Reliable Flight Info Adds Guest Confidence & Revenue to Hilton Garden Inn Property
What is the most important thing a hotel can provide to travelers above and beyond a safe, comfortable environment? Confidence in their travel plans. "Most of the guests at our property travel by air, and our goal is to make their travel experience as easy as possible," says Maureen Shepherd, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Airport.
"Providing confidence to our guests is essential, so when I saw an airport travel information display at another hotel I recognized its value immediately. I took a photo of it with my cell phone and contacted the manufacturer, Flyte Systems."Õ
That was in late 2009. Shepherd had a FlyteBoard in her property's lobby by January 2010.ÕFlyte Systems is the only full service hotel flight information display solution provider that offers real-time departure information.
"We are seeing a win-win result from mounting a FlyteBoard real-time airline flight information display in our lobby. Guests value the convenience and feel more in command of their travel arrangements, and the property adds revenue when guests see their flight is delayed or cancelled," says Shepherd.ÕÕ
Cleveland Hopkins Airport is a hub for many carriers and the East Coast had a tough travel season this past winter that caused a record number of delays.
"Guests would call down to our auditor at 4 a.m. to ask what the FlyteBoard said about the status of their morning flight," says Shepherd. "They would frequently stay with us for breakfast or extend their stay when weather closed down their destinations. There are not many restaurants near us, so we saw an increase in our F&B business because of the FlyteBoard."Õ
Shepherd notes that the high-definition FlyteBoard display in her Hilton Garden Inn is centrally located behind the front desk so guests can verify their flight status during check out. "I noticed FlyteBoard has all the airlines that fly into Cleveland, some of them are not even listed on the airport's displays," says Shepherd.Õ
"Taxi drivers run into our lobby to check the status of flights, and this makes them more familiar with our property. Traveling professionals are beginning to expect hotels to provide real-time airport information displays; it is a valuable service for our guests."
What sets Flyte Systems apart from PC-based applications is the ability to post accurate, real-time airline flight arrival and departure information, not FAA-regulated scheduled departure times that do not list delays caused by air traffic control, aircraft maintenance, crew availability and weather.
Flyte Systems offers a suite of products that serve the traveling public: FlyteBoard, FlytePass, FlyteChannel and FlyteTouch.Õ
- FlyteBoard