Avenue9 Founders Kevin Edwards, Managing Director; and Philippa Witheat, Sales and Marketing Director — Photo by Avenue9

A highly experienced IT solutions delivery company – specially designed to take the

fear out of IT systems management in the hospitality and leisure industry through a clearly defined, seamless and independent bespoke approach to solving client IT challenges – has been officially launched across the UK and overseas to all sizes of operation.

Following a soft launch to ensure the highest standards of IT service delivery to the

hospitality and leisure sectors, Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based Avenue9 has been officially unveiled. Formerly part of the highly reputed Claritas Solutions Group of Companies, Avenue9 was the focus of a management buyout in December 2013 by former Claritas employees Kevin Edwards and Philippa Witheat.

Based on their extensive industry experience and market knowledge, the new

company's Managing Director Kevin Edwards and Sales and Marketing Director Philippa Witheat identified a key challenge common to many hospitality and leisure Finance and IT directors – namely, the need for a seamless and independent approach to managing a multitude of vendor relationships and disparate systems, often inappropriate to the nature of many hospitality and leisure operations.

"Avenue9 aims to assist in overcoming these challenges," explained Edwards. "Through

an independent approach built upon industry experience and market knowledge, we are in a position to consult upon, supply, manage and host any aspect of IT within the hospitality and leisure sector. Most importantly, this is underpinned not just by technical expertise, but a deep understanding of how hotels operate and the unique challenges they present.

"We believe that it is the software vendors who are driving requirements and

functionality in hospitality and leisure operations, rather than the vendors listening to operators' requirements. With such a diverse marketplace, it is not the case of one size fits all. A 5-star spa, aimed at international travellers, is very different to that of a one- star operation focussing on the domestic market. This is where Avenue9 has excelled. We want to understand fully the nature of our clients, understand their inner workings and fundamentally comprehend how they operate. It is only once the process is complete that we are able to suggest and recommend solutions that will fit their respective businesses.

"In a hotel, for example, our IT solutions are designed to deliver services that enhance

every customer touch-point – including reservations, in-room technology, EPoS (Electronic Point of Sale) and much more. Avenue9 solutions are delivered as a service with associated assurances of availability and performance, allowing managers to concentrate on delivering first-class customer experience which will, in turn, improve profitability. We work with clients to maximise existing technology investment and provide a seamless roadmap to efficiency improvement."

The ever growing portfolio of Avenue9 clients – including De Vere Village Hotels (urban

resorts), Shire Hotels & Spas, Hotel Collection (formerly known as Puma Hotels), and the independently owned Crieff Hydro in Perthshire – bear witness to the success of the company's approach to IT solutions delivery.

Nowhere is Avenue9's hotel industry expertise more apparent than in the appointment

of the company's Hospitality Consultant Mark Jelley, who has worked in the hotel industry for over 30 years and has an impressive history of implementing successful IT solutions. Prior to joining Avenue9, Mark was Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, following spells as Director of IT at Principal-Hayley Hotel & Conference Venues, Director of IT at Malmaison and Hotel du Vin Hotels, and Business Analyst at Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts. In addition, Mark is a Board Director of HOSPA (Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT).

A key area of Mark's expertise is PCI: DSS (Payment Card Industry: Data Security

Standard), required at all levels of hospitality and leisure businesses, which currently is one of the hottest topics in the hospitality industry; and a standard Avenue9 believes should not fundamentally change the way a business operates. "PCI isn't expensive," said Edwards. "It is about taking a measured approach to understanding risk and non- compliance, and provisioning a plan to implement controlled measures to mitigate risk and use the standard to enhance the guest journey. Avenue9 has already completed work in this vitally important field with a number of clients."

Philippa Witheat summed up Avenue9's chief objectives: "Avenue9 works with hospitality

organisations to understand their business, understand their culture, and deliver seamless IT solutions that are handcrafted and delivered to the maximum return on investment, rather than advancing our own technology status in the industry."

About Avenue9

Avenue9 provides complete IT solutions, designed specifically for the leisure and

hospitality sector. Through the extensive industry knowledge of the company founders and their drive to fulfil a clear need within the industry, Avenue9 is an IT solutions aggregator that can provide clear business advantage.

Avenue9 has a

primary objective to assist the sector to focus on their clients by removing disparate systems, multiple IT vendor relationships and costs that prohibit differentiating technologies from being accessed. Solutions are designed to deliver services that enhance every customer touch point, including reservations, in-room technology, EPoS and much more.

Avenue9 solutions are delivered as a service with associated

assurances of availability and performance, allowing managers to concentrate on delivering first class customer experience that will in turn improve profitability. Avenue9 works with its clients to maximize existing technology investment and provides a seamless roadmap to efficiency improvement.

Avenue9 works collaboratively

with clients to earn our "trusted advisor" status. We deliver business enabling solutions via the enhancement of existing, deployed technologies or providing access to new platforms via innovative commercial options.

Philippa Witheat
Sales & Marketing Director
+44 191 229 9662