Validating professional technology vendors for your hotel can be difficult depending on the vast shopping list in case of a renovation or hotel new build. Today, the hospitality vendor market is cluttered with “end to end” solution providers who deliver a variety of tech solutions to hotels.
However, the hotelier’s real test begins with the vendor selection process. Selecting vendors is not limited to a phone conversation, a quote and a formal meeting anymore. There are more validations and investigations required today to ensure the reliability of a hotel technology vendor.
Outsourcing vendor management is an excellent way to efficiently identify, validate, and contract technology vendors. This way hoteliers save very crucial time, costs, and effort that they can expend on operational tasks.
There are several important functions that a hotel management company plays when assisting your hotel, one of them being real-time vendor selection and management. Let’s quickly go over how hotel technology managers help hotels identify reliable vendors for technology procurement.
RFPs & Hotel Benchmarks
Every hotel franchise has its own benchmarks when it comes to technology and electronic strategies. While a basic renovation requirement can be up to 10 pages, a complete request for proposal can reach up to 100 pages.
Going through these RFPs can be frustrating but is essential to the success of hotel new builds & renovations. Professional hotel technology managers are usually well acquainted with hotel benchmarks through extensive experience.
Through their long term relationships and constant interaction, hotel technology managers can readily provide all necessary hardware & software from vendors at attractive rates.
Evaluating Vendor Organizations
The history and structure of any technology vendor are critical to a hotel, as this defines the prestige of the vendor. In addition, their employees & organizational culture are an essential ingredient that hotels prefer.
The clientele of a hotel technology vendor is also important since these clients are existing proof of a vendor’s service delivery & quality. Hoteliers can also request references from existing clients and get a real-time preview of the vendor.
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Finally, it’s the products & services that a vendor offers that are of importance to the hotel. A hotel management company can be greatly beneficial for hoteliers since they can provide instant information on vendors and their services.
Implementation Timelines & Processes
Vendors will usually have set timelines and process completion timetables to ensure efficient procurement and implementations. This includes all necessary installations and configuration, followed by relevant employee training if its reservation systems, a revenue management system, or a cybersecurity software.
A professional technology manager will ensure that all vendor timelines have been verified and agreed upon. Your technology manager should carefully analyze the renovation timetable, validate the process completion schedule, and deliver these findings in a summarized report.
Training & Updates
One of the most essential elements of technology implementations at hotels are future upgrades and updated training for hotel staff. Many hotel vendors do not offer any type of training when there are updates or new features added to their products/services.
This is where a hotel technology management company is of great emphasis. Your hotel staff gets updated training and education, in addition to hands-on experience working with new features assisted by a professional hotel technology trainer.
Remote & On-site Support
Since most hotels outsource their technology integration and management, it is essential to contract vendors who can offer real time support. While it sounds lucrative, most technology vendors offer close to no support. A professional hotel technology management company can offer real time support, even if it requires assistance from the vendor themselves.
On-site support is usually needed in cases of major failure, while remote support is a great way to resolve minor issues with hotel technology systems. A professional hotel technology management company will ensure your hotel has seamless operations and instant assistance when you need it.
Financials, Fees & Contracts
The fees remain the final determinant of contracting any technology vendor. Hoteliers have to intuitively evaluate implementation fees, monthly subscriptions, fee increases over the years and contract length before a decision is made.
A hotel technology manager can readily help negotiate, mediate, and agree on contracts that include timetables, fees, cost of installations, and financials. Since these professional hotel technology management companies work with a variety of hotels, they are already equipped with the knowledge and expertise to conveniently accomplish fees negotiations with vendors.
Conclusion
There is much more to the vendor management process from selection to contracting that hotel technology managers can assist with. The areas we have highlighted above are only some of the intrinsic factors that are raised by hoteliers during renovations and new build projects.
The vendor selection process can easily complicate itself during validation, audits, reviews, and contract negotiations. Get in touch with our expert hotel technology management team to discuss your various technology renovations and new build requirements.
For more information simply call us at 510-900-5990 or email us at info@advhtech.com today. Until next time, see you again soon.
Advanced Hospitality Technologies is a leader in Hospitality Technologies. We have an award winning benchmark for providing affordable, reliable and most advanced hospitality Technology Solutions.
