ALEC! is the newest module to the popular HotelEXPERT Rapid Response System which tracks guest requests and complaints with audible alarms. ALEC! e-mails critical flash reports daily, weekly or as frequently as preferred. An example report is "Calls By Duration" which summarizes staff response times to customers.

ALEC! takes over the tedious business of running and distributing reports. The result is "fresh" versus "stale" information on service trends. "This is a marked improvement from having to await month-end summaries," according to Val Reyes, President of Metromedia Software, Inc. An email "alert" is escalated to senior managers in the event that service trends are negative for five days consecutive.

The implications for Brand Management are tremendous. "Imagine 100 hotels in your brand and one unhappy guest leaves from each hotel everyday. In the course of a month, you're at risk to lose some 3,000 guests. You do not run this risk with ALEC!. ," says Reyes.

The HotelEXPERT System manages tasks in all hotel departments, bridging the gap between front-of-house and back-of-house software systems. Alarms are triggered whenever a guest continues to wait beyond the benchmark time. A Telephone Interface allows users to open and close tasks by phone. Another module, SmartPaging, allows dispatcher-free transmittal of tasks within a hotel.

Last year, COMMENTATOR was released to manage Comment Cards, Surveys and guest correspondence. It is now possible to immediately respond to guest correspondence, track rebates and amends, as well as simultaneously task the deficiency to operations. Survey Scores may be run anytime for trend verification, and, are also transmitted via ALEC! .

"We now have an intelligent, dynamic Rapid Response system, that handles guest activity from pre-Arrival, during Stay and after departure. That's primary! And then there's the added benefit of transferring everything else you do on paper to HotelEXPERT," Reyes concludes.

Metromedia Software, Inc. is based in New York City. The company focuses on development and support of hotel operations software. Metromedia Software, Inc products have been installed in over 100 hotels, ranging in size from 200 to 3,000 rooms.