website is mobile friendly and has a good page load speed. It’s important to develop mobile focused marketing strategy to capture this segment of guests that like to book things on mobile.

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  • Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) will get a big boost with 5G network. However, AR proves to be more realistic than VR to hoteliers. Why? Real environment is replaced by a virtual one by VR. To visualize this, one needs wearable technology. On the contrary, AR introduces digital components into real environment that one can easily access with smartphones.

Some hotels have already started using this technology like AR-enabled maps and brochures. It is a great opportunity for hotel industry to enhance in-stay and pre-stay experience of their guests.

  • Dominance of Videos

Conveying information through videos is more effective than words because people today prefer watching than reading, especially in mobile phones. Do you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine globally? Facebook too generates huge traffic from its videos every day. With the emergence of 5G, videos will achieve greater importance.

To future-proof business, hoteliers have to invest in entertaining, informational and relevant video advertising. According to Google, videos are likely to capture 80% of online media in the coming years.

With so many innovative technologies coming up in the market, hotels have to optimize these opportunities to reap the maximum benefit for their business.