As a result of a new strategic partnership between Volara and Butler Hospitality, guests staying at the Synergy Chelsea in New York City now can scan a QR code on a Volara-powered Google Nest Hub to access an in-room restaurant menu on their mobile device. Foodservice items are prepared by one of five operating hotel hub kitchens in Manhattan and delivered directly to each unit.
“Roomservice is a loss leader for most hotels today,” said Aaron Cohen, chief revenue officer for Butler Hospitality. “Not only are operators losing money running their kitchens, but guests are paying high prices for low-quality menu items that don’t meet their expectations. We developed ‘Roomservice by Butler’ as a turnkey food-and-beverage solution that elevates the digital dining experience in hotels and corporate housing.
“Unlike other virtual roomservice programs that connect guests to local restaurants, Roomservice by Butler is a vertically integrated program that brings food that we cook ourselves in hotel kitchens that we operate exclusively for Butler patrons,” he said. “Vetted and brand-clad butlers personally deliver orders to customers in their hotel rooms or corporate apartments rather than making them go down to the lobby. For added convenience, integration between Butler technology and the facility’s property-management system enables orders to be added directly to the folio, and the property automatically receives a 10 percent revenue share from each order.”
When Synergy Global Housing was planning its flagship Chelsea property last year, GM Rob Eisenberg said he wanted to feature technologies tenants use at home and the amenities found in upscale hotels. The company selected the Volara-powered solution operating on the Google Nest Hub to provide residents with an in-room, always available expert concierge. Volara’s voice-based engagement technology offers Synergy Chelsea residents on-command access to specific guest service amenities, local area recommendations, restaurants, and attractions.
Volara provides platform agnostic voice-based conversation management software and a secure integrations hub to existing property technologies. Its software turns the major natural language processing platforms into a business tool that drives more efficient customer service.
Volara is working with Synergy Global Housing and Butler Hospitality to bring Roomservice by Butler to more of the company’s corporate housing locations throughout Manhattan, including the Financial District, Greenwich Village, and Times Square. Likewise, Butler Hospitality hopes to expand its program to hotels that are voice-enabling their guest services with a Volara-powered Google Nest Hub.
Butler Hospitality provides in-room restaurant delivery to 140 properties in New York with 137,000 rooms. The 5-year-old company is expanding its service to the Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Miami markets, and it hopes to be in an additional 10 cities by the end of 2021.