StarCite, Uversa Combine Databases, Tech Meetings technology provider
StarCite Inc. and third-party hotel request-for-proposals provider Uversa International Inc. last month introduced for mutual clients access to a combined supplier database and technology solutions. Customers of both companies would have preferred access to Philadelphia-based StarCite's RapidRFP
technology and Uversa's Hotel Runner solution, according to a company release. The companies would then be able to offer combined transient and meetings benchmarking data, according to StarCite executives. "Through this partnership, for the first time ever in the travel industry, customers will be able to truly capture and leverage the entire breadth of their hospitality spend," said Michael Boult, president and COO of StarCite. Uversa executives said the partnership would give mutual clients greater visibility into their spending on transient travel and meetings.
U.S. Government Tightens Cruise RulesMore rigid U.S. government-mandated cruise passenger reporting rules went into effect Oct. 4, announced travel management technology-provider Pass Consulting Corp. The rules are a result of U.S. laws passed requiring detailed recording and evaluation of all incoming and outgoing travel, said the company, which has offered technology to streamline the entry and management of data required for
the electronic Notice of Arrivals and Departures. The system increases the speed, ease of access and integration into existing cruise line passenger reporting systems, said the company. "If a cruise line does not comply withthese laws or if they inadvertently fail to enter certain information, they could be fined by the government and/or not be allowed to dock at a port," said a spokesman for governmental law and travel technology consulting firm Pragmatic Systems International Corp.
Relocated Gulf Mtgs. Boost Hotel Projections The relocation of Gulf Coast meetings to other cities has helped to boost hotel revenue projections, according to Smith Travel Research. "Despite the obvious attrition from displaced business, the increase in Katrina-related emergency travel combined with the relocated meetings demand to other cities will have a meaningful impact on occupancies," said Randy Smith, STR CEO and founder, in a company release. Larger events scheduled in New Orleans may be displaced for years to come, according to Laurence Geller, president and CEO of Direct Strategic Hotel Capital. "Leisure business will be back next year, but the conventions are three years off," said Geller, whose company owns the Hyatt New Orleans, at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Industry
Strategy Conference last month in New York. J. Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the city would lose $3.5 billion in revenue in displaced meetings business. STR on Sept.22 increased its 2005 RevPAR growth projection for the domestic hotel market from 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent after Hurricane Katrina created a ripple effect in hotel availability
(Meetings Today, Sept. 19). STR said the closing of hurricane-affected properties
decreases national room supply by 0.3 percent for the remainder of 2005.
Genesys: Remote Conf. Volume Up 40 PercentMultimedia conferencing services volume increased by more than 40 percent during the past several months at Genesys Conferencing, which has global headquarters in Montpellier, France. In surveying 5,000 clients, Genesys said respondents named convenience and efficiency as the leading reasons for increased usage. In addition, 46 percent of respondents said the business environment has developed a higher acceptance of Webconferencing as a viable alternative to physical meetings. As fuel prices continue to climb, 24 percent of respondents said reduced driving has increased use of remote conferencing and another 25 percent said virtual meetings have
been used to reduce air travel. Remote conferencing provider Raindance Communications Inc., on Sept. 14 offered a temporary promotion for Web-, audio-and desktop videoconferencing for $3.04 per meeting, then the national average price for one gallon of gas.
~Corrie Dosh