Room Service Revenues Soaring at EB Hotels Miami with GuestHub
While many hotels continue to struggle with labor shortages, forcing them to scale back or remove expected services like in-room dining, the food-and-beverage operation at EB Hotel Miami Airport is thriving thanks to GuestHub. Developed by EB Hotels parent company Eurobuilding Hotels, the web app is proving to boost the hotel’s bottom line by taking better care of its guests through technology. By enabling guests to use their mobile devices to order from a web-based menu complete with detailed descriptions and photos, GuestHub is streamlining the room service process and eliminating the need for staff to take orders by phone – which is prone to mistakes and often leads to bad reviews and higher food costs.
“Travel is returning, but it is still fraught with challenges,” said Thomas Zarikian, owner of EB Hotel Miami Airport. “By the time guests arrive at our hotels, they don’t want to encounter any more friction along their travel journey; that includes not being able to order a meal despite the time of day or night. Room service has been on a steady decline for many years industrywide. It’s understandable; updating menus, putting them in rooms, hiring labor and training them to properly take calls when orders come in is costly. But at EB Hotels, it’s a service that we are not willing to do without.
“Part of the reason we developed GuestHub was to overcome these operational issues,” he said. “The guest-services and task-management tool is augmented by an F&B ordering module that provides a digital platform for order taking and menu updating, and it displays our menu items with beautiful photos, so guests know exactly what they are getting. With GuestHub there are no communication mistakes, as orders are not transcribed wrong and there are no language barriers among staff. Today, we are seeing room service revenues soar because guests can receive what they want, when they want it, and it has no impact on the labor situation. Through GuestHub, we can deliver exceptional service and at a reduced cost. As an owner there is nothing better.”
With GuestHub, EB Hotel Miami Airport is:
1. Increasing onsite sales, as online ordering is commonplace. Guests are comfortable placing orders from their mobile devices, and because photos of the menu items are displayed, the presentation compels them to order more items, and order more often.
2. Reducing labor costs, as a single person can manage multiple orders and other duties without having to answer a phone. Operating with a reduced staff no longer means having to eliminate in-room dining service.
3. Lowering food costs, as menu items are not returned due to human error in the order process.
4. Driving employee retention, as staff are less stressed in having some buffer time to process multiple requests on the tablet vs. having to answer the phone immediately.
5. Boosting f&b revenues property-wide, as the online ordering service is not tied to rooms. GuestHub can be set-up for ordering and delivery to the pool, spa, lobby, or patio, even if the guest is on his/her way to the hotel.
6. Elevating service and adding differentiation in the market, as the hotel can leverage any web platform to drive sales. By displaying QR codes on TVs or signage throughout the property, guests can order onsite services from anywhere, further driving revenues and improving guest satisfaction scores and online reviews.
Zarikian explained that GuestHub is not only ideal for a full-service hotel, but it is also an incredible enhancement for limited-service hotels that do not offer food and beverage. Like other ordering platforms, a GuestHub tablet or computer can be set up at neighborhood restaurants as a delivery platform. Guests can order restaurant menu items and food can be delivered to the hotel lobby or directly to the guest wherever he or she is located on premises. Then, the hotel can share in the revenues. The same model is relevant for ghost kitchens that serve as a hub for hotels.
“Nowadays, hotels are losing significant f&b revenues to online ordering and delivery apps,” Zarikian said. “GuestHub gives control back to operators by ensuring that the hotel is capturing all possible revenues on- and off site. All a hotel needs to add GuestHub is a strong Internet connection. It is by far the most inexpensive and easy-to-use tool on the market that solves 90% of problems associated with room service delivery and menu maintenance. It enables small hotels to offer services like the big brands, and it allows limited-service properties to operate as full-service entities. Hoteliers and restauranteurs seeking ways to attract and retain employees, drive revenues, increase satisfaction, and improve online reviews should look to GuestHub. After all, it was developed by active hoteliers; people who are actively managing hotels (vs. former hoteliers) to do what no single app can do as easily as GuestHub.”
For more information on GuestHub, visit www.GuestHub.io.