Here at Optii, we’re celebrating some recent recognition of our position as the leaders of change in the methodology of housekeeping management. The May 2012 issue of Asian Hotel and Catering Times (click here to view) features an article penned by Soenke Weiss, Optii Solutions CEO, about the need for change in housekeeping management, which highlights the flaws of both the credit and pay-per-room systems.

The only software solution dedicated exclusively to the “department whose payroll makes up the largest single line item in the hotel budget and is charged with looking after the core product of the hotel”, Optii Keeper is revolutionising housekeeping management globally. Unlike other solutions which offer housekeeping modules as add-ons only, Keeper’s ability to factor in the key variable – the guest – is reflective of our tenacity to deliver real innovation at the ground level. Attached is a copy of the article, entitled “21st century housekeeping”.

Additionally, Shirley Delaberbis has given us a great plug in Executive Housekeeper (Vol. 16) (click here to view), proposing the use of Optii Keeper to achieve productivity efficiencies of up to an estimated 25%. This really is a wonderful unsolicited endorsement of our best-of-breed solution.

On the back of excellent growth across three continents, we’re thrilled to welcome two new staff members this week. Both senior developers, Danny Thyne and Chris Thomas will be based in our Sunshine Coast office, working closely with our development centre in Vietnam.

Danny’s and Chris’ appointments reaffirm Optii’s commitment to the continual development and enhancement of Optii Keeper and to its standing as the leading housekeeping software solution globally.

Optii is pleased to announce that it now has representation on the ground in Singapore! Headed up by Managing Director, John Sartain, Omni Group Holdings Asia Pte Ltd will act as our reselling agent in the region.

Many of you may know John from his days as General Manager at the Mandarin Orchard and Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotels. Since late 2011, John’s been breaking into new territory with Omni, Singapore’s first outsourced housekeeping management company. Excellent synergies exist between Optii Keeper’s offerings and those of Omni, and we are thrilled to be working with John and his team.

For those of you in Singapore, please feel free to contact John for further information about our Optii Keeper housekeeping solution on Tel: (+65) 6736 7505 or Mobile: (+65) 9750 6272.

HITEC brings the brightest minds and hottest hotel technologies to one place. It’s a logical consequence that Optii needs to be there!

Optii Keeper is the only housekeeping solution that manages the core aspect of the housekeeping department: Labour! Find us at booth #2247 and see how Optii Keeper assists in improving productivity, quality, turnaround times and more.

Satisfy your curiosity and find out how Optii transforms housekeeping. We look forward to seeing you there!

Optii at HITEC 2012

The May Fair is an iconic 5-star hotel in the heart of London. It is also the first hotel in Europe to propel their housekeeping department into the 21st century with Optii Keeper. Opti’s Ashlee Lindahl, together with Vincent N’Gueyilbe from our European partners Index Hospitality Systems, conducted the training – culminating in a smooth first day with their new tool.

As you can see from the video below – confidence levels and enthusiasm are high!

Click to view video: Claudia Silva on working with Optii.

The May Fair is ready to rumble

Click to read more

The Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Resort streamlines housekeeping operations with Optii Keeper. How did they do it? You can find out right now by reading the case study.

“We can now manage housekeeping towards clearly defined goals, which was not previously possible.”
Ben Nesbitt, Rooms Division Manager

May takes charge of Optii!

Early October marked the beginning of a new era for the rooms operation at the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong, a member of the Intercontinental Hotels Group. The 5th IHG hotel to deploy Optii, the entire rooms division was involved in learning about their new tool. Ashlee and Gary Chan conducted the training with both housekeeping and front office and were amazed how quickly all staff have taken to Optii, exploiting all features to make their operation the most efficient in the group.

Optii partners with hotels to improve the efficiency of their operations – thus we will be working with the hotel over the next months so stay tuned for an update!

We are very excited to announce the commencement of our newest team member Dean Gabrio. Dean will undertake the role of Client Support Analyst.  Dean will guide new Optii Keeper clients through a seamless implementation and then provide continuing technical support and advice thereafter.

Dean comes to us with more than a decade of knowledge and experience honed in the hospitality industry.  His background in support and Technical Project Management developed whilst working with EZYield and his core competencies in Front Office Management results in a dynamic combination of understanding the challenges posed to Hoteliers today and the ability to provide solutions to overcome them.

For our current clients requiring technical assistance, Dean is your ‘go to’ man. Based in our expanding Sunshine Coast office, Dean can be contacted on 07 3123 5416 or, for our counterparts in the Asia region +852 5804 3422 or support@optiisolutions.com.  Alternatively, for non-urgent questions or queries, you can reach Dean by email dean.gabrio@optiisolutions.com.

Adapt or die. Since first introducing Optii Keeper in 2008 we have been working with and learning from our clients. Consequently our commercial offering has evolved along with the product. Optii Keeper has advanced on several levels keeping true to the adage ‘Adapt or Die’.

The team at Optii understand all too well the complex Owner – Operator relationships involved in purchasing decisions . Many Executive Managers we work with love the Optii Keeper solution, but have an up-hill battle with their owners to secure initial funding, so in response to this we have been hard at work making Optii Keeper a no brainer for all parties at budget time.

Optii on the iPod platform

In January 2011, Optii Keeper launched on the Apple iPod platform.

Optii Keeper on iPod Touch

This latest innovation has several advantages. Most significantly, the hardware cost is reduced by as much as 80% in comparison to Windows PDA’s.  As the initial outlay for hardware is a large component of any technology solution, a saving such of this magnitude is a considerable bonus.

The benefits of Optii Keeper on the iPod platform don’t end there. The iPod Touch proves easier to handle as it is lightweight while robust and the famous Apple simplicity makes it easy to use even for Room Attendants that normally shy away from technology.

With its larger screen and multi-lingual interface, information is deciphered at a glance, and the touch screen technology makes the iPods quick and easy to use.

New Traction for Transactions

Optii is aware of the highs and lows a hotel’s occupancy can experience due to the seasonality of the business. In response to this, we’ve introduced a variable, pay-per-room-sold fee, enabling consistent profits year round.

Re-LEASE the CAPEX burden

Want to side step the headache of the Capital Expenditure process? No problem. Opt for a ‘Total Package Solution’. Essentially, your variable fee incorporates the cost of an operational lease provided by Optii Leasing Services to smooth the path to the CFO.

We’re confident that combined with the profit contributions already achieved by our existing clients, these latest developments will make the decision to do away with your pencil and paper even easier. Bring in the 21st century!

Proven results in productivity improvement and tangible operational outcomes are behind Optii Keeper gaining popularity among hotels around the globe.

Over recent months, hotels from Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Australia have adopted Optii Keeper to improve customer service and better manage their housekeeping operation. The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore, Banyan Tree Macau, Okura Macau, Galaxy Hotel Macau, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, Grand Hyatt Macau and Kowloon Shangri-La are the newest members of the Optii Keeper family.

Galaxy Macau

All hotels installed Optii Keeper on the new iPod Touch platform, chosen because of its reliability, simplicity and low total cost of ownership.

The hotels range in size from 263 rooms to 1,459 rooms and while there may be a difference in their size, the feedback received is unanimous: Optii Keeper has become an integral part of the Housekeeping operation and many wonder how they managed before!

The newly opened 2200-room Galaxy Macau Complex opened its doors in May 2011. After initial training with the Housekeeping team in March, Optii Keeper was fully operational from day one, ensuring that room turn around was maximised and Housekeeping Management had full control of the very large numbers of Room Attendants from all three hotels within the complex.  Furthermore the hotel management team are making the most of the productivity reports produced by Optii Keeper, guaranteeing full transparency of each individual hotels’ Housekeeping operation.

More recently, Grand Hyatt Macau implemented Optii Keeper with a view to improve on their productivity and maintain the already high standard of customer service the housekeeping department provides.  Having seen Optii Keeper in full flight at City of Dreams’ Hard Rock Hotel Macau, the Executive Management team at the Grand Hyatt recognised the potential benefits that could be applied to their operation.

Room Attendants ready to start the day!

The implementation has been a great success as the Housekeeping staff use Optii Keeper to navigate their way through the busiest holiday period of the year. The automation of the housekeeping department has been a bonus for the staff who are eager to use Optii Keeper to its full potential.

The ‘manual’ system of managing housekeeping with paper and pencil has its limitations. All of these hotels are now enthusiastically experiencing the broader horizons of housekeeping management, reaping the benefits in the process. Welcome to a new, better housekeeping world!