Almo Professional A/V is all-in on the hospitality market.
That much is clear since the distributor announced Almo Hospitality Division which it says provides a customized combination of expertise, products, services and support for the hotel and lodging industry.
About 30 percent of integrators expect to see growth in their hotels and casinos market in 2017, according to CI’s 2017 State of the Industry survey, and another 30 percent expect that business to decline.
However, it’s fair to assume that those respondents might have thought differently if armed with better tools and strategies for the hotels market.
In fact, the hotel industry is growing, according to Almo Pro A/V, which cites STR Global research predicts growth through 2017 that has outpaced growth each year dating back to 2010.
[related]“In line with the data, Almo has achieved dramatic growth in the hospitality market segment in the last several years,” says Sam Taylor, executive vice president and COO for Almo Professional A/V, in a press release.
“We’ve assembled a group of seasoned internal and outsourced hospitality experts from which we create customized teams based on the project requirements of our hotelier suppliers and integrators.”
Hotel integration is unique with applications differing greatly from lobbies to guest rooms to restaurants and more.
Almo says its Hospitality Division enables integrators and resellers serving the hospitality market to equip every major area of a hotel, ranging from guest rooms and common areas with comprehensive AV to restaurants, bars, ballrooms and meeting rooms.
“The new division offers distinct offerings such as design and technical support, logistics and revenue-generating services,” Taylor says, “and in addition to Almo Pro A/V’s hospitality product portfolio, we are also able to leverage products from Almo Corporation’s Appliance and Electronics divisions so that all areas of the hotel are covered.”
Launching at Almo E4 AV Tour
Almo Pro A/V plans to educate its dealers on Almo Hospitality Division during its 2017 Almo E4 AV Tour, which takes place in Chicago on March 21 and San Jose on April 18.
The conference features a keynote session on the future of smart buildings and hotels, plus a full day of hospitality-dedicated sessions led by Samsung, Steven’s Digital, Comcast Business Solutions, TeleAdapt, Kube Systems and more, according to the press release.
More from the press release:
Almo is also hosting several free hospitality-themed webinars, focusing on topics such as hospitality charging trends, the secret weapon to winning larger hospitality projects, creating a positive guest experience, hotel TV streaming, commercial or consumer vs. hospitality displays and more.
“The Almo Hospitality Division offers the complete, one-stop technology package for hospitality dealers and resellers,” said Jonas Tanenbaum, vice president, Hospitality TV Division, Samsung Electronics of America.
“It is a benefit to the entire hospitality industry to have a distributor with such an experienced, dedicated team available. The Almo Hospitality Division can specify and supply the Samsung sets for guest rooms and provide free-to-guest content. Almo can also provide digital signage and content creation services featuring information, advertising messaging or imagery throughout a property. In addition, Almo can handle the complete installation including integration with other technology products throughout the property or chain. There is no other distributor with this range of capabilities geared toward hospitality-focused dealers and resellers.”
Meanwhile, Almo has assembled its Hospitality Division Team with the following promotions:
- Stephen McKay, Senior Vice President, Special Markets. Stephen leads all activities for five unique markets, which include hospitality, new business, direct market retailers, global sales and representative firms. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations for these groups, including budgets, relationships and business growth. Prior to Almo’s acquisition of IAVI in 2016, Stephen was Senior Vice President of Sales at IAVI for 17 years. Before then, he spent many years managing resort properties and on-site restaurants in New Zealand.
- Eric Steiner, Director of Hospitality. Eric oversees all hospitality sales and account managers as well as key strategic reseller partnerships. Before Almo, Eric was HospitalitySales Manager for IAVI. He’s also held national account manager and business development positions at PDI Communications, Inc., Accelerated Broadband, LLC and English Distribution, LLC.
- Apryl Lamberti, Director of Business Development for Hospitality, CSP, DSCE. Apryl serves as the liaison between hospitality vendor partners and resellers with a specialty in Samsung Hospitality. Apryl creates customized hospitality programs and drives sales growth by leveraging the support of manufacturer partners. Before this position, Apryl was a business development manager for Almo Professional A/V. She’s also held national sales manager, regional sales manager and national account manager positions at TOA Electronics, Inc., ADT Security Services and SecurityLink.
Almo says its hospitality model offers a holistic approach to including the following benefits:
- Brand Standard Pre-Sales and Design Support. Demo products, technical advisors and business development along with an experienced hospitality sales team with hands-on leadership to create a plan that enables partners to win hospitality business.
- Product Sourcing. Includes hospitality and digital signage TVs and mounts, touch displays, control systems, mobile streaming solutions, assisted listening devices, appliances and commercial laundry, electronics, charging solutions, and furniture and furnishings.
- Partnerships. Leverages vendor partnerships for support along with channel-driven business development and sales.
- Logistics. Project forecasting and pipeline management, staging and inventory reserve and palletization, expedited shipping, drop shops and online order tracking.
- Value-Add Services. Experienced hospitality bid-desk experts, customer care center and access to the “Almo Online Dealer and Reseller” portal.
- Managed Hospitality Services. Installation Services, Bandwidth, Free-to-Guest TV & Voice Services and Digital Signage Content Creation, to reduce the need for on-site engineering or FF&E staff with hospitality expertise, while creating a path for partners to generate recurring revenue.
- Maintenance. Extended warranty, removal and reinstallation services, and technology refresh design to ensure all hotel installs are in line with brand standards and accomplishing property initiatives for an enhanced guest experience.
Almo adds that it has partnered with numerous featured manufacturers with hospitality-based products and solutions, including Samsung, Kube Systems, TeleAdapt, Listen Technologies, Danby and much more.
