<B>RFP Tools Change Hands</B>
By Bruce Serlen
The third-party vendors that help travel managers prepare electronic request for proposals for submission to hotel companies have undergone a significant overhaul in the past month. More than the usual turnover affecting outside contractors, this latest wave of change alters the landscape for the many travel buyers--as well as hotel companies--that have come to rely on the vendors for their RFP technical expertise.
Specifically, certain assets of JBH Travel Audit, which was dissolved last month, were acquired by SRS-Worldhotels, a hotel representation firm. JBH's Hotel RFP Solutions product now will be integrated into a new sales technology company, called Nexus World Services, that SRS created for this purpose. In the transition, however, Nexus World Services has decided not to move forward with RFP ProSource, the JBH product intended for corporate travel buyers.
Another third-party vendor, Ixata.com, underwent a recapitalization, emerged with new majority shareholders and intends to increase its share of both the travel buyer and hotel RFP markets. Similarly, a smaller vendor, Uversa International, has upgraded its RFP technology, but intends to work primarily with corporate travel buyers, the piece that SRS/Nexus has chosen not to pursue. The remaining major player in the field, Lanyon Inc., meanwhile, recently adapted its umbrella Web-based RFP Publisher product, formerly known as RFP Assist, to be applicable to both travel buyers and hotels.
Ironically, this would have been a watershed year for hotel RFPs, regardless of the changes underway in the vendor community, because the new version of the NBTA standard electronic form was released in February. The new version, which employs a streamlined modular approach, will be used this year along with the existing version to negotiate rates for 2002.
Still, SRS-Worldhotels, a firm that represents more than 400 independent hotels, said it saw the creation of Nexus World Services and the acquisition of the JBH assets as the logical extension of its existing work. "We're looking to provide value to the hotels in the SRS portfolio, many of which were already using the Hotel RFP Solutions product successfully," said Ed Brill, SRS senior vice president for the Americas. "So we're pleased to be able to offer the product not only to SRS properties, but to hotel companies and individual properties generally."
Given the pressure hotels are under today to respond to numerous RFPs promptly, Brill said the Web-based Hotel RFP Solutions software made the process particularly efficient. "Since the data requested of the hotels already is prepopulated in the system, we're able to just pop in applicable rates, saving considerable time and effort," he said.
Hotel RFP Solutions supports NBTA's standard electronic RFP form, both the established version and the new modular format. "We're responding to either approach because with the new format only being introduced in February, it's too early to tell what the acceptance will be," said Glenn Erickson, director of business development for Nexus, who previously was with JBH.
Considering that SRS represents its own hotels, concerns have been voiced about how impartial it will be in representing the interests of non-affiliated properties on RFPs. To allay such fears, SRS' Brill said that steps were being taken to provide all hotel clients with protection of proprietary data. "Absolute security is essential. We set up Nexus World Services as an arm's length company precisely for this reason," he said. "It will be staffed with non-SRS employees and be based in Denver, rather than New York, where we're located."
While the decision was made not to go forward with the RFP ProSource product for travel managers at the present time, Brill didn't rule out that it might be resurrected in the future. "We decided not to operate it in the short run," he said.
Meanwhile, the new management at Ixata.com said it was focusing on its RFP Express product, with the intention of becoming profitable next year. "What's critical in preparing RFPs remains data quality and data reliability," said Michael Wynne, chairman and CEO of Ixata, which now is based in San Diego. "By ensuring data quality, we're able to deliver 80 percent to 90 percent acceptance rate of RFPs submitted on behalf of our corporate clients."
Like Nexus' Erickson, Wynne's firm is prepared to work with the established NBTA format and the new modular approach. "Both are available. Some clients may just not be quite ready to proceed with the new approach this year," he said.
By contrast, Uversa International, working primarily with travel buyers, will be dealing exclusively with the new version of the NBTA form. "None of our clients have been adverse to making the transition," said Jo Ann Baynes, president of Uversa, which is based in Fairfax, Va. "Actually, with the new version of the form, the client doesn't have to do anything different than before. The onus is on us and the hotels to reconfigure the electronic database to meet the requirements of the new format."
Lori Scheibelhut, marketing manager for Lanyon, whose RFP Publisher is an integrated solution for both buyers and hotels, agreed that data quality is crucial to the acceptance of any proposal, regardless of the electronic format used.
"Acceptance isn't necessarily a given," Scheibelhut told BTN last year (BTN, Nov. 13, 2000). "The hotel might not fill out the form to the corporation's acceptance level because of the technology involved. Not all technologies enhance the process."
The goal at all times is to gain acceptance the first time the response is returned to the client. "In fact, it can take two or three rounds," said Scheibelhut, who is based in Arlington, Texas. "The data provided needs to be accurate and relevant at every stage. Quality of data is crucial throughout."
In developing the new modular version of the RFP form, Wendy Nathan, chairman of the NBTA hotel committee, said the committee actively sought third-party vendors' input. "We touched base with many, if not all, the third-party firms in addition to hotel companies' technical resources," she said.
The new approach, which is meant to streamline the process, is composed of a core module and six optional ones. The core piece is a two-and-a-half page document that contains all the pricing information essential to negotiations. Each module is self-contained.
"We expect the core module will be used most often. It was meant for the benefit of travel managers who only want to use the RFP for pricing," said Nathan, who's also manager of travel services for Johnson & Johnson.
Optional modules are devoted to the hotel's services and amenities, communications and technology, safety and security, geography and transportation, a user-defined field and extended stay provisions. The first five are available now, the sixth will be rolled out shortly. The average number of fields in the optional modules is 16.5. The user-defined module allows buyers to request information not covered elsewhere.
"With the new format, electronic RFPs have become a much simpler process. In developing it, we set out to create a system where there were simply no minuses for buyers," said Uversa's Baynes, who serves on the NBTA hotel committee with Nathan.