Lowry Hotel embraces Sage Intacct for digital transformation

The Lowry Hotel has implemented Sage Intacct as part of its recent digital transformation initiative, according to an announcement by Percipient. The Manchester-based hotel aims to enhance its reporting, intelligence, and management insights with the new platform, facilitating the hotel's capacity to launch new services and support business growth.

After evaluating several platforms, including Xero and Oracle, The Lowry decided on Sage Intacct for its flexibility and seamless integration with existing systems. Percipient's experience in the hospitality sector played a significant role in the project's success.

According to The Lowry Hotel, Sage Intacct's intelligence capabilities enable department heads to access real-time data, leading to more informed decisions. Integration with systems like ProcureWizard allows for better management of suppliers and spending, helping the hotel negotiate discounts and strengthen relationships with suppliers.

The platform also provides a continuous live profit and loss overview, which can be accessed at any point, bringing the concept of a continuous close closer to reality. The digital transformation has facilitated the hotel's move towards a paperless operation, reducing paper usage by approximately 70%.

Louise Longden-Scott, Financial Director at The Lowry Hotel, remarked, "Not only did Sage Intacct meet all of our functionality requirements, but it was incredibly easy to use, intuitive, and crucially, out of the box. Its multi-tenant cloud architecture, APIs for easy integration with third-party systems, and scale meant that it felt like a platform which would support us well into the future, and flex to accommodate new initiatives and innovations we might want to explore."

She added, "As well as being so easy to use, we're saving so much time through its ability to just process everything in the click of a button. Everything is integrated, and the Accounts Payable (AP) offers more automation, which expedites the processing of Purchase Orders (POs) and payments, which equates to around 20% in time saved. More than that, the risk of inaccuracies as a result of manual error is all but removed, and the way in which we communicate with our suppliers is far slicker. Month-end is quicker, and there is further potential to improve. The intelligence within it is just a game changer. The team can ask questions or seek more insight into a particular invoice or transaction, and Sage Intacct generates the relevant data analysis in seconds."

Speaking on Percipient's role, Longden-Scott said, "Percipient has extensive experience in the hospitality industry and a great deal here in Manchester. This experience, combined with first-hand and in-depth knowledge of the system, made for a smooth and fast deployment, but they continue to provide great support now that we're live. They are so responsive, and in the event of us having to e-mail a query, they quickly give us confidence that they'll resolve it, and we're looking forward to a continued partnership as we navigate our next chapter."

Longden-Scott also stated, "Sage Intacct represents a robust, scalable platform from which to manage our financials, providing the business with access to in-depth management information in a timely and user-friendly manner. The ability to make faster, more informed decisions is crucial in capitalising on new opportunities and mitigating risk, and with Sage Intacct at our helm, we're confident that we're in the best shape to deliver against the high standards which our brand is synonymous with."

The Lowry Hotel, which opened in 2001, is known for its location on the banks of the River Irwell and its reputation as a premier spot for high-profile guests. The hotel offers 165 bedrooms, 12 suites, a riverside restaurant, and a spa.