HotelTap | July 27, 2016

Digital logbook is enabling hotel staff to answer guests’ questions about any and all regional and local happenings to make the most out each guest’s stay in the Livermore Wine Country

[Alameda, Calif. — July 27, 2016] — From world-class wineries and championship golf courses to relaxing spas and outlet shopping, Livermore, Calif., is a fabulous destination for adventure and relaxation in the East Bay. When guests staying at the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Livermore Wine Country want to know what wine tasting tours are available in the scenic valley, where to find the best craft beers on the Tri-Valley Beer Trail, and which shops, galleries and restaurants in charming downtown should they explore on a specific day, hotel staff have the answers at their fingertips thanks to HotelTap.

Designed as an automation tool that replaces traditional notebooks, paper tickets, sticky notes, internal emails, etc. as a way for hotel staff to communicate with each other and guests, this “digital log book in the cloud” is quickly proving to have a host of new uses. In addition to its intended purpose of creating task logs for staff, performing and tracking maintenance requests, keeping track of lost and found items, and resolving customer complaints, General Manager Catherine Cheda analyzed the types of questions guests were asking and created a new use for this communications tool – keeping up on regional and local events.

“The Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Livermore Wine Country is home to extended-stay guests – many of whom are looking to relocate to this area,” Cheda said. “With 60 wineries in this region, there is a lot of ground to cover, from tasting California's world-class wines to touring the beautiful vineyards of the Livermore Valley Wine Region. As you can imagine, events are happening daily, including the recent Taste Our Terroir, where local restaurants and wineries competed for the best wine pairings. The more educated we as a hotel team are, the better we can help guests explore our area and get the most out of their stay with us.

“We don’t want to just point visitors to the closest chain restaurant,” she said. “We want to go deeper and educate them as to which local restaurant feature farm to table ingredients, or which restaurant has the best Sommelier as recognized by a particular wine journal. HotelTap gives us a vehicle to communicate this level of sophisticated information to our line level employees who may not get out into the community as easily as a manager can. And, our staff loves using it. HotelTap is set up similarly to the popular social media channels Facebook or Twitter, so the learning curve on how to use it is minimal.”

Out with the old, In with the new Before HotelTap, the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Livermore used a traditional log book at the front desk to record and track guest requests and maintenance issues. The manual hand-written system was not the most efficient way for staff to communicate, and it was difficult for management to ensure that all requests were being filled. With HotelTap, the system can be set up to send notifications from the hotel to the General Manager’s cell phone if something needed immediate attention.

“HotelTap is proving to be a great way to elevate communications for our team,” Cheda said. “We rolled out the system in February, and are very pleased with the results so far. HotelTap Founder Sandip Jariwala told us that the uses for this system are limited only by our imaginations – and he was right. Using HotelTap to personalize each guest experience is keeping our long-term guests really happy. One of the promises the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham brand makes is to never shirk its responsibility to the guest. Our standard is to make sure all guest concerns and requests are managed immediately. HotelTap makes that process easy and efficient.”

Cheda said she also likes being able to take photos and upload them to HotelTap by room number. That way, if there is damage to a room or capital items go missing, guests can’t dispute the charges. The system’s “Lost and Found” feature also is proving to be a favorite among guests.

HotelTap is designed to:

  • Replace notebooks, paper tickets, internal emails, spreadsheets, text messages and radios
  • Be easily accessible from any Wi-Fi device
  • Facilitate mobile notifications sent to employees with links for responding directly to issues
  • Print task list for employees
  • Deliver daily activity reports to keep a paper trail of all communications
  • Manage Waitlist, Lost & Found, Group Reservations and other operational tasks
  • Enable employees to communicate in their language of choice, including Spanish
  • Track and analyze guest complaints and maintenance issues
  • Search information with TAGS and words
  • Create recurring checklists for shifts, inspections and preventive maintenance
  • Attach documents, photos and videos to notes and tasks
  • Provide equipment records to save time and make informed expense decisions
  • Store unlimited data and notifications

“I designed HotelTap to provide a steady messaging stream of interactive notes and tasks that are relevant to each department and staff member,” Jariwala said. “Each hotel that adopts HotelTap is finding cool new uses for it – such as event planning at the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Livermore. I am delighted that Catherine and her staff are raising the bar on customer service with the HotelTap workforce communications tool.”

Schedule a Demo HotelTap is available for one low annual fee, based on a hotel’s size. The system provides 24/7 security, as all property data is securely stored on HotelTap's cloud servers with daily backups. Round-the-clock LIVE technical support also is provided. To schedule a demo of HotelTap, click here. For more information on HotelTap, visit www.HotelTap.com or call (844) 381-7221.