Ski Miquel

Case Study: Bespoke Development - Administration Reduction

Ski Miquel is an independent tour operator specialising in skiing package holidays.

The problem

Ski Miquel approached FelineSoft to improve the day-to-day running of its operations. They had been using a Unix screen system for printing out holiday confirmation forms and had a manual system of cardboard squares, using pen or pencil for different types of holiday bookings. On top of this manual booking system, there was a lot of other time-intensive administration involved in the day-to-day running of the business, including financial administration and resort management.

The Goals

The aim was to save both time and money by reducing the amount of administration involved in the whole operation, from handling sales enquiries to managing the guest requirements in the resorts. This would require all their business processes to be fully automated and integrated into one system.

Delivery

We developed a booking system with software powered by Microsoft SQL server which fully automated their business processes from setting up customer records through to the confirmation of hotel bookings. Once the system was in place it enabled the processing of a booking to be totally automated and stock was shown in real time on screen. Working from their desktop with one unified system meant that staff could bring up customer records immediately whilst on the telephone and access holiday availability immediately, with corresponding flight information and availability of surrounding accommodation immediately available on screen. The new system also enabled the sales staff to hold provisional bookings for customers and a reminder to follow up the enquiry within a set time-frame would be automatically set up.

The financial administrative processes were also integrated so that invoices could be automatically created and printed out. The resort administration also benefited from the new booking system as all the necessary information on guests and their individual needs could be sent over to the resort managers on a weekly basis with none of the previous manual administration.

Conclusion

The radically improved booking system with its automation, reminders and full integration of resort and guest information meant Ski Miquel was able to implement a 20% staff reduction. The total system investment produced major savings whilst providing a much greater level of business integration. The ability to view up-to-date holiday information on screen immediately also gave Ski Miquel the edge over the competition by enabling the sales staff to cross-sell when the requested holiday package was already booked up. Overall, the administration in all respects of the business was massively speeded up and has subsequently enabled the company to operate with less staff than most of its major competitors.