GoTab helps businesses continue to operate during the coronavirus crisis by providing takeout and delivery systems to expand restaurants' reach.
Just one of the many challenges facing the restaurant industry in the wake of the coronavirus-related shutdown has been having to ramp up for a takeout- and delivery-only model. As more and more operators, both large and small, struggle to implement curbside or other food delivery strategies, technologies are emerging as a simple solution.
For many operations, curbside or delivery capabilities hadn’t been a necessity. Now, however, they’re faced with needing to find and implement a simple platform in a short period of time. Investments made now will likely pay off when shelter-in-place orders begin to lift across the country. The required adoption of delivery and takeout has forced a familiarity among consumers and the digital platforms required to get it—and that’s likely to remain after the pandemic is over.
One such platform, GoTab, is building on years of experience and development in the restaurant ordering sphere. The company, which previously developed technology that would allow an in-restaurant diner to order digitally from their table, has adjusted its offering to work for takeout and delivery. GoTab is currently offering this technology free to restaurants, taprooms, breweries and more that have been affected by COVID-19 regulations.
The 18-unit Barcelona Wine Bar group was closed initially due to the virus, but it has reopened with a new takeout strategy, using GoTab. Jose Andres’ Think Food Group is using GoTab at its community kitchens in the Washington, D.C., area. Farmers Restaurant Group recently launched Founding Farmers Market & Grocery with GoTab to sell meals along with pantry items and other household staples. And Vienna, Va.-based Caboose Brewing is offering a one-stop-shop delivery service for locally sourced produce, meats and cheeses, alongside its beer, using the technology.
In the months and days since the pandemic changed the restaurant business model, GoTab has tripled the number of clients it supports, leaping from approximately 100 chains and independent operators to more than 300.
For restaurants, signing up is simple. They can contact GoTab and fill out a form to establish a merchant account. Then they choose from four separate interfaces, set a pricing structure and upload their menu. On what is essentially a mobile ordering and payment platform, there is no app download required and no high fees. In fact, it’s a simple per-order fee of just 15 cents. Customers can pay via Apple Pay, Android Pay, credit or debit card.
“Our goal is to keep restaurants in business,” said Tim McLaughlin, CEO of GoTab. “And it’s also about customer experience—keeping them happy.”
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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