Case Study

ARO Enterprise Delivers New Value to Clients With Provista's Hospitality Portfolio

August 7, 2020
Happy couple checking in to hotel

When ARO Enterprise clients need a specific product or service, Provista’s expansive hospitality portfolio is often the answer. The channel partner serves four- and five-star hotels and resorts by leveraging Provista contracts.

“We analyze a lot of areas that are left out by the people who are just putting suppliers in place,” says Lynn Ferraro, CEO and founder of ARO. “We look at menu equity, for example, which is a very critical part to bottom-line profit.”

Ferraro’s company assists clients with everything from evaluating banquet event orders and procedures to ensuring hotels get everything they pay for when buying from third parties. 

“There are a lot of procedures that affect the bottom line. We find that most hotels aren’t weighing products that they’re paying by the pound for,” Ferraro explains as an example of his company’s services. “Part of what we do is write specifications and procedures for properties to help make sure they receive everything they are paying for.”

Many of ARO’s challenges center on pricing:

  • Competitors seek to undercut ARO on pricing to lure clients, even though competitors can’t sustain low-cost initial offers.
  • Some companies have markups or back-end administration fees that add to costs, but aren’t communicated upfront.
  • Writing contracts to show pricing to clients can be time consuming. 
Transparency Into Pricing and Contracts Is Key

Being transparent with clients is a guiding principle for ARO. The company expects the same from its business partners. That’s one reason it values working with Provista. The partnership is in its third year. 

“Honesty is important—which is what brought me to Provista,” Ferraro notes. “I like their transparency.”
ARO uses its expertise to help clients understand product labels so they know exactly what they’re purchasing. The company also offers suggestions on ways clients can save money, which is where Provista contacts really shine.
“Provista has helped us save as much as 60% with some of our key clients,” Ferraro points out. “We go through and look at every single item they’re purchasing—especially the top 100 items. That’s where the majority of the money goes, so that’s where there will be the biggest impact. That’s one of the areas that’ll get you to true potential on savings.”

Price protections are important, too. “The pricing stability that Provista delivers is a differentiator,” he adds.

ARO Optimizes Provista Hospitality Contracts for Clients

Provista’s broad hospitality offerings enable ARO to get optimal pricing, deals and value on contracts.

“Provista helps me offer a big portfolio at a major savings. And because of their safe-harbor structure, there’s nothing hidden,” Ferraro says. “We’ve always had good deals, but Provista’s leverage brings it to a new level for us. Now when we recommend products, Provista has us covered and it’s a quicker return on investment.”

Contracts cover anything needed in a hotel, including TVs, carpeting, valet services, fleet services, construction and beyond. This enables ARO to tap into industry-best products and services to meet its clients’ needs.
 
“We’ve been turning over a lot of our clients to Provista’s contracts,” Ferraro points out. “In many cases, we don’t have a contract in a certain area, like engineering or fleet management, or even office supplies, or they’re not as strong as Provista’s.”
 

“In many cases, we don’t have a contract in a certain area, like engineering or fleet management, or even office supplies, or they’re not as strong as Provista’s.”

Besting the Competition By Offering Stronger Contracts

Working with Provista allows ARO to overcome many of its challenges:

  • Using established Provista contracts saves ARO the significant amount of time it takes to research and write its own contracts.
  • Providing complete price visibility with built-in price protections to clients.
  • Delivering competitive pricing and ongoing value to clients to strengthen relationships and avoid attrition.

“We work with other group purchasing organizations—I really don’t consider Provista a GPO because they go far above and beyond what others do. With their transparency—that really makes them stand out—they are something completely different than a traditional GPO,” Ferraro says. “I feel comfortable dealing with

Provista and so can my clients because my clients can see the value of the products and pricing.”

The Provista Hospitality Program gives ARO a competitive advantage in a marketplace driven by customer service. “The contracts offered by Provista make me stronger than most of the other companies out there,” Ferraro says.  

 

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