‘Revenue per guest’ or RevPAG is a much better option to assess complete profitability and extra importantly, future income potential. This is the place you will get an edge to develop your lodge earnings in addition to obtain repeat company.
In an interview with TDM, Tony Marshall, Vice President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Agilysys tells us about his success mantra, crew motivation, RevPAG, personalisation, and the flexibility to keep up a single visitor profile throughout all of the merchandise with Agilysys.
Travel Daily Media (TDM): What is the mantra for driving gross sales and operations for Hospitality Technology Companies? Kindly title a number of resorts that have adopted your Hospitality Tech options in APAC.
Tony Marshall (TM): At Agilysys, our mantra for driving gross sales and operations is “Customer-Centric Innovation.” We imagine in understanding the distinctive wants of our purchasers and delivering modern options that improve visitor experiences and streamline operations. In the APAC area, prestigious resorts like The Langham, Hong Kong; Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur; and Marina Bay Sands, Singapore are a number of the esteemed purchasers who’ve adopted our hospitality tech options.
TDM: How do you retain your crew motivated and performing nicely?
TM: Firstly, we recognise the significance of aggressive compensation. We be certain that our salaries aren’t solely aggressive but in addition reflective of the onerous work and dedication our workers carry to their roles. This monetary stability is a foundational side of our dedication to our crew.
Beyond financial compensation, we focus considerably on making a tradition of recognition and empowerment. We perceive that everybody’s contribution is important to our success, particularly in these making an attempt instances. Regular recognition of efforts by means of inner communications, highlight options, and direct acknowledgments from management performs an important half in conserving morale excessive. Furthermore, we put money into our workers’ development and flexibility. Even with tighter budgets, we emphasise the significance of ability enhancement and flexibility.
This consists of cross-functional coaching and enabling our crew to tackle new challenges throughout the firm. We’re leveraging on-line platforms and inner mentorship packages to facilitate steady studying {and professional} improvement. Additionally, we preserve open strains of communication. I personally be certain that I’m accessible and that our administration crew often engages with employees in any respect ranges to grasp their wants and challenges. This open dialogue helps us to adapt our methods and help mechanisms in real-time, making certain that our crew not solely feels heard but in addition valued. Lastly, we’re dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive work atmosphere. This means selling work-life stability, encouraging versatile work preparations the place potential, and supporting our workers’ wellbeing by means of numerous initiatives.
TDM: What is the dynamic definition that you’ve given to Revenue Per Available Room (RevPARR) to go with Hospitality Solutions by Agilysys?
TM: Agilysys would argue that RevPAR, whereas nonetheless necessary, is now an inferior measurement of a lodge’s efficiency. RevPAR seems on the occupancy charges and profitability of bedrooms however misses the extra income that comes from company spending on different property facilities. In many instances the visitor income derived from different facilities and providers exceeds the room income for that visitor. Looking at complete income from the angle of the visitor, so ‘Revenue per guest’ or RevPAG is a much better option to assess complete profitability and extra importantly, future income potential.
There is an analogy with the taxi business. It was all the time the case that this business solely ever monetised ‘space’ the area being the drivers cab. Uber got here alongside and began analysing the passenger. What they learnt in regards to the passengers has enabled them to open many extra, and extra profitable income streams together with meals and different transportation strategies. The passenger was all the time the place the worth could be, it was by no means the cab. Similarly, the visitor is all the time the place the worth will likely be, it isn’t solely the room.
TDM: Data pushed selections are the buzzwords on the subject of giving company the personalised consideration to particulars that brings within the ‘wow’ issue. How does Agilysys present that sort of information?
TM: Our view is that the hospitality business is admittedly solely scratching the floor of personalisation. At this stage personalisation is ‘knowing’; understanding your title, understanding a few of your preferences, what personalisation isn’t but doing is ‘predicting’ and that is the place we imagine the true worth of personalisation exists.
Agilysys has been working with a third-party information science agency to review propensity modelling in hospitality. The means, by means of information, to develop profitability by providing company extra providers that information suggests they are going to be very prone to buy. This modelling, primarily based on a pattern of 1,000 company in a multi-amenity property reveals that 10% extra income might have been accessible in a 12-month interval from these 1,000 company.
Critical to this degree of personalisation and the flexibility to, in future, use visitor information to foretell income development, is a system structure that’s primarily based on a single visitor profile. Today most hospitality system suppliers promote architectures that require a number of profiles of a visitor making true personalisation troublesome and getting development worth from information and personalisation virtually unimaginable. Uniquely, we imagine that Agilysys is the one supplier that’s designing techniques for an information pushed future.
TDM: You have been within the APAC marketplace for 10 years now. What sort of unique hospitality options do you provide that make you stand above competitors. What sort of synergy and interconnectivity do your options lengthen?
TM: Over the previous decade, Agilysys has developed a complete suite of over 30+ merchandise that collectively provide a full hospitality ecosystem. These options vary from superior property administration techniques (PMS) and point-of-sale (POS) techniques to stock and procurement, analytics platforms, and visitor engagement instruments. What units us aside is our means to combine these various merchandise seamlessly, offering resorts with a cohesive and interconnected system.
One of our standout options is the flexibility to keep up a single visitor profile throughout all our merchandise. This implies that visitor preferences, historical past, and interactions are tracked and accessible by means of each touchpoint, whether or not on the entrance desk, restaurant, spa, or by means of cell engagement. This degree of synergy and interconnectivity permits resorts to ship extremely personalised and constant visitor experiences, enhance operational effectivity, and make data-driven selections that improve total efficiency.
Uniquely, Agilysys is 100% centered on the hospitality business and has been since inception. We don’t present options to some other business, hospitality is just not a line of enterprise, it’s our enterprise. Every developer, each help individual world wide, each salesperson, and each worker is 100% dedicated and devoted to the business, in reality lots of our workers have labored in hospitality themselves.
We imagine that that is our trump card. Prospects and purchasers can know that we’re as 100% dedicated to their success as we’re to our personal.
TDM: Are your hospitality options a one-time sale or do you provide common help? For occasion, how huge a crew gives the backend help to the lodge put up gross sales?
TM: Our hospitality options come with complete, ongoing help. We imagine in constructing long-term partnerships with our purchasers, and our help crew is an integral a part of this dedication. Post-sales, we provide 24/7 buyer help, common software program updates, and devoted account administration.
TDM: What tendencies do you foresee in hospitality know-how in APAC? What new merchandise will you offer to this market?
TM: In the APAC area, we anticipate vital development in AI-driven personalisation, contactless applied sciences, and enhanced cybersecurity measures. Guests more and more anticipate personalised experiences, and resorts are investing in applied sciences that guarantee information safety.
Trends in Hospitality Technology:
- AI-Driven Personalisation:AI will improve visitor experiences by managing itineraries and recommending actions.
- Voice-Activated Services:Guests will use voice assistants for room service, thermostat changes, and different requests.
- Contactless Experiences:Technologies like cell check-in, digital keycards, and contactless funds will turn into commonplace.
- Enhanced Cybersecurity:Hotels will prioritise strong cybersecurity measures to guard visitor data.
- Sustainability Solutions:Guests can monitor their environmental affect and obtain rewards for sustainable decisions.
New Products for the APAC Market:
- AI-Powered Guest Engagement Tools:To improve visitor interactions and assist employees ship higher service.
- Advanced Mobile Check-In/Check-Out Solutions:These options will streamline processes for a seamless visitor expertise.
- A Comprehensive Guest App:This app will combine AI for itinerary administration, personalised suggestions, and voice controls.
- AI in Staff Roles:We will leverage AI to drive automation and efficiencies, permitting employees to give attention to distinctive service.
