HITEC 2018: Your Guide to the Houston Convention
If it’s summer, it must be HITEC. For those not in the know, it’s the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference, the hotel industry’s longest running hotel technology conference. It also happens to be the largest event of its kind, and the most attended. And for good reason - it’s [...]
Stop Human Trafficking Now!
The human trafficking crisis has burst into the American consciousness during the last few years. What was once happening in the shadows, and behind closed doors in places such as hotels, is now getting a bright spotlight shown on this catastrophe. And its making people act. The International Labour Organization [...]
Ready or Not… GDPR Compliance Is Here
GDPR at a glance By now you have probably heard about the new privacy law enacted by the European Union (EU) that took effect May 25, 2018. Called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new law impacts those organizations based in the EU, and it also potentially applies to [...]
SkyTouch launches learning management system
SkyTouch Technology launched the SkyTouch University learning management tool, and enhancements to its SkyTouch customer community. SkyTouch customers can now customize training modules to educate staff regarding on-property best practices, and processes for achieving key objectives, such as improving the guest experience and driving revenue. Read full article here.
Get to know the Kensington Park Hotel
In this week’s SkyTouch customer spotlight, we travel to the Kensington Park Hotel in San Francisco, an upscale hotel that shares a unique space with five other entities. The building is owned by the Elks Lodge in San Francisco, who occupy several floors including a health club in the basement. [...]
Cyber Security: Your Hotel May Depend On It
The security of your data is critical to your business. Credit card fraud topped $24.7 billion in 2016, according to Nilson. Hoteliers must follow strict rules based on the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which requires all companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information [...]
Two Ways That Technology Can Mitigate Rising Labor Costs
North American hotels are experiencing record revenue as the economy continues to grow, but there is a downside to all this economic growth. Wages in the hotel business are rising faster than rates, which can cut into a hotel’s margins. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that total compensation for [...]
That Reservation Could be Costing You
One of the biggest challenges to a hotelier’s bottom line is guest acquisition costs. It’s why we’re seeing major hotel companies such as Hilton create ad campaigns designed to encourage customers to book direct. According to Forbes.com, third-party online travel agencies (OTAs) charge up to 30% in commission fees per [...]
Property Spotlight: King Hendrick Motel – Lake George
After a winter full of blizzards, many in the Northeast are dreaming of summer right now. This week we travel to upstate New Year to visit a seasonal property that is part of the SkyTouch customer community. The King Hendrick Motel sits on four acres in the heart of Lake [...]
Monetize with Hotel Guest Self Check-In
Hotels are now charging guests more than ever before. But in many markets, new hotel construction is eating away at demand and lowering overall occupancy. That makes it more difficult to continue increasing rates at the same pace as the last several years. According to R. Mark Woodworth, Senior Managing [...]
How The Cloud Makes Hotels More Efficient To Operate
North American hotels are experiencing record revenue as the economy continues to grow. In January the U.S. added 200,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the U.S. economy experienced job growth for 88 months in a row, according to a report by NPR. But there is [...]
More ‘New’ Hotels Coming. Are you Ready?
Rapid new hotel development and increased renovations of older properties have transformed local and regional markets across the United States, forcing many hoteliers to consider new strategies to stay competitive. According to Lodging Econometrics, by the end of 2018, the number of hotels and rooms in the United States is [...]
Hotel Spotlight: River Lodge & Grill
It is time to feature another member of the SkyTouch community. This week we travel to Boardman, Oregon where the River Lodge & Grill offers guests panoramic views of the Columbia River. In fact, it is the only hotel that is right on the river in all of Boardman and [...]
SkyTouch to provide Cloud-based PMS to its growing portfolio of hotels
“As a brand, we evaluate and select leading technology solutions that make life easier for our hotel owners and staff and create a better experience for our guests,” said Jon Kennedy, president of GrandStay Hospitality, LLC. “Because we are a 24-hour operation, we also needed support that is available 24 hours [...]
Get to Know the Ohio House Motel
We love featuring SkyTouch customers with great stories. This week we feature the Ohio House Motel in the heart of Downtown Chicago, IL. It is located on a spot coveted by fans of the Chicago Marathon. “We're the main spot where everybody starts,” said Edgar Bran, General Manager of the [...]