Case Study

Increased hotel revenue through Akia guest messaging

Heather shares how Akia had unexpectedly driven thousands in revenue to the hotel's spa business.

The Bellmoor Inn and Spa outdoor area
Fairfield Plantation Resort is a 2500-acre, 50-condo vacation rental property on Treasure Lake in Villa Rica, GA. Treasure Lake travelers are rewarded not only with great golfing, fishing, and boating—but also with a rich guest experience made possible by Akia.

Every day is different

Fairfield Plantation Resort’s check-in process can be different based on the day and staff’s availability in the front office.
The Resort is able to welcome their guests with ease by leveraging Akia’s customizable Scheduled Messaging. Based on which day of the week is the arrival, Fairfield can automatically customize their pre-arrival message that provides accurate check-in instructions to the arriving guests.
guest is using registration card to check into hotel

Many addresses, one setup

Unlike a traditional hotel with one large building with multiple rooms, Fairfield Plantation Resort’s rentals are free-standing condos and cottages that are spread across many acres. As a gated community, addresses on Google Maps are not always accurate and it won’t take the guests directly to their units.
Based on a guest’s attribute (i.e., the unit they are staying in), Akia is able to populate different content in messages and digital booklets. This allows the property managers to dynamically and automatically provide Google Maps with the correct GPS coordinates to the designated units, so guests are never lost while getting to their destinations.

Staying informed instantly

With Fairfield covering 2500 acres, it’s difficult to keep all guests informed of community-wide issues or incidents.
The property managers at Fairfield Plantation Resort used Broadcast to quickly notify all guests in the community of the temporary pool closure. And they used broadcast once again to alert the guests when the pool was re-open. By quickly communicating with all the guests at once, Fairfield can allow their guests to plan their days with limited interruptions.
hotel front desk employee talking to two guests

Re-market to previous guests

As the weather is warming up in California, many people are itching to safely travel again this summer. Coronado Beach is the perfect destination for travelers to be outside and soak up the sun.
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As a long time customer, 1906 Lodge has been communicating with their guests through Akia to enhance their guest experiences. When Akia introduced Campaigns, which allows properties to effectively re-market to previous guests for new bookings without commissions, Janissa knew she could incorporate business text messaging into their marketing strategy to reengage and capture new bookings demands for 1906 Lodge this summer.
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1906 Lodge worked with Akia’s Customer Success team to design a campaign to reach the property’s loyal guests over text messaging. This campaign let loyal guests know about an ongoing deal and how they can book directly with the property to take advantage of the offer.
1906 Lodge sample campaign message
1906 Lodge sample campaign message

Re-market to previous guests

As the weather is warming up in California, many people are itching to safely travel again this summer. Coronado Beach is the perfect destination for travelers to be outside and soak up the sun.
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As a long time customer, 1906 Lodge has been communicating with their guests through Akia to enhance their guest experiences. When Akia introduced Campaigns, which allows properties to effectively re-market to previous guests for new bookings without commissions, Janissa knew she could incorporate business text messaging into their marketing strategy to reengage and capture new bookings demands for 1906 Lodge this summer.
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1906 Lodge worked with Akia’s Customer Success team to design a campaign to reach the property’s loyal guests over text messaging. This campaign let loyal guests know about an ongoing deal and how they can book directly with the property to take advantage of the offer.

Run Successful SMS Campaigns

It’s no question that many travel destinations, including Hawaii, took a hit because of the pandemic. Even after travel restrictions have been lifted, it is taking some time for businesses to ramp back up as people are getting reacquainted with traveling again.
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In order to generate demand and get more bookings, Royal Lahaina Resort and Royal Kona Resort offer many great deals as the islands reopen for travelers again. As an experienced digital marketer, Taylor Shumate (Digital Marketing Director @ Hogan Hospitality Group) looked to Akia to help reengage with her guests and boost bookings for the resorts for the upcoming months.
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Guests were already familiar with Akia’s contactless communication, as they were already engaging with the properties over text-messaging during their previous stays. Taylor saw text-messaging campaigns as a highly engaging, personalized channel to supplement her digital marketing efforts in order to drive more business for Hawaiian Hotels.
Royal Lahaina Resort SMS Campaign sample
Royal Lahaina Resort SMS Campaign sample

Run Successful SMS Campaigns

It’s no question that many travel destinations, including Hawaii, took a hit because of the pandemic. Even after travel restrictions have been lifted, it is taking some time for businesses to ramp back up as people are getting reacquainted with traveling again.
‍
In order to generate demand and get more bookings, Royal Lahaina Resort and Royal Kona Resort offer many great deals as the islands reopen for travelers again. As an experienced digital marketer, Taylor Shumate (Digital Marketing Director @ Hogan Hospitality Group) looked to Akia to help reengage with her guests and boost bookings for the resorts for the upcoming months.
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Guests were already familiar with Akia’s contactless communication, as they were already engaging with the properties over text-messaging during their previous stays. Taylor saw text-messaging campaigns as a highly engaging, personalized channel to supplement her digital marketing efforts in order to drive more business for Hawaiian Hotels.
Hawaii DMA targeting with Akia

Reach the Right Audience With Advanced Targeting

With Akia’s advanced targeting capabilities, pilot campaigns used Designated Market Area (DMA) to target local Hawaiian residents and mainland guests. This allowed both Royal Lahaina and Royal Kona to personalize offers to their guests based on their residencies, which increased the efficiency of the campaigns.
Hawaii DMA targeting with Akia

Reach the Right Audience With Advanced Targeting

With Akia’s advanced targeting capabilities, pilot campaigns used Designated Market Area (DMA) to target local Hawaiian residents and mainland guests. This allowed both Royal Lahaina and Royal Kona to personalize offers to their guests based on their residencies, which increased the efficiency of the campaigns.

No contact, no problem

This family-run hotel sits right in the heart of the East Village Arts District of downtown Long Beach — a vibrant, walkable neighborhood filled with local restaurants, coffee shops, and art galleries.
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The property deployed Akia to facilitate contactless communication with their guests during these turbulent times with Covid-19. By allowing the staff to engage and communicate with guests over text messaging, they were able to reduce staffing hours at the front desk and minimize contact with guests while maintaining their service level to the same high standard as before.
guest is using registration card to check into hotel

Online Reviews

In today’s digital age, many guests will go straight to TripAdvisor or Google to look at the reviews about hotels when they are planning their trips. According to studies, about 82% of consumers read reviews of local businesses before making any decision on a purchase, and negative feedback and reviews can directly impact a business’s bottomline.
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Hotels may have seen their online reviews skewing unfavorably. Happy guests who had great experiences often forget to share their stories and reviews after they have left the property, but unhappy guests will make sure their voices are heard by leaving negative feedback.
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travelers sitting and waiting

Reputation Management

With Akia’s Reputation Management, guests will automatically receive reminders via text messages after checking out to provide feedback. This provides an opportunity for hotels to catch unhappy guests before leave any nasty reviews online, but Akia will also nudge and encourage satisfied guests to leave you those glowing 5-star reviews on Google or TripAdvisor.

By enabling this simple — yet powerful — automated process, many of our hotel clients are seeing over 100% increase in their 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.
improving hotel reputation example
improving hotel reputation example

Reputation Management

With Akia’s Reputation Management, guests will automatically receive reminders via text messages after checking out to provide feedback. This provides an opportunity for hotels to catch unhappy guests before leave any nasty reviews online, but Akia will also nudge and encourage satisfied guests to leave you those glowing 5-star reviews on Google or TripAdvisor.

By enabling this simple — yet powerful — automated process, many of our hotel clients are seeing over 100% increase in their 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.
blue mountain mist cover photo
Heather, Spa Director at The Bellmoor
Testimonial
Heather Pleasants
Spa Director
We utilized Akia to broadcast a message to guests on Friday before they checked in for the weekend. We were unsure if we would even get any responses, and kept our expectations low. Not only did they respond to the texts, but we had a terrific response! We did a total of 18 massages that weekend, totaling over $2,000 in extra revenue.
team chat being used to communicate that a lightbulb needs to be replaced

Streamlined service

Additionally, they found that they were able to streamline internal communications and operations with their Housekeeping, Maintenance, and Management teams by leveraging Akia’s Team Chat.

While servicing the suites, the housekeepers are able to send messages through Akia’s mobile app to alert maintenance of any potential issues or damages that need to be addressed, or to send requests to management to place new orders for supplies. Best of all, they are able to quickly send a photo of the issue or an item they need — a picture is worth a thousand words!

Out with slow processes

As a hotelier, you know that having guests review and sign forms is a necessary part of the hotel stay. It may not be the most exciting part of the vacation, but guests need to agree to policies before they can begin their stay. Usually, properties have guests sign paper forms at check-in, which can keep weary travelers from getting to their rooms as quickly as they’d like to.
hotel front desk employee talking to two guests

Digital Registration Card

Glen Ivy Hot Springs is utilizing Akia’s registration card feature to have guests fill out digital Health Screening Questionnaires. This means that Akia is regularly screening arriving guests for symptoms all while minimizing direct contact between the guests and staff members.

Guests receive a link to sign the registration card prior to check in. All registration cards can be easily retrieved digitally or printed out physically after guests have signed.
example of how a hotel screens guests' health before check-in

Pre-arrival, Pre-register, Pre-pare for everything

To help prepare for the guest’s arrival in advance, 121 Middle leverages Akia’s Registration Card to capture guest registrations, their signatures, as well as their estimated time of arrival. Streamlining this check-in process over text-messaging prior to arrival has allowed the property to better prioritize housekeeping based on guest’s estimated arrival time and capture special requests and preferences.
woman checking into hotel with digital registration card
digital agreement template sample

In with Digital Agreements

To streamline this process, Akia has created an Agreement Template, which is a form of a digital attachment that can be dynamically generated and texted to hotel guests. Once the guest receives the agreement, they can review the content of the template, fill in required and optional information, and sign the digital form. The agreement can consist of content such as hotel policies or COVID-19 screening questions that guests can fill out promptly prior to their arrival.
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guest talking to front desk worker

Unlock your guest journey

A contactless guest journey won’t be complete if the guest cannot get into their room! With Akia’s integration into FLEXIPASS — a fast and easy mobile key access solution — guests no longer need to wait for their keys to relax in their rooms after arrival. The staff at 121 Middle can issue and automatically text the generated digital door keys to their guests. No more lost keys, no more lines at reception, no more waiting

In with Digital Agreements

To streamline this process, Akia has created an Agreement Template, which is a form of a digital attachment that can be dynamically generated and texted to hotel guests. Once the guest receives the agreement, they can review the content of the template, fill in required and optional information, and sign the digital form. The agreement can consist of content such as hotel policies or COVID-19 screening questions that guests can fill out promptly prior to their arrival.
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digital agreement template sample

Less time on paperwork, more time for activities

However, we have seen the agreement templates used in other unique ways that can further streamline operations for hotels and resorts and enable great guest experiences. Whether it’s a waiver for that kayak rental out on the lake or a private sleigh ride in winter wonderland, guests can easily fill out forms digitally right on their mobile phones and quickly get started with the fun.
man laying on a pool floatie
Here's a quick look at the engagement we drove for Spa at The Bellmoor that weekend.
53%
57%
40%
New Bookings Created
51%
18
New Bookings Created
287
Average Number of Registration Cards Filled Per Day
755
4465
6.6
Incremental Revenue
5.2
6.8
2:17
$2,000+
$19,000+
13.2%
12.45%
+142%
Engaged Guests
Engaged Guests
39%
0:24
57%
53%
82%
72x
17.8x
After getting great engagement (12.45% click-through rate) from the pilot campaigns, they were able to generate thousands of dollars within a week after launching the campaigns. As a result of the hugely successful pilots, Taylor is looking forward to implementing more text-messaging campaigns to reach guests and drive greater business outcomes for 2021.

Blue Mountain Mist

Testimonial
Jason Ball
Owner & Innkeeper
“Ever since we started using Akia a few months ago, we noticed that we have gotten far more reviews on our TripAdvisor review page. It has been really beneficial to us so far. We don’t have to think about asking our guests to leave us a review anymore because Akia takes care of it.”
mourelatos lakeshore resort
sycamore mineral springs cover photo
Testimonial
Victor Beauchamp
General Manager
"Akia has been instrumental and a game changer as it allows us to shorten desk hours and reduce exposure risk for guests and staff during Covid while maintaining the same award-winning hospitality at the property. Additionally, Akia’s Team Chat has made it super easy for our staff to communicate with each other on the go. We are a cozy and unique property, so leveraging Team Chat has been great for us as it helps simplify our operations without adding any unneeded overhead for our teams.
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Akia provides a modern customer service experience, and I'm not sure how we would have gotten through Covid without it."

Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort

At Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort, guests can relax and enjoy onsite activities that the resort has to offer. During the summer months, the resort gets very busy and serves many guests looking to rent out kayaks and other equipment. In order to do so, guests must sign a liability waiver prior to renting the equipment. Before Akia, the resort manually handed out paper waivers for guests to sign, but this method was not efficient and slowed down the pace of the sign up process.

With Akia, Mourelatos improved this process by creating digital liability waivers from Akia’s agreements templates for guest to sign through their phone. This new contactless method has been tremendously helpful in reducing human contact and unnecessary paperwork. Now, guests can quickly get their rental equipment and go enjoy the activities.
Testimonial
Alexander A. Mourelatos
General Manager
“We are using agreements for Akia to send out digital liability waivers for equipment rentals to our guests. This is very helpful to us, especially in our peak seasons when our rental equipment is in high demand.”
lake clear lodge

Lake Clear Lodge

When you are a guest at Lake Clear Lodge, you are not only there for peaceful lodging but also for the many intimate experiences the lodge has to offer — special camp dinners to private sleigh rides in the winter snow, just to name a few! With many of the guests requesting to sign up for activities every day, it can get difficult to keep records of every single attendee.
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But with Akia’s digital sign up sheets, guests can sign up for the activity on their phone and receive a confirmation text within seconds of booking. All sign up sheets are available in Akia digitally and can be referred back to at anytime.
Testimonial
Yurgen Hohmeyer
Lodge Owner
“We like to offer our guests a variety of fun experiences during their stay, and Akia has made that more accessible to our guests. The digital sign up sheets helps us easily keep track of guest attendance and payment for the activities.”
An overwhelming response from 1906 Lodge's first text-messaging campaign is what drove thousands of dollars in additional direct bookings over the course of just 4 days. The results of this campaign speaks volumes for Janissa, who is now looking to expand her marketing strategy to include text-messaging for all properties in her portfolio.
Glen Ivy Hot Springs Director of Operations
Testimonial
Scott Whitaker
Director of Operations
We have been using Akia for food and beverage service in efforts to reduce touch points and help our guests feel safe. They can just simply text their food or beverage orders to us from their lounge chairs, or anywhere they are on the property. Akia makes this exchange safe and convenient for our guests.

Contactless Dining

With Akia, Glen Ivy can continue to run their food services in a safe and contactless manner. By texting “menu,” Akia sends a link of all the available food and beverage options. Through these links, guests can directly place their order, and Akia prompts the hotel to review the order and process the payment. After the order is submitted, guests receive a digital receipt and confirmation of their order.
ordering chicken nachos at a hotel through an online menu

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort

Testimonial
Amanda Strachan
Rooms Division Manager
“We have been using Akia’s review management feature for awhile now, and we have gotten over a couple thousand 5 star reviews from our guests! We usually have our hands full, so Akia’s automation system for reviews makes it a lot easier for us to manage.”
the cliffs hotel and spa cover photo

The Cliffs Hotel & Spa

Testimonial
Travis Domingues
Rooms Division Manager
“We love engaging with our guests and hearing about their stay. Thanks to Akia, more guests have shared stories, photos, and their overall positive experiences with us. This also gives us a chance to respond to all the reviews and helps us stay more connected with our guests.”

Automation is everything

This is some text inside of a div block.
Working with Akia means these types of conversations happen daily, behind the scenes, and without staff intervention.

Guests who require assistance are appropriately flagged, where Domain Hotel's remarkable front desk team can step in and showcase their hospitality.

Dozens of messages come back in during a busy morning at Domain Hotel, but only a handful will need Justin and his team to actually step in.

The rest of it is handled by Akia.
Akia welcoming a guest and informing them about the check in time

WhatsApp Integration

Akia has the ability to send messages to foreign guests via WhatsApp. This allows our hotels who see a lot of international travelers to also stay connected with their guests in a familiar way.
automatically translating messages from English to French for international guests
Reservations Supervisor at The Santa Barbara Inn
Testimonial
Gwen Castro
Reservations Supervisor
We have been using Akia now for a few months and it has definitely made things at the front desk a lot easier, especially on those busy weekends! We have had many guest come in and ask “Who is Akia?” They are just wow-ed at how fast they can get a response and they don’t have to worry about getting put on hold.
Front Desk Supervisor at Santa Barbara Inn
Testimonial
Ryan Ledwith
Front Desk Supervisor
Guests love the option of texting us rather than having to call down to the front desk and the personalized text message before arrival makes guests feel welcome. Akia’s integration with AutoClerk is also huge for us. We don’t need to go in and enter data to a separate program as Akia links up seamlessly with what we already use.
Akia automatically marking a guest's message as a positive follow-up

More than just a tool.

Akia doesn't need a reminder to check in with guests. Additionally, the guests who reply, but don't need assistance won't end up creating more work for your team.

Artificial intelligence of this caliber, working alongside the front desk team, is what has helped Domain Hotel obtain new levels of achievement for the property.

Broadcast

Akia has the ability for hotels to broadcast messages to groups of guests. If you ever need to notify guests of incidents in a pinch, Broadcast means a previously 45-minute process now only takes 45 seconds.

Useful for alerts or letting guests know about special events. Akia is TCPA compliant out of the box, so you don't need to worry about handling unsubscribes to marketing messages.
using broadcast messaging to inform every guest about free drinks and snacks
sample of broadcast messaging filters on mobile

Mobile Broadcast

Benjamin recalls a story about ONE EARLY morning, when the hotel lost all hot water.
"Normally, I ask my front desk staff to call every room in house, and notify each guest of the situation. This process can take between 30-45 minutes and normally results in several unanswered calls.

With Akia, that changed instantly. I can now easily pull out my phone, tap a button, and broadcast a message to all in house guests and consistently keep them informed of our progress throughout the day.

This significantly cut down on labor time, long distance charges, and annoying phone calls. Our guests were extremely grateful for the constant and convenient updates; our quick response using this system actually led to perfect review scores from our affected guests. You can't ask for a better outcome."

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