Mr. van Santen

Riko van Santen

Vice President Electronic Distribution

Louvre Hotels Group

Riko van Santen graduated with an honours degree in Hospitality Management from Middlesex University, London, and also holds a degree in Japanese business studies and various software administration qualifications.

Following experience in various rooms division and revenue management functions at luxury properties, Mr. van Santen joined Pegasus Solutions/Utell in 2000 as Group Revenue Manager. In 2003 he was appointed Director of Electronic Distribution and by 2007 V.P. of Electronic Distribution & ICT for the Golden Tulip TOP Hospitality Group.

Currently based at Louvre Hotels Group‘s headquarters in Paris, Mr. van Santen architects the group’s distribution and e-commerce across 6 brands, ranging from 1 star to 5 star properties. The group’s Central Reservations System Goldres was among the first hotel reservations system worldwide to achieve full NGS Connectivity, Total Pricing and BAR functionalities.

Golden Tulip’s award winning website was the first hotel brand website to use RSS technology, Mobile-Device distribution, Facebook API, online guest reviews (UGC) and multi lingual Online Distribution Database usage worldwide. Mr. van Santen specializes in delivering evolving competitive hospitality distribution solutions with fast-to-market, cost effective deployment.

Experience also includes the RFP, procuring and deployment of 3rd party cloud based systems such as Revenue Management Systems, Rate Trackers, Commission Processing Systems, multi-chain electronic RFP solutions, POS, ERP and Property Management Systems.

Property systems consolidated towards “cloud” solutions include mail Server, payroll Server, POS server, PMS server consolidation as well as cross border VOIP and complex IPVPN rollouts internationally.

Mr. van Santen lectures at various hotel schools and global industry events on Distribution trends and Revenue Management, and holds seats on: HTNG Board of Directors (current Vice Presidency), HFTP EHTEC Advisory Council, Pegasus Solutions Customer Advisory Board.

A Dutch national, Mr. van Santen was born in Tokyo and having lived over 20 years abroad, currently resides in Paris, France with wife Christel and their two sons.

Mr. van Santen can be contacted at 33-1-42.91-4740 or rvansanten@louvre-hotels.com

Coming Up In The June Online Hotel Business Review

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Feature Focus
Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices
Sustainability is now a daily topic that affects every facet of hotel development and operations. As hotelier Hervé Houdré recently noted "The goal of Sustainable Development is clearly to secure economic development, social equity, and environmental protection. As much as they could work in harmony, these goals sometimes work against each other". In the June Hotel Business Review, some of the industry's most recognized sustainable development experts come together to identify emerging trends and discuss how sustainability is currently affecting the hotel industry. Each author presents the most important aspects of sustainable development of much interest to hotel owners, operators, investors and developers. We include perspectives and case studies on best practices from leading hotel groups and other industry players.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"300,000 Rooms Complete, 15,700,000 to Go"
By Larry Mogelonsky, President and Founder, LMA Communications
"Destination Earth: A Customized Approach to Sustainability"
By Mark Hickey, Senior Vice President of U.S. Hotel Operations, Destination Hotels
"Why This New Standard is Going to change Hotel Energy Management Forever?"
By Robert Allender, Managing Director, Energy Resources Management
"How Two Major Hotel Companies are Turning Sustainability into Tangible Business Advantage"
By Christopher Wood, Director of Social Responsibility, ASAE Convene Green Alliance
PLUS: Green Certification - Development & Investment Outlook - Case Studies - Green Design – Sustainable Development Strategies - Green Luxury - CSR Programs - Green Facility Management