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Check out our helpful collection of resources for any Advantage Reserve-related announcements and hospitality industry news.

Comprehensive Reservation & Guest Service Support 2023

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Debra Oakes – Director of Quality Assurance and Learning

Before joining Advantage Reserve, Debra entered the hospitality field in 2001 as a mystery shopper for hotel reservationists at a South Florida company. Over time, she advanced to evaluating, coaching, and writing QA reports. In 2012, she joined Kennedy Training Network as a mystery shopper and report writer, eventually becoming the Senior Report Writer and Client Manager.

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Favorite Way to Relax:

  • “Spending time with my family, including my son, husband, Beagle, and cat.”
  • “Watching Colorado Avalanche games, where I’m completely focused.”

 

Favorite Destination:

  • “Colorado! I recently moved here and love it.”
  • “Manhattan comes alive for me, and I’d love to visit London someday.”

 

Most Memorable Experience at a Hotel:

  • “At 11, I stayed at a hotel housing dogs competing in the Westminster Dog Show. As a dog lover, it was a dream come true, despite being an allergy sufferer.”

Reservation Sales Agents with Years of Experience

With over 40 years of hospitality experience, we seek team members who have compelling backgrounds in either reservations or front-office at the property level. Our ideal candidates are not only seasoned professionals but also passionate individuals who can bring a wealth of knowledge and a dedication to delivering exceptional service to our guests.

 

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Intimate Knowledge of Your Hotel and Local Area

Under the expert guidance of our clients, we compile an extensive knowledge base for each property with all of the need-to-know information for our agents to master. This includes not only details about the hotel itself but also rich insights into the local area, ensuring that our agents can offer guests personalized recommendations and create memorable, authentic experiences during their stay.

 

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Comprehensive Agent Training | Ever-Present Quality Assurance

Our training involves classroom sessions, shadowing, and role-playing with managers and experienced agents. To handle live calls, new agents role-play with our CEO using an “Ideal Call Flow” script, scoring 85%+ on property quizzes. Balto technology supports them in real calls, with daily monitoring and Kennedy Network coaching for quality assurance.

 

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Customizable Solutions to Fit Your Unique Needs

With endless opportunities for customization and personalization, we can streamline our services to reflect the specific needs of our customers. Whether it’s tailoring reservation processes, integrating unique branding elements, or adapting our team’s expertise to match your distinct requirements, we’re dedicated to crafting solutions that align seamlessly with your vision and goals.

 

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Robert Wilson – Founder & CEO

A renowned business leader in the hospitality industry, Robbie Wilson is the focal point for the vision and leadership for Advantage Reserve responsible for the strategic direction, business development, revenue, profitability, growth, and continuous improvement of services to partner hotels.

With more than 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Robbie has a multifaceted knowledge of hotel management, a deep passion for the guest experience, and a successful record in delivering operational excellence and financial results.

His expertise includes:

  • Developing, planning, and implementing operational roadmaps and financial structures that support growth
  • Building and strengthening relationships with external stakeholders, specifically AR’s diverse base of partner hotels
  • Translating initiatives into clear actions for internal and external teams and creating evaluation processes for service levels, conversions, and revenue generation
  • Building a healthy, unified culture that fosters open communication, cross-functional collaboration, and operational efficiencies.
  • Ensuring long-term sustainability by working closely with senior leadership on their relevant market analysis, risk analysis, return on investments, prospective partnerships, annual budgets, contracts, and negotiations

Robbie’s wealth of experience includes senior-level responsibilities at 3, 4, and 5 diamond management companies and hotels, such as Omni, Four Seasons, Sonesta, IHG, Hilton, Island Outpost Resorts, and several boutique and independent properties.

His extensive experience in all facets of hotel operations – all rooms divisions, food and beverage, sales and marketing, reservations, and revenue generation – has instilled in him a deep commitment and service philosophy to always deliver excellent guest services.

Contact: rwilson@advantagereserve.com

Hometown: Medfield, Massachusetts

Favorite Way to Relax: Sun, sand, and water

Favorite Destination: “Cape Cod, and the sights and the aromas always remind me that I am home. I also had a one-of-a-kind experience on a safari trip in South Africa.”

Memorable Experience at Hotel: “It was the Peninsula Hotel New York, and it was the perfect guest experience because of its incredible service and attention to detail. Everything was available. I didn’t have to think. The experience was so effortlessly exceptional, and the staff anticipated my needs before I even considered what I wanted.”

Ai Uemoto – Chief Operating Officer

Ai Uemoto is a key member and contributor to Advantage Reserve’s leadership team and partner hotels, ensuring financial health and leading operational strategies for the business.

Having been with Advantage Reserve since its inception in 2007, she manages cost-center budgets, delivers a range of operational reports, and identifies operational trends to optimize financial performance and expansion as well as minimize risk.

Creating and maintaining a data- and results-driven culture, Ai’s responsibilities include:

  • Managing payroll, Team Leads, Reservations Sales Agents budgets, and all operational aspects of the contact center.
  • Preparing data reports and forecasts for executives, sales and support teams, account managers, and partner hotels
  • Reviewing, monitoring, and auditing quality assurance, workflow patterns, performance standards, service levels, and daily, weekly, and monthly metrics
  • Delivering daily, weekly, monthly, and year-to-date data and financial reporting
  • Producing reports based on property needs and revenue, caller data, agent productivity and performance, conversions, and booking information
  • Working collaboratively with leadership teams to develop, execute, and manage business plans, operational efficiencies, and key drivers that impact results
  • Monitoring and maintaining internal controls to protect the company assets as well as to support overall risk management

Ai’s decades of experience in hospitality and hotels includes working for and representing highly successful and growth-oriented properties, such as Magna Hospitality, the Cartwright Hotel in San Francisco, Holiday Inn, and the Comfort Inn – ensuring that the customer care instilled in her from deep experience in hotels gets translated to call center operations.

Contact: auemoto@advantagereserve.com

Hometown: Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Favorite Way to Relax: Spending time with family – “my husband and my dog Mimi. She is a mix of Shih Tzu and Yorkie, and she is like a daughter to me!”

Favorite Destination: Italy and France “and I love the Philippines. It’s a beautiful place with a unique, diverse culture and very warm, friendly people.”

Memorable Experience at a Hotel You Stayed: “My husband and I had a staycation at the Atlantic Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The weather for our long weekend wasn’t so good, very rainy, but the guest experience was fantastic. The hotel service, from the front desk to room service, was so exceptional that we had a great weekend despite the rainy weather!”

Andrea Coleman – Chief Revenue Officer

Having a long tenure in the hospitality industry, Andrea Coleman is an exceptional, well-rounded leader with the ability to drive results, execute business strategies, and deliver outstanding customer service. She is focused on supporting the frontline while contributing to top-level strategies.

Andrea’s range of in-depth insights and responsibilities include:

  • Onboarding, training, and coaching staff, such as agents, account executives, and relationship managers, on technologies, platforms, best practices, and procedures
  • Overseeing the implementation of new clients
  • Acting as a knowledge resource for hotel information, systems, data, research, industry trends, revenue generation, and quantifiable benefits
  • Contributing to pipeline opportunities and strategies with executives, sales teams, and clients for planning, operations, forecasting, and account management

Before joining Advantage Reserve in 2009, Andrea worked for the Tides Hotel and the Kent Hotel in Miami Beach; Holiday Inn; Hilton Garden Inn; Furnished Quarters, a property management company featuring high-end rental condominiums; and the corporate task force team at Magna Hospitality, which turned a number of properties in distress into successful operations from a financial, service, and quality standpoint.

Contact: acoleman@advantagereserve.com

Hometown: Mamaroneck, New York

Favorite Way to Relax: Being outdoors and playing with her daughter, and watching movies – “I have seen every movie!”

Favorite Destination: Anywhere with a beach – “I love Puerto Rico, and I’d love to visit Sydney, Australia, and my daughter’s name is Sydney.”

Memorable Experience at a Hotel: “Being in hospitality enables me to have many unique experiences and opportunities. When I worked at The Tides in Miami Beach, I met many interesting people, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, and Janet Jackson. I even went to Janet Jackson’s 50th birthday party!”