Case Study Breaffy House Resort
Hotel/Group overview –
Breaffy House Resort is in the heart of County Mayo and is the perfect destination if you are looking for a well-deserved and relaxing break! Set on 90 acres, the resort consists of 4* Breaffy House Hotel and 3* Breaffy Woods Hotel, only a 2-minute stroll between sister properties and renowned as two of the very best hotels in Mayo.
Challenges–
• Their previous system was slow and lacked a basic level of reporting. There were no plans to update or develop the software further as it was end of life and no longer supported.
• The functionality was old-fashioned, and all the processes were manual (with limited automation) which was resource-heavy and subject to human error.
• The resort wanted to change rates and availability quickly and in real-time with a two-way interface.
Solutions –
Rezlynx PMS & Channel Manager
Benefits –
Product and industry expertise:
The hotel was impressed with Clio O’Gara (Guestline’s Country Manager)’s industry expertise and product knowledge which resulted in them receiving expert advice on which solutions and functionality would be most suitable for their requirements.
Higher room rates:
The hotel finds it much easier to yield the average room rate as it is now easy to flex and control rates. They make rate changes according to availability and past booking patterns that are displayed on the reports that are automatically generated.
Accessibility:
As the systems are cloud hosted, the team can access the systems on mobile devices which is ideal for management when off-site and for housekeeping to update room statuses whilst on the go.
Operational efficiencies:
The automation of processes has reduced costs and enhanced staff efficiencies. Staff find the systems intuitive, multi-functional and easy to use.
The sales staff no longer use Excel spreadsheets to log their sales and targets. All reservations and bookings are automatically logged on the system, eliminating manual, tedious data entry. The team now save over 1.5 hour a day on manual uploading and they can easily review performance against forecasts and budget accordingly.
Improved ownership and usage by staff:
Staff from all departments now use the system – for example, the hotel operations managers, who never used the old system, now log in and are constantly using the conference and banqueting functionality. The system is visible company wide and all departments use the functionality.
Secure payments:
The Secure Trading payment gateway provides a secure platform for payments which not only automates the payment process, it reduces the level of fraudulent activity and minimalizes lost revenue.
Accurate reporting:
They can pull a report in seconds, to see the source of business, top ten customers, tour groups and how many rooms the groups have cancelled last year. This is great to help forecast revenue figures and ensure they’re targeting the right audience and their typical guest.
Effective training:
The team found the Guestline trainer, Denis Hurley, fantastic in delivering training to the team. He was thorough and coming from a hospitality background, he could understand the hotelier’s needs and adapt his style accordingly.
Enhanced guest experience:
Once the guest has made a reservation, they get a personalised email confirmation with the details and photos of the hotel they’re staying in. As there are two hotels on the site, this gives them a clear picture of which hotel they’re staying in and eliminates any potential confusion (which used to occur).
Smooth check in/out process:
The check in/out process is smooth and quick – If the guests pays on arrival, there is one button to press. When checking out, there is a notes section which is very useful to store useful, personal information on the guest to personalise future communications and the customer journey.
Improved guest feedback:
The integrated interface with GuestRevu provides the hotel with automated guest feedback. Not only does this boost their TripAdvisor reviews, the hotel is also notified of issues they weren’t aware of which enables them to make appropriate improvements to enhance the guest experience.
Scalable solutions:
The hotel needed a multi property solution so they could centralise certain functionality across the two hotels and adapt the system across further hotels if they purchase any additional properties.
Claire Bird, Rooms Division Manager
‘Guestline’s software has changed us for the better, we are far more efficient and effective operationally and are saving time and resources as a result. The system has bought the whole property together. Each member of the team has access and is online and that in itself it brilliant -it helps them work towards a common goal. Denis our trainer was really accommodating and understands the Irish way.’