To Guest Suite or not to Guest Suite
Posted on Fri, Aug 14, 2009
So here's what bogs me down (and bugs me too): I can reserve a hotel room in China over the web, and pay for it, all in a matter of minutes and without moving any other organ than my fingers. But to reserve the Guest Suite at the Property I live in, I have to track down the onsite team (by phone, or physically)...and the paradox is that they operate at the same hours I am at work; so there's a nice catch 22 for you. I think that at this point, most of us realize that providing residents the ability to reserve Property Resources is a major benefit to them. However, what does "Major" mean? Is it even quantifiable?
So as always, we took to the streets to reveal the truth. We analyzed 23 properties, of different size and type (Garden-style, High-rise, Mid-rise), with a combined of a little over 4000 residents. What we tried to gage is whether there was a lift in Reserving Property resources (rooms, cabanas, Guest Suites etc.) through ActiveBuilding's Resident Portal once it has been deployed at the property.
And we found the following facts:
1. Residents appreciate and leverage the fact that they can reserve Public Resources at their convenience, anytime from anywhere (anytime:
43% of service requests occur after 6pm). I think that an average of 50% lift in reservations with ActiveBuilding's Resident Portal leaves little room for speculation.
2. Guest Suites are a classic win-win amenity: they can be a substantial benefit to residents; and a significant revenue generator for the Property. The challenge, of course, is raising awareness with residents. Again, per our findings, a 50% lift in Guest Suite reservations through ActiveBuilding's Resident Portal proves that Guest Suites are a necessity to residents and are utilized effectively, if access is simple and straightforward. It also means that before the Portal is launched, Guest Suites were not optimally utilized (to say the least).
3. So one might beg the question that if there are 50% more Guest Suite reservations, there is need for additional resources (+ a costs increase). Well, think again. With the right tools, most of the reservation-related "work" is handled by the resident, including online payment for the Guest Suite (via Credit card, PayPal, or bank account). And so the above findings tell a story that with the right tools, as reservations increase, time spent by the onsite team on handling such reservations dramatically decrease.
And if any of you were wondering what 50% lift actually looks like, I think the below findings leave little room for guessing.