Hotel platforms are merging into enterprise-like systems that not only book rooms, but also feature advanced revenue management capabilities, chain-wide guest information, data warehousing and mining and integration with electronic distribution services. Centralization, long proven to enhance company efficiencies and revenue, can now be realized in an ASP implementation that looks very different from the earlier solutions brought to market. New technology and implementation strategies have changed industry perceptions.

Today�s ASP model has benefited from years of development and now offers robust functionality and security.

Slower browser based solutions have been replaced by new thin client technologies that make access lightening fast. 

ASP solutions often utilize a web browser front end, but web browsers like Microsoft�s Internet Explorer do not readily make available traditional Windows functions that people are used to, and usually need in a hotel business. 

There is now increasing use of very thin client technology that controls the presentation layer of the software application. These are often available with 128-bit encryption to enable sensitive information to be passed over the public Internet. Alternatively, VPN (virtual private network - a �private pipe� through the Internet) can encrypt data at the hotel and then decode it at the server and vice versa. Either way, a relatively low bandwidth permanent connection (e.g. 64k bps for a two user system) is now affordable, reliable and secure.

No longer a fee for transaction business, some application vendors are taking on the role of hosting the central server as an integral component of their standard annual support contract. In some cases, the application vendor will take on the responsibility to load, configure and maintain the software on a single server that is linked to every property in the system. Whether independent or multi-property chain, this keeps the need for technology at the customer�s site to a minimum and lets them focus on what they do. 

At Ramesys Hospitality, this hosting service can be provided on a secure shared customer server or on a dedicated server for a single chain customer. The company�s Entirety Enterprise Suite is a full service ASP suite comprised of central reservations (CRes), property management (PMS), customer relationship management (CRM), web reservations and GDS connections.

�We have adapted our ASP model from a transaction basis - due to customer response. With the vast array of distribution methodologies, each charging on a per transaction basis, there are just too many fees placed on a single reservation. Most customers want to know up front, for their budgeting purposes, what their IT costs are going to be on a yearly basis and not a portion of revenue expectations,� said Andrew Sanders, Director of Sales and Marketing at Ramesys Hospitality.

While the acquisition of the ASP-style system costs about the same per property as purchasing a decentralized system, the reduced need for IT staff at the property level and perhaps even at corporate, increases the return on investment. Not only does this method allow the chain to reduce hardware, training and data management costs, it also assures consistency from property to property.

Centralization has proven its worth at Hansji Hotels (Anaheim, CA) � who recently installed the ASP version of Ramesys� Entirety Enterprise Suite. Windows based and ODBC compliant, this solution gives them new capabilities in managing their portfolio. When one hotel is completely booked, the Entirety suite allows front desk personnel to cross-sell rooms at Hansji�s other properties. Additionally, integrating the Entirety MPower CRM solution allows property management to learn more about their guests from a single image database.

To learn more about the Entirety Enterprise Suite (EES), visit Ramesys in booth 302 at HITEC 2003.

About the Entirety Enterprise Suite

Ramesys' Entirety Enterprise Suite is a fully integrated suite of products consisting of modules that can be added, allowing for effective and easy deployment for smaller operations or global, multi-branded chains. Modules include:

• ImagInn PMS for Unix/Linux
• Entirety PMS for Windows
• Entirety Customer Relationship Management (MPower and ImagInn Search)
• Entirety Central Reservations (CRes)
• Entirety Connect for Web Reservations
• Entirety Direct (integrated web based front desk module)
• Full Array of Third Party Property Level Interfaces
• Complete Telecommunication Solutions (Mitel and Hitachi PBX, Voice Mail, Call Accounting)

Ramesys Hospitality, South Plainfield, NJ, focuses on providing high-quality software solutions to the hospitality industry. Delivering solutions to the hotel industry for over 20 years, Ramesys has systems installed in over 4,000 hotels worldwide.