It's almost halfway through January and finally I'm finding time to update this blog. Firstly, Happy New Year to everyone and I hope that you all had a good festive period and are optimistic towards the outlook for 2010.
The reason I've been so delayed in writing this is because of exciting times at Complete Hotels Services. We are now very close to concluding a management contract on a 45 bedroom hotel in Birmingham and at the same time acquire a lease on a beautiful 9 bedroom country inn in Northamptonshire. I hope to be able to give more details in the next 3 to 4 weeks so watch this space. The last few weeks have been spent working on these deals and a lot of time has been dedicated to speaking to PMS suppliers and GDS representation companies. It amazing that whilst the suppliers ultimately all sell the same thing, albeit with different features and service levels, it was some years since I had done research into these two areas and the costs and the way that they are presented have surprised me.
In general the PMS costs seem to have reduced, probably because of web based solutions making savings on hardware, but the GDS representation services seem to still be as expensive as ever with many bookings likely to cost in excess of £10 per booking without including the origintaing agents commission!
When I decide who we select I'll let you know and if anyone out there is researching GDS and PMS systems then feel free to drop me a line at robert@completehotelsservices.co.uk
In addition to this we have been speaking with a number of potential clients about the services CHS offer and how we can work with them to acheive increased profits in 2010. In particular sales and marketing, and especially in the areas of web marketing and SEO.
I was delighted to see that according to Google analytics a clients website traffic had incrased by 90.5% year on year from 2008 to 2009. They haev certainly seen increased sales as a result.
Finally, tomorrow I'm attending one of my favourite annual events, the Hotel Booking Agents Association annual dinner and I'm looking forward to catching up with many old friends and colleagues and discussing many industry related issues. If you have any which you would like my opinion on then let me know by leaving a comment.
All the best
Robert Smith
Thursday 14 January 2010
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Hello Robert,
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes for the New Year to you too and glad to see good things coming up for your company.
About the 10£ cost for each booking. This is not just the GDS cost I presume. 10£ includes:
GDS fee
+
Switch fee (Pegasus)
+
CRS fee
Even if 10£ seems high to your eyes, don't forget that it is a fixed cost whether you decrease or increase your room rates and also whether the booking is for 1 or 9 rooms.
Cheers, Guillaume
Hi Guillaume,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your comment. You are quite correct that the costs includes the elements you mention and the fact that it is a fixed price no matter what the room rate, length or stay or number of rooms. However, as the current average length of stay is about 1.5 nights and this hotel in particular has an average daily rate of less than £100 the fee represents a considerable percentage especially as we still need to pay the originiating agents commission which could be an additional 8 to 15% (depending on overide agreements) on the entire cost of the booking.
Hence the combined fees and commissions make the GDS an expensive channel especially when compared to the costs of bookings processed through a WBE.
Whilst the GDS are here to stay I do think that once hoteliers wake up to the immense possibilities of their own websites and WBE they will start to manage / limit availability on the GDS channels to icrease profit yield.
Once again many thanks for your comment.
Kind regards
Robert Smith
Hi Robert,
ReplyDeleteSo what's your verdict on your GDS connections?
What is a WBE? (web booking engine?)
Best, Guillaume
Hi Guillaume,
ReplyDeleteThe verdict on the choice of GDS supplier will be made in the next 7 to 10 days and I will post the choice on the blog. The process has been really interesting and the 4 potential suppliers have provided competitive and interesting pitches.
The main points for me to consider have been:
1) cost of transactions and annual costs
2) availability and costs of interfaces to property management systems.
3) the technology being used and in particular the sales and marketing features to drive more sales
4) the levels of account support to ensure future revenue streams are being identified and the technology is used to its full potential.
5) the quality of the WBE (web booking engine)which will be a critical distribution channel for the hotel.
I look forward to posting the choice we make and thanks for the interest shown.
Kind regards
Robert Smith
Hi Robert,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of LodgeGate PMS? It is a web based solution for your needs. No hardware and infrastructure investments needed and you pay a small fee per occupied room per night. Our average cost per occupied room in 2009: 27 euro cents!! For this amount you receive a fully functional PMS including 24/7 support and redundancy.
Our pricing method is making costs for PMS variable (like amenities) instead of the traditional fixed depreciation method.
LodgeGate is a PMS and CRS in one, it has two-way connectivity with the major international (web)bookings agencies and offers the possibility of a web booking engine for your website and a corporate channel for your contracted partners.
Of course the system is fully equipped to give the hotelier the freedom it needs and deliver proper management tools like extensive reports.
You may want to look at the features and possibilties on www.lodgegate.com and use our contact form for more info.
Also we do not have any UK based installed hotels yet, although we are growing fast on mainland Europe, and we are looking for representatives or consultants in your area.
Best regards,
J-W. Moors
Hotels Online / LodgeGate PMS
Hi J-W,
ReplyDeleteNo I had not heard of it but woudl be interested in knowing more so if you are ever in the UK then I'd be happy to meet and review the product.
Kind regards
Robert Smith