Jurys Inn Hotel Group is investing £1.7 million in new software and technology upgrades across its 32 hotels in Ireland, the UK and the Czech Republic.
Jurys Inn looks to future-proof systems with software and tech upgrade
Jurys Inn Hotel Group is investing £1.7 million in new software and technology upgrades across its 32 hotels in Ireland, the UK and the Czech Republic.
The move is designed to enhance its management system capabilities and services offered to more than three million guests who stay in its hotels every year.
The company is introducing a cloud-based central property management and reservation system by the end of the year that will give it the capability to centrally view and manage a range of functions across its portfolio of hotels.
The new IT platform includes centrally analysing and managing room reservations and bookings, hotel inventory, accounts and billings.
Jurys Inn plans to introduce new services, including the trial of online check-in, at a select number of hotels in the UK following a doubling of bookings from mobile devices in the past year.
The Wi-Fi network is being upgraded and a high-speed fibre internet service introduced across its hotels to cater for a demand for increased connectivity as guests are now travelling with up to four wireless devices.
The investment forms part of a strategy to adapt cloud-based solutions across the chain where they are appropriate, essentially future-proofing systems so that they are more intuitive and can adapt to changing customer behaviour.
Group IT manager Shane Doyle said: “By giving our teams a minute-by-minute overview of what is happening in our business, the new system will allow us to deliver significantly enhanced services to our customers.
“This includes a more accurate view of last-minute room availability across the group, the ability to offer an improved range of offers and special promotions, as well as cross-selling between properties.”
He added: “We have seen the number of visits to our website from mobile devices grow by over 85% between January 2012 and January 2013, and our mobile revenue double in the same time period.
“The new systems will allow us to cater much better to these business and leisure travellers who are using smart phones and tablets to book our room and meeting facilities in the move from desktop to mobile.”
