Case Study: The Breakers Palm Beach
Identifying New Revenue Streams and Growth Opportunities
A REASON FOR CHANGE
For years, The Breakers Palm Beach relied on its own homegrown lodging management system to manage its sales and catering processes. In 2005, Jim Mostad, Director of Sales for the property, acknowledged that the program simply wasn’t doing the job anymore. He and his team needed to bring one of the premier resort properties in the country into the next generation of technology and implement an entirely new sales and catering system.
Given his years in the hospitality industry, Mostad understood he was faced with a decision that was more than just choosing and implementing a new technology. It was a decision to implement widespread change — a critical decision on many levels with no room for error. With a significant percentage of The Breakers’ revenues coming from groups and events, Mostad knew he had to get it right the first time.
After researching different software solutions the right choice was clear. The Breakers selected Newmarket International’s Delphi™ Single Property Edition integrated with Diagrams. While ease of use, features and functionality were critical, for Mostad, the deciding factor was the people. “This is most certainly a people business first and foremost. Newmarket had the time and resources committed to identifying The Breakers unique needs and processes as a hotel,” observed Mostad. “That made all the difference to us in making such a major decision that affects our entire business.”
UNDERSTANDING THE BREAKERS’ UNIQUE NEEDS
Since 1896, The Breakers has been well-known as one of the world’s most prestigious and beautiful resorts. Set amidst 140 acres of breathtaking oceanfront property, the resort offers an extensive range of services and amenities for the vacationing or business traveler. Having invested $225 million in the ongoing revitalization and expansion of the resort since 1990, The Breakers has exemplified a commitment to excellence.
After the first meeting, Mostad knew that Newmarket understood The Breakers’ business and how to improve upon it. With hundreds of groups and catering events annually, the property was in need of a solution designed to meet this intense volume. Additionally, the resort’s sales, catering and conference divisions comprises many moving parts that needed to be more organized and efficient while also continuing to provide the superior service its clients have come to expect.
Newmarket International took the time to evaluate and understand what it takes to run The Breakers before recommending Delphi Single-Property Edition, the industry's leading application for automating the sales, marketing, and catering processes of larger properties along with the company’s Diagrams, a powerful design application that empowers The Breaker’s staff to quickly, easily and accurately generate customized floor plans and setups for meetings and events.
REAPING THE REWARDS OF ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
User adoption and training were also key criteria in the Breaker’s selection of Newmarket’s solutions. “As with any major software transition, the sales and catering team had some trepidation but the trainers were remarkable,” stated Mostad. “Newmarket helped us to develop good business processes and Delphi is extremely user friendly. Although it was a completely different system, it never disrupted our normal flow of business.”
Only months into its implementation, The Breakers Palm Beach is reaping the benefits of a comprehensive system and its helpful reporting capabilities. With Delphi in place, Mostad has the ability to drill down into a detailed view of all aspects of the business including individual performance and availability - which ultimately allows the staff to be more proactive.
“Knowledge is truly power. Delphi gives the sales team the information they need to work independently and take action right away,” said Mostad. “We can now better evaluate the resort’s availability, giving us an overall convenience and ease-of-use we didn’t have before.” The Breakers Palm Beach has seen tremendous productivity increases since the implementation. Response time between catering and sales is much improved along with returning and customizing RFPs (Request for Proposals). Additionally, with Delphi, a sales person can send a draft contract to a customer instantaneously, allowing the resort and the customer to view it together. This feature pleases the customer and makes for a speedier process all around.
REAL-TIME INFORMATION LEADS TO NEW REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES
With Delphi, The Breakers can assess how they are doing by market segment at any given time. They now know what was booked and why; and moreover, they can accurately assess the implications of taking business or booking an event. Predicting, forecasting and knowing where the opportunities exist are extremely beneficial to The Breakers’ bottomline.
“Ultimately, Delphi allows us to see where we stand, the actual business on the books, and truly have an understanding of where we are right now,” concluded Mostad. “This results in better forecasting, better selling strategies and ultimately recognizing new opportunities for our company. We can now identify opportunities to grow revenue and what’s even better is that we are just scratching the surface- there is definitely more to come from this partnership with Newmarket.”
About The Breakers Palm Beach
Founded in 1896 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Breakers Palm Beach is one of America’s legendary resort destinations. The 560-room, Italian Renaissance-style hotel resides on 140 acres of oceanfront property in the heart of Palm Beach. With the commitment of its original ownership, The Breakers has invested $250 million over the past 15 years in its ongoing revitalization and enhancement of its multi-faceted amenities -- most recently, the dramatic transformation of shoreline into a luxurious beachfront experience.