In addition to completing an extensive $200 million renovation, the iconic Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., has added the Beekeeper digital workforce communication platform. With more than 280 workers responsible for delivering the ultimate guest experience, the hotel needed technology to ensure that service standards were at peak performance and employee morale remained high. Beekeeper connects every employee to relevant messaging about things happening at the hotel and to one another.
“You can’t maintain a corporate culture without constant communications,” Watergate Hotel Managing Director Jeff David said in a statement. “Beekeeper has revolutionized the way we talk. It’s an integral part of our daily operations. Beekeeper is cost-effective, and because it operates in the cloud it saves time and doesn’t weigh down our servers with large files. The platform is so simple, there is virtually no learning curve. Everyone knows how to use it because they’re familiar and comfortable with social posts and text messaging.”
Beekeeper has improved the hotel’s guest service scores, its TripAdvisor scores and overall internal communications, David said. Management postings in Beekeeper get quick reactions to time-sensitive requests without having to track down staff. “On my days off, instead of calling my staff to check in on operations, I can remotely review the posts and chats to see what’s going on,” he said. “Beekeeper gives me peace of mind and it gives me more work/life balance.”
Beekeeper serves as The Watergate Hotel’s main channel of communicating up-to-the-second information. During morning lineups, staff discussions are entered into Beekeeper. Then, employees who may have missed the meeting can pick up their phones and review discussion details. Everyone stays in the know no matter what shift they work or where they work on property.
“Before Beekeeper, updating menus was time consuming,” said Sabina Dangal, food and beverage manager. “Now, whenever our menu changes, we simply post a picture in the Beekeeper news feed. Also, if there is a guest issue, we post the problem in the feed so everyone is made aware of the situation. This ensures that every staff member can provide a little extra hospitality to that guest to make sure he or she returns.”