The publish Going Beyond ‘Service’ with Raja Rajarajan: Services are becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily Media.
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Raja Rajarajan, Senior Director Services, APAC, Agilysys
TDM has began a collection of interviews underneath the theme ‘Going Beyond’ that carry to the forefront ‘a behind-the-scenes look’ on the experience of Agilysys APAC staff members throughout product engineering, providers, HR, and gross sales, highlighting how every perform performs a strategic position in delivering worth to hospitality shoppers.
This collection of interviews explores how these groups contribute to key enterprise outcomes — enhancing the visitor expertise, driving RevPAG, enabling seamless, interoperable options, and many others. — whereas offering a deeper understanding of the folks, processes, and innovation that energy Agilysys’ influence throughout the hospitality sector.
In Part 3 of the ‘Going Beyond’ collection TDM interviews Raja Rajarajan, Senior Director Services, APAC, Agilysys.
Raja Rajarajan explores how the providers staff helps hospitality suppliers via clean implementation, ongoing optimisation, and long-term success with Agilysys options. He shares how service excellence drives operational outcomes, allows seamless integrations, and instantly contributes to enhancing the visitor expertise and supporting RevPAG progress throughout the APAC area.
Travel Daily Media (TDM): As Senior Director of Services, how do you and your staff assist shoppers throughout APAC maximise worth from Agilysys options, and what does a typical day in your position seem like?
Raja Rajarajan (RR): As the Senior Director of Services for Agilysys within the APAC area, primarily based in Sydney, my focus is on serving to shoppers not simply implement our options successfully, however maximise their long-term worth. My staff and I work intently with resorts, resorts, and hospitality companies throughout the area, supporting them at each stage of their journey – from preliminary session via to onboarding, implementation, coaching, and ongoing optimisation.
Clients typically describe us as ‘innovative and responsive,’ and we take pleasure in that. It displays our deep dedication to creating a significant distinction of their every day operations and guaranteeing that know-how by no means turns into a barrier to nice service.
No two days are the identical, and that’s one of many features I take pleasure in most. A typical morning may start with undertaking updates, addressing any escalations, and reviewing useful resource planning throughout the various markets we serve. Collaboration with our product groups is a key a part of my position; bringing shopper suggestions instantly into the event cycle to constantly improve our options.
Managing groups throughout geographies and time zones might be advanced, however I see it as a novel alternative to drive innovation and influence. It challenges me to remain adaptable, talk clearly, and stay intently attuned to the native wants of every market. The range inside APAC sparks recent considering and helps preserve us aligned with the fast evolution of the hospitality trade.
At the core of every little thing we do is a straightforward, shared purpose: to ship service excellence and assist our shoppers succeed.
TDM: Agilysys is thought for delivering seamless, end-to-end options. How does the providers staff help hoteliers in attaining clean implementation and long-term interoperability throughout their tech stack?
RR: Our providers staff isn’t simply centered on deployment – we’re with our shoppers all through all the journey. Our purpose is to make sure every implementation not solely runs easily but in addition aligns with the property’s long-term operational and industrial targets.
We conduct detailed wants assessments to realize a deep understanding of every property’s workflows, visitor interactions, and any third-party methods in use. With this basis, we create a tailor-made deployment plan that minimises disruption, reduces downtime, and ensures seamless integration with present know-how. This considerate, proactive method is a giant purpose shoppers see us as responsive and reliable.
We work throughout a variety of hospitality environments, from impartial resorts to resort teams, new openings, and properties transitioning from legacy methods. Whether it’s upgrading a single module or implementing a full end-to-end ecosystem, we collaborate intently with every shopper to customize the method.
Importantly, our help doesn’t cease at go-live. We stay actively engaged via common upgrades, efficiency evaluations, system well being checks, and ongoing coaching. Our purpose is to make sure Agilysys options proceed to evolve alongside our shoppers’ wants – becoming not only a software program platform, however an extension of their operation.
TDM: In your expertise working with a various vary of hospitality suppliers, what position does providers excellence play in bettering visitor experiences and supporting RevPAG-focused methods?
RR: In hospitality, know-how ought to by no means be a barrier – it must be an enabler. When methods are carried out and optimised with precision, they release workers to give attention to the visitor. This has a direct influence on satisfaction, loyalty, and finally, income per visitor.
When front-of-house and back-of-house methods are tightly built-in and fine-tuned for operational effectivity, properties are higher positioned to personalise experiences, upsell intelligently, and reply to visitor wants in actual time. That’s how RevPAG is unlocked – not simply by having the precise instruments, however by utilizing them to their fullest potential.
Notably, our help doesn’t finish at implementation. We view each relationship as a long-term partnership. Our providers staff stays actively engaged, offering ongoing session, system evaluations, and tailor-made recommendation. This permits us to reply as wants evolve and ensures that our shoppers can proceed to raise the visitor expertise over time.
TDM: Can you share a current success story or frequent problem the place the providers staff performed a key position in serving to a shopper enhance operations or drive income outcomes?
RR: One frequent problem we incessantly see is fragmented visitor knowledge throughout a number of methods. Many hospitality suppliers depend on separate platforms for property administration (PMS), point-of-sale (POS), stock, and loyalty – which ends up in siloed info and an incomplete view of the visitor journey. This not solely impacts workers effectivity but in addition limits personalisation and focused advertising and marketing alternatives.
We lately labored with a multi-property resort group dealing with precisely this concern. Their entrance desk workers couldn’t entry visitor preferences or previous bookings from spa or eating retailers, lacking crucial upselling moments and alternatives to personalise the expertise. Meanwhile, their advertising and marketing staff lacked a consolidated view of visitor spend throughout departments, making focused campaigns ineffective. Staff spent far an excessive amount of time manually cross-referencing knowledge – time that would’ve been spent with friends.
Our staff stepped in with a strategic method, not simply to implement Agilysys’ built-in PMS and POS, however to unify their broader ecosystem and create a single supply of reality. We began with a full knowledge stream evaluation, figuring out gaps and delays in how visitor info was captured and shared. Working intently with IT and operations, we developed a plan to import and sync legacy knowledge into the Agilysys platform.
This resulted in a totally unified visitor profile. Today, entrance desk brokers can immediately entry a visitor’s earlier spend, dietary preferences, or favorite actions, no matter the place that knowledge originated. Real-time updates from new bookings – like a last-minute spa appointment – are captured instantly and mirrored throughout the system.
Beyond the tech, we centered closely on cross-departmental coaching. It wasn’t nearly adoption, it was about workflow transformation. Front desk groups realized how you can act on visitor insights to supply significant upsells. F&B workers have been skilled to recognise returning friends and tailor service accordingly.
The transformation was vital. Manual processes have been decreased dramatically. Staff grew to become extra empowered, visitor engagement improved, and operational effectivity elevated. Over time, these enhancements translated into measurable good points – stronger visitor satisfaction, extra ancillary income, and better confidence in utilizing know-how to drive outcomes.
TDM: Looking forward, how is the position of providers evolving within the hospitality tech house, and how is Agilysys positioned to help hoteliers in assembly the expectations of immediately’s – and tomorrow’s – friends?
RR: The position of providers is becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven. As visitor expectations develop extra advanced – from hyper-personalised experiences to mobile-first interactions and seamless service supply – hospitality suppliers want extra than simply software program. They want strategic companions who can anticipate change, share greatest practices, and unlock new alternatives.
At Agilysys, we’re investing in superior analytics, AI-powered help, and steady schooling to assist hoteliers keep forward of the curve. Our providers mannequin is designed to evolve with our shoppers – guaranteeing they cannot solely adapt to shifting visitor expectations however constantly exceed them.
We recognise that many operators are understandably cautious about system change. That’s why we prioritise empathy and collaboration all through each engagement. Whether it’s a phased rollout, a migration from legacy platforms, or a full digital transformation, we stroll alongside our shoppers at each stage – serving to them construct the arrogance and functionality to future-proof their operations.
TDM: What does ‘Going Beyond’ imply to you?
RR: For me, Going Beyond is about committing to shopper success in ways in which prolong far past contracts or service agreements. It’s about being proactive, anticipating wants earlier than they come up, and delivering outcomes that genuinely add worth.
It means staying engaged effectively after go-live – being there when challenges come up, responding with urgency, and celebrating wins as a staff. It’s not nearly fixing points; it’s about creating moments of belief, readability, and collaboration all through the connection.
Ultimately, Going Beyond is a mindset. It’s about exhibiting up constantly, standing by our shoppers via change, and constructing partnerships rooted in long-term progress. That’s what drives us – not simply delivering software program, however delivering confidence, continuity, and shared success.
SCHEDULE A CALL WITH AGILYSYS HERE
The publish Going Beyond ‘Service’ with Raja Rajarajan: Services are becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven appeared first on Travel Daily Media.
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