Flanders Hotel Hampshire Classic

Please tell us a few words about yourself and your property

We’re a 50-room centrally located property in ever popular Bruges, Belgium and are an independent member of both the local Belfort Hotels group, of which I am the chairman, as well as Hampshire Hotels of the Netherlands.

We offer our guests a contemporary environment in an historic framework, with designer accommodation in a building of which the foundations date back to 1234 AD. We have ample parking spaces at the hotel - something of a hot commodity around here - and offer a heated indoor swimming pool, a spacious lounge bar and an elaborate, hot & cold daily breakfast buffet.

We achieve high levels of satisfaction among our clients, as shown by repeated industry accolades and much public praise, not least for our staff and the service they provide every day.

What was the major challenge that you wanted to solve with the adoption of a (new) hotel software?

The very fragmented nature of all the software tools we had been using over the years had driven us to seek to consolidate PMS, channel management and other parts of our technology solutions.

We felt it really didn’t make sense that some of these interfaces were largely separate and were convinced that we could increase efficiency and profitability with a more modern approach - like the one offered by Clock.

As these were areas of concern with the previous solution, we also needed something that was properly responsive - seconds do matter - and that could actually achieve a high level of reliability.

What else has changed in your property management since Clock PMS+ has been deployed?

Generally speaking, we have been able to streamline front-desk procedures and the management of housekeeping, aided by the introduction of mobile devices to interact with guests and monitor room status. We continuously strive to take advantage of new features being implemented by the makers and our opinion on which direction this should go in doesn’t go unheard either.

What type of software were you previously using to manage your property?

We had used a legacy, windows-based solution up to 2012, followed by an unfortunately underperforming, alternative cloud solution for a number of months. For some time already, we had been wanting to take advantage of what the cloud can achieve, things like having a limited (and budget-friendly) IT footprint, being accessible always and everywhere and a closer electronic tie-in with our client base to strengthen our direct market share. Though as said we were only successful at this the second time around, Clock really have ‘measured up’ and their team have been most supportive.

How did Clock PMS+ provide the solution for your challenge?

We have been using the integrated channel management and our ‘barazar’ lounge bar is equipped with the Clock POS. This has really lightened the workload and our room distribution has noticeably benefited from the XML-connectivity employed by Clock.

Is there anything else you want to share about your experience with Clock PMS+ and/or Clock POS?

Just that we now feel that our operation is properly supported in terms of software and that, though the need for continued development never goes away, Clock allows us to take advantage of some of the latest in hospitality technology.