IDEM Hospitality, now part of U.S.–based Groups360, has been with Hapi from the start, and we are super excited to spotlight them this week as our Hapi Featured Technology partner.
Groups360 created GroupSync™, an online marketplace for meetings to make the process of booking groups simpler and more transparent for both meeting planners and hotels. Whether you’re an event planner or a supplier, now more than ever, you need the right tools to reduce costs and save time, and GroupSync accomplishes just that.
For event planners, GroupSync simplifies the entire event planning process — from searching and sourcing to booking guest rooms and meeting space — as well as eliminates the drudgery of manual rooming lists. For hotels, GroupSync streamlines and automates group reservations to improve efficiency and revenue, while increasing customer loyalty.
We took some time to catch up with Tim Flors, chief sales officer for Groups360, to learn how Groups360 is operating in today’s environment.
1. What do you see as the biggest trend in hospitality tech in the post-COVID era?
The shifts in the industry caused by the pandemic have created a new ecosystem in which hotel properties may be operating with fewer staff members. Hotels will have to figure out an efficient way to do more with less, which means automating more tasks. We see this with contactless check-in technology for transient travel, but hotels and suppliers will also need to engage their planner customers in a different way as meetings and events pick up speed.
2. How are you helping the hospitality industry innovate?
Since our inception, Groups360’s number one priority has been to bring transparency, simplicity and objectivity to group bookings for both hoteliers and meeting planners through cloud-based technology solutions. Our current focus is to help the hospitality industry not only recover but thrive by automating formerly manual tasks, such as RFP responses and collaboration, hotel marketing and promotions, and rooming list management. The cornerstone of this innovation is direct booking — hotels now have the option to enable planners to book meeting space, guest rooms or both in a single online transaction, freeing up hotel staff to focus on larger, more complex events.
3. How has Hapi helped IDEM Hospitality and your customers?
The HAPI cloud has connected IDEM’s cloud-based solutions to on-premise hotel property management systems and facilitated a dynamic and secure two-way flow of guest-booking data. The seamless synchronization of data between the systems eliminates significant manual processes and errors associated with manual data entry.