The Merlin Group hired Top Screen Media to help them increase guest spending in their hotels and the results were outstanding.
The Merlin Group's main resort, Alton Towers, has hotels that faced the same challenges that every hotel does - how could they increase their guests' spending?
In their case, they found that poor restaurant efficiency was causing guests to eat elsewhere, losing them hundreds of thousands of pounds in potential revenue every year. We identified the main cause of inefficiencies as the daily 'bottle necks' of guest traffic (i.e. the popular times of day when all the guests would turn up at once).
When guests found a full restaurant, they had to eat elsewhere.
The objectives of the campaign were simple:
1) increase guest spending by increasing restaurant efficiencies (particularly solving the issue with bottle necks).
2) Increase customer service and engagement.
So we created the Booking Pod, a 32" touch screen engagement terminal that allows guests to view hotel services at their leisure and self manage their bookings.
When guests turned up to a full restaurant, rather than walking away, they would use the Booking Pod to view the next available table. Seeing that one would be free relatively soon meant they were willing to wait and in the mean time, they could read the menu and decide what they wanted, which further increased efficiencies.
The results were fantastic! Over the course of a year, guest spending increased by a whopping 6% meaning an ROI was achieved rapidly - within 3 months.
The Booking Pod has been so effective that it is now being rolled out across the group's hotels in all of their resorts.
1) Revenue in hotels can be increased by implementing technologies that increase efficiency and customer service. The Booking Pod does this by giving guests access to information, bookings and services at their convenience.
2) As a society, we have come to expect access to information and services when we want them. The Booking Pod increases guest satisfaction by satisfying this need.
3) Our technology is a supplement to great human customer service, not a substitute. When implemented properly, the guest's experience is enhanced.
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