Suite Dreams
An article written for Perspectives Magazine November 2010 New technology for vacation ownership developed by Merlin Software not only handles every part of the business, but also opens up new opportunities for today’s forward thinking resort. Emily Collins for Merlin Software 8/9/2011
Suite Dreams
Timeshare software should be able to cope with the challenges inherent to the industry, but dealing with points, exchanges, payments and seasons can be a year-‐ long headache for companies that don’t have the right systems. Fortunately for the shared ownership industry, leading technology creator Merlin Software has been helping businesses streamline their operations and maximise profitability for over ten years, making it the industry-‐specific software of choice for many major players. In an exclusive feature for Perspective Magazine, Merlin Software’s creator Mike Pnematicatos highlights the high tech challenges facing companies and the industry overall, and shares his thoughts on what lies ahead. This year Macdonald Hotels and Resorts chose Merlin Software as its technology partner, joining a long list of businesses that use the industry’s leading online resort software solution. Merlin has the ability to handle every aspect of the business including property and inventory management, sales and marketing and management fee billing to maximise business potential. “Macdonald Hotels and Resorts is an outstanding example of how the latest technology can be implemented in your business,” says Mike Pnematicatos. “We’ve recently created a complex marketing program with them so that their sales team can make the most out of their leads in the easiest possible way.” Figure 1 Simon Jackson, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts with Mike Ashton, Merlin “Using Merlin’s advanced database mining tools, leads generated from various methods are pulled into a marketing tool called the Communication Delivery Engine (CDE). This is where they start their journey along a series of marketing activities, guided through the process depending on specific responses that their actions generate.” In a nutshell, Merlin’s unique software solution has not only allowed Macdonald Resorts to control their entire property management process but also the company’s sales and marketing programs. This helps the resort maximise each lead, building
new marketing cascades and pulling in the leads so that they can market to them going forward. The list of Merlin users includes top international resort developers and industry-‐ related companies such as IFAVC Dubai, Hutchinson & Co. Trust Company, CARE (the Co-‐operative Association of Resort Exchangers in the USA), TATOC, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Burooj Property Company in Abu Dhabi, Platinum Vacation Club in South Africa and Pearly Grey and Regency Resorts in Tenerife. While location, design, service and facilities are the things guests notice during their stay, what they shouldn’t be aware of are the “behind-‐the-‐scenes” systems for accounting, customer service and reservations – if they work well, that is. Slow, incompatible, out-‐dated, user-‐unfriendly or just downright temperamental software is a patience-‐tester and time-‐waster (enough to make you head out for a coffee break and never come back). Worse, system glitches can come to the attention of clients and start a domino effect of events that might lead down a virtual corridor to the member complaints department. Merlin’s chief wizard is Mike Pnematicatos. Mike is an internationally known and respected authority on vacation ownership including timeshare, fractionals and points clubs and started in property development in 1983. In 1987 he pioneered the development of one of South Africa’s very first points clubs. Something not many know about him is the fact that he was also involved in fractional ownership developments in the early 1980s, well before this product became the buzzword it is today. He and his partners Figure 2: Mike Pnematicatos, built one of South Africa’s largest timeshare Merlin’s founder and chief architect and points club developments and management companies, with over 40,000 members in four different points clubs and sixteen managed resorts. He sold his various timeshare businesses to RCI in 2000. Coming up with the concept behind innovative technology is one thing; making it work in the real world (online, securely, quickly and remotely and from anywhere in the world) is another. Get both right and you’re on to a winner. Pnematicatos quickly recognised the need for software that not only work well but more importantly help facilitate business for resort operators within the industry: “Integral to the success of my first business was the fact that the software on which the business operated was developed in house,” he explains. “As an owner of a timeshare company, I saw a need for business software applications that could help organisations in the industry operate more efficiently.
This is how the idea of Merlin Software came about and you could say that this software was the first version of what Merlin is today. My main business interest today is the ongoing development of software for the vacation ownership industry.” Mike’s extensive knowledge and firsthand experience of how to manage these developments and clubs means that the software he designs supports the best practices in vacation ownership business processes. Over twenty-‐five companies in more than twelve countries use Merlin’s groundbreaking software for the vacation ownership industry. With the shared ownership and hotel industries evolving at a brisk pace even in our still recovering economic climate, keeping ahead of new challenges and providing technology solutions that really work in the real world is vital, and it’s those challenges that drive and inspire the Merlin team.
Figure 3 Software for Vacation Ownership and so much more
“Besides the continuous improvements to our overall service offering,” Mike Pnematicatos adds, “we’ve been working very closely with a number of our clients to develop additional online interactivity they can offer to their owners. We’ve been looking at aspects such as social media, advanced data capturing web pages and interactive online marketing campaigns. This functionality is vital if resorts want to attract a younger, more tech-‐savvy client base.” The whole “backstage” tracking and booking systems for reservations, upgrades, points and payments in season “bands” can be a year-‐long headache for vacation ownership resorts. Traditionally more complex than hotel reservations, timeshare resort operators often have the added challenge of inherently complicated reservations, inventory issues, points and exchange systems. Software that irons out creases and actually transforms in-‐house systems into optimum efficiency mode is like manna from heaven and it’s a migraine-‐free solution that can make a big difference to employees as well as clients.
Pnematicatos and his dedicated team create timeshare-‐specific software that not only runs things smoothly but also comes with beneficial side effects – one being the reduction of operating costs. Mike Pnematicatos believes that enabling owners to use parts of the system online, perhaps to make maintenance fee payments for example, is one of the many ways companies will be able to reduce operating costs, needless to say a significant plus in the current climate. More than a software suite “Software development” is just part of the Merlin story. With twenty-‐five years’ experience in timeshare, including points systems, and fractionals. Merlin’s unique insights into the precise needs of the industry have made it very much a tailor-‐made, solution-‐orientated service to the industry. The team is on hand to advise clients on how best to maximise their in-‐house systems, and the aim is to help companies remain profitable and competitive by improving efficiencies and reducing costs. Mike Pnematicatos believes keeping at the forefront of the technology game is crucial: “Technology is constantly changing,” he explains, “In order to stay ahead of the game, we need to continuously innovate. Because our software is inherently flexible, we’re able to keep up with new trends, products and procedures as and when they develop. Providing our clients with the latest Figure 4 Technology is now totally enhancements is part of our overall mobile service offering.” Experience and ingenuity are a formidable duo. Both are driving forces behind the development of Merlin’s various software suites, each adapted to the particular needs of specific industries, and all of them innovative, user-‐friendly, easy to implement, working seamlessly behind the scenes – exactly how good software should be. The Merlin software suite includes marketing, sales, front office and back office modules and there’s an accounting package too. All are hosted on secure, high-‐ speed servers with dedicated online support, making it a very affordable way to manage vacation ownership. Compatibility is key, too, and Merlin works with all known timeshare products so businesses can have multiple resort, company and currency capabilities as well as the ability to interface with other resorts on a one-‐to-‐one and/or global resort exchanges. What’s more, owners can run their business from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.
What lies ahead? Mike Pnematicatos believes some of the big issues right now include the need to come up with effective exit strategies for timeshare owners and resorts so that those who are now in their later years and owned for decades can relinquish their timeshare without a penalty. He also sees the need for a concerted industry-‐wide effort to beat fraudulent companies who taint the re-‐sale and holiday club markets. Another challenge that remains to be tackled effectively is the ongoing issue of lead generation. “The biggest trend is in the technology sector where the move is towards cloud computing. More and more resorts are looking at the flexibility and cost savings that can come from this and there is a growing trend towards resorts providing online interactivity and customised user interfaces for their owners on their web sites.” So what’s next? During an industry trade show he attended recently in the US, Pnematicatos says he noticed one particular “trend” – a high number of attendees were looking for software that provided interactivity with their websites, thereby reducing staff costs by encouraging owners to become more “interactive” and Figure 5 Merlin's cloud computing proactive online. technology gives resorts total flexibility and scalability He notes that “as owners become increasingly more tech-‐savvy, so too does the need for better technology.” And with the right software, there’s no reason why tasks done by staff (such as reservations, paying management fees online and renting inventory) could not be done by owners themselves, online. Many industry experts believe that the shared ownership industry is in for a very good run in the coming years: fractionals are becoming a household name, the US hotel giants continue to lend credence to the timeshare industry, and with so many levels and lifestyle choices available within the industry as a whole, the term “shared ownership” now feels like the best catch-‐all description of a growing range of products hitting the market. As products become more sophisticated, so must the industry’s software and that’s where the Merlin magic comes in. Creating advanced software that is user-‐friendly has been one of the secrets to Merlin’s success and looking ahead, with new developments to come, no doubt, down the line, it seems a wizard’s work is never done. Visit Merlin at: www.quickmerlin.com Email Merlin at: Mikea@quickmerlin.com Telephone Merlin at: +44 (0) 870 803 4418 (UK) or +1 646 233 3503 (USA) Follow us at: www.facebook.com/MerlinSoftware