Going Beyond ‘Service’ with Raja Rajarajan: Services are becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven
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 beneath the theme ‘Going Beyond’ that convey to the forefront ‘a behind-the-scenes look’ on the experience of Agilysys APAC staff members throughout product engineering, companies, HR, and gross sales, highlighting how every operate 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 so forth. — 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 companies staff helps hospitality suppliers by easy implementation, ongoing optimisation, and long-term success with Agilysys options. He shares how service excellence drives operational outcomes, allows seamless integrations, and straight 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 appear like?
Raja Rajarajan (RR): As the Senior Director of Services for Agilysys within the APAC area, based mostly 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 lodges, resorts, and hospitality companies throughout the area, supporting them at each stage of their journey – from preliminary session by to onboarding, implementation, coaching, and ongoing optimisation.
Clients typically describe us as ‘innovative and responsive,’ and we take satisfaction in that. It displays our deep dedication to creating a significant distinction of their every day operations and making certain that expertise by no means turns into a barrier to nice service.
No two days are the identical, and that’s one of many features I get pleasure from most. A typical morning would possibly start with mission 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 consumer suggestions straight into the event cycle to repeatedly improve our options.
Managing groups throughout geographies and time zones may be complicated, however I see it as a singular 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 variety inside APAC sparks contemporary pondering and helps maintain us aligned with the speedy evolution of the hospitality business.
At the core of all the things we do is an easy, 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 companies staff help hoteliers in reaching easy implementation and long-term interoperability throughout their tech stack?
RR: Our companies staff isn’t simply centered on deployment – we’re with our shoppers all through the whole 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 business targets.
We conduct detailed wants assessments to achieve 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 expertise. This considerate, proactive strategy is a giant purpose shoppers see us as responsive and reliable.
We work throughout a variety of hospitality environments, from impartial lodges 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 consumer to customize the strategy.
Importantly, our help doesn’t cease at go-live. We stay actively engaged by 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 companies excellence play in enhancing visitor experiences and supporting RevPAG-focused methods?
RR: In hospitality, expertise ought to by no means be a barrier – it must be an enabler. When methods are applied and optimised with precision, they liberate workers to deal with the visitor. This has a direct influence on satisfaction, loyalty, and in the end, 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 suitable 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 companies 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 latest success story or widespread problem the place the companies staff performed a key position in serving to a consumer enhance operations or drive income outcomes?
RR: One widespread problem we often 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 data and an incomplete view of the visitor journey. This not solely impacts workers effectivity but in addition limits personalisation and focused advertising alternatives.
We just lately labored with a multi-property resort group going through precisely this challenge. Their entrance desk workers couldn’t entry visitor preferences or previous bookings from spa or eating shops, lacking crucial upselling moments and alternatives to personalise the expertise. Meanwhile, their advertising 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 company.
Our staff stepped in with a strategic strategy, not simply to implement Agilysys’ built-in PMS and POS, however to unify their broader ecosystem and create a single supply of fact. We began with a full knowledge move evaluation, figuring out gaps and delays in how visitor data 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 had been skilled to recognise returning company and tailor service accordingly.
The transformation was vital. Manual processes had been decreased dramatically. Staff turned extra empowered, visitor engagement improved, and operational effectivity elevated. Over time, these enhancements translated into measurable positive factors – stronger visitor satisfaction, extra ancillary income, and higher confidence in utilizing expertise to drive outcomes.
TDM: Looking forward, how is the position of companies evolving within the hospitality tech house, and how is Agilysys positioned to help hoteliers in assembly the expectations of immediately’s – and tomorrow’s – company?
RR: The position of companies is becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven. As visitor expectations develop extra complicated – 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 finest 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 companies mannequin is designed to evolve with our shoppers – making certain they can’t solely adapt to shifting visitor expectations however persistently 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 consumer success in ways in which lengthen 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 displaying up persistently, standing by our shoppers by 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.
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The publish Going Beyond ‘Service’ with Raja Rajarajan: Services are becoming increasingly consultative and insight driven appeared first on Travel Daily Media.