protel presents mobile solution for agile facility management

There are many ways for the hotel industry to benefit from the mobile revolution. iPad apps for the front office allow reservation processes to run smoothly even when the employee is away from the stationary workstation at the reception desk. The new app “protel Housekeeping” offers mobile support for janitors and housekeeping staff. Front office employees see the same information as the housekeeper performing daily routines, or the janitor doing repairs. Every change in room status entered by the housekeeping staff is instantly visible at the front desk. This way, a just-completed room can immediately be assigned to a new guest, or a lost property enquiry can be checked instantly, in real time.

Christian Weis, Product Manager at protel, explains the development process: “The idea for this app arose from talking and listening to our clients about their particular needs and requirements. We were thus able to create a mobile solution that offers tangible benefits for daily workflows in the hotel.” The combination of app functions and device features of the iPod and the iPhone are particularly useful in supporting various operational work processes. Since a picture says more than a thousand words a photo taken in the room, for instance, can quickly clarify the necessity for repairs, and attached to a “Lost and found” message, the image helps prevent any misunderstandings.

Using WLAN, protel Housekeeping synchronizes all information and images with your protel PMS. And even if WLAN is not available in all areas of the hotel, the app’s automatic offline mode allows continuous use. Housekeeping staff and janitors don’t have to interrupt their work process based on current WLAN connectivity. As soon as the employee enters an area with WLAN access, all information that was entered whilst in offline mode is immediately and automatically synchronized with the system. The new protel Housekeeping app allows key employees to see up-to-date information wherever they are and whatever they are doing. This added benefit helps to ensure that the hotel runs smoothly and efficiently, which in turn allows more freedom to focus on the wellbeing of the actual hotel guests.

Further information

• protel Housekeeping in the App Store
• Product information on protel Housekeeping
• Quick info about protel Housekeeping
• Information about all protel apps

Jeremy Armes discusses effective SEO strategies with industry representatives

Forget machines! The proposed solution represents a challenge at the same time. If the hotel website is to address humans, the most important question is: “who is my target group?“ The trick is for the hotel to speak the same language as the actual target group, so that guests wish to learn more about the hotel and its offers—from there, it is a rather small step to the actual reservation. Pinpointing this language and using it in a selective way is the basis for successful SEO.

A collection of supposedly relevant search words in the text can be composed in next to no time, but is not very convincing on its own. In fact, the keys to an effective optimisation of the hotel website are well written and easily comprehensible texts and the deliberate use of photos, videos and social media. Jeremy Armes is unequivocal in stating that “the path to success is through hard work and creativity alone!” He is aware that hoteliers always are aiming at more direct bookings and coupon sales through their own website, and he is absolutely positive that smart and skilful SEO will be extremely rewarding in this respect. In the long term, guest loyalty is more important than single reservations. If guests feel that they are being addressed and understood, as well as even being able to play a hand themselves in shaping their stay through suitable online offers, they will remember this great service—and happily use it again during their next stay.

The HSMA event “SEO is dead! Long live SEO!” was one of many opportunities capitalised on by protel in order to engage in direct discussions with other representatives from the hotel industry. Imparting their own knowledge with a presentation on SEO was only one part of the event. A good many positive stimuli came to light in the subsequent discussions. “It would be a good idea to start directly with Jeremy’s SEO check“, explains Birgit Groß from HotelNetSolutions after the meeting. For her, as for many other participants, the prospect of enriching their site’s user experience through new SEO strategies was an increased incentive to get down to action immediately.

About the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association

The HSMA (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association) Deutschland e.V. is the association for sales and marketing staff in the hotel and tourism industry. It forms the network and knowledge base regarding all relevant sales and marketing topics in the hospitality industry. Apart from an array of ongoing training events regarding current industry topics, members of the HSMA value above all the first-class network and direct contact among themselves, which is indispensable in the hospitality industry.

HSMA website (German only)

More direct bookings on hotello.de

The hotel group places great emphasis on simple and easy booking over the internet. Since 2006, H’Otello uses a protel WBE as their own booking engine. As a long-time protel customer, H’Otello gladly seized the opportunity to help actively shape the new version of the WBE and continue to score points with its guests from its innovative solutions. “H’Otello has high standards and demands coherent results. The chance to introduce our own requirements at an early stage in this new version of the web booking engine was ideal,” explains Nina Woitkowiak, Revenue and Reservations Manager of the H’Otello group and supervisor of the project. The fact that with WBE 4.0 the hotel group can simultaneously provide their guests with a mobile booking solution is an added bonus.

Guests appreciate these advantages: 65 percent of all bookings at H’Otello are made over the WBE as H’Otello accounted for 7 percent more bookings using the new version. This is no accident. The online shop aspect was a main concern in designing the WBE 4.0 and greatly simplifies the booking process. With the click of a mouse, guests can place their reservations in a shopping cart and even book other items during check-out. Sleeping longer but still having breakfast in peace? With “Late Check-out”, that’s no longer a problem. These kinds of added features while booking allow hoteliers to increase their revenue for every booking.

Of particular importance to H’Otello, therefore, are the various available options to present the services of the group and individual houses in an attractive manner. After adjusting to the corporate design of the hotel group, WBE 4.0 is now seamlessly integrated into the overall look of the H’Otello website. Providing actual content, such as information on prices and offers, is easy: the protel Cloud Center assists the WBE as a content management system that makes entering text, uploading pictures, and selecting features for WBE simple and convenient. All data is processed directly in the browser. When everything is done, the hotel activates WBE 4.0 on its own website and can immediately benefit from direct bookings.

About H’Otello

H’Otello – Understatement meets urbanity. The concept of the hotel is focused on people who appreciate lifestyle and trendy design. The discreet style and the personal service please every guest who expects more than average. Especially business and individual guests like the relaxing atmosphere of the H’Otello hotels in contrast to the hectic metropolis. The H’Otello group has got 280 rooms and suites. The three hotels F’22, H’09, B’01 are situated right in the city centre of Munich and the 2011 opened H’Otello K’80 in Berlin-Charlottenburg also convinces with its top location. Further openings of hotels in German and later also in European cities are planned till 2014. For more information please visit www.hotello.de and www.facebook.com/hotello.

The Ascott Limited implements protel MPE globally across its three brands

The new protel MPE, together with the suite of system enhancements developed specifically for Ascott, sets the stage for Ascott to further accelerate its growth with a next-generation technology platform that facilitates the delivery of Ascott’s unique brand of high touch services.

Following a detailed product and vendor evaluation process and successful trial site implementation of protel MPE conducted for Ascott in Singapore, Xn Hotel Systems was selected to supply and implement the property management system globally. Spanning all of Ascott’s three brands of serviced residences, the software changeover was completed in just over eight months. Given its pace and geographical spread, the project was the fastest and largest rollout of protel MPE ever undertaken.

With the new system, Ascott’s serviced residences in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region can now process reservations seamlessly worldwide. As a result, processing time for call reservations has been reduced by approximately 30%. Furthermore, Ascott’s properties can now track guests’ requirements and preferred timing for housekeeping services through the enhanced scheduling function.

Robert Adam, Ascott’s Vice President for Infocomm Systems, said: “Ascott has invested extensively in upgrading our technology to enhance operational efficiency so that we can focus on delivering personalised services to our guests. The successful implementation of the protel MPE property management system across our properties worldwide sets the path for Ascott to adopt new technological initiatives that will further enhance our guests’ experience. Initiatives include enabling our staff to use mobile devices to handle our guests’ requests anytime, anywhere.”

Greg Spicer, Chief Executive Xn Hotel Systems, stated: “We are delighted to have been selected as a systems and services provider by Ascott and are especially proud that the Xn project team and its partners delivered the first phase of software implementation in a timely and efficient manner. Given the global span of the installation, Ascott was one of our largest projects to date. Over 100 sites rolled out protel MPE successfully, averaging 14 properties per month. We look forward to providing services to Ascott for the next phases of the project and in the years ahead.”

Manfred Osthues, Managing Partner protel hotelsoftware, commented: “We are absolutely exhilarated to welcome Ascott among our clients. With over 31,000 apartment units, Ascott is the world’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator. Having switched to protel MPE, Ascott now constitutes the first live multi-property environment across Southeast and North Asia, India, Australia, Europe and the Gulf region. We are proud and happy to contribute to Ascott’s continued growth, and look forward to a fruitful and beneficial partnership.”

About The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be the world’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator. It has more than 22,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region, as well as over 8,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 31,000 units in over 200 properties.

The company operates three brands – Ascott, Citadines and Somerset. Its portfolio spans over 70 cities across more than 20 countries, 14 of which are new cities in Ascott’s portfolio where its serviced residences are being developed.

Ascott, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific’s first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. In 2006, it established the world’s first Pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, Ascott Residence Trust. Today, the company boasts a 29-year industry track record and award-winning serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascott’s achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2013 for ‘Best Serviced Apartment/Residence Operator’, TTG Travel Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator’, TTG China Travel Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator in China’, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’ and ‘Best Serviced Residence in Asia-Pacific’, and Business Traveller UK Awards 2012 for ‘Best Serviced Apartment Company’.

Visit www.the-ascott.com for more information and connect with us on social media at www.the-ascott.com/connect.

About Xn Hotel Systems

Xn Hotel Systems is a global technology services group, specialising in the supply, cloud-hosting and support of business-critical, enterprise applications for hotels, serviced residences and reservation management offices. A comprehensive software product portfolio, including Property Management system, Central Reservation system, Web-Booking system, GDS/OTA Booking system, Point-of-Sale system and Business Intelligence systems, is supplied to a diverse range of accommodation operators globally, in more than 35 countries.

Highly scalable enterprise hotel applications and integrated on-line booking services are delivered and connected at the lowest cost of ownership, providing hotel, serviced apartment and central reservation offices a modular choice of reservation and property operations solutions.

Software applications can be delivered either as cloud-hosted services, as enterprise data-centre hosted applications, or installed on-premises, on client-supplied equipment, subject to client preference.

With a business heritage dating back to 2001, Xn Hotel Systems was formed in 2006 as a wholly owned subsidiary of group holding company, Xn Plc, following a management buyout. Driven by the global, organic growth of the client base and through collaborative relationships with leading industry partners, including protel hotelsoftware gmbH, the group continues to expand steadily, addressing the global accommodation industry’s requirements for integrated, reservation and operations systems.

“Delivering service through technology” has been the strategic focus of Xn Hotel Systems since formation. Our product and services portfolio has grown to provide customers globally proven and highly scalable alternatives. Recognising that the diverse requirements of the accommodation market often demand a mix of best of breed solutions, we have designed all of our applications and services to be modular, connectable, adaptable and scalable, deployed either as an integrated suite, or as a component part of a client’s overall enterprise solutions.

To better serve its global client-base, the company has increased the number of offices, expanding to 10 service hubs and offices, located in regional major cities of Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom, the USA and China.

For further information or for your nearest Xn Hotel Systems office, please refer to www.xnhotels.com

About protel hotelsoftware

Since 1994, protel hotelsoftware has been developing and selling technology and service solutions specifically and exclusively for the hotel industry and related sectors. The consistent focus on the demands of a single industry makes protel one of the most experienced and successful providers of professional property management systems (PMS).

protel’s product portfolio caters to the needs of every market segment from small individual hotels to multinational hotel groups. By offering licensed on-site and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, protel provides clients with the flexibility to quickly adapt as their business needs change and evolve.

With headquarters located in Dortmund, Germany, a branch office in Dubai and a dense network of partner companies working in close cooperation, protel enjoys a worldwide presence. Over 11,000 hotels and hotel management schools (4,000 of whom are registered as protel Cloud users) in more than 80 countries attest to protel’s high-level expertise and reliability.

protel: passionate about technology and hospitality

When Cloud computing first appeared on the technology horizon, protel realized early on that the future of IT is mobile and in the Cloud. So as early as 2009, protel acquired the first “Cloud clients” for bookatonce, their brand-new web-based property management software (PMS). protel Air, the feature-rich Cloud PMS for larger hotels and hotel chains, followed soon after. Today, already more than 4,000 clients use Cloud solutions by protel. All of them enjoy a newly-won piece of independence because web-based applications can be accessed through an Internet browser on different types of devices regardless of operating system or native language.

Hoteliers who cannot or do not yet want to move into the Cloud, however, do not have to completely forego its benefits. protel offers a continuously increasing number of web-based modules to extend the on-site protel PMS solutions. These include, for example, the latest version of protel’s web booking engine, protel WBE 4.0, or protel Messenger, a tool to create and send time-controlled or event-triggered text messages. Cloud modules can easily be connected to any on-premises protel PMS, allowing hoteliers to immediately partake of the benefits of the Cloud even though their “leap into the Cloud” may still be some time away.

Ingo Dignas, managing partner of protel hotelsoftware, states the credo of the dedicated software provider for the hotel industry: “Eighteen years of experience and the constant exchange of ideas with 11,000 clients and partners have taught us what the industry needs. We believe that employing new technologies for hotel systems creates innovations that accelerate the industry’s growth and substantially benefits clients and guests.” Whatever the requirements, if installed on-site, web-based “in the Cloud” or as a hybrid solution, which combines both worlds: protel provides future-proof software solutions for all kinds of hotels.

More information

• protel Cloud Solutions quickly benefit all hoteliers
• protel Air offers new functions on a silver platter
• Sign registration forms directly on the iPad
• protel sponsors new ideas at the “Hotelcamp 2012”
• Expert jury impressed by new protel Web Booking Engine

The global Movember movement builds prostate cancer awareness

“Men suffer in silence,” sings Herbert Grönemeyer, a famous German singer, and hits the nail on the head. When it comes to unpleasant news such as fatal illnesses, many people prefer avoiding the topic. The Movember movement, a combination of the words “November” and “moustache,” is an annual, month-long event which first started in 2003 in Australia. It is about men growing and women supporting the growth of moustaches to open up much needed dialogue and to raise funds for men’s health issues. This global men’s health charity has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1.9 Million “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas” to participate.

And who could resist participating in such a growing, fun and engaging charitable activity? When Online Marketing Manager Jeremy Armes told his colleagues at protel hotelsoftware about Movember it immediately sparked interest in all. Both male and female employees were enthusiastically showing their support. While protel Mo’ Bros dropped their razors and grew and groomed their mo’s for a month, protel Mo’ Sistas passionately supported the male employees and joined the hairy movement to change the face of men’s health.

This even attracted the local newspaper’s attention. Dortmund’s Ruhr Nachrichten not only published an article about protel and Movember but also initiated a campaign for its readers. The newspaper printed a whole page of different cut-out moustaches which were highly popular especially with protel’s female employees. Clients of protel hotelsoftware such as the “Superbude” in Hamburg also joined in. This way, several hundred Euros were raised and allocated to the Bundesverband Prostatakrebs Selbsthilfe e. V. (BPS). And even if many were glad to get rid of their facial accessory after four weeks, everyone agrees: protel will participate again next year.

More on Movember

Movember (a portmanteau word from “moustache” and “November”) is an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer and other male cancer and associated charities. The goal of Movember is to “change the face of men’s health.” Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne, Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1.9 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate with formal campaigns in more than 20 countries worldwide.

More information

• protel Movember Team | Pictures on protel Movember on Facebook | Article in the Ruhr Nachrichten (only in German)
• Movember Team of protel client Superbude (only in german)
• Official Movember website | More on “Movember”

Green Tourism Camp 2012 encourages new concepts for sustainable business development

When making a large investment or switching to a new innovative technical solution, long-term planning security is essential. Looking into the future is much easier when decisions can be based on experiences. At the Green Tourism Camp 2012 representatives of the tourism and hospitality industry discussed concepts that combine tradition and future.

Based on the fundamental concept of a “barcamp” participants put forward ideas and issues that they were particularly passionate about. This created highly motivated discussion groups and an enthusiastic exchange of ideas on concepts and solutions. One topic that was discussed for instance was the question about what role the subject of sustainability plays in public relations. In the context of “sustainable lifestyles”, participants also gathered ideas and suggestions on creating a sustainable corporate culture to promote a positive work environment.

Another group discussed how hard- and software can be used in a sustainable manner. Considering the example of e-Learning, participants quickly realized the economic, environmental and social benefits of training over the Internet and thus that Internet technology can support a sustainable lifestyle. Ultimately it’s a win-win situation: A complex infrastructure is not required, there are no travelling expenses and it’s environmentally friendly. Daily workflows are improved by well-trained personnel. The employees’ satisfaction increases as employees receive practical assistance with their work. And the gained knowledge will enable them to work more independently.

“It was extremely inspiring to see how effective all participants worked together,” says Jessica Lohmann, Head of Marketing at protel hotelsoftware GmbH who attended this year’s Green Tourism Camp. “For us as a software provider it is very important to develop ideas and create new concepts together with other experts of the industry. In the long run only these solutions are good solutions that benefit all. The Green Tourism Camp is therefore a valuable forum to us which we gladly support.”

The positive effects of exchange and training are also confirmed in a study conducted by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne. Researchers surveyed 150 hoteliers from around the world and concluded that trained employees generated more revenue. Such results indicate that targeted investments in the future of a company pay off. Whether as a hotel, consultant or software provider, it is apparent that long-term success in view of ever-changing technological challenges can only be achieved through continuous exchange. A realization that benefits all: Sharing knowledge and expanding this knowledge together is the most important step to create future-oriented businesses.

More about the organizers of the Green Tourism Camp

• Brita Moosmann, owner of yieldforprofit, Andreas Dittlmann, Partner at Inter Change Concept and Wolf-Thomas Karl, joint partner of the agency Karl & Karl initiated the Tourism Go Green Camp in 2011 with partners such as the Deutschen Bahn, Meininger Hotels as well as the Thüringer Tourismus GmbH. The event is official part of the UNESCO event “Education for Sustainable Development.” Amongst the organizers and others, protel hotelsoftware GmbH is also sponsor of the Green Tourism Camp.

More information

• Green Tourism Camp | Session Content 2012
• protel Online Training | Ask about it!
• Study by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne

To profit from the benefits of the cloud, a hotel does not have to completely migrate to the cloud.

More and more hotels are discovering that hospitality management applications can deliver even more value as web-based services. Cloud applications are hosted in a secure computer center and delivered to the user via the Internet. The benefits are impossible to ignore: Lower overall cost, no requirement to build and own an IT infrastructure, no need to bother with maintenance and data security, and the ability to add and subtract capacity as needed. The sole requirement to use cloud applications such as the hotel management software protel Air or the new protel Web Booking Engine is an Internet browser.

To reap the benefits of the cloud, however, hotels are not required to move their entire IT infrastructure online. Realistically speaking, companies often have invested too much in their existing infrastructure and it simply would be a bad business decision to replace a legacy system until the cost is fully amortized. Even if a company has no immediate plans of transforming their infrastructure, cloud applications can be added on for specific business purposes to immediately create incremental benefits.

There are many clever ways of combining cloud and on-premises solutions. An example is protel’s new Web Booking Engine (WBE). As a cloud solution, the WBE is not installed in the hotel, but can be used immediately after activation. Being deeply integrated into the protel Hotel Management Systems, the protel WBE 4.0 allows the hotelier to take advantage of both worlds. Hotel staff can stay in their familiar working environment, using the fast connectivity and feature-rich interface of the cloud module to improve their efficiency and productivity.

Businesses are increasingly turning to so-called hybrid solutions to reduce costs and enable more scalable and flexible business processes. Just as needed, the hotelier can simply add another cloud module to his hotel management system. This is not only a practical advantage for the hotelier; it also helps him meet the ever-increasing guest demands. With more and more daily activities going online each and every day, guests are accustomed to accessing information quickly and comprehensively.

The introduction of the cloud to the hospitality industry will play a large part in stimulating the faster deployment of new services to both companies and customers, and for both it will restore something unique: a choice.

More information

• protel Hotel Management Systems: Product Overview
• protel Air
• protel Web Booking Engine 4.0 (Cloud-WBE)
• protel Hotel Apps: Product Overview
• Hotel management at lofty heights: The ALPENIGLU Village in Austria relies on the Cloud solution protel Air
• protel Air offers new functions on a silver platter
• Sign registration forms directly on the iPad

protel at the Hotelcamp 2012:
No risk, no reward…

True to the motto: “Share knowledge to gain knowledge” hoteliers, service providers, consultants and hotel management school representatives met on October 12-14, 2012 in the Hotel friends Mittelrhein to exchange information, ideas and experiences. Brought together by the question “how hoteliers can take advantage of new Internet related developments and technologies for successful online sales” participants of this year’s Hotelcamp discussed numerous topics from basics such as product development and search engine optimization to current trends such as Google Hotel Finder and Cloud Computing. The attendant’s diversity of perspectives and approaches once again proved to be inspiring and productive.

Just how positively this direct exchange between hotel software provider and hoteliers affects practices and developments, protel hotelsoftware GmbH representatives Jessica Lohmann and Jeremy Armes were able to portray in a success story which began at last year’s Hotelcamp. Last year, protel met the Hotel Marketing Consultant Gabriele Schulze who presented concrete requirements and expectations for a contemporary online booking engine. This resulted in a cooperation which strongly influenced the development of numerous features of the new protel Web Booking Engine (WBE) 4.0. This completed solution is now perfectly geared to the practical needs of the hotel industry.

This year’s Hotelcamp again focused on exchanging information and establishing new contacts. The lively discussion among the participants brought up old and new ideas which were immediately reviewed in terms of practability and feasibility. And one thing became clear: Many hoteliers have concrete ideas of how their work could become easier but don’t know how this could translate into a concrete technological solution. Jessica Lohmann, Head of Marketing of protel, concludes: “There were so many great ideas this year and as in the past, there were some really good suggestions on how to improve our hotel software. I personally thought the highlight discussion at this particular Hotelcamp was that sometimes it just takes a little courage to take a risk and think out of the box. That is just great advice for any company!”

More about the organizers of the Hotelcamp

• The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Deutschland e.V.is the trade association of the sales and marketing staff of the hospitality and tourism industry. The HSMA is the official organ of the IHA (Hotel Association Germany) for all sales and marketing issues.
• Tourismuszukunft – Institute for eTourism is publisher of the biggest, homonymous German journal about current topics such as Web 2.0 and Social Web in the tourism industry. On these topics, Tourismuszukunft see themselves as opinion leaders and mentors who share their knowledge with the industry at seminars and workshops.

More information

• Website of the Hotelcamp (only in German)
• About the self-organized, user generated conference “Barcamps”
• Article ‘Responsives Design ja oder doch?’ of Gabriele Schulze, Marketing4Results

The new protel apps: Sign registration forms directly on the iPad

A distinctive characteristic of the iPad is certainly the combination of clever features and easy handling. It becomes more and more apparent just how much potential this harbors for the hotel industry. German hotel software provider protel recognized this early on and fully harnesses this potential by providing hotel apps to manage workflows in the hotel more efficiently. With the latest versions of hotel apps, protel now offers a solution, with which a registration form can be signed directly on the iPad 2 or iPad 3. The hotel employee creates the registration form as a PDF and the guest can sign it on the iPad using his finger or a touch pen. The registration form can then be saved in the guest profile and e-mailed directly out of the app. This way, all information is centrally saved in protel Air or bookatonce – no printing and filing necessary.

The iPad apps for protel’s Cloud solutions protel Air and bookatonce makes the Front Office mobile: Room plan, room type plan and guest profile are fully accessible on the iPad. And the enjoyable thing about working with the iPad is not only the intuitive and almost playful handling of the device but also knowing that many workflows in the hotel can be executed much better, easier and faster. The iPad’s typical book design, for instance, allows quick and easy flipping through the pages of information in a guest profile. And other every-day hotel processes can be handled just as easy: Guests can be checked in and out on the go, statistics can be called up in real time during a meeting and using several iPads as “mobile front desks” allows for flexible management of peak seasons.

protel Air and bookatonce from the protel SaaS product line are true Software as a Service applications and hosted in a secure computer center. Advantages of such web-based hotel management solutions: Additional hardware and installations in the hotel are unnecessary as the sole requirement is an Internet browser. The software is maintained and updated by protel. Data security is also taken care of by protel. Based on the latest technology, this easily scalable cloud application with its wide range of functionalities is the perfect solution for all hotels who value flexibility, reliability and security. As ideal add-ons, the protel hotel apps protel Air for iPad and bookatonce for iPad make hotels mobile and allow location-independent, effective and efficient workflows.

protel apps for the iPad are available in the Apple App Store.

Further information

• protel Air for iPad in the Apple App Store
• bookatonce for iPad in the Apple App Store
• Information about all protel Hotel Apps

Cheval Residences: London’s leading luxury serviced apartment operator

In late 2011, Cheval’s management team, led by Director George Westwell FIH, engaged PKF Business Consulting (PKF) to assist them in evaluating and selecting a Property Management System (PMS) for the operational management of their business operations. The main objective was to replace the existing software with a more suitable solution that encompassed Cheval’s business model, whilst also providing flexibility for the future.

As a fast thinking, customer focused and mobile organisation, Cheval sought to mirror this in their choice of vendor and solution. By undergoing an intensive tender process, facilitated by PKF, including detailed business requirement documents, in-depth functionality specifications and mutual presentations, a longlist of six vendors was reduced to two potential partners before Xn Hotel Systems was appointed in November 2011 to implement protel Multi-Property Edition (MPE).

Central to this decision were Xn’s understanding of Cheval Residence’s operational processes and their ability to customise the protel system to suit. Xn has significant experience in the serviced apartment/long stay sector and this was to prove crucial in the subsequent rollout of the system to the 6 properties during the first quarter of 2012, where a number of unique workflow and operational processes have been accommodated through bespoke routines and reports.

“We were impressed with Xn’s attention to detail, both in their response to our tender and the subsequent presentations to our team”, stated George Westwell. “We independently approached a number of Xn customers and were encouraged by the feedback we received in relation to both product and service ethos. Post-implementation, we continue to witness prompt service, flexibility and a complete willingness to work with us on the remaining functionality requests. Ultimately, the protel system has streamlined our processes, saving considerable manual effort and also providing tangible benefits in customer service delivery.”

Further information

• protel MPE
• XN Hotel Systems
• Cheval Residences

protel Air: Easy and safe hotel management in the Cloud

Hoteliers are experts in offering comprehensive services. Why then shouldn’t they avail themselves of the benefits of such a service? As a “Software as a Service” application, protel Air offers a completely new type of hotel management. The software is securely hosted in a computer center and the hotelier can access it using his browser. Additional hardware is not required. The software is completely maintained and updated by protel. This way, hoteliers will automatically receive the newest features and are always working with the latest version. Simultaneously to the update release, protel sends out practical descriptions of the new functions. The “Update News” concisely informs the hotel staff of the newest features. Thereby, the hotel immediately benefits from the improved applications which save the hotel precious time and money.

The more features a software has, the more challenging it is to handle it without professional support. If a constant investment into new infrastructure is out of the question, a Cloud solution is the perfect alternative. New features, add-ons or interfaces do not have to be installed, just activated. This is not only practical for the hotelier; it also meets the ever-increasing guest demands. Guests are accustomed to access information quickly and comprehensively and they expect this service from the hotel as well. To meet these expectations the hotelier can now use his software even more flexible and independent with the latest version of protel Air for iPad.

With every update new useful features are added. With the new Payment Instructions, for instance, an invoice can be created in no time at all. All charges are directly transferred to the respective accounts and upon check-out all is perfectly prepared. Another time-saver is the new workflow in the reservation dialog. This improved workflow is especially beneficial when dealing with group reservation, as all entries can quickly be made using just the keyboard – without having to navigate with the mouse. With each update, work in the hotel becomes easier, faster and more convenient. And thanks to the new interface to the hotel review portal Customer Alliance the hotelier immediately sees just how much guests appreciate the great service.

Further information

• More information about protel Air
• Download protel Report: Top Four Indicators it’s Time to Change a Running [Property Management] System
• Product information about protel Air for iPad

L’Arrivée: Panoramic view over the forest and the meadows

protel hotelsoftware provides the perfect solution for the extensive service offered to guests by the l’Arrivee Hotel & Spa. The Spa Management Software used for the hotel’s 1000 m² Spa is seamlessly integrated into the protel hotel management system. This way all appointments, beauty and massage treatments as well as vouchers can easily be managed within protel. Front Office as well as Spa staff is simultaneously informed and can offer guests dedicated and personal service.

Originally built as a youth hostel and later used as an Olympia sports center accommodating professional racing cyclist, the building was extensively remodeled. Now the l’Arrivée Hotel & Spa offers 70 individual rooms with the utmost comfort and elegant design. “The hotel’s location is ideal. Despite excellent traffic connections, at the l’Arrivée guests can enjoy the peacefulness and tranquility of the surrounding forest,” says Katharina Gehle, Marketing and Sales Manager at l’Arrivée. Top athletes from around the world appreciate the l’Arrivée hospitality: Professional soccer players as well as the Chinese Table tennis World Championship team have stayed at the l’Arrivée in Dortmund.

The beautiful forest landscape, the grand Panorama Suite and the gourmet cuisine also make for the perfect wedding venue. With its multi-functional banquet facilities, the l’Arrivée is the ideal location for such events as well as for meetings or conferences. This is why in May this year the protel Strategy Workshop for the German, Austrian and Swiss protel partners was held at the l’Arrivée. The outstanding service and organization as well as the award-winning gourmet cuisine of the Vivre restaurant impressed all participants. Katharina Gehle is pleased: “We can focus our attention on delivering impeccable service because from the get-go we could rely on protel.”

Further information

• Website of the l’Arrivée Dortmund
• More informationen about the Hotel
• Product information on protel SPE

The Zetter Hotel – Stylish award winning boutique hotel in London

Named The Zetter, as it was once home to the football pools company of the same name, the newly transformed 59-room boutique hotel and restaurant opened three years’ on to instant acclaim. Praised by The Times, Time Out and Wallpaper among others, The Zetter was also voted one of the world’s ’50 coolest hotels’ by industry bible Conde Nast Traveller.

Eight years later, the management team embarked upon a lengthy and indepth evaluation of PMS and EPoS solutions in the marketplace, with a view to replacing their legacy systems. Key selection criteria included proven interfaces to third party distribution , revenue management, accounts and other existing systems, as well as integrated conference, banqueting, sales and stock management functionality. Supplier pedigree was also crucial and many similar London hotels were consulted by the management team during the selection process. Xn Hotel Systems was selected in June, and the project to implement protel SPE and dotPOS is under way, with a live date in early September 2012.

“We were pleased to find that we had a number of strong candidates to choose from”, stated Jason Catifeoglou, Operations Director at The Zetter Hotel & Townhouse. “Xn Hotel Systems was selected on the strength of their solutions and their reputation amongst our fellow London hoteliers. We look forward to working in partnership with Xn in the years to come”.

Further Information

• The Zetter
• Xn Hotel Systems
• protel SPE

Ralf Berner of 42 GmbH (left) and participants of the protel Air Workshop on May 30, 2012

This cooperation is another milestone in the longstanding successful collaboration between the Hospitality Management School Hamburg and protel hotelsoftware GmbH. The idea evolved at this year’s ITB, where protel air was presented. Ansgar Jahns, responsible for Tourism Management and IT at the HoFa Hamburg, Jessica Lohmann, Head of Marketing at protel, and Ralf Berner at 42 GmbH quickly recognized the benefits of an enriched curriculum with a web-based hotel management solution.

Building practical and related components into the lessons is the school’s main focus. Over the years, experts from protel visited the school and just recently, a workshop was held in May 2012 which focused on the costs and benefits of different management systems. Ralf Berner of 42 GmbH presented the principles of managing multiple hotel based on a central SQL database, mobile solutions for the iPad and discussed the benefits of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions.

Ansgar Jahns explains why he is excited about implementing a cloud-based PMS in his school: „At the HoFa Hamburg, we provide the students with a complete hands-on learning experience. A successful curriculum is not possible without it. As an innovative school, we always have our fingers on the pulse of the hospitality industry. With protel Air, the students will work with an impressive and future-oriented solution that will give them insight to efficient and effective hotel management practices.“

protel air is currently being implemented at the Hospitality Management School Hamburg and will be ready-to-use when the fall students arrive.

About HoFa Hamburg

The Hospitality Management School Hamburg (HoFa), one of the five leading hotel schools in Germany is also one of the most important training centers within the industry. Permanent contact with business and industry leaders are necessary to offer practical and forward-thinking training to the leaders of tomorrow. In addition to the current developments, many times upcoming trends find their way into the classroom early on which only enrich the expertise and perspective of the future decision-makers.

Further information

• protel Air
• protel presents in Hamburg on March 20, 2012
• Hospitality Management School Hamburg (Website in Germany only)
• Tourism Management Blog of the Hospitality Management School Hamburg (Blog in Germany only)
• 42 GmbH
• Cloud Computing – What is that anyway?
• protel’s cooperations with various schools around the world

Luxurious pet hotel:
Animal Resort Wesel

The Animal Resort Wesel offers cats and dogs accommodation in so-called chalets. These stately log cabins offer luxurious comforts with underfloor heating, a kitchenette and a private yard. The offered services and facilities for the beloved pets, such as the entertainment program and the pool, are comparable to amenities one would expect in a luxurious hotel. For this reason Dr. Frans Evers and his wife Dr. Nell Roggeveen-Evers chose to run their resort with professional hotel software by protel. They found protel’s bookatonce to be the perfect solution to manage their 30 dog chalets and six cat apartments.

Dr. Evans can now use the time saved on administrative tasks to focus on the well-being of the animals. And this follows his vision of a facility that takes hygiene and medical care very seriously so that every pet enjoys their stay. With bookatonce by protel, Dr. Evans has found a flexible and reliable partner to support his vision. The web-based software bookatonce allows the pet hotelier and vet at a joint practice easy access to all information via the Internet from anywhere.

As a special service offered by The Animal Resort Wesel, pet owners can additionally book permanent access to a webcam streaming live from the accommodation. This allows owners to visit their pets online while they are enjoying their vacation. Once the webcam is activated with a personal code, the owner can log in from anywhere to watch his pet on his PC or iPhone. And even though the amenities offered to animals at Animal Resort Wesel are quite comparable to those of a five-star hotel, fortunately this additional service isn’t available in human resorts.

Further information

• Animal Resort Wesel
• Booking request
• bookatonce

Amazing Retreat: Ackergill Tower
in the heart of the Scottish Highlands
© Clarenco

Clarenco Amazing Retreats is a new collection of unusual and unique luxury venues and hotels throughout the UK. Venues across Scotland, England and Wales include magnificent castles, three historic sea forts, fairytale chateaux and a converted monastery. The lovingly restored properties in spectacular locations provide amazing venues for weddings, film locations, corporate hospitality or amazing celebrations.

Having evaluated the major PMS solutions in the marketplace, Clarenco chose Xn Hotel Systems to implement protel Multi Property Edition (MPE) across six properties. “We needed a solution that was capable of managing our business both at the properties and centrally”, stated Greg Ward, Sales & Operations Director. “Of crucial importance is the event management capability within protel, as well as the integrated CRM functionality provided, which avoids the need to interface to a third party system or to maintain separate databases. We were also keen to outsource the hosting of the chosen solution to the vendor.”

The system will go live in the first property in July 2012, with the rollout to the remaining five properties to be completed by the end of the summer.

As a central property management system, the protel Multi Property Edition (MPE) transforms even a global hotel chain into a single unit. All connected hotels access the same guest information from a central database. Data and functions are available in real time at every property. protel MPE offers reservation, marketing and reporting in one package making it easy to monitor and control all activities, revenues and reports across the entire organization.

Xn Hotel Systems is a global technology services group specialising in the supply and support of highly scalable business applications and electronic booking services to the hotel industry. Market leading products and client-focused services provide hoteliers globally proven technology. Xn systems and services can be implemented either as component parts of an overall business solution, or as a total solution portfolio. Xn Hotel Systems is an official business partner of protel hotelsoftware, Germany.

Clarenco is a multifaceted business group focusing on investments, new business ideas, properties, and the provision of a business support service for local businesses. Clarenco consists of an enviable team of passionate, imaginative, commercially driven individuals, guided by the enigmatic, successful entrepreneur Mike Clare. The brand values of Clarenco are; to succeed whilst having fun, promoting ideas, and being able to make things happen with a ‘just do it’ ethos.

Further information

• protel MPE
• www.xnhotels.com
• www.clarenco.com

Mama Shelter Hotels

Created by the Trigano family (co-founders of Club Med) and French philosopher Cyril Aouizerate, Mama Shelter was designed by Philippe Starck, who created the Royalton in New York, St. Martins Lane in London, the Delano in Miami Beach and numerous other successful hotels and restaurants. Xn Hotel Systems is proud to have a working partnership with Mama Shelter that dates back to 2008 when the first Mama property opened in Paris with online reservations, electronic distribution and GDS connectivity provided by Xn’s Xn globalRES solution. With the opening of the second property in Marseille, Mama Shelter has further extended its relationship with Xn Hotel Systems by implementing an extensive range of solutions and services.

Xn has supplied protel’s Multi Property Edition Property Management System to both Paris and Marseilles which allows Mama Shelter to benefit from the efficiencies of centralising key functions such as reservations and finance. Xn Hotel Systems is providing hosting services for all the applications being supplied to Mama ( including the protel PMS and Mama’s new ACOM accounting system ) from its new UK data centre , negating the need for costly hardware and skilled technical resources at each individual hotel . As a VISP provider, Xn Hotel, Systems has also been contracted to provide an MPLS network between the Mama Shelter properties, Mama HQ and Xn’s Data Centres. For the management of its food and beverage outlets, Xn dotPOS was selected by Mama Shelter as its centralised EPoS solution for the benefits provided by its flexible functionality plus the ability to provide centralised reporting, trading alerts and data management via an online portal.

Soon to be launched is the next generation of Mama Shelter’s online web booking system developed by Xn globalRES, which will bring a number of new and exciting features inspired by Mama Shelter’s ingenuity and forward thinking. Xn Business Intelligence is the latest addition to the range of solutions provided by Xn Hotel Systems, which Mama Shelter is implementing to provide online centralised KPI dashboard reporting and management analysis. Data is extracted and consolidated from multiple sources including protel PMS, Xn dotPOS, Xn globalRES and ACOM back office solution to provide a truly holistic view of the group’s performance.

Jérémie Trigano of Mama Shelter says of the Xn Hotel Systems relationship: “Xn Hotel Systems is developing customised, cutting edge, user friendly tools so that our operational staff can focus on guest satisfaction, our off-site management teams can easily access real-time financial information and, most importantly, so that our guests can enjoy a unique online experience. In addition to these great products, Xn’s 24/7 customer service is unparalleled in the industry, providing continuous support thanks to a worldwide team of friendly professionals.”

Further Information

• www.mamashelter.com
• www.xnhotels.com
• protel Product Overview

Rocco Forte Hotels: protel client
Augustin Hotel in Prague
© The Augustine

The SiteMinder Channel Manager provides a complete two-way integration to Rocco Forte Hotel’s protel Multi-Property-Edition (MPE) CRS and the world’s leading booking channels by distributing live availability from protel MPE to booking sites and seamlessly capturing all online reservations directly back into protel MPE – all for a flat monthly fee.

SiteMinder’s full integration with leading revenue management system, IDeaS, completes a “holistic distribution solution” for Rocco Forte Hotels, according to SiteMinder Managing Director, Mike Ford. With live rate recommendations are automatically sent from IDeaS to SiteMinder and distributed to the online channels in real time.

Marco Kleiner, Revenue Manager at the Augustine, the Rocco Forte hotel in Prague, said: “This is a major step for our hotel, especially for the Revenue Manager because the time we had to invest in the past managing extranets can now be used for other strategic initiatives”.

“We are delighted to partner with Rocco Forte Hotels which is one of the world’s most prestigious and forward- thinking hotel groups,” Mr Ford said. “By providing Rocco Forte with the most tightly integrated distribution solution available in the market today, we look forward to helping them effectively scale their online distribution while achieving a formidable return on investment in our technology.

“SiteMinder broke the traditional channel management mould in 2007 by providing a seamless, two-way PMS and CRS connectivity to all major booking channels, placing our platform years ahead of our competitors in this space. We are really seeing the benefits of this strategy now, with many hotel groups across the globe gaining seamless distribution connectivity through our platform.”

Marco Kleiner, Revenue Manager at the Augustine – Rocco Forte Hotel’s deluxe property in Prague, said: “This is a major step for our hotel, especially for our revenue management, because the time we had to invest in the past managing extranets can now be used for other strategic initiatives.”

Rocco Forte Hotels’ Group Director of IT, Emmanuel Clavé, said: “The interface development and integration with SiteMinder’s software was a very smooth process and the result is a robust and stable platform between OTA channels and protel, with a full two-way interface.”

Further Information

• Rocco Forte Hotels’ 13 properties are located in the Czech Republic, UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates: www.roccofortehotels.com
• SiteMinder is a multi-award winning online distribution company whose products are trusted and used by thousands of accommodation providers in over 90 countries worldwide to help increase online revenue, streamline business process and drive down the cost of acquisition. The cloud-based product suite continues to set the benchmark in online distribution technology by challenging conventional operating strategies. SiteMinder is redefining distribution: www.siteminder.com
• www.ideas.com

Booking online

Hoteliers, hospitality consultants as well as marketing and tourism management experts who attended the expert group hosted by protel at the ITB in Berlin all agreed: For years now, the amount of bookings via commission-based distribution channels makes up a continuously increasing share of the total booking volume which results in ever-rising distribution costs. Hoteliers are starting to take online distribution back into their own hands by thinking about direct online booking strategies.

It was soon clear that all participants had been contemplating this before. “If you had five wishes for your dream-web-booking-engine, what would they be?” This was the opening line of hotel marketing expert Gabriele Schulze, host of protel’s expert round table. It took the participants only a few minutes to gather more than fifty concrete requirements. This set the bar high for protel’s developers, who then presented the new protel WBE 4.0 live to the critical eyes of this expert jury.

The thoroughly positive feedback on the new WBE confirmed the perused objectives defined during conceptualization: Following models of leading e-commerce websites, individualized offers aim to provide a personal and enjoyable shopping experience in the Internet. And the virtually unlimited possibilities of combining rate and product information add to this pleasant experience. “I’m sold!” was only one of the many spontaneous enthusiastic comments after the presentation. After more than four hours of lively discussions, the group parted knowing they’ve started paving the way to “the Web Booking Engine of the next generation.”

Further Information

• protel WBE Product Sheet
• Efficient direct online sales cuts distribution costs for hotels
• Online Distribution with protel