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 

Smart Hospitality Technology Solutions for Restaurants in India

Technology has impacted the restaurant industry in many ways. In their quest to deliver high quality service, seamlessly manage operations, curb wastage, grow revenue, enhance loyalty and optimize use of manpower, restaurants are increasingly turning to robust, feature rich software. 

Technology can become a part of the Indian restaurant growth story

In India, the restaurant industry is growing at a remarkable rate of 17.5 percent since 2013. Research estimates that the industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 10.9 percent from 2013 to 2018, thus offering an opportunity for more restaurant brands to make their way into the country. These growth indicators are being propelled forward by the increase in disposable income and changing food habit among domestic diners. 

Operational challenges that can be addressed with technology

The food industry is a people centric industry and though it requires a strong personal touch, this can also be the cause of errors and dissatisfaction among customers. It is here that some of the operational challenges can be addressed by technology. For example, by streamlining dining operations, introducing e-menu options, avoiding manual billing process, automating tracking of sales and inventory. Additionally, restaurants also have to ensure that they have the right technology platform that enables them to increase their manpower efficiency to serve their patrons better. Read More 

Published in: APSENSE.COM

By: Myra Allen

I have never thought of changing my job during the last 12 years

Vidhya’s story is a perfect tale of ‘rising through the ranks’. Her commitment towards work and zeal to accomplish her tasks, has earned her accolades at IDS Next. This week, meet Vidhya Srinivasan, a native of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, she holds a BSc degree in Biochemistry and is the Associate Manager in the Credit Control team.  

From a Receptionist to Associate Manager:

Vidhya’s journey with IDS Next started in 2003 when she joined the company as a receptionist. Her educational qualification, prior work experience, communication skills, commitment and spark drew the attention of the then head of credit control.

“At that point of time, credit control was a two person team. It has been 12 years that I am part of this team, and as an associate manager, I now oversee a team of eight people. My work at IDS Next leaves me fulfilled and the thought of working anywhere else never came to mind in all my time here,” Vidhya says.

In her current capacity, Vidhya and her team along with customer engagement group (CEG) are responsible for driving the collection process of all receivables from clients spread across India. “The challenge in our job is to be persuasive and collect the receivables from our clients on time,” Vidhya explains.

Mastering the Tradecraft:

According to Vidhya, her team’s success depends on how well it puts up a finely coordinated effort. We deal will all kinds of clients, small and big hotels, city hotels and leisure resorts, chain hotels and restaurants, all of them have varied expectations from our software and we connect with them with this nuanced sensitivity. We need to be patient and persistent, helping the customer harness maximum value from the software and connecting them with internal teams when necessary” she says.

When asked what she has learned from IDS Next so far, she says, “This company and team has taught me the importance of teamwork, how to coordinate among both internal and external stakeholders and how to stay calm, even when responding to an irate customer. We never take the customer personally, and look at how we can address their concerns quickly,” Vidhya maintains.

Professional versus Personal Life:

Besides a hectic work schedule, Vidhya is also an able manager at home. “I start my day at 5 am and by 7 am, I am done with preparing breakfast plus other household chores. After my husband leaves for office and my son for school, I take care of the need of my aged in-laws. Weekends are with my family and when free, I enjoy (more) cookingJ. I especially like trying my hand at North Indian style food. I also love reading,” Vidhya says with a smile and signs off. 

IDS Next Gives Me Ample Opportunity to Travel

Syed has an MBA in IT and has been part of IDS Next family for the last 10 years. His career at IDS Next has traversed from being a product support executive to Manager, hospitality business solutions.

Tell us a little about what you do in the Hospitality Business Solutions Team

I have extensive exposure to all the versions of our FortuneNEXT6i Hotel ERP, and my core responsibilities in the Hospitality Business Solutions are to conduct product demos and do implementation for clients especially in South East Asia, Asia Pacific and Africa. In case, a potential client requests for a product demo I do it either online or visit the hotel. On an average, I conduct 10 to 12 product demo a month.

Apart from this, I have more than 60 product implementations to my credit in India and 16 in international regions including Sri Lanka, Africa, Thailand, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Bhutan. We approximately take 30- 40 days per implementation. But, sometimes the time frame goes beyond that depending on the size of the property and number of add-on solutions the hotel wants to adopt. Also, if a hotel is migrating from a different hotel management software to our FortuneNEXT 6i Hotel ERP, we need extra time to move the legacy data.

Additionally, if a client gets in touch with me for tech support, I do provide that too. But, that is only limited to the implementations done by me. Initially, before the inception of 24/7 TSC, I was the single point contact for international support for regions including Middle East and Africa.

How do you ensure a hassle free and successful product implementation?

During the product implementation process, my entire focus is always on how to make sure that the user makes best use of our Hotel ERP. To ensure this, I conduct a weekly or if necessary a daily audit about the functionalities of the product. I also have regular meeting with IT Heads and other Department Heads of the hotel to take their feedback. In short, I listen to them patiently and try to put myself in their position to understand their requirements. The support from our head office during the implementation process matters a lot. 

Tell us something about your achievements. 

I had joined IDS Next as a Product Support Executive in 2004. I started my career here. I would say that this place has given me a lot during the last 10 years. I have been promoted 6 times. My job responsibilities have made me a product expert. I know our Hotel ERP inside out.

For me, the best part is product implementation, especially the international ones as I get to visit new countries. I love travelling and IDS Next gives me that opportunity. Working for IDS Next has earned me lots of international exposure. During implementation, I develop good rapport with clients as I spend almost 30-40 days with them. This has also helped me polish my interpersonal skills as well. Extensive travelling has also taught me how to pick up new languages. I always like to learn new languages and that’s how I can now speak proper Sinhala language.  I can even manage things to some extent in languages like Thai and bit of French.

Would you like to share any memorable experience with us?

Last year, I was asked to implement our Hotel ERP at Grand Pacific Hotel, Fiji. I enjoyed working with their staff as many of them were ancestrally Indian but their forefathers had migrated from this country a few centuries ago (I hope you remember your history). The Grand Pacific Hotel is magnificent and its suites are the ultimate in luxury, it also has a very rich history and Queen Elizabeth stayed there when she visited the country in 1953.  More interestingly, when the Prime Minister of India visited Fiji a couple of months ago, he stayed there too. So it makes me very proud to have installed our product at such a prestigious and iconic hospitality property.

Would you recommend IDS Next to your friends?

Of course, I would. IDS Next is led by a team of highly motivated and seasoned leaders. Managers are always willing to help. Work environment is great and this place is the most happening place. Join us to feel the thrill! 

Sell More Rooms with FortuneNEXT Central Reservation System

Central Reservation System (CRS) is an important booking tool as hotel reservations continue to happen via phone. The CRS is most valuable and cost effective when it is a chain of hotels or resorts.

Leverage FortuneNEXT Central Reservation System

IDS Next’s FortuneNEXT Central Reservation System seamlessly powers the reservation process across several distribution channels a hotel is connected to. A web based central reservation system, FortuneNEXT CRS helps a hotel to manage and store its rate and inventory across all channels including global distribution systems, internet booking channel/platforms and voice based reservation call centers.

An ideal centralized reservation solution for both chain and standalone hotel properties, FortuneNEXT CRS integrates seamlessly with a hotel’s FortuneNEXT 6i Hotel ERP, offering a real-time, best in class and end-to-end reservation system. This smart and centralized hotel reservation system from IDS Next shows real-time availability of accommodation, room rates, instant allocation checking for tour booking, audit trail for critical applications and more in the hotel property management system. Read More

Published In: IDS Next Blog

By: Lilian D'Costa

I have achieved a lot while working at IDS Next

Santhosh P is Manager – Support & Services for Africa and works out of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. He has a Diploma in Hotel Management and 8 years of overall experience, 4 of which he has spent at IDS Next.

So Santosh, how cool is it to work out of Africa?

I think it’s pretty cool, but upon hearing of my decision to move to Africa, my parents and close friends were flabbergasted and asked me to rethink. Everybody has this perception that Africa is not a safe place, but I always wanted to travel and IDS Next had already given me other opportunities before I got the Tanzania offer. Interestingly, Dar es Salaam means "The residence of peace" and on the whole, Tanzania is the safest place in Africa. People here are warm. When I’m not working, I hang out at nearby malls, watch a movie or cook my favorite South Indian food at home.  

Tell us about your work?

I am expected to build a healthy relationship with our clients, and I think that I have achieved this to some extent. My job profile and my responsibilities have helped me to hone my public relations and interpersonal skill.

My core responsibility is to take care of post-sales support for Africa. I am accountable to ensure smooth implementation of our Hotel ERP across clients’ sites. I work in collaboration with our local partners. During product implementation, I travel to the client’s site and need to stay there 25-30 days.

After the implementation I provide tech support when needed. As IDS Next has the policy of 24/7 technical support, I have to be on call round the clock, I get calls at all odd hours and need to work smart to ensure the clients problem is sorted out as soon as possible.

Apart from product installation and tech support, I also conduct product training for hotel staff.

How did you join IDS Next?

I was working as an F&B Executive in a hotel in Chennai and they had adopted IDS Next Hotel Management Software in 2009, that’s how I got acquainted with the software. In 2010, I was referred to IDS Next by one of its employees, I appeared for the interview and joined IDS Next in 2010 as an Implementation Executive.

How has been your journey at IDS Next?

From 2010 to 2013, I did 30 plus software implementations. 20 of these were done for India, and the rest are in countries like Kazakhstan, Nepal, Indonesia, Maldives and Papua New Guinea. The company perhaps noticed my hard work and promoted me to the post of Senior Executive – PSG in 2011. In 2013, I opted to relocate to Africa and have done over 10 implementations here. Recently, I got promoted to my current designation. My hard work has earned me an ‘Exceptional Service Award’ and two promotions during these four years.

Additionally, I would say that my life has changed for good after joining IDS Next. After my hotel management course, I started my career as a waiter. At the lowest rung of the hospitality industry, I held the senior manager or director of the hotel in awe, today; I train some of these gentlemen on our Hotel ERP. Today, I advise them how they can leverage our software to improve and grow their business.

Since you have traveled quite a lot, can you share some of your interesting experiences with us?

In 2011, I had travel to Kazakhstan for my first international project. As it was my first trip to that country, I was a little apprehensive. I was supposed to be picked by the hotel people, but nobody turned up. I felt helpless as I didn’t have the hotel’s contact number. After few minutes of my landing, the entire airport wore a deserted. I tried to ask around but nobody understood English. After 4 hours, I noticed one Indian and went up and spoke to him. He knew the local language and spoke to the hotel and I got picked up in 15 minutes.

How would you recommend others to join IDS Next?

If you dream big, IDS Next is here to help you realize them. Join this growing company to learn new things.

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