Waypoint Hotel, located in Bend, Oregon, is a 75-room property that prides itself on delivering a unique "Bend experience" to outdoor-loving guests. With a focus on providing a sophisticated outdoor adventure, General Manager Jenifer Whang has transformed the hotel's ambiance and services. Recently revamped to cater to outdoor enthusiasts, the hotel's decor and amenities are thoughtfully designed to reflect the interests of its guests, with features like specialized furniture for golf bags and ski clubs.
“I want them to have a Bend experience,” Jenifer said. “And that's showcasing everything that Bend has to offer, in a nice, clean, well-designed room. I want it so when they come in, they’re not quite sure what it was, but they enjoyed their stay because everything went smoothly.”
Central to crafting that memorable guest experience for Waypoint Hotel has been Canary Technologies.
Jenifer's vision for Waypoint Hotel is clear: to immerse guests in the essence of Bend. She believes that a seamless and enjoyable stay hinges on efficient operations and a great guest experience. To realize this vision and address the challenges Waypoint Hotel faced, Jenifer and her team turned to Canary Technologies as a partner. They aimed to achieve the following objectives:
In the face of labor shortages in the hospitality industry, Jenifer sought to use technology to ease administrative burdens at the front desk, enabling both guests and staff to experience a smoother check-in process. “Anything we can do so that guests can pre-check in and streamline processes for our customers and staff, it’s always a plus,” Jenifer said.
Manual check-ins at Waypoint Hotel were often time-consuming, taking up to five minutes per reservation. Jenifer was looking for a way to facilitate mobile check-ins and accelerate the overall check-in process for guests.
Recognizing that modern travelers prefer digital-first experience, Waypoint Hotel turned to Canary to become more tech-forward. “When a company embraces technology and is technology focused, I think customers like that and they see a value in that,” Jenifer said.
Jenifer’s decision to go with Canary’s Guest Management System was driven by Canary’s impressive feature set that met Waypoint’s needs: Mobile Check-In, Smart Checkout, Dynamic Upsells and Guest Messaging. She had previously evaluated a system similar to Canary but it didn’t provide mobile check-ins—which she said was a crucial requirement for the hotel.
“I knew Canary had that feature and a lot of other features. And Canary seemed like a company that would keep adding more technology. Since I became a customer, Canary has already come out with a new product, Digital Tipping. I like companies like Canary, where they're constantly thinking: what else can we do? What else can we add to this platform?”
Waypoint Hotel drove some notable guest experience and operational efficiency improvements by adopting Canary’s Guest Management System:
Since implementing Canary, the front-desk team is saving valuable time. Canary Mobile Check-In enables guests to complete check-in processes ahead of arriving at the hotel. With a significant percentage of Waypoint Hotel’s guests using Mobile Check-In this year, the front desk staff is able to process the reservations throughout the day during downtime, saving time during peak periods at the front desk.
“The guests, when it’s check in or check out time, they all seem to come at the same time! And then form a line. So Canary helps with that. As far as the mobile check-ins, we can manage our time better and get them in when we have downtime versus having to do them all at once.”
In addition to better time management, mobile-check ins are much faster than manual check-ins. “We spend half the time we used to checking in guests before we enter them into the system.”
Waypoint Hotel drove additional upsells using Canary’s Dynamic Upsells feature. This tool made it effortless for guests to purchase additional services, such pet fees, late check-outs, and wine packages using their mobile phones.
“It’s easy for them to add those requests through Canary. I think that’s what success is - being able to figure out what our customers’ needs and wants are and facilitating communication with us.”
Guests appreciate the convenience of a digital guest journey and are expressing their satisfaction in their post-stay feedback. The Waypoint Hotel has maintained an impressive 4.59 average guest satisfaction rating year-to-date.
Pleased with the success of Canary’s products, Waypoint Hotel is expanding its partnership by incorporating an additional Canary product: Digital Tipping. Jenifer recommends other hoteliers consider Canary as it provides yet another way for front office staff to communicate with customers, streamline processes, and enhance operational efficiency.
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