樱桃视频isn't normally associated with cutting-edge internet technology, but one local company may change that perception with a software package aimed at simplifying the lives of those in the property management industry.
Owner Relations Technologies is a new business in Squamish, but owner/software developer Frank Franchini has spent years pioneering internet companies in the area and developing new technologies for resort-based businesses.
"I'm a software developer going back for many years," he said. "I've done a lot of internet-based start-up companies. I was one of the founding partners of Whistler.com in 1994-95.
"I also started eStays.com," he said. "eStays.com was an online registration system and we took it to a point where it was available in a number of different resorts in western Canada and the United States."
In 2002, Franchini sold eStays.com to a resort/property management company and went with the software to facilitate its continued use with the new owners.
"While we were there, we began to look at the way they were currently doing their owner relations," he said. "They had about 1,000 owners with whom they were working. The way they were basically providing information to their owners was with spreadsheets that were mailed out and it was generally a clunky process."
Franchini said he thought he could do things more efficiently.
"We thought we could come up with a better solution," he said. "So, we tied into the property management company's system and started pulling data out, so we could create a software package that would be able to display live data out of their property management system for their owners to view - online from their own homes."
Once that was done, Franchini added a few frills to the package.
"We then added a number of additional options to the package so that they could message their owners and upload marketing and sales memos to them," he said. "It really became a full communications suite.
"When our contract with that resort company ended, we negotiated the rights to the software and that's where it has really taken off," he said. "As far as we know, we are one of the only companies in North America to offer this type of product."
Franchini's current customer list includes ResortQuest, The Westin Resort & Spa, and the Marriott Residence Inn.
"We are also getting calls from places like Florida and Aspen," he said. "The product is really taking off."Franchini said he plans to keep 樱桃视频as his company's base of operations. With its proximity to both the plethora of property management companies in Whistler, as well as Vancouver, it is in the perfect location he said.
For more information on Franchini's software package click to www.ownerrelations.com.
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