Dear Customers,

2009 is nearly over and continuing into 2010 is still fraught with daunting challenges. 2009, is a year that will be embedded in our memory. The global credit crunch brought with it reduced consumer confidence, which affected travel, leisure and customer spend. Tough economic times are not unknown to the hospitality industry, and it is in such conditions that creative programs, selective cost cutting and astute investments are made to survive through the storm (and still make money), and prepare for the future brighter days. Room rates and occupancy have been affected even in recession proof markets like Maldives. However, in SEA investments in new hotels remain buoyant although there have been delays in openings and ‘go slow’ in construction. SEA is thriving in most respects and has weathered the storm relatively unscathed. Dubai, UAE with its sudden announcement stoked fears of possible “Crisis Two” emerging on us but it now appears to have subsided. Hotel build in the UAE still continues and those that have set ground are planning to finish. Dubai is on the world map for a place to see and to be and those who doubt it today are among the very soothsayers who have doubted it all throughout this century. Dubai has proven them wrong. It is one of the top MICE capitals and even now hotels are at near full occupancy and the near term looks healthy although room rates have fallen, a healthy sign from the dizzy heights of near $285/night average. Abu-Dhabi plans are intact and will be an amazing place with distinctive tourist attractions. The recent Grand-Prix was an event to behold. Masdar City, the first carbon-neutral and zero-waste city is bold, visionary and achievable. Its prudent long range plans sets in motion Abu-Dhabi’s bright and dynamic future.

So what is your top priority for next year? PMS by far. There is an ocean out there, perhaps over 100 PMS systems commonly known worldwide and navigating the turbulent waters of currently available systems is staggering. Less than a dozen vendors are familiar names in the industry. Hoteliers have never had it so easy for choice. They will mesmerize you with fantastic product demos and throw in the carrot for quick deployment. Don’t be fooled. To make sure that you choose wisely ask these questions.

What functionality will your organization actually use? For many companies, certain functionality may be too specialized to be very useful for their business. There are also specific requirements that are important due to the changing face of the industry. The bottom line: Don’t pay for functionality your organization doesn’t need now or buy a system that does not have the specifics to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Business Intelligence, Real time reports and Performance Management are key requirements. Buy into the future. Applying past requirements as the basis will cut short the ROI on your investment.

Does your organization have the IT resources necessary to support the system? Many legacy systems require multi skilled resources and that can be costly. Total Cost of Ownership can be prohibitive and finding specialized skills expensive.

What kind of services will your organization require from the vendor? This can be customization, outsourcing, designing business processes to best fit the software to your organization as well as help for infrastructure growth as you expand.

What is the true cost of the solution? Like any medium or large-scale technology undertaking, purchasing the software and hardware is just one part of the final cost. It is critical to know upfront what the costs will be for implementation services, maintenance fees and upgrades. Such professional services don’t come cheap, especially from the larger vendors where services-cost-to-software cost can be exorbitant. A medium size installation should cost on average 70 cents on professional services for every dollar spent on software.

Does the vendor have a clear long-term product strategy? Software investments are intended to last an organization 7-10 years, so investigating the long-term prospects of a company may be a new notion particularly when you consider mergers and acquisitions. Nevertheless, you need to be sure that your company’s implementation will be able to grow with the organization and adapt to changes in the business, as well as continue to offer the best in class functionality as the technology continues to evolve.

As we countdown to the rest of the month and anticipate in earnest ushering in the New Year, let me close with a big Than You to our old and new customers. You have made it a momentous year for momentohs®. The next year looks bright and we anticipate solid growth in existing markets as well as opening new ones in the region.