The North Central Group (NCG) knows that guest service and well-run facilities are what set properties apart and create loyalty. NCG operates 26 company-owned upscale and select service hotels within the Hilton and Marriott families and is recognized as a premier management company known for personal service and an emphasis on sustainable practices. In June 2011, the company added cloud-based mobile technology to boost its overall guest service scores 5.5 percent and raise its operating standards even higher.
“We reviewed property operations at all our hotels and found we had too many paper checklists for operations and equipment; we knew we could be more efficient,” said David Coe, facilities and purchasing manager for The North Central Group. “Our goal was to use mobile technology to eliminate paperwork as much as possible and establish real-time company-wide communications for faster response to guest requests. We also saw great value in automating processes for equipment maintenance and safety checklists.”
NCG’s team tested several hotel management systems to evaluate functionality, ease of use, and price to make its decision. Coe said, “We wanted a system that made the job easier and supported our ‘green’ policies.” In mid-2011, NCG implemented hotel SystemsPro’s hotel ServicePro cloud-based Computer Maintenance Management System to automate communications, scheduling, tracking and reporting of safety requirements, preventive maintenance, guest requests, and equipment management. We used the cloud-based hotel SalesPro Sales & Catering system and valued the company’s service-focused culture.”
hotel ServicePro helps guest service scores jump 5.5% year-over-year for 26 hotels
“hotel ServicePro tracks preventive maintenance schedules and safety inspections, maintains equipment records, and expedites guest requests. Thanks to our exceptional people and great tools, guest service scores for our 26 properties have gone up 5.5 percent. That’s a big jump in a year,” Coe said. “We use the system to send text messages to maintenance staff on their phone to quickly correct issues that directly impact the guest and their stay; things like HVAC and light bulbs. Our guests value this. We create maintenance and safety checklists in hotel ServicePro that we access on smartphones and tablets, and we write work orders and send them remotely. The system stores all work online so we can access it anytime.” All NCG properties use hotel ServicePro.
“Our operations team says hotel ServicePro is the best automation tool they have ever used.”
The North Central Group’s properties also use the system’s alert capability to personalize guest service. “If a guest arrives before their room is ready, we ask if they would like us to contact them when it is available,” said Gavin Matteson, assistant general manager at NCG’s Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison East. “We can contact them with hotel ServicePro by text message or email. The guests know we will notify them, so they can leave the property and relax.”
Matteson noted, “I was the property engineer prior to becoming an assistant general manager. I uploaded all equipment specs, warranties, manufacturers and distributors into hotel ServicePro so incoming engineers would have the information. Retaining equipment data is a big advantage of hotel ServicePro’s cloud platform. Now our team does not have to look for serial numbers on the chillers or PTAC units or rely on institutional memory. The system works great with mobile tablets which are perfect for inspections.”
Coe, said, “It is valuable that I have access to all equipment records in one database. If there is a problem with a piece of equipment, I can check those models across our portfolio to see how they perform. This saves time because we can keep every unit’s replacement on record to make it faster to update equipment.”
“hotel ServicePro improved our guest service processes, maintenance and safety inspections, and other procedures,” Coe said. “hotel SystemsPro’s online training makes the system easy to learn. Our operations team says hotel ServicePro is the best automation tool they have ever used.”
About The North Central Group
Founded in 1981 by Chairman David Lenz, The North Central Group is one of America’s foremost developers, owners, and operators of focused-service and extended-stay hotels. Its 26 company-owned hotels are primarily located in the Southwest and Midwest, concentrating on upscale select service hotels within the Hilton and Marriott family.
About hotel SystemsPro
hotel SystemsPro is a technology innovator operated by hospitality professionals that helps clients increase sales, reduce operating costs and efficiently manage assets. The company’s suite of high performance, web-based, true enterprise property solutions include extensive reporting capabilities to empower hotel teams to generate revenue via tools that cost-effectively provide a higher quality guest experience. hotel SystemsPro solutions scale across all properties and any flag. They evolve to assist hotel professionals in meeting their markets’ ever-changing needs. Whatever the size of the property or its challenges, hotel SystemsPro solutions do the heavy lifting for hotel operators to streamline operations and boost staff productivity and profitability.
Products include:
hotel SalesPro – A multi-property, mobile-ready web-based sales and catering system that provides scalable functionality and a wide variety of reporting options that increase sales efficiency for hotel chains and independent properties.
hotel ServicePro – An economical hotel maintenance solution that preserves property asset value and improves guest service. It automates the communication, scheduling, tracking and reporting of tasks that surround best practices, guest requests, safety requirements, preventive maintenance and equipment management.
hotel WebSpace – An online marketing solution that enables properties to increase their web presence and convert browsers to buyers on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.
For more information, please visit www.hotelsystemspro.com.
