How GoTab Optimized Lightning Coffee’s Service and Efficiency
Located right at the main entrance of Upside on Moore, Arlington's premier food hall, Lightning Coffee brings a fresh approach to the coffee scene. As part of this vibrant 30,000 square foot space, Lightning Coffee stands out with its commitment to the highest quality coffee from local roasters and a superior customer experience.
Overview
Located right at the main entrance of Upside on Moore, Arlington's premier food hall, Lightning Coffee brings a fresh approach to the coffee scene. As part of this vibrant 30,000 square foot space, Lightning Coffee stands out with its commitment to the highest quality coffee from local roasters and a superior customer experience. Operated by DMV-based Mothersauce Partners, a boutique hospitality management firm, the food hall features nine diverse dining concepts, all local to the DC area, a specialty coffee shop, mutliple bars, and numerous event spaces, all combining to create dynamic culinary environment.
Situation
Lightning Coffee faces the unique challenge of managing a high volume of customers due to its location in a busy business district. The coffee bar experiences significant surges in foot traffic during peak times, such as the morning rush and lunch hours. This demand creates pressure to deliver quick, efficient service while handling a large number of orders.
The coffee shop needed a solution that could streamline order processing and enhance the overall customer experience, while seamlessly integrating with the broader operations of Upside on Moore.
Solution
To address its challenges, Lightning Coffee integrated GoTab’s advanced POS system, which introduced essential features for improving operational efficiency and customer service. The system's pre-ordering capabilities allowed customers to place their coffee orders in advance, a crucial benefit for busy professionals and commuters needing quick pickups. This feature effectively reduced wait times during peak hours.
The addition of self-service kiosks and QR code ordering streamlined transactions, offering a contactless, efficient way for patrons to place orders. GoTab’s two-way text communication kept customers informed with real-time updates on their order status and pickup readiness, enhancing the overall experience. Customizable pickup notifications further reduced congestion at the counter and managed customer flow efficiently.
"With 12,000 residents within a six-minute stroll, our goal is to become a beloved 'third place' for our community. GoTab has helped us transform our guest experience with user friendly kiosks and table ordering, so our guests can seamlessly work, dine, and enjoy the atmosphere without any wait time.”
--Nick Freshman, Founder, Mothersauce Partners
Additionally, GoTab’s robust manager app supported back-of-house operations with real-time analytics, staff coordination, and efficient event management, boosting operational efficiency and resource management.
Discover how GoTab’s tailored coffee shop POS solutions can transform your business by exploring our offerings today.
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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