Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University handles the bookings for 50 venues with Rendezvous from NFS

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is relying on a specialised software system called Rendezvous from the NFS Technology Group to handle the bookings and day-to-day management of 50 venues spread out over the campus in Port Elizabeth, including conference centres, sports clubs and sports arenas.

Rendezvous is a user-friendly convention centre management software system that can be implemented and supported cost-effectively – and is one of the leading solutions of its kind in South Africa.

Nicolette Kruger, support manager at NFS Technology Group – formerly known as NFS Hospitality – said a growing number of universities are using software from the company, including Wits University, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the Tshwane University of Technology and the Walter Sizulu University.

According to Eleanore Pillay, support services co-coordinator at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, it is “quite a task” to co-ordinate the bookings of 50 venues run under the auspices of the university. She said Rendezvous software – supplied by NFS Technology Group, the international provider of software solutions for the hospitality, leisure and corporate markets – makes this task “a lot easier” and saves “hours of work for each user every week of the month”.

“Thanks to Rendezvous we no longer have to struggle with this workload manually. My colleagues, who are often sitting a few kilometres away – at another venue on the Port Elizabeth campus – no longer have to physically phone in and check with me on a particular booking. All bookings can be done instantly online, with the software system giving users a bird’s eye view of each booking they are dealing with – and all venues overall.”

She said there are currently 15 users of the Rendezvous software, which is linked to the file server at the Port Elizabeth campus, allowing them “easy and immediate access to any information they require”.

Commenting further, Pillay said that Rendezvous saves hours on manual work by enabling the block booking of any venue, for instance, that requires maintenance work.

“It is the type of investment that pays for itself over-and-over again,” said Pillay.