GoTab was built by restaurateurs for restaurateurs, so it is only fitting that some of the most successful GoTab locations are also team favorites. Such is the case with Hop Lot Brewing Company in Leelanau County, Michigan.
GoTab was built by restaurateurs for restaurateurs, so it is only fitting that some of the most successful GoTab locations are also team favorites. Such is the case with Hop Lot Brewing Company in Leelanau County, Michigan. When CEO Tim McLaughlin visited Hop Lot on vacation with his family in the summer of 2020, he knew they would be an ideal candidate for GoTab’s contactless ordering and payment solution.
Hop Lot was previously using the Heartland eCommerce solution to try and provide an “order to table” system throughout their expansive property, including a stage area and picnic tables. After Tim used their system and observed the operations, he asked to talk with a manager to explain the benefits of GoTab. Fortunately, owner Steve Lutke was on site. The two hit it off after Tim showed Steve how GoTab works and hot it would massively streamline his operation and simultaneously increase sales for his customers. All seemed well and Tim went home from vacation with Steve and Hop Lot intending to try the system out.
Unfortunately, all good things come with a price and Sarah Lutke, Hop Lot's Business Controller and Steve's wife, was worried that GoTab’s card processing was (at the time) more expensive than what they were paying on Heartland. A few more phone calls and the knowledge that GoTab allows guests to open a tab (raising ticket amounts and lowering processing costs overall), the Hop Lot team decided to give GoTab a try and see what their results would be.
GoTab got Hop Lot up and running in about a week with their remote onboarding process. The flexible system accommodated some of the logistical problems the site had previously encountered. The area doesn’t have a large labor pool, so the brewery was able to organize their operations efficiently: drinks are run directly to tables, but food orders are picked up by guests at the designated pick up spot. When Tim called Steve several weeks later to hear his thoughts, Steve was very enthusiastic: “I’d happily pay more than what I’m even paying now for GoTab. It works great and makes everything easier. Guests order more and are definitely happier.”Since then, GoTab has dropped its prices and passed some costs onto the end users, which means the company is now effectively cheaper than any other eCommerce order-to-table product in the market.
Tap Room Playbook Episode 2:
When you really think about it, with everything managers need to do in a tap room, the hospitality aspect is often overlooked.
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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