Operational communication platform is helping the brand’s five iconic urban hotels increase employee engagement and build a strong culture
San Francisco, Calif. – June 18, 2018 – Beekeeper is pleased to announce that its digital workforce platform is now serving as the hub for all operational communications at SIXTY Hotels, a collective of five singularly iconoclastic luxury lodgings in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Beekeeper is reaching each SIXTY Hotels employee with relevant messaging, engaging them and connecting them with one another. Comprised of a cloud-based web platform, mobile app and digital signage, Beekeeper is keeping property, guest and corporate information at employees' fingertips.
“Beekeeper is quickly proving to be a powerful tool for driving and building a strong and informed company culture,” said Christopher Horn, Vice President of Operations for SIXTY Hotels. “When I was introduced to Beekeeper, I immediately became hooked on its power to transform our engagement and improve our employees’ ability to share information and motivate each other. Beekeeper gives us a mobile means to operationally communicate with all associates across five locations in a new, innovative and authentic way. We are optimizing best practices for sharing information, recognizing employee efforts, and holistically branding corporate and property news and promotions in real time. We’ve seen a well-over 90% adoption rate from among our associates.”
Beekeeper digitizes the non-desk workforce by connecting existing operational systems and communication channels within one secure, intuitive platform. Beekeeper connects colleagues across locations and departments in real time via mobile or desktop devices and includes an intelligent analytics dashboard to help companies improve internal communication and streamline business processes. Secure, automated, and relevant information is readily distributed, searchable, and measurable in one central hub for an efficient digitized workflow.
Prior to implementing Beekeeper, Horn said dreaded bulletin boards, paper announcements stapled to paychecks, and notification emails served as primary forms of communications for SIXTY Hotels associates because more than 80% of the employees do not have an email address or desktop computer. This painstaking, manual means of communicating is now a distant memory, he said. Staff quickly took to Beekeeper and began organically sharing from their locations. Properties are using the platform to recognize staff for jobs well done, to chat about daily operational activity, poll associates, launch competitions and incorporate SIXTY’s social media streams.
“Before Beekeeper, our employee communications lacked creativity and ease of dissemination,” Horn said. “Sharing information always resulted in a breakdown, as it moved through the different areas of our organization. Today, Beekeeper directly links each of our associates through what we call SIXTYconnect, and all communication barriers have broken down. We recently polled our associates about Beekeeper; all teams at all levels echoed a huge improvement in companywide communications which is clearly seen in our increased employee retention rates.
“What I like most about Beekeeper is the ability to launch chat campaigns with all associates,” he said. “It gives us the ability to maximize communications to multiple people in an efficient way while creating a personalized experience and chat interaction that is authentic and well received. Beekeeper is a solution that not only fits hotels of all sizes and contents, but it could lend itself into truly any industry where communication and community importance is the goal. We are working on some exciting pilot programs, and we will leverage Beekeeper to maximize our culture and company communications. It will also help us dive into other verifications, including supporting continued learning and encouragement throughout all of our careers with SIXTY.”
Coast-to-Coast Collection The SIXTY Hotels Collection includes three properties in New York: SIXTY SoHo (60 Thompson Street), SIXTY LES (190 Allen Street) and 6 Columbus (a SIXTY Hotel at 6 Columbus Circle). It also extends from South Beach with Nautilus (a SIXTY Hotel at 1825 Collins Avenue) to SIXTY Beverly Hills (9360 Wilshire Blvd.).
“What’s really cool about SIXTY Hotels is the way it provides artful service,” said Connie Rheams, Beekeeper Global Head of Hospitality Sales. “Guests choose to stay at one of these iconic properties to get a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience. Beekeeper is designed to spark creativity among employees and give them a reason to want to go above and beyond what is expected of them to deliver the ultimate guest stay. When associates are recognized and rewarded in front of their peers for a job well done, it sparks competition and motivates everyone to want to do more. Hospitality quickly becomes a contagious way of life, and it feeds into the corporate culture.
“We are thrilled to add SIXTY Hotels to the growing Beekeeper portfolio,” she said. “As SIXTY continues to communicate closely with its associates – those people touching the guest and ultimately responsible for a successful stay – they will foster a culture of contagious employee loyalty. The happier employees are in doing their jobs, the happier and more likely guests will be to return. As guest loyalty rises, so too will the need for the SIXTY Hotels brand to expand. Beekeeper is proud to be along for the ride.”
