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Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers?

Investment in Hotel Technology Pays Off with Increased Group Revenue Tuesday, July 10, 2012 by Sarah Vining Hotels, conference centers and other meeting venues are increasing group business with new technology, and it isn’t just a hotel app. To invest in the property’s overall capital, hoteliers are creating cool technology tools that market venues, increase group business and enhance the guest experience. Technology is just another way hotels are winning group business and marketing a hotel or conference center. What are some of these new hot tools for leisure and business travelers? Virtual concierge service on guest room TVs At Hyatt Hotels with in-room HD TVs by Roomlinx Inc., guests are able make service requests, check email/weather, use the Business Center, print documents, and receive customized messages from meeting planners. Service requests like housekeeping and in-room dining are instantly sent through the system, improving the venue’s departmental efficiency. All of these virtual functions are hoped to appeal to new markets and drive group business. More efficient billing In the article, “Insert IACC blog post title URL” we learn that in 2012, meeting and group planners are prioritizing finance as very important during in their planning process (which made the top 10 list for the first time). Hotels making large investments in revenue management systems are taking advantage of new features that automate and process data to improve efficiency and increase revenue for properties. Virtual business centers Socialization through technology and food and beverage outlets is increasing revenue for TRYP by Wyndham in the NYC Times Square South property. Google TVs and access to Google Chrome laptops near the Gastro Bar in the hotel’s lobby offers guests an opportunity to enjoy a dining experience with the comfort of complimentary technology use. On-staff IT team When planners were surveyed, reliability was listed as a top concern of IT services in the white paper “What Do Planners and Trainers Really Want in Their Meeting Service?” All IACC-certified conference centers are required to have an on-site IT team to ensure technology functions properly. Now, the need for a knowledgeable IT team that really understands technology and can cater to individuals and group business is spreading to other hotel markets.   These impressive technology tools improve the guest experience and lead to a quick return on investment, especially in F&B. As we move beyond the discussion of required hotel Wi-Fi services, there will be a focus on technology amenities that provide the same comforts of home or the office. To increase group business, hoteliers are comfortable with this investment knowing there’s a return on investment with generated buzz/venue marketing and satisfied guests. Want to learn about other ways hotels are using technology to build relationships? Check out Enhancing Your Social Networking Site with a Social Concierge! to maximize social media and connect with guests, attendees and planners!

It is essential that a PMS have functionality that supports a guest-centric focus.

A PMS with a robust, easy-to-use guest history or CRM (customer relationship management) system database at its heart enables operators to deliver personalized attention that results in revenue and guest loyalty. 

 To intelligently optimize rates and maximize revenue, a property must have a PMS with an effective, integrated revenue management (RM) system.

In the hotel and hospitality industry, it is believed that the ideal revenue management is to sell the right room to the right client at the right moment at the right price on the right distribution channel with the best commission efficiency.

Today, every bit of data about your room occupancy a couple of years ago can be scrutinized against the specific date and season to determine why you sold your room at that price. And compare it with today's trend and determine the actual cost of the room you should be selling at.

Big hotel chains like Marriot were the first ones to understand value and implement the concept of revenue management decades ago. Today, especially in Asia, the developing economies are at a cusp of a technological revolution.

The way travelers communicate on the road has changed dramatically over the years, and these changes become evident when analyzing the revenue earned by U.S. hotels from their guests for use of telecommunication devices and services. In lodging industry parlance, "telecommunications revenue" includes monies received from the guest use of hotel room phones, fax machines, and internet connections.According to our research, telecommunications revenue at the average U.S. hotel in PKF's annual Trends in the Hotel Industry survey sample has declined by 79% since 2000.

Internet fees help drive growth in telecom revenue

Tiered Internet pricing: Here to stay?

Without the power of a brand sales team and the tools that they provide, your independent hotel’s sales efforts need to ensure that they are utilizing the right channels to effectively capture transient demand.

While global distribution system business is mostly pay-to-play, it provides exceptional return on investment in the right markets.

Direct bookings are the most cost-effective business for boutique hotels, so it is always the goal to drive business to our own booking channels. Identifying what percent of business you need from group sales, GDS and online travel agencies is paramount to a successful revenue strategy.

Today, through the use of SaaS hotel property management systems, hotels have the flexibility to exceed service expectations and still increase their top line revenues.

Even before a guest checks in, cloud-based hotel technology enables you to send relevant offers that the guest may want to purchase pre-arrival.

By offering these types of options, you are giving greater choice to the guest and enabling them to personalize their stay on their own terms

The necessary equipment is installed by partner LiquidSpace, which takes a commission of each booking fee. Hoteliers are required only to pay for marketing materials up front, the costs of which are recouped in two to three bookings

Marriott expects to have introduced the Workspace concept into as many as 400 hotels by year end

Roof draws 90% of its guests from the local community

For those of us keeping an eye on technology in hotels, it can be difficult to discern what trends are here to stay and what trends are simply a marketing stunt.

Venture capitalists are finally starting to recognize the opportunity to invest in tools and platforms that allow hotels to capture new levels of hotel operations efficiency and revenue growth.

Cloudbeds offers an all-in-one suite of tools, including a property management system, channel manager, booking engine, and revenue manager, growing revenue and automating workflows at more than 20,000 properties.

The online marketing is doubtless one of nowadays most powerful advertising methods. All companies, and notably in the Tourism and Hospitality industry, are fiercely competing to lead and overwhelm the online space in order to shift market shares from competition, increase their online traffic and make more profits. In addition, International hotel chains are considerably reducing their offline marketing budgets year on year for the benefit of the online ones.

Social Media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,… possess the advantage that they can spread any information or update posted rapidly to a very wide audience. Furthermore, sharable videos (i.e. choosing an engaging storyline and telling it with compelling visuals) constitute an amazing tool that keeps users’ attention and subtly persuade them along the way words can’t.

Content optimization for Search Engine: While the website’s content should match the guests’ search criteria, many hoteliers fail in making their websites a dumping ground for content to end up with websites that generate very poor value to guests and very low business opportunities.

The Rainmaker Group today announced that the integration between RoomKeyPMS and revintel®

The Spectator Hotel, a boutique property in Charleston, SC, managed by Charlestowne Hotels.

Thanks to revintel, revenue managers can better understand their portfolio's health by property, agent, or market in comparison to past performance

Advanced analytics built into today’s best revenue management systems use hotel and industry data for predictive price-sensitivity demand modelling. When used effectively to drive strategic decisions, data analysis leads to increased profitability and improved risk management that is associated with the uncertainty of demand.

When applied to its fullest potential, revenue management and technology can additionally positively impact efficiency and improve operational performance across an entire property.

And when it comes to new or improved technology, many hotel owners tend to view cost rather than undertaking an ROI measurement to determine when the technology will pay for itself.

increase revenue

New technologies can only enhance these qualities, so suppliers are quick to incorporate new technologies into their POS systems as soon as they emerge in a bid to stay ahead of the competition.

shifting towards empowering the customer through iPad-based interactive systems and kiosk-based self-service systems

For revenue managers, however, perhaps the most important offering for hotels on the cloud is the low, predictable fees that come with a model that is typically subscription-based. This pay-as-you-go model removes the commission costs to the technology provider. Ultimately, this not only provides a boost to a hotel’s bottom line but an opportunity for that hotel to be connected to a greater number of booking sites and meta-search engines – to find travelers, and to be found.

Through the cloud, hotels are equipped with one architecture that is not only powerful today but is equally prepared for the change that is inevitable in future. According to Criteo’s Travel Flash Report, the first half of 2014 saw: Mobile bookings on travel websites are growing faster than desktop, at 20 percent versus 2 percent Smartphones and tablets account for 21 percent of hotel bookings In-app bookings account for 12 percent of total mobile bookings made on travel websites

Cisco has forecast that cloud applications will account for 90 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2018.

Venture capitalists are finally starting to recognize the opportunity to invest in tools and platforms that allow hotels to capture new levels of hotel operations efficiency and revenue growth.

penetration of cloud-based technologies in the segment remains incredibly low

hotels that invest in technology drive higher revenue, better guest reviews, and a higher star-rating.

"We don't get incremental revenue from using the PMS, but there is information in there you can use if you want to," said Graham Dungey, SVP of ecommerce, revenue and distribution for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. "The theory is fantastic. You identify the people who spend the most money and where they spend it. Some hotels are quite forward-thinking; they'll make a study of the minibar, see who is buying what items, put corner-store food into a dozen minibars and sell it for twice as much. There is so much opportunity inside the PMS to increase incremental spend on property.

"We don't get incremental revenue from using the PMS, but there is information in there you can use if you want to," said Graham Dungey, SVP of ecommerce, revenue and distribution for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. "The theory is fantastic. You identify the people who spend the most money and where they spend it. Some hotels are quite forward-thinking; they'll make a study of the minibar, see who is buying what items, put corner-store food into a dozen minibars and sell it for twice as much. There is so much opportunity inside the PMS to increase incremental spend on property.

"We don't get incremental revenue from using the PMS, but there is information in there you can use if you want to," said Graham Dungey, SVP of ecommerce, revenue and distribution for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. "The theory is fantastic. You identify the people who spend the most money and where they spend it. Some hotels are quite forward-thinking; they'll make a study of the minibar, see who is buying what items, put corner-store food into a dozen minibars and sell it for twice as much. There is so much opportunity inside the PMS to increase incremental spend on property.

By providing an easy comparison of fares across various websites, Kayak makes the travel search easier for its users.

earns its revenues primarily through advertising and referral fees earned from its suppliers.

We estimate the advertising division to contribute close to 55% to our price estimate of $31.05 for Kayak

Despite all the innovation that has taken place in the sector over the last decade, there remains massive, untapped opportunity and potential in many categories within the hospitality arena.

Life House, a tech-first hotel experience, shows proof-of-concept: that hotels that invest in technology drive higher revenue, better guest reviews, and a higher star-rating

Most revenue management systems focus on reporting and data visualization; the addition of white label software to the backend of an RMS can improve price optimization, letting hoteliers spend their time on higher value tasks and strategic revenue management.