Despite the turbulence of 2021, SHR made significant strides throughout the year in solidifying its suite of product offerings, growing its customer base and improving features and functionality to help hoteliers better navigate recovery and position themselves for future growth.
In 2020, SHR introduced two new products in addition to its industry-leading CRS that are critical to help hoteliers drive more revenue and improve guest experiences – Wave RMS and Maverick CRM. 2021 was spent tightening those products by improving features and functionality through customer feedback, and by improving integration, data-sharing and workflows between internal and external systems. Now, in 2022, SHR is prepared to deliver its full suite of connected systems through a Revenue Generation Platform providing a single command center to activate workflows that drive revenue at each touchpoint along the guest journey.
Hundreds of hotels are now using at least two SHR products, and many are using all three, to implement a holistic approach to revenue generation centered around the guest, including reaching them on the right channels with the right offers at the right rate. To help hoteliers automate this process and increase efficiency, in May SHR introduced Bridge, a solution to simplify the connection and data sharing between a hotel’s technology ecosystem so operators can automate processes and workflows for different applications.
Early results for SHR’s new offerings are fantastic. Partners like Hard Rock, Basecamp Hotels, Tuscany Suites & Casino, O'Callaghan Collection, Moonrise Hotel, Vagabond Inns and Aparium Hotel Group are using data to improve customer engagement and drive revenue through the entire guest journey.
In June, SHR announced that hotels using the Windsurfer Booking Engine saw a record amount of traffic to their direct websites and converted 3.4% of that traffic. The 3.3 million travelers on hotel websites across SHR’s client base was the most traffic since SHR began tracking visitors in 2018.
Below, you’ll find highlights from 2021 and updates on current objectives from many of SHR’s departments.
Product News
Increasing partner integrations was a key objective for 2021 and SHR finalized strong and secure connections with several leading tech suppliers while simultaneously focusing on product feature and functionality enhancements. Here is a roundup of product news we shared with the hospitality market:
- SHR Introduces Bridge to Automate Processes and Increase Efficiency (Read more)
- SHR and stayntouch Enhance Their Cloud Integration (Read more)
- SHR’s Maverick CRM, Wave RMS Certified by Infor HMS (Read more)
- SHR Expands Google Connectivity to Drive Direct Traffic Through Free Booking Links (Read more)
- SHR Recognized as Top Connectivity Provider by Expedia Partner Program (Read more)
- SHR-Mews Integration Will Power Optimal Channel Strategies (Read more)
In addition to those, a few other more detailed product enhancements delivered in 2021:
Windsurfer – IBE Analytics. Now powered by Google Analytics, the IBE Analytics report provides meaningful data to assist hotels in understanding guest booking engine behaviors.
Windsurfer – Sabre GDS Direct Connect. This XML direct connection enables Sabre GDS agents to shop and book hotel stays directly with the CRS, increasing efficiency.
Maverick – Simple Program Signup in IBE. For clients using the Windsurfer Booking Engine with Maverick CRM, guests may sign up to your loyalty or recognition program during the reservation checkout process.
Maverick – Call Center Whisper Screen Enhancement. Additional guest profile information is now available for call center agents to view and improve engagement.
Wave - New Dynamic Comp node option for strategy builder. Users now have even more flexibility in how they combine the sophistication of Wave's AI with their property's unique strategy. With the Dynamic Comp node, users can create floors and ceilings that flex along with their market.
Wave - Enhanced Calendar Input and Auto-adjust. Users can update seasons and rate information with a streamlined, click-and-drag interface that allows for bulk assignments of multiple date ranges with one simple input.
Sales News
In 2021, SHR completed PMS enhancements and solidified integrations with PMS partners such as StayNTouch, Infor, and JonusChorum that enable hundreds of hotels currently using Windsurfer CRS the ability to also utilize Wave RMS. This opened the door for new partnerships with companies like Vagabond Inns, which began utilizing Wave RMS for branded and independent hotels.
Pacifica Hotels added Maverick CRM to their portfolio of over 20 independent hotels to provide a more personalized booking experience. And SHR onboarded four partners that are now using all three products: Adrift Hospitality, 1859 Historic Hotels, Elite Hotels and Boudl Hotels.
We are thankful for all of our partners that continue to rely on industry leading Windsurfer CRS, such as InTown Suites, GreenTree Hospitality and Shilo Inns, to name a few.
Marketing News
Throughout the pandemic, Marketing has been focused on helping hoteliers recover by providing data, resources and expert insights into using technology to navigate the turbulence and position themselves for success.
Thought leadership
- Personalization Will Power the Next Era of Hospitality (Rod Jimenez, PhocusWire)
- How Will Revenue Teams Look Different Post-Pandemic? (Nicole Adair, Hotel Business)
- Three Things Hoteliers Should Know About Personalizing Guest Experiences (Allegra Medina, Lodging)
Special Reports
- 9 Post-Pandemic Hotel Revenue-Generating Ideas (Read here)
- Roaring 20s: How Hospitality Leaders are Building Profitable Recovery Strategies (Read here)
- How to Future-Proof Your Hotel by Driving and Converting More Direct Traffic (Read here)
Success Stories
- Seminole Hard Rock’s Online Loyalty Redemption Strategy Hits Big (Read more)
- How Tuscany Suites & Casino Increased Direct Bookings, Raised Rates During Pandemic (Read more)
- One Small Step for Leadership at the Moonrise Hotel (Read more)
SHR continues it’s industry leading presence on social media, adding nearly 1,000 followers on LinkedIn and creating 123,447 impressions in 2021.
While it was a slower than usual year for events, SHR maintained its presence at staple industry gatherings, highlighted by HITEC and ROC (Dallas), the Direct Booking Summit (San Diego), the Wisconsin Hotel & Lodging association, the New England Inn & Resort Association, Leadership from chaos (London, Stockholm), CoCoCoCo 21 by HIC (Cologne), Hotel 360 (London), the Independent Hotel Show (London), World Travel Market (London), the Stakeholder Conference (Dubai), the IBTM (Barcelona) and the Tourism Innovation Summit (Seville).
People News
As the industry slowly recovered, SHR focused on as many team members returning to work as possible, albeit in perhaps a different environment.
New hires in 2021:
- Anas Hamza, SQL Database Administrator
- Anna Albentosa, Director of Marketing
- Anna Tarnovskaya, CRM Specialist
- Chris Bates, Director of Operations
- Cody Hoyer, Director of Business Development
- Esmerelda Mata, Key Client Success Manager
- Gerald Griffin, Client Support Specialist
- Guillermo Boscolo Capon, Client Success Manager
- Jennifer Willis, Technical Product Manager
- John West, Integrations Associate
- Johnny Moreno, Business Development Representative
- José Antonio Núñez, Director of Business Development
- Jubran Salawi, Client Support Specialist
- Mahmoud Abdelhafez, Client Success Manager
- May Faridah, Director of Operations, APAC
- Natalia Peppi, Implementations Manager
- Said Tabrizi, Director of Information Security
- Sheri Keeling, Executive Assistant/Office Manager
- Stephen Taft, Director of Business Development
- Tim Kolman, Director of Business Development, RMS
- Tonya Thornton, Implementation Manager
Check out our revenue generating applications for yourself: CRS, RMS, CRM.
