Basecamp Properties consists of seven beautiful properties situated smack dab in the middle of Canadian Mountain Communities. These modern and elegant resort locations offer adventure travelers a comfortable respite between hiking or snowshoeing trips in world-class accommodations surrounded by luxury amenities.
Since its founding in 2017, Basecamp Properties has relied on technology to augment the guest experience. Due to property layouts that bypass the need for lobby areas at some Basecamp locations, and the fact that cabin- and condo-style guest accommodations are spread out across each one, the hotel group implemented a guest messaging system early on to help check guests in and out of their rooms. However, there was an issue.
“Fraud was a constant issue for us,“ said Kim Miller, Guest Services Manager. “We needed a solution that did more than just guest messaging. We needed a way to provide a flexible, robust check-in process that allowed guests to bypass any visits to the front desk and enabled our team to fight back against chargebacks and fraud.”
After a brief search for a more robust, comprehensive and secure guest management system, Miller and the rest of her team found the answer they were looking for in Canary.
“With Canary, we are able to create a streamlined, painless guest experience that allows us to stop fraud and chargebacks,” said Miller. “We now push all guests through the contactless check-in process, and, since the tools we now use are PCI compliant, we sleep a lot better knowing that we’re not losing out on important revenue.”
Though the need to deal with fewer chargebacks and less fraud was the main driver in the search for a new technology solution, it wasn’t long before the team at Basecamp began to realize additional benefits from the upgrade.
As a 7-property group dealing with the historic staffing shortage in the hospitality industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Basecamp Properties has had to do more with less.
“At a few of our properties, we only have one person manning the desk during the day, and they leave at 11pm,” said Miller. “If more than a few people at a time come to a lobby to check-in, it quickly becomes overwhelming for the person on front desk duty. And if guests show up late at night, there is a chance nobody will be there at all.”
Canary’s Contactless Guest Management System enables Basecamp Properties to deal with these realities by sending out multiple emails and messages throughout the guest journey that urge customers to check-in and checkout through Canary’s easily accessible web-based solution.
“With Canary, our guests can check-in and checkout easily at any time, from anywhere. Without it, we’d have to hire additional staff to cover the front desk and it wouldn’t be as convenient for guests,” stated Miller. “Implementing Canary was really a win-win for everybody — our staff and our guests,” she continued.
And the cost-savings for Basecamp don’t stop at the wage bill. Miller also pointed to the replacement of welcome books for guests with a digital version during the check-in process that resulted in a surprising reduction in overhead costs.
“We used to spend a ridiculous amount of money printing out welcome books for our guests that included all of the property’s policies and important information, such as the operating hours and rules for hot tub usage,” said Miller. “Since rolling out Canary at our properties, we have included a digital version of that welcome book in the form of a web page. At the bottom of the page, our guests have to check a box that confirms they understand our policies. This has been very helpful to our team whenever there is a dispute with guests regarding the rules at a property.”
Canary’s solutions have enabled Basecamp Properties to reduce chargebacks and fraud to extremely low levels, boost staff efficiency across all properties, and save on overhead costs.
“Canary seems to get better and better, week after week,” said Miller. “We can’t wait to see what they come out with next and look forward to implementing it as we grow and evolve.”
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