Farnek Hotel Management has launched a new hospitality app that digitises a hotel guest’s trip from initial reservation through check out.
The app, which was created in-house by Farnek’s award-winning technology and innovation division, connects to the hotel’s property management system (PMS), giving guests access to a variety of services such as uploading travel documents like vaccination certificates, ordering a car upon arrival, room service, and laundry. The hotel app can also provide guests with automated electronic updates and alerts, as well as e-registration paperwork, e-invoices, and e-receipts, all in one place.
Walter Knight, Director of Hospitality at Farnek, said, “Flexi-Guest achieves three main hotel objectives. First of all, it offers the guest an enhanced experience, providing a seamless pre-arrival and check-in procedure.
“Secondly, during the stay, guests can order room service in advance, have laundry picked up or delivered, request early or late check-outs, invoices or order a car to go to the airport. Because the app manages secure online payments, the guest doesn’t even need to physically visit the reception.
“Finally, the hotel benefits too. If the experience is good, the guest is more likely to return and also recommend the hotel to friends and colleagues. The hotel operates more efficiently, saving staff time and expense, and has the added advantage of driving revenue through F&B and e-concierge services,” added Knight.
Farnek just completed a successful app trial and has been awarded a contract for the Expo Village on the Expo 2020 site. Farnek is currently in charge of the 2,273 apartments’ reservation services, concierge, front office services, and housekeeping.
“Feedback from the initial guest reviews has been very positive,” said Knight.
Farnek’s market proposition is always about sustainability, and Flexi-Guest is no different. The software can calculate every guest’s carbon emissions throughout their stay and provide a cost if they choose to offset their carbon footprint.
“The fact that Flexi-Guest can interface with any hotel property management system, makes it extremely marketable. Our business strategy is to offer the app as part of a cluster of services or as a standalone, whereby a hotel or apartment complex could outsource it’s entire front office services to us, or just pay a licence fee to use the app,” said Javeria Aijaz, Senior Director – Technology & Innovations, Farnek.
Looking ahead, Aijaz added, “Although we are first to market with this app, we are already looking at additional services and improvements, particularly to the management and operational reporting.”
Farnek Hotel Management, a recently founded company, provides a comprehensive range of services, including consulting, management, outsourcing, and staffing. Farnek has been helping hotels and resorts become more sustainable for the past 15 years as a Facilities Management (FM) service.
Indeed, Farnek’s Hotel Optimizer software can track, analyse, and benchmark a property’s energy, water, and waste consumption, as well as provide professional advice on how to run more cost-effectively and sustainably.
Farnek is also a preferred partner and auditor for Green Globe, a global sustainability accreditation system based on internationally acknowledged criteria for sustainable travel and tourist industry operation and management.
“We believe that our 360-degree market proposition for the hotel sector, is unrivalled and our participation at the Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC) provides us with an ideal platform to showcase our services to a targeted audience of industry leaders, owners, investors and prominent management companies,” added Knight.
