What Hotel Software Can Teach us About Running a Successful Remote Lodge

I wear a lot of hats at Innfinity, but I’ve also worn a lot of hats in my career as a whole. I’ve been a waitress, a bartender, Wonder Woman (ask me about that sometime -- it's not an April Fool's joke), had a cleaning company, and there might have even been a brief teenage stint working at McDonald's. I’ve had a lot of jobs in my day, but it was really the wonderful world of hospitality that taught me everything I know. If you’ve been around for a while, you know that 30 years ago (when I was 10) – I wrote the first version of our hoteling software. The system has gone through many changes since then (thank goodness) – but the most significant shift was installing our software at remote accommodations serving the energy and mining industry. What started off as a leap of faith in 2008 has gone so well that we recently launched a new brand specifically dedicated to our clients working in Energy, Mining, and Remote Accommodations. You can read more about Camps & Crew, here. 

 Comparing a hotel chain to a remote workforce provider may seem like comparing apples and oranges (okay… maybe apples and…. Bookshelves?), and you’d be correct in saying that the needs of these markets vary widely. That may be true, but I’ve always liked to believe that we are more alike than we are different. Besides, many of the “man camps” we service have come a long way from bare bones rooms with a bed and a chair. These days, many rival hotels not only in their accommodations, but in their levels of service. After all, these two markets same core goals at the end of the day: providing the best experience for their guests and running an efficient and profitable business.

 “You Don’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel, Just Realign it” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

 When we started working in the ERM space, we took this advice to heart. We’ve always learned best from our clients, and we took the time to examine what features made their jobs easier and their operations more successful. Turns out, features we thought may be insignificant turned out to be complete game changers. (I’ve never seen someone so excited about a linen change report!) We quickly learned that many of the features that proved to be invaluable to our hotel clients could hugely benefit those working at remote lodges. With a few small tweaks, many of the features we implemented at large scale resorts are just as useful at remote properties.

 Let’s take a look at what hotel software can teach us about running a successful remote lodge. 

Mobile check-in makes all the difference to guests and staff

It seems like we can do everything from our phones these days and checking in for your stay at a lodge is no different. Using Mobile Check-in, a guest receives a check-in link 24 hours before their scheduled arrival time, prompting them to begin the check in process. Here, crew members can review and agree to company policies, answer a Covid symptom screening questionnaire, and confirm their intent to stay at the lodge. The check-in won’t be complete until the guest is physically on-site, so that management always has an accurate guest count. This cuts down check-in wait times at the front desk and helps tired travelers get to their rooms faster.

Visual room allocation makes room assignments quick and easy

Before the days of computerized property management systems, the tape chart method of room allocation was quite literally – a chart – made of tape – on the wall. When we talked to both our hotel and remote workforce clients about how they assign rooms to guests, we heard that a visual representation of the rooms available to them really helped them in the room allocation process. We digitized the classic tape chart and enabled drag and drop technology, allowing reservationists to view their inventory in real time and quickly and easily assign or re-assign rooms.

Connecting housekeeping staff with the front desk turns rooms over faster

If there’s one thing all our clients can bond over, it’s that disorganized housekeeping protocols keep everyone up at night. With HousekeepingLINK, our clients have the ability to assign staff to rooms for cleaning and track progress. Using a tablet, housekeepers can update the status of a room in real-time, so when a room is clean, it can immediately be assigned to an incoming guest. Staff can also use tablets to take photos of room damage and request repairs. Real-time data means that management always knows the location of housekeeping staff for their safety and can easily track performance. It’s a win for everyone, really.

 A fully integrated key system does more than just unlock rooms

 The RFID plastic cards that unlock your room on vacation have made their way to quite a few remote camps & lodges. With integrations to all of the major key systems, keys can be used to do more than unlock a room. Several of our clients use their key cards to: track capacity in common areas of lodges, track lodger location in case of an emergency, and complete check-in or check out at site with automatic key activation, making it a seamless & touchless experience. We hear it’s quite a bit less expensive than replacing a brass key… or worse, rekeying the whole facility after a lost master key threatens security!

Credit card functionality elevates the guest experience

 Many of our camp clients realize that R & R for their crew workers is essential. By interfacing directly with a point-of-sale system, your guests can purchase items that make their time away from home a little cozier, from an upgraded meal to their favorite energy drink. When these integrate directly with the property management system, you’ll have all charges available on a guest folio for accurate accounting and billing. This is one of the many examples of an elevated guest experience and improved operational efficiencies going hand-in-hand.

 So, while checking into the Sheraton in Hawaii for your next vacation might seem incomparable to staying at a remote lodge in the Permian or Fort McMurray, it’s not such a different experience after all (except for the beaches!). By taking features that our hotel guests loved and transforming them for our remote workforce clients, we’re able to deliver a more comprehensive solution that prioritizes the guest experience while streamlining on-site operations. If you’re interested in learning more about any of the features highlighted today, or if you just want to chat about that time I worked as Wonder Woman, shoot me a message. Thanks for reading and have a great day!