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Of
critical importance is the technology link between Choice’s
central reservations system in Phoenix and the individual
hotel property. For the past three years, the company has
been rolling out a proprietary property management system
called Profit Manager. By the end of this year, Profit Manager
will be in place throughout the entire domestic system. Already
the impact on performance is powerful.
“The
revenue management component of the system has helped our
hotels benefit from an average 4 percent premium in rate over
their competitive set and has averaged RevPAR gains of 7.4
percent for those with the system in place,” noted Janna Morrision,
vice president, property systems.
Technology also is driving training for franchisees and Choice
associates. Last fall, the Company opened The Learning Center
at its Silver Spring headquarters.
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Choice’s
call centers handle 19 million reservations calls annually,
with the Phoenix center averaging as high as 20,000
calls per day.
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Choice’s
franchised hotels worldwide generated about $4.2 billion
in revenues in 1999.
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7:21
a.m. MST
The
sun is rising over the mountains in Phoenix as a group of
Choice programmers and computer analysts convene a strategy
session to discuss ideas for incorporating new functionality
into Profit Manager, Choice’s proprietary property management
system.
The
assemblage at Choice’s Western Regional Headquarters includes
experts in complementary fields including Spencer Leibow,
seated left, of the Information Technology Central Reservations
department, and Michael Woods, standing right, of the Product
Management department.
Todd
Reeser, seated at right, and Larry Gorman, standing left,
represent the Property Systems Development department. Laura
Williams brings the viewpoint of the Quality Assurance department.
Many
similar meetings and interviews with Choice franchisees culminated
with the third-quarter introduction of Profit Manager
4.0, the latest version of the software that incorporates
major improvements including enhanced security, more robust
housekeeping and maintenance management functions and customizable
guest forms.
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