Partnership between leading industry technology providers makes best-in-class hospitality guest services platform widely available to hotels across North America.
Atlanta, GA and Ft. Lauderdale, FL — June 25, 2013 — FCS Computer Systems, a leading global provider of comprehensive hospitality guest services applications and solution design services, has announced that an agreement has been signed with the leading telemanagement software provider Metropolis Technologies to distribute the revolutionary hospitality guest services platform, FCS i-Guest. Through the new agreement, Metropolis will now offer the mobile-friendly FCS i-Guest solution to its expansive existing client base in the North American hotel market, as will as marketing i-Guest to new customers.
FCS i-Guest harnesses the power of mobile technology to enhance the guest experience by putting hotel services and real-time hotel communications in the palm of guests’ hands, before, during and after the stay. The multilingual FCS i-Guest app gives hotel guests the ability to send pre-arrival notifications, place room service orders, redeem loyalty points, check real-time folio data, make restaurant or spa reservations, view local attraction information, perform express checkout and tap into a host of other guest service opportunities. Hoteliers can now interact with their guests through video and other messaging opportunities.
Metropolis has established a reputation as a premier manufacturer and distributor of telemanagement software with 20 years of experience in the hospitality call accounting solutions segment. Based in Florida, Metropolis further opens the North America market to FCS, a longtime Premium icon of the Asia Pacific hospitality market.
Unlike in the past, hospitality marketing today is about proactive and in-the-moment interaction. With i-Guest, hoteliers can “push” conversations to guests’ mobile devices, rather than passively waiting for them to read literature or make a request. “FCS i-Guest is ahead of the curve and represents the future of hospitality,” says Sharon Harry, marketing director for Metropolis. “It allows hotels to have more direct access to their guests during their stay and to engage them in ways they never could before.”
Besides enhancing the guest’s stay experience, FCS i-Guest helps simplify and streamline hotel operations, reducing staffing requirements while offering valuable cost-savings and green advantages. Information previously communicated via compendia, room cards and other signage, is now available digitally, reducing waste and printing costs. This also eliminates the need for staff to check guestrooms to make sure all information is provided and up to date, and allows hotels to rollout information instantly to all guests on property. Hoteliers using FCS i-Guest can easily promote last-minute specials and other upsell opportunities to guests throughout their stays.
To meet the needs of hotel chains and groups, FCS offers a newly launched module called Master i-Guest that acts as a central guest service app for multiple brands and properties. FCS Master i-Guest allows hotel companies to cross-promote all hotels and brands within their portfolio, as well as their amenities, and accept reservations at any property using a single application. With Master i-Guest, hotel guests only need to download one app, rather than a different one for each property or brand, yet each property has its own dynamic solution.
While FCS i-Guest and other mobile guest services systems to date have been mainly deployed in upscale and luxury properties, midscale hotel brands are increasingly expressing interest in the technology. “Travelers in all segments are now bringing smart phones and other mobile devices on the road with them, and their service expectations are evolving accordingly,” says Cris Davidson, senior director of North America for FCS.” Mobile service technologies are likewise trickling down to midscale. Soon, hotels without a system like i-Guest will be operating at a significant disadvantage, both in marketing to guests and offering service as amenity.”
For a live demo of FCS i-Guest, please visit FCS at booth 1115 or Metropolis at booth 1025 at HITEC 2013, or contact Cris Davidson at cris.davidson@planet1world.com to schedule an appointment. For more information on the comprehensive FCS suite of hospitality technology product solutions, please visit www.fcscs.com.
