Las Vegas, NEV. -- The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, Las Vegas' newest and most heralded casino hotel, has upgraded its electronic reservations capabilities with Sceptre Hospitality Resources' GDS and Internet system.

In adding RESERVE, the 3,036-suite hotel creates new marketing and sales clout through Sceptre's seamless, real-time GDS and Internet links, electronic marketing support and strategic yield-management expertise.

Mike French, The Venetian senior vice president of operations, said there were two fundamental factors in The Venetian's decision to bring Sceptre aboard its already substantial reservations technology infrastructure.

"First, it's safe to say that few hotels in the world have the draw or unique features of The Venetian. Even so, it's vital that we do all we can to provide universal reservations access, in a manner that's real-time and offering property and room detail that consumers and travel professionals are coming to expect."

Equally vital in the fast-moving Las Vegas rate and yield-management environment is the capability to implement decisions instantaneously, French added.

Maintaining that balance of competitive pricing and profitability in a market as fluid and fast-moving as Vegas is a major challenge, agreed Sceptre Hospitality Resources director Rita Emmer.

"Working with more than 110 hotels nationwide, we have the opportunity to get a good look at a variety of market dynamics. Vegas is challenging because it's a strong market, but with incredible dynamics of weekend/weekday and seasonal rates. An influx of new properties, each working to establish itself, adds to the challenge. Vegas hotel operators need to demonstrate unequalled flexibility and speed in implementing their yield management strategies," said Emmer.

"I've heard hotel operators say there's no way you could you fail if you had a product with the sizzle of Vegas hotels. But they're only seeing half of the equation. If you don't stay on your toes at all times, make intelligent and immediate rate and yield-management decisions, you can be left in the dust in Vegas."

Emmer knows of which she speaks - Sceptre serves Las Vegas' leading independent hotels, including Bellagio, The Mirage, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, and Imperial Palace Hotels. The company instantaneously and seamlessly links a travel agent or consumer to a client hotel's reservations computer, presenting inventory and rates in an instantaneous, real-time format.

Through Sceptre, hotels have a single direct conduit to Global Distribution Systems (GDS) including Sabre, Apollo, Worldspan and Amadeus, and Web channels such as TravelWeb, Travelocity, Expedia, Preview Travel, Internet Travel Network, and even priceline.com.

Sceptre also provides hotels with electronic marketing support and designated account managers offering strategic yield-management expertise. Private-label toll-free reservations phone services also are available.

Ranked #10 on Hotels magazine's list of top third-party marketing and reservations providers, twelve-year-old Sceptre Hospitality Services also is the fastest growing company on the list. Since 1997, the Sceptre system has grown by 60 percent, to represent nearly 60,000 rooms. Sceptre is a division of Richfield Hospitality Services.