AVaStar, Ltd.

Le Meridien Hotel Boosting its Bottom Line and Personalizing Service with AVaStar

2019-11-22

AVaStar, the hospitality industry’s first subscription support program for audiovisual/event technology services, is driving profitability for Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center. The contemporary hotel, featuring approximately 4,000 square feet of event space, has taken control of its destiny and relationship with customers. A few months ago, management began looking for a solution that would increase revenues, drive profits and enhance the customer/meeting planner experience by having all services delivered by an internal team instead of using third-party providers. With AVaStar, Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center is taking control of its AV operation, improving guest service and far exceeding year-over-year net profitability.

“It’s a pretty typical scenario: Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center was not large enough for a third-party AV provider to dedicate full-time staff to the property, so a technician would come to the hotel on days where there were AV needs for the meetings,” said Eric Bracht, AVaStar Managing Director. “The technician would set the AV equipment, then wait around all day until the meetings ended to put it away. Most of the equipment needed was standard presentation gear, like a computer display, some microphones, and flipcharts. Hotel management believed they could provide these services on their own but lacked the focused internal resources. The AVaStar solution resolves this issue for them by providing the missing layer of support.”

“We met with hotel management to discuss their goals and equipment inventory requirements,” Bracht said. “With the exception of a house sound system in the ballroom and a wall-mounted display in the boardroom, we determined that all AV could be supported using portable equipment. To help ensure success while self-managing the AV services process, we introduced them to AVaStar.”

A ‘SaaSy’ Way to Self-Manage AV
The AVaStar program is built upon a single, dedicated SaaS platform for conducting all AV Technology activities, including planning and providing audiovisual services, managing meeting needs, scheduling resources, getting guided technical assistance and tracking financial performance. It ensures that equipment and services are delivered and meeting customer expectations by prompting non-technical users with interactive, step-by-step sales, setup and troubleshooting procedures. By ensuring that equipment is where it needs to be, when it needs to be and in peak working condition and appearance, the customer experience is improved, revenues are tracked, and expenses are managed. Flawless execution minimizes credits and rebates to customers and a detailed tracking system ensures that same-day changes are captured and billed.

But the AVaStar program is far more than just software. The subscription includes a layer of above-property support for AudioVisual that is typically not present in most hospitality organizations. This support provides on-going assistance to each subscriber property so that management can be confident that their team is supported and has a resource for advice, assistance and AV training on common equipment usage and techniques.

“We chose AVaStar to improve our bottom line significantly and at the same time provide a more attentive, personalized service to our guests, and we have not been disappointed,” said Martin Schooley, Vice President of Operations at Wischermann Partners Inc., manager of Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center. “We’ve enjoyed an almost 40 percent year-over-year improvement in profitability in just the first five months. AVaStar has been creative and responsive, as we have tailored a program that meets the needs of our hotel and our guests. I can recommend AVaStar with great confidence and say they will be part of the conversation as we search for AudioVisual solutions in all of our hotels in the future.”

Part of the AVaStar service was to identify the equipment inventory that would be required to support the day-to-day needs of business meetings and social events and assist the property with AV procurement. Since the inventory covers the standard meeting and event needs, the hotel has only occasional need to rent specialty or supplemental items, like additional microphones. Using the purchase order system within AvaStar, these cross-rented items are tracked so that current needs are met, and invoiced properly, and future purchase assessments can be made to ensure a maximized return on investment.

“In addition to implementing the AVaStar platform, Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center took the extra step of adding a full-time AV Supervisor position to better support planners and event attendees,” Bracht said. “We are pleased to report that the event planning experience has improved significantly, now that the same person is supporting customers ‘on the floor’ from beginning to end. Even with the added manpower, Martin says profitability still grew by almost 40 percent.”

“It’s important to note that AVaStar is far more than just technology,” he added. “The software is only the delivery mechanism; it’s our team’s 60+ years of experience with AV systems, equipment, procedures and operational best practices that is making this offering such a success. With AVaStar, hotels like Le Meridien Chicago Oakbrook Center or any venue that hosts business meetings and events, can automatically perform tasks necessary to ensure an efficient and profitable AV service.”

To learn more about AVaStar and a great new flexible financing option for any additional AV hardware needs, email info@avastar.io. For details on how the AVaStar program can improve your bottom line, visit www.avastar.io.

EMD Unveils AVaStar at HITEC

2018-09-25

Designed to complement the services delivered by outsourced third - party providers, AVaStar enhances and improves self - managed AV processes and makes the IT department profitable again

Visit Booth #1019 at HITEC, June 18 to 21 , at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston

[ HOUSTON — JUNE 1 9 , 2018 ] — Today at HITEC, EMD is introducing a new solution for venue operators that will make the self - managing of AV Technologies an asset, rather than a liability. Called AVaStar, the patent - pending solution is designed for in-house hotel staff who find thems elves tasked with managing event technology process es and coordinating equipment rental, set up and servicing, even when it may not be their primary job responsibility. AVaStar is the ideal solution for franchisees, independent hoteliers and management companies who want to maintain control over their AV operation and retain 100% of AV revenues .

“AVaStar is a single, dedicated platform for conducting all AV Technology activities , including planning and providing audiovisual services, managing meeting needs, scheduling resources, and tracking financial performance,” said Jeff Loether, EMD President. “It ensures that equipment and services are delivered and meeting customer expectations by guiding the sales and planning procedures and supporting the operational staff with step - by - step processes. When it comes to service and maintenance, AVaStar ticketing system and maintenance schedule reduces downtime and ensures that everything works. Until now, with the launch of AVaStar, no tool existed that provided this level of comprehensive self - managed AV service .”

AV SaaS Strategy

The Software - as - a - Service (SaaS) model is flourishing in hospitality. Historically, the legacy model was for the building owner to purchase equipment, have it installed, and operate and maintain the systems themselves. As out - sourcing resources for IT systems became more popular, the idea of bundling equipment a long with the services created this “SaaS” model.

The AVaStar SaaS will facilitate the following

Consultative Selling
Resource Scheduling
Inventory Management
Preventive Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Management and Operational Reports
Vendor Management
Revenue and Cost Accounting

“Outsourcing to a third - party AV services provider is a nice perk if you operate a large hotel with multiple venues that contribute a significant revenue stream,” said Eric Bracht, AVaStar Managing Director. “But it’s the exception, rather than the rule for smaller hotels. Many properties go it alone ... but with AVaStar, they will never be alone. We packed AVaStar with step - by - step instructions to make even the most novice staff person an AV technology expert.

“Hoteliers can easily manage outsourced service providers and cross rental equipment vendors with just a few clicks ,” Bracht said. “If driving sales and managing expenses is a concern, AVaStar contains an accounting system that tracks costs and revenues. AVaStar even supports non - technical users with step - by - step setup and troubleshooting procedures . And, the AVaStar mobile app makes last - minute changes and approvals easy from anywhere on property. If additional assistance is needed, help is just a phone call away.”

Managing a hotel’s AV department with AVaStar means :

Ensuring equipment and resources are where they are needed, when they are needed
Aiding sales and planning process with prompts and guides
Managing all portable and installed inventory with one system
Reducing equipment down-time due to service and repairs
Placing operational and financial information at your fingertips
Managing revenue and expenses
Optimizing return on investment
Increasing staff productivity
Extending the power of existing property systems, such as Sales & Catering, through AVaStar APIs

AVaStar Academy to Provide Ongoing Education

The AV industry trade associations do not support end users since they do not want to tamper with the relationships between their paying members (equipment manufacturers and dealers) and the members’ customers (end users). There are no tech school courses being taught on how to setup, run, or manage AV systems or departments. The only way to learn is to work in an AV rental company or facility’s AV department. Herein lies the opportunity to make a difference

In addition to launching AVaStar, EMD is developing AVaStar Academy offering basic and advanced AV services and SaaS training. Through this program, hoteliers self - managing their AV departments can receive:

On-demand training courses (basic and advanced)
Event-technology sales training
Access to a Q&A forum with a Searchable FAQ database
Meetings industry educational resources
Access to channels for subject matter experts

“As someone who has worked in the event technology field for nearly 40 years (from concept through design, to construction, commissioning, and operations), I have spent my career helping hoteliers and conference center operators to better manage t heir AV technologies,” Loether said. “ Because the revenue stream is not significant enough to attract an outside technology company, many hoteliers try their best to manage AV themselves, but they often fail. One of the reasons for this is because they rely on staff to sell and support these AV services without access to any formal training program . And today, with the quality, cost and reliability of technology equipment being excellent there’s no reason the hotel staff cannot provide basic AV services using quality, built - in systems. It’s time to stop the madness and embrace AVaStar. It provides even the smallest hotel operator with an AV services business model, ongoing training and education, and a new revenue stream that will drive profitability, increase loyalty and create better meetings. ”

To experience AVaStar, stop by Booth #1019 at HITEC Houston, or visit www.avastar.io.