Accruent EMS vs. Robin

Accruent EMS is well-suited when it comes to room utilization and transparency but with regards to onboarding other departments such as A/V and Catering, it becomes a challenge because there are other software that meets the needs of these departments that EMS does not have. The use of multiple systems for other departments is a nuisance especially with inventory mangement.

Incentivized

Robin is my benchmark for room displays. It effectively does what it is meant to do without additional fluff. The default theme is more than you'll ever really need, but customization is available. I just really wish there was a simpler way to remove check-in requirements for events. I would always recommend them first for most situations, but my company has a special use case that Robin, or any other competitors for that matter, have not been able to achieve yet.

Incentivized

• It's user friendly. By doing a little self-exploration one can find out the many features that EMS offers.
• It is simple to add or remove conference rooms and provide details of the conference rooms.
• I appreciate that there are different ways of reserving conference rooms. This allows each user to feel comfortable in their use of EMS by finding what works best for them.

Incentivized

• The integration to GSuite calendars is fantastic. Very simple and straightforward.
• The ability to customize the interface a very nice feature to have in Robin, as it offers you to allow the UI to reflect the vibe/brand of your company, and not force its own brand on you.

Incentivized

• Incredible complexity on the back end. While its highly configurable nature lends to flexibility, it also makes it a challenge to manage.
• Support has not been as quick as we'd like when we've needed to reach out.
• Most likely due to the company recently changing hands, we had real trouble with their billing department attempting to double charge us for our services, and sorting it out took 6 months of back and forth.

Incentivized

• Cancelling out my reservation for the room if I miss the mark on check in.
• Not sure if it's a bug, but sometimes I have to repeat my reservation if I don't get it confirmed or have a notification of confirmation the first time.

I am frustrated with the customer service when calling for EMS support. When prompted to leave a message I never get a call back, and furthermore, not only do I have to leave a message, but I have to send an email to make sure someone knows to call me back. This method is unacceptable and I am currently seeking a new software.

Incentivized

It is easy to use and gives us all we need

Incentivized

Most new users would greatly benefit from (or possibly require) at least some training on how to use EMS, but the training doesn't need to be extensive for the users to get comfortable with it. Most functions are easy and straightforward, so users tend to not have many issues with it.

Incentivized

Robin's UI is very well designed and modern which makes it a pleasure to use. Personally this a big factor for me enjoying a product and so I'm always happy to use Robin - moreover as a relatively new user the UI was quite quick to pick-up, whether that be using the online system or the Display app for rooms around the office.

Incentivized

The version of EMS that is used in our organization is desktop based. We rarely have any issues with application errors or down time. As far as reliability, it is top notch! Our organization has been extremely pleased that no data has been lost due to an application error or crash

Incentivized

when looking at large reservations from say a year or two ago it does take a long to time for them to be loaded up but that may be because of the server and the way the software archives the info. that also goes along with running reports of old data that may of been archived that takes a long time to get

Incentivized

Since the merger, our team has found that there are a select few of the tech team that can actually support our questions. More often than not, we have already tried the suggestions that they give us and they are either unable to answer our questions and submit them as update suggestions or they have to be sent to supervisor for an answer. Once or twice in the last year we have received bad advice that resulted in system issues. Prior to last year, the customer support system was at the top of the list of tech support departments that I have ever had to deal with, especially during our upgrade to 4.0.

Incentivized

I have rarely had to contact customer support, but when I have, they have provided quick answers to solve the problem I was having. The software is pretty easy to use and not too buggy, so I really haven't had the occasion to contact them needing support. And no users have ever had issues.

Incentivized

The training wasn't too bad, again it was about 15 years ago and one person came to campus and trained a number of us in one of the computer labs.

Incentivized

It was great but could have been a little better. I feel like there are different ways to use some of the software and some of that was not explained. I think at the time the training was great but now that we are more experienced with the product I can see we missed training based on what part of EMS the instructor thought we were going to use.

Incentivized

I think one of the biggest things is to step back and see how you want your organization to function and use the product prior to quickly diving in and configuring. I think some (based on some EMS Live conference sessions I attended) built their systems on how they used their old systems or old processes, but thinking about how you want your organization to function moving forward will help you configure it the best way and make the necessary changes from the start rather than having to go back and adjust.

Incentivized

[Accruent] EMS is very robust, and a great all in one solution for hospitality and Event management needs. I have dealt with a few other software solutions in the past that try to handle event planning and management, but have run into the need to have multiple solutions to handle all those needs.

Incentivized

N/A - Our parent company decided on implementing Robin above all other alternative applications, and I am personably unaware of any alternatives. And though there are some minor changes I may suggest, the integration and simplicity of Robin makes me wonder if there could be a better alternative, regardless.

Incentivized

EMS is able to meet our needs and has grown with our company as it has grown. We are able to include new buildings and rooms as well as update catering information as it changes. The updates to the software and our ability to test it out before we introduce it live to all users helps us trouble shoot challenges and promote the benefits of the system overall.

Incentivized

• There seems to be a positive impact on our ROI. Our team is able to enter information quickly into the system, allowing our team to function very efficiently and focus more on our client than with entering information into a system.

Incentivized

• No more meeting room conflicts, better office space management
• Booking a room literally takes 2 clicks, very easy and quick - saves time for more important things
• We bought a bunch of iPads to display meeting information on each room and we need to remember to charge them every night

Incentivized