Meliá Hotels International and Microsoft Partner to Develope Innovations in Tourism

As part of the agreement, Meliá Hotels International will migrate its systems to a model based on Microsoft cloud computing technology, strengthening the hotel company’s innovative services and responding to the increasingly sophisticated needs of a global customer base.

Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, María Garaña, President of Microsoft Ibérica, signed the agreement which features several action areas ranging from the creation of a technological infrastructure based on Office 365 to the evaluation of a digital marketing platform which may offer a 360º view of customers along with integrated management of marketing activities and multi-channel experiences. Innovative projects will also be developed to enrich the guest experience, such as the creation of virtual hotel receptions which can offer services such as information on attractions, events, restaurants, flights, etc. These projects will evaluate the use of technologies such as augmented reality and geolocation. Both companies will also work on the development of technologies for the so-called “hotel room of the future”.

The agreement will allow the hotel company to renew its productivity solutions, providing employees with access to the Microsoft Office 365 cloud computing platform. The companies will also evaluate the addition to its technology platform of added value services and Customer Relationship Management tools, including as social marketing, content and online audience management, loyalty programmes, etc. Meliá hotels may also add new entertainment and communication areas using the Xbox, Kinect, PixelSense, MSN, Skype and other applications for Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels Internationalstressed the importance of “commitment to innovation in the tourism industry, and the key role technology must play in reinventing our relationship with the global customer”.

María Garaña, President of Microsoft Ibérica, stated that “at Microsoft we are fully committed to the development of the tourism industry, and we believe that cloud computing technology will play a key role in modernisation. This agreement”, added Garaña, “reinforces the leadership of Meliá Hotels International in innovation thanks to the use of Microsoft’s latest technologies, while also satisfying the demands of hotel customers who require increasingly sophisticated services”.

Improving competitiveness and customer service

Meliá Hotels International is committed to Microsoft’s cloud computing solutions to create a fundamental technological change in its organisational structure which will generate major advantages including better cost management and increased productivity, scalability, security and reliability.

Amongst other things, Meliá Hotels International will introduce Office 365 and Lync solutions based on cloud computing which include productivity and collaboration tools, instant messaging, unified communications, email and videoconference. This will aid the company in creating long distance training infrastructure, collaborative environments, opportunities for sharing virtual content, improvements in Customer Relationship Management, and better and more thorough planning of corporate resources.

The hotel company will also have preferential access to the services of theMicrosoft Innovation Centre in Tourism Technologies located at the ParcBit in Palma de Mallorca, and will work alongside the company to develop advanced technology applications, participating in innovative technology projects which incorporate the use of new devices in the tourism industry such as Xbox, Kinect and PixelSense.


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