Apex Hotels Web Booking Engine Andrew Jacques IT

Apex Hotels Web Booking Engine Andrew Jacques, IT Director

Apex Hotels

Apex Hotels Year end 08/09 - £ 2. 5 m Year end 09/10 - £ 4 m Year end 10/11 - £ 6. 1 m

Business Needs • Shop window to the world – 102 Countries • Improve ease of use – – – Service Innovation Online Payments Tracking Affiliate Links Live Chat • Reduce costs and Increase Revenue

Working partners • Consultation – – Scottish Enterprise Expertise Experience Funding impetus • Tender process – Four prospective vendors – £ 30 k to £ 250 k

Project Review • Innovations – Service through up selling – Cross selling with limited availability • Implementation – – – Planning / Lead times Design Concepts Initial Prototype / Staging Testing Phased Deployment • Challenges – Performance of 3 rd Party vendor – Credit card payments – Testing Time

Reduced Costs • Commission fees of £ 4. 50 per transaction negated • New booking engine commission no charge • Minimal maintenance • Overall saving of £ 100, 000 on first 12 months • Servebase credit card commissions negotiated to £ 0. 02 per transaction • No manual agent input

Make a booking

Advanced Purchase • Previously unable to display promotional rates • After 12 months of installation – – Bookings increased 11% Pre-paid increased 145% Revenue inc year on year 26% Money in the bank

Return on Investment Considerations Highlights • London Wall Hotel, and increased business in Apex Waterloo Place Hotel • TV advertising campaign • Changing economy • Increased automation • a growth of 27. 65% in no. reservations year on year • Look to book conversion rates up 23% - new records in Jan • average length of stay has grown by 0. 59 days to 2. 42 days

Future projects • Affiliate links • Chinese Language – Japan – Russia • Mobility – – £ 51 k since launch (£ 31 k on ipad) 1 in 10 visitors approx mobile 63000 unique mobile visitors QR codes / Mobile advertising • CRM / Loyalty – – Personalising the experience Reducing commission fees • Online Check-in – Using an app

Chat Andrew Jacques andrew. jacques@apexhotels. co. uk www. apexhotels. co. uk