EmotionSpa Magazine: Special feature on online booking

3 questions for Hervé Colly, General Manager at Sequoiasoft

SEQUOIASOFT continues to surprise us… at EquipHotel 2016, the company will be launching its next-generation platform called ASTERIO. Hervé Colly, General Manager at SEQUOIASOFT, gives us the lowdown on this innovation, its specificities and features, a remarkable all-in-one tool that offers a unique user experience.

Emotion Spa: Hervé, 2016 is packed full of news for SEQUOIASOFT, particularly with the launch of the company’s super-smart, next-generation platform, ASTERIO. What are its generic functions?

Hervé Colly: ASTERIO goes beyond classic management software, it is an all-in-one, web-based sales, management and customer loyalty platform designed for the wellness, hotel and restaurant industries. ASTERIO is ultra-flexible and is organised in multiple modules: spa, hotel, restaurant, bar, boutique, conference facilities… It is the most adaptable and upgradeable system on the market. With its “à la carte” design, ASTERIO can be configured to perfectly match each establishment’s organisation and therefore is capable of meeting an independent day spa’s needs just as well as a resort’s or hotel spa’s needs. Moreover, ASTERIO is a 100% web-based and secure solution accessible everywhere 24/7 via a simple Internet connection.

 Asterio is an all-in-one, web-based sales, management and customer loyalty platform designed for the wellness, hotel and restaurant industries"

ES: With ASTERIO, single and multi-establishment management options are both possible and users are quick to get to grips with it and make it their own. What are the main advantages for both the operator and the users?

H.C.: We focused on the user experience right from the start when we designed ASTERIO. We have developed a tool that is in tune with users’ daily needs. Regular procedures such as scheduling, invoicing or registering a new client can be done from a single screen for fast and intuitive access and with a tablet, PC and Mac. Each module and feature has been designed so that users can quickly make the platform their own and find it easy to use day to day.

Another significant advantage with ASTERIO is that the operator no longer needs to constantly switch from the spa’s software to the hotel’s to collect and develop its data. ASTERIO centralises all the information and allows for immediate and direct access to all data systems.

Having an establishment’s different departments working with one single solution also promotes communication between the different teams. In fact, we have integrated an internal instant messaging app for this very purpose. In terms of business support, our SEQUOIASOFT experts, specifically trained on ASTERIO, provide one-to-one monitoring throughout the installation and configuration process, team training and customer support 7 days a week.

ES: Among all its features, one particularly sparked my interest: the client’s journey is monitored from A to Z, booking, scheduling, invoicing processes, customer retention programme, etc. Enough to build a thorough profile and optimise client follow-up before, during and after their experience. Have client-centric systems become essential?

H.C.: Yes, I am convinced of that. ASTERIO offers a truly modern approach to client management by placing the client at the heart of the system and going beyond a mere booking management system.

We have gone from a classic room and treatment allocation management system to the development of the global client experience with a purpose: customer retention. And that is essential! Especially now we know that attracting a new client costs 5 times more that persuading an existing client to come back… With ASTERIO we have provided all the necessary tools to attract and greet the client as well as to promote sales and customer retention.

We intend to further develop this approach and are studying the design of a new application for clients to use on their smartphones to improve their holiday experience by having information on all the hotel, spa and restaurant services… As well as having access to information on concerts, events, festivals, the region’s go-to places and partnerships with local stakeholders.

To find out more about ASTERIO, meet SEQUOIASOFT at EquipHotel, from the 6th to the 10th November 2016, at stand L14 and live in Studio 16 as part of the “Hotel of Tomorrow”.

by Isabelle Charrier, published in EmotionSpa Magazine No. 47 Autumn 2016