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SAS buys Minnesota-based revenue management software firm

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SAS is moving into the travel and hospitality industries, acquiring a Minnesota firm that provides revenue management through a software-as-a-service model.

IDeaS Revenue Optimization, which is based in Minneapolis and has approximately 200 employees, will operate as a SAS subsidiary. The company launched in 1989.

“SAS is a perfect fit for IDeaS. Customers of neither company are locked into long-term licenses, so we both have to earn our customers’ business on a daily basis,” said Ed Booth, the chairman and CEO of IDeas, in a statement. “We have sought for some time to expand our scope beyond hospitality applications and SAS, with a corporate culture remarkably similar to ours, will provide IDeaS with the resources to stretch its wings.”

Booth will stay with the company as part of SAS and run the subsidiary, a SAS spokesperson told WRAL.com.

No changes in personnel are expected, he added.

IDeaS will remain based in Minneapolis and operate under the name IDeaS, a SAS company.

“IDeaS is a valuable brand in revenue management and hospitality,” the spokesperson said.

The deal brings SAS several high-profile customers in the hospitality industry, including Hilton, Hyatt International, Mandarin Oriental and Intercontinental Hotels Group.

IDeaS operates 10 offices worldwide and has some 1,000 customers.

Both companies are privately held. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SAS envisions the IDeaS product suite as an expansion of its revenue optimization offering for retail customers. Current SAS customers include Hudson’s Bay Company and Kohl’s Department Stores.

“IDeaS is extremely successful in the hospitality industry, and its highly regarded application base is capable of much more,” said SAS Chief Executive Officer Jim Goodnight. “SAS will build on that for other industries while remaining attentive to the extremely loyal IDeaS customer base. SAS has the will, the resources and the domain expertise to nurture the potential of IDeaS.”

Through the software-as-a-service model, customers can utilize applications through the Internet.

Key features of IDeaS solutions include:
• Determine correct pricing for what the company calls “perishable” capacity, products and/or services

• Analyze market behavior and capture revenue opportunities

• Forecast business demand

• Manage and control distribution channels

SAS and IDeaS will soon incorporate applications and services across product lines, the SAS spokesperson added.

“Yes, significant cross-fertilization between SAS and IDeaS is expected,” he said, “though the product integration plan specifics are not yet available.”