With Summer in Full Swing, it’s Time to Get That Festive Feeling

It’s July, the height of summer, and you’re probably sweltering in the heat, but as every hospitality operator knows, it’s never too late to start thinking about the festive period.

The second peak season of the year is less than five months away, and if you’re already struggling with the extra demands of the summer season, the last thing you want is a repeat of the same during the busy winter holidays.

Whether you’re running a hotel or a restaurant, you’ll know how much customer demand increases in the run-up to and over the holiday period: before you’ve had time to catch your breath after the summer season, the pressure will be on again to deliver a seamless hospitality experience, so get ahead of the game.

Partnering with wi-Q now in good time for the festive season will ensure your staff can cope with the extra influx of guests, while maintaining customer satisfaction levels at their highest.

Mobile ordering and payments for hotels

For hotels, using wi-Q for mobile ordering and payments not only provides the ultimate convenience for guests, it also saves many hours of staff time and reduces costs (wi-Q clients report savings of 40% in staff costs due to the reduction in time spent taking and processing orders).

Hotels can use wi-Q in their restaurants and bars, for group meetings and events, and for room service: guests simply use their phone to scan a QR code, which then takes them to the food and beverage menus.

They can view all the menus in their chosen language, see detailed information about each dish, and filter by dietary requirement or food preference.

Because wi-Q integrates with the POS, they can then order their food and drink and pay for it straight away using their preferred method, or charge it to their room.

Increase spend through mobile ordering

Using mobile ordering often leads to a higher spend per head (wi-Q’s data shows an increased average order value of up to 30%) as subtle upsells are offered at various points along the customer journey.

Mobile ordering for restaurants and QSR venues

For standalone restaurants, wi-Q can also offer mobile ordering and pay at table (including options to split the bill in different ways), as well as self-service kiosks for QSR venues.

Both options have the advantages of reducing queues and wait times, and eliminating the kinds of errors that can occur when staff are rushed off their feet.

Prepare for festive events with preorders

If your hotel will be hosting lots of parties this festive season, partnering with wi-Q will make all the difference to your staff’s ability to plan ahead: through wi-Q, guests can be invited to preorder drinks and food in advance of the event, so you can make sure you’re fully prepared and avoid any on-the-night disappointments.

Preorders are tracked and managed through the wi-Q back office, with options to export a picking list for a specific event, and to filter by event code or fulfillment date.

Of course, guests can also scan a QR code on their table to order and pay during the event, eliminating the need to draft in temporary banqueting staff over the festive period.

Give guests more information through Guest Directory

And it’s not only F&B menus that hotel guests can view on their phones through wi-Q: wi-Q’s Guest Directory feature enables hotels to present information like check-out times, Wi-Fi codes, gym and spa details, and even include links for bookings (leading to further upsells), and ‘contact us’.

The Guest Directory can also be linked to the hotel’s housekeeping management system, enabling guests to easily order free items like extra towels or a toothbrush.

Make the most of wi-Q before the festive period

For hotels already using wi-Q, now is the time to make sure your QR codes are displayed prominently in all the right places around your property: do you have them at the reception desk, in the rooms, on the tables in restaurants, bars and function rooms?

What’s more, do your staff always tell guests about them during check-in and when guests sit down to eat/drink? A little bit of time spent on training staff now will mean you can use wi-Q to its full potential and maximise your investment during the festive period.

Now is also the time to make sure you’ve activated the Guest Directory so your guests can enjoy having access digitally to all the information they might need about their stay.

Get ready for the festive season

Ready to transform your property’s digital guest journey in time for the festive season? Get in touch about a demo today.