Zhara HS from JKCS goes live at Bentota Beach Hotel

Zhara HS, the latest hotel management software designed and developed by John Keells Computer Services, recently completed its implementation at the Bentota Beach Hotel: one of the most sought after four star properties in the southern coast of Sri Lanka.  

Bentota Beach, which offers 130 rooms and three suites, is designed based on an ancient Dutch fort by the famous architect Geoffrey Bawa. With the growing demand for accommodation in Sri Lanka, Bentota Beach was faced with the challenge of reducing overheads and creating more efficient processes for service delivery to their guests. In order to streamline processes, optimise revenue and create further efficiencies in operations Bentota Beach decided to install Zhara HS.

The Zhara Hospitality Suite is an all-in-one hotel management software that enables a resort or a hotel chain to run its entire operation by simply logging on to the Internet. The Zhara Hospitality Suite offers all the trappings of an Enterprise class multi-property system and comes complete with an internet booking engine, a central reservation system and a Property management system. This state-of-the-art system is a result of the expertise gained by JKCS in developing travel distribution systems for the aviation industry.

John Keells Computer Services initially started operations as an Airline software provider to some of the leading airlines of the world. With over a decade of experience in this field, JKCS has now ventured into the hospitality industry and has created the first Sri Lankan state-of-the-art hotel management system to reach the global market.

After the implementation, General Manager of Bentota Beach Sanjeeva Perera stated: “Zhara HS is an exciting new experience for us at Bentota Beach; we believe that this partnership with JKCS will bring a win-win outcome for both parties while opening up new avenues for revenue generation for the hotel. With the current boom in the tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka we believe that Zhara HS will provide us the edge we require to build customer lifetime value.”

Expressing his views on the next steps, Rasika Iddamalgoda (BU Head – Hospitality Solutions) at JKCS stated: “We are pleased to deliver the complete Zhara Hospitality Suite to Bentota Beach and are looking forward to a rewarding partnership. Zhara HS is committed to delivering services which are focused on continuous improvement and built on international standards to all our clients at all times.

“The distinctive Software-as-a-Service operational model on which Zhara HS is built will provide a significant cost saving for Bentota Beach while ensuring 24/7 support for the system, creating optimum efficiency in operations. The SaaS model not only benefits our clients but us as well through reduced platform complexity, reduced operational costs and improved development and support processes.”

The unique ability of the system to adapt itself into various operational models of various scales has been a catalyst in Zhara HS’s popularity in the hotel industry. The clientele of Zhara HS spans from Small scale independent properties to large hotel chains. It is flexible enough to cater to exceptional operational models such as those used in transit hotels as well.

The current customer base for Zhara HS includes properties in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand.