As we predicted earlier this year, providing self-serve options is a trend continuing to grow in the hospitality industry. Many restaurants and hotels are starting to bypass traditional service offerings like checking guests in and out of rooms, or skipping the ordering process at restaurants and opting for self-service kiosks where guests can perform these tasks themselves. Read on to see how easy (and profitable) it can be for your business to incorporate quick-service concepts for your guests.
Give Your Guests What They Want
Guests are becoming more receptive to interacting with apps, artificial intelligence (AI), and automated systems. This type of technology frees up staffing for other essential operations that can further enhance the guest experience. Many consumers are accustomed to incorporating self-service options in their daily lives and even prefer it to traditional methods. A recent industry study found that about 73% of shoppers surveyed by IoT and mobile device management firm SOTI said they prefer retail self-service technologies, such as self-checkout, over engaging with store associates. That’s a 10.6% increase from last year.
Taking A Closer Look
Not only does incorporating quick-service options allow you to free up staff and provide more support to your guests, it also positively impacts revenue and profits. Self-serve options are quicker and reduce friction to the sale, resulting in less drop off and more satisfied guests. They also tend to deliver higher check averages than traditional purchasing methods as quick-serve offerings maximize for speed, efficiency, accuracy and upselling.
Our customers who have a self-serve WineStation installed reported revenue increases of 15-25%. For high volume bars or restaurants, adding a WineStation can substantially increase your order-taking capacity without needing to increase staffing. In hotels, you can place a WineStation or two in high-traffic areas like lobbies and lounges and turn a dead zone into a profitable mini-wine bar. WineStation allows you to capitalize on passive sales in areas you previously wouldn’t have received revenue.
Expand Your Product Offering Without Increasing Inventory
If you have wines that are only generally sold by the bottle, placing them in a self-service WineStation is an excellent time to maximize profit on those bottles. According to the State of the Wine Industry Report for 2018 conducted by Silicon Valley Bank, consumers are flocking to ‘premium’ wines. Placing upscale bottles on your “wines by the glass” list can edge consumers into a wine that they’ve always wanted to try. One of our clients put a bottle of Screaming Eagle in their WineStation, and it sold out in 24 hours all via 2 oz pours. It was the most profitable 24 hours in the hotel’s history.
Precision is Key
In general, there is an approximate 10% profit loss due to over-generous pours and theft. WineStation eliminates this waste and helps you maximize your inventory. When you’re serving a $200 (or even pricier) bottle of wine, every ounce counts. Pour .5, 2, 4, 6 or other pre-selected ounces all at the touch of a button and with precise accuracy. No more pouring profits down the drain.
Quick-serve is as easy as “select, pour, and swipe”
Napa Technology’s WineStation® is a quick-serve option that allows guests to use their hotel room card (or designated access card at retail or restaurant locations) to order a glass of wine completely autonomously- no bartender needed. Guests simply select their wine, choose the pour size, and swipe their key to complete the transaction.
WineStation® is the only intelligent wine dispensing and preservation system with Hotel Room Key Integration capabilities in the marketplace today. The WineStation® is driving new revenue streams in hotels like Marriott, Hilton, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, and many others by providing simplified transaction resolutions for both Magstripe and RFID electronic locking systems.