Why Hotel Property Management System and Channel Manager Should Be Integrated

Unless you are a large or chain hotel, it is very unlikely that you will have a revenue or rooms division manager. As the number of distribution channels grows, the Front Office manager could well be burdened with a whole manual management of uploading rooms and rates to various channels, monitoring sales, managing bookings and more. When your front office manager is on leave, or over the weekend, your distribution system goes virtually un-monitored. This is when errors are most likely to creep in, leading to a dip in customer satisfaction. This is when a property management system can benefit from a channel manager.

Guests today are extremely sensitive about response speed and quality of service. Thus ensuring your room booking process is fast and error free, and accurate confirmations reaches guests is important. Read More

Published in: IDS Next

By: Myra Allen 

Is Your Hotel Management System Delivering on Reports

One of the key aspects of a hotel ERP is to store data. This data generates the many reports required by the management. Hotel management system reports are important in that they offer much needed intelligence and facilitate precise decision-making.

An enterprise class solution like an ERP has a large number of modules and each of these modules stores an expanding quantity of information.

IDS Next Hotel ERP has 12 modules, with a number of other solutions plugged into it. IDS Next’s enterprise class hotel software has a report engine built into it. A unique aspect of our software offering is the hundreds of hotel management system reports that our users can view, spool and analyze.

Reports in Hotel Management System

While all ERPs come built with a predetermined set of reports, large hotels, especially chains, may have their own report formats that have been developed and adopted over years. Thus hoteliers are most often looking for a smart hotel ERP that lets them customize and generate as many reports as they wish. Read More 

Published in: IDS Next Blog

By: Lilian D'Costa 

All You Want to Know About Hotel Night Audit

Hospitality properties close each day’s business with a ‘hotel night audit’. This ‘day end process’ covers the changeover from one business day to the next. The hotel night audit process starts with verification of all critical information which has happened across the day and proceeds for collation and grouping of that day’s transactions ending with generating crucial business reports and Management Information System (MIS) information of the concluding business day.

Why is a hotel night audit important for operations?

Night Audit process is mandatory for a hotel operation, as it is part of the accounting section of the hotel. In a 24/7 business environment, guests check-in and check out at all hours and pay their bills either through cash, cards or other ways of settlement. At the end of the business day, hotels need to ensure that guests folios and their transactions are properly recorded and reconciled. The night audit process performs tasks of collating revenue against various revenue heads including collections and posting transactions.  Read More

Published in: IDS Next Blog

By: Myra Allen 

Bhutan Based Zhiwa Ling Hotel Attains New Feat

You may call them eco-friendly or a green hotel, the fact is they are in vogue. Instead of checking-in to star hotels located in busy, bustling tourist destinations, today’s travelers prefer to spend their leisure time in exotic hotels and rustic lodges that are surrounded by nature. The most important reason for the shift is that today’s travelers want to be revitalized and so yearn for calm, quiet and ultimate serene beauty.

Looking at this trend, The National Geographic Society recently launched its latest initiative in world-class travel experiences: National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World. Through this, the Society aims to showcase a collection of boutique hotels located in extraordinary destinations around the globe with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability, authenticity and excellence. 

The National Geographic Society’s list of unique lodges of the world has 24 names and one among them in Zhiwa Ling Hotel, based in Bhutan. Read More

By: Lilian D'Costa

Published In: IDS Next Blog 

In Limelight - Part 1

I am Sunil Datta. I have done B.Sc in Electronics from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi and M.Sc in IT from Bharatiar University, Chennai. I am a part of IDS Next’s Client Engagement Group (CEG) for the last three and a half years. 

What are the interesting stuff you do at IDS Next?

I am primarily responsible for offering post product service to our clients across Karnataka. I interact with customer’s right from collecting product cost to convincing them to upgrade to new version of our software. I also periodically visit our clients’ property based on the SLA and client requirements.

In order to ensure that our clients are leveraging our Hotel ERP to the fullest, I conduct trainings and appraise them on the new features in our solution. Collecting AMC is another important aspect of my JD here at IDS Next.

I also coordinate the IDS Next Advantage Academy initiative. In this role, I work with hotel management colleges across India to offer their students a qualitative exposure to IDS Next software. I impart module wise training on our Hotel ERP to faculty members of these colleges. Our objective is to equip fresh graduates in our software so here is to make maximum number of hotel management graduates ready for the rigor of the hospitality industry.

Does your role at IDS Next help you grow personally?

I love technology and I am a ‘techie’ sort of guy. Be it imparting training on our Hotel ERP to our clients or faculty members of hotel management colleges, I talk technology. In order to make our clients understand our new product features, I need to first develop a strong sense of appreciation towards technology. To accomplish my job, I spend a lot of time understanding the vast feature set of our products and solutions. Over the years, I think I have become a subject matter expert on our product. Working in IDS Next is strictly all about technology and that’s what I love here.

If you look at my profile, you would understand that I work in a very challenging environment as I need to live up to my company’s expectation and at the same time; we need to keep up our services as part of the service industry. No doubt, working in IDS Next has added tremendous value towards my personal growth.

How did you come to join IDS Next?

I was working as an IT Manager of a hotel which used IDS Next’s hotel management software. That’s how I came to be acquainted with the company and was so impressed by our robust software that I wanted to join. Thus when I got an offer, I did not look back but grabbed it with both hands.  As I have already said that I love technology and thought that working for IDS Next would give me that much needed platform to look at hospitality technology from up close. I would say that I have both an insider and outsider’s perspective of their software.

How has your contribution to IDS Next been recognized?

The management at IDS Next is prompt to recognize its employees’ efforts. I had been awarded with ‘Extra Mile’ award by the CEO as a token of appreciation towards my work. On several occasions, I have helped a client even when it was not part of my KRAs. I have a free hand working in IDS Next as long as it is pertaining to offer excellent service to our clients. Colleagues in sales, marketing and product development team are always there to back me in my effort to do better.

How does your day start at IDS Next? 

My day starts with checking of mails. I line up my tasks as per their importance and timeliness. It is followed by a brief discussion with my manager, Mr. Varadharajan. Sometimes, he also asks me to incorporate some additional task into my list of assignments. My profile is mostly a field job and that’s why I spend maximum time at clients’ sites.

Would you like to say something to freshers or those aspiring to join IDS Next?

If you want to grow professionally while learning new things, IDS Next is the right place. As the Hospitality IT industry is growing, IDS Next as a global leader in this sphere has lots of scope to grow immensely. If you get a chance, do join us and grow with our company.

Top Tech Predictions to Influence Hospitality Industry in 2015

Come December and every industry eagerly awaits predicted trends for the coming year; 

The hospitality industry is no different and has its own set of trends, those that will significantly influence the industry in the year to come, and those that hoteliers need to watch out for.

As a hospitality technology company, at IDS Next, we conferred with our business heads in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Asia Pacific and South East Asia, tapped into their exposure and observations and so, here we are, with our very own set of top trends for the hospitality industry in 2015!

As hoteliers, you may have heard of some of these before, but now, they are well underway to being fast flowing, furious trends that are shaping the hospitality industry and your hotel should promptly adopt these technological changes or may run into the risk being left behind. Read More

Published In: 4 Hoteliers 

By: Lilian D'Costa

Is Your Hotel in Australia and New Zealand Ready for the Cricket World Cup 2015?

For cricket crazy Australia and New Zealand, the World Cup scheduled early 2015 holds a special attraction, and the fever is already picking up.

Hotel room bookings in both countries are on the rise, and so are room prices! Not surprisingly, an estimated 30,000 and 70,000 tourists are expected for the mega sporting event, and authorities are concerned that there may be a shortage of rooms.


For hotels in both these countries, it is the right time to grow their business by attracting more and more customers to their properties during this sporting extravaganza. A hotelier should promptly adopt a smart and robust hotel management software that would help them to streamline complex operations in order serve their guests effectively. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Oceania Microsite 
By: Jacob KI

Ethiopia Hotel Industry Prepares for a Growth Spurt

Landlocked Ethiopia is rapidly shedding the vestiges of its morbid past and coming into its own as a prominent tourist destination in the African continent.

Facilitating the move is the Ethiopian government which is investing in the construction of roads, railways and airports to improve access to tourism sites. Also being given out are duty free privileges and incentives to encourage the private sector to construct and operate hotels, resorts and recreation facilities. Besides agriculture the government is seriously looking at tourism to play a crucial role in generating foreign exchange and jobs.

Unlike some of its neighbors, namely Kenya and Tanzania, Ethiopia has been experiencing a relatively peaceful phase and its attractiveness as an upcoming tourism destination can be noted by the increasing number of tourist entering the country. Read More

By: Rajesh P Yadav

Published in: IDS Next Africa Microsite

IDS Next’s Distribution Partner in Ethiopia Obtains ERCA Certification

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, a global leader in providing Hotel ERP and software solutions to hospitality and leisure industries, today announced that Micro Sun & Solutions PLC, its sole distributor in Ethiopia has obtained certification from The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA). With this certification, Micro Sun & Solutions PLC and Global Hospitality Holdings can now sell IDS Next’s world-class software to a growing hospitality industry across the African nation.

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) is an autonomous federal agency that is responsible for collecting revenues from customs duties and domestic taxes. According to ERCA guidelines, all sales register users (transaction done via POS) have to configure their fiscal printers to fulfill several obligations pertaining to the country’s taxation policy. Once the fiscal printer is configured as per ERCA norms, it ensures accurate taxation by recording every taxable transaction. Micro Sun & Solutions PLC received the ERCA certification for both the Front Office and point of sale software of the IDS Next Hotel ERP on 30^th August 2014. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Africa Website 

IDS Next Featured in CIO Gold Book 2014

Technology is evolving rapidly and hoteliers need more solutions to keep up with their customers. With a strong vision of connecting with developing technology and added spirit of innovation, IDS Next has been expanding its solutions to make the Hotel ERP more comprehensive and empowering.

Bangalore based, IDS Next is a global software provider offering world-class Hotel ERP and a host of value-added solutions to hospitality and leisure industries. With 27 years of unparalleled domain proficiency, the company has gained the trust of over 3500 hotels across market segments in 40 countries of Oceania, South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa. They majorly cater to the hospitality industry that cover large and independent hotels, chain hotels, business hotels, resorts, service and limited service apartments, clubs and restaurants. Read more

Published: CIO Gold Book Review / IDS Next Media Section

Oman Based Aitken Spence Congratulates IDS Next on Its 27th Year Anniversary

We are flooded with congratulatory messages from our clients from around the globe. Here is what Oman based Aitken Spence has to say - 

 

Does your hotel software vendor truly offer you 24/7 technical support

Hotel operations are guest facing and quite complex by nature. A hotel can not afford to have down time as it operates round the clock. But, does your hotel software vendor offer you 24/7 technical support to ensure that your critical operations are up and running all the time?

IDS Next and ATIS Partner to Offer Software to Hotels across Ghana

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, a global leader in providing Hotel ERP and software solutions to hospitality and leisure industries, today announced their partnership with Ghana based ATIS. IDS Next plans to leverage this affiliation to offer world-class hospitality technology solutions to hotels across Ghana.

Headquartered in Accra, ATIS is a leading information technology company whose core business includes IT maintenance and support. The company deals with IT outsource, server/domain implementation and support, firewalls, IT security and audit, computer repairs, remote IT support, web hosting and designing, data back-up and restore solutions. The company’s latest agreement with IDS Next enables them to add a comprehensive, integrated world-class Hotel ERP and other value-added hospitality solutions to their list of offerings. Read more

Published in: IDS Next Africa Microsite

IDS Next gears up to enhance hotel management graduates’ employability

IDS Next, the hospitality solutions provider, is now focusing on training of personnel through its IDS Next Advantage Academy. The demand for education in the hospitality sector is driven by the dependence on trained manpower.

To cater to the huge training need, IDS Next has launched a comprehensive 100 hours certification course spanning over 20 days on all the modules of its FortuneNEXT 6i Suite of Hotel Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Students can opt for module-wise certification in line with their specialization.

As a global leader in providing hospitality technology solutions to over 3,500 hotels across 40 countries, IDS Next is also committed to empower each and every stakeholder in the hospitality ecosystem. Read more

Published in: FnB News

IDS Next Organizes Hospitality Industry Seminar at Christ University

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd in association with the Department of Hotel Management of Christ University organized a seminar titled Leveraging Technology to Transform Guest Experience in the Hospitality Industry on 9th July, 2014.The half day event was attended by students and faculty members of the Department of Hotel Management.

Speakers from IDS Next included MR. Jacob KI, VP – Business Intelligence Solutions, Mr. Varadharajan Athmanathan, VP – Global Customer Engagement Group and Mr. Sunil Datta, Associate Manager – Customer Engagement Group.

Mr. Jacob spoke on Top Hospitality Technology Trends in 2014 and appraised students on IDS Next’s upcoming products including Envy Check-in and Envy Dine. Mr. Varadharajan’s presentation was on Leveraging Technology to Transform Guest Experience with IDS Next. Mr. Sunil spoke about IDS Next Advantage Academy’s plan to offer certification course on all the modules of IDS Next Hotel ERP.Read more

Published in: IDS Next Blog Section