Multinational travel managers are urging hotel chains to follow Marriott's lead in providing e-folio data at properties outside North America, although hoteliers said they still need to be persuaded it would be a worthwhile investment.
Marriott in October told Business Travel News it could have up to 300 hotels overseas offering enhanced data by the end of 2010
(BTNonline, Oct. 14). The Marriott properties outside North America that hope to provide folios use an updated version of Micros-Fidelio's Opera property management system. That tool can produce feeds containing level-three data, which break out room charges and applicable taxes, food and beverage categories, including room service and hotel restaurants, business services, parking and ground transportation. Micros-Fidelio vice president for marketing Louise Casamento said hotels typically are not yet using the feeds to provide clients with folio data.
"More hotels are asking for the appropriate feeds, but not necessarily to create folios," according to Casamento. "They could be taking them for a multitude of reasons, such as statistical reporting."
U.K.-based Visa Commercial vice president David Harrison said that interest among card issuers and hotel companies in providing e-folio data in Europe is growing but that to date it is largely dialogue that has not translated into action.
One likely reason is that hotels remain to be convinced they will achieve a return on their investment in providing e-folio data, principally through improving relationships with their largest corporate clients. "It is laborious and expensive," Marriott program director for lodging finance Randy Jones said. "If our corporate clients truly want this, they need to be vocal about it. If there is more adoption by global clients within the United States, that will speak far louder volumes than simply saying they want it." Marriott currently provides e-folio data from 2,800 hotels in North America to more than 1,000 corporate clients.
Jill Cady, vice president of worldwide sales strategy for InterContinental Hotels Group, said the variety of data privacy laws in Europe also presents a challenge. IHG provides e-folio data in the United States but not internationally.
"We have the capabilities to go broader," Cady said. "When we get to a point at which there's a significant number of companies that want it internationally, then we will work through the various data privacy laws to help fulfill that."
Most other major hotel companies—including Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Hotels Corp.—already provide U.S. e-folio data through agreements with corporate cards. Others, including Global Hyatt Corp., have indicated that is a route they are pursuing
(BTNonline, Sept. 24, 2007). IHG's Cady said interest in and use of the data has continually risen but at a slow, steady pace.
Philips International is poised to include level-three data in its quarterly reporting in the United States for the first time because it has not been satisfied until now that a critical mass of hotels in its preferred program was supplying information to that standard, said John Guarneri, vice president and global supply manager for travel. The company also is keen to see folio data exported beyond North America.
Philips, which is in the process of sourcing an expense management system, sees the potential benefits of an itemized folio data feed. "If we can get that kind of level-three data, it would make life a lot easier for employees," Guarneri said. "They wouldn't have to break out the data because it would already be there. That would be the winner in our company."
Philips senior sourcing specialist for hotel and group meetings Roman Asboth said: "This is definitely something we would like to see, and we have been requesting it for a while. We would like to have folio data globally because it would support our negotiation discussions."