Gaylord Hotels Enjoy Increase in Online Dining Reservations with Table Management System
Gaylord Entertainment owns and operates Gaylord Hotels and the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary music showcase in Nashville, Tennessee. As Gaylord Entertainment was set to open its Gaylord National location, its existing dining reservation software provider was acquired by another company and ceased providing support to the hotel industry. Gaylord Entertainment was left with the task of finding a flexible and fully supported tool to manage reservations at 16 fine dining restaurants across all four of its properties including Gaylord National, the Gaylord Texan, the Gaylord Palms, and Gaylord Opryland.
Gaylord Entertainment selected ReServe Anywhere, ReServe Interactive’s web-based Dining Reservation & Table Management software, and its web-based dining reservation interface to manage reservations across all four properties and the dining rooms of 16 fine dining restaurants. “We reviewed several options and even looked at developing our own system, but the cost of development and the required overhead didn’t make sense when compared to the flexibility and depth of the ReServe Interactive offering,” says Steve Bentley, systems analyst for Gaylord Entertainment.
Gaylord Entertainment opened Gaylord National using ReServe Anywhere and the web-based dining reservation interface. With the success of the initial launch, Gaylord Entertainment rolled out the software to its other three properties that same year.
Today, Gaylord uses ReServe Anywhere to centralize its dining reservation process; make reservation and customer data accessible to individual restaurants, multiple call centers, and hotel concierge staff; as well as accept reservations through the company’s website. In addition, Gaylord staff communicates more effectively within each location and continues to provide superior customer service.
“We found ourselves in need of a new tool that offered flexibility, control and a high level of service and support,” Bentley admits. “Our business structure is unique and ReServe not only offered a complementary and appealing web-based model, they provided all the benefits of having an in-house solution without the overhead.”
ReServe Anywhere supports Gaylord’s multiple reservation call centers, walk-ins at each restaurant’s reservation desk, each venue’s concierge desk, as well as reservations submitted through the company’s website. In addition, the software provides comprehensive table management to each location in order to manage floor activity, accommodate special seating requests, calculate wait times and maximize table turns.
“ReServe Anywhere’s web-based model allows us to integrate our individual databases into a centralized location, access real time reservation data and report on an enterprise level,” explains Bentley. “It also eliminates costs associated with other systems that require additional hardware and IT resources.”
With its previous reservation system, Gaylord wasn’t able to acquire details such as customer contact information, dining and seating preferences, and food allergies. With ReServe, restaurant staff can capture and utilize that specific information to provide exemplary customer service and market to existing customers.
Gaylord Entertainment also implemented ReServe’s web-based dining reservation interface, which allows guests to make real time dining reservations 24/7 through the company’s website. Gaylord worked extensively with ReServe Interactive to develop customer facing reservation web pages consistent with the Gaylord Hotels brand and its service oriented image.
“We don’t have to worry about additional overhead to manage the system or make attempts to forecast what the system will cost every year,” says Bentley. “Initially, we implemented a six month pilot program of the interface at one location and found that 10 to 12 percent of our reservations came from the website, so we rolled it out across all locations and we continue to see an increase in the number of reservations done via software.”