PITTSBURGH, December 3, 2002 � Industry publications this quarter widely
report that continued declines in hospitality profitability for the first
six months of 2002 highlight the need for more frequent benchmarking of
property expenses and revenue. Top executives at American Property
Management Corporation, Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company, Host Marriott
Corporation, and MEI Hotels, Inc. recognize the challenge. Here is
a snapshot of the actions they are taking to cut costs and increase efficiency
using the most advanced business intelligence tools available:
 American
Property Management Corporation, Kim Dailey, Vice President
of Hotel Accounting:
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Company Focus: Create expense comparisons for 39 properties by flags, region,
or any category to identify shortfalls and overages.
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Provides owners in China with current financial data on their properties
via email by 9:00 a.m. each day.
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Benefits: Proactive cost control through comparative data; saves
two hours a day in emailing statistics to foreign owners versus preparing
hard copies.
"We use business intelligence at American Property Management to compare
all our properties. We are very proactive when it comes to controlling
costs. Our operational vice presidents use Execuvue® reports
to analyze the performance by flags, and by regions to spot out-of-line
expenses.�
Kim Dailey
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 Concord
Hospitality Enterprises Company, Bob Micklash, Chief Operating
Officer:
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Company Focus: Reduce labor costs and general expenses in 2002.
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Uses business intelligence tool to measure the results of the changes,
and make adjustments as needed.
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Benefits: More efficient use of executives� time due to the ability
to more quickly access data and evolve decisions.
�We reduced the amount of labor across the board in 2002 to match declining
revenues. We will use Execuvue to measure year over year efficiency
in labor utilization and direct expense control.�
Bob Micklash
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 Host
Marriott Corporation, Dexter E. Wood, Jr., Vice President, Feasibility,
Research and Analysis:
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Company Focus: Profitability.
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Wants to bring third party providers� information into a central data area
in Host�s own format.
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Benefits: More proficient use of resources due to less time spent gathering
and consolidating data, and more time spent analyzing statistics.
�We believe that the implementation of our business intelligence system,
anchored by Execuvue, will empower us to maximize profitability by carefully
monitoring the relationships between costs and revenues, and through internal
benchmarking amongst the 125 hotels in our portfolio.�
Dexter E. Wood, Jr
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MEI Hotels, Inc., Dale Pelletier,
CFO and Vice President of Finance:
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Company Focus: Create benchmarks based on estimates and experience
in business intelligence tool for properties with no history; immediately
correct course when benchmarks are missed.
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Compares similar properties� statistics to spot below-forecast performance.
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Benefits: Provides information that enables quick realignment of hotel
sales staff duties to address shortfalls; handles accounting analysis much
faster than in the spreadsheet days.
�For 2003, budgeting has been exacting because we have many new properties
in new markets. We are estimating all markets in 2003 to be slightly ahead
of �02 in RevPAR. We believe 1Q�03 will be up over same period �02. In
early 2002, many people adopted a wait and see attitude toward traveling,
and we have seen a positive shift away from that attitude recently.�
Dale Pelletier
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Execuvue is an enterprise business intelligence application from Aptech
Computer Systems, Inc. that stimulates ad hoc queries and reporting, and
dramatically reduces the time and cost of decision making for managers
from the regional level to the executive suite.
New! Business Intelligence Web Site:
http://www.aptech-inc.com
In a related announcement, Aptech today launched a new Web site designed
to help hotel operators better understand the benefits of business intelligence.
Visit Aptech�s redesigned site to see how leading hotel companies are using
the Execuvue business intelligence tool to increase profitability by identifying
and controlling costs.
About Aptech Computer Systems, Inc.
Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leads
the Hospitality industry in leveraging change by valuing human relationships
and applying technology to solve business problems for people.
Incorporated in 1970, Aptech is a financial and operations technology
solutions and service company whose products include three state-of-the-art
business intelligence and back office products, in server or ASP configurations:
Execuvue®, Profitvue®, and an extension of Profitvue that supports
property accounting and reporting via the Internet, Webvue®. Over 700
users, including very large chains, multiple-property management companies,
ownership groups, and single site hotels, utilize Aptech's solutions
to manage their financial and operational data. By offering the hotel
industry a solid resource of hospitality professionals, including staff
and customers, and through its proven ability to evolve technology offerings
as the market dictates, Aptech is proud to have earned 100% customer loyalty.
Execuvue and Profitvue are registered trademarks to Aptech Computer
Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective
holders.
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