News

POS handhelds help Houston stadium improve customer service

November 11, 2003

COLUMBIA, Md. - MICROS Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRS), a provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality industry, has installed 110 Mobile MICROS handheld units on the Club level at Houston's Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans.

The stadium is managed by SMG, and foodservice is provided by ARAMARK.

Ron Mandel, Director of IT for ARAMARK's Sports and Entertainment division, said in a news release, "The 9700 Mobile MICROS gives us the ability to facilitate in-seat ordering for the club level, allowing these clients to avoid standing in line at the concession stands. Credit cards can be processed through the handheld device and receipts printed directly to a belt printer."

The wireless units were installed as part of a comprehensive MICROS 9700 Hospitality Management System, which also includes MICROS Workstation 4 (WS4) terminals and NetVuPoint and Dataviewer for reporting and auditing capabilities.

According to a news release, the MICROS 9700 Hospitality Management System is a point-of-sale solution designed to handle high-volume, multiple-revenue center environments. Working in concert with the NetVuPoint Web reporting suite, the 9700 system provides reports and graphs in real time, enabling managers to identify sales trends and quickly handle service issues.

Reliant Stadium is also utilizing the MICROS Workstation 4, a POS appliance capable of stand-alone operations that allows for inter-operability with other CE-compatible applications and POS peripherals.

Jenny Kurdle, vice president of Leisure and Entertainment Sales and Strategies for MICROS, said her company worked closely with ARAMARK, SMG and the NFL to configure a reliable wireless network that would not interfere with the vast array of wireless devices used in a professional sporting venue. The resulting system required only two redundant servers, she said.