Systems

eZee management

India definitely has lot of scope in IT solutions for the hospitality industry and one company is using this scope to the fullest advantage. eZee Technosys has grown from being a start-up to an international player in hospitality software solutions within a short span of three years

Vipul Kapoor

The Indian hospitality market has traditionally been one lacking in availability of automation in the form of software usage and most properties, apart from five star hotels have until recently, been following the process of manual guest registration. The concepts of online bookings and web-based registrations have started catching up only in the last few years.

Things have changed in a big way with some of the biggest international names in hotel software expanding their footprints in India.

Though many of the big players failed to make serious inroads into the Indian market for a simple reason - their offerings did not completely meet the varied needs of the segmented Indian hospitality industry. Where their products were perfectly suited for the big star properties, these softwares could not fit on to their platform. They were out of reach both in terms of functionality and the pricing.

That's where eZee Technosys stepped in. Established just three years back by IT entrepreneurs Hitesh Patel and Vipul Kapoor with their headquarters in the Surat, eZee has provided for all software related needs of the Indian hotel industry. In a brief period, eZee has become a fast growing hotel management software provider in India and has grown from being an Indian company to garner an international presence in more than 62 countries.

Small beginnings

Their first offering, eZee FrontDesk is a comprehensive property management suites covering everything right from front desk management, house-keeping details to accounting. With comprehensive built-in reporting modules, an intelligent Yield Management system, end-to-end audit trails, and complete web-based access, eZee FrontDesk has been designed to make life easier for hotel managers and property owners who cannot always keep track the workings on their establishments.

The duo of Patel and Kapoor followed a simple strategy while developing the software - talk to the people who will be using this software, understand what their requirements are, and try and fulfil all of them. This strategy has allowed them to develop a software package that is more-or-less tailor made to the requirements of almost every hospitality property, be it a bed-and-breakfast motel, an executive class hotel, a budget inn, or a massive five-star property. Talking of their passion for developing solutions for the hospitality industry, Patel, who heads marketing and sales for eZee says, "For us, it is about listening to the clients. The hospitality industry is a competitive one and the difference between a successful hotel and a not-so-successful one, is the promptness of its service. When we were developing eZee FrontDesk, the single thought we had in mind was how do we make it simpler for the end-user? What would I need if I was the front desk executive or any one of the various hotel executives using this software? This allowed us to focus exactly on what is required and we believe we have come out with a winning solution."

Customer centric

This attention to detail and ease-of-use built into eZee FrontDesk has allowed eZee to grow out of their base in Surat and boast of installations worldwide with eZee FrontDesk in more than 800 including Albania, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Mexico. To complement its international applicability, eZee FrontDesk also have support for international languages including Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Thai and Vietnamese.

In addition to paying attention to the requirements of the property managers, another big USP that eZee has in their favour is their post-sales service. eZee have set up 24 support centres across the world in addition to their captive, 24x7 technical support centre here in India.

Kapoor, the technology brains behind the company has his own story to tell, "The hospitality industry is an exciting one with new challenges almost every day. No two customers are the same similarly, no two properties are the same. The most exciting part for us is the challenge each new establishment poses and the thought that we have to put into customising our solution to meet their requirements. I believe our .0strongest point lies in our ability to reach out to them and listen to what they want. I believe we have so far managed to deliver on all counts and we definitely intend to continue doing so."

Spreading wings

eZee has now moved on to develop a full range of solutions for the hospitality industry. Today, their offerings include eZee Burrp, the complete POS package for restaurants, bars, night clubs, resorts, theme parks and any other outlet that has point-of-sale dealings.

The eZee Reservation engine allows properties to manage their reservations online in real-time, while their eZee Centrix Channel Management Suite is reportedly the most user-friendly and easy-to-use online hotel channel management system available anywhere.

Looking ahead

Today, eZee is an established name in the hospitality technology arena and both Kapoor and Patel believe they now have a level playing field with the industry leaders. Both founders continue to invest time in developing new offerings and new businesses. This zeal is visible in their new offerings- eZee Web Solutions a web designing and development service exclusively for the hospitality industry and eZee Hotel Internet Marketing Services, dedicated solely to internet marketing for the hospitality industry.

"We found that this is one area of the hospitality industry which seriously lack in - a website design and development service that also understands the industry to the fullest," Kapoor says. "With our knowledge of the intricacies and dynamics of the hospitality market, designing websites that embody the property's finest points would be another delivery point for us. And of course, it always brings that value addition to our offerings!"