SAS has acquired IDeaS Revenue Optimization who provide of
advanced revenue-management software for the hospitality industry. With its existing broad and powerful portfolio of market-leading advanced
analytics, business intelligence and industry-specific solutions, SAS now
has the leading revenue-management offering designed specifically for the
travel and hospitality industries. IDeaS customers will benefit from the
global resources of SAS, a $2 billion company.

This acquisition further establishes SAS as a leader in this area by
complementing SAS’ retail revenue optimization suite, which is currently
deployed by a number of global retailers such as Hudson’s Bay Company of
Canada and Kohl’s Department Stores.

 

SAS gains a robust application portfolio and technology foundation for
extending IDeaS price and revenue optimization to other industries. SAS�
solutions will leverage these revenue- and price-optimization capabilities
to help organizations gain deeper insights into their customers and
operations to maximize profitability.

 

“Effective revenue management is an essential tool, process and discipline
for nearly all asset managers who serve customer demand that varies by
market segment, season and economic cycle,” said Bill Carroll, Senior
Lecturer at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “Getting it
right can make the difference between profitability and non-profitability.
An RM system based on advanced analytics is critical to any firm’s overall
revenue-management strategy.”

 

Carroll, formerly Division Vice President for Global Marketing Planning at
Hertz Corp., said businesses can significantly increase their success with
revenue management.

 

Since deploying the IDeaS solution, the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles has
enjoyed an approximately four percent revenue increase.

 

“We’re definitely ahead of the competition,” said Greg Moon, Area Director
of Revenue Management at the Wilshire Grand.  “Once we started using IDeaS
V5i, we realized we could achieve higher rates when we didn’t think we
could before and soon started noticing a significant return.”

 

Moon said that the IDeaS solution also saves payroll costs because highly
accurate forecasts allow The Wilshire Grand to anticipate number of rooms
to be sold and plan for the amount of staff needed in a given week.

 

“IDeaS is extremely successful in the hospitality industry, and its highly
regarded application base is capable of much more,” said Jim Goodnight, CEO
of SAS. “SAS will build on that for other industries while remaining
attentive to the extremely loyal IDeaS customer base. SAS has the will, the
resources and the domain expertise to nurture the potential of IDeaS.”

 

IDeaS, with 200 employees, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS but will
continue operating under its current management. Its global customers
include: Hilton, Hyatt International, Mandarin Oriental, Intercontinental
Hotels Group, The Venetian Hotel and Casino, Stations Casinos, Lindner
Hotels, Fairmont Hotels, Manchester Airport Group and BAA.

 

Price- and revenue-optimization solutions such as IDeaS grew from airline
industry deregulation, when carriers sought to maximize profitability in a
newly competitive industry. The revenue management discipline (sometimes
called yield management) now permeates hospitality and travel sectors,
taking limited, perishable resources, predicting consumer behavior and
adjusting pricing to maximize profit. A prime example: business hotels
offering deep discounts for weekenders to encourage bookings for soft
demand days.

 

IDeaS delivers solutions via “software as a service.” Customers access
applications over the Internet, eliminating costs for new hardware and
software installation. Software upgrades are painless, as IDeaS makes the
changes on its Internet host.

 

“SAS is a perfect fit for IDeaS. Customers of neither company are locked
into long-term licenses, so we both have to earn our customers’ business on
a daily basis,” said Ed Booth, CEO and Chairman of IDeaS. “We have sought
for some time to expand our scope beyond hospitality applications and SAS,
with a corporate culture remarkably similar to ours, will provide IDeaS
with the resources to stretch its wings.”
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