Integrated operations and a revamped website drives revenue at HRH Group
HRH Group, a group of classic hotels, charming inns and quintessential pubs in some of the most prestigious locations in the North of England, identified the need for a more efficient technology partner, one that could combine the front of house, back of house, and third parties all together on one platform.
With six unique sites, all independent and individual in their own style, each required a system that catered for the demands of each property’s business, operations and guests - and Guestline was selected to fulfil these requirements.
Simon Cotton, Managing Director at HRH Group, talks about the valuable nature of achieving continuity across the group: “The main challenges we face are always people, both in terms of employees and customers and meeting guest expectations. All 6 of our sites are unique, independent and individual in their style so it is not a question of one size fits all in terms of operations and the type of people we need to recruit. Therefore, we required a multi-purpose, integrated system that caters for the needs of our individual properties and installing one that provided continuity across the group was invaluable – and that’s where Guestline came out on top. Looking into the future we want to grow our brand portfolio to include larger hotels, therefore we needed a system that is rooms based and will help us drive extra revenue and increase the profits. I measure good decisions and success by the number of headaches something gives me, and I’ve experienced very few with Guestline and I believe this is also down to their excellent training programme and ongoing support back-up that gives us continuous peace of mind.”
With outdated reservation, online booking and EPoS systems across the group, HRH required a more efficient structure, one that was cloud based, centralised across the six properties, offered two-way integration, with the ability to easily onboard future acquired properties into the system when required. Centralised visibility was a priority, all HRH properties’ systems can be viewed, availability checked, rooms booked, plus guest profiles, regardless of which property they have previously stayed at, can be reviewed internally, notes can be added, and guest requests and reviews actioned. Plus, the automated time saving efficiencies that Guestline Rezlynx PMS provides, offers staff more opportunities to cross sell, maximise revenue, yield operations and effectively manage rates.
With a reliance on OTA’s and in a bid to increase direct booking revenue across all its properties’ websites, Guestline assisted HRH Group with a cleverly designed website which would not only attract new customers but drive bookings from regular customers who perhaps currently book through OTA’s.
Trina Gill - Brand & Marketing Manager at HRH Group talks about the percentage growth achieved by delivering a new website strategy: “By working with Guestline to improve our website functionality, from having the right content in place, to using more imagery, making the websites more attractive and introducing a user-friendly booking system, we are absolutely reaping the benefits. Our website growth was quick initially and has been consistent since. On average our website traffic has grown about 20% over the last two years and we have experienced a significant boost in our direct bookings, a 25% increase as an example on the website for our Guy Fawkes Inn property in York, which helps in the ongoing battle against OTA’s in a bid to reduce commissions payable to them.”
To see the full video testimonial from the HRH Group, please click here.