Pegasus Solutions has transformed its Utell Hotels & Resorts hotel representation service into Pegasus Connect, a three-tiered offering for hotels that ranges from basic global distribution system connection to fuller sales, mobile and data support.
"It's no secret that there hadn't been much growth with Utell and in fact had been some significant losses," Pegasus CEO David Millili said. "We've listened to our clients and sales team to put together a program that's what the hotels are asking for."
The most basic level, Pegasus Connect, simply provides connectivity to GDSs. The next level, Pegasus Connect Gold, also connects to China's TravelSky and more than a thousand other online channels. Hotels also receive monthly data reporting through a more detailed version of Pegasus' public quarterly Pegasus View publication, Millili said.
"It's not a vanilla report that gives them the view of the whole industry," he said. "It's detailed source information: destination reports, revenue, room nights, rates and demand coming into the marketplace."
The Gold level also gives hotels access to Pegasus' OpenView booking engine and sales consulting services. The highest Pegasus Connect level also includes for hotels a mobile site and sales support targeting corporate buyers and travel management companies.
While Utell's GDS chain code will continue to exist, Pegasus no longer will sell Utell's services, Millili said. Existing contracts will be honored, and Pegasus is working with those hotels to adapt and either add or remove services as preferred under the new tiered structure, he said.
"A lot of them on Utell are very happy," he said. "It's what hotels want and what hotels need. Larger groups might not need larger services, but Pegasus can still be the switch."
Pre-sales of Pegasus Connect, which officially launched this week, have been promising, he said.
Millili, who in June became CEO, said the change is an example of the direction he intends to lead Pegasus, informed by his earlier experience as an on-property hotel general manager. The company plans to be more open in its dialogue with hotel clients, he said.