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Hotel Guest Expectations in the time of COVID-19

For a traveler, a hotel room is like a home away from home. The one main exception however is that hundreds of strangers would have used that hotel room in the past. Hence maintaining cleanliness is very important in the hospitality industry, but with the spread of COVID-19, in which it is said that the virus can live on surfaces for a few hours to days, proper sanitization of guest rooms has become paramount.

In today’s times, it is important that hotels align with changes in guest expectations and take appropriate measures to make the guests feel safe and comfortable. eRevMax shares some tips that hotels can implement now to be future ready for when travel rebounds and guests start to pour-in.

To connect to new source markets or other tips and tricks on improving your hotel revenue flow,  reach out to us on marketing@erevmax.com.

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The Week, That Was – June 2018 Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

HITEC: Industry must think holistically about tech
A panel of top-level executives speaking at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference said the hotel industry has to adopt more broad technology solutions that work together.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/286985/HITEC-Industry-must-think-holistically-about-tech

Travelers losing interest in home-sharing, Google gaining ground as travel resource
For all the chatter of Airbnb stealing scene time away from hotels, traveler interest in home-sharing seems to be waning. According to MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers study, which surveyed nearly 3,000 US adults that have taken at least one trip over the past 12 months, just 33% of respondents are interested in sharing economy accommodations, down from 41% in 2017 and 37% in 2016.

https://www.phocuswire.com/MMGY-Global-portrait-of-american-travelers-2018

How strategic use of technology drives guest loyalty and hotel revenue
Technology is creating new opportunities and challenges for hospitality brands, and the ones that use it effectively will be rewarded with a loyal following of guests and, ultimately, more profits.

https://www.phocuswire.com/HITEC-CEO-technology-panel

Google: Travel’s closely watched obsession
Google’s entry into metasearch may be more than half a decade old, but it continues to be a closely watched obsession for the travel industry. Since the very beginning, Phocuswright has carefully tracked the evolution of Google travel products and their growing role in travel’s search-shop-buy funnel.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Google-travel-obsession

How hotel managers can generate profits above and beyond owner’s expectations
There is a lot happening in 2018 that hotel owners should be happy about. After the best Q1 on record earlier this year, it is shaping up to be another stellar year in hospitality with demand (2.4%) outweighing supply (2%); occupancy increasing by 0.4%; ADRs growing by 2.6%; and RevPAR increasing by 3% (STR, PWC).

https://www.hebsdigital.com/blog/hotel-managers-generate-profits/

How RevPAR growth translates into profits
Hotel profitability is the primary measure of success for hotel owners, managers and operators. However, revenue and top-line data continue to be the focus of the industry.

One major reason for this is the availability of revenue-per-available-room data, which is directly linked to the success of STR at aggregating rooms revenue data across a substantial portion of the industry. Alternatively, profitability data is much more difficult to amass because hotel ownership and management groups are much more fragmented than hotel brands.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/286892/How-RevPAR-growth-translates-into-profits

Amazon’s latest focus on hotels comes via Alexa
Amazon is launching a new service for hotels to introduce its voice-controlled assistant Alexa for guests to use in their rooms. Alexa for Hospitality will allow hotel guests to make verbal requests through an Amazon Echo device, including room service, housekeeping and contacting the property’s concierge.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/amazon-hospitality-alexa-hotels/

Fake hotels becoming a massive issue for OTAs
The rise of fake hotels is a phenomenon that has left both consumers and online travel agents (OTAs) frustrated and out of pocket. And they’re becoming more sophisticated and believable too. In recent months, the travel industry has witnessed a tidal wave of fake chalet websites, with one website, Alps-stay.com, conning unsuspecting holiday-makers out of tens of thousands of euros.

http://travolution.com/articles/107814/guest-post-the-fake-hotels-phenomenon-targeting-otas

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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Hotel OTTO Berlin recommends RateTiger for channel connectivity

Hotel OTTO, an upscale property in Berlin has recommended RateTiger Channel Manager for stable and seamless connectivity with world’s leading OTAs. The hotel, which has been using eRevMax’s award winning distribution solution, has improved its online exposure resulting in positive revenue and occupancy growth.

Centrally located, Hotel OTTO is a modern property with 46 rooms catering largely to business travellers. Since 2010, the revenue management team has been using RateTiger to update rates and availability across online sales channels. Following the suggestion from RateTiger’s Connectivity Advisor, the hotel added top OTAs from China and South East Asia in their distribution mix. This improved the hotel’s exposure in upcoming markets and brought a positive impact to their online business

“We have been using RateTiger for the last 8 years and are very satisfied with the services that totally match our needs. Thanks to the diversity of their distribution portfolio (OTA, Wholesalers etc), we can connect with bigger number of distribution partners and have experienced a steady growth in our online business.  Amongst all the products I have used in the market so far, RateTiger remains one of the most powerful and efficient,” said Mihai Cucu, Revenue & Operations Manager, Hotel OTTO.

“Providing hotels with stable connectivity have remained our priority for the last 17 years. We have developed our channel ecosystem for hotels to improve exposure and tap new markets.  We are committed to adding value to our customers, and this recommendation shows how well we deliver when it comes to best-in-class technology and premium customer service,” said Alin Lazar, VP – Sales, Europe & Americas, eRevMax.

eRevMax offers strong connections with over 350 OTAs and 70 technology providers. The company provides channel management, business intelligence and connectivity solutions to hotels, groups and serviced apartment globally.

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The Week, That Was – April 2018 Week 2

 In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

The Beginner’s Guide to Basic (but Essential) Hotel Technology by Trivago
Hotel technology now lives in large part online. Which means that hoteliers access and engage with hotel technology online to do everything from marketing their properties to distributing their rooms, managing their daily operations, processing reservations, and everything in between.

http://hotelmanager-blog.trivago.com/beginners-guide-to-hotel-technology/

eRevMax strengthens its leadership team for LiveOS
Diako Sali appointed as Director of Global Sales

http://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/apr2018-erevmax-strengthens-leadership-team-liveos.html

A brief history of property management systems
A lot of hotel websites, for example, show weather information, but it is unlikely that web agencies develop their own weather widgets from scratch. More likely, they connect to existing monitor apps, so that web users can check the temperature of their chosen destination without even realizing that the information is actually provided by an external source. This communication is made possible by the use of an API.

https://www.tnooz.com/article/hotel-property-management-systems-pms/

The HSMAI Region Europe Awards 2017
The European HSMAI Awards took place in Amsterdam last Tuesday evening, marked by a great atmosphere, dancing guests, excellent entertainment, food, beverages and, but not least, top notch winners – and now the Top 20 the list is also official!

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4087909.html

IS YOUR HOTEL WEBSITE READY FOR WHAT’S NEXT IN 2018?
There are two major factors that will affect website performance in 2018:
Google’s Mobile First Index
Website ADA Compliance

https://www.hebsdigital.com/are-you-ready-for-2018

Meet us at
ATM Dubai, from 22 – 25 April 2018 to see how we can assist you – marketing@erevmax.com

Thanks and have a good day!

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With Love from Sao Paulo – Technology Hits and Misses from WTM LATAM

Time is Money!
This statement has never been as valid perhaps as it is today.

I was at WTM Latin America a few days back and realized the truth and depth of this statement while talking to some friends from the industry. Constant news from solution providers and revolutionary technological innovation continues to prove how valuable time is!

For those like me who had their first contact with a computer in the early 90’s and learnt the complicated codes of the GDS used by Varig Airlines (my first job in the industry) – we get amazed by the developments that has happened since then.

Year after year, hotels have had several innovative tools at their disposal to simplify their daily work and facilitate the management of business, but the main concern for them is how to choose the best from among so many options available in the market.

Now let’s talk about Latin American hoteliers in specific. I have been working with hotels in this region for quite some time now and I see that many of them are able to see a new world of opportunities with excellent perspective on improving their room occupancy, RevPAR and overall profits.

However, there are various others that are yet to understand and visualize all the benefits that these new distribution and connectivity tools can provide to their business. We can’t blame them because this technological evolution has been very fast and ran over all the pre-existing models. 

Hoteliers need to adapt to non-fictional reality and try to understand the origin and consequences (both positive and negative) of this evolution.

The new generation of hotel employees is able to adapt more easily to trends and new technologies. For many, the thought of being “stuck” in an office can be the worst nightmare and hence mobility, agility, thinking outside the box and the possibility of managing your work through virtual access to hotel systems is very appealing. This is the era of connected individuals who are constantly sharing with the world what they are doing. They are open to new technologies and apps and are not scared to try anything new.

Think about a Ferrari! Everyone agrees that it is a wonderful car but it just doesn’t make any sense for you to buy it, if you only know how to ride a bicycle. This is one of the most famous analogies that many ‘old school’ hoteliers still make when approached with innovative technologies. They continue to ignore potential growth opportunities that could come their way with the right distribution tools and by selling on the right channels.
They also ignore market changes and think they can continue working like they used to in the 90’s. They think will be able to survive in the market riding their bicycles while their competitors are using Ferraris.

As a result of the advancement of technology, work-flow processes of the past will not survive the current day pressure of hoteliers and is getting altered quickly. Cloud technology and innovative platforms will only help hotels in this increasingly competitive market. In addition to bringing several improvements to the professionalization of the hotel market in Latin America, the greater reflection of this technology adoption will be seen in how hotels effectively meet and exceed guest expectations. 

Karl Marx once said “The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.”
 
I wish I could show Karl Marx all the technological innovations of our market today and he would, for sure, change his mind. 

Because TIME IS MONEY after all!



This post is by Alex Moura who is the Regional Sales Director for North America, Caribbean & Brazil at eRevMax. He can be reached at alexm@erevmax.com
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Are you visiting Tianguis Turistico in Mexico? Meet us there

Mexico, with over 32 million international tourist arrivals, is the 9th most visited country in the world, and growing at over 9% per year. 

Tianguis Turistico – one of the biggest travel and tourism shows in Central America takes place annually in Mexico. The 42nd edition of the show is scheduled from March 27th to 30th at Expo Mundo Imperial in Acapulco, Guerrero. The event is expected to draw nearly 1,000 companies from 80 different countries.

I am very excited to attend the show like every year as it gives me an opportunity to meet with peers and partners. The show is meant for serious buyers and sellers who are looking to conduct business. It provides a perfect platform for technology company like ours to showcase our innovative solutions to a wide audience. 

We already have some key meetings lined up for the show and we are excited to present LIVE OS to potential partners. We also have a range of attractive bundle offers for hotels. 

eRevMax is widely known for its channel manager and rate shopping brand RateTiger. The company offers stable products with over 99% uptime. While other companies struggle to offer continuous connectivity, eRevMax has invested in building a robust infrastructure to provide hoteliers with uninterrupted service over the last 15 years. 

To book a meeting at Tianguis Turistico, contact marketing@erevmax.com today.


Julian Lindt is the Regional Sales Director for Latin America at eRevMax and will represent eRevMax at Tianguis Turistico.
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TigerTime by eRevMax turned out to be a hit with hoteliers and OTAs

While WTM ended a month back, we are still recovering from its success. The TigerTime sessions we organized with leading OTAs proved to be a hit at WTM 2013. The sessions generated significant interest among the travel industry with a ‘standing room only’ turnout.

Agoda, GTA and Ostrovok – all part of the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem – delivered relevant presentations to hoteliers looking for superior connectivity, new distribution markets and updates on new technology developments.

“TigerTime by eRevMax was the perfect platform for us to present our value proposition to a varied set of attendees. It helped us showcase how hoteliers can benefit from our advanced XML connectivity and how they can reach out to our diverse client base. Apart from being a great branding exercise, this platform put us directly in touch with key decision makers who can understand the value of our offerings and with whom we can take our business forward,” said Pavel Babenko, Director for International Markets, Ostrovok.

Here is a sneak peek into some interesting moments captured from WTM 2013


Read the full story: TigerTime by eRevMax turned out to be a hit with hoteliers and OTAs

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IHTF – eRevMax Revenue Management Survey

International Hotel Technology Forum (IHTF), in association with RateTiger by eRevMax, is conducting an industry survey to understand your revenue management needs better. 
We aim to identify pressing technology challenges that affect your day-to-day operations. This will help us highlight relevant issues and bring them to the forefront to help develop new solutions tailored to your needs. 
This short survey will take you just 5 minutes to complete – https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QYWMRMK

Please fill in today to voice your opinion – it’s time to speak up!

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Real-time technology lets hotels respond faster than ever

With so many channels to track on a daily basis, hotel companies can’t afford to slip up. On the positive side, technology has evolved considerably to keep distribution and revenue management executives up-to-date in this multi-channel environment. 
Hotel companies continue to pursue a connectivity strategy that provides the broadest reach possible at the lowest unit cost while being as accurate as possible. In today’s multi-channel environment, hoteliers need quick access to hotel-rate data and inventory positions on various sales channels. With online sales bringing increased revenue, it’s vital that hotels proactively manage their online presence and ensure room rates and availability accurately reflect their current status on all sales channels.

The process of doing this manually is now a thing of the past and even having separate pieces of software to manage different aspects of online sales is almost outdated. “Over the last couple of years we have seen increased focus on integrated applications, wherein hotels can do most of these complex tasks through a single system,” says Michael McCartan, chief executive officer, eRevMax International.
Full story on Eye For Travel
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HITEC 2012


So the countdown begins… one more week to go and Baltimore will have Ryan C Haynes included in its list of tourist arrivals. And why just me? There will be thousands more who would be swarming the BWI Airport over the weekend to make it in time for the big hospitality technology show of the year – HITEC, starting 25th June 2012.

I have a firm understanding that this is where deals are made and where the technology for the industry takes tip-toes, steps or leaps forward to meet the demands of the ever-changing hotel operation environment. I’m really interested to learn who the big players are, it’s not an event like the consumer shows, this is business, so interested to see what will happen?

So what’s on offer? Well of course RateTiger will be there at booth 1716 speaking to the attendees, and I am there to meet the press.  After 5 very enjoyable years educating the journalists on channel management this is my time to say “Hello”, shake their hands, thank them and find out where we go next.

The conference part of the show starts with various boot camps, educational sessions as well as CHAE and CHTP exams on Monday. Day 2 looks exciting with an interesting key note session by professional hacker Josh Klein, who will speak about ‘Self Defense in the New Media Age’ (a dose of this should come in handy!).  Day 3 includes the much talked about ‘Search, Mobile and Social media’, ‘Reinventing CRM and BI as Revenue Drivers’ and ‘Gleaning Business Intelligence from Social Media’. Given that RateTiger dabbles in all three offering relevant applications, we are very excited to hear what the speakers have to say.

Still – seamless, two-way connectivity will be on the lips, as we continue the discussion to the next level looking deeper at simplifying the complexity of the “Push, Pull, Push, Pull models”. And we will be looking at how OTAs will be changing their sales model and the future role of social networks, Google and flash sales sites in hotel booking strategies.

Other than this, there will definitely be a lot of networking and some nice evening dinners with the team. So, time for a few last minute preparations and then off I go. More when I am back. See you at HITEC.

Ryan C Haynes is VP – Marketing Communications at eRevMax and is responsible for driving all PR and Marketing activities for RateTiger and eRevMax brands globally. Ryan is based out of London and can be reached at ryanh@ratetiger.com