Paris, 5 March 1998 - Acquiring and managing information both on and for the customer is the key to future business success, according to technology executives from leading international hotel corporations speaking at EURHOTEC '98, the European hospitality technology exhibition and conference which convened in Nice from 25-27 February 1998. (Site available at www.ih-ra.com/eurhotec98.
Douglas Lewis, executive vice president and chief information officer for Holiday Hospitality, Scott Anderson, executive vice president, sales and marketing at Cendant Corporation and Jean-Jacques Mouchené, vice-chairman of technology for Groupe Accor outlined their future information technology strategies and explained IT's role in growing their business and staying ahead of the competition.
Lewis revealed Holiday Hospitality's plans to seek future competitive advantage from the management of information rather than from the reservation process and Holiday's freephone booking number. As strategic information manager he is responsible for acquiring, distributing and exploiting guest, property, franchisee and competitor information with the aim of "intercepting the future" and using IT "not for the thrill, but to make money."
"The Internet is doubling our business every month and will play an increasingly important role, especially in providing our guests with information," said Lewis. The main thrust of Holiday's strategy is the development and introduction of a new technology architecture, where components can be changed gradually rather than wholesale.
Known as the "Tech Pack", the concept is based on "a highly integrated standards-based package of technology components and services which can be adapted to hotels of any size." Including PBX, servers, applications,
telephones, structured wiring, TV, maintenance and support services, the Tech Pack will be introduced later this year in the Staybridge Suites Hotel, Express Hotels and the Holiday Inn prototype.
Jean-Jacques Mouchené of Accor explained the implementation of Accor 2000, which he described as a "technology leap that will make information systems and telecommunications a top priority for Accor top management, expanding our leadership, increasing revenue and optimising costs." The project will involve re-engineering the hotel division and redefining Accor's information systems.
The Accor network is set to be strengthened through worldwide IT standardisation, with a "room on-line" project geared towards equipping Accor hotels with the latest in in-room technology. The project will be piloted at the Sofitel Arc-de-Triomphe in Paris, where 135 rooms will be fitted with on-line facilities including wireless phones, Internet connections, video-on-demand and unified voicemail.
According to Scott Anderson of Cendant Corporation, the world's biggest hotel franchise group, "Direct marketing is the way of the future." His challenge was to find new ways of utilising technology to communicate with franchisees and help them market their properties under the Cendant brands. "We have 180 brands, 37% of which are not technologically aware," Anderson said. Cendant's solution is Project Power-Up, a US$75 million project which aims to install Property Management Systems (PMS), Internet connections and a direct marketing facility in each hotel, at no cost to the franchisee.
Relying on "push" technology, the most important thrust of the project is one-to-one marketing. "We are creating a data warehouse, designing data mining software and deciding on tactical communications," said Anderson. "A transaction in any part of the company means data can be fed from the PMS into the central database, which then provides a guest profile for the franchisee so that guests can be identified for direct marketing activities."
An Intranet connection with franchisees will deliver direct marketing materials and financial reports. Anderson aims to have 4,000 hotels equipped by the end of the year, with completion scheduled for July 1999.
EURHOTEC, an annual event organised by the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), focuses on the use of technology to improve management and profitability in the hospitality industry. EURHOTEC '98 attracted more than 1,100 visitors from 48 countries. 57 technology experts headed the three-day conference programme, with 92 exhibitors showcasing their hi-tech products and services at the EURHOTEC exhibition.
Editor's note: The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a global network of independent and chain operators, national associations, hospitality suppliers and educational centres in the hotel and restaurant industry in more than 150 countries. As the voice of the industry it represents, protects, promotes and informs its members to enable them to achieve their objectives.
