Taking a Futuristic View to Revenue and Occupancy
Lindner Hotels and Resorts forges a lasting relationship with IDeaS
Lindner Hotels AG has long been an industry leader when it comes to finding innovative and advance solutions to address its business needs. In 2002, when faced with rising occupancies but decreasing rates, they approached the problem by addressing it with a combination of advanced technology and a commitment to continuous improvement. Since then, the synergies between the companies have grown (along with revenues) and their partnership with IDeaS has deepened.
With more than 24 hotels based in Germany, Spain and Switzerland, Lindner Hotels are a mix of Resort, Business, Conference, and Wellness hotels. Often found in niche markets, Lindner generates their business from a mix of market segments including corporate, rack or transient, crew, and group.
Where It Started, Scoping the Problem
Good occupancy levels combined with declining rates had Gunnar von Hagen, Director of Operations and Central Project Manager for Lindner Hotels, thinking about ways to optimize hotel performance. Lindner Hotels had been considering ways to implement a Central Reservation Office that used a single inventory reservation system to reduce the challenges of working with a complex 2-way interface between the SynXis CRS (central reservation system) and the Fidelio PMS (property management system).
Concurrently, Lindner Hotels was scrutinizing revenue management options. The chain had been practicing an intensive program of manual yield management activities and it was concluded no further improvement could be made manually. Since the decision to move to a CRO had been made, finding a revenue management solution that could upload restrictions directly into the new system was key.
The Steps
This left Lindner Hotels exploring the technology offerings on the market. After a thorough review, Lindner Hotels conducted side by side pilots of the IDeaS product and a competitive offering. The process was an extensive one, with Lindner Hotels examining all aspects of the solutions including the usability, training and support, and ultimately, results measurement. In the end Lindner Hotels selected IDeaS.
The Outcome
Once Lindner Hotels decided on the IDeaS System the future was focused on estate-wide implementation. However that process had to wait until completion of the new Lindner Hotels Central Reservation Office (CRO) in Dusseldorf. IDeaS was by Lindner Hotel’s side throughout their development of this futuristic facility so by its completion IDeaS was ready to join the Lindner Hotels communication circle, communicating with the individual hotel and with the Lindner Hotels CRO. Additionally, because channel management activities were being managed at a central level, it became increasingly clear that the IDeaS solution should be rolled out centrally as well, which mapped well with the IDeaS ASP delivery approach, allowing for centralized control across the estate.
Thanks to Lindner Hotel’s preparedness and the closeness of the relationship, the implementation has been a success.
What’s Next?
The system has thus far met Lindner Hotel’s expectations, Helping them achieve the ROI they were looking for by stabilization of those eroding rates and making life easier through IDeaS’ centralized control capabilities. Next on the agenda is exploration of the implementation of additional IDeaS modules as well as completion of the full estate roll out.
Comments From the Client
"On average, Lindner Hotels was able to boost the occupancy by 5% and the revenue by more than 5.5 %. The best performing property achieved 10% revenue gain!"
“The primary reason Lindner Hotels decided to move ahead with IDeaS was the fact that it was the only system based on the concept of being a decision system. That mapped 100% to the Lindner philosophy of yield management, delivery of a strong solution that can determine the strategy, but is also flexible enough to be managed by the user if necessary, the solution and the team work in partnership,” said von Hagen. “The biggest issue for us with the alternative solutions was that we could never be sure that the user was not working against the yield recommendations.”
“The most interesting outcome that we experienced was the mental shift for our highly responsible and well trained staffs we have at the individual hotels. After all, a decision system must be understood and lived with every day. It must demonstrate its value with every reservation. The concerns our teams may have had were managed proactively through thorough initial training and follow-up sessions. Today, IDeaS is part of our revenue management culture. Every day we check the system activities and our user’s impressions in regards to the restrictions recommended by IDeaS. This ensures we enhance our skills and our understanding and acceptance of IDeaS as our Revenue Optimization Partner. The biggest sign of success, no one wants to go back to the old system.”
» Download a PDF Copy of this Client Success Story 
For more information on the benefits of revenue optimization in your industry, contact IDeaS