Northwind

Northwind office in Markham
Company type	Private
Industry	Software Development
Founded	Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1978
Headquarters	Markham, Ontario, Canada
Key people	Warren Dehan, Audrey MacRae

Northwind is a privately held company that develops property management systems, as well as GDS/web based booking solutions^[buzzword] for the hospitality industry. Maestro Enterprise Suite, the company's flagship product, includes a variety of modules which can be co-ordinated to comply with a hotel or hotel chain's requirements. Maestro is a multi-platform system with over 10,000 users.^[1] It allows optimized adaptability to single or multi-property businesses.^[2] Northwind's headquarters are in Markham, Ontario, with sales and support offices located worldwide.^[3]

• 1978 – Company formed to respond to the need for custom software development^[4]
• 1979 – Custom development of back office accounting, travel agency commission payables, and guest history management for a major Canadian hotel chain
• 1980 – Ongoing development of various custom software modules in a mini computer environment
• 1982 – Begin development of UNIX based hotel property management system (PMS)
• 1983 – Development of Telephone Answering Services Management software
• 1984 – Computerized Hospitality Solutions (CHS) Front Office successfully introduced to the market
• 1986 – Decision to focus strictly on hospitality and retire non-hotel software
• 1989 – U.S. sales office established in Florida.
• 1992 – Begin development of UNIX and Windows version of new client/server PMS “CHS2000”
• 1994 – CHS2000 Version 1 successfully introduced to the market
• 1994 – First installation of CHS2000 Windows PMS
• 1997 – Yield management functionality implemented as an integrated component of CHS2000
• 1999 – CHS legacy software retired, existing clients offered free upgrade to Maestro
• 1999 – CHS2000 redesigned and deployed as Maestro PMS
• 2000 – Spa & Activities Management module developed for resort operations
• 2001 – Shuttle Services Management module developed
• 2002 – Extended Stay Management enhancements added to PMS
• 2002 – Maestro Enterprise Multi-Property deployed
• 2003 – Enhanced service initiative (Diamond Plus) deployed to all Maestro users
• 2003 – Development of condominium owner accounting module
• 2003 – ResEze real-time fully integrated Web Booking Engine introduced
• 2004 – Added ASP Citrix & Terminal Services based support
• 2005 – Enhanced security features including credit card masking and database encryption added for PCI compliance
• 2006 – Enhanced Spa & Activities Management, Retail POS, and interfaces including 2-way GDS/OTA, 2-way Yield management
• 2006 – Added Fine Dining POS, Club Membership and Golf Scheduling Modules
• 2007 – Integrated Member Management system introduced
• 2007 – Table Reservations with On-line functionality introduced
• 2008 – ResWave Booking Engine extends functionality of online presence for clients
• 2008 – Maestro Users Group is formed to promote client collaboration
• 2008 – Diamond Plus Service expanded to include free On-Demand Live Training and Beginners Education program, Web Connection initiative of online features & functions deployed
• 2010 – Launches Maestro Self-Service Touch Screen Kiosk, fully tokenized interface for payment card processing & Maestro PMS Certified for PCI Compliancy, PA-DSS Standards
• 2011 – Integrated online property based member Loyalty Program, handheld checkin/checkout support
• 2012 – Online loyalty program integration
• 2013 – Introduction of self serve eLearning website for Maestro PMS users
• 2014 – Introduction of Maestro Web, a browser based, feature equivalent version of Maestro PMS
• 2014 – EMV credit card support added (Chip and Pin) for secure credit card payments
• 2015 – Mobile tools added including housekeeping, online check in, and tablet based folio display
• 2016 – Post Checkin Surveys, Mobile Checkout, Online Payment Portal
• 2017 – Northwind acquires assets of Navicom Inc. to provide reputation management for its clients

The Maestro Enterprise Suite is a sophisticated property management system used by single and multi-property hotel groups to share information between all branches of an operation, allowing for total network control. The Maestro Enterprise Suite has the following modules:

• Maestro Property Management Suite
• Maestro Sales & Catering Suite
• Maestro Multi-Property Suite
• Maestro Corporate Enterprise Suite

ResWave is Northwind's real-time, on-line web booking suite, allowing package customization of guest services such as room, spa, dining & event reservations, and group management.

Diamond Plus is a support service initiative provided by Northwind to its clients. The service includes access to a 24/7 support center, remote training facilities for clients, software customization, and access to self-serve web training and documentation.

• Warren Dehan – President
• Audrey MacRae – Vice President