LONDON – August 23, 2012 – IDeaS Revenue Solutions, the leading provider of pricing and revenue management software, services and consulting, today announced that Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, the UK’s largest privately-owned hotel group with over 40 hotels throughout the country, is to install the IDeaS Revenue Management System (RMS) across its portfolio.
As is often the case with mid-sized hotel chains, investment on the guest-focused aspects of the business often takes precedent, meaning that sufficient budget to finance investment in back-of-house systems and technology can be difficult to find.
Stephen Dodman, who recently joined the hotel group as Revenue Director, recognised the crucial opportunities being missed in the area of revenue management. Resolving to renew focus in this key area of the business, Dodman has driven the creation of a centralised revenue management environment within Macdonald Hotels & Resorts to enable revenue growth to be maximised by a team of focused professionals.
Familiar with the strengths of the IDeaS RMS, Dodman has plans for every Macdonald owned hotel to implement the IDeaS RMS, augmenting the group’s aim of optimising revenue management with powerful technology.
Dodman said: “On top of its capability to maximize revenues, the IDeaS RMS will also allow Macdonald Hotels & Resorts to fully automate the online distribution process, enabling our hotels to distribute rates more effectively and offer huge benefits in terms of time and accuracy.”
“Macdonald Hotels & Resorts portfolio consists of hotels that have clearly defined specialist markets, including golf and spa destinations. Without the IDeaS RMS, the manual process of managing so many online channels, and maintaining rate parity across all channels in a dynamic market proved both time-consuming and prone to human error.
David Guile, CEO of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, has played a prominent role in the company’s focus on revenue management. As part of the strategies he put in place to further grow the business, Guile spearheaded the hotel group’s initial steps with revenue management technology. In 2008, this included overseeing the initial rollout of the IDeaS RMS in seven hotels.
Guile commented: “Having always recognised the importance of revenue management and the difference it could make to the bottom line at Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, the growth in our partnership with IDeaS gives me great confidence for the future.”