IDS Softwares, 25th Anniversary. Interview with Vissal Matthew

from Hotelier Indonesia Magazine

www.hotelier-indonesia.com

December 2012

Hotelier Indonesia would like to congratulate IDS Softwares on their 25^th year in business.  We’re privileged to be joined by Vissal Mathew, Founder & Joint Managing Director of IDS to discuss their path to this momentous occasion. 

[HI]  Congratulations on 25 years, it’s quite an achievement.  As a starter, what is the IDS footprint in the global hospitality market?  

Our global footprint can be looked upon in two ways. One, in terms of our presence in 40 countries. These include South Asia, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and of course India.

Hotelier Indonesia
December 2012

Secondly, our footprint in the global hospitality market can be looked at in terms of our large bouquet of products. We are probably the only company with a solution for every market segment, from luxury and starred hotels, to boutique hotels, serviced apartments, resorts, standalone properties, limited service apartments, restaurants, lounge bars and clubs. 

While many software providers may simply downsize their software and offer it to a particular segment, this is not how IDS NEXT does it. We have built our solutions from the ground up for each market segment, keeping in mind their niche needs. We spend months understanding the operations of a luxury hotel, a chain, serviced apartments, and design solutions to automate their specific processes.

Our extensive bouquet of offerings, enterprise wide ERP solution and the comprehensive set of modules the application covers, from Front Office to Accounts Receivables, HR, to PoS, Inventory and Maintenance, besides others, have enabled us to go places.

What has also helped IDS NEXT grow rapidly is our ability to partner with other hospitality technology vendors to offer third party products. These interface with our Hotel ERP and widen its scope to provide users a more comprehensive solution.

[HI]  Where and how did IDS get their start in August 1987?

Our first client was Taj Residency in Bangalore. They were exploring the benefits of computerization and wanted to know if it would work for them. One of the most important areas of a hotel is the credit department. Most hotels conduct a lot of business on credit and it is critical for them to bring back this revenue at the earliest. IDS NEXT began by helping Taj Residency computerize their credit department and to their pleasant surprise, they were able to turn around their age-wise outstanding from 180 to 60 days! This encouraged them to computerize other departments and our application went along, growing to offer automation from one department to the next.

Other benefits of computerization experienced by Taj Residency include optimization of their manpower, responding to customer requests faster on accounts related queries and access to reports that helped them monitor revenue and expenditure in the hotel.

[HI]  What were the early years like?

The early years for IDS NEXT were tough, like they are for most other start-ups who enter the market early. We needed to create a demand for our product and show hoteliers the value of computerization and automation. During the early years, only large chains were willing to make the investment and adopt technology. Then technology was expensive too. However IDS NEXT was able to successfully offer hospitality software to a few prominent independent hotels and this acted as excellent case studies to convince the rest.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s there were few hospitality technology providers. We had to spend time understand their needs and develop customized solutions for each segment. We invested months in research. As hotel staff began to see that automation was not putting them out of jobs but was actually speeding up their work and making things easier, the barrier of initial resistance dropped and it became easy for IDS NEXT to grow its presence in India, rapidly.

[HI]  What were some of the significant benchmarks that have contributed to the company’s growth and longevity?

·         We are where we are today because IDS NEXT has an open minded attitude. We constantly take customer feedback and tweak/ refine our products to the changing needs of the market. Our products are flexible, easy to configure and customizable to our clients’ needs - be they geography specific needs, product offering, accounting methodology or taxation requirements, and it is this ability to change to satisfy our customers that has helped us go to 40 countries.

·         Every 3-4 years all our products are rebuilt from the ground up to adopt the latest technology. This process makes our products more robust, fast and in keeping with the newest technological advances

·         We are also backed by an excellent group of developers who understand how to code well

·         We always put our customers first, sometimes even if it seems economically unviable, we never say no. We partner with our clients and believe that their growth is our growth. This is one of the key reasons while 40% of our business is based on referrals and over 30% of our customers have been with us for over 10 years.

·         Our software has undergone so many iterations and improvements that it imbibes a host of best practices. When a property adopts our solution they don’t just invest in a IDS NEXT software but buy into a system with in-built intelligence which gives them a competitive edge.

[HI]  What product and operational enhancements does IDS plan for the coming years to address changes in technology and market needs?

In the coming years you will see IDS NEXT offering

·         Platform agnostic solutions that lower the TCO for our clients

·         Greater forays into mobility solutions – we have already launched Envy Dine, a restaurant software that is intuitive, has in-built intelligent and offers users a fantastic opportunity to upsell, cross sell and grow revenue

·         Foray into virtualization and cloud computing as this is the way technology is heading. We have a cloud based solution ready for launch in the form of a loyalty management tool called Guest Dynamix

·         Training – IDS NEXT software is functionally rich, and if hotels are to exploit this to the fullest they need to train staff. We offer training facilities through IDS NEXT Advantage Academy so our users can leverage our software to the maximum and grow their revenue

·         Consolidation of technology so that it does not operate in a siloed manner, but talk to each other for enhanced operational efficiency

·         Solutions that are able to communicate to a host of third party products, so that our Enterprise wide ERP can widen its scope to suit individual hotel needs

[HI]   How do the IDS systems integrate with social media?

The presence of social media is growing and hotels across segments are looking for a solution that can incorporate the benefits of social media. Our cloud based Loyalty Management Solution - Guest Dynamix is designed to do just that.

[HI]   How does IDS use social media for its own use?

Social media offers low investment, high online advantage to any company be it B2B or B2C. IDS NEXT has a large presence on social media be it Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube or document and picture sharing sites. It gives us great visibility, branding and helps us reach out to both, our clients and newer markets cost effectively.

[HI]  Where do you see IDS in five years, in ten years?

We are one of the few providers of hospitality ERP. Our solution is the most comprehensive, low on investment and licensing, functions on a single, integrated database that offers drill down visibility into hotel processes. We hope to keep expanding our ERP to offer modules like BI, revenue management, GDS and more. In the next five years we hope to also consolidate our presence in India, Asia Pacific and Middle East, while expanding our presence in the emergent markets of Africa and Central Asia.  

We also hope to consolidate our offering as a holistic provider of total technology solutions, which would better help our customers manage their hotels.

In the next 5-10 years we also hope to go public.

[HI]  What is IDS vision for the Indonesian market?

Hospitality is a key industry for Indonesia and one of the problems we see in Indonesia, is the dearth of trained hospitality manpower, we are currently working with hotel management colleges to offer our software so that students can be trained and increase their employability.

We also have partners and a sales and service team in Bali and Jakarta, and will continue to expand this team to sell more software. In the next three years we definitely hope to have a top presence in the country and be considered as a valuable international technology partner for the hospitality industry.

Hotelier Indonesia would like to thank Vissal Mathew for his participation.   We join IDS in celebrating their 25^th year anniversary.

Tương Lai du Lịch Golf

from Vietnam Golf Magazine

original version:  vietnamgolfmagazine.net/golf-industry/tuong-lai-du-lich-golf

December 2012

reposted by Vinpearl Golf Club, NhaTrang

http://www.vinpearlgolf.com/vi-VN/Tintuc/baochi-267/2012/Tuong-lai-du-lich-golf-537.aspx

Chuyên gia Bill Healey chia sẻ những quan điểm và đánh giá của mình về phân khúc khách chơi golf trong hiện tại và tương lai đối với ngành du lịch golf.

Vietnam Golf Magazine
Dec 2012
Tạp chí số 81

Có lẽ chỉ những người đứng đầu trong ngành mới có thể hiểu được sự ràng buộc phức tạp giữa doanh thu golf và hoạt động du lịch. Đặc biệt là ở Việt Nam và khu vực ĐNÁ, nơi các khách du lịch chiếm một phân khúc thị phần lớn trong việc xây dựng và duy trì doanh thu lên sân. Việc tập trung này sẽ nâng cao lợi nhuận cũng như tạo ra doanh thu đáng kể cho du lịch khu vực nói chung. Với những chi phí phát triển cố định đáng kể liên quan đến sân golf, các nhà quản lý thị trường phải hiểu về du khách để cải thiện doanh thu.

Lấy ví dụ về phân khúc người chơi golf năm 2012, Jon Tomlinson, TGĐ sân golf Montgomerie Links, Đà Nẵng cho biết: "Sân golf Montgomerie Links và tổ chức Golf biển Việt Nam www.golfcoastvietnam.com có thị phần đa dạng người chơi golf. Các tay golf Việt Nam hiện nay chiếm khoảng 40% tổng số người chơi golf của chúng tôi trong khi đối với những thị trường quốc tế, các tay golf châu Á chủ yếu đến từ Hàn Quốc, Trung Quốc và Nhật Bản do các chuyến bay trực tiếp từ các quốc gia này".

Các nghiên cứu của Hiệp hội Quốc tế các Tổ chức Lữ hành Golf (IAGTO) đã cho thấy một tỷ lệ đáng kể những người chơi golf (khoảng 25-30%) thường xuyên lựa chọn một điểm đến nghỉ dưỡng nơi họ có thể chơi golf. Điều này khá nhất quán trên toàn thế giới và chỉ thay đổi rất ít trong hơn 12 năm qua.

Nhận thức được giá trị của các tay golf đi du lịch trong những thị trường lâu dài, Jon cũng chia sẻ rằng "lượng khách của sân chủ yếu là người Úc chiếm 4,58%. Khách chơi golf Mỹ và Anh/Châu Âu lần lượt chiếm 3,5% và 4%. Trong năm 2013, chúng tôi dự tính sẽ đón 35.000 người chơi golf, do đó bạn có thể thấy rằng thị trường Úc mang lại cho chúng tôi 1600 người chơi".

Tổ chức IAGTO cũng nhận thấy rằng 70% người chơi golf muốn tìm các sân golf mới trong khi đi nghỉ. Đây là một tín hiệu tuyệt vời cho các điểm đến mới nổi, đặc biệt là đối với bờ biển miền Trung của Việt Nam. Jon Tomlinson nhấn mạnh: “bờ biển miền Trung Việt Nam là một điểm đến nghỉ dưỡng hấp dẫn cho dù là nghỉ cuối tuần hay nghỉ dưỡng dài ngày. Đường biển kéo dài từ Đà Nẵng đến Hội An đã được tạp chí Forbes bình chọn là một trong những bãi biển tốt nhất trên thế giới với hàng loạt những khu nghỉ dưỡng ấn tượng có giá cả phải chăng, đồng thời lại rất gần với di sản văn hóa được UNESCO công nhận như phố cổ Hội An. Và khi có những trải nghiệm golf chất lượng tại Montgomerie Links, Đà Nẵng Golf Club và Laguna Lăng Cô, du khách sẽ có vô vàn lựa chọn.”

Các nghiên cứu cũng cho thấy chỉ có khoảng 25% chi tiêu kỳ nghỉ của các tay golf được sử dụng trên sân. Trong khi 75% còn lại được chi tiêu vào các mặt hàng như thực phẩm, chỗ ở, dịch vụ ăn uống và vận chuyển. Các khách du lịch golf thực sự là những người chịu chi để có được các dịch vụ chất lượng đáng đồng tiền bỏ ra. Nhiều phân tích cũng chỉ ra những người đam mê golf thường có xu hướng nghỉ tại các căn hộ và nhà hàng đắt tiền. Dựa trên mức độ chi tiêu được báo cáo trong nghiên cứu, rõ ràng khách du lịch golf thường xuyên có thể mang lại nguồn thu nhập khổng lồ cho ngành công nghiệp du lịch.

Trong khi mức thu nhập trên toàn châu Á đang ngày càng cao, golf Việt Nam có một vị trí tốt để gặt hái những lợi ích. Theo ước tính số lượng người chơi golf ở những khu vực này cũng tăng lên nhanh chóng. Lấy Trung Quốc làm ví dụ, theo thống kê của Hiệp hội Golf Trung Quốc (CGA), hiện có khoản hơn 5 triệu người chơi golf ở nước này. Với mức thu nhập ngày càng tăng và sự quan tâm đến golf, có nhiều cơ hội lớn để thu hút người chơi golf Trung Quốc vào Việt Nam.

Nhìn chung, các tổ chức lữ hành trên khắp thế giới đã nhìn thấy sự cải thiện rõ ràng trong ngành du lịch golf sau cuộc khủng hoảng kinh tế. 80% các đại lý du lịch được khảo sát cho thấy số lượng đặt tour du lịch golf tăng, trong đó 20% dùy trì ổn định hoặc cho thấy sự sụt giảm. Các điểm đến trong khu vực ĐNÁ, đặc biệt là Việt Nam và Thái Lan đã khẳng định được vị thế là một điểm đến golf. Điều này phản ánh qua sự gia tăng 30-50% giá du lịch nghỉ lễ golf đến ĐNÁ, trong khi những thị trường golf hàng đầu của châu Âu như Tây Ban Nha và Bồ Đào Nha lại cho thấy sự sụt giảm trung bình 10-20% giá vào ngày nghỉ lễ (nguồn từ tổ chức KPMG).

Với hàng trăm điểm đến golf tiềm năng trên toàn thế giới, doanh số bán hàng golf và tiếp thị chuyên nghiệp phải được xem là một trong những đặc trưng nổi bật nhất của điểm đến. Giống như Jon Tomlinson đã đề cập về bờ biển miền Trung của Việt Nam ở trên.

Mô hình nhu cầu du lịch này nhấn mạnh vào sự cần thiết phải hiểu được các biến đổi sẽ ảnh hưởng đến hành vi của khách du lịch khu vực để nắm được những du khách tiềm năng trong hiện tại và tương lại. Cách tiếp cận trên với bờ biển miền Trung là hoàn toàn phù hợp các mô hình thành công trước đây khi xem những yếu tố hấp dẫn sẵn có của khu vực là một nhân tổ quan trọng để đưa ra những quyết định về việc đến thăm trở lại của du khách.

Tôi muốn dành chút thời gian để đề cập đến tác động của việc đặt chỗ chơi golf trên mạng, một vấn đề ngày càng quan trọng trong những năm gần đây. Nhờ đặt chỗ trực tuyến từ vé máy bay, khách sạn cho đến các hoạt động khác, khách du lịch đang ngày càng trở nên quen thuộc với việc sắp xếp hành trình của họ một cách thoải mái và riêng tư nhất.

Kết hợp thời gian phát bóng với các chuyến bay và chỗ ở sẽ làm cho quá trình du lịch trở nên thuận tiện hơn. Một nghiên cứu ở Tây Bắc Wales cho thấy trung bình thu nhập từ phí green tại 21 sân golf tham gia vào hệ thống đặt trực tuyến mới tăng từ 20-40%. Tương tự, nếu khách du lịch golf khu vực ĐNÁ có thể dễ dàng đặt vé máy bay và khách sạn trực tuyến thông qua cả dịch vụ hàng không và ngân sách, điều này sẽ giúp xây dựng kế hoạch tiếp thị tổng thể hiệu quả.

====== ENGLISH VERSION ======

original at:  vietnamgolfmagazine.net/biz-golf/current-future-golf-tourism

CURRENT & FUTURE GOLF TOURISM

Leaders in the industry understand the intricate tie between golf facility revenues, travel and tourism.

Leaders in the industry understand the intricate tie between golf facility revenues, travel and tourism. Particularly in Vietnam and South East Asia, travelers are recognized as a sizable portion of the market, a segment that must be captured to build and maintain revenues from course visitation. Such a focus will improve course profitability as well and generate substantial revenues for overall regional tourism. With the significant fixed development costs associated with golf courses, market managers must understand visitors in order to improve revenues and overall bottom-line.

Providing a sampling of current golfer segmentation in 2012, Jon Tomlinson, General Director at Montgomerie Links in Danang states, “The Montgomerie Links and Golf Coast Vietnam www.golfcoastvietnam.com has a large diverse market of golfers.  Vietnamese golfers presently account for 40% of our total golfers while for international markets, Asian golfers predominately come from, South Korea, China and Japan primarily thanks to direct flights from their countries.”

Studies by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) have indicated a significant percentage of regular golfers (roughly 25-30%), frequently select a holiday destination where they can play golf. This is rather consistent around the world and has changed little over the past dozen years. 

Recognizing the value of the traveling golfer, Jon Tomlinson factors long-haul markets into the equation, mentioning that in the “long haul markets we are very popular with Australians who account for 4.58% of our total rounds. USA and UK/Europe are 3.5% and 4% respectively. In 2013 we are forecasting 35,000 golfers so you can see that the Australian market brings 1600 golfers.”

The IAGTO has also found that 70% of golfers like to find new courses to golf while on holiday. This is wonderful news for emerging destinations, particularly for Vietnam’s central coast. Jon Tomlinson highlights the appeal of the central coast as a golf destination, “the central coast of Vietnam is a very populist holiday destination whether for a weekend getaway of longer term stay. There is a stretch of beach from Danang to Hoi An that Forbes voted one of the best in the world with an abundance of impressive beach resorts available at affordable prices all within close proximity to the wonderful heritage and UNESCO sites such as Hoi An. When you then add the quality golf experience of Montgomerie Links, Danang Golf Club and Laguna Lang Co that will open in December one is really spoilt for choice.”

The benefits of golf travel go well beyond the golf course alone. Studies indicate that only about 25% of the golfer’s holiday spending is actually on golf. The other 75% is spent on items such as accommodation, food and beverage, and transport. Golf tourists are generally big spenders who are looking for quality services, while also expecting great value for money. The analysis indicates, that the dedicated golfer is more likely to stay in more expensive properties and frequent restaurants and other tourist establishments. Based on the spending levels reported in this study, it is clear that dedicated tourist golfers can provide a tremendous boost to all those with a stake in a community’s tourism industry.

Income levels throughout Asia are expanding rapidly, with golf in Vietnam in a good position to reap the benefits. It has been estimated that number of golfers in these regions has increased rapidly, generating need to serve these rising numbers. Using China as an example, the China Golf Association (CGA) has estimated there are more than five million Chinese golfers. While estimates of the number of Chinese golfers have varied from one study to another, what is more certain is that the number is growing rapidly.  With a growing income and interest in golf, there is a tremendous opportunity to attract Chinese golfers to Vietnam. Golf tourism from China should start to have a more significant impact in the second half of the decade.

KPMG (2010) estimates that Russia is another emerging market that could one of the fastest growing sources of golf tourists. Currently with a very small number of players, Russia has a growing propensity to travel and play and could be a significant source in the next 4-5 years.

In general, travel operators around the world have seen a clear improvement in golf tourism following the economic crisis a few years back. 80% of surveyed tour agents had experienced an up-tick in their golf tour bookings, while only 20% have stayed steady or seen a decrease. Destinations in SE Asia, particularly Vietnam and Thailand have increased their stature as a golfing destination. This has resulted in a 30-50% increase in the price of golf holidays in SE Asia, while Europe’s prime golf markets of Spain and Portugal saw an average price drop of 10-20 in golf holidays (source KPMG Golf Advisory Practice).

Tourists in general visit a destination for a variety of reasons, and are driven by a number of internal and external forces. With hundreds of potential golf destinations around the world, the golf sales and marketing professional must be aware of the notable and unique features of the destination. As Jon Tomlinson mentioned about Vietnam’s central coast earlier in this article, “There is a stretch of beach from Danang to Hoi An that Forbes voted one of the best in the world with an abundance of impressive beach resorts available at affordable prices all within close proximity to the wonderful heritage and UNESCO sites such as Hoi An.“

This tourism demand model highlights the need to understand the variables influencing regional travel behavior to fully understand current and potential visitors to a destination.  Their approach on the central coast is consistent with successful demand models where available attractions in the region are a key factor in both new and repeat visitation decisions.

I’d like to take a moment to mention the impact of electronic golf booking on the market, an issue of growing importance in recent years. With online booking available for almost all aspects of travel from airlines to hotels and other activities, travelers are becoming increasingly accustomed to organizing their itinerary from the comfort and privacy of their personal computer.

Studies have shown a positive impact on visitor numbers when golf bookings are paired with other activities. Coordinating tee times with flights and lodging improves the conversion of marketing into actual trips by making the process more convenient. A study in North West Wales averaged the income from green fees at 21 courses participating in a new online booking system. It showed an increase in income by 20% with some clubs reporting increases of 40%. There were similar examples elsewhere including Scandinavia. With the ease in which SE Asia’s golf tourists can book airlines and hotels online through both budget and full service airlines, it makes sense to build this into the overall marketing plan.