Itesso Taps Hospitality Management Veteran Graeme Barrit as Chief Executive Officer

Former President of Coast Hotels & Resorts to oversee global operations for industry's only true Cloud-native hospitality technology provider

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. August 12, 2014

BREDA, NETHERLANDS - August 12, 2014 - Itesso, the global innovator in Cloud-native hospitality technology, announces the appointment of Graeme Barrit as Chief Executive Officer, a move that aligns with the company's strategic plans to bolster its advanced technology offerings worldwide and transition from a software solutions provider to a highly focused service company with industry leading SaaS (Software as a Service) offerings. Barrit's primary responsibilities in his new role as CEO will include helping Itesso accomplish that vision, as well as overseeing global operations for account management, finance and sales. Graeme's predecessor Bas Blommaart, in his new role as Chief Technology Officer, will focus on the further development of Itesso's highly innovative technology solutions, including its Enterprise Lodging System (ELS), the world's first true Cloud-native Property Management and Central Reservation System.

A hospitality expert with more than three decades of experience in the industry, Barrit brings with him a wealth of skills and expertise that includes hotel management, revenue analysis, marketing and yield management. Prior to joining Itesso, he served in various leadership roles throughout his successful 30-year career, including President of Coast Hotels & Resorts, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and Director of Sales for Commonwealth Holiday Inns, to name a few.

"Graeme's extensive experience in the hotel industry we serve will prove highly beneficial when working with our customers to provide the technology solutions most relevant to their growing needs," said Blommaart. "As the industry continues to embrace the Cloud to make their properties more flexible and efficient, we intend to remain at the forefront of technology by leading Itesso through an evolution from software provider to service provider. With Graeme's proven success in driving change and growth at the companies he has lead, we are confident that he will be able to guide us successfully through that process to become the number one provider of SaaS solutions for the industry."

Since its launch in 1994, Itesso has led the way in creating innovative software solutions that have helped to reshape the industry, allowing hoteliers to enhance services, reduce operational costs and increase revenue. In addition to the Cloud-native Enterprise Lodging System, Itesso is also developing potentially industry-changing concepts such as its Google Glass assisted check-in, which was unveiled at HITEC 2014. This revolutionary proof-of-concept solution would allow hotel staff to recognize guests as they walk up to the front desk and check them in with a simple voice command.

"At Itesso, we are committed to employing the most advanced tools and technologies available in order to provide hotels with maximum efficiency and minimal Total Cost of Ownership," said Graeme Barrit. "Our task now is to not only maintain our position as the industry's most advanced software solutions provider, but to ensure that we continue to evolve, along with technology and consumer behavior in our increasingly digital world. This includes leveraging all that the Cloud has to offer and transitioning the organization to a service-oriented one by expanding our SaaS offerings."

In addition to his vast hospitality experience at the property and chain level, Barrit has also served as a Co-chair for the Canadian Tourism Resource Council. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Manitoba, along with a diploma in hotel, motel and restaurant management from Red River College.

For more information on Itesso and its comprehensive range of hotel technology solutions, please visit www.itesso.com.

About Itesso

Itesso (formerly known as Hotel Concepts-Brilliant) is a leading global provider of advanced software solutions to the global hospitality industry. The company's premier product is the Itesso Enterprise Lodging System, the world's first true Cloud-native Property Management (PMS) and Central Reservation System (CRS), operating on the Microsoft Azure platform. This revolutionary new concept in hospitality software helps hotels to improve operational efficiency and significantly reduce the total cost of IT system ownership. Founded in 1994 and based in The Netherlands, Itesso maintains four main offices on three continents in order to provide local support to their hotel clients around the world. For more information, please visit www.itesso.com.