Since opening its doors in January 2023, The Refinery has redefined waterfront dining in the US Virgin Islands. This modern Caribbean restaurant and tropical cocktail bar is a love letter to the region's rich culinary heritage, specializing in authentic street food from across the islands.
A Slice of the Caribbean in the US Virgin Islands
Since opening its doors in January 2023, The Refinery has redefined waterfront dining in the US Virgin Islands. This modern Caribbean restaurant and tropical cocktail bar is a love letter to the region's rich culinary heritage, specializing in authentic street food from across the islands. With elevated cuisine, vibrant ambiance, and a stunning location overlooking the water, The Refinery has quickly become a must-visit destination for locals and tourists alike.
Boasting a jaw-dropping menu of over 60 cocktails and an ever-evolving selection of elevated dishes, The Refinery serves up a unique fusion of flavors inspired by the Caribbean’s cultural melting pot. Open seven days a week, it’s the go-to spot for sunset sips, lively dinners, and unforgettable celebrations.
The Situation
Running a tourist-heavy restaurant with waterfront views and a 7-day-a-week schedule is no easy feat, especially when juggling a vast menu, high guest expectations, and the fast pace of a tropical hotspot. For The Refinery, the challenge was twofold: streamline operations to keep service smooth on busy nights and ensure guests could enjoy their meals and cocktails without unnecessary delays.
With a sprawling cocktail list, frequent menu updates, and a busy kitchen serving authentic Caribbean street food, staying organized and efficient was crucial. The Refinery also needed seamless integrations for workforce management, table reservations, and tip distribution, all while offering a level of service that matched their elevated dining experience.
The Solution
The Refinery turned to GoTab to transform their operations and enhance guest experiences. Using GoTab's Open API, they integrated essential systems like OpenTable for reservations, 7shifts for staff scheduling, and Tiphaus for tipping transparency and distribution. This streamlined approach ensured that operations behind the scenes ran as smoothly as service on the floor.
A standout for The Refinery was GoTab's Handheld POS systems, which became a game-changer for their dining environment. Servers equipped with handheld devices saved countless steps, dramatically reducing order times and boosting efficiency by up to 25% on busy nights. This meant guests enjoyed faster service without sacrificing the high-touch experience that keeps them coming back.
"From handheld POS systems that keep our service flowing smoothly to integrations that simplify operations, GoTab has become an essential ingredient in our recipe for success."
Jason Cawthron, Owner, The Refinery, US Virgin Islands
GoTab’s backend manager app was another vital tool, allowing The Refinery to update its extensive menu of over 60 cocktails in real-time. From price changes to seasonal specials, these updates happened effortlessly, keeping the menu dynamic and fresh.
With GoTab’s comprehensive system in place, The Refinery now offers a seamless blend of authentic Caribbean charm and modern efficiency, ensuring that every dish and drink feels like it’s served straight from the heart of the islands.
Situated “in the heart of it all, yet tranquil enough to make you feel away from it all too,” The Limelight Hotel Snowmass offers 99 hotel rooms and 11 residences, as well as footsteps-to-gondola access in winter and summer — right in the middle of Snowmass Base Village.
The Situation
Especially over the last few years, the Limelight Hotels IT team had witnessed a significant shift to contactless technology in the hospitality industry. After evaluating friction points in the guest journey, aligning with modern technology platforms in their restaurant was determined to be an effective way to offer elevated contactless dining experiences to their guests while also evolving their technology platforms to continue to support long-term company goals. Limelight Hotel partnered with GoTab to provide an enhanced on-demand dining experience on par with the brand’s reputation for exceptional guest service.
The Solution
Reducing Staff Touch Points Without Sacrificing Guest Experience
Guests are now able to begin a tab from their room or the property’s restaurant by scanning a QR code, texting a link to friends or family members on the ski slope to add in their orders, then meeting up together at the patio or lodge to enjoy their meal and après ski festivities without interruption. By streamlining tasks like inputting orders and processing payments, this eliminates friction for hotel staff and allows them to focus on delivering renowned guest service for a memorable experience. Since partnering with GoTab, Limelight Snowmass has consistently seen higher check averages and sales.
“We found the Point of Sale platforms we were looking at offered the guest and staff limited opportunities to further reduce touch points or improve the traditional restaurant experience. The GoTab platform enabled the guest to take an active role over the flow of their experience while simultaneously reducing touch points and further streamlining restaurant operations.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group
According to the Limelight Hotels team, some of the other platforms that were evaluated were either missing some of the pieces they were looking for, had weak customer support models, or had little willingness to develop integrations to existing hotel platforms already in place. To that end, GoTab integrated with cloud-based platform, Infor. Together, GoTab and Infor are providing dynamic solutions to support central, efficient service across hotel amenities and deliver exceptional guest experiences.
“Previously, guests would call down to the restaurant to begin an order from their room or while they were out enjoying the ski slopes. Using GoTab, guests can now place orders from anywhere on the resort, giving them the on-demand service they want without interrupting their day. GoTab empowers us to give control to the guest, reducing touch points and streamlining overall restaurant operations, making Limelight Hotel the resort of choice for Snowmass.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group
Since introducing GoTab, The Limelight Hotel has seen a consistent level of upsells and items sold per check resulting in additional revenue capture. They have been able to maintain service levels in their restaurants during periods when there was reduced staffing available without significantly diminishing the guest experience.
The Benefits
Eliminate Phone Orders – Take Orders from the Slopes. Guests can start a tab from their room or on the mountain without interrupting the flow of their day.
Future-Proofed Technologies – Delivering elevated contactless ordering via integration with the Infor hotel management platform.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
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