Manx Hotel: The Empress speeds service with roomMaster 2000

If you visit the Isle of Man, often called the Jewel of the Irish Sea, you will soon spot the beautiful Empress Hotel.

This business hotel is located on the promenade with a superb view of Douglas bay.. Built in the late 19th century, the hotel was extensively upgraded in the early 1990's and again within the last two years.

Today, the hotel has 102 bedrooms, many with sea views, and its famous conservatory spans the whole length of the hotel. Its two purpose built conference suites can accommodate up to 200 people. The facilities also include a penthouse and two catering facilities: La Brasserie and the Piano Bar.

Up until recently, the hotel had a DOS-based system but last year Maureen McGeown, General Manager, wanted to move up to Windows. After looking at a range of other systems, she and her colleague, Deputy General Manager Brian Keenan selected roomMaster 2000.

"We liked the thorough sales presentation that InnQuest U.K.  gave," Maureen says. "Their people took so much time and gave so much effort that it showed that they cared about after-sales too, not just selling a product. "There's so much functionality," she says. "We're learning every day."

The timing was fairly dramatic: Maureen wanted the system to be live for Christmas parties so installation and training had to be completed by early December. "The whole process went very well," she says. "We got very ood support from InnQuest U.K. and we went live on 3rd December. It was a very busy time but we did it!"

In addition to Maureen and Brian, one key user is Anne Marie on reservations who says that she is very happy with roomMaster 2000. "It's easy to use and the guest history aspect is good. We can type in the name of a guest and get all the information - room preferences, what floor, and whether they want a sea view. You'd be surprised - not everyone wants a sea view."

She also likes the message system, especially for new arrivals. "You can forget to read a diary but you can't miss a message box. It's made our Reception much more efficient."

In La Brasserie and the Piano Bar, the POS system has enabled the manager to integrate guest checks and menu planning, as well as obtaining much better reports. "The system has enabled us to improve our service and our whole restaurant operation," Maureen says.

Since the excitement of going live in the pre-Christmas rush, Maureen has continued to receive good support from InnQuest U.K. and expects to use the marketing module in roomMaster 2000 to increase sales.

She also hopes to boost sales by offering online reservations. While bookings are currently made by email, Maureen plans to start using roomMaster.net soon. "We know there's a major trend to online reservations among business clients, she says. "So we're looking to attract even more business by moving to roomMaster.net."