‘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 may get an edge to develop your lodge income in addition to obtain repeat visitors.
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 identify just a few 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 consider in understanding the distinctive wants of our shoppers and delivering revolutionary 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 shoppers 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 sure that our salaries should not solely aggressive but in addition reflective of the onerous work and dedication our workers carry to their roles. This monetary stability is a foundational facet 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 attempting occasions. Regular recognition of efforts by way of inside communications, highlight options, and direct acknowledgments from management performs a vital half in preserving morale excessive. Furthermore, we put money into our workers’ progress and adaptableness. Even with tighter budgets, we emphasise the significance of talent enhancement and adaptableness.
This contains cross-functional coaching and enabling our crew to tackle new challenges inside the firm. We’re leveraging on-line platforms and inside mentorship packages to facilitate steady studying {and professional} improvement. Additionally, we keep open strains of communication. I personally be sure that I’m accessible and that our administration crew usually engages with workers in any respect ranges to know their wants and challenges. This open dialogue helps us to adapt our methods and assist mechanisms in real-time, guaranteeing that our crew not solely feels heard but in addition valued. Lastly, we’re dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive work setting. This means selling work-life steadiness, encouraging versatile work preparations the place attainable, and supporting our workers’ wellbeing by way of varied initiatives.
TDM: What is the dynamic definition that you’ve got given to Revenue Per Available Room (RevPARR) to go with Hospitality Solutions by Agilysys?
TM: Agilysys would argue that RevPAR, whereas nonetheless vital, is now an inferior measurement of a lodge’s efficiency. RevPAR appears on the occupancy charges and profitability of bedrooms however misses the extra income that comes from visitors 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 attitude 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 house being the drivers cab. Uber got here alongside and began analysing the passenger. What they learnt concerning the passengers has enabled them to open many further, and extra profitable income streams together with meals and different transportation strategies. The passenger was all the time the place the worth can be, it was by no means the cab. Similarly, the visitor is all the time the place the worth can be, it isn’t solely the room.
TDM: Data pushed choices are the buzzwords in terms of giving visitors the personalised consideration to particulars that brings within the ‘wow’ issue. How does Agilysys present that type of knowledge?
TM: Our view is that the hospitality business is admittedly solely scratching the floor of personalisation. At this stage personalisation is ‘knowing’; understanding your identify, understanding a few of your preferences, what personalisation isn’t but doing is ‘predicting’ and that is the place we consider the true worth of personalisation exists.
Agilysys has been working with a third-party knowledge science agency to review propensity modelling in hospitality. The capacity, by way of knowledge, to develop profitability by providing visitors further providers that knowledge suggests they are going to be very prone to buy. This modelling, primarily based on a pattern of 1,000 visitors in a multi-amenity property exhibits that 10% further income might have been out there in a 12-month interval from these 1,000 visitors.
Critical to this stage of personalisation and the flexibility to, in future, use visitor knowledge to foretell income progress, 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 progress worth from knowledge and personalisation virtually unattainable. Uniquely, we consider that Agilysys is the one supplier that’s designing methods for an information pushed future.
TDM: You have been within the APAC marketplace for 10 years now. What type of unique hospitality options do you provide that make you stand above competitors. What type of synergy and interconnectivity do your options prolong?
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 methods (PMS) and point-of-sale (POS) methods to stock and procurement, analytics platforms, and visitor engagement instruments. What units us aside is our capacity to combine these numerous 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 signifies that visitor preferences, historical past, and interactions are tracked and accessible by way of each touchpoint, whether or not on the entrance desk, restaurant, spa, or by way of cellular engagement. This stage of synergy and interconnectivity permits resorts to ship extremely personalised and constant visitor experiences, enhance operational effectivity, and make data-driven choices that improve general efficiency.
Uniquely, Agilysys is 100% targeted on the hospitality business and has been since inception. We don’t present options to some other business, hospitality will not be a line of enterprise, it’s our enterprise. Every developer, each assist individual all over the world, each salesperson, and each worker is 100% dedicated and devoted to the business, the truth is a lot of our workers have labored in hospitality themselves.
We consider that that is our trump card. Prospects and shoppers 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 assist? For occasion, how large a crew offers the backend assist to the lodge submit gross sales?
TM: Our hospitality options come with complete, ongoing assist. We consider in constructing long-term partnerships with our shoppers, and our assist crew is an integral a part of this dedication. Post-sales, we provide 24/7 buyer assist, common software program updates, and devoted account administration.
TDM: What traits 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 progress in AI-driven personalisation, contactless applied sciences, and enhanced cybersecurity measures. Guests more and more count on personalised experiences, and resorts are investing in applied sciences that guarantee knowledge 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 cellular check-in, digital keycards, and contactless funds will develop into normal.
- Enhanced Cybersecurity:Hotels will prioritise strong cybersecurity measures to guard visitor info.
- 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 workers 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 workers to concentrate on distinctive service.
