In today’s changing hospitality landscape, luxury properties are forced to adapt if they wish to stand out from the competition.
There’s a struggle to find the proper balance between technology and automation without sacrificing that one-on-one personal touch. Guests want to feel special and pampered, but at the same time, they don’t always have the time to call the hotel to book their experience or reserve a cabana.
Because of this, many hoteliers are applying software management systems, such as RealTime Reservation, that offer easy-to-access services, amenities, and activities – all in one place! With this technology, guests can pre-plan their stay with the security of knowing their must-do experiences are booked and ready for when they arrive.
Exceeding Guest Expectations
Luxury hotels and resorts are held to the highest standards when it comes to guest expectations, so it’s important to incorporate the latest technology into their operations to continually improve and elevate the guest experience.
RealTime Reservation is changing the way that properties interact with guests by automating the ability to purchase bookable experiences, activities, and more without sacrificing the personal touch.
By leveraging innovative technology like our automated amenities module, bookable experience management tool, and the RTR Digital Compendium, RealTime Reservation properties are enhancing many of the outdated processes in the hospitality industry.
Considering the staffing challenges the hospitality industry is facing, replacing manual efforts with software helps to support understaffed hotels while bringing in new and creative ancillary revenue streams.
Luxury properties that have embraced hotel automation to enhance the guest experience and improve their offerings are setting themselves apart and raising the bar in the hospitality industry.
Streamlined Purchases and Personalized Experiences
Automating a hotel’s bookable experiences and additional services can help streamline operations, reduce errors, and improve overall guest satisfaction.
Automating the luxury guest experience happens in 5 simple steps:
- Identify guest interests: List activities, amenities, etc. which will be included in the automated process. These could include in-room food and beverage, gifting to in-house guests, spa treatments, parking, beach rentals, and other on-site services.
- Integrate payment gateway and merchant ID: The payment gateways and merchant IDs must be integrated to ensure that payments are accurately recorded and tracked.
- Engage with an ancillary revenue software provider: The automated system should be easy for guests to use, with clear instructions and an intuitive user interface. Guests should be able to select any items they want, enter payment information, and receive confirmation of their order.
- Set up alerts and reporting: The system should be set up to alert staff when an order is placed, and provide regular reports on sales, inventory, and other key metrics.
- Survey your guests: Use “realtime” guest data reviewing booking pace, no-shows, and popular activities to gain insights. This allows you to make data-driven decisions about your offerings and grants you the ability to personalize recommendations and effortlessly cater to guests.
Cutting-Edge Amenities and Services
Realtime Reservation empowers your property and staff to create unique amenity offerings and bookable experiences – before and throughout a guest’s stay.
Popular suggestions for amenities that enhance the hotel experience:
- High-tech wellness amenities: In-room spa experiences, smart exercise equipment, and fitness programming.
- Entertainment at your fingertips: Paint ‘n’ Sip classes, pop-up concerts and movie showings, kids’ club, and cooking classes.
- Intelligent dining experiences: Automated ordering, personalized menus, and customized in-room amenities.
Many of these options can be ordered pre-arrival by guests or non-guests who wish to purchase an amenity for a friend or loved one. This includes thoughtful gifts for special occasions including birthday cakes, champagne, flowers, and balloons.
The RealTime Reservation backend system makes it easy to schedule, add, and remove items based on availability so the reservation and booking process is simple for staff and personalized for users depending on the details of their trip.
Custom Concierge Technology: The Digital Compendium – Look and Book
One of RealTime Reservations’ most powerful products is the Digital Compendium. At a glance, the Realtime Reservation Digital Compendium is a white-label hub where guests can view and book all hotel offerings in one place.
The Digital Compendium is a centralized platform for guest engagement and staff interaction that is connected to every hotel service. The hotel’s activities and amenities can be updated and published live. Changes and upgrades can easily be made to the pre-booked reservations, offering guests flexibility with their itineraries throughout their stay.
With enticing imagery, creative offerings, and intuitive navigation, the Digital Compendium becomes an all-inclusive, one-stop shop to showcase everything and anything a guest can enjoy on-property.
Guests can easily access the customizable compendium through pre-arrival links, QR codes, in-room signage, etc. We encourage hotels to get creative with how they communicate with guests at various touchpoints before, during, and after their stay to make the most of this technology.
Shawn Tarter, President & Founder RealTime Reservation
Shawn Tarter is President & Founder of RealTime Reservation, an organization that provides real-time inventory management reservation software to the hospitality/travel industry. Shawn recognized opportunities at many properties and was eager to give the hotels ways to improve the customer experience while providing services that support client satisfaction and loyalty. In 2015, Shawn founded Ipalapa Corporation, which rebranded in 2018 to RealTime Reservation. In the three short years since its rebrand, the company has experienced significant sales and revenue growth, despite operating during a global pandemic. Today, the company employs fifty professionals across development, R&D, client services, administration, sales, and marketing and boasts more than 500 clients.
