EasyRMS Soars Further into Europe with Iconic Concorde Hotels & Resorts
In a two-phase agreement, the EzRMS™ SaaS Revenue Management suite is now deployed at nine properties in this high-end collection of hotels, with an additional four implementing the solution later in 2011
Paris - 6th July, 2011: Leading provider of SaaS Revenue & Yield Management solutions to the global hotel industry, Easy (Ez) Revenue Management Solutions Ltd (EasyRMS) has secured another strong and respected name for their global property portfolio. Headquartered in Paris, Concorde Hotels & Resorts owns, manages and represents around 25 hotels around the world; nine of which now benefit from EasyRMS' automated Revenue Management System as phase one of a two-part project is completed.
Concorde Hotels & Resorts is part of Société du Louvre, which in 2005 was acquired by Starwood Capital Group. The luxury hotel brand offers an international network of 4- and 5-star hotels whose location and architecture give them each a distinct character. Perfectly located at the heart of some of the key cities in the world - including Paris, Barcelona, Geneva, Berlin, Prague and Tokyo - each property shares a singular pursuit of perfection which is reflected in exceptional hospitality and authentic luxury, where the special character of each city is complemented by refined comfort and the highest traditions in gastronomy, French savoir-faire and art de vivre.
Hotel Martinez: the legendary Art Deco hotel on the French Riviera
With installation and training completed, EzRMS™ is now live in nine Concorde hotels across Europe. In Paris, these consist of Concorde Opéra Paris, Concorde la Fayette, Concorde Montparnasse and Hotel du Louvre; in Cannes, Hotel Martinez; in Marseille, Villa Massalia Concorde; and in Nice, Le Palais de la Méditerranée. Further afield, Hotel Concorde Berlin, in Germany's capital, and Hotel de la Paix, in Geneva, are also up and running with the system.
The properties in the rollout have implemented the EzRMS™ Core Module, Ez-QUOTE™, Ez-REGION™ and Ez-BUDGET™, along with a two-way interface for the Opera V5 PMS.
When asked why EasyRMS was chosen as a revenue management partner, Graham Dungey, Director of Revenue, Distribution & Development at Concorde, explains: "This 'Plug and Play' software was simply a no-brainer for us. The EasyRMS team took a genuine interest in our Revenue and Distribution issues, bringing organic solutions to the table at every step of the way. We have worked with consultants before EasyRMS who attempted to impose preconceived solutions, but through taking the time to listen and understand the specificities of our organisation, EasyRMS have enabled us to embark on a step-controlled, change-managed process path to success, embracing the needs of both our clustered and satellite Revenue Managers who have all embraced the system and integrated it into the daily operation."
Within three months, Concorde had achieved training and implementation, and were already forecasting. In terms of return on investment, Graham anticipates reaching break-even by the end of month three. "In fact," he says, "even by day two of the 'go live' we could see dates in the short term where the forecasting was astoundingly accurate. There were other dates where the recommendations provoked reaction and discussion in the Revenue Team - which is the whole point of managing the revenue day by day to ensure that every single date is set to sell at the right price, to the right customer, at the right time and, using Opera functionality, through the right channel."
Graham tells how the investment model that EasyRMS proposed made it easy to gain senior buy-in, because there was no capital investment, just a monthly license fee which is charged out at unit level.
Revenue management functions for the installed hotels are divided between a clustered revenue team and 'on-property' revenue teams, and as Graham notes, "The data quality and detailed drilldown, as well as how it is displayed, means that my Revenue Managers spend less time searching for data and compiling excel reports, and more time implementing revenue-strategic solutions - be it the Rate of the Day, new business requests, review of existing contracts, or, and most importantly, engaging with colleagues in the wider organisation to add some science into the mixing bowl of daily hotel life."
The main benefit of the solution to Concorde Hotels & Resorts, comments Graham, apart from increased revenue, RGI and EBITDA, is that it makes devolved, desegregated and current web-based information available to the whole organisation. "At the touch of a button, my Revenue Directors can access web-based overviews and reports of the performance and strategy of a single hotel or cluster and thus are able to challenge a Revenue Manager on a date-by-date basis, no matter where they are physically located."
EzRMS™ is also useful for the eCommerce team, who receive simple 'traffic lights' reports that show daily updates of hotels, clusters, dates and periods, which they use to target marketing funds for optimised ROI. The Cluster Groups team runs every quotation through the system for an impartial opinion before the offer is sent to the client. In the autumn, Concorde will be opening up access to the Global Sales Teams so they can directly view unit specifics. At hotel level, teams now use the short-term forecast for resource planning across every department, as so much of the variable operational costs are occupancy driven. Every General Manager has their own password, suite of reports and dashboards which gives them a daily high level overview of performance and critical dates.
Phase 2 of this exciting project will see implementation of the system at Hotel Crillon, Hotel Lutetia Paris Left Bank, and Hotel de la Cité Concorde Lyon, with two further units in the planning.
EasyRMS Sales Consultant for Northern Europe, Raϊssa Goubin, comments: "This truly is fantastic news for us all as we secure such a prestigious, high-calibre name in the European hotel industry. Concorde Hotels & Resorts were using another RMS previously, but EzRMS™, I believe, integrates better to their PMS than other solutions on the market, and is also more functional. This is a very dynamic team and I am 100% confident they will benefit from the system recommendations from the very beginning."
About Concorde Hotels & Resorts:
Owned by Groupe du Louvre, Concorde Hotels & Resorts is an international group renowned for its upscale hotels, numbering 25 hotels and palaces in Europe, North Africa, Asia and the United States. Concorde is owner, manager and promoter of an international network of 4-star and 5-star hotels, whose unique nature is highlighted by their location and their architecture, in perfect harmony with their local environment, thus fully revealing each property's inherent features. For additional information about the Group and its hotels, please visit www.concorde-hotels.com.
About EasyRMS:
Founded in July 1999, EasyRMS is a global leader and provider of SaaS revenue and yield management solutions. EasyRMS is dedicated to the introduction of new generation technology and procedures within the hospitality industry and aims to deliver these services to its clients. Backed by the confidence of many of today's industry leaders, EasyRMS is committed to easing the current burden of strategic decision making and implementation of revenue and yield management techniques and procedures worldwide.
Media Contacts:
Easy (Ez) Revenue Management Solutions
Rachelle Claret
Marketing Department
rclaret@EasyRMS.com
T: +44 (0) 20 7495 0773
www.EasyRMS.com
Concorde Hotels & Resortsy
Françoise Houdebine
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
fhoudebine@concorde-hotels.com
T: +33 (0) 1 42 91 44 03
www.concorde-hotels.com
