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Improvements in the hotel after implementing Sezam24 

Q

Problems

  • Stop sell after 18:00 (reception is closed)

  • Manually filled unreadable registration forms

  • Meeting guest after midnight (out of working hours)

Q

Results

  • 24/7 check-in is open

  • Last-minute sales are open 24h

  • Automated filling registration forms and sending to the government

  • More free time for other business

Thanks to Sezam24 we, hoteliers, have the opportunity to be free, travel, and work from anywhere in the world!

EUGENIA HRYSHAY

Managing director, Residence Ječná

Maria Slobodskaya:

So today we are going to talk with Eugenia Hryshay, a general manager of Residence Ječná.

Hello Eugenia! Thank you so much for hosting us at your wonderful hotel.

Eugenia Hryshay:

Thank you for coming.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Please tell us about your hotel. It’s very interesting to find out how the process works and learn more about your hotel in general. Because the hotel is wonderful, the rooms are pretty! And it delights how elegantly decorated and expertly equipped it is. So I would really love to know how you usually communicate with guests and what service do you provide.

Eugenia Hryshay:

Yes, thank you very much, it is a pleasure to hear. Generally, our hotel has its own specific structure. This is not a commercial hotel. This is a family-built business that will be passed down from generation to generation. In fact, now it has been passed from father to children of the second generation. Therefore, of course, when designing this hotel, we used non-commercial materials and materials that will serve for many years. Such as Italian antique furniture for the rooms. All materials were ordered at the factory, right down to the fabrics that we have on our curtains. Well, the carpets that were brought from Arab countries are also antique. Our hotel is in great demand among couples due to very spacious rooms. Some rooms have a kitchen which is fully equipped.

Maria Slobodskaya:

What features can you offer? How do you stand out among other hotels and why do your guests love you?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Guests love us for an individual approach, because our product, it is unique, you can say. We are not a hotel, not a hotel, nor a hostel. We are called “Residence Jecna”. The idea of the name came from Europe. Those we have both mall rooms for guests who come for two nights, and rooms with kitchens where guests with children stay for a longer time for two weeks, for a month. No problem.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Eugenia! Tell us, how did the evolution of the check-in take place during these 20 colossal years that you have been managing the “Residence Jecna”?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Sure! The evolution was very interesting. I can divide it into three parts, since it depends on technology, communications and the Internet. Firstly, we can claim that for the first 5-6 years, guests had absolutely no opportunity to own certain gadgets, because they simply did not exist. There was no internet or roaming. And we could not pass on information to customers regarding how they can check-in. And we had to meet them both at two in the night or five in the morning. Of course, they liked it a lot, because the guest received direct information at five in the morning, at twelve in the night and was shown exactly where to get on a map. In fact, some excursions could even be organized at this time as well.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Top service really!

Eugenia Hryshay:

Yes, yes, but thanks to this, we are at the highest popularity ratings.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Indeed, you have a Booking rating of 9.3, which makes you proud of the result of these 20 years, those are of course, …

Eugenia Hryshay:

Sleepless nights…

Maria Slobodskaya:

Excellent work. Why did you decide to change this approach?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Because we began to understand that clients became way more independent during this time, and started using the Internet. Nowadays they don’t need to ask which restaurant to go to. They don’t have to ask which way to go. Because they look it up on Google, TripAdvisor or any other OTA. They skillfully use applications, and before arriving to Prague, everyone already decides what they want to see based on their personal interests.

Maria Slobodskaya:

And how is the process of preparing the guest for the arrival going on, how do you interact with them? How does the guest check-in, how does the process look like?

Eugenia Hryshay:

At the moment – automation. Of course, nowadays all customers book rooms through various OTAs. And at the moment when the client creates a reservation, he receives a booking number. And at the same moment as reservation is created, he immediately receives an e-mail with a code from the main entrance door. As soon as the client arrives, he is fully prepared for a self-check-in process using a kiosk with a large bright display which is beautiful and innovative. Thus, the game begins. Clients enters his reservation number and places his document on the scanner. Within three seconds, it gets scanned. Which means the client no longer needs to do any registration, the following is automatically saved: first name, last name, number and the passport number. And the client receives his room keys. And even if he loses them, he can enter his individual booking number and get additional keys. For example, for a wife, a companion, or for a child who travels with him as well.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Eugenia, what part of the check-in and reception work did the kiosk take over?

Eugenia Hryshay:

The most important part is registration. For example, even in such a small hotel such as our where we have 16 rooms, 53 beds, it takes time especially in high seasons. I am not saying all of our guests come at the same time, but suppose 40 customers need to fill out their registration cards, some of them may fill it out in Chinese or Arabic. And, of course, earlier we had to spend a lot of time on this. In order to enter this information into our system, send it to the government. 20%, or maybe even of 30% of the total working time was spent on it. Well, the second very important point. Unfortunately customers lose their keys. They used to take them away. Now, we have supplied electronic locks and Sezam24. The kiosk has a function to issue a new duplicate key to replace the lost one. Thanks to which it became possible to recover a lost key!

Maria Slobodskaya:

Sounds comfortable?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Yes, comfortable and even free. So the client enters his booking number and the kiosk gives him a new key.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Is it simple to use the kiosk for everyday work?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Very simple. Right now I don’t have to be in the office, whenever a direct reservations arrives, my PMS application adds reservations to the system. Then the code gets automatically sent to the client, which he uses upon arrival to settle down without problems within a maximum of two minutes.

Maria Slobodskaya:

What feedback do you get from guests who have gone through the check-in process? Did they share with you their impressions of this process?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Of course, at the moment, all registrations are made with the help of personal assistance. Since we decided to personally look at the client’s behavior during the pilot period, how they react to the kiosk. Everyone likes it a lot! They take it with a smile and a laugh. Well, in a way this is a small mini-game.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Guest involvement?

Eugenia Hryshay:

Yes, guest involvement. And, of course, the fact that the guest does not have to manually enter their passport number, name, surname or any other data. This is all done through a scanner. Within three to five seconds, not more, they scan the document and most importantly everything is immediately sent to the government. It is very important for us that all customers are registered there.

Maria Slobodskaya:

Thank you, Eugenia, for your attention and for your warm feedback. And we are very glad that you are using our kiosk, and it facilitates your work and makes it better and more comfortable for you.

Eugenia Hryshay:

Yes, definitely more comfortable. Thank you for coming up with such a gadget for us, hoteliers, which now gives us the opportunity to be free, travel, and work from anywhere in the world, you could say.

Maria Slobodskaya:

We will continue to try and further simplify it for you, improve the workflow and come up with new features.

One step to automation

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