The Client
Washington Square Hotel is an historic boutique hotel located in the heart of New York City. In its prime location near the iconic park of the same name, the hotel attracts a diverse clientele including visitors to nearby universities as well as business and leisure travelers seeking European luxury in the heart of Manhattan. Known for its unique ambiance blending old-world charm with modern amenities, Washington Square Hotel prides itself on a loyal customer base, with many guests returning time and time again over 20 to 30 years. To understand how Washington Square Hotel benefits from b4checkin’s solutions we spoke with Sonny Christopher, General Manager and Bhanu Pratap, Group Sales Manager.
The Challenge
Prior to adopting solutions by b4checkin, Washington Square relied on a booking engine that needed multiple integrations to work correctly, creating data inaccuracies and operational inefficiencies. Booking and payment processes were cumbersome, requiring staff to sometimes manually re-enter reservations, leading to increased workload and a higher risk of errors. The hotel needed a solution that streamlined the booking process, provided seamless integration with its property management system and enhanced the guest experience. A reliable and secure payment processing system was also needed to handle online transactions and group payments.
The Solution
Washington Square Hotel turned to b4 for a comprehensive solution that includes both a booking engine and payment portal that integrates with their existing tech and operational workflows. They implemented TransForm, the payment portal by b4 that allows them to request and process group payments, as well as GettaRoom, b4’s online booking engine.
This simplified operations and improved efficiency by eliminating the need for redundant data entry by providing streamlined integration between reservation bookings and the property management system. With many repeat guests, the booking engine enables guests to create a personal profile to make future bookings more convenient and efficient.
TransForm by b4 ensures secure payment transactions for reservation deposits, gift certificates, PCI-compliant credit card authorizations and group deposits. TransForm eliminates the need to collect credit card details on paper forms and provides the option to authorize and manage installment plans.
“TransForm helps us set up quick group links for groups that are flexible to however we need to set it up for all the groups and returning guests coming to the hotel,” explains Pratap.
The booking engine also helps the Washington Square team to enhance its marketing efforts through pre-stay and post-stay emails, as well as reminders and promotions for add-ons and future offers. Automated email confirmations for bookings, changes and cancellations, along with pre-stay and post-stay promotional emails streamline operations and help to reduce the likelihood of no-shows to enhance reliability of forecasts.
The Results
Since implementing b4’s solutions, Washington Square Hotel has enjoyed improvements in efficiency and guest satisfaction:
- Simplified booking process, making it easy for guests to reserve rooms online.
- Enhanced guest experience, particularly for return customers who can easily access their profiles and booking history.
- Increased efficiency in managing group reservations, easily allowing the group leader to process multiple reservations through personalized booking links.
- Reduced administrative workload for staff, freeing up time to focus on delivering exceptional guest service.
- Improved marketing capabilities, with the ability to extract guest emails for post-stay promotions and targeted communication campaigns.
- Higher reliability with automated pre-stay reminders, reducing the likelihood of no-shows.
b4checkin has provided Washington Square Hotel with a reliable and efficient suite of solutions that has streamlined operations and enhanced the guest experience.
“I would strongly recommend b4checkin’s solutions,” says Christopher. “On the management side of things, it provides a lot of information, it’s easy to use and helps us save money by reducing no-shows and making reservations more efficient.” Overall, he highly recommends b4checkin for its simplicity, robust integration and effective management tools.
