Hospitality Technology
International (Pty) Ltd

Newsletter - August 2009

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Humour for the day!

Best 'Out of Office' Automatic Email Replies:

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged R5.99 for the first 10 words and R1.99 for each additional word in your message.

6. The email server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again.
(The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over...)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

9. I've run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Lucille' instead of Steve.

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HTI in association with...

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Some of our Distribution partners include these travel and marketing portals...













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Breaking News

eRes® is the Product of Choice in the Countdown to 2010

As the countdown to 2010 World Cup continues, the serious holders of accommodation for the event are surfacing. We are pleased to announce that Simplybedzzz.com and Fli-Afrika have chosen eRes® to manage their inventories.

While catering to two very different markets, both have found eRes® offers the right solution for them. Simplybedzzz.com will sell low cost accommodation on University campuses, mostly direct to the public via their website. Fli-Afrika works through the travel trade and specializes in complete packages.

We're certainly happy to have both groups on board... if only for a relatively short period of time.

City Lodge is Live!

It is official - as of the 7th August, City Lodge went 'live' with their very own instance of eRes® CRS. They are now hosted at The ResHub (GijimaAST), along with Southern Sun and Protea Hotels. With 44 properties, they are the largest group that is interfacing to eRes® using Amadeus PMS (Hogatex) and we look forward to a successful journey with The City Lodge Group!

10 Year Anniversary...

It has been ten years, almost to the day, since M-R Systems - which had been in operation since 1990 - merged with WinTill Technologies to create Hospitality Technology International (Pty) Ltd. We are extremely proud of our progress and we must send out a special thank you to our successful and loyal customers that have believed in our products and our team.

Thank you to all at HTI that made this possible, most notably John Hoog, HTI Director and WinTill Technologies founder and James Montgomery, MD of M-R Systems and HTI. We look forward to many more years of successful product development and exciting times with our customers and staff.

Support Report

New HTI Presence in the Western Cape

It is with great pleasure that we announce that John Smook has joined HTI as the Cape Regional Manager. John is no stranger to the industry, having been with Sulcus Hospitality and then Softbrands for many years. Currently busy with product training in Johannesburg, we expect John will hit the ground running in the next few weeks when he will be introduced to our broad customer base in that region.

Product Spotlight

Apex Enhancement's

Apex enhancement's are as follows:

1). 3 extra group revenue splits have been added to the Apex - PlusPoint Interface.
2). Multi Folio can now be added per debtor.
3). Charge routing can now be added per debtor.
4). Added the ability to share a reservation with an existing reservation without having to
     check them out.

PlusPoint Enhancement's

1). Recipe Costing

Recipe Costing in PlusPoint POS & Stock Control

Customer Chronicles

eRes® User Meeting Planned for 10th September 2009

Invitations will be sent out very shortly for the eRes® User meeting planned for 10th September in Johannesburg. We're looking forward to a large turnout as we gather to discuss the latest release of eRes® and share the exciting development scheduled for future versions. Our agenda includes presentations by the eRes® development team as well as a number of the Distribution Channels that currently interface with eRes®.

Update your calendars:            10th September 2009
                                                         Country Club Johannesburg
                                                         15h30 for 16h00
                                                         Please RSVP before 7th September 2009
                                                         RSVP

Technical Review

Backup your data...start now!!!

Over the past couple of months quite a few of our customers have lost their application databases due to on-site server crashes, network failure or hard drive crashes. These system failures can occur at any time and could be caused by a wide variety of reasons outside of your control or that of your software suppliers - including HTI. That is why it is important to emphasize the seriousness of consistent backups being managed and maintained either by your responsible IT service provider or internally by capable staff members.

Your Apex, PlusPoint, Jade and Wintill databases are backed up daily after "Day End" but these daily backups are simply held on the same application server and will not mean much if they are not taken off-site weekly or monthly. We recommend that you speak to your IT service provider and formulate a backup plan that protects you.

Some of our loyal customers have been with us for years and have collected a substantial amount of information over this time. We urge you not to take the risk of losing your information, it is just not worth the hassle. Protect your data as much as you can as it is your livelihood and you do not want to start from scratch. Please feel free to chat to our technical department for guidance on implementing the correct solution.

Closing Remarks

When times are tough look beyond discounts to improve REVPAR -
And make sure you protect your brand equity!

Can my hotel(s) compete in this weak economy?

Is it possible to flourish, during such a travel slowdown?

The answer is YES!

For hotels, RevPar is a key determinant of profitability. It's what keeps the doors open, yet many hotels and chains still handle room occupancy and pricing in an old-fashioned and haphazard manner - reactively and rarely scientifically.

Times like these require greater efficiencies in everything from improving customer relationships and boosting loyalty initiatives, to improving direct marketing programs whilst not cutting back on service.

None of these, however, can be sustained without optimising cash flow and profits. And on that basis, effective revenue management becomes an operational imperative, not an option.

It's time for hoteliers to think beyond discounts and so we have noted some tips on how hotels can increase their RevPar, without sacrificing margins or brand value:

Supercharge your channel management

Sales efforts should be focused on extending your reach through the internet and direct connectivity to online travel agencies and tour operators.

The internet is the channel that price conscious travellers are using more and more frequently when booking travel, so it is vital to manage your hotel's web presence to gain greater visibility and better positioning... which of course, means more sales. Connect to your primary tour operators and be on the inside track. They will sell you first if you give them a preferred seamless connection to your live inventory.

Live inventory allows bookings 24 hours (day and night)

Travellers are out there shopping (even internationally) when you're not at your desk. You are missing out on valuable RevPar Rands if you are not showing live availability and best available rates 24 hours a day.

As supply and demand fluctuate non-stop, you need to automate your pricing, day and night, to increase your hotel's profitability.

Increase sales by changing your rates more often

As more bookings arrive, hotel average daily rates (ADR) should be successively increased. Many hotels, however, leave money on the table because there is no one to change prices in real-time. In this economic environment where every rand can make the difference between boom and bust, changing rates only once or twice a day does not make sense, or cents, anymore.

eRes® provides the tools for these intensive and detailed processes to happen automatically with Dynamic Yielding.

Use today's technology tools to sell your rooms

Revenue and reservations managers get overwhelmed by day-to-day data entry. The manipulation of extranets, rate buckets, rate codes, allotments and promotions has become so complicated that many leave rates stagnant in fear of changing the wrong codes. But no action can lead to no business. By automating the process, staff can focus their time and energy on the "big picture" such as strategy development, tour operator relationships, promotions, packaging, implementation, group values, etc. You know... all the good stuff.

Use Opaque Channels to maintain brand integrity

The evolution of the internet and the growth of online bookings has grown direct competition dramatically. But online is now a lifeline for the hotel industry. There are many hotels to choose from in any particular area, but by increasing your hotel's online visibility, managing internet opaque channels, and having the perfect competitive rate always listed on your website while keeping rate integrity and best available rate (BAR) guarantees, will lead to a substantial increase in sales. Pricing competitively at all times will keep your hotel in the front line, and will attract guests to your hotel(s), keeping your rooms full and profits ticking over.

While this may sound like a lot of work, having the right CRS system can make the administration of these policies a simple but proactive job.

Use intelligent and non dilutionary discounts

Before discounting, you must know your customers and by using intelligently designed packaging give them attractive offers to increase their overall spend!

Encourage early bookings (more than 3 or 6 months before arrival) with an aggressive early bird rate, with pre-payment guarantees.

Extend the length of stay of a guest within a single hotel or chain, by recognising a single trip of 6 nights, or more, (even across multiple hotels/lodges). Encourage business people to extend a working trip for a leisure break.

Last Minute – distressed beds can be offered at high discounts, using specialised 'opaque' web sites like 'MT Beds', with 100% payment on-line.

The added benefit of having a system, such as eRes®, is that it frees managers to control pricing and other crucial variables in a proactive rather than reactive manner. Hotels can increase their occupancy rates and manage their distribution costs like never before.

Given the effects of the global economic downturn, managing RevPar intelligently and effectively is a necessity and savvy hoteliers are embracing this business practice. Rather than discounting in an effort to increase bookings (and decreasing their profit margins in the process), they are optimizing their pricing and their online presence for increased bookings and revenue.

Are you one of these?

Contact us to discuss your strategic planning and distribution requirements.



James Montgomery
jrm@hti-systems.co.za

Distributors of...

National Call Centre: 0861 HTI SYS (During office hours)
Tel: +27 11 803 2208
Fax: +27 11 807 1901
Web: www.hti-systems.co.za
E-mail: info@hti-systems.co.za
Contact Us!!