JW Marriott, San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa
“We’re saving staff resources and have reduced costs significantly, all whilst handling more orders and boosting F&B revenue.”
Hotel Overview
The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa offers quiet luxury amid 600 acres of beautiful Texas Hill Country. With over 1,002 guest rooms, guests can enjoy premium amenities such as the Lantana Spa, two 18-hole golf courses (one being a PGA Tour TPC golf course), a 9-acre water park and a sandy beach play area. After a full day of relaxing by the pool or sightseeing, guests can savour delectable fare in their room or at one of the seven resort restaurants offering fine dining and cultural dining experiences.
“Mobile dining has positively impacted the whole hotel from a satisfaction and efficiency standpoint. It has freed up staff time, boosted F&B revenue and guest spend, and provided a contemporary digital experience for guests that mirrors their everyday interactions.
Not only are we handling a higher volume of orders with fewer resources, there is now less discord between our F&B and front teams, enabling them to focus on their respective operational tasks more effectively and fostering a more positive workplace atmosphere.”
Hotel Requirements
The resort wanted to maximise the performance of their F&B outlets and drive ancillary revenue.
They wanted to use technology in their outlets to drive efficiencies and provide a modern, digital experience to guests.
They had seen how successful mobile dining was at the nearby San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk, so were keen to replicate the same results in their hotel.
Solutions Installed
Mobile dining – for In-room dining and at their Spa Bistro
Benefits
Higher guest spend
Since implementing mobile dining, the team have achieved significant boosts in F&B revenue, especially during the busy summer months when there have been over 2,200 orders in a month. With mobile dining, guests can open a tab and add to their order at any time, substantially boosting their average spending.
The volume of orders is set to increase further when they start taking digital orders at their Spa and, furthermore at their 9-acre waterpark.
More accuracy, fewer mistakes
With guests self-ordering, there are no issues or mistakes (like incorrect items or wrong room numbers). Orders go straight to the kitchen to be processed, and the F&B team aren’t reliant on the front desk team (who have less menu knowledge and a higher staff turnover) accurately ringing in the correct order on Micros.
This helps improve order accuracy and speed of delivery.
Resource-saving
Mobile dining has eased the workload for the ‘At Your Service’ front desk team who were previously handling over 70 calls per day for room service orders, most of which were at peak times. They are now taking fewer than 10% of calls and with less manual uploading, the front desk team are saving time and can refocus their energy on guest services.
$15k saved on print costs
With the digital menus, the hotel is now saving significantly on print production as they no longer need to print so many menus or breakfast door hangers [guests pre-order breakfasts online].
By conserving resources and generating less waste, the resort is operating more sustainably and reducing their environmental impact.
90% guest uptake
The front desk team notifies guests about mobile dining at Check-in and educates them on how to use it. They put QR code stickers in all rooms and on the TVs so the digital menus are highly visible and easy to access. As such over 90% of guests now use mobile dining.
Pace of orders regulated
The hotel has implemented delivery time slots on the app to regulate the pace of orders coming through to the kitchen. This not only prevents the kitchen team from getting overwhelmed with a high volume of orders at peak times, it helps manage guest expectations on delivery times.
Scalable
Following the success of in-room dining, the team have now deployed mobile ordering at their Spa Bistro. They have QR codes on metal tags attached to the cabanas and sun loungers so guests can easily access the digital menu, then tap and order, from the comfort of their pool chair.
Boosted staff morale & satisfaction
The staff swiftly embraced and mastered the new software. With the F&B team regaining control of orders from the front desk team, there is now a more harmonious working environment. As a result, the internal staff satisfaction score on quality of work life has increased.
The F&B and IT teams across the resort work closely to ensure an efficient, seamless eco-system.
Smooth deployment
The implementation went smoothly and seamlessly, efficiently aided by IRIS’ Head of Support, Robin Page.
Positive guest feedback
The hotel gets a lot of repeat guests who are now more than familiar with mobile dining so use it frequently. They find it easy to use and prefer it to the more traditional ordering methods.
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