Best Western To Upgrade CRS

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. October 14, 2008

OCTOBER 9, 2006. Development of the two-way interface between the MSI's Nova Plus property-management system (featuring Version 3.0 software upgrade) and the Best Western central-reservation system is nearing completion. Deployment of the enhanced solution is expected for first quarter 2007.

"We are proud of the strong relationship we have maintained with Best Western for so many years," said MSI Chief Operating Officer Tim Tiller. "The purchase of the Nova Plus private-label PMS from Pegasus Solutions nearly a year ago has solidified our commitment to the brand as we work side-by-side with Best Western members to implement requested Nova Plus software enhancements designed to save each property considerable time and money while providing a faster return on investment. With our development group deep in two-way unit testing and our new dedicated Nova Plus support team ready to provide support, we are confident that beta testing for the two-way interface with Version 3.0 software will begin before the year's end."

In addition to software enhancements, Best Western hotels also can receive new IBM hardware as part of the Nova Plus upgrade. The new IBM equipment is provided by MSI to improve the speed and accuracy of audit and back-up processes, and the sleek hardware design is aesthetically pleasing and offers additional work space for compact front desk areas.

Nova Plus 3.0 Enhancements

"The unique design relationship between Nova Plus V 3.0 and the Best Western CRS is a huge advantage for any hotel using this solution," said Teresa Galler, VP of operations for MSI. "Nova Plus V 3.0 offers features that no other PMS on the market has." For example, Galler said the interactive Revenue Management "Quick Update" functionality tool gives Best Western users a calendar view of current status and the ability to change the allocations, restrictions and rate tiers from the same screen.

"We heard loud and clear from V 1.5 Nova Plus customers how critical providing 'Quick Update' functionality would be to their bottom line," she said. "Version 3.0 now offers a more user friendly layout. By using the 'Click for Legend' feature, our customers can easily access a map of the information on the screen. With Nova Plus 3.0, Best Western hotels won't have to hunt for ways to increase their revenue. The system will automatically make these decisions easy to implement!"

Nova Plus V 3.0 also offers great group features and functionality, she said.

"Providing 'Group Shoulder Date' functionality in a two-way environment can be tricky," Galler said. "A hotel usually wants to offer a guest the opportunity to stay before and after a group conference, usually at different rates and with different rate codes. Nova Plus allows this functionality using a shoulder date field in the group. Using multi-segment reservations, the system automatically creates the messages to host that will split the reservation on the host side so that the inventory within the group is protected and the rate and market segments quoted remain intact. In order to protect the reservation status in a system that does not have this shoulder date functionality, the hotel would have to check the guest out and check them back in on the group arrival date, or change the arrival and departure dates on groups to allow the guest to use the group code for the length of their stay."

Nova Plus V 3.0 with the two-way interface also allows rate, allocation and restriction updates to existing rate plans.