HITEC 2001 - Monday Pre-Conference Wrapup

CHAE Review

• What are the best techniques for analyzing financial statements for greater profitability
• Exploration of techniques for managing assets and evaluating capital budget projects
• How to use cost-volume-profit analysis to determine the breakeven point of a hospitality business
• Cash Management and internal controls to prevent fraud and theft in a hospitality business
• Understand how to forecast sales and costs and to analyze variances

What Should I Look For When Purchasing a Telecom System?:

This interactive discussion walks you through the life cycle of acquiring a complete hotel telecommunications solution. After this session, you will:

• Know what are the key elements of a hotel telecommunications system and how they go together
• Understand the baseline telecom requirements of today's traveler…and tomorrow's
• Know each step of the system acquisition life cycle
• Know how to use your most effective tool: the Request For Proposal
• Understand how to find the pitfalls and traps in any vendor's proposal
• Have methodology for evaluating and comparing disparate proposals

What Should I Look For When Purchasing In-room Internet Access?:

• Should you provide in-room access?
• How to research and choose a vendor
• What will be the cost?
• What is the return on the investment?
• What other online solutions should you consider?

Executive Briefing:

Mia Vallo Presentation:

• The areas needed to establish an effective Internet marketing plan
• What you need to do to your Web site to properly market online
• How to determine if your Web site is effective
• Determining effective measurements for your Internet marketing strategies

Don O'Neal Presentation:

• Better understanding of networks utilized inside and outside a hotel
• Better understanding of technology hardware utilized in a hotel to which a network may or may not be connected
• Better understanding of the infrastructure required to support the hardware, systems and networks inside a hotel
• Better understanding of user interface options to access systems and networks
• Better understanding of the wireless options to communicate with various systems and networks

Ted Horner Presentation:

• Key selection criteria
• Contract negotiation tips
• Future Sales automation technology trends
• ASP Based Models
• Internet Based Booking Engine
• DOS Vs Windows
• Hints for doing the legwork when purchasing a new system

Sales and Marketing Briefing Program:

Dennis Quinn Presentation:

• Centralized vs. property level revenue management
• Current and emerging technologies
• How revenue management must respond to the rapid growth of the internet
• What revenue management technology cannot do for you (today)

Overview

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) developed a technology program to provide a focus on the specialized needs of sales and marketing executives. These sessions are not technical in nature, but rather directed toward the executives and managers for whom technology is a tool to help accomplish revenue goals for their hospitality business.

The goal of each session is twofold:

• To teach the participants what is being developed in these areas so they are aware of industry trends and the direction technology is taking. This will allow for marketing and sales planning to be done knowledgably and in the context of these changes; and
• To give them more practical knowledge of the use of these technologies so they get the most out of the investment they have made (or plan to make) in these systems.

What Should I Look For When Building a Web site?:

Attendees should leave this session with an understanding of some of the key considerations for building a Web site.

• A - awareness
• I - Internet
• D - desire
• A - action

HITIS Update:

• Overview of HITIS development to date and in the future
• Progress of the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) and the contractual working agreement with HITIS
• Update on the process of HITIS standards becoming accredited by ANSI
• Details of the new PR/marketing team used to promote HITIS and its progress

What Should I Look For When Purchasing a Property Management System?: 3:30-5:30p.m.

• How we integrated our new property management system with our existing network infrastructure
• What technology could our in-house IT staff support?
• What features were demanded by our customers' needs?
• What features did we require to effectively operate our hotel?
• What other systems did we plan on interfacing to the PMS either today or in the near future?
• What would we do differently if we had the chance?
• How does the financial stability of the PMS vendor effect our selection process?

What Should I Look For When Purchasing a Revenue Management System?: 3:30-5:30p.m.

• What is your property "right" for aRevenue Management System?
• What type of business segments can you manage?
• Does your data infrastructure support your goals?
• What technology considerations must you make?
• How do you measure success?