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October 5, 2018 Integration Updates

Reservations Platform Cutover: September 18 Wave Overview

As previously communicated, the deployment strategy for the Reservations Platform is to transition hotels by brand on a specified date, in a compressed period of time. We are pleased to share that all 67 hotels in the September 18 Wave successfully cut over from the SPG ecosystem to the Marriott ecosystem, which includes Marriott’s Reservations, Revenue Management, Sales & Catering, and Property Management systems.

Overall, the conversion went smoothly for the hotels in this wave. The iT, Business, and Continent teams worked to resolve issues as they arose and, for the most part, addressed them before they impacted properties. While continuing to support the September 18 wave hotels, we have already begun to identify learnings and improvement opportunities for future waves. These include:

  • It is critical that hotels complete all training and outstanding Land-It tasks by T‐14. The volume of tasks from T-14 to cutover is too high for hotels to complete if they fall behind.
  • Management companies and hotel leaders are encouraged to review and confirm User Access Provisioning by T‐14 as it is possible that associates will need to request access to systems in the days leading up to cutover. Ensuring you know who is able to approve access requests will help ensure timely processing.
  • Hotels should anticipate more time than they think they will need to complete pre-cutover tasks, and consider augmenting staffing appropriately, beginning at T-7. Also keep in mind:
    • Overnight Cutover Staff T-0 Staff: it is important to have strong performers in place during cutover but also when systems are coming back up.
    • Completion of cutover tasks while maintaining operations: associates on-property who are responsible for cutover activities may not be able to complete all tasks if they are interrupted to assist with guest- or other hotel-issues.
    • Possibility of unexpected call‐outs.

While many aspects of the cutover are going smoothly, issues have been reported with EMPOWER Reservations that are causing challenges for certain hotels. We recognize these issues are causing frustration for hotel associates, and that guest-facing issues are also a concern. At this time, the known impact to the customer experience is that in some cases, a guest must make a reservation directly with a hotel if an associate at a CEC is not able to create their reservation. We have several teams focused on addressing each of the issues and are keeping hotels informed as they are resolved. In the interim, hotels should review the workarounds, and reminders about resources available to ensure they are equipped to address guests’ needs.

In parallel, we are developing a plan to reinforce existing training and support new skills and processes through additional open office hours and resources, notably around the process of Inventory Balancing, which is new to the hotels.

Support tickets continue to be analyzed, and the challenges identified thus far are being addressed. In addition, we continue to simplify and clarify Land-It tasks, Job Aids, and GM Checklists for future cutovers, including sequencing and level of effort. 

MRDW Reports

Additionally, the following issues with MRDW reports have been identified and are currently working towards mitigating for futures waves:

  • Account Tracking Report (ATR): An issue with historical conversion at the account level is causing many records to appear in the default BT rate program instead of the proper BT account rate program. This will distort account-level tracking for dates prior to September 18. Until the issue is resolved, the Account Tracking Reports will not be accurate and should not be used for history. Hotels are still able to access PACT or STARboards for historical data prior to go-live. The ATR will be accurate for dates after go-live, current year values.
  • Booked Roomnight Comparison Report (Seg 8): This report, which is essentially a reservation pace report at the month level is not currently available. Booking pace information at the day level is available directly in One Yield.

Resolution timing for MRDW will be updated on MGS. 

Command Center Experience

During this process, real‐time cutover updates were provided to hotels via multiple channels including MGS, direct emails, and phone calls. Those updates were intended to address issues as they occurred while ensuring hotels were informed and had all the necessary resources. Key learnings related to the Command Center and cutover included:

  • Hotels found the business process changes to be challenging immediately following cutover.
  • Every hotel engaged with the Command Center for assistance with technical challenges and/or business process clarification. Key learnings were identified around the level of service received through the support line, and have been addressed for future waves. As a reminder, when issues arise, hotels and management companies should:
    • Submit detailed SNOW Tickets so Command Center Staff can quickly triage and address the issue (i.e., provide screenshots of the issue)
    • Leverage Reservation Platform Cutover SNOW tickets and phone numbers
    • Provide the Americas Integration Team with the contact name, email and phone number for T‐14 through Cutover 

 

POST CUTOVER ACTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 18 WAVE HOTELS

We encourage hotels to use MGS, Land-It, and other resources for the latest information on system updates. Hotels are also encouraged to continue to attend Post Cutover Functional Webinars and Office Hours, as well as Change Crew Webinars for the 8 weeks following cutover.

We realize hotels may continue to experience challenges specific to their property. For ongoing support with the new systems and processes, SPG hotels in the September 18 wave cutover are asked to use the How to Get Help After Cutover (PDF) guidelines when determining how to submit questions related to systems, training, and Land-It tasks. Generally, hotels should contact their Implementation Manager for questions and support on Land-It tasks, and submit any systems-related questions (business process or technical) through ServiceNow (SNOW).

NEXT STEPS FOR FUTURE WAVES

The next wave of Four Points and Tribute Portfolio hotels will convert on October 10. Hotels should have completed all training and outstanding Land-It Tasks prior to September 26, while also reviewing and confirming User Access Provisioning.

We encourage all hotels in future waves to ensure they are reviewing Land-It tasks in advance of their due date and considering the level-of-effort to complete all tasks and training. As a reminder, management companies, market leaders and GMs will be invited to join a webinar approximately four weeks prior to their cutover date to learn more about critical timeframes, hotel experience, preparation activities, the Reservations Platform escalation process, support processes, resources, and next steps.