Hotels never close. Hotel System Solutions (HSS) doesn’t either. Co-Founders Erik Strom and Scott McGraw formed HSS in February 2015, drawing upon more than 40 years of combined hospitality management and technology experience to provide the hotel community with integrated systems and support for Opera PMS, POS, Interfaces and more with the Oracle Hospitality Suite.
Now heading into its second year of business, HSS continues to build upon a successful platform that solves problems hotel operations face when implementing and utilizing technological systems.
Challenges faced might include unresolved support tickets, skyrocketing implementation costs and lengthy wait times to get the support needed to make technological products work.
“Our approach begins with the guest experience in mind,” McGraw said. “The technology needs to work effectively to provide the guest with the best possible outcome. We help hotels optimize the products available to ensure the experience is seamless; when it is not, we also are there to help get it back on track.”
Strom and McGraw drew upon their deep-seated experience working in both the hospitality community and the world of technology to form HSS. They successfully implemented the Opera PMS at more than 1,200 hotels and resorts worldwide, including chains such as IHG, Carlson Rezidor Hotels, Hyatt, MGM and Wyndham.
Both founders are passionate about providing superior customer support and timely, affordable software solutions to help clients realize savings, improved financial controls, increased staff productivity and enhanced guest experience delivery.
“With technology, the processes and systems change frequently and the team on the ground is often left unprepared to handle the changes,” Strom said. “The need for assistance is immediate, but many times, help is not available for weeks. Scott and I have experience in both the hotel operation and technology partner side, and know firsthand the challenges from both perspectives and the ways in which the experience can be improved.”
Services HSS provides include (but are not limited to): professional consulting, system installation and configuration, operator and manager training, customized interfaces, forms (RDF and XML-based), custom reporting tools, and network and data center support. Current clients include KEYPR, for whom which HSS is a partner of choice, and also Red Lion Hotels Corporation.
Scott McGraw brings more than 20 years of hospitality management and technology experience to his role as Co-Founder and CEO of HSS. McGraw’s most recent appointment was with Nor1, where he served as Integrations and Opera PMS Subject Matter Expert.
In this role, McGraw realized there was a growing need in the industry to help hotels and resorts make better use of their technology and provide them with enhanced support, tools and resources.
Prior to Nor1, McGraw gained invaluable experience working at MICROS Systems, Inc. Throughout his nine-year tenure with MICROS, he held various progressive positions, gaining in-depth technical knowledge of the Opera Suite including PMS, OXI, ORS, and Sales & Catering. McGraw began his hospitality career in 1995, working in all aspects of the hotel operation for more than a decade at the Four Points Sheraton, NY. McGraw earned his degree in Hotel Management from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and currently resides in California.
As Co-Founder and COO of HSS, Erik Strom has enjoyed a career in hospitality and technology that spans more than two decades. Strom’s most recent appointment was as IT Manager at the 650-room, Five-Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.
Here, Strom was responsible for the overall maintenance of the property’s technical systems, including LAN and WiFi networks, hardware, applications and mobile devices. Prior to his role at the Fairmont, Strom worked for eight years at MICROS Systems, Inc., holding progressive positions including implementation consultation and network specialist – where he learned the technical side of application (including SQL) – and network/interface installer.
Before MICROS, Strom served in numerous managerial roles throughout all aspects of hotel operations at properties in Missoula, MT; Portland, OR; and Phoenix. Strom earned a Bachelor of Information Systems from the University of Phoenix, and currently resides in Scottsdale.
