You have recently joined HBSI as vice-president - sales. What's on your agenda?

Published: 03 Nov 2005

You have recently joined HBSI as vice-president - sales. What's on your agenda?

HBSI provides the technology and services to manage demand in the
complex distribution environment.

My agenda is one of focus. Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated is now
aggressively seeking the "right" client base to ensure that HBSI is
positioned as the thought and practice leaders in the Demand Management
space.

Hotel Information Systems and HBSI have decided to jointly offer
combination of technology and distribution strategy. How do you assess
this development?

I fully believe that HBSI and HIS will be able to help each other going
forward. HIS has a myriad of systems in place today and they required
connectivity to a vast array of distribution channels. HIS looked to
HBSI in order to help them round out their current and future enterprise
products. This will enable HIS's present and future clients to have a
broader array of distribution alternatives.

How do you think needs of hotel and e-travel companies are changing?
What new options are available for them to integrate their technologies
and manage inventory distribution through connectivity and sophisticated
tools?

I believe strongly that there is an emerging level playing field between
supply and distribution. As hotel companies look at a wider "family" of
distribution they will require stronger and more versatile tools in
order to help them ensure that they are distributing their inventory
more effectively. It's really all about making the most money from the
least costly channels as well as making sure that those channels have
the right audience.

Related to connectivity options, I would be remiss if I did not plug the
Open Travel Alliance and what they have achieved over the past 6 years.
The OTA spec has been implemented in various travel environments and
this will aid hotel and travel companies alike in enhanced exposure and
revenues. Hotel Booking Solutions Incorporated is heavily involved in
the OTA both from a workgroup and board level perspective.

How quickly is the industry changing? What kind of challenges this is
posing to a company like HBSI?

The industry is changing dramatically at every turn however it is
becoming very clear that the challenges remain the same. Proper
management of the hotel's inventory and pricing is paramount.

The changing distribution environment has sprouted up several small
companies that manage multiple channels of distribution from a single
console. These companies utilize unstable terminal emulation (screen
scraping) technology to connect to distribution channels. One of the
challenges we face is to clearly communicate to hoteliers that
difference in what those companies provide, versus the direct XML
interface connection that we utilize in over 90% of our connections.
Hoteliers can rest at night knowing that they have solid, robust and
reliable connections that won't fail at every change of a distribution
website GUI.

Why do you think HBSI is an advantageous position?

4 things:

Great people

Great vision

Great understanding and

Great solutions.

HBSI's president and chief executive officer Larry Hall recently told me
that company's focus remains connectivity and channel management, which
represent critical components of Demand Management(SM) framework. How do
you plan to leverage this?

Offering merely technology into today's distribution environment will
get the hotel company only so far. HBSI marries both technology and
services to ensure that the technology is properly leveraged and
utilized. We view Demand Management as the convergence of revenue
management principles and channel management. When you start looking at
distribution this way it becomes a great deal clearer.

HBSI is leading the way concerning Demand Management and its effect on
the hospitality industry.

How do you think core offerings of HBSI are shaping up in the market?

I believe that HBSI is defining the market. We have a stable of
incredibly talented individuals that are forward thinkers. We are
constantly trying to be one step ahead of the distribution curve and
thus we will be able to shape the market. Also, HBSI is incredibly adept
at developing today's required supply and distribution interfaces.

We are already seeing a great deal of demand for HBSI's services and we
fully believe that this demand will continue to grow.

What are your plans for future?

HBSI wants to make sure that we establish measured growth. By doing so
we will be able to achieve our value proposition every time! By
achieving this goal, both our hotel and distribution partners will reap
the benefits of a fully focused company within a very complex
environment.