GuestEQ Redesign Simplifies Hotel Operations Management

GuestEQ, a guest and staff communication platform, updated its interface and functionality to improve ease of use for hotel staff and accelerate implementation. Built by hoteliers for hoteliers, version 2.0 is based on feedback by hotel staff users, now designed to look and feel like a social media platform.

"We wanted to build a staff communication tool that had the look and feel of a social media network," said Scott Curran, CEO of GuestEQ. "It allows hotel staff to communicate the way they want to communicate on a platform that is familiar to them. They don't want to pick up a phone or a walkie-talkie or pass around pieces of paper. They want to use a digital communications tool that is more like the social media platforms they are used to."

GuestEQ's primary guest communication function relies on SMS text messaging instead of an app download, making implementation for guests and staff simple. This revamped social media-style interface does the same on the back end. By simplifying ease of use for hotel staff, not only is training time reduced for new users, but testing shows that staff communication increases dramatically and departments are no longer working in silos.

"The more communications that end up happening at a hotel among staff, the better off you're going to be," Curran said. "You're less likely to miss guest issues, and you're going to avoid comps. Plus, hotel managers get a snapshot of the hotel's daily activity at a level they couldn't have previously, which adds a layer of accountability without needing a cumbersome reporting process."

Key updates include:

Likes, comments, attachments. Instead of just creating and resolving a task, all tasks within GuestEQ now have the same functionality as a social post. Users can "like," comment or ask questions on the task. Staff can now have conversations around what’s happening inside the hotel in real time. Users can also @ mention other staff members and upload and attach photos or other files.

The Hotel Feed. Similar to a social media feed, each GuestEQ user's daily tasks, to-do lists, active communications and general hotel announcements are all funneled into one place, the Hotel Feed. Each user's feed is specific to their department and job function, both in the hotel and across the brand.

Cross-hotel communication. Within GuestEQ, hotel staff can start conversations and crowd-source questions with GuestEQ users at other hotels. Similar to a social media group message board, users can pose questions to 1) all GuestEQ users, 2) GuestEQ users in their department or 3) GuestEQ users within the same hotel brand family or management company.

Drag and drop scheduling. Based on user feedback, the static scheduling tool was turned into a drag-and-drop scheduling interface. Managers can create generic shift blocks to drop onto each worker's schedule, or create and save custom weekly blocks. Users can see exactly what their schedule is and drop in their vacation days.