Jasper — ordinarily a rather balanced, peaceable man who always starts his workday with a five-minute sun salutation — promptly pulls out his smartphone and begins to scour the Internet for solutions. The sheer number of offers is overwhelming. How am I ever supposed to make the right decision with this plethora of options, he wonders, and what do I even need to consider? Help!
Analysis: What do I want to change in my hotel?
The first thing to do is to analyze what you want to change in your hotel. What infuriated our poor Jasper enough to make him throw things?
For one thing, there is the rampant paper plague: a manual, several hundred pages long, makes it difficult for him and his employees to quickly find the information they need. When they finally find what they’re looking for, the article is often no longer up to date.
Then there is the inexplicable formation of a sort of Bermuda Triangle between different communication channels and floors. Information never seems to directly and immediately arrive where it’s needed, and is sometimes lost altogether. Communication between employees working different shifts in particular is non-transparent and cumbersome. It is not uncommon for e-mails or texts to be overlooked. Verbal communication, on the other hand, often ends up working much like a game of telephone. Hardly anyone even bothers to decipher the memos and other scribbles in the handover book anymore.
You need a digital platform that enables communication, knowledge, quality and process management, while still addressing the individual needs of a hotel.
Before you choose a software product, figure out what you actually want to change in your hotel.
What are the characteristics of a good software solution?
Jasper has worked out what he would like to change. But what does he need to consider when choosing the right software?
First thing to consider: cost-effectiveness. A broad customer base and positive testimonials are important indicators that the solution is not just an expensive sham. Another important factor is the support provided by the tool. Expert support can make or break the successful implementation of a digital tool.
In the end, the product has to really speak to the hotel’s employees. A free test phase is a good way to find out if it does. Operating the tool should not be rocket science. Even users who are less familiar with digital tools should be able to use it without any problems.
What else needs to be considered? Of course, all processed data must be handled in accordance with the law. In addition, the software should be accessible not only via PC and laptop, but via any device so hotel employees can be reached wherever they are. Another important point to consider are the interface options offered by the solution. An integration with common PMS is a no-brainer, but it is ideal if other helpful hotel tech products can also be coupled with the software.
Good reviews, intuitive use, support from the provider, compliance with data protection laws, compatibility with various devices — all these are indications for a good software solution. Ultimately, however, your team must be convinced by the product.
Things to consider when testing a new software
The first step is to determine which product has convinced you the most. Not only is there often not enough time to try out countless software solutions, employees will also lose patience and motivation at some point. Time is of the essence, in more ways than one. The timing of the test must also be chosen carefully. If there is not enough capacity for a thorough test run, there’s not much point.
Once a decision has been made and the ideal timeframe found, it is necessary to determine a team in charge of testing the product. This team should include people who are responsible for answering questions and who have a more detailed insight into the software’s applications. Once these first steps have been taken, the software can be put to the test in everyday work. Now it is time to really put the tool through its paces.
If the right product has been selected and the ideal time frame and test team found, the test phase is sure to be successful.
From test phase to decision
The time has come: Jasper and his team have picked the digital collaboration platform hotelkit, a versatile tool that enables the handling of all processes, a comprehensive knowledge and quality management as well as digital internal communication with a multitude of interfaces. The many positive reviews and the support offered were key in their decision-making process. From day one, the test team is impressed by the intuitive use of the digital tools.
The continuous support by a hotelkit Customer Success Manager, who patiently and professionally answers all of Jasper’s questions, proves to be particularly helpful. In online meetings, individual functions are transparently demonstrated via screen sharing. In addition, Jasper receives continuous feedback from his Customer Success Manager via reports on where the use of the software is already running smoothly and where there is still room for improvement.
The 30-day test phase flies by. Before Jasper knows it, the big moment has arrived. As an experienced hotelkit user, he creates a survey and asks his employees whether hotelkit should become the digital solution for their company. Not surprisingly, Jasper and his colleagues can no longer imagine their daily work routines without the software. The intensive use during the test phase has paid off. Now, employees outside the test group begin their training in the use of the digital collaboration platform, and the implementation of the software in Jasper’s hotel is soon in full swing.
The features offered by hotelkit are intuitive and fun to play around with. The Customer Success Managers are available to advise users and comprehensively demonstrate functions via screen sharing. Reports provide information about which functions are already being used smoothly and where there is still room for improvement.
Did the tool work as planned?
With a deep breath, Jasper relaxes into the lotus pose and folds his hands in front of his chest: Namaste. With the morning yoga flow done, the morning workflow can begin. He looks around his office and smiles. No more clutter. The paper era has finally come to an end. He opens the hotelkit app to check on the busy morning schedule. The checkmarks on the “Incoming Goods” list tell him that this task has already been completed by Norman. The prioritized room 404 has been given a deep clean and is ready for Baron Munchhausen and his family, who are set to arrive today. Simon from the front desk, currently on holidays, has posted a picture of the turquoise sea on hotelkit Moments. Good for you, Simon, you’ve earned it. Betty from housekeeping has asked a question about the disinfection process in a handover. Reflexively, Jasper reaches for the heavy manual folder. But his fingers grab nothing but thin air. He chuckles. Of course, the end of the paper era and all that … Shortly afterwards, he sends Betty the digital manual article with all the information about the standard disinfection process.
Yes, the digitalization of process with hotelkit has more than paid off in Jasper’s business. You’re starting to think about it, too? Find out more about the perfect solution for your hotel and revolutionize your team’s daily work routine!
About the author
Michael Santner
Narratives about impoverished poets during his studies encouraged him to follow his passion in a secure job. In hotelkits marketing he takes care of packing the numerous ideas of his colleagues into exciting stories.
