About The University
Organisation type
University
Challenges solved
- Simplified system configuration across departments.
- Improved end-user experience and customer service.
- Enhanced reporting capabilities for better business decision-making.
Client since
2006
Size of operation
4 hotels owned and operated by the university
Product suites
What makes The University of Edinburgh Unique?
Nestled in the historic heart of Scotland’s capital, the University of Edinburgh stands as an academic beacon, drawing students from around the globe. With a sprawling campus that spans both ancient and modern architecture, it accommodates students pursuing diverse disciplines. Established in the 16th century, the university has a rich history, evolving into a dynamic innovation hub. Its commitment to fostering critical thinking, creativity, and societal impact resonates through its lecture halls, libraries, and research centres.
Beyond its academic mission, the University of Edinburgh plays a pivotal role in the city’s cultural landscape. With visitors flocking to its historic structures, the university serves as a great reminder of its notable alumni like Sir Arthur Conal Doyle and Sir Walter Scott. The university’s strategic vision extends beyond traditional education, leveraging its student accommodations and conference facilities to generate revenue year-round.
This case study dives into how the university optimises its resources using Kinetic systems, ensuring that its legacy endures while embracing the demands of the modern world.
One of the oldest universities in the English-speaking world
Dedicated space to host conferences & events
Hosts the world's largest arts festival annually
“The changes to KxConfiguration over the last couple of years have allowed us to revolutionise how we view our commercial activity…resulting in significantly increased revenue year on year allowing greater surplus generating potential.”
Avril Campbell
Head of Commercial Accommodation
Simplifying System Configuration for Enhanced Efficiency
The University of Edinburgh’s Accommodation, Catering and Events (ACE) team, is committed to providing excellent customer service across its commercially available services. Following a strategic review in 2018, the university has been focused on maximising the potential of its four hotels, which included expanding the Business Development team and investing in their products.
The university has been utilising Kinetic systems across several departments for many years, particularly the commercial accommodation team, which uses it as its Property Management System (PMS) to handle bookings, manage reservations and hotel operations. As commercial activities increased, the Kinetic system configuration became more complex and siloed within departments.
“The configuration of Kx and the quality of information available to the commercial teams are directly linked. To enhance reporting, it is vital to understand the data available and how it is gathered. It felt like an obvious step to review how end-users were interacting with Kx and adjust the configuration where possible to ensure the system was intuitive and easy to use, thereby producing consistent, reliable data.”
Pete Duncan
Business Analyst
Comprehensive Review and Standardisation
The Business Development Team within ACE undertakes a wide range of commercial activities. This includes selling campus accommodation commercially in the summer hosting both internal and external conferences, and operating just under 200 beds across their four year-round hotels.
However, as the team grew and changed, the use of Kx within the commercial teams evolved, resulting in complex, and often siloed, system configurations. Charge Templates and Prices were often set up differently by different departments, leading to repetition and fragmented data, making it difficult to analyse performance across the business.
Recognising the need for change, the university initially assigned a dedicated resource to improve reporting. This led to a comprehensive review of the KxConfiguration related to commercial accommodation. The review process uncovered previously unknown functionalities and resulted in the standardisation and streamlining of core setup elements. Time was taken to develop a naming convention, making it easier to find the correct Charge Template and ensuring obsolete templates were removed. This change also coincided with a university-wide finance system change, requiring re-coding of all templates.
“The revised Charge Template structure has brought several benefits to the team. It has certainly ensured we are more efficient and accurate when compiling quotes for clients… and also helped new team members complete training much more quickly as the set-up is more intuitive and clearer to understand.”
Gordon Dow
Business Development Manager
Improving User Experience and Data Quality
These ongoing improvements have simplified the Kinetic-user experience, enhancing customer satisfaction through more efficient booking processing. The simplification also led to more consistent and accurate data, enabling better reporting and improved business decision-making, helping the team meet their strategic goals.
“Previously, there were too many Charge Templates to choose from. Each Charge Template could be used for various purposes, and it was, therefore, likely that each team member was working slightly differently. Condensing Charge Templates into more logical categories streamlines the booking process, reduces admin time, and enhances accuracy in financial reporting, making it easier for the Events Team to manage each of our venue, catering, and audio-visual bookings.”
Rachel Foot
Conference & Events Manager
Future Goals and Continuous Improvement
As the commercial activity continues to evolve and grow, the systems supporting the expansion also come under increasing pressure and are expected to deliver more. The university continues to work closely with Kinetic to develop functionality and leverage integration between its various systems, ensuring operational efficiency and excellent customer experience.
The University of Edinburgh’s success with Kinetic systems demonstrates the transformative impact of streamlining system configurations and enhancing reporting capabilities. By focusing on user experience and data quality, the university has improved its operational efficiency and customer service, setting a benchmark for commercial accommodation management in the higher education sector.
If you’d like to learn more about how Kinetic products can elevate your accommodation and event management services, please contact customerexperience@kineticsoftware.com and one of the team members will be in touch.