PATENT OWNER
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`PATENT OWNER
`EXHIBIT 2037
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`EXHIBIT 2037
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`http://m.hotelinteractive.com/articleDetail.aspx?articleid=36544
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`June 15, 2015
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`The Holy Grail of Room Inventory Distribution - Cloud PMS
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`By Aditya Sanghi, CEO Hotelogix
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`In speaking with hoteliers in the past, it was clear that they viewed the property
`management system (PMS) as an operational tool, dissociated with travel technology.
`However, with the growth of the small and mid-segment independent hotels as well as
`the maturity of Cloud PMS that offers more integrations and distribution features, there
`has been a definite shift in perception.
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`The PMS is now considered a strategic tool rather than a tool that manages only
`operations. It has become an integral part of travel technology, where the two cannot be
`looked in isolation any more. Let’s see how.
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`The New Foundation of Travel Technology
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`If we understand how the new travel technology stack looks like at a very high level,
`there are three main layers:
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` The customer facing layer consisting of online travel agents (OTAs), TripAdvisor and
`more.
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` The middle layer with productivity tools like revenue management, channel
`management, CRM and others.
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` The property management system now lies at the core, as it holds 100% room
`inventory. Earlier, the inventory to be distributed would stop at the CRS level. But, in the
`new travel technology stack, it is pushed further down to the PMS level which becomes
`the foundation.
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`This change came about with the rise of smaller independent hotels. They came with
`very limited room inventory that needed to be distributed and made available on diverse
`sales channels. The lesser the inventory, higher was the challenge to effectively
`distribute and manage fulfilment while maintaining rate parity.
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`The increase in the various online marketplaces posed a much bigger challenge to
`distribute inventory reliably. This would often lead to double bookings, especially for the
`smaller hotels. Bringing in reliable, real-time fulfilment of inventory directly from the hotel
`became the top priority. And, this real-time distribution of room inventory to the various
`channels like OTAs, GDSs, social media, the hotel’s own website, mobile platforms and
`more could only be facilitated and furnished by end-to-end automation made possible
`by a Cloud PMS.
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`For these reasons, we believe that the Cloud PMS is the ‘Holy Grail of distributing room
`inventory’. We particularly refer to ‘Cloud PMS’ as legacy PMS fails to rise to this
`challenge and has hit a technological bottleneck to collaborate with internet based
`services in real-time.
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`The Paradigm Shift
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`As we have seen in the new technology stack, the only way to block rooms is through
`the Cloud PMS because the distribution now ends at the Cloud PMS instead of the
`CRS.
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`This shift to Cloud PMS has suddenly made the complex ecosystem more streamlined
`and beneficial for a smaller independent hotelier. Let’s look at the major benefits:
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` For reasons stated above, the move from unreliable ways of distribution to reliability
`has been made possible for the independent hospitality businesses by Cloud PMS. This
`is a big advantage from the whole supply chain point of view as it benefits everyone
`involved in the supply chain and most importantly, the end consumer who is making the
`booking.
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` A lot of smaller players are now able to sell on platforms that were not available earlier
`because of the reliability factor. It is not uncommon for a GDS to refuse to sell a 9-room
`property.
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` The inventory does not stop at CRS or channel managers, but goes downstream to
`the Cloud PMS, which gives more control and power to the hotelier as well as the end
`distributor.
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` Cloud PMS also solves the problem of distribution of static content like images.
`Updating static content across multiple channels was earlier hard to maintain, but no
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`longer. It can now go through a single source - the Cloud PMS. This, we believe still
`needs specialized services, a topic that is large enough to discuss separately.
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`By fuelling this shift, Cloud PMS has become an inseparable part of the travel
`technology stack. It has taken its rightful place at the foundational layer, where it works
`as a unified distribution tool.
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`We are seeing a wave where travel technology biggies now have a Cloud PMS
`strategy. In times to come, we will see more PMSs not just integrated with distribution
`but also have ‘in-built’ capabilities to collaborate with revenue management tools, make
`decisions and drive distribution via services like channel managers and GDSs.
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`What we are seeing today is just the beginning where these services have begun to
`loosely integrate with each other. We will soon see them arm-in-arm, which will be a
`boon to the smaller and mid-segment hospitality industry, especially for the independent
`properties. It will give them the level playing field they were looking for against the
`brands that always seem to be in the ‘line of sight’.
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`The inventory held by the PMS is priceless, and Cloud PMS makes it reliable and
`available in real-time. Hence, the only true and trusted source that fuels distribution for
`smaller independent hotels is undoubtedly the Cloud PMS, making it the Holy Grail of
`room inventory.