As of October 5th, 2024, the Metropolitan card is deployed as the default card on the property dashboard, following requests from customers and our operations team. The card is positioned in the center column of IN-Gauge, directly below the current KPI card.

Understanding the Metropolitan Card

The Metropolitan Benchmarking Card is designed to provide property managers with detailed insights into their property's performance compared to others within the same metropolitan area. It focuses on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Incremental Revenue, Occupancy, and RevPar Impact, among others. The card visualizes these KPIs through bars, where the length represents the highest value in the area, and color indicates performance relative to the average. Users can view trends over time, export data, and customize which KPIs are displayed.

1. Increased Transaction Value

• How It Helps: By offering upgrades such as room enhancements, extended stays, or premium services (e.g., spa packages), front desk agents can increase the overall transaction value. Higher transaction values often lead to higher commission rates, directly benefiting the agent.
• Impact: Each successful upsell adds to the total revenue generated, which is often tied to commission structures that reward higher sales figures.

2. Personalized Upsell Offers

• How It Helps: The IN-Gauge LMS content educates agents on effective techniques to understand guest wants and needs, enabling them to create personalized upsell offers that are more likely to be accepted. Personalized offers typically have a higher conversion rate, leading to more frequent upselling opportunities and increased commissions.
• Impact: By tailoring offers to the specific needs and preferences of guests, agents can maximize their chances of upselling, directly increasing their commission earnings.

3. Performance Incentives

• How It Helps: Many commission structures include performance-based incentives that reward agents for meeting or exceeding upsell targets. Agents who consistently upsell can earn bonuses or higher commission rates.
• Impact: Reaching specific upsell goals can trigger additional rewards, leading to a significant boost in total earnings for the agent.

4. Cross-Selling Opportunities

• How It Helps: IN-Gauge can also be used to promote cross-selling of other hotel services, such as dining packages, local tours, or transportation services. These additional sales can further increase the agent’s commission.
• Impact: The ability to cross-sell alongside upselling increases the range of products an agent can offer, enhancing their potential to earn more.

5. Enhanced Guest Satisfaction and Loyalty

• How It Helps: Successful upselling that enhances the guest experience can lead to higher guest satisfaction and repeat business. Loyal guests who return are more likely to accept upsell offers, creating a steady stream of commission opportunities for the agent.
• Impact: Repeat guests who are accustomed to personalized service and tailored upsell offers contribute to ongoing commission growth for the agent.

6. Training and Support

• How It Helps: IN-Gauge often includes training modules that help agents improve their upselling techniques. Better training leads to more effective upselling, which in turn increases the likelihood of earning higher commissions.
• Impact: Continuous improvement through training translates to better performance, higher sales, and increased commission.

By leveraging these upselling strategies within the IN-Gauge platform, front desk agents can significantly enhance their commission earnings, contributing to their overall job satisfaction and financial success.

As of August 2024, hotel upselling has become a crucial strategy for maximizing revenue and enhancing guest experiences. Here are some key trends and stats:

1. Personalization: The focus on personalized upselling continues to grow. Approximately 74% of travelers are more likely to book with a brand that offers personalized recommendations, leading to higher upsell conversion rates and increased guest loyalty. Hotels are leveraging data analytics to tailor offerings, significantly boosting their upsell effectiveness.
2. Tech Integration: Technology is playing a pivotal role in transforming the guest experience and facilitating upselling. For example, 67% of guests now prefer using a mobile app for check-in and room selection, providing an opportunity for hotels to offer personalized upsell suggestions through these platforms.
3. Sustainability: With 82% of travelers considering sustainable practices important, hotels are increasingly offering eco-friendly upsell options, such as green room upgrades or sustainable amenity packages. This not only attracts eco-conscious guests but also enhances brand perception.
4. Ancillary Revenue: Beyond traditional room upgrades, hotels are expanding their upselling efforts to include ancillary services like curated local experiences and exclusive partnerships with nearby attractions. This approach can increase revenue per customer by 10-30%.
5. Dynamic Pricing and Yield Management: Upselling is also being integrated with dynamic pricing strategies, allowing hotels to adjust prices based on demand and capture guests with varying spending capacities, thereby maximizing revenue during peak periods.

These trends indicate that hotels are increasingly relying on personalized, technology-driven, and sustainable upselling strategies to drive revenue growth in 2024 and beyond(Upselling Solutions,Bismart Blog,Amadeus Hospitality).

We are enhancing our security measures to support our growing base of global customers by integrating Auth0 with IN-Gauge. This marks an exciting milestone in our journey, as we prioritize the protection of our customers' data and the integrity of our platform.

We understand the importance of a smooth user experience and have carefully designed our updates to minimize disruptions while delivering improved security measures and enhanced capabilities. Rest assured, your login experience will remain consistent and reliable as we continue to prioritize user satisfaction and security.

With Auth0, we are taking proactive steps to ensure that our authentication processes meet the highest standards of security and compliance. By leveraging Auth0's robust authentication and authorization capabilities, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and identity verification, we can safeguard our users' identities and data against unauthorized access and potential threats.

This initiative reflects our commitment to providing a seamless and secure experience for our customers, regardless of their location or the scale of their operations. With Auth0, we can scale our authentication infrastructure to meet the demands of our growing user base, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to evolving security requirements and industry standards.

Enhanced Security: Auth0 provides robust authentication and authorization capabilities, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and identity verification. By leveraging Auth0's security features, you can protect your application from unauthorized access, data breaches, and identity-related attacks. Additionally, Auth0 offers compliance with industry standards and regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, ensuring that our authentication processes adhere to best practices and legal requirements.

Introduction of IN-Gauge Metropolitan Benchmarking Card

 Announcing the launch of the new IN-Gauge Metropolitan Benchmarking Card, designed to provide property managers with enhanced insights into their property's performance relative to other properties within the same metropolitan region. 

Key Features:

1. Metropolitan Benchmarking: Property managers can now view the performance of their property against all other properties in the same metropolitan region, enabling them to assess their standing and identify areas for improvement.
2. Comparative Analysis: Property managers can understand how their property's Incremental Revenue, Room Upsell Conversion rates, and Length of Stay compare to similar properties in the metropolitan area, helping them gauge the effectiveness of their revenue management strategies and optimize upselling opportunities.
3. Performance Alerts: Property managers will receive notifications or alerts if their property's performance significantly deviates from the metropolitan benchmark, allowing them to take immediate corrective actions and stay competitive.
4. Customizable Reports: The BI team has developed customizable dashboards and reports for property managers, providing them with a user-friendly interface to access and interpret benchmarking data effortlessly. These reports can be shared with stakeholders and senior management for decision-making purposes.
5. Data Integrity and Reliability: The BI team has implemented data validation and quality checks to maintain the integrity and reliability of benchmarking data, ensuring that outliers or errors are promptly identified and addressed.
6. Predictive Analytics: The BI team has developed predictive analytics models that can anticipate changes in property performance within metropolitan regions, allowing property managers to proactively adjust strategies and stay ahead of the competition.
7. Training and Support: The BI team will provide training and support to property managers on how to interpret and use the benchmarking data effectively, empowering them to make informed decisions and drive performance improvements.

This release represents a significant milestone in our commitment to providing property managers with actionable insights and tools to optimize property performance and drive business success. We look forward to your feedback as we continue to enhance the capabilities of the IN-Gauge Metropolitan Benchmarking Card.

Deployed Feb 1st

We have now implemented a rolling two-year dataset with an annual endpoint within ING, which allows end users to perform queries efficiently. This change is driven by several  reasons, with approximately 90% of users primarily querying month-to-date (MTD) and year-to-date (YTD) data.
 This changes maintains the option for users to download the entire dataset when necessary.

This upgrade significantly enhances performance and processing capabilities on ING in real-time. It impacts the services and the underlying Relational Database Service (RDS) infrastructure, ensuring that user queries, particularly those focusing on MTD and YTD data, are supported effectively and efficiently.

User Stories:

1. As an ING user, I want to access historical reports within ING property and portfolio Dashboards.
2. As an ING user, I want the option to specify a custom date range for historical reports on the Property/Portfolio Dashboard.
3. As an ING user, I want to be able to export historical reports for data beyond the past 2 years on theProperty/Portfolio Dashboard.
4. As an ING user, I want the exported reports to be available in  used file formats like Excel or CSV.
5. As an ING user, I want to receive a notification when my export of historical reports is completed.

1. As an ING user, I should have the capability to export historical reports for data that extends beyond the previous 2 years using the new UI/UX for the Portfolio & Property  Dashboard.
2. On the Dashboard, a popup notification should appear when the calendar selection traverses beyond the last 2 years from the current year within the new UI/UX.
3. From the popup notification, users should be able to export historical data for the selected years in Excel format.
4. Users should have the option to select the desired metric type and year for exporting the historical data report.

This feature is due for deployment on January 19th 2024

Within the landscape of hospitality data, we encounter unique scenarios classified as Edge Cases. These scenarios are shaped by the data we receive or don't receive from various global properties. What makes these Edge Cases particularly challenging is the variability in whether or not ING has received the change records from properties. To effectively address and navigate this complexity, we wrote the "Upsell Adjustments" module within ING.

The "Upsell Adjustments" Module: Efficiently Managing Edge Cases

Our "Upsell Adjustments" module is purpose-built to tackle the intricacies of these Edge Cases, providing a streamlined and efficient approach to their resolution. Here's how it works:

Data-Centric Focus: The module is tailored to work seamlessly with the data and Edge Cases processed within the application. These unique scenarios are identified and flagged using ING's intelligent algorithm, which is adept at recognizing common data errors and anomalies.

User-Friendly Interface: To empower our users, we've designed an intuitive user interface (UI) that allows for the seamless review and modification of these Edge Cases. It's a user-centric approach that simplifies the entire process.

Customized Validation: When, for instance, a guest extends their stay at a property, a new record is generated. This record typically retains all original data points, such as confirmation numbers and room numbers, except for the room price, which may change. This specific change is identified as an Edge Case. With the "Upsell Adjustments" module, users have the authority to validate and, if needed, adjust these records directly through the UI.

Data Accuracy Assurance: Beyond just streamlining operations, the module serves as a guardian of data accuracy. It ensures that all changes and updates related to these unique scenarios are executed with precision, leaving no room for data discrepancies.

What do we consider an Edge Case in Hotel ?

List of Edge Cases:

• Guest disputes a sale: When a guest disputes a sale for any reason, it triggers an Edge Case.
• Guest upsells during a stay - Upsell record received any day past the first night:
• An Edge Case occurs when a guest decides to upsell their stay, and the corresponding upsell record is received after the first night of their stay.
• Guest extends a stay: An Edge Case arises when a guest chooses to extend their stay at the property.
• Guest departs early: When a guest departs from the property earlier than their originally booked departure date, it constitutes an Edge Case.
• Guest purchases late check - day before departure: An Edge Case occurs when a guest purchases a late check-out option on the day before their scheduled departure.
• Price reduction during stay: If there is a reduction in the price of the accommodation during a guest's stay, it creates an Edge Case.
• Agent ID changes from the agent who upsold to the agent who received the phone call from the room: When there is a change in the agent responsible for handling an upsell, especially when the guest initiates contact from their room, it is considered an Edge Case.
• Guest returns to the lobby and accepts an upsell - Agent may have changed: If a guest returns to the lobby and decides to accept an upsell offer, even if the agent handling the interaction has changed, it results in an Edge Case.
  
  

Where can I find Upsell Adjustments?

1. From the property dashboard - 
   1. Go to the Audit Trail card and expand.
   2. You will a visual of the page below
   3. All are defined as use cases listed below- 
      1. The end user can click on any of the data point and input the change .
      2. The user is presented with the old and the updated record. The user can create a new record or overwrite the current record.

The "Upsell Adjustments" module offers several benefits for handling these Edge Cases:
Flexibility: It provides flexibility to address diverse scenarios, ensuring that hotel staff can adapt to changes in guest preferences and situations.
Data Accuracy: The module helps maintain data accuracy by allowing for real-time updates and corrections to guest records.
Streamlined Workflow: It streamlines the workflow by centralizing the management of Edge Cases, reducing the need for manual interventions and data reconciliation.
Guest Satisfaction: By efficiently handling changes and disputes, the module contributes to enhanced guest satisfaction and ensures that guest expectations are met.
Operational Efficiency: It improves operational efficiency by automating tasks associated with these Edge Cases, saving time and resources.
Revenue Optimization: The module can also contribute to revenue optimization by enabling the identification of opportunities for upselling and pricing adjustments.

Objective: In our continuous effort to enhance your learning experience, we are excited to introduce improvements to our mobile app's learning check feature. We have addressed an inconsistency in answer labeling between our web platform and the mobile app, making it easier for you to navigate and understand your training materials.

Mobile App Learning Checks: In the mobile app, learning checks now display answer options labeled as A, B, C, and D alongside the actual answer content. This aligns the mobile app's answer labeling system with the web platform, ensuring a consistent and intuitive experience for users.

Why is this important? Previously, the mobile app presented answers without corresponding labels, potentially causing confusion, especially when answer options referred to specific labels like "A & C" or "B, E & F." This update aims to eliminate any discrepancies and improve clarity during your learning checks.

Recommendation for Clarity: To further enhance your experience, we recommend aligning the answer labeling system in the mobile app with the web platform's format. Alternatively, we are exploring options to provide guidance within the mobile app interface to help you better understand the relationship between answer content and labels.

We are committed to continually enhancing your learning experience, and we hope that these improvements contribute to a more consistent, user-friendly, and engaging training environment. Thank you for choosing our platform for your learning needs.

If you have any feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. Your input is invaluable as we strive to make your learning journey even better.