Cali LaQuinta Taps HotelTap Workplace Tool
The LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Davis, Calif., is operating more efficiently and responding to guest requests quickly thanks to the HotelTap cloud-based workforce communications tool. Rolled out in July, the HotelTap "digital log book in the cloud" replaces hand-written notes as a means to communicate between staff, departments and management. As a result, tasks are being completed in real time, customers are happy, and staff are taking more pride in their work.
Developed by Sandip Jariwala, owner of the Hawthorn Suites By Wyndham in Alameda, Calif., HotelTap was designed to respond to guest requests quickly, perform and track maintenance tasks efficiently, and resolve customer complaints timely using a social media network format (similar to Twitter or enterprise social software Yammer and Chatter).
Leveraging mobile technology and the cloud, HotelTap communicates a steady stream of daily activities and information (in the users language of choice) in chronological order by department and by staff start time. The digital tool also contains a comprehensive analytical dashboard that records and tracks guest complaints and provides a snapshot of maintenance and equipment issues and task history relating to them, by category and physical areas of the hotel. The dashboard neatly organizes the property's complaint records so operators can easily pinpoint problem areas. The system offers alerts for tags so that managers and owners can be notified via text messages about particular issues as soon as they are entered in HotelTap.
"HotelTap is making a huge difference in the way I run the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Davis," said General Manager Kibir Messele. "Doing my job -- and ensuring that everyone else is doing theirs -- is now a lot easier with HotelTap in place. I can relay information to staff who need to receive it to get their work done. When I delegate tasks, I know that they are being completed because I can access HotelTap online or from my mobile phone to track the progress."
Before HotelTap, Messele said it was standard operating procedure for staff to tape a note to his desk if there was an issue that needed addressed. The property also used a notebook to record guest requests or jot down complaints that needed management attention.
"Hand-written notes worked okay for a while, but I was at the mercy of the person leaving the message; it's not easy to read everyone's handwriting," Messele said. "It was also difficult to determine how urgent a message was based on the information provided. We tried an automated operating system that primarily dealt with customer payments and reservations, but it did little to help us communicate.
"There is no system in the hospitality market today that is tailored to workplace communications like HotelTap is," Messele added. "Because this tool is similar to messaging on social media sites, it's easy to train staff to use. At first, our employees were skeptical, but today, everyone has embraced it and they are using it willfully because it is making their jobs easier too. As long as everyone is communicating, problems don't fall through the cracks. In a word, HotelTap is 'social' . . . 'smart' . . . and . . . 'convenient.'"
Messele said that maintenance and housekeeping staff can access HotelTap from a tablet or cell phone and get email or SMS notifications when new tasks are posted to their “to do” list. They can complete tasks during their shift and the front desk staff gets notified through HotelTap on their desktop. Notifications can also be turned off when staff is off duty.
At the LaQuinta Inn and Suites Davis, the head housekeeper uses HotelTap in Spanish via tablet to complete daily room inspections. The tablet is then shared with maintenance staff to check off room inventory, record equipment readings, and also to check the PH levels at the pool. Keeping this data stored in HotelTap makes record keeping and retrieving easy, especially when property inspectors come by. In addition, the tablet can be used to take photos of damages in a room or items that were left behind.
Developed by Sandip Jariwala, owner of the Hawthorn Suites By Wyndham in Alameda, Calif., HotelTap was designed to respond to guest requests quickly, perform and track maintenance tasks efficiently, and resolve customer complaints timely using a social media network format (similar to Twitter or enterprise social software Yammer and Chatter).
Leveraging mobile technology and the cloud, HotelTap communicates a steady stream of daily activities and information (in the users language of choice) in chronological order by department and by staff start time. The digital tool also contains a comprehensive analytical dashboard that records and tracks guest complaints and provides a snapshot of maintenance and equipment issues and task history relating to them, by category and physical areas of the hotel. The dashboard neatly organizes the property's complaint records so operators can easily pinpoint problem areas. The system offers alerts for tags so that managers and owners can be notified via text messages about particular issues as soon as they are entered in HotelTap.
"HotelTap is making a huge difference in the way I run the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Davis," said General Manager Kibir Messele. "Doing my job -- and ensuring that everyone else is doing theirs -- is now a lot easier with HotelTap in place. I can relay information to staff who need to receive it to get their work done. When I delegate tasks, I know that they are being completed because I can access HotelTap online or from my mobile phone to track the progress."
Before HotelTap, Messele said it was standard operating procedure for staff to tape a note to his desk if there was an issue that needed addressed. The property also used a notebook to record guest requests or jot down complaints that needed management attention.
"Hand-written notes worked okay for a while, but I was at the mercy of the person leaving the message; it's not easy to read everyone's handwriting," Messele said. "It was also difficult to determine how urgent a message was based on the information provided. We tried an automated operating system that primarily dealt with customer payments and reservations, but it did little to help us communicate.
"There is no system in the hospitality market today that is tailored to workplace communications like HotelTap is," Messele added. "Because this tool is similar to messaging on social media sites, it's easy to train staff to use. At first, our employees were skeptical, but today, everyone has embraced it and they are using it willfully because it is making their jobs easier too. As long as everyone is communicating, problems don't fall through the cracks. In a word, HotelTap is 'social' . . . 'smart' . . . and . . . 'convenient.'"
Messele said that maintenance and housekeeping staff can access HotelTap from a tablet or cell phone and get email or SMS notifications when new tasks are posted to their “to do” list. They can complete tasks during their shift and the front desk staff gets notified through HotelTap on their desktop. Notifications can also be turned off when staff is off duty.
At the LaQuinta Inn and Suites Davis, the head housekeeper uses HotelTap in Spanish via tablet to complete daily room inspections. The tablet is then shared with maintenance staff to check off room inventory, record equipment readings, and also to check the PH levels at the pool. Keeping this data stored in HotelTap makes record keeping and retrieving easy, especially when property inspectors come by. In addition, the tablet can be used to take photos of damages in a room or items that were left behind.